From London to Rome

Chapter 21

The three guys sitting across from me look at me as if I'm some science project. If they keep on looking like that any longer, I will freak out. Luca catches their stares and tells them to stop looking at me like a bunch of creeps. He tries to start a conversation but his friends keep throwing stares at me. I start feeling more insecure by the minute. I can't believe how I'm letting strangers affect me, but them being Luca's best friends means they are important to him and thus they will be important to me as well.

Finn has dark hair and eyes, sparking with some sort of excitement and from the little he has said he seems to be a jokester. Ashton also has dark hair but light blue eyes. He's dressed in all black, a scowl on his face and rocking the bad boy vibe. Lastly, there is Julian, the only blond-haired guy in the group. He looks like your typical boy next door, handsome with the sweetest smile. From what I understand Luca knows Julian the longest. Separately, the guys don't seem terrifying at all but put them together and their stares can get quite scary. Luca notices them still staring and stops his effort to make conversation.

"Quit the staring and let me hear the questions. It's obvious you have millions."

"Dude, you bring around a girl and you don't expect us to have questions?" This doesn't sound like a conversation I want to be part of, so I excuse myself and go to the lady's room.

I try to spend as much time as possible in the lady's room without making it look weird. I try doing my breathing exercises to keep my cool, but the way Luca's friends responded is far from what I expected. I expected them to need some time to get used to me, but they barely said a word, they only stared at me. In moments like this, my insecurities come in full force again. Every time people respond to me a certain way I think I did something wrong. I know this time I didn't do anything wrong; we've barely spent fifteen minutes together. My overthinking is interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

"Skylar, are you okay?" Luca sounds worried, so I decide to step outside and face whatever it is that's waiting for me. How bad can it be? Well, I better not answer that question.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It looked like you needed some time with your friends."

"They were being complete idiots. I'm so sorry for how they behaved. Please don't say you're fine, fine is never good. And you don't look good, you look like someone just killed your puppy." Apparently, I shouldn't seek a career in acting because I suck at it.

"It has nothing to do with them. Just me and my insecurities."

"You should have told me, Skylar. I wouldn't have thrown you into the deep like that if I had known."

"I know, but it isn't something fun to talk about. Hey, I'm Skylar and I have anxiety. Feels a little like an AA meeting, right?"

"I know baby. Just know that I like you for who you are. They like you, they just had some issues with me, it had nothing to do with you. Do you want to talk about it before going back?"

"No, It's okay now, I just needed to calm down. We can talk about it later." Luca gives me a tight hug, and no matter how cliché it may sound, it really makes me feel better. The warmth of his body against mine, his cologne hitting my nose, everything about him makes me relax. He leads me back to our booth where his friends look a little worried at me. Finn is the one that starts talking first.

"We're sorry if we freaked you out, Skylar. It's just that we need to get used to seeing Luca with a girl. We honestly thought he made you up."

"Is it that unbelievable that Luca has a girlfriend?"

"Well, let's say we didn't see him in a serious relationship anytime soon. But judging from the death glares coming from your left, I should shut up now."

"Why don't we order some milkshakes?" Julian tries to save Finn from Luca's murderous look.

"Sure, I'll take the caramel brownie one." Luca's face changes from murderous into a huge smirk. I'm clueless but the guys seem to know what's going on.

"No... not another one. Oreo is the flavour to go to, ditch that brownie shit."

"What's wrong with caramel brownie? Have you ever tasted it? It's the best thing ever." Luca agrees with me, but the guys shake their heads.

"Look at them, ordering the same disgusting milkshake. They are definitely a match." Finn is definitely the sweetest one in the group. And the most excited one. Looking at his face I suspect he is already planning a wedding.

"Oh, they are a match. A match made in hell." It's the first time Ashton speaks since I came back. I don't know if he hates me or is just joking, but looking at Luca's face I don't think I have anything to worry about. Luca orders our milkshakes, three Oreo and two caramel brownie.

I'm not very good at making conversation, so when the milkshake discussion ends I really hope one of the guys starts talking. I don't care who talks first, as long as it's not me. The conversation soon goes to football. They talk about the latest matches in the Premier League and Champions League. I let them talk about the strategies, faulty decision and the best players for a while. It seems all of the guys support different clubs and you can sense the friendly rivalry between them. I ask them who supports what club. Finn says Chelsea, Ashton West Ham United and Julian Arsenal. I make a quick note to remember this, the best way to score points with Luca's friends seems to be with football, although I don't think they will like my love for Tottenham Hotspur very much.

"So, what about you, cupcake? What do you know about football?" Ashton clearly tries to make a point. A very invalid point. Growing up with a brother and a dad that love football, I didn't really have much choice. I would join them in front of the TV every weekend, went to almost all of Noah's games and had more discussions about football with dad than I once thought possible.

"I know everything there is to know. So, I also know that that red card for West Ham United was very much earned yesterday." Ashton looks dumbfound while the others cheer me on for disagreeing with Ashton.

"I like you, Skylar. I think you'll fit right into the group. Anyone who can diss Ashton is a friend of ours." Julian earns himself a punch for saying that but I highly appreciate it. "You do have to tell me one thing since you know so much about football, which club?"

"That's easy, Tottenham." The only one who seems to be happy with my answer is Luca.

"They really are a match!" I think by now Finn does not only have our wedding planned, but our house remodelled and our children named. You can almost see hearts in his eyes.