"Liam! Did you run into a friend?" Peter asked cheerfully.
"What? I just came to get your coffee and mine." He handed him the cup. "Why do you say that?"
"We saw you talking to someone, and you two seemed really friendly," Louis replied with a bright smile.
"Ah…" A friend... He didn't like calling Evan that way. "It was just someone I know who looked like a snowman."
Some things never seem to change, don't they, snowman?
His friends didn't understand and preferred not to delve further into the matter, but when they saw Liam's sad expression fade a little, they thought that if he needed to tell them something like that, he would, and that it was best not to interfere.
.
Liam would never forget the time they met. Even though he was the only one of the two who remembered it now, a smile formed on his lips at the thought of Evan reacting the way he did back then, replaying that day they met in that same coffee shop.
.
"Hey, you! Move along, there're more people lined up."
Liam turned and found a strange boy behind him, wearing a black hat over his ash-blond hair, sunglasses, a black face mask, a scarf, and a loose sweater over his clothes, with too many accessories on his fingers and a bag dangling from its crossbody strap.
"Are you a Christmas tree, or why such an extravagant costume?" Liam laughed. "If you want to get the attention of the whole place, you'll definitely get it, snowman."
The older man's face couldn't hide his anger. What was wrong with that rude kid?
"Ha ha. And you should get a haircut, you look like a homeless."
"Yeah... They always tell me that." He scratched the back of his neck in annoyance. "It's stupid to waste time fixing your hair."
Evan was going to continue arguing with that boy. His shoulder-length black hair, tousled and partially covered his face. He looked clearly disheveled, but it was his time to order his drink, and he wouldn't fight someone in front of a barista. Losing his temper like that had been humiliating in itself.
He chose to ignore him and order his vanilla caramel latte. While they were preparing it, he grabbed some sugar packets and a stirrer.
"Are you really going to add sugar? The caramel alone is already too much glucose."
"What do you care, emo? Are you a nutritionist or something?"
"No, but I know that all that sugar won't be good for your health, snowman."
Evan was going to say something else, but the rude boy left before he could respond to his comment.
Who does that idiot think he is?
He emptied the sugar packets into his coffee and stirred it, too annoyed by the encounter. Damn, that idiot already made a mess of me. He grabbed some paper napkins and started cleaning up, his face red.
He went to sit at the back table with his best friend, pouting.
"Guys these days are idiots. They have no respect for anyone anymore."
Kyle chuckled lightly as he calmly sipped his coffee, reviewing the photos he had taken and needed to correct on his MacBook.
"I saw you fighting with someone in line. What did he say to make you so upset?"
"The idiot told me I looked like a Christmas tree and then started calling me a snowman!"
Kyle couldn't help but burst out laughing. Seeing his friend, with a face mask, sunglasses, a hat, a scarf, a sweater three times his size, and the endless rings and necklaces he liked to wear… He did look at least like a fashionist snowman.
"Don't laugh! You're supposed to be my friend."
"But you really look like a snowman, Evan."
The blonde's face turned red with embarrassment.
"You know it's to avoid the paparazzi."
He sipped his coffee again, hiding his embarrassment behind his paper cup.
"But you don't have to go overboard. If you wore a face mask and glasses, it would have been enough, or a scarf and a hat. But you wore your entire wardrobe, and besides, you look like a rattle with all those necklaces and rings. You won't be able to pass through a metal detector."
Evan pouted, sipping his coffee.
"Traitor! I support you in everything, like when you wanted to bleach your hair silver and everyone told you that you were going to end up with no hair."
Kyle laughed lightly as he remembered those times.
"You shouldn't pay too much attention to a stranger's opinion, Evan."
Evan's blue eyes tried to see the city through the glass windows of the establishment.
Kyle was right; he shouldn't care about other people's opinions, much less give so much weight to what people he doesn't even know say about his appearance. He was right, but... He couldn't help but always think about what they'd say.
"I'm saying this for your own sake," Kyle spoke in his soft voice, looking lovingly at his friend through his honey eyes as if the blond boy in front of him was his younger brother whom he had to protect. "If you decide that acting isn't just a phase and you want to pursue this profession for life, you'll always be in the sights of thousands of people with countless opinions. Some will be good, others, not so much. Many will have ill intentions toward you and will try to hurt you through their words, others with their actions, even if they don't know you. That's why it's important not to give so much weight to what others think of you, as there will always be those who want to gain something at your expense. No one but you has the right to define your personality and worth. Only you."
Evan lowered his blue eyes. Did he really have any value as a person beyond the usefulness others might find in him?
"Have you seen that at work?"
Kyle's eyes took on a sad shadow at that question.
"Yes. Above all, try to stay as far away from social media and gossip as possible."
He remembered the star model of one of his clients. She was a beautiful, intelligent, strong, and self-confident woman. But the designer's closeness to her involved more than professionalism. A photo, just a damn photo someone took of them, and it spread like wildfire on social media. After that, the scandal ruined her career. On social media, people attacked her, saying that only by sleeping with the famous designer could she walk international runways as a supermodel. Then, the mockery of her body began, pointing out cellulite and nonexistent extra pounds. Her reputation was ruined, but she still had her body, which was her calling card for the runways. But when she distorted her image in the mirror after so many hateful words about her appearance, she fell into extreme diets to achieve "the ideal standard", destroying her physical and mental health. In a matter of months, she went from being one of the country's biggest supermodels to a sick woman, suffering from extreme malnutrition, unable to even stand on her own legs, lying in a hospital bed.
"Dress however you want and live however you want," Kyle said, after that painful memory of a dear colleague he saw fall into the abyss of destruction. "As long as you don't harm others and don't commit any illegal acts, no one should care what you do with your life."
He gave his friend a warm smile, and those words remained etched in Evan's mind. He knew that advice would save him in the field he had decided to dedicate his professional life to.
But it's easier said than done. I'm afraid that if I do something wrong, everyone will hate me and repeat it to me endlessly.
.
.
.
On the other hand, across the street, Liam was walking with his cup of black coffee in his hand, following his childhood friends on their way to the mall.
They should be dating already. It's obvious to everyone that those two are in love. I don't understand how they can be so blind that they don't realize it. Can love really make someone so stupid?
Catherine was a pretty girl of medium height and tiny body, with dark brown hair falling over her shoulders and wearing a long dress, a light coat, and ankle boots. She smiled the most beautiful way every time she saw her childhood friend and the love of her life: Louis, a brown-haired, athletic boy, full of energy and always cheerful. Louis, standing next to her, also had the same sweet smile, seeing her as the most wonderful person, and feeling grateful just to be her friend, but he was so naïve that he didn't realize she returned his feelings. Behind them, Liam walked with a clearly annoyed expression. Was this how it feels to be a third wheel? For years, those two were his only friends, so he was used to being pushed aside for being in their own beautiful bubble, but it was becoming increasingly clear that he couldn't stand how they kept saying "we're just friends" and wouldn't kiss each other. His dad told him that's what people in love were like, and that when he fell in love, he'd understand everything, but to this day, it still seemed stupid. It's worth noting that Liam, at 19, has never been in love.
"Have you decided what you want to do today?" asked Liam.
The girl ran a little and turned to her friends, pointing at the movie theater.
"Let's go to the cinema!" she exclaimed happily. "There's a beautiful movie playing."
"Yes!" Louis was excited and went with her.
But Liam didn't share the same cheerfulness.
"You're going to want to see a romantic movie, right?"
They both laughed at Liam's annoyed face. Still, even if he protested, he always ended up going along with all their plans as his childhood friend.
When they lined up to buy the tickets, Liam stopped when he saw the co-star of the movie that Catherine wanted to see.
"It's the snowman!"
"A snowman?" Catherine asked, confused, while Louis looked around for anything resembling.
"Him, that boy," Liam pointed with his finger to the movie poster.
His friends were just as confused as before.
"When I went to get coffee, a guy behind me wore an over-the-top outfit, like a snowman with a hat and scarf," he explained, and his friends laughed.
"It was probably just someone who looked similar. I doubt you'd run into Evan Lloyd," Cat replied, still laughing.
"Yeah, it's probably just someone who looks similar."
But when they entered the screening room, and the movie started, Liam discovered that 'the snowman' he had met in that cafe and the young actor with golden hair and beautiful blue eyes were the same person. Same voice, same face. He was sure. They were both the same person.
And although he hated romantic movies because he found them extremely boring, the performance of that blond boy with blue eyes made his skin crawl and his breath catch. Was this really the same guy he had encountered in line at a coffee shop arguing with him earlier?