The premiere

Come on, answer, I cannot wait anymore. I know it’s early but I had to share the news with Adam. Adam is my best friend. We met on our first year in college and have been best friends ever since. Even though I am gay and he is... something, we have never hooked up or even gotten close to hooking up. Yes, I had feelings for him at some point, if you must know, but that was only for a second, in between pining for my now ex and I have not given it thought since. Well, except maybe now since I brought it up. But I digress, this is not the story of Adam and me, who by the way is almost 3000 miles away while I am house sitting for my uncle in Greece, this is all about...

The laptop screen flashes as the Skype call connects.

All I can see is his face, his room is dark, and he appears to have only just woken up. ‘Hey bud, what's up?’ he mumbles.

‘Why are you still asleep? Is it not like midday in London right now?’

‘How many times do I need to explain this to you? You are two hours ahead of me, not the other way around.’ He is right, I always confused what time zone each of us is on or how time zones work in general. I should have checked, I guess, but I just had to share the news. ‘It's 5:32 in the morning, is everything OK, you seem distraught.’

I wish I could tell him that everything was OK, that my life had not completely changed over the last 10 minutes but I couldn't. Life as I knew it was never going to be the same.

‘So I woke up early to see the sunrise’

‘Glad you finally did it', he interrupts

‘and then I decided to get an early head start on my day and start work on my manuscript, but I got distracted by this very critical fundraiser’

‘Of course’, he ALWAYS interrupts

‘As I was saying, I made my donation and went to check my emails to see if it has gone through, and lo and behold, as I type the name of the organisation I see at the bottom of my screen an email I had never read. From ZACHARY BLACKBURN!' I realise that I yelled his name as all the waiters in the tavern next to the balcony I am currently at turn to look at me, but I HAD to yell his name as he is the most famous movie star of all time and my biggest celebrity crush for almost 20 years and forever number one on my “celebrities I can sleep with list”. Adam looks at me expectantly as I am distracted by one of the cute waiters.

‘And? What did the email say?’, his question snaps me back to reality.

‘It said that I had won a ticket to the Los Angeles premiere of his movie way back in 2019 and since I read it I cannot think of anything else.’

‘Is that it?'

‘What do you mean is that it? I just told you that I missed the greatest opportunity of my life. The opportunity to fly to LA and attend the premiere of the highest grossing movie of all time. With ZACHARY BLACKBURN' I realise that I have raised my voice again so I dial it down before the waiters turn to look at me, again. ‘ We would have walked the red carpet together and I would have met his co-stars and then in his most critical scene, you know which one I mean' he nods ‘ I would look at him gasping the same way I looked at you when we saw it the first time and he would smile back and his eyes would say “I know right?” and following the film he would take me to all the after parties and it would have been the best day ever.

‘Are you done?’

‘I think so, yeah’

‘So let me get this straight. You are on your uncle’s house, in Greece, enjoying the summer sun and spending your $20,000 advance on your manuscript and all you can think of is an email you missed from two years ago? And on top of that you wake me up at 5:32 in the morning?’

‘I'm sorry. I guess I should have dealt with the trauma of not meeting Zachary Blackburn on my own. I should have not shared my pain with my self proclaimed best friend’

‘Don’t get all overdramatic on’ he tries to interrupt but I will not allow it this time

‘no, no, you’re right, you should go back to sleep. I will probably call you at some point when the pain subsides' I say in my most overdramatic tone ‘or maybe never bother you again’ I let a tear roll down my cheek. I discovered that I can cry on command a few years back and have used it on every opportunity available but Adam knows me too well to work on him.

‘fake tears, wow’

I knew that would not work on him.

‘Goodbye, Adam’ I say with my voice quivering.

‘I love you too’ he says and I drop a smile before I hang up.

I wipe off my tears and go back in the house to grab some lotion as the sun is already turning too harsh for my pale skin. I notice on my bed a little black notebook that does not belong to me. I wonder how it got there, maybe the house cleaners? I curiously pick it up and as I open the first page a blinding light beams from the book.

I open my eyes and suddenly the book is gone. And I am no longer in my uncle’s house. I am in what I can only assume is a hotel room. I pick up my phone and as I open the screen I freeze. The date is April 19th, 2019. I stand up and immediately run towards the windows. I am in Los Angeles. There is a knock on the door. Am I hallucinating? Is this a dream? I cautiously open the door and my jaw drops to the floor. It's Zachary Blackburn. At my door. At my hotel suite, where I am apparently at. In Los Angeles. In 2019. Wait, is this...?

‘Hey, we will be leaving in an hour, I need to do some press, so meet you in the lobby in 45?’ I am star struck and trying to absorb all that is happening, what Zachary Blackburn, Zachary Blackburn of all people, is telling me. My phone buzzes and I glance to see Adam’s name on the screen. I notice Zachary Blackburn sees that I am distracted and I snap back to reality.

‘You got all that?’ he asks in a friendly yet serious tone

I did not hear a thing but I nod in agreement. As soon as Zachary Blackburn is out of the room I answer Adam's facetime.

‘Yo, how’s LA been?

‘I am having the weirdest day of my life.’

‘Have you met him yet?’

‘He was just here. Gave me some instructions but I don’t think I heard a single thing.’ I am about to explain to him what is happening but I hesitate. How can I explain when I don’t even understand what’s happening to me? I feel completely lost, I’m in Los Angeles waiting to go to the premiere with Zachary Blackburn, ZACHARY BLACKBURN, and at the end of the day, who cares how I got here or if it’s a dream or hallucination? I am here, at the Premiere, and I’m going to enjoy it.

‘Listen, Adam, I have to get ready’

‘Man, I wish I was there with you’, he replies

‘I wish you were here’, I respond. I really do.

I think it would be easier if he was here. I have shared most of the big events in my life with Adam and this is possibly the first thing I’m doing without him in my adult life. I mean other than moving to Greece for the summer but that was more of a necessity. I was helping my uncle, I wasn’t running away from anything. Not Adam, because he introduced me to his first boyfriend right before I asked my uncle to use his house for the summer, like I said, this is not a story about Adam and me, this is a story of how I went to premiere, obviously...

I head down to the lobby and there he is, the biggest movie star time and he looks so glamorous yet oddly normal. And I am totally not thinking about Adam and what he wore when we went to watch the film together. No, this is all about Zachary Blackburn. We get to his car, and I squeeze between his assistant and stylist as he sits comfortably on the other side and I have to admit this is not how I was expecting my first ride to a Premiere. I quickly pull out my phone and text Adam just that.

When we arrive at the theatre it’s quite chaotic and I wish I had listened to what Zachary Blackburn told me back at the hotel. He steps out of the vehicle and there he is, the movie star. I walk the red carpet with his assistant who has me on a very tight lease, perhaps that is what he told me at the hotel. Zachary Blackburn is there, sort of, he is doing press and meeting his fans and I cannot believe that I am here, instead of there, with them, the rest of his fans. I snap some photos and send the best ones to Adam, including one with Zachary Blackburn in the far background. We head inside and my fantasy comes true, I am sitting next to him. I wait patiently for the scene to come up, waiting for him to see my reaction to his big scene, but when the time comes I turn to him but he’s too absorbed to notice. I decide to text Adam, but before I click send I realise he has not seen the film yet in this timeline and probably should not spoil it for him. I get a lot of angry looks for the light emanating from my phone and I guess this is the first time they are watching the film so it is a big deal for them. I understand and hide my phone. Once the film finishes, I text Adam only three emoji to wet his appetite, mind blown emoji, followed by the screaming emoji and a blue heart emoji. He won't know what they mean now but eventually he will. Zachary Blackburn approaches me.

‘You do realise you spent the entire evening texting your friend right? Did you enjoy the film?’ It hadn’t registered up to this moment, not before Zachary Blackburn asked, but that’s when I realised this IS the story of Adam and me. I thank Zachary Blackburn and quickly take a selfie before I run back to the hotel.

Thankfully the little black book is on the bed. I turn the pages open and a blinding light appears again.

As I snap back to my uncle's house, I quickly text Adam but not before noticing that the selfie of Zachary and I is my screensaver.

‘I’m glad I watched the film with you instead of Zachary Blackburn and if it was up to me I would watch all films with you . I guess what I’m saying is that I like you, as more than a friend. I hate doing this by text but it is 5:37 and I don’t want to wake you again’

5 seconds later he responds.