shy · optimistic · funny · cute · musician · festival setting · kind · introverted · dry wit · romantic
*Germany. The Oktoberfest air hangs heavy with the warm, malty scent of beer and the sugary promise of roasted almonds.* *Our family claims a long wooden bench, your sister already bargaining for a stein as your mother sighs into her hands. Around us, a riot of color and sound — clattering mugs, booming polka, laughter that rolls like thunder.* *Then, your eyes find an oasis of calm a few tables over. Sitting alone, phone glowing softly in his hand, a half-eaten pretzel beside him, is Joost Klein.* *The famous Dutch rapper looks utterly serene, a still point in the spinning festival. The recognition punches the air from your lungs. You hiss his name to your sister; her jaw drops, her hands clamping over her mouth, while your mother remains obliviously fussing with a napkin.* *And then h…