The tires rolled to a smooth stop. Lucas peeked out of the cab window, smiling at Max who stood by the college gates with his heart pounding. Moments later, Max was helping Lucas out of the cab, throwing a smile back. Just as Tik's car pulled up, Max didn't realize he was skipping class for something... or someone.
---
Max and Lucas reached Max's apartment. It wasn't anything fancy from the outside, but the inside was warm, spacious, and beautifully arranged. Lucas looked around with subtle awe as Max helped him settle in, placing his luggage near the couch.
"Want a quick tour?" Max asked with a grin.
Lucas nodded, and they began. Room by room, Max introduced everything — from the kitchen filled with little sticky notes to his bedroom that looked like a peaceful cave of art and books. But Lucas's feet stopped when he saw a photo frame placed on the shelf.
It was a girl. A familiar girl.
"Who's she?" Lucas asked, pointing. "Your sister?"
Max stiffened for a second but smiled quickly. "Yeah. My twin sister. She used to live here too... but now she's abroad. Probably not coming back."
Lucas looked at the photo again, nodding slowly. "You both look... very alike."
Max chuckled nervously. "Yeah, people used to confuse us a lot."
They moved on to a different room — one with darker lighting and shelves loaded with books, crafts, and small treasures. "This is my hobby room," Max explained. "It has all my personal stuff."
Lucas's eyes widened. There were paintings, a whole rack of video games, beautifully crafted swords on the walls, and a corner filled with framed pictures. Group photos of Max's band — Mark, Tik, Jack, Tul, Lucian, Sol — all with Max... but the old Max.
Lucas pointed at one. "She's in all of them."
"Yeah," Max said, carefully placing the frame back. "She was close with them. They were like family."
Lucas stepped closer to a set of paintings on the wall — artistic and deeply emotional portraits of the same girl with her friends. "You painted these?"
Max nodded. "Yeah... it's kinda my way of remembering things."
"I like painting too," Lucas admitted, voice low. "But my dad... he always said it's a waste of time. Never let me pursue it."
Max looked at him for a second, then smiled softly. "Want to see something cool?"
He led Lucas to a hidden corner, opened a door behind a shelf, and flicked on the lights.
Lucas stepped into a small room filled with instruments — guitars, a piano, microphones, even a drum set. But the spotlight was on a limited edition guitar hanging on the wall.
"Whoa..." Lucas whispered. "That's the collector's model... I've only seen it in magazines."
"Jack gave it to me," Max said proudly. "He's kind of the heart of our band."
They sat there for a bit, just talking. Then Max brought up, "Tonight we're doing a livestream on YouTube. I'll be introduced as the new member of the band. I hope it's okay. You might hear some noise."
Lucas smiled. "No problem. I'll just stay in my room and watch from there maybe."
Just then — ding dong.
The doorbell rang.
They walked into the living room. Max opened the door to find Mark, Jack, Tik, Lucian, Sol and Tul standing there, holding snacks and instruments.
"Let's set up early!" Tul said excitedly, walking in — but paused.
Everyone stared.
Lucas, now sitting casually on the couch, looked up and gave them a polite smile.
Tik blinked. Mark's jaw dropped.
Lucian gasped, "Is that... Lucas Lancaster?"
Tul whispered to Jack, "What is Leo Lancaster's son doing here... with Max?"
Only Jack remained unfazed.
Max looked around nervously.
To be continued...