Scream Me a Dream

Soya swallowed hard as she stared at Ville with wide eyes. “You want me to join you?”

Ville nodded reaching for his cigarettes again to calm his nerves, only to look down when he saw Soya’s hand on his to stop him. “Like you said, we still have years to catch up on.”

Soya sighed. “I don’t know, Ville.”

“Why?”

“I just…” she shook her head, “Come on, I’ll give you the tour.” She muttered, grabbing her clutch and keys and getting out of the car before Ville could stop her. She felt rather then saw him get out of the car and follow her up the stone steps to the door. Her keys clinked together as she found her house key, only for the door to fly open before she had a chance to reach for the knob.

“Well hello.” Soya laughed as she saw who was standing at the door and just who was behind him.

Josef smirked and looked behind her to Ville, who wore a smirk himself. “Hello yourself, I thought you were out.”

“And I thought you were sleeping.” Soya said smiling at the man behind Josef. “Hi Russell.”

“Hey Soya.” Russell greeted with a small wave.

“Russell has the day off and decided to give me a visit.” Josef said with a smug smile.

Soya shook her head putting a hand up to stop Josef. “I so do not want to know what type of visit.”

Josef smirked as he unblocked the door and let Russell through. “Of course you do.”

“No, I really don’t.” Soya laughed.

Russell smiled at Soya before turning back to Josef. “Pick you up in an hour?”

Josef nodded. “I’ll be ready.” He grabbed Russell’s hand before he could walk away and leaned up to give the big man a kiss. “Don’t be late, I hate tardiness.”

“That I know.” Russell laughed; he nodded at Ville as he walked down the steps. “Mr. Valo.”

Josef couldn’t help the smile that formed on his lips as he watched Russell walk down the street to where his car was parked. “That man has got a great ass.”

Soya rolled her eyes as she walked into the house, Josef looked at her, then back at Ville with a laugh. “Well it looks like my secret’s out.”

“So that’s what Soya meant when she said your relationship was complicated.” Ville muttered as he followed Josef through the door.

“That girl loves being vague.” Josef said as he closed the door behind Ville. “I thought you guys were hanging out with the rest of the band?”

“We did, they already left.” Ville said as he looked around the townhouse in curiosity.

“Do you want a tour?” Josef asked, looking up the stairs where Soya had disappeared.

“Sure.” Ville nodded.

“Well this is the living room.” Josef said walking further into the room. What Ville noticed instantly was the large bay window at the opposite end of the room that filled the living room with light, making it seem larger even with the dark wood furniture that they had filled the living room with.

The couch was a light brown L-shape couch that looked very inviting; with a glass oval coffee table with wood finishing sitting in front of the couch. On the top of the table was a half-filled coffee mug, an open laptop with a black screen, and dance magazines on the top. Across from the couch was a dark wood entertainment center with a flat screen TV on mute, the open shelves were filled with DVD’s. On either side of the entertainment center where matching bookcases that were also filled with books.

“If Soya had her way the entire house would be filled with bookcases.” Josef mentioned as Ville walked towards the books to see what they had.

“Really?” Ville asked with a smile.

“Mmm, I made her go through all her books and choose only the ones she couldn’t live without.”

“These are it?” Ville asked.

Josef scoffed. “Please that’s not even half, apparently she can’t live without ninety percent of her books, she’s got them scattered everywhere, in her room, the office here, the office at the studio, down here, the guest room, my room.” Josef said with a roll of his eyes, “And then we have a storage unit and she has some boxes of books in there as well. She sees a book at the store, reads the back and if it catches her interest she buys it.”

Ville grinned as he looked over at Josef. “She’s always been like that. We couldn’t take her anywhere without her buying a book. Didn’t matter what genre, who wrote it, hell half the time if she found the cover interesting she would buy it.”

“I never judge books by the cover.” Soya said as she walked back down the stairs. “I like to give all books a fair chance. Of course the downside of that is that I do end up with some horrible books.” She admitted as she stood next to Josef watching Ville look at the titles of her books.

“How was lunch?” Josef asked.

“Lunch turned into an early dinner.” Soya admitted, glaring at the back of Ville’s head when she heard him chuckle.

Josef winced. “I knew I should have called Brooke before I went to bed to remind her to go in and stop your classes.”

“It ended up working out.” Soya smiled. “And now Brooke knows to come in to remind me, not that it’ll really help.”

Josef rolled his eyes, “Next room Ville?”

Ville laughed his eyes still on the titles though he turned and followed Soya and Josef into the kitchen. Everything was state of the art, from the stainless steel double door refrigerator to the black marble top counters and the electrics that filled the counter space.

The counter was high enough to be a breakfast bar and Josef and Soya had placed black suede metal swivel chairs at the bar. Behind the bar was an iron wrought kitchen table with a glass top, the vase of tulips that Linde had sent from them, was sitting in the center in the direct sunlight that was coming for the French doors that led to a small porch and a large backyard.

“We cook a lot.” Soya said, as she saw Ville’s face. “We sort of have to, especially when we’re in season.”

“I didn’t know you cooked.” Ville said turning to her.

“Josef and I take turns,” Soya shrugged. “When we first started living together, we learned quickly to just make enough for two.”

“We got into a lot of fights about food, and since we’re pretty much on the same diet, we just alternate days.” Josef put in.

“You any good?” Ville teased Soya as he leaned against the counter.

“I hold my own.” Soya admitted with a teasing smile.

Ville pointed to the outside. “You’re backyard’s large for a townhouse.”

“It’s shared.” Josef said as Soya went and opened one of the French doors, leading Ville out to the porch. He saw that at the corner of the wooden porch was a round iron table with four chairs surrounding it.

“Both our neighbors are elderly couples.” Soya explained as she leaned against the railing and looked at Ville as he sat down on one of the steps of the porch. “Both couples are friends, and when Josef and I moved in, they asked if they could take down the fences separating our backyards. I guess the tenants before us wouldn’t let them.”

“And you guys did.” Ville stated as he looked around at the three combined yards.

Soya shrugged. “Josef and I travel a lot, so we’re barely home as it is, we really didn’t have any plans for the yard anyway.” She smiled down at Ville and his heart nearly stuttered to a stop when he saw that smile. “Plus, you try saying no to Millie and Bee when they coming asking if they can take down the fence so it would be easier for them to visit each other, we couldn’t help but say yes.”

“You both have kind hearts.”

Soya laughed as she went and sat down next to him, nudging his arm with her shoulder; even sitting he was still a few inches taller than her. “Josef and I had no reason to keep the fences, plus when the mood strikes us, we’ll drag out the practice mats and give them a show.”

Ville continued looking around, noticing the different flowers that were blooming all over the backyard in seemingly random patches on the border of the three properties along with a few in the middle of the yard. “Are you the gardener?”

“Oh god no.” Soya laughed, “Bee is.” She said pointing to the house on the right. “In the morning she’ll putter around out here watering every single patch, tending to each flower the way they’re meant to be tended, and in the evening she’ll come out do a bit of digging and planting if the weather permits.”

Ville looked down at her and smiled lightly. “You’re lucky to have such good neighbors.”

Soya nodded in agreement. “The best, I bet you have some good people surrounding you in that tower of yours.”

Ville frowned. “How do you know I live in a tower?”

Soya nudged his shoulder again. “I told you, I follow everything you guys do.” She stood and held out her hand, Ville took it and stood, following her back in. “Come on.” She led her through the kitchen and towards the stairs. “The only thing down here is Josef’s office that I’m not allowed to work in.” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“After seeing the disaster that is your office I can understand why.”

“Oh and you’re such a saint for cleanliness.” She teased. “There’s also a small bathroom.” She told him as they walked up the stairs.

“There are three bedrooms up here and two bathrooms. One in the master bedroom and one that Josef and I share.”

Ville frowned. “No one is in the master bedroom?”

Soya shook her head. “It’s another guestroom. Josef and I couldn’t figure out who should get it. It was three days of us playing for it, dancing for it, hell we played rock, paper, scissors for it.”

Ville laughed. “Really?”

Soya nodded. “We did, ended up sleeping in the living room on sleeping bags our first three nights here out of sheer stubbornness, before we just decided to take the other rooms and share the bathroom, it worked out perfect really.” Soya said as they stood in the middle of the hall. “I wake up early, Josef wakes up late and on the rare occasions we wake up at the same time someone just uses the other bathroom.”

“You and Josef are very compatible.” Ville pointed out.

Soya laughed. “In every way but one, as Josef constantly reminds me.”

Ville chuckled as he looked around the hall noticing the different paintings on the walls, all of them portraying a dancer in various poses. Ville looked at them closer and couldn’t help but be fascinated by them, each of the pictures showed a tenseness and almost pain like characteristic in the face and body. “These are amazing Soya.”

“Aren’t they?” Soya said. “Josef put them up, they were done by a friend of his.”

“You?” He asked, remembering that she use to draw a bit when she was younger.

“No,” she laughed. “Not me, I wish though. The artist is a ‘he’ I believe.”

“Oh.” Ville smirked. “That type of friend.”

Soya nodded with a small laugh. “Yes, that type of friend.”

“You know just because you’ve distracted me, doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten the question I asked in the car, or the fact that you failed to mention that Josef would most likely date me then you.”

Soya laughed as she walked past Ville and opened her door. “Oh Ville, trust me, you’re not Josef’s type.”

He shook his head with a laugh as he followed her into the bedroom. “Your room?”

Soya nodded. “My room. Guest room is at the end of the hall, Josef’s is across and the bathroom is next door.”

An iron wrought bed sat at the right hand of the room in the middle of the wall, covered in an ivory comforter and matching pillows thrown on the bed. The bed was flanked by two nightstands, one of which held an alarm clock, a framed picture of Soya and Aida and a water bottle while the other held a sketch pad and whatever book Soya was currently in the middle of. There was a slightly open door to the right of the bed that led to her closet.

Opposite her bed was a large cork board, filled with pictures of Josef and her, along with people that Ville assumed were friends of hers from the company. There were also ticket stubs; magazine cut outs of dresses, shoes, jewelry, shirts and jeans, along with ballet costumes. It was all chaotic, no rhyme or reason to any of the pictures. In between some of the pictures were multi-colored post-it’s with Soya’s own personal notes and abbreviations on them. Obviously the cork board was for nobody else other then Soya.

“That is what is in my mind.” She said with a teasing laugh.

Ville laughed as he looked over at her away from the board. “Looks like mine, only mine tends to have lyrics and music notes amid the mess.”

“I bet.” She said as she sat at the edge of her bed, watching him. Underneath the corkboard was a desk, there weren’t any papers on it, just open magazines with a pair of scissors next to them, her blue MacBook and different colored highlighters scattered across the dark wood surface.

Near her window was a full length mirror with a purse and a few shirts hanging off the stand that held the mirror itself and a lavender Victorian chair sat in the corner holding a pile of folded clothes.

“It’s very you.” Ville told her as he leaned against the desk.

“I’ve been meaning to get a stuffed fox in here but I just don’t know where to put it.” She teased.

“Har. Har. Har.” Ville laughed with a roll of his eyes. “Are you stalking me as well now?”

Soya just laughed as she turned around climbing over her bed to get to her closet.

“If you have a shrine in there, I refuse to see it.” Ville warned as he walked towards her. “I don’t want out relationship to change because of your obsession with me.”

“You’re so full of yourself!” she laughed as she walked into the medium sized walk in closet and kneeled down towards the back and started pulling out boxes. Ville crouched down next to her and looked at the bright blue storage box reading the white paper that was in the small metal holder. HIM 2007-2009 it read in Soya’s neat little cursive writing.

“You can open it.” She told him motioning him to go ahead. “I promise you, it won’t bite.”

Ville ‘hmm’ed’ as he quirked an eyebrow and peeled the lid back. What lay inside caused him to fall back on his butt in shock.

“Soya.” He whispered.

“I told you I followed the band.” She teased.

Inside the storage box was every magazine that he and band had ever graced during the release and promotion of Venus Doom. Not just the English ones, he noticed, but every one that he remembered doing in every country, Soya had it. Along with the promo pictures and video cassettes. When he looked at the white stripe that ran along the edge of the tape, it read Ville – Ruisrock 2008

“Josef hates the amount of tapes I use.” Soya laughed. “I use an insane amount, I keep extras in the cabinet downstairs.” She admitted.

“There are so many.” Ville said looking at the others, all with either his name or the others names, or if they had been all together, they would read HIM, with the year and sometimes the actual date. Most of the tapes held multiple interviews while some held one or two.

“You’re a very popular man.” Soya teased lightheartedly.

He closed that book and looked back where she had gotten it, she had seven different colored boxes, he grabbed the bright pink one setting it in front of him, reading the label it read HIM - 1999-2001, like the last it held everything from their time promoting and performing Razorblade Romance.

“I have them all.” Soya admitted, biting on the corner of her lower lip and bringing her knee to her chest as she watched him. She leaned over and grabbed a purple box, shoving the pink one back.

He read the label and laughed. HIM – 1991 -1999. Sure enough when he opened it, she had 666 Ways to Love: Prologue and it’s matching items.

“My friends dragged me out to a CD store one evening when I was back in Finland, and I saw it, right there in front and I nearly killed one of the girls getting to it.” She laughed. “The man at the counter said I was lucky to have gotten it, seeing as you only released 1000 of them. It’s brand new. I bought two.”

“You did not.” He laughed.

“I did, I opened one and that’s the other.” She said taking it out. Sure enough it was in its original packaging and even had the price sticker on it still. “Worth a lot.” She told him, then smirked lightly resting her chin on her knee. “Bet it would be worth even more if you signed it.”

“You wouldn’t sell it.” Ville said with a shake of his head, though an amused smile played on his lips.

“Wanna bet?”

He looked at her and shook his head again. “No one goes through this much trouble to follow our lives only to go back and sell something like this. You wouldn’t sell it.”

Soya bit her lip and shook her head at him. “No, I wouldn’t sell it.” she watched as he closed the box still amazed at what she’d done throughout the years.

“When Josef first witnessed my slight OCD with the band we were at one of the hotel rooms in…” she frowned as she thought back. “We were in Texas I believe, and I started panicking because you were going to be on TV and I couldn’t remember if I had set my VCR to record back home, so I was trying to figure out if I could get one sent up and still run out and get a blank tape. Josef just started laughing at me, saying I was acting like a crazed fan for some group of guys I had never met.”

“You kind of were.” He teased.

Soya pushed his arm playfully. “I shoved him off the bed and told him that I knew the band and to shut up. He didn’t believe me.”

“When did he start believing you?” Ville asked curious as to how she had convinced her friend.

“Probably when I showed him the picture of you and me that your mother had sent me, I also had some that I took of us in Linde’s garage.”

“These I have to see.” Ville laughed.

“He teases me.” She said referring to Josef. “Calls me a stalker, especially when you boys release something new, I’m constantly on your website making sure I haven’t forgotten anything or on forums. Even with all my research and planning things have still fallen through the cracks.”

“I doubt that.” He said doubtfully, motioning to the boxes.

“Just limited edition things I haven’t been able to find in the states or anyway to ship them.” She shrugged. “I guess I thought if I collected everything, it would help.”

Ville frowned. “Help with what?”

“With me missing you…” she bit her lip and then added “and the guys.”

“Did it?” Ville asked with a frown.

Soya thought about it, did it? Every time they released something new, any time they did an interview she was there watching it, and no it hadn’t helped. If anything it reminded her just how messed up her life was and how many things she could have done differently to be there with them, or at least have kept in touch.

“No.” she finally said. “It didn’t.”

Ville scratched the back of his head and slid closer to her, pushing the box that sat between them away. “When we first released 666, we were sitting around looking at our copies just…proud you know?”

Soya nodded. “I can imagine.”

“Linde, he really missed you and he just kept staring at the CD and he looked up and said. ‘One of these should go to Soya.’. We carried that CD to every concert we performed, every venue, every interview hoping that at one point we’d run into you and be able to give it to you.”

Soya stared up at Ville, and quickly looked down when she felt tears prickling the back of her eyes.

Ville sighed as he looked down at Soya and scooted a bit closer, he rested a hand on her knee, causing her to look up. “Linde still does it.”

“What?”

“With every CD we release, he carries an unopened on everywhere for about six months.” Ville laughed as he remembered how they’d found out. “Mige was going through Linde’s bag for some reason or another, and he found a copy of Venus Doom deep in the bag, hidden between some shirts,”

“Obviously Linde didn’t want it found.” Soya muttered.

Ville chuckled, “That’s what Linde said. Anyway, Mige found the CD and teased Linde for it when he came back into the room. Linde was annoyed that Mige had gone through his bags, yelling obscenities, great fun to watch.”

“I bet.”

“Mige kept annoying Linde about the CD, but Linde refused to tell us why he had it, finally before one of our performances, Mige was bugging him, prodding and just being annoying, Linde just turned around and said. ‘It’s for Soya all right!’ and then stalked on stage. We just stood there stunned. Apparently, he has been doing it ever since the first time, he just never told us. He carries it around usually when we’re doing the U.S. touring, then after that I’m not quite sure what he does with them.”

“I…” Soya bit her lip not quite sure what to say.

“Apparently.” Ville continued. “When you came to the concert the other night, Linde had the CD in his bag. Said he always knew it would work. We all missed each other, it has never been a secret, and we all have different methods of dealing with it. You follow our career, quite meticulously I might add, Linde carries around a CD just for you, and I…” he lifted his hips digging around his pocket before smiling when he reached the object he always carried in his pockets, no matter what he wore. “Carry this.” He said opening his hand.

“Oh!” Soya reached into his hand, picking up the silver flower clip. “You…”

“You,” Ville started with an embarrassed smile. “Wore this in your hair the night you left.”

“How did you…” Soya looked up at Ville in disbelief.

Ville gave an embarrassed smile. “It fell off when we kissed.”

Soya gave a low laugh as she studied the clip that had been secured in her hair thirteen years ago, it was a simple little thing. She had chosen them that night because the silver rose with the little diamond inside had gone nicely with her shoes and dress. She’d had four of them in her hair that night, she’d never thought about what happened with the fourth one since her hair was a wet mess when she’d gotten home she’d forgotten completely that she’d even worn the things.

The fact that Ville carried it in his pocket after so many years…she looked up at him, before launching herself into his arms hugging him tightly, her face buried in the crook of his neck as he held her tightly, righting himself so she was kneeling between his legs.

“Are you two done in there?!” Josef called from the room. “I’m bored!”

Soya pulled away and gave a quite laugh. “Josef always knows how to ruin a good moment.”

Ville nodded in agreement. “Yes he does.”

“Come on, let’s go keep him entertained.” She said, standing up and holding her hand out to him again, much like she had outside. Ville took it and allowed her to help him up, though he didn’t put all his weight on her. He jumped in surprise when he felt her hand slide into his front pocket.

“I didn’t want to lose it.” She whispered, before she walked out of the closet. Ville frowned and reached into his pocket only to feel the metal of the clip before following her out.