Winter In New York - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“What do you mean Jesse is calling you?” Stephanie yelled, looking at Christine with wide eyes.

“What I just said!” Christine replied, feeling her whole body shaking all of a sudden. She was never really any good at these kinds of moments. She hadn’t spoken to Jesse since he had called her to tell her he was dating Hilary.

“Aren’t you going to answer it?” Stephanie asked. They had stopped walking towards the plane by now and were standing in the middle of the passage.

“Should I? I mean...Oh man I don’t need this right now...I really don’t...” Christine whined, ruffling her hair and frowning. Why had he decided to call her? Now of all moments?! She was already feeling confused about her relationship with Yamapi, she didn’t need another person messing up her feelings. What was she saying? Did she still feel something for Jesse? No. He was a total jerk and she didn’t feel anything for him. Besides she was in love with Yamapi now, and nothing was going to change that- apart from the fact that she wasn’t entirely sure if they were still boyfriend and girlfriend. She suddenly looked behind her, almost thinking of a way to get back down to him. This was a tad too much and she just wanted to close everything and escape. She technically was escaping...but not to the country she wanted.

“Chri! Back to earth!” Steph yelled, nudging her slightly.

“Oh uh?” Christine said, looking back at Steph.

“Were you thinking of going back?” Stephanie asked, arching an eyebrow. Inside of her she was begging her friend to say yes because honestly, right now there wasn’t a place she would rather be than down there next to him.

“Uh...um...no I-” she mumbled, and then she looked down at her phone which by now had stopped vibrating. “He hung up...”

“Of course he hung up! But man why did he even call? What do you think he wanted?” Steph asked, looking at Christine who was looking back at her with a mix of emotions written on her face.

“I have no idea...” Christine mumbled. She then remembered why she had taken out her phone in the first place. She quickly browsed through her numbers and found Yamapi’s. With a quick breath she pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear.

“I’m sorry miss but no phone usage is allowed beyond this point.” A young stewardess said, smiling politely at her.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me.” Steph grumbled, putting her hands on her hips.

“I’m sorry miss it’s the rules.” The stewardess said, giving them a friendly smile.

“What are you going to do?” Steph asked, turning to look at Christine.

“I don’t know...I guess I will wait until the flight lands.” Christine said, looking at her phone and reluctantly switching it off.

“Until the flight lands?! That’s like 9 hours! Are you possibly going to wait that long?” Steph asked, widening her eyes in shock, following her inside the plane.

“I know...but I don’t have a choice now do I?” Christine said, putting the phone in her bag and walking towards their seats.

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Yamapi’s smirk turned into a smile as he turned to look at Ryo. “I’m going to New York.”

“EH?!” the guys around him screamed while huddling closer.

“Do you seriously think I would let her leave like that?” he said with a grin as he started walking towards the information desk intent on buying a ticket to New York.

“Wait...are you serious? Are you really going to New York?” Koyama asked, starting to panic. What would happen to NewS? It would certainly cause chaos amongst the entertainment world if the great Yamapi were to leave Japan. He was getting a panic attack just thinking about all those things happening.

“Of course I’m serious. I haven’t been more serious in my entire life.” Yamapi said, standing behind the queue.

Ryo didn’t say anything he was too shocked at what Yamapi had said. Shocked not because this famous idol was going to New York to pursue something reckless, but because Yamashita Tomohisa as a man was going to pursue the person he loved. He had a new found respect for his best friend.

Shige was shocked just like the rest of them, but he surprised everyone when he said. “You should go!”

Everyone turned around to look at him with a questioning look on their faces. Kame saw what Shige was thinking and also agreed with him. He patted Yamapi’s back and said, “Good luck, make sure you explain things clearly”

“God’s speed,” Jin said, grinning at his best friend.

“I’ve always wanted to go to New York.” Ryo suddenly blurted out, shocking everyone for the third time.

“Seriously?” Yamapi asked, looking at his friend, a smile tugging on his lips.

“Yeah...I realize I kind of left something hanging as well.” Ryo said, grinning at Yamapi and stepping next to him in order to buy his ticket.

“Wait guys, you can’t be serious about this! Think about your careers! What would Johnny have to say?” Jun said, putting his hands in the air, trying to make them realise that this was all very unrealistic.

“I talked to Johnny this morning.” Yamapi said, in a deep voice, his eyes suddenly becoming angry.

“So that’s where you were this morning!” Massu said, looking at Yamapi, things suddenly started to make sense.

“Yeah I went to talk to Johnny. I couldn’t sleep at all last night so this morning I decided to go and talk to him. He arrived late at his office and so I ended up coming late to the airport.” He said, stepping forward.

“So what did Johnny say?” Tegoshi asked, looking at his senpai with a worried expression on his face.

“Of course he still didn’t agree. He thinks I’m going to abandon everything or something. He doesn’t realize how important she is to me.” He said, running his hands through his hair and scratching the back of his neck. “My career is important to me, yes, but Christine is important to me as well and I am not going to give her up just because he thinks I won’t work anymore.”

“But the question here is, are you actually going to abandon everything you have here for this girl?” Jun asked, crossing his hands on his chest. Sure Christine was a nice girl but was she really worth it? Was she really worth him losing his career over her? Frankly Jun didn’t think so, and clearly some of the other boys didn’t as well.

“That’s not the question here Jun-san, the real problem isn’t whether I am ready to leave everything for her, or whether I am doing the right thing. The problem here is that if I don’t do this, I know that I will regret it.” he said, giving Jun a small smile. “Besides, I’m not abandoning my career for this, I just think that right now this is more important. I will always be an actor.” He turned his head and looked at Ryo, who was still standing next to him.

They were next in line so Yamapi again turned to look at Ryo and said, “Are you really sure?”

Ryo looked back at him and grinned. “I can’t let you have all the fun now can I?” he said, patting him on the shoulder and grinning widely.

“Cool.” Yamapi said, he smiled as well and turned to talk to the person behind the desk.

“Two tickets to New York please...the earliest flight.” He said, feeling his pulse rate increase beneath his chest. He was actually going to do this and he had never felt so alive.

Koyama and the others looked at Yamapi with worried expressions on their faces. Amy, Shige, Kame and Jin were the only ones who were not worried. “You are doing the right thing Yamashita-san.” Amy said, smiling through her tears. She was really sad that everything had ended like this between those two.

Yamapi turned to look at her and gave her a thankful nod. “Next flight to New York leaves at 9pm.” The young man said, clicking on his computer to check the flight number and to book the seats.

“Ok perfect.” Yamapi said, taking out his credit card and handing it to the man.

“Be careful Yamapi senpai! You have never been to New York!” Tegoshi said, tugging Yamapi’s sleeve.

“You will come back to Japan right? You will not abandon us right? We need you!” Koyama said, his lower lip trembling slightly.

“Of course I’ll come back baka...” Yamapi said, hitting Koyama softly behind his head. It wasn’t like he was going off to war or something.

“Excuse me sir...” the young man said, making Yamapi and the others turn and look at him.

“Is there a problem?” Ryo asked, narrowing his eyes at the young guy, who had long brown hair and a big nose.

“This credit card is no good.” He said, feeling slightly nervous due to all those guys around him.

“What?! Try it again! There must be some mistake!” Yamapi shouted, hitting the top of the counter, attracting even more attention than before.

“I have already tried it three times Mr Yamashita...it isn’t working. Someone might have blocked it.” the guy said, holding the card for Yamapi to take.

“Blocked it?” Shige said, looking at the card then at Yamapi.

“The bastard!” Miura suddenly shouted, making all the guys turn to look at him in surprise. The guy didn’t look like the type who swore. Miura blushed and looked at all the guys around him.

Yamapi took out all his credit cards and handed them to the guy he was trying to buy his tickets from. None of the credit cards worked. “Did Johnny actually block all your accounts?” Nino asked, feeling shocked as to how far Johnny was actually going to keep Yamapi in Japan.

“Is this guy for real?” Yamapi said, feeling his blood boiling in anger.

“Can he actually do that?” Tegoshi asked, feeling slightly scared.

“Of course he can do whatever he wants...he is Johnny...” Ryo commented, taking out his own wallet.

“What are you doing Ryo?” Yamapi said, looking at Ryo who was taking out his own credit card.

“I’m paying for your ticket that’s what.” He said, looking at Yamapi and grinning at him.

“Seriously?” Yamapi said, feeling tears brimming in his eyes.

“Of course you have to pay me back but this is nothing...” he said, handing the guy his credit card.

“What if he blocked your credit cards as well?” Yamapi said, not feeling right at borrowing a large sum of money from his friend.

“I’m sure he-”

“This doesn’t work either.” The guy with the big nose said, handing the card to Ryo.

“What do you mean it doesn’t work? Are you sure your machine works huh?” Ryo yelled suddenly snapping and losing his temper.

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Christine rested her head against the head rest of her seat. She couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard she tried or how tired she was. She turned to her left and frowned when she saw that Stephanie was sleeping like a baby next to her. She couldn’t believe how soundly and easily her friend slept in such a noisy and uncomfortable place. She shifted on her seat and sighed for the thousandth time. How much longer would it be before she arrived home?

Part of her wanted to arrive quickly, the other part wanted to go back to Tokyo. She crossed her hands over her chest and frowned. She decided to try and watch a film on the tiny TV screen in front of her. after finally deciding on the film she wanted to watch the person in front of her suddenly lowered their seat, making it hard for her to actually watch the film.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me!” she said, exasperatedly. She had listened to all of the songs on her iPod and tried to write a letter so she was all out of ideas about what to do. She didn’t feel like doing anything apart from sitting back and enjoying a film. Which was practically impossible now.

She closed her eyes, trying to think about all the recent events. Then suddenly she opened them and gasped loudly. How could she have let this slip? She literally smacked herself on the head, earning a couple of odd looks sent her way from the old guy sitting in the opposite seat. She turned to look at her best friend, who was still soundly asleep and started shaking her, attempting to wake her up. she knew nothing...NOTHING woke Stephanie up but she had to try...she had 7 more hours to try and she wasn’t one to give up so easily.

“Steph Steph Steph WAKE UP!” she yelled over and over again until she could see some movements from her sleeping friend.

“Ugh...what’s the matter Chri? I was dreaming about-” Steph muttered sleepily, unsure whether she was still asleep or not.

“I don’t care! I just remembered something!” Christine yelled, shaking Stephanie even more. “I can’t believe I haven’t asked you about this. I am such a bad friend!” she mumbled to herself finally letting go of Stephanie, who was looking at her friend with a confused expression in her sleepy eyes.

“What have you remembered?” Stephanie asked, rubbing her eyes and pouting, slightly pissed off at being woken up.

“What the hell was all that about?” Christine yelled, putting her hands on her hips and looking at her friend with her eyes narrowed.

“What was what about?” Steph asked, getting more and more annoyed.

“You and Ryo! Can you explain to me what happened between you two?” she asked, crossing her hands and pouting.

“Oh shoot...you don’t know...” Steph mumbled smiling uncomfortably.

“No I don't...now tell me did something happen between you two?” she asked, shifting in her seat, still looking at Steph.

“Well...actually...” Steph mumbled, feeling her cheeks blushing. She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t told her about all that had happened between them. Well ok of course she hadn’t told her about what happened between herself and Ryo. Christine was passing through some confusing times herself and she hadn’t felt like burdening her friend with her troubles. But now...it was another story. So Steph ended up telling Christine about how she’d ended up feeling something for Nishikido Ryo. How she obviously had to ruin it by rejecting him twice after he had confessed to her and how they’d ended up making out.

“YOU KISSED?” Christine shouted, her hazel eyes round, leaning forwards after she grabbed Steph’s shirt collar.

“Uh...yeah we did...” Steph mumbled, feeling slightly uncomfortable with this close proximity.

“I can’t believe you haven’t told me!” she shouted, acting slightly over dramatic. She tended to act over dramatic at times and honestly Steph had missed this part of her friend. It was kind of entertaining.

“So what if I haven’t told you? You had a lot to think of you know...and besides what the hell were you thinking? Making that stupid bet!” she yelled, flicking Christine’s forehead.

“Oh don’t you change the subject! And OUCH!” she yelled back, pulling Stephanie’s ear.

“OUCH! You know I hate it when people touch my head!” she yelled back, hitting her on the shoulder.

“OWW!” she yelled back, crossing her arms and frowning. “Fine, but we are still going to talk about you and Ryo...kissing in a tree....”

“It’s sitting...” Stephanie corrected.

“Oh whatever...” Christine said, frowning and waving her hands dismissively. “Tell me...more!” she said, inching closer.

“Ah look food is here!” Stephanie said, looking over Christine’s shoulder and grinning toothily. Good...because she was feeling hungry and food always put her in a better mood.

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“What are you going to say to him Pi?” Tegoshi asked, while trying to keep up with Yamapi’s long strides.

“I’m just going to demand an explanation for what he is doing.” Yamapi growled, balling up his fists and walking hurriedly down the corridor towards Johnny’s office.
“Go Pi go!” Shige cheered, also trying to keep up with him, almost tripping in Massu’s feet.

All the NewS members and the others had driven from the airport directly towards Johnny’s building. They had attracted quite a few people at the airport and the bodyguards felt it wasn’t safe anymore. To top it all off both Ryo’s and Yamapi’s credit cards had been blocked.

So now about fifteen Johnny’s and one girl were pounding down the corridor going straight towards Johnny’s office. Amy looked at Keii with a worried expression on her face. Could it be that Johnny was going to prevent them from seeing each other as well? She couldn’t imagine what they would have to go through if that were so. She didn’t want to have the same fate as Christine and Yamapi. Something inside of her told her that this wasn’t going to be easy. She hoped that she was wrong but she feared that they were underestimating Johnny’s power. She was surprised as well when he had blocked Yamapi’s credit cards, but she knew he was not going to let him go so easily to New York.

They suddenly arrived at their destination and Yamapi was breathing heavily. He tried to look calm but inside of him there was a range of emotions.

“I’m coming in there with you...” Ryo suddenly said, stepping beside him.

“What?” Yamapi blurted out. He wasn’t expecting Ryo to say that. He also wasn’t expecting Johnny to block his credit cards as well. It didn’t make sense to him since Ryo wasn’t involved with an- wait a second... he thought, widening his eyes as a sudden realisation hit him. “Are you going out with someone?” he asked, his voice slightly higher than usual.

“You are a seriously dense man.” Ryo muttered, shaking his head, feeling disappointed.

“What? Are you?”he asked, tilting his head slightly as if trying to think of a possible candidate. Then it finally hit him. “OH MY GOD!” he yelled, just as Ryo raised his hand and knocked on the door.

The others whispered a few rushed ‘good luck’s and all of them scrambled like frightened chickens. It felt as though there was some demon behind those doors and frankly it didn’t help calm the two men’s nerves.

“Come in.” They heard and it was then that they realised there was no turning back.

They opened the door and entered the large office. There behind his enormous desk, filled with papers and a computer, sat Johnny himself. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the two young men standing in front of him. He couldn’t control his lip from twitching into a slight smirk at the sight of them. “I see you haven’t given up even after this morning Yamapi...” he said, his voice dry and raspy.

“Of course I haven’t given up...and I see you haven’t given up either Johnny-san. I just want you to know that I am not going to give up easily either. You might have won the first battle but the war is still on. And seriously what do you expect me to do? I am not going to abandon my career but I need to settle things with her.” Yamapi said, balling up his fists in anger. He didn’t know what else to tell this man to convince him about his feelings.

“I have had a couple of problems with you Yamapi. Honestly I don’t know what to think but at least I know you still want to act and sing. I know you said I am not your father but I am your father when it comes to your career and I will not let you ruin it by having you run off to New York chasing after some girl. It’s about time you forgot this summer and moved on.” Johnny said, seemingly unaffected about this whole thing.

“When will you get it? I can’t forget! And I won’t forget. I have already told you that I still want to act. Honestly I don’t think how this can ruin my career if I go to New York for a couple of days...” he said, feeling somewhat hopeless in this situation. He desperately wanted to make things better and it was killing him that Johnny was keeping him here.

“How will I know you will return Yamapi?” Johnny asked. He knew he was being unfair to the boy but he also knew how much he was worth to him and his company. A lot rested on this young man and his promising acting career.

“Of course I will return! I have everything here, my family, my work, my friends...I just need to talk to her face to face.” He said, his breathing heavier.

“Also sir, I don’t understand why block my cards as well? And is that even legal?” Ryo asked, putting his hands on his hips. Honestly he wasn’t afraid of Johnny. He knew the man needed him to keep his company together and all it took to make him mad was a little scandal which could easily be orchestrated within minutes.

“Ah Nishikido... don’t you think I don’t know about your feelings for that girl...” Johnny said, smiling slightly wider.

Ryo frowned while Yamapi contained his gasp. So there really was a girl! Wait...the only girl Ryo could have possibly had contact with was...STEPH?! It couldn’t be Chri-pon...so it was definitely Steph! He turned to look at his friend with his mouth slightly open in shock. Then he re-composed himself since he realised this was not the moment for him to ask his best friend about the girl he’d supposedly hooked up with. Although he couldn’t help the slight pang of hurt he was feeling in his heart due to the fact that Ryo hadn’t told him anything.

“Tell you what...” Johnny suddenly said, breaking the short silence and making Yamapi look up at him with a surprised look on his face. “I have prepared a set of jobs for you to do, TV appearances, commercials, promotion for your new album and other things. If you do them I will let you go to New York for two weeks.” He said, putting up one finger and looking at Yamapi straight in the eyes.

“Three weeks.” Yamapi said, trying to get as much time with Christine as he could.

“Ok.”

“Deal. But Ryo has to come with me.” Yamapi said, looking quickly at Ryo and then back at Johnny.

“You can take anyone with you...but I have prepared jobs for everyone to ensure that you will all be busy.” Johnny said, smiling, his dark brown eyes glowing with satisfaction.

“Deal.” Yamapi and Ryo said, each of them determined to get through those jobs in the least time possible.

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“I can’t believe we are finally home...” Steph said, stretching her hands above her head while the two friends were walking out from the plane.

“Yeah...” Christine said, quickly fishing out her phone and trying to switch it on.

“Back then...when we were on the plane did you try and call Yamapi from the bathroom?” Stephanie asked, looking at Christine with a questioning look on her face.

“Uh...yeah but I got into a slight accident when I bumped my head against the door. Those bathrooms are too small man...” she mumbled, still fiddling with her phone.

“Did it work? Did you manage to talk to him?” she asked, trying to walk faster.

“No...there wasn’t any signal...” she said, pouting sadly.

“You can always try again now!” Stephanie said, hoping that Christine would be able to contact him sooner rather than later. Although she wondered what time it was in Japan at the moment.

Christine found Yamapi’s number and put her phone to her ear. She waited patiently for the ringing tone to start, her lips curling upwards in anticipation. She frowned when the message on the phone clearly said that this number did not exist. “How come it is telling me this number does not exist?” she said, looking at her phone and trying to call once more.

“Could it be that you have to add some kind of code before calling?” Stephanie asked, feeling relieved that they had passed through customs.

“Oh shit...that’s right...” Christine mumbled, hitting herself mentally for being so stupid. They were now waiting for the luggage to arrive. It had been a tiring flight and now all she wanted to do was sleep. They had decided to head directly towards their dorm since it was the closest to JFK.

“It was an amazing trip wasn’t it?” Stephanie said, while they were waiting outside for the cab to arrive.

“Yeah it was...I really need a shower and a bed now though...and to check my emails and facebook. Do you think I could try and send him an email using my account on yahoo? Do you think it might work?” she asked, turning to look at her best friend, trying to get some answers.

“Uh...what am I some Japanese mobile expert? I don’t know Chri, it could work though since they are both email accounts. Ah man I haven’t been on facebook for a long time either...I wonder what new games there are on pet society...I haven’t played it in so long...I wonder if the other girls knew we were coming today?” Stephanie talked really loudly, making Christine develop a rapid headache. Stephanie had slept on the plane but her hyperactivity was due to her actually being tired. She always talked too much when she got overtired. Proof that no one could really sleep well on a plane.

“Woah hold on Steph! Can you please stop talking so much? I have a headache and most probably the girls don’t know that we are coming today...we might actually give them a surprise!” Christine said, smiling. She was looking forward to see her friends again after almost three months.

The cab finally arrived and the two girls were on their way to their dorm room. It was seven in the evening by the time they arrived. Both of them had secretly missed their home country. The noisy streets, the swearing taxi drivers and their mother language as well. Also, the fact that they could finally understand what the street signs said was a huge improvement. They took out their luggage from the cab and after paying the fare they slowly walked up towards their dorm. They had missed their university. It was huge and its brick walls were almost welcoming them back home, that and the huge Starbucks sign which made both of them feel like having a quick banana chocolate with a nice chocolate chip muffin. That would have to wait though, since they were both physically and emotionally exhausted and they just wanted to arrive to their room and unpack.

The university they attended basically had several houses set on campus. The residential areas were divided according to how many people were staying together. Groups of two to four had apartments which were all situated in apartment buildings right on campus. Those students who had their siblings attending the collage before them and wished to stay with more than four people lived in a separate block where two apartments would be linked together. The girls all lived in this kind of building since nearly all of them had siblings who had attended the college before them.

Stephanie and Christine walked inside the halls and after taking an elevator they finally arrived at their floor. They walked in the corridor, pulling their luggage behind them.

“Girls!” someone called from behind them, making Stephanie and Christine turn around with a surprised look on their faces.

Both of them were shocked to see the young blonde, blue eyed boy running towards them. He stopped running and smiled. “When did you guys get back?” he asked, looking from one to the other.

“I...” Christine couldn’t bring herself to speak, he looked too much like Jesse it was amazing. No wonder they were brothers.

“We came a few hours ago, hey Max do me a favour and help us with the luggage...” Stephanie said, trying to cover up the fact that Christine was literally shocked to see Max in from of them.

Max smiled and nodded, “Yeah sure, so how are you guys? How did your trip go?” he asked, grabbing both suitcases and walking with them.

“It was ok.” Stephanie said, it was anonymously decided that she would be the one who did all the talking. It wasn’t hard for her but she half-wished she hadn’t asked the guy to help them with the luggage seeing that he was going to keep talking. “It was so amazing Max, you wouldn’t believe it! it’s totally a new different world! It felt like we were in some kind of movie, you know those movies shot abroad? And you see the streets and think wow wouldn’t it be awesome if I could be there and we were! It was amazing! I don’t think there is any other word which better describes how it was. Simply amazing. It’s funny I can’t think of any other word, isn’t it funny? When that happens? Does it ever happen to you Max?”

Max looked at Stephanie and stopped walking a bit, he was seriously trying to follow everything she said but she had lost him when she started talking about movies. “Uh...no not really...hey Chri, have you heard from my brother? I think he wants to talk to you. Does he know you arrived today?” he asked, looking at Christine, who by now had seriously considered making a run for it.

“Um...no he hasn’t contacted me.” She said, biting her lower lip, wanting to simply disappear.

“Oh ok I’ll tell him you got back then! He seemed upset about something so yeah you two should talk. Well here we are, it was nice meeting you girls, I should run now. I’ll see you around!” He said, smiling at them. He ran off leaving Christine and Stephanie standing in front of their apartment door.

“My life sucks...” Christine said while pouting sadly.

“Oh no it doesn’t...” Stephanie said automatically, trying to make her feel better. Christine looked at her while arching an eyebrow, making Stephanie sigh dejectedly. “Ok fine it does suck...” she said, before inserting the key into the lock.

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“Oh my God I am seriously so bored...” Rui said, lying on the sofa, her voice muffled by the cushions.

“I know me too, we should do something...” Mish said, frowning, standing near the sofa.

“What is there to do honestly?” Jacq said, sipping a glass of juice.

“How about we organise a party!” Dylan said, making all the girls look at her. “What? I know you guys all want to...” she added grinning. “Besides, next week we are going to start school and I think we all deserve a nice celebration before we go back in...I am so not looking forward to Mr Jackson’s class...he seriously gives me the creeps...”

“Hmm actually a party doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all...” Rui said, getting up from the sofa, her brown hair lying messily all around her face.

“See see! Let’s have some fun before we start the new scholastic year!” Dylan said, putting her hands on her hips. All the girls were rather pissed off that they had to start school so early, they had all wanted to stay at home with their families and go out with their friends. The fact that they were all there under one roof again meant that school was going to start which meant, stress, long nights and tonnes of chocolate!

“Where do you propose we have this party?” Yao Yin said, thinking quickly of a way to finish her piano practice before the party.

“I don’t know,” Dylan said, pouting her lips slightly, tugging onto her baseball cap trying to think of a suitable place.

“How about we do it on the roof? People rarely go up there so it might be a safe place, besides it’s not far either.” Jacq said, scratching behind her ear. She was looking forward to this party all of a sudden. It had just hit her that her holidays were over and she wasn’t ready to settle down and go back to studying just yet.

“This is going to be awesome!” Rui said, keeping her giggles down. She had spent a nice summer and it would be a great way to end it by having a party with all of her friends.

“The roof it is then!” Mish said, grinning widely. She was wondering if she could make Hyuk Jae go...

“Leave the drinks up to me! Daniel knows a guy and he will get them for us for a low price.” Dylan said, taking out her lime green phone from her pocket and texting her boyfriend.

“Hey guys do you think it would be dangerous to organise a party on the roof? Wouldn’t someone fall or something?” Nana said furrowing her eyebrows in worry. She did want to have a party but she didn’t want anyone to get hurt, especially since there was alcohol involved.

“Oh don’t worry about that!” Mish said, patting Nana on her back. “You always worry too much, you need to loosen up and have some fun!”

“Mish is right! Oh by the way Nana, have you received any response from that letter you sent?” Rui asked, looking at Nana, after fixing her hair in a ponytail. She was planning on going skateboarding later and she didn’t want her hair to stick out and make her lose her concentration.

“Ah no...not yet...” Nana said, frowning sadly. She had sent that application ages ago and it was making her feel worried that they hadn’t contacted her yet.

“Don’t sweat Nana! It will come sooner or later, so guys how about a themed party?” Dylan said, looking up from her phone.

“I reckon we should organise a sushi party! Since Chri and Steph will be back from Japan soon, plus I love sushi...” Jacq said, grinning toothily. She loved Japanese food and it would be a great excuse to have some at the party.

“Hmm...we could make people wear costumes like geisha’s and stuff...” Dylan said, tapping her chin, deep in thought.

“We should do it Saturday night since Chri and Steph will be arriving on Friday. That way they will be able to come to the party without still being jet lagged.” Mish said, getting up from the sofa and walking into the kitchen to get herself a glass of juice.

“That’s a good idea!” Yao Yin said, she would be able to finish all her piano practice by then. She grinned and pushed up her glasses over her nose. This party was going to be a lot of fun, she needed an excuse to have some fun especially since her parents had made her practice the piano all throughout her summer holidays.

“Ok Saturday it is, hey do you want to invite Mike?” Dylan asked, a smile forming on her lips. She already knew the answer to that so she successfully avoided a pillow which Yao Yin threw at her. She couldn’t control her giggles while grabbing another pillow and throwing it back. She missed Yao Yin and accidentally hit Jacq who immediately threw another pillow back at Dylan. Rui started giggling at the sight of the three girls fighting. Yao Yin turned to look at her and it was as if they had telepathically told each other to throw their pillows at their giggling friend. When Rui received three pillows right on her face she was so shocked she slipped onto the floor. It was then that Nana realised that she was the only person in the room who wasn’t involved in this war. She gulped when the three girls turned around to look away from Rui and each of them narrowed their eyes.

“Uh...ok guys...um...” Nana said, stepping slightly back, and then she quickly grabbed a pillow, shielding herself from the oncoming pillows.

The girls’ laughter could be heard throughout the apartment and when Mish came out from the kitchen sipping her juice she widened her eyes at the sight in front of her. She quickly walked back inside the kitchen to avoid spilling her juice on the floor or getting hit in the face by a flying pillow.

They didn’t hear the key turning in the lock, and the footsteps coming inside the apartment. Stephanie and Christine were greeted by an amusing sight in front of them. The girls were all having a huge pillow fight, with Mish joining in the fun as well. Pillows were flying everywhere and just as Christine was about to open her mouth to shout a hello a pillow came flying towards her face and hit her squarely on the nose. She fell backwards onto the floor, making a loud thump.

The girls all stopped laughing and throwing pillows at each other. They widened their eyes in shock when they saw Stephanie looking at something on the floor and then at them with an equally shocked expression on her face.

“Steph!” Rui and Yao Yin shouted, getting up from the floor. Jacq, Mish and Nana looked at Stephanie still unable to say anything. They looked almost as if they had seen a ghost.

“When did you get here?” Dylan asked, her baseball cap no longer on her head, her curly hair messily falling around her shoulders.

“Uh...me and Chri landed a few hours ago...” she said, looking back down at the floor.

“Chri is here too? Where is she?” Nana asked, looking around, unable to spot Christine anywhere. They couldn’t see what Stephanie was looking at since she was standing behind the sofa.

They suddenly saw a hand appear from behind the sofa and heard a few mutterings. Finally Christine appeared from behind the sofa, her hand covering her nose. “Fuck that hurt...” she muttered, closing her eyes tightly, suddenly feeling slightly light headed.

“Oh crap!” Mish said as all the girls rushed to help their friend get up.

“Hey guys...” Christine said in a soft voice, her hand still on her nose.

“Oh my God you guys are back!” Rui suddenly shouted, hugging both girls at the same time.

“You owe us an explanation missy!” Dylan suddenly said, looking at Christine and crossing her hands.

“Explanation?” Christine said, her hand still on her nose, making her talk in a nasal tone.

“Yeah! Like explaining what actually happened in Tokyo?” Mish said, narrowing her eyes at her friend. She couldn’t believe Christine hadn’t told her she was staying with a bunch of Japanese idols. Even after she had called her!

“Um...” Christine said, feeling tears welling up in her eyes because her nose was stinging her slightly.

“Ok ok give her some space girls...let’s make her sit down...then bombard her with questions...” Rui said, pulling Christine up from the floor and shoving her to sit on the sofa.

“I told you they would be mad...” Steph said, going into the kitchen to get herself something to drink.

“Uh...ok guys...I’ll explain everything I promise just give me some time to settle down...” She said, rubbing her head since it had started throbbing.

“Do you want something to drink? Or eat?” Jacq asked looking at her friend with a worried expression on her face.

“No I’m fine...” Christine said, sighing, resting her hands on her knees. “OK I’ll tell you everything.” She said, looking up at the girls.

The girls squealed in excitement and all huddled close to her, some sitting on the floor and some sitting on the sofa next to Christine, all of them eager to hear what had happened in Tokyo.

So Christine began to say how she found out she was staying with NEWS for the summer. How things didn’t exactly go as planned, how Jin had taken those photos , how she had gotten beaten up, how she almost drowned, how she had fallen in love.

“So those rumours really were true...” Nana said in a soft voice, looking up at Christine with huge shocked eyes.

“I can’t believe it!” Dylan suddenly shouted, hitting her palm on the carpet. “You are going out with an idol and you didn’t even mention anything? And who is this Yamashita?” she asked, looking at the other girls. “Is he that turtle guy?” she asked, looking at all the girls around her.

“No no, this is probably one of the most famous idols in Japan!” Jacq said, looking at Dylan with a disapproving look. She had tried so hard to show her videos of her favourite Japanese bands but had failed to make Dylan truly appreciate them. She just wasn’t into pop.

“I can’t believe you hooked up with....YAMAPI!” Rui said, looking at Christine with a shocked expression on her face. This was not what she had had in mind when her friend said she was going to go to Japan. She wished she had gone instead of her, now more than ever. It seemed as though she’d had the time of her life but then...why did she look so sad?

Christine smiled slightly, feeling a pain in her heart when she heard his name. She didn’t know if they were even together anymore.

“It must have been hard to have to come back home and leave him behind wasn’t it?” Mish said in a sympathetic voice. Sure Christine must have had the time of her life in Tokyo, minus the getting beaten up part, but it must have been very hard for her to have to leave after experiencing so much.

“It was...and it still is...” Christine said, pouting sadly she sniffed after feeling something warm about to trickle down her nose.

“Awww Chri!” Yao Yin said, suddenly feeling very sad for her friend. She reached out and hugged her, ruffling her curly hair. She couldn’t possibly imagine what Christine had gone through, even though she felt slightly jealous that her friend had got to meet all those stars. “I’m still glad you are back.” She said, smiling slightly, hoping her friend wasn’t going to feel like this for long.

“Hey guys maybe Yamapi will actually come to New York!” Jacq said, looking at all the girls with a hopeful look in her eyes.

“Yeah right, does he even know about to speak English?” Dylan commented, rolling her eyes.

Christine bit her bottom lip to hide her smile since she remembered that time on the beach when she had decided to teach Yamapi English. Now that she thought about it she wondered how no one had seen them...

“Chri!” Mish suddenly said in a horror stricken voice.

“What?” she asked, breaking from her daydream and looking at Mish, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

“Your nose is bleeding...” Mish said, pointing at Christine’s nose.

“Oh crap!” she said, covering her nose with one hand and getting up from the sofa in search of a tissue. Steph went with her to help her.

“That was some summer Chri had...” Rui said, resting her back against the sofa.

Jacq had gone up from the floor and followed Christine, making sure she was ok. “Yeah it was...I think she is still not telling us something...what exactly are they now though?” Mish said, looking at the girls with a worried expression on her face.

“Yeah...she said she didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to him...” Yao Yin said, frowning sadly.

“I think we need to take her out to a club and make her forget about this whole shit that’s been happening to her. Besides...do you guys think she is completely over the guy I can’t stand to even name?” Dylan said leaning forwards so as not to shout.

“Who Jesse?” Nana whispered, looking at the girls, her brown eyes still wide. It was too much information to process all at once. She couldn’t imagine how she would be feeling had she been in the same position.

“I told you I hate him so much that I don’t even want to say his name!” Dylan hissed, frowning deeply.

“Ah sorry...” Nana said, bowing her head slightly.

“I honestly don’t think this is going to be over just like that...” Rui said, crossing her hands.

“Who are you talking about? Jesse or Yamapi?” Yao Yin asked, turning to look at Rui, completely ignoring Dylan’s growl at the mention of Jesse’s name yet again.

Rui smiled slightly and said, “Both.”

Christine was fidgeting in the bathroom trying to find a tissue she could put in her nose in order to stop the bleeding.

“Here you go.” Steph said, handing her a rolled up tissue and making her stick it up her nose.

Christine lifted her head up and shoved the tissue paper into her nose in an attempt to stop the bleeding. “Did I get blood over my shirt?” she asked in a slightly nasal tone, her head still looking up at the ceiling in order to prevent any more blood from flowing out.

“No no you are good.” Jacq said, looking at Christine’s shirt.

They got out of the bathroom and headed back down towards the living room where the girls were still huddled. When Christine walked down the last step there was a knock on the door. She turned around and walked towards it completely forgetting the fact that she had a tissue stuck up her nose. She opened the door and didn’t even have time to say anything when she felt two hands wrap around her.

She widened her eyes in shock and only a single word came out from her mouth. She gasped and in a small, breathless voice uttered, “Jesse?”

Winter In New York

Having spent a summer which she would never forget, gave Christine Cole something to think about during her winter back home.  She had never expected the things which happened to her to actually happen.  I mean...come on.  Who in the world, wins a competition, is flown to Japan, meets one of the hottest boy bands there, gets to live with them and falls in love with one of them? 

It’s just like a dream isn’t it?

Well in this story the dream ends and reality begins.

Will Christine be able to salvage her relationship even though she is miles away from the one she loves?

Will her past come back to haunt her and make her even more confused?

How will her friends react to her becoming a celebrity in Japan...for all the wrong reasons?

What will happen when something unexpected happens, and changes their lives drastically?

Like I said, the dream ends now, welcome to reality.

Winter in New York

Introductory Message

Hey guys!
My name is Christine and I love to write and edit videos.
I have decided to start posting my stories here as well!
I hope you will like this new idea. I used to post them on winglin but now I will start posting them here as well.
Comments and criticisms are appreciated.
xxx