Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The Premiere
“Hey Baby, I just wanted to say- Shut up bro! Not you, Jonas was just- I know I missed the turn, we’re fucking turning- Anyway, I wanted to say good luck tonight at the premiere and I can’t wait to get home. Sorry I can’t be there, but we’ll do a private screening later- Stop laughing at me. Yeah yeah, eyes on the road. No, I’m not going to wreck Mahdi’s new car. No way! I’m a great driver. Shit! What was that? Even I’ve got to—” Click.
“You have no new messages. To replay your messages, press one. To see the time and date—”
***
Come on. Pick up Isak.
“You’ve reached Isak… or Even’s second voicemail because he never answers his own. Leave a message and maybe we’ll get back to you.”
Shit.
“Dude, you okay?” Even looked up to see the whole Hei Briskeby team staring at him. He had almost forgot he wasn’t the only one in the limo. It wasn’t as if Elias, Yousef, Mikael, Adam and Mutta were the quietest people in the world, but, when it came to Isak, it was as if they were the only two people on the planet. Everything else was just the backtrack to their own home movie.
From his spot next to Even, Elias moved a little closer to try and get a look at Even’s phone screen. He was seconds short, as the screen snapped back to black. No need to worry everyone else on their big night.
Even put on the smile he was used to wearing from years of faking it through his worst days. It probably wasn’t important. Maybe they’d blown a tire or missed another sign. It was better Isak didn’t answer while he was driving. Safer even. Things were totally fine. Just keep telling yourself that, Even.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” It wasn’t like he could turn back and head home. Thousands of people were waiting for him to show up at the big premier of his second picture Minutt for Minutt. After his first critically acclaimed film, The Boy Who Couldn’t Hold His Breath Underwater, the world was waiting to see what director Even Bech Næsheim had in store. Partnered with his old friends’ film company, Hei Briskeby, named after their old YouTube channel, the world was anticipating another poignant love story for everyone to spend the next half a year fawning over. It was a lot of pressure to live up to. It was moments like this where he needed Isak to be there telling him to breathe. That Even wasn’t alone.
It wasn’t that Isak hadn’t wanted to be there. He had, very much so. It had been Even that told him to go and pick up Jonas Vasquez from Sweden. Jonas had been detained there for just over a month after a protest gone wrong in Stockholm. This wasn’t the first time that something like this had happened to their friend, but it was the longest. After high school, Jonas had become more vocal about his political opinions, mostly about capitalism and the distribution of wealth. He’d joined multiple protest groups and pushed for change. Some people didn’t like that. Personally, Even though his efforts were admirable. So today, Even had figured Jonas probably needed a friend more than he needed his boyfriend. Now, he was second guessing that judgement.
Even was jolted once again out of his thoughts by Mikael loudly announcing to the group that the limo had arrived at the theater. Mikael’s face was pushed up so far against the car window that he almost fell out as the chauffer opened the door for them. Yousef caught his arm as he teetered forward, preventing a scene. Yousef was good for that. Level headed and outwardly calm. His friends knew that he was really a nervous kid at heart, but no one could tell by just looking at him. It’s what made him so likeable.
It wasn’t long after the group exited the vehicle that Even put the phone call in the back of his mind. As soon as their feet hit the red carpet, flashing lights of cameras were in their faces and microphones from reporters were being shoved in their faces. It took all of Even’s brain power to try and keep the words coming at him straight. He didn’t have time to think about anything else.
“Mr. Bech Næsheim, how will you top the success of your first film?”
“Over here! Who are you wearing tonight?”
“Even! There’s rumours going around that you will be turning that young journalist, Noora Sætre’s life story into a movie. Can you confirm or deny?”
“Is it true that this film is based on your own life?”
Even felt a gentle arm on his shoulder, whisking him away from the chaos. “We’ve got to keep moving. Excuse us.” Yousef had just saved him from the bombardment of the press simply by flashing a smile. Just in time too because Even was beginning to feel like he was drowning there.
As the pair walked in brisk strides, Yousef leaned over and asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Even nodded, raising his eyebrows slightly in emphasis, but it was obvious Yousef wasn’t buying it. Despite this, he didn’t say anything more on the subject. Yousef waited in silence for Even to decide to talk to him about it.
“I got a weird voicemail from Isak,” Even replied after a beat between them. He had to talk about it. He needed someone else to assure him he was over-thinking everything.
“How weird?”
“It just ended, like, in a rush. And now I can’t get a hold of him. It’s been four hours since he called and I haven’t heard anything.”
Even couldn’t read Yousef’s expression. “Did you try calling Jonas?” Yousef asked.
Even shook his head. He hadn’t thought about that. But he couldn’t do it here. He had to get inside. As if Yousef was reading Even’s mind, he nodded towards the door. “The showing starts in twenty minutes anyway. Let’s go.”
Yousef and Even stayed towards the middle of the carpet, trying to avoid fans and microphones being shoved in their faces. Just another twenty feet to go. You can do this Even. You can-
“We’ve got to get through!”
“You and all the rest of the fans here.”
“Look, We’re not just fans, okay?”
“I know you. You’re that little reporter who runs that shitty gossip blog!”
“Fuck you!”
“Magnus, focus!”
“No way, dude! He— Fine! Even!”
“Even, it’s Mahdi and Magnus. We need to talk!”
Even turned to see Mahdi Disi and Magnus Fossbakken struggling to get past a security guard, who was doing everything in his power to prevent them from stepping foot onto the red carpet. Weird. They should have been at Mahdi’s restaurant waiting for Isak and Jonas. All four of them were supposed to be at the after-party later that night.
Even rushed over to the stanchion and leaned around the guard. “It’s okay. They’re with me,” he said. After a moment of contemplation, the security guard stepped aside. Mahdi and Magnus slipped under the rope.
“Where are Isak and Jonas?” Even asked.
Mahdi and Magnus looked over at each other, then back at Even. It was as if practiced. Like they’d been planning on how to say whatever they had come to say the whole way there. Even’s stomach sank.
If Magnus and Mahdi were about to get to a point, or say anything at all, they didn’t have a chance. The pair was cut short by Yousef, Elias, Mikael, Mutta and Adam crowding around them. Now everyone was watching them, wanting to know what was going on in the middle of the red carpet.
“Hey boys! What’s with the sad faces? It’s a party!” Mutta shouted, waving at a few fans nearby, causing the crowd to cheer back at him.
“Where are Isak and Jonas?” Adam asked.
Magnus leaned in, lowering his voice as low as he couple while still being heard through the crowd, “They never got here. Neither of them were answering texts or calls. And then,” Magnus looked down at the ground, “Mahdi got a call from the police.”
“They found my car abandoned on the road an hour from here,” Mahdi told Even.
“So maybe they ran out of gas?” Mikael suggested.
“Or had like any car trouble?” Elias added.
Magnus nudged Mahdi, who looked over at him. The two seemed to be in a silent conversation for a moment, with Magnus making gestures at Mahdi, who just shook his head in response. Magnus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He then pulled Even away from the rest of the group.
“We wanted to tell you this later but, shit, Even, I don’t know if it’s something to worry about but, you need to know and—”
“Magnus, just say it.” The world was spinning too fast for Even now. He closed his eyes to try and steady himself, the sound of his heart only seeming to ring in his ear louder.
“The keys were still in the car.”
“What?”
“They were still in the car. It was still running. All of their stuff was still in it… just not… them.” Magnus moved to hug Even, as if to tell him things were going to be okay, but Even brushed past him. Magnus stood dumbfounded as Even moved like a zombie away from the theater, towards the street. Even needed answers. He needed someone to know the answers.
“Even! Where are you going?” Elias called after him.
“I’ve got to find them.” The crowd had gone quiet, with whispered murmurs between them. It was obvious now to everyone in attendance that something wasn’t right with the boys on the red carpet.
“Wait!” Elias looked over at Yousef. Yousef was already making a move to prevent more of a scene.
Yousef moved in front of Even, grabbing him by the shoulders. “You can’t go that way. We’ve got to go inside and call a car.”
“We don’t have time,” Even tried to shrug Yousef off, but it only caused Yousef to hold on tighter.
“We’ll call this whole thing off and go with you but if you walk away like this, everyone will start asking questions and making up solutions that only cause more problems.”
“For all we know they got out to stretch their legs and forgot to take the keys. Adam does it all the time” Elias tried to offer as he walked over to the pair, ignoring Adam’s objections from behind them.
“Come on,” Yousef said as he let go of Even. Elias put his arm around the Even and nodded to the rest of the boys to follow. Even as the cameras flashed, and people called their name, all Even could hear was Isak’s voice in his head; how Isak’s voice had cut off mid sentence, the joking tone halted between him and Jonas. And now, Isak was gone.