Lexi

My eyes widened. I removed the singular earbud I had put in earlier and threw it into my purse, which was sprawled on the floor next to me. I felt my cheeks turn red as all the blood drained from my face. I mean, I guess I could”ve been a tad bit more discreet, but it was Lexi Harlow. How could I not stare? Actually, that”s a good point. Anyone trapped in a bathroom with a celebrity would stare. I felt my embarrassment subside as my confidence grew.

No apologies, remember?

“Actually,” I paused with a smirk on my face. “I already did.” Whipping out my phone, I turned the screen toward her showing the picture I had taken earlier, featuring my master photography skills.

She let out a hearty laugh and said, “Hey, you could”ve just asked for a picture! I look like shit in that one!”

She’s funny. Of course, she is.

I raised my eyebrows at her. “I just thought asking a celebrity to take a picture in a bathroom after an earthquake wasn’t the best idea.”

“As long as you don’t climb the stalls while I’m peeing, then I don’t mind,” she shrugged.

I let out a small laugh as I took in the fact that I was actually having a conversation with Lexi Harlow.

“You think we will be in here for long?”

“Why? Are you going to wait until I have to inevitably go pee so that you can ask me for another photo?”

“No,” I tried to suppress a grin while rolling my eyes. “I was just wondering how long I have to make you want to become best friends with me.”

“Well, you’re off to a good start,” she smiled back. “Minus the candid photo. You get negative points for that.”

“Well, fuck, I guess I have to make it up to you.”

“You sound like you have something in mind.”

“Well, I am a minor celebrity myself, so if you want to, you can totally take a photo of me while we’re in here,” I joked.

She scoffed. “Oh, yeah? What are you famous for, then?”

“I beat the world record for most times trapped in a bathroom with a celebrity, duh.”

“Lame! Negative points.”

“Hey!” I exclaimed as I slapped my hand against my chest. “No, I’m just fucking with you. There”s no way someone like you would want to be friends with someone like me, anyway.”

I didn’t know I was going to say the last part until the words were already spilling out of my mouth. It was true, though. I couldn’t expect to be a good friend to someone when I could barely be a good friend to myself. I knew I wasn’t the nicest or most thoughtful person, despite my best efforts, but no matter how hard I tried, I always seemed to fail. Sometimes the idea of making friends seemed too daunting, and other times it just seemed pointless.

“Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Well, I’m only 5’3, so it’s too late for that,” I countered in a joking manner.

She smiled and crossed her arms in front of her chest while narrowing her eyes at me. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Maybe,” I teased, enjoying our witty banter. “You know what this reminds me of?”

“Being locked in a bathroom with a random stranger after an earthquake? Honestly, I have no idea what that would remind you of,” she chuckled.

“It reminds me of that one episode of Friends where Chandler is stuck in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre and makes a complete fool of himself,” I smiled. She stared at me with a slightly puzzled look on her face. “Have you never seen Friends?”

“Some episodes,” she shrugged. “I’m not a huge ‘Friends’ fan.” She paused, then wiggled her eyebrows and added, “I”m more into this singer named Lexi Harlow.”

“You need to work on your jokes,” I snorted.

“Your humor has gotten worse throughout this conversation, so I don’t think you”re one to talk.”

“Oh, you’re criticizing my humor? Also, I never claimed to be so funny that you’d pee your pants while dying of laughter.” I shrugged, then continued. “And speaking of peeing your pants, just be happy I already used the bathroom earlier, or else when I saw you, I would have actually peed my pants.”

She belted out a heavy cackle. “Now that’s a picture I would’ve liked.”

“Fine, then I’m going to wait until you have to pee and climb the stalls for a picture.”

“Wow. That’s low,” she shook her head.

“No actually those stalls are pretty high.”

“Oh my god. You’re an idiot.”

“So more negative friendship points, then?”

“No. You”re an idiot in the best way possible,” she smiled.

I felt like my heart was about to burst out of my chest, it was beating so fast. The butterflies fluttered around like crazy in my stomach. I was really having a conversation with Lexi Harlow—the talented, fearless, inspirational, award-winning singer who I had been listening to since I was a kid. I’d like to believe that a lot of what helped me get through some of my struggles was the fact that she was so open about her experiences as well. Her voice is what initially captivated me and caused me to become a fan, but I stayed because of the way she carried herself.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening right now,” I mumbled. “Can you pinch me? Is this real?” I asked. “Can I pinch you? Are you real?” I added.

Lexi rolled her eyes. “Do you actually listen to my music, or are you just trying to be nice?”

I gasped with a look of hurt written across my face. “How dare you accuse me of being a fake fan? I would never!” I whipped my head to the side, causing my hair to fly wildly.

“Okay, okay,” she played along. “Sorry to suggest you weren’t my number-one fan.”

I pushed my hands down against the tile to sit up in a straighter position and said, “No, seriously, you have no idea how much I used to adore you. Go on, quiz me. I probably know you better than you know yourself.”

“Used to adore?”

“Seriously,” I rolled my eyes. “Quiz me.”

“Fine, we”ll start off easy. What’s my full name?”

“Alexandra Michelle Harlow,” I stated matter-of-factly. “Next?”

Lexi shook her head slightly. “No.”

What the hell did she mean, no? Had she lied about her legal name? There was no way I got that question wrong.

“No, you have to answer these questions, too. I have been stuck in this bathroom with you for fifteen minutes, and I don”t even know your name. You may know everything about me, but I still know nothing about you. So, new rule: for every question I ask about me, you have to answer it too,” she bargained, hoping I would agree to her terms.

“Sounds fair, but what if the question doesn’t apply to me, like the name of your second album?” I challenged.

Biting her bottom lip, Lexi pondered the thought for a while, then spoke, “Then I just ask you any question that I see fit.”

“I could always just lie about the answers,” I joked back.

“We are trapped alone in a bathroom together with no one to record us or invade our privacy,” she noted. “Might as well speak your truth.”

“How do I know I can trust you?”

“How do I know I can trust you?” She countered with a smile on her face. “At least you have an idea of who I am and what my life has been like. Can”t say the same about you.”

Why was I so goddam worried about telling my secrets to her? Lexi Harlow is a millionaire singer-songwriter with dozens of awards, and yet here I was, worried about me. I was nobody compared to her. Who would she tell my secrets to? My boss? My mom? My dead dad?

“Well, you’ll be the one asking me the questions anyway, so you don”t have to trust me because I won’t be asking a thing,” I pointed out. “And if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that you can trust me. Besides, what could I even say to make people believe me? ‘Oh, hey everyone, I was trapped in an airport bathroom with Lexi Harlow, and she spilled all her secrets to me—a total stranger.’”

“Okay,” she nodded. “That does sound a little insane.”

“Exactly.”

“But to be fair, I am Lexi Harlow. People already think I’m insane, so it’s not that far of a stretch.”

“Aren”t we all just a little insane, though?”

“What are you, the cat from Alice in Wonderland?” She snorted.

Lexi Harlow snorts?Oh, this was the best thing I could ever ask for.

“No, I was actually referring to Jeffrey Dahmer. He was one insane fuck,” I shrugged, trying to hide the smile on my face.

Lexi let out a small laugh while shaking her head.

I could spend forever trying to make her smile.

“Okay, questions,” she stated. “So tell me, what is your name, random stranger, who I”ve been trapped in a bathroom with for fifteen minutes?”

Smiling, I answered, “Autumn Kennedy Blake.”