Late Night Phone Call
"Hello." Fen says after he reaches down on the nightstand and picks up the phone. He's dressed in a short sleeve soft knit sleep T-shirt and flannel plaid pajama pants. He had a long work out at the gym a few hours ago and was kind of sleepy. He was just getting ready to go to bed, before he heard his phone ring. He was surprised to look down and see that Ana was calling him. He had seen her earlier in the day, when they were working with some new songs, she had written for him. He wondered why she was calling him so late. He hoped everything was okay with her.
"Hi Fen. You're up." Ana says with a mixture of relief and nervousness in her voice.
"Yeah, I was just getting ready to go to bed." Fen sits down on the edge of the bed facing the nightstand. "What's up? Is everything okay?" He asks.
"Pretty much, yeah…" Ana claims not being completely truthful.
An amused look crosses Fen's face. "But you just called to wish me good night". He laughs. His expression turns serious.
"No, something is up. Something's on your mind. You don't normally call me late like this." He remarks.
"I've never called you late like this before." Ana states in a matter fact of manner.
"Right". Fen sits up a little straighter on the bed. "So, What's on your mind?" He adjusts the phone to his ear ready to listen.
Ana takes a breath. "Well, I was just thinking about the upcoming performance that I will be having with my dad at Society. You know it's the day after tomorrow."
"Right." Fen nods.
"And…" Ana sits up on the couch. "Fen I just…"
"What is it?" He asks.
"It's just… I am so nervous, Fen. I am really nervous about this performance." She lets out a breath, feeling better that she admitted her feelings out loud.
"Really?" Fen asks surprised by her admission. He was surprised she felt that way. Ana was usually very confident, and had experience working as an artist in the music industry. He remembered how she got up there like a pro and bailed him out when he had missed his showcase.
"Yeah, I know that sounds strange, given my background. But it's been a while Fen, and I haven't performed with my father in public before. And he's still trying to recover." Ana puts her hand on her face continuing, a concern look spread across her face.
"I mean he's been getting better. Especially with the help that Devon has gotten for him. And he sounded strong when we were singing together earlier. But…" She pauses thinking. "I'm still worried about this performance." She admits. "And dad also has his reservations." She looks down at her pants for a moment and rubs her hand on her knee. She continues talking.
"We did mention how we were feeling to Devon earlier today. But then he showed us this poster he had created from a photoshoot we did for this event, and… he was so excited Fen. I didn't want to disappoint him." She pauses again. "So… dad and I agreed to do it. Though I'm still not 100% sure about it and have this feeling of nervousness that I'm trying to shake."
Fen on the other line, nods understanding. "Okay. I understand." Fen leans towards the edge of his bed.
"Look Ana, I don't think you have to worry." He assures her. "As I said to you earlier. You are a Pro." He pauses and continues. "And though it's been a while since you've stepped on the stage to perform for yourself publicly, I think you will find yourself getting back into the groove of things."
He smiles on the other line. "Especially when you look out at the crowd and see all the people that care about you. Your family, Devon, Nate, the twins, and…" He pauses. "me." He runs a hand through his hair. "I care about you too and want the best for you." He confesses.
Ana smiles, her face getting warm. "Yeah I know you guys will be rooting for me…"
"Good. And trust me you and Mr. Slade will crush this performance. I believe in you." He smiles again and then stifles a yawn.
Ana nods on the other line. "Thanks Fen." She sighs and sits up a bit, feeling more energetic. "You know I feel better talking to you. You're right. I can and will do this." She expresses confidently.
A grin breaks out across Fen's face. "Now, that's the type of attitude I want to hear from my lady." He declares firmly. His eyes then widen a bit when he realizes what he'd just said. That last sentence flowed out of his mouth so easily. He closes his eyes for a moment and wonders if Ana noticed that. He continues talking.
"I mean if you could help me get though recording my first demo in the studio, you know you can definitely do this for yourself." He quickly adds, hoping to brush past his last statement. "You are way more experienced and polished than me." He sits back a little on the bed. "You're going to do well. I promise."
"Okay." Ana looks at the time. "I'm sorry I called you this late. I just needed someone to talk to and wasn't sure if I should broach this subject with Devon again." She smiles happily on the other line. "You have eased my fears about my performance. And I hope I wasn't interrupting you doing anything important."
"It's fine. I'm glad you called." Fen glances down at his shirt and attempts to lighten the mood and make her laugh.
"I wasn't doing much besides preparing to go to sleep. And I was wondering to myself If I should continue to mostly sleep shirtless or embrace these ridiculously soft shirts my mom bought me. "
"What?" Ana asks caught off guard. She makes a face and then lets out a laugh.
"Usually I go to bed without wearing a shirt though sometimes I will wear one to bed. It depends." He admits truthfully. "But my mom gave me some sleep shirts from a new men's line they are selling at Fenmore's."
He pulls out the front of his shirt a little touching the fabric. "It's quite comfortable and freakishly soft." He jokes. He leans forward on the edge of the bed, and grins. "What do you think shirt or no shirt?" He asks.
Ana starts to fiddle with a necklace hanging around her neck. "Umm…." She stammers, her face becoming flushed unsure of what to say. "Well, you should do whatever makes you comfortable."
Fen laughs. "That is such a non-answer."
He rubs his face thinking for a moment. "You know. Maybe mom is trying to tell me something. Maybe she doesn't like me walking around the house half clothed like I do sometimes, especially at night." He laughs. "Though, she shouldn't be ashamed. I'm what she helped create."
Ana lets a snort and looks up to the sky. "Or maybe she just wants your opinion on a sleep shirt. You know being that you're a guy and these shirts are marketed to men." Ana taps her fingers to her face laughing.
Fen grins. "Or that... You're probably right, I mean mom had no problems with my photo shoot. And I was mostly shirtless during that." A thought hit him, and he realized he wanted to ask Ana something.
"Hey, did you ever see those pictures from the shoot?" He asks. "I don't think I've ever showed them to you."
"No, you didn't. But I saw them posted online." Ana admitted.
"And what did you think?" He asks curiously, eager to hear her opinion.
"They were uh… nice." Ana says hesitantly. She pauses for a moment and thinks about how good he looked in those pictures and puts her hand on her face and makes a bashful expression. She was glad he couldn't see her.
"You're not just saying that to be nice?" He asks. "Your opinion means a lot to me and I really hope you liked them." He admits earnestly.
"No, I mean it, Fen. They were nice pictures. Actually, very nice pictures." Ana admits truthfully.
Fen grins after she makes that statement. "Glad to hear you feel that way. I mean I know that I have never modeled before."
He becomes thoughtful and makes an honest statement. "And while I felt confident about doing that shoot, I wasn't sure how everyone would react to the pictures." He states honestly.
"I'm sure you got a lot of positive feedback regarding those pictures. I bet they helped generate a lot of buzz for the company. And bring new shoppers to it." Ana speculates optimistically.
Fen nods on the other line. "We did, but not everyone liked them."
"Really?" Ana asks curiously. "Who didn't like the photos?"
"Lola". Fen answers directly. "She didn't like them for some reason." He pauses recalling Lola's reaction to the photos of him and Kyle. "Summer liked them, but Lola got quite upset about the photos. I'm not sure why though."
He shrugs. "Different strokes for different women, I guess. A man can't please them all, he can only hope to please the one that he really wants."
Fen eyes widen again, after he says that sentence. He looks up to the sky, and back down shaking his head. I need to get some sleep, before I say something else, I shouldn't be saying. He thinks to himself.
Ana nods on the other line listening to him, another smile pulling at the corner of her lips. "Yeah…"
"And at least I had fun''. Fen admits trying to steer the conversation to a different discussion. "I got to help out my mom and make some extra cash. I really enjoyed helping her and seeing a little a bit of the stuff that she does in her career. She's great at what she does." He informs Ana proudly.
Fen then looks at the alarm clock on the nightstand seeing how late it had gotten. "It's gotten pretty late." He observes.
Just then Ana looked at the clock in the penthouse. It read 11:42pm. "Oh my goodness, it has gotten late. Time flew by even faster talking to you."
"That's what happens when you have late night chats with me." Fen jokes.
Ana smiles. "Umm-huh. Okay well…" She moves to the end of the couch. "I am going to let you go. Thank you for listening to me." She sighs happily. "I feel so much better."
"I'm glad I could be of service." Fen states sincerely.
"Yeah and now it's time for me to get my beauty sleep."
"You do that, and I will get mine too." He jokes.
Ana laughs. "Good Night Fen."
"Good Night Ana."
Fen hangs up the phone and places it on the nightstand. He pulls back the covers on his bed and lays down on it. He rests his hand behind his head and smiles thinking about Ana and their conversation. He then leans over and turns out the light to go to sleep. Ana smiles after she hangs up and goes up the stairs to get ready for bed, feeling happier and more confident after her talk with him.