Once in a Lifetime: (Becky) (Unnamed Duo Book 1)

by Luana Ferraz

  “I don’t have your phone number,” I say suddenly.

  He reaches out his hand and I give him my phone. He punches his number in and then texts himself.

  “Now you have, and I have yours.”

  I open the messaging app to see what he wrote. You’re my favorite brother. And he saved his name as ‘Best Hackley’. I chuckle.

  “True,” I confess, making him laugh. “You can call me, you know?” I continue, desperately wanting to let him know he can. “Or text me. Anytime. For any reason. I’ll always pick up.”

  He nods, smiling sadly again. He looks down, biting his lip, and when he speaks again, his voice is just a whisper.

  “Do you think we can be friends?”

  I glance at Pete, who is still talking to Tyler. My heart breaks a little.

  “Well, I’m sure you can call and text him, too,” I say.

  He looks up, frowning. Then he does the same thing I did and glances at Pete. When he looks back at me, he’s wearing his trademark smile.

  “I was talking about you and me, Becks,” he says.

  “Oh!” My eyes widen and my skin heats up. Two friends on the same day? “I thought we already were.”

  His smile broadens, as if it’s even possible, and then hugs me. I let him, even though I feel awkward and embarrassed.

  “What’s up?” Tyler interrupts us, sitting beside me. And startling me. “Ah, I see you’re back to your jumpy state.”

  I don’t even have time to answer, as he kisses my lips and sneaks a hand around my waist. I look around and notice some people watching. People that look like fans. I get restless.

  “What?” he asks when I try to break away from his embrace. “Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?”

  I look at him and smirk, because I want to say I am. Then he narrows his eyes and pulls me closer. He buries his face in my neck and snaps a picture with his phone.

  “You’re not posting that online, are you?” I ask a little too panicked.

  “No,” he smiles. And then looks at the pic.

  We look… adorable. I mean, we look like we’ve come from different universes—his cut-clean, pretty features are such a contrast against my heavy make-up and poorly dyed hair. Still…

  “Hey, look at this place I’ve found.” He closes our photo before I can ask him to send it to me and opens a webpage. Then he shows it to Tristan. “It’s near the venue we’re playing tomorrow, we could go before soundcheck.”

  Tristan stares at him suspiciously for a few seconds before taking his phone and scrolling down the page.

  “I don’t know. I’m not really in the mood to go sightseeing,” he sighs, handing back Tyler’s phone.

  “That’s the best mood to go sightseeing,” Tyler replies, earning yet another suspicious look.

  Tristan mumbles a ‘maybe’ and then gets up and away from us.

  “You get an ‘E’ for effort,” I smile. He rolls his eyes. “Will I ever see you again?”

  He turns to me with that frowning surprise I’m already so familiar with. I enjoy seeing how I still catch him off guard.

  “You know where I live,” he says in that sweet tone that stirs something inside me. “I’d love to give you a tour of Clivesdale like you gave me one of Alnwick. Although we have no castles.”

  “Bummer,” I pout.

  “We could be the opening act of your American tour,” he continues, grinning.

  “If we ever get one,” I snort.

  “When,” he corrects me.

  I look at him. He smiles. My smile.

  “We’re going to see each other again,” he says after a while. It sounds like a promise. I want to ask him to not do that, but I can’t. So I kiss him. While I still can.

  He’s right, anyway. Eventually, he’ll come back to England. Eventually, I’ll go to America. Eventually... we’ll meet again.

  ***

  My flight is called in the sound system. I see Pete and Lindsey getting up and starting to say goodbye, so I do the same. I wave from a distance to Todd and Jake. I don’t get away with it, though, as Jake makes his way to me and hugs me. I let him. He’s a cool guy.

  Next, I hug Tristan. I realize that in addition to the killer smile, he has a killer hug. He whispers a ‘see you soon’ in my ear, that I don’t dare to answer.

  I then walk to Seth and Neil and hug them, too.

  “Don’t forget your homework,” Neil says when he lets me go.

  “See you in two weeks,” I say back. He winks. He’s my manager.

  I turn around to find Tyler waiting for his turn. I walk into his arms, letting him hug me and hugging him back. Just then I realize we never shared a hug like this. What a shame. He also has a killer one.

  We don’t say anything to each other. We don’t even kiss. We just hug, smile, and I walk away. And that’s it. It’s over. I’m going home.

  Pete and Lindsey are already waiting when I turn around. Pete holds my hand as we walk.

  “I want to go home,” he says, for only me to hear. I look at him. “Home home.”

  “Okay,” I squeeze his hand. “Me, too. We can write those new tunes in my living room piano.”

  He smiles, bright and wide. A Pete smile. “That sounds good.”

  We take our seats on the plane—Pete and me together. I reach out to squeeze Lindsey’s shoulder in the front. She pats my hand. When I sit back, Pete is looking at me. I shrug. He throws his arm over my shoulder.

  “You know what I was thinking?” he says after a while.

  “Yes,” I answer. He gives me a suspicious look. “No.”

  He rolls his eyes.

  “We really need a name now,” he says.

  “Oh, God,” I complain, already anticipating the never-ending discussions we’ll have about this in the next few weeks.

  “I already have a few ideas,” he grins.

  “Of course you do,” I roll my eyes.

  “Don’t be like that,” he argues. “I’m not the one who comes up with crap suggestions.”

  “Hey!” I punch his shoulder. “My suggestions aren’t crap!”

  We banter back and forth for a while until the air hostess asks for everyone to put their mobiles in flight mode. I take out my phone and, instead of doing that, I text Tyler.

  ‘When?’

  I regret it as soon as I hit send. But I can’t stop staring at the screen.

  The tick turns blue and he starts to type. My heart races.

  ‘We’ll have a tour break in two weeks' time. Sounds good?’

  I read it over a few times before I reply.

  ‘Yep.’

  He starts to type. Then pauses. Then types again. He can’t decide what to say, and I get anxious.

  ‘I can’t believe you already miss me’ it reads. There’s also a smirk emoji, for good measure.

  Idiot. I smile and reply with the emoji rolling its eyes. But, then, I answer.

  ‘I do.’

  Cheesy queen. But what is the point in hiding it? Something has happened over the last two weeks. Something that I can’t yet explain, something really scary. Something that makes me miss him only five minutes after saying goodbye.

  Right when I hit the flight mode button on my phone, it buzzes.

  ‘I already miss you, too.’

  GET SOME EXTRAS ABOUT THIS STORY

  This book has a playlist! Click here or search for the book’s title on Spotify to find it and listen to the songs that inspired this story.

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  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Once upon a time, a younger version of me stumbled across what they called “fanfiction”. As someone who had always loved to write, but who also had always had a hard time creating believable characters, fanfiction was the answer to all of my writing hurdles. Once in a Lifetime started like that, possibly more than 20 years ago. So, thanks to all those fanfic writers that opened the doors to a whole new world and somehow helped this story come to life two decades later.

  Also, thanks to the band who inspired the original idea. Without them, there would be no story. They’re also responsible for making me find the best people in this world, who I’m lucky enough to call friends–so thank you for that, too.

  Speaking of those friends, I owe perhaps the biggest thank you to them–everyone at FDM Publishing Inc. for encouraging me, pushing me, reading all my raw first drafts, and pointing out where I can do better. They’re the reason there’s a whole other book from Pete’s POV. They hated first-draft Tyler with a passion, and are probably rolling their eyes at the previous paragraph. You know who to blame, don’t you?

  A very special thanks to my beautiful writer/editor friend Marina, who was my soundboard throughout this whole process. Thanks for the writing sessions, the late-night discussions, the guidance when I was lost, and for showing me the trick to conquering writer’s block. I’m honored to share one brain cell with you.

  Thank you to the lovely Beatriz, president of Pete’s fan club and curator of this book’s playlist. Her pop-punk love was what inspired the nameless duo (and Becky’s purple hair). Thank you for your endless enthusiasm and for always having my back. I’m not sure I would have come this far if it wasn’t for your faith in me.

  A heartfelt thanks to my beta-reading team, who provided me with amazing feedback in record time! I’ll never be able to express how grateful I am for your support. Working with you all was a dream, and I hope this is only the beginning of our partnership.

  And lastly, as always, thank YOU! A writer is nothing without a reader, so thank you for allowing me to tell you my stories. Until the next time–be safe!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Luana Ferraz is a Brazilian writer and translator. She currently lives in São Paulo, but her mind wanders everywhere.

  She’s graduated in translation and interpretation and has been working in this area for years. She loves translation, as for her it’s nothing more than reinterpreting stories, but her greatest passion is telling stories of her own.

  Luana has been writing and creating stories for as long as she can remember. Her first creative work was a series of comics on a thief that wore a beanie and always ended up in jail. She was seven years old.

  As a teenager, she started writing poems and even music–the quality of which was very questionable. She discovered fanfiction and ventured into that for a while, until she found out how to create her own characters.

  She’s usually found wearing headphones and typing–on her computer, phone or just writing down an idea on the Disney-themed notepad she keeps in her purse.

  She’s probably writing right now.

  MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR

  Welcome to New York

  Once in a Lifetime (Pete)