I took your hand

Back through lands and streets I knew

Everything led back to you

So can you see the stars?

Over Amsterdam

~*~*~*~*~*~

Monday, November 28, 2019.

The American press tour wasn't as bad as expected, mostly because Scott was with us. The European one however... It was just the two of us most of the time, and even though Ella was with me, she couldn't always be there. But to be honest... I didn't really mind. It was like we'd never been apart, and when we were together it was easy to forget he was with Alyssa. Things were exactly the same between us, and he was incredibly easy to talk to. And yet there was still that weird tension between us, and I still caught him looking at me weird sometimes.

Okay, all of the time.

It was really strange. I knew he wasn't into me. He was with Alyssa. But everything about his body language and the looks on his face told me otherwise, and the mixed signals were driving me insane. I tried not to let any of that show, though, and tried to always stay as professional as possible. After all, I had nothing to prove to Henry, but everything to prove to the world. Everything I showed them now, I would probably be known for for a long time.

But now we were at the last stop, and things were a bit different, the last stop being my parents' home country. As soon as we'd touched down at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, all my reserves went out the window. I'd gone to high school here for a year, and I'd actually loved it. The people were more down to earth, their grading system was a hell of a lot better, and it was like getting to know part of my heritage. Plus, I got to spend a lot more time with my grandparents than usual. (I was actually planning to take the train to where they lived and visit them after we were done in the hotel.) But it had been the longest time I'd ever spent without Hanna, which had been the only downside, and also the reason why I'd begged my parents to move back to New Jersey once the year was over.

As soon as we'd collected our baggage, a car picked us up to drive us to the Hilton in Amsterdam.

"So..." Henry started. "Are you excited to be in your parents' country?"

I smiled at him. I'd been staring out the window, looking at all the trees whizz by, together with tons of cows, sheep and horses, but his question pulled me out of it. "Yeah, I am. I actually went to school here for a year, did you know?"

"What, in Amsterdam?"

"No, in a much smaller town kind of in-between The Hague and Rotterdam. It's where my parents grew up and where my grandparents still live. I was actually planning to go there today, after we're done with the press in the hotel, seeing as we have quite a few hours before that late night talk show we need to be on tonight."

Henry nodded. "True." He bit his lip, obviously debating whether or not to say something. He opened his mouth and then closed it again.

"What?" I asked.

He hesitated for a moment more before finally taking the leap. "Would you... Would you be okay with me tagging along? I mean, I really don't want to impose, so if you don't want me to, I get it. I'd just like to—I don't know—get a better understanding of you, I guess."

The question took me aback a little. I hadn't expected him to be interested in seeing the town I'd spent a year of my life in. "Uh... No, I don't mind. As long as you don't mind having dinner at my grandparents' place."

Henry grinned. "Would that be the same grandfather I joked about having a drinking contest with?"

I snorted, remembering the morning after (well, the afternoon after) we'd gotten drunk together and he'd jokingly challenged me and my grandfather to a drinking contest. "Yeah, that would be him. Just... don't bring up the drinking contest, because he'll actually take you up on it, and remember that we still have a talk show to be on."

He laughed. "It could be funny, doing an interview while drunk."

I shook my head. "You do realize we'll have to sit at a table for an hour, listening to the host talk to other people when he's not talking to us, and look coherent all the time, right?"

He grimaced. "Right. Who are the other guests? I never really asked about it."

"Some political person—apparently there's another political crisis in the Netherlands. Then there's a comedian, I think, and this music guy. I don't know who."

He chuckled. "That still doesn't clarify a whole lot, but I guess we'll see tonight. First we have to get through the press at the hotel."

I groaned. "Ugh, don't remind me."

As soon as we got to the hotel (Henry and I had adjoining rooms with a connecting door, which made me feel both anxious and giddy), we got settled in and started getting ready for our interviews. Ella did my makeup first and then Henry's, and then it was time to go to the separate hotel room we'd be having our interviews in. Some of them—the ones I did without Henry—I did in Dutch, and the others I did in English. I think this was the only country where they'd actually been more interested in me. I guess it doesn't happen often when someone with a Dutch heritage scores a big movie role, apart from maybe Carice van Houten and Michiel Huisman, who'd both scored parts in Game of Thrones.

When I was done doing my interviews, I finally had the chance to make a couple of calls, seeing as Henry was still caught up in his last one. First I called my grandparents to let them know they'd be having another dinner guest tonight (they were beyond excited to get to meet Henry, not because he was a famous movie star, but because my mom had apparently told them about him and our 'crush' on each other), and then I called Hanna.

"McLynn," she answered.

I laughed. "Hey, Han. What's up with you? You never answer your phone like that."

"I know, but I've been watching Grimm, and Nick always answers his phone by saying his last name. It sounds kind of awesome when he does it, so I decided to give it a try."

I snorted. "God, I miss you."

It was almost like I could feel her change in mood, even over the phone. "I miss you, too, babe. What's up?"

"Well, I'm in Amsterdam right now..."

"Right! That was today. Which means that you'll be coming home tomorrow."

I tried to focus more on how that meant I would see my friends again and not how it meant that I would have to go back to filming with Vince. But the anxiety in me wouldn't let it go, nearly giving me a panic attack right then and there. But I forced it back down, instead trying to think about my grandparents, about how much I missed them and how great it would be to see them again. Which brought me back to the original reason I'd called Hanna. "Yeah, I am. But I kind of have a problem right now. Or, well, I guess it isn't really a problem, it's just kind of weird."

"Spit it out, hon."

"I was going to see my grandparents tonight, right?"

"Yeah. Why? Has something come up?"

"No, I'm still going to see them. It's just that Henry asked if he could come with me."

I heard some loud thumps from the other end of the line, which led me to believe Hanna had dropped her phone. My suspicions were confirmed when she said, "Sorry, dropped my phone. And what?! He wants to meet your grandparents? What's up with that?"

"I honestly don't know. He said he just wants to 'get a better understanding of me.'"

"Uh... weird. I mean, I'd get it if he were single and totally ready to mingle with just you, but he's with Alyssa. What the hell does he think he's doing? I mean, you are totally the better girl to be with, and maybe he's just realizing that now, but... I don't know, it's just weird. Part of me is excited for you that he's interested in you so much that he would want to meet your grandparents, but the other part of me just can't help but wonder what the hell kind of game he's playing here. I wish I was there so I could grill him on it."

I sighed. "So do I. I also wish I had the guts to do it myself. Anyway, what do I do?"

"Honestly? I don't know. All I can think of is that you just show him some sights and have a nice dinner with your grand folks. Don't try to read too much into it, because that's where it goes wrong, okay?"

I groaned and let myself fall down on the bed. "I've been trying not to read too much into it this whole fucking tour, but he keeps giving me these looks that can only be interpreted one way. It's driving me nuts."

"I know, honey. Now, I don't know if this'll be any comfort at all, but after today, everything will be better. You'll never have to see him again if you don't want to. Let him go fuck himself and realize much too late that he isn't happy with Alyssa. But for now, just try to have fun with him in your parents' home country as if he was any other friend, okay?"

I nodded, even though she couldn't see it. "Yeah, okay. Oh, sorry, there's someone knocking on my door, I've got to go."

"Okay. Love you, babe."

"Love you, too." I hung up the phone, sliding it into my back pocket before opening the connecting door between my room and Henry's.

"Hey," he said, smiling as he stepped into my room. "I didn't want to intrude, so I thought I'd knock."

I smiled at him. "That was very considerate of you, but you don't have to, next time." I'd just have to make sure to only walk around naked in the bathroom. Not that I usually walk around naked, but I have a tendency to sit in my towel for ages after I shower.

"So, shall we go? We'd better make the most of our time."

"Yeah, I just have to grab my coat and my bag, and then I'll be ready to go."

"Do you need me to call us a cab, or...?"

"Oh. Um..." I actually hadn't thought of that. I myself had actually been planning to just use public transit, but I didn't know if that was the smartest choice for Henry, even though Dutch people were pretty down to earth when it came to the famous. "I was actually planning to take the tram to Amsterdam central station, but I don't know if..."

"Sounds good," Henry said. "I'd like to get to know the Dutch culture, and what better way than to travel like them?"

"Um, okay, if you're sure. The tram stop is just a little walk away. We need to grab line 16."

"16. Got it."

We left the hotel and made the three minute walk to the tram stop. We had the fortunate luck of the tram just pulling up, and I paid the fee for both of us, being more familiar with euros than Henry was. We sat down next to each other, our thighs pressed together on the narrow bench.

"So, I'll have to warn you," I said, after the tram had passed a few stops already. "As soon as we get out, it's gonna stink like pot everywhere."

Henry snorted. "So the rumors about Amsterdam are true, huh?"

"Only in certain places. But I remember being hit with the smell of weed like a freight train every time I walked out of the station. I assume it hasn't changed much over the years."

"Well, thanks for the heads up."

The tram reached its last stop and we got out, and sure enough, that sickly sweet smell was everywhere. I shot him a grin when I noticed he was grimacing. "Told you."

"You weren't kidding."

I laughed. "The station is just over there. Let's just buy ourselves a train ticket and maybe something to drink, seeing as we'll be in the train for about an hour. There's a Starbucks, or an Albert Heijn to-go."

"Albert what?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Albert Heijn. It's a Dutch supermarket chain. So, hot beverage or cold?"

Henry chose cold, so we went into the small supermarket. He got a bottle of water while I got myself a bottle of Coca-Cola Life, and we both got a croissant. We'd been so busy with our interviews that we hadn't had the time for breakfast. Once we'd gotten our tickets, we made our way to platform 14A and sat down on a bench, having to wait six minutes for our train to arrive.

"So, where are we going?"

"Delft," I told him. "It's not really all that interesting of a town, apart from having a crooked church that's not nearly as popular as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and William of Orange, the first of the Dutch royal family, having been assassinated there in 1584. Actually, he was buried there, and so has every Dutch royal that died after him. And the house where he was assassinated is now a museum, and the bullet holes can still be seen in the wall."

"Really?" Henry asked, his eyes wide. "This might sound a little morbid, but that's actually kind of cool."

"Wait until you hear what they did with his killer."

"What did they do?"

"Well, he was tortured before they even killed him. They burned off his right hand with a red-hot iron, plucked his skin off with pincers, he was quartered, then they ripped out his heart and—believe it or not—threw it in his face, and then finally they cut off his head."

"Wow. Remind me to never piss off the Dutch," he told me as we boarded the train and found ourselves a quiet seat. We sat opposite of each other, both by the window.

I set my stuff down on the table between us as I said, "You probably shouldn't. In the seventeenth century, these two brothers, Johan and Cornelis de Witt, were accused of attempting to kill William the third, right? So they were basically lynched by this huge crowd, beaten to death, and then hung upside down in the town square where they were gutted and, well... castrated. Also, their lips, tongues, ears, fingers, toes—basically anything that sticks out—were cut off. Some of it was fed to dogs, but some people were actually bidding on it so they could own a piece of the De Witt brothers. Their hearts were cut out and put on display as some kind of sick trophy. Nowadays, all that's left is a tongue and a finger, put on display in a museum in The Hague."

"Oh my God. That is disgusting."

"I know. I'll never forget flipping through my history book and seeing pictures of that tongue and finger. You wouldn't think so, but especially the finger looked disgusting. It was all slimy and everything." I shuddered at the mental image.

"Wow. Just wow."

"Yeah... So, still want to get to know the Dutch culture?" I joked.

"Yes, I do," Henry said honestly. "I assume it isn't all gruesome public executions."

"No, it's not. This country has a pretty dark past, as do basically all western countries, but it's changed a lot. Did you know the Netherlands was the first country to legalize gay marriage?"

"No, I didn't, actually. So it's pretty liberal, huh?"

"You could say that, yeah. Of course, not everyone is, but you have rotten eggs everywhere. Don't even get me started on that asshole Geert Wilders. Dutchies often compare him to Draco Malfoy because of his hair, but he might as well be Voldemort. Or Umbridge."

"Is he that bad?"

"Yeah. He likes spreading fear. The ignorant asshole likes to convince everyone that the Islam is a bad thing and they're all terrorists. He's a fucking joke. You could compare him to Donald Trump, I suppose. He even kind of looks like him. Anyway, enough about nasty politics. What else do you want to know?"

Henry thought for a moment. "What's the most Dutch thing you can think of?"

"Uh... The food, I guess? It's all mostly unhealthy as fuck, though, so I doubt you'll want to try it, especially considering you'll have to go back to playing Superman soon."

He shrugged. "I haven't had my cheat day yet, so I might be able to try a few things."

I grinned. "All right. We'll raid the local supermarket and snack bar."

As the train stopped in Leiden and more people got off and on the train, Henry asked, "So, what's the plan? Did you want to go to your grandparents' immediately or did you also want to go somewhere else?"

"I could show you some of the town. I can't promise it'll be all that interesting, though. The most interesting will be the history and the scenery; the houses and canals and everything. Also, it's almost December, so the lights will probably be up now. Not that it adds anything now that it's still light outside. But otherwise, there's not much to do in Delft."

Henry smiled, covering my hand with his. I caught my breath at the strong electric current running through my veins at his touch. "Don't worry, Juliette. I'm sure I'll like it."

I nodded. I expected him to let go of my hand then, but he didn't. Instead, he took better hold of it and started playing with the many rings on my fingers. His fingers felt soft on my skin, and I wanted him to never stop whatever he was doing. At the same time, I wanted him to stop leading me on while he was with someone else.

Needless to say, I was both happy and sad when the train finally rolled into Delft station. Except, it wasn't entirely as I'd expected it.

"Oh. Um. Okay. This is different."

Henry curiously raised an eyebrow at me. "What's different?"

"The station. It used to be above ground, in this really old building." I looked around at the underground tunnel we were in. It was modern, and the complete opposite of what I was used to. I hoped it hadn't changed location, otherwise I might not be able to find my way to the old city center. I didn't mention that to Henry, though, and instead pointed to the escalator going up. "There. Let's go."

We went up the escalator and getting our first view of the beautiful vaulted ceiling, depicting an old map of Delft in the traditional Delft Blue color. We encountered more shops, just like there were in Amsterdam. There were fewer of them, though, but I spotted another Starbucks and Albert Heijn to-go. Located near it was a candy shop, and I grinned once I saw what they were sampling.

"I know that grin," Henry said, his voice suspicious. "What do you see?"

"They're sampling salmiak over there. You said you wanted to try Dutch food, right?"

"What's salmiak?"

"You'll see. You're in for a real treat."

"Oh, God... I don't like how you're saying that."

I just grinned and marched over to the saleslady, greeting her in Dutch and taking a piece of salmiak to give to Henry. It was a small, black piece of candy. It was basically black licorice, but with ammonium chloride, making it incredibly salty, almost tongue-numbingly so. He took it from me, but didn't put it in his mouth. Instead he led us towards the station's exit, smiling a goodbye to the saleslady. When we were out of hearing range, he said, "I don't want to insult anyone if I don't like it."

"That's oddly very considerate of you. Well, procrastination time is over. Try it."

He took a deep breath and bravely put the black candy in his mouth. He chewed for a moment, and soon enough, his features contorted with disgust. "Oh my God, what is that?" He spat it out and threw it in a nearby trash can. "That was disgusting."

I laughed, throwing my head back. "I know. It's kind of an acquired taste. They say you need to learn to learn how to eat it, just like you need to learn to drink beer, and they also say the Dutch are some of the very few who actually like the stuff."

"Then why did you give it to me when you knew I would find it disgusting?"

As punishment for leading me on all this time. "Because you said you wanted to get to know the Dutch culture, and salmiak is a pretty big part of it. Besides, I thought it would be funny."

Henry wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer as he said, "You are such a little prick."

I laughed, trying not to show how affected I was by his proximity. "I know." We walked out of the station, and I was relieved to find out it was built only a few yards away from the old station. "All right, so, do you want to take the bus or do you want to walk into the city center?"

"Is it a far walk?"

I shook my head. "No, we basically only have to cross this street and then we're in the center. Well, the edge of the center, but it's really not that far."

"Then we'll walk. Take the scenic route."

Arm in arm, we walked to the stoplight and waited for the light to turn green. "Watch out for cyclists," I warned him. "They can get a little crazy here and tend to drive through red lights. Oh, and they drive all over the sidewalks, too, so don't ever assume you're safe," I joked.

"Right. Understood. Oh, hey, my first canal sighting." He pointed to the murky water, which had multiple ducks swimming around in it.

"There's lots more of those," I told him. "Actually, if you live here for a while, you kind of go crazy because you have to go over so many bridges when you're cycling."

He laughed. "So you did a lot of cycling when you lived here, huh?"

"You could say that. I cycled to school every day. I also went through the last remaining original city gate, which is kind of awesome. I could show you that as well, if you want."

We walked through more streets, passing old houses built around the seventeenth century, walking over bridges, and passing in and out of shops. The scenery was unlike any other place in the world. The canals and the architecture were just so purely Dutch, and it was beautiful. The familiar sights made me feel at home, and more at ease than I had in a long time.

"Delft really is a beautiful city," Henry told me after we'd walked awhile. "I even recognize some sights from paintings I've seen before. It looks like not much has changed."

"It hasn't. Kind of makes you wonder why my parents moved to New Jersey, huh?" I joked.

"Kind of, yes. But I do get the appeal of the United States, I guess."

We walked onto the market square, surrounded by shops, City Hall and the New Church. An imposing statue of Hugo Grotius, the man largely responsible for creating international law, stood next to the church.

Henry eyed the building on his left. "What's this?"

"It's City Hall," I told him.

"It's beautiful."

I looked at the gray bricked Renaissance style building, with its low tower, lots of windows and red window shutters. "It is, yeah... See that tower?" Henry nodded. "It's called the Stone, and it was built around 1300. The rest of the building burned down somewhere in the seventeenth century, and the guy who was working on the New Church over there," I pointed to the church across the square, "was commissioned to build a new City Hall around the tower. In the top room of the addition is a torture chamber, and remember when I told you about how that guy was tortured and brutally murdered for assassinating William of Orange? There's a chamber underneath City Hall, and he was kept there before his sentencing."

Henry's eyes widened. "Wait. So he was actually killed right here? On this square?"

I shrugged. "Probably."

"Christ."

I laughed and took him to the other side of the square, to the church. "This is the New Church, called so because the other church you can see over there, the one that's a bit crooked, was already there. They unimaginatively named that one the Old Church. Anyway, before they built the New Church here, it used to be a field of gallows. Story goes that a beggar was kneeling there by the side of it and this guy gave him something to eat, and then they looked up and saw a church standing there. Soon after he saw the vision, the beggar died, but the guy who had given him something to eat kept seeing that church standing there that same January day for thirty years, and so eventually he asked to have it built. He got permission, and it took exactly a hundred years to build. It's the second highest church in the country. The only one higher than this one is the Dom Tower in Utrecht, built by the same guy."

"Wow. That's... quite something."

I laughed. "I don't know if that story about the beggar is true, but it was what I've been told."

"Why is the church three different colors?"

I looked at the gothic style building. The bottom was made of brown stone, the middle was white, and the top was sort of blackish. "That's because it burned down a few times and had to be rebuilt. It was hit by lightning, like, two times, and then of course there's the explosion of 1654."

"Explosion?" Henry inquired.

"Yeah, this underground storage exploded. It was filled with about ninety thousand pounds of gunpowder."

"Holy crap."

"Yup. It was heard a hundred miles away. Most of the people were gone, visiting a festival in The Hague or something, but they guess at least a hundred people died, and thousands more were wounded. And a huge chunk of Delft was completely obliterated."

"And you thought I'd be bored," Henry joked, poking me with his elbow. "You know quite a lot about this town."

"I suppose I do, yeah. I wanted to know where my parents came from, and I guess I went a little overboard with looking at its history. But history has always interested me, so..."

"Me too," Henry said, giving me a smile.

"So, are you feeling fit?"

He furrowed his brow at me. "Feeling... fit? As in, attractive?"

"No, as in, physically fit. As in, are you feeling like walking up a few steps?"

"Yeah... Why?"

"We can climb the tower if you want. You know, if you feel like climbing a hundred and eight meters up."

"Wait, we can actually do that?"

I laughed. "I'm assuming that means you want to go up there?"

"Hell yes."

He grabbed my hand and dragged me into the church. We walked all the way upstairs, and we (well, I) were more than slightly out of breath once we'd finally made it to the top, but the view made everything worth it. Delft stretched out beneath us, with its quaint, orange-roofed houses. It was a clear day, and our view stretched out for miles. The view took my breath away, even though I'd seen it before. It was still as gorgeous as the first time I'd seen it. I took out my phone, taking a panorama picture before posting it to Twitter.

@JulesMorrison: Climbed the New Church in Delft together with @HenryCavill and gave him a few history lessons. Muahaha!

Henry's phone buzzed with my tweet, and he smiled as he read it, before typing up a reply.

@HenryCavill: Never piss of the Dutch, guys. @JulesMorrison

I laughed and retweeted it. "And never forget it."

"I'll try not to." Henry reached out his hand to me. "Come on, selfie time. This is the perfect backdrop."

I smiled, shaking my head. "Who knew me forcing you into social media would change you so much."

He raised his eyebrows. "I've changed?"

"Well, not in, say, a big way. But when I met you, I never would've pegged you as a guy who would ever voluntarily take selfies, and look at you now."

Henry nudged me with his elbow. "Maybe it's the person I'm taking a selfie with."

Despite the cold up at the top of the church, I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. "Oh, shut up. Anyway, let's take that selfie already."

Amused, he opened the front camera on his phone, and we posed with our backs to the scenery. He glanced at me before kissing my cheek, and he snapped the picture. His lips were like fire on my cold skin, and it took everything in me to not fall over the edge and down about three hundred feet. Damn him.

He pretended like nothing was wrong, though, and immediately went to upload the picture to Instagram. "I don't think this picture needs a filter, do you? It's perfect as it is."

"Uh... Yeah," was all I was able to say.

@HenryCavill: Managed to pull my eyes away from this gorgeous lady long enough (but obviously not that long) to enjoy the view. Delft is beautiful. Thanks for showing me around, @JulesMorrison.

I blushed even more furiously as I read the description. I had no idea what to think anymore. So I instead sought out the last way I knew how to distract my mind. "Oh, God... I look ridiculous in this picture. Look at my hair." It was incredibly windswept, and made me wish I'd worn it in a ponytail instead of down.

"What? No, you look gorgeous. And there's nothing wrong with your hair." He smiled as he stepped closer and tucked a piece of it behind my ear. I leaned into his touch as if of my own accord. "It's perfect."

We stood locked in silence like that for a while, just studying each other's features. Henry was a bit paler now than he had been in Miami, which was understandable. His curls were windswept as well, but I found I kind of liked it like that. His lips were pale and his nose was red from the cold, and that stubble... God, that stubble drove me crazy.

We jumped apart when the door suddenly opened and a group of teenagers stumbled out, all of them panting. Henry and I eyed each other, and we came to a silent agreement to leave before any of them could recognize Henry. We walked down the steps again, and the entire way down, I tried to forget about the moment we'd just shared.

We had lunch at a small place, where I introduced him to some more Dutch food—food he actually liked. After that, I showed him around the city center some more. I showed him my favorite unique shops and the library, where I'd spent quite a lot of my time when I'd lived here for a year. But soon it was getting late and we really had to go to my grandparents' house. I took him on the scenic route, though, so I could show him the last remaining city gate I'd told him about.

"This is the Eastern Gate," I told him. "It's the last one still standing. The others were destroyed in the nineteenth century, though I have no idea why."

"I love the drawbridge," Henry said as we sauntered over it. "It kind of makes it feel even more medieval, I guess."

"I guess it does, yeah. Anyway, everything outside of this gate was built later, so a lot of what you'll see next is newer than what you've seen before."

"I can see that, yeah. These buildings are a lot more modern already."

"It's just gonna get more modern the farther you go. And yet I kind of love the contrast. Like the city knows its heritage but also wants to keep building on that foundation. Kind of like me."

Henry just smiled at me and we kept walking. After a fifteen minute walk, we reached my grandparents' street. "Anything I need to know about your grandparents?"

"Um... My grandmother loves stuffing everyone's faces with food, so beware," I said, making him laugh. "My grandfather loves watching the news, so it's always on, even during dinner, but it's made him a little paranoid. He's also a little opinionated at times, and I don't always agree with his opinions, but... oh, well. Otherwise he's really nice. He's very kind and always makes sure everyone is cared for. They're both like that. They'll love you, I'm sure of it."

"I hope so." Was it just me, or did I detect a hint of nervousness in his voice?

I gave him a reassuring smile and rang the doorbell. I heard soft bickering coming from inside, and then the door swung open, the excited faces of my grandparents greeting us. "Hoi, Oma. Hoi, Opa," I said, stepping inside and giving each of them a tight hug. "I've missed you."

"Oh, we've missed you too, dear," Oma said, pinching my cheek.

"Yes, we have," Opa agreed. "You should visit more often, and tell your mother that it's been too long since she's come by."

I smiled. "I will. Anyway, Oma, Opa, this is Henry Cavill, my costar on If You Love Someone. Henry, these are my grandparents, Wilhelmina and Frans van den Berg."

Henry shook their hands. "It's really nice to meet you. I'm so sorry about forcing myself onto the guest list so late. I really don't mean to impose."

"Oh, nonsense, boy," Opa barked. He clapped Henry on his back. "It's no problem at all. Trust me, you're just making Will really happy by giving her another mouth to feed. You'll leave shaped like a bowling ball, trust me."

"Frans!" Oma protested, and I had a feeling that if she'd had a wooden spoon in her hand, she would've hit him over the head with it. "Please, sit down and make yourselves comfortable. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Told you," Opa muttered, making Henry and me laugh.

When Oma had provided everyone with beverages, she finally sat down with us. "So, dear, tell me. How are you?"

"I'm doing pretty well. I'm kind of overwhelmed with everything that's going on, but other than that..."

Opa leaned forward, and he looked ready to beat anyone giving me trouble senseless. "What's going on?"

I smiled at him. "Nothing for you to get worried about, Opa. It's just that doing press can be a little much sometimes if you're not used to dealing with it. Henry's been really helpful, though, and I stay in touch with Hanna a lot, so that helps as well."

"Oh, I'm so glad the two of you are still friends," Oma gushed. "Hanna is such a sweet girl. And what about that guy you always hang out with? Keegan? Are the two of you dating yet?"

"Oma!" I protested, feeling myself turn bright red. The question was made even more embarrassing by Henry sitting right next to me, looking at me with a little too much interest. "No, we aren't, and we never will. He's like a brother to me, and I probably wouldn't last a week, being his girlfriend. Besides, he's very happy with Klarissa. Has been for almost four years."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure there's someone better out there for you."

I glanced over at Henry. He was listening intently to the conversation, but his expression was unreadable. "Yeah..."

Oma perked up. "Hey, how about that Colin guy? I only met him once on your birthday, but he was nice."

I laughed. "He's gay, Oma. But yeah, Colin is extremely sweet, and if he were into girls, who knows. But no."

"Oh, that's a shame... Well, I'd better go check on dinner." I sighed in relief as she walked back to the kitchen.

"So, you're an actor, just like Juliette, huh?" Opa asked Henry before taking a sip of his Heineken.

"Yes, I am," Henry confirmed, straightening a little in his seat now that he was being directly addressed.

"Anything I would've seen you in?"

"Man of Steel is a pretty big one he's starred in," I said. "You know, that movie about Superman?"

"Oh, yeah. I think I've seen that one."

"And he played in The Count of Monte Cristo. Now I know you've seen that one, because I remember Mom forcing us to watch it while we were here for Christmas a few years back."

"Huh. I always liked the original one better. But that came out quite a while ago."

Henry nodded. "Yes, it did. It was one of the very first movies I did, actually. I was incredibly lucky to land a part in such a big production so early on in my career. Even luckier still to keep getting roles. It's a very fickle business."

"I know. Juliette told me as much," Opa said. "But look at her, starring in her third movie already."

Henry smiled at me. "Yeah. I'm really proud of her. Then again, she wholly deserves it. She's a marvelous actress. Her performance took my breath away."

I felt a blush take over my cheeks as Oma came back and sat down next to her husband. "It's about time someone else sees your potential, honey. We've been seeing it in you all this time, and soon, the whole world will as well."

Henry wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me a little closer. "And soon, she'll realize it herself, too."

I looked up at him through my eyelashes, trying to figure out what was going on in his head right now. I wish I had the guts to just ask, but I didn't. When I looked back at my grandparents, I realized we weren't alone and scooted a few inches away from him. Oma was looking at us with a knowing smile on her face, but Opa regarded us a little more carefully, as if he was more cautious of whatever it was he saw between Henry and me.

I cleared my throat awkwardly, and Henry removed his arm from my shoulders. "So, anyway, how have you two been doing?"

Even despite the unavoidable awkward moments, the evening passed too soon. I had more fun with my grandparents and Henry than I'd expected. They got along incredibly well once the initial awkwardness had transcended, and they had all had a good time teasing me, especially when my grandmother pulled out old pictures of me in the middle of dinner. But eventually it really was time to leave, and Opa dropped us off at the train station to save us some time.

Once we were sitting in the train and were well underway, Henry said, "Your grandparents are really nice people. It seems to run in your family. And your grandmother is a really good cook."

I smiled. "Yeah, she is. I've missed her cooking. I try the same recipes at home, but somehow it never tastes as good."

"Did you know that might be because you're making it? And that's not at all meant to insult your cooking, but it's scientifically proven that other people's cooking tastes better, because while you're making your own food, the smells desensitize you for the taste."

"Huh. Never knew that. But that would explain it, I guess."

Henry grinned. "I'm glad I've been able to teach you at least something today. You've taught me so much that it was starting to make me feel dumb."

I bumped his arm with my elbow. The train was a lot fuller at this time of the day, so we'd had to sit next to each other in the back of the train compartment. "Hey, you're smart. You know lots of things that I don't."

"Like?"

"That question is impossible for me to answer, and you know it. I don't know what I don't know that you do know. If you know what I mean."

"That's a lot of 'know' in one breath," Henry teased.

I laughed. "Oh, shut up. Anyway, did you have fun today?"

"I really did, yes. If it weren't for you, I never would've explored the wonderful city of Delft. I might get some nightmares from all the colorful history you've told me, but that's beside the point. I really enjoyed myself today, and I have you to thank for that. Though, I have to say, my favorite part of the day was when your grandmother showed me that picture of you with the pigtails on the top of your head and the 101 Dalmatian trousers."

I groaned as I sank down in my seat. "Oh, God... I swear, if I didn't love her to pieces, I would've killed her for showing you that."

Laughing, Henry said, "Please tell me there's more where that came from."

"If I say yes, you'll want to see them. If I say no, you won't believe me. Either way, you won't be seeing any more pictures of me when I was younger."

"Aw, but you were so cute as a child."

"I swear to God, if you don't shut up right now, I'll make you."

Henry grinned. "Fine, I'll shut up. You know I'll get to see all of your baby pictures one day anyway."

I groaned, because I felt like one way or another, he was right.

"That salmiak was so payback for this moment."

"Don't you mean pay forward?"

"Shut up before I force you to eat an entire bag of salmiak."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

What did you guys think of the chapter? Poor Juliette. I would feel confused too if someone who's clearly unavailable kept giving me intense looks and kissing my cheek! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Reading your comments always makes me feel like dancing through the room :)

(Also I'm very hyped for the next chapter... it's going to be very... interesting)

Song at the start of the chapter is Amsterdam by Ed Sheeran.

Don't forget to vote⭐️ and comment💬!