Best Vacation Ever

Authors Note:

I'm thrilled to be chosen by CBC and 카지노후기 to write this special commissioned bonus chapter of Best Vacation Ever to celebrate the upcoming JUNO Awards!

The JUNOS celebrate Canadian artists across all genres, highlighting the voices that shape our music industry. As a Canadian, this event has always been special to me, and I loved bringing its energy to this branded bonus chapter, where we get a peek at what Faye, Lori, Kellan, and Adam have been up to after the end of Best Vacation Ever. This chapter takes place after the events of Best Vacation Ever, so be aware of spoilers!

Host Michael Bublé is bringing the party to Canada's biggest night in music. The 2025 Juno Awards go live on Sunday, March 30 at 8pm ET. Watch on CBC-TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and CBC Listen—or stream worldwide at cbc.ca/music/junos.

Enjoy this chapter, and tune into The JUNO Awards on March 30, 2025 on CBC and CBC Gem!

***

I throw open the front door, barely containing my excitement.

"Kellan!"

Before he can respond, I launch myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck as my feet dangle above the ground. He laughs, easily catching me like he expected nothing less, and then I kiss him—because I missed him, because I can, because everything feels better now that he's here.

"I saw you three days ago, Faye," he says when I finally pull back. "But you act like I've been gone for months."

"You might as well have been," I say as he sets me down. "Three days without you? Unacceptable."

He smirks as he tweaks my nose in the way I hate but he always does precisely because he knows it bothers me. "Pretty sure we were both drowning in exam prep. But I still made it here to watch The JUNO Awards with you."

"Exactly. Exam prep is killing me. So I need this. You and The JUNO Awards. Not necessarily in that order."

He laughs as he tucks my messy hair behind my ear. "Glad to know where I land in that priority hierarchy. Not like I've been your boyfriend for 8 months or anything."

I give him a teasing smirk as I brush imaginary lint off his shoulder. "The JUNOS have been around for longer, so they have a head start on you."

It's been eight months since we started dating after our Cuba trip, and somehow, we've been perfect. He's still annoying and enjoys pushing my buttons in the way that only he knows how, but I've never been happier. There was no awkward in-between stage from friends to dating, and we've fallen right into our relationship like we've been dating for years. It's still just as fun and flirtatious as it always was between us, but now there's a secure steadiness there, one that leaves no room for doubt or insecurities to creep in. If there's one thing I'm sure of in the hecticness of seemingly everything, it's that Kellan is my person.

"I'll give you that," Kellan says, eyes glinting. "But as awesome as The JUNOS are, they can't do this..." He leans forward and I raise to my tiptoes in anticipation, his lips barely grazing mine when a loud, exaggerated throat-clear rips through the moment.

I pull back to find Adam standing in the hallway behind us, arms crossed, scowling like we just committed a crime on the front porch.

"Really?" he asks accusingly. "Right in front of me?"

I sigh, threading my fingers with Kellan's and pulling him inside. "It's called true love, Adam. Look it up."

"It's called disgusting," he mutters, dropping onto the couch and scrolling on his phone.

I ignore him, instead waiting impatiently as Kellan toes off his sneakers, swinging our linked hands back and forth. "Did you see the artist lineup? And Michael Bublé is hosting , which means he's definitely going to open the show. What song do you think he'll open with? Feeling Good, maybe? Or Home because he's, you know, home in Canada hosting The JUNOS?" I gasp as a thought occurs to me. "Or maybe he'll do a medley of a bunch of his songs. Should we place bets? If he opens with Feeling Good, you owe me a donut."

Kellan smiles as I lead him to the couch, where we squeeze in front of the television and force Adam to move over to make room for us.

"Deal. And if it's Sway, I get to choose where we get dinner on Friday."

We shake on it, wearing matching mischievous smiles, and I know that no matter what song Michael Bublé opens with, Kellan would get me a donut anyway. That's just the kind of boyfriend Kellan is—the kind who shows up with a box of donuts when I'm stressing about an assignment, who lets me choose the same restaurant five times in a row because I'm always craving their shrimp pad thai, who shows up the night before an assignment is due during exam prep season to watch The JUNOS with me because he knows I watch them every year.

"You're so on," I say, fluffing the couch cushion behind me to get comfortable for the show.

After a week of drowning in study guides and highlight-stained notes, this is exactly what I need—a night of glitz, guitars, and watching a perfectly curated playlist of great Canadian artists with my boyfriend.

"Your mom is definitely hoping he opens with a Christmas song," I say to Kellan, looking at Adam to explain. "She plays his Christmas album on repeat from November. I'll have to text her during The JUNOS to see her reactions each time someone wins. She's especially curious about who will take Artist of the Year. Maybe I should call her so we can debrief before the show starts."

Kellan's Mom, having known me forever, was not surprised when we told her we were dating. In fact, she only smiled and said 'Finally. Let me know when the wedding is,' which earned a laugh from me and a burning red face of embarrassment from Kellan.

Adam grabs a bag of pre-popped popcorn, opening it with more aggression than necessary and sending a few popped kernels flying. "I know how much Kellan's mom loves the Christmas album. I'm the one who taught her how to stream it when her CD player broke." He stuffs a handful of popcorn into his mouth and mutters, "And she thinks Tate McRae will win that."

Choosing to ignore the last statement, I point to the remote beside Adam. "Well, are you going to turn it on? It's on CBC or CBC Gem, whichever you choose."

"I know which channel it's on," he grumbles, turning the television on and changing the channel to CBC so we can pretend we're actually at The JUNOS.

It's only commercials playing, so I settle in against Kellan. "We still have ten minutes before it starts. Who do you think will win—" I'm cut off by my ringing phone, and I gasp when it's a Facetime notification from Lori. I answer it immediately.

"You'll never guess who was standing only 50 feet in front of me," she starts with no preamble. She's in a crowd, and even from over the phone, I can feel the excited energy of an entire stadium full of people waiting in anticipation for a historical night.

"You're at Rogers Arena, so it'll be pretty hard to guess," I say, soaking in as much detail from her surroundings as I can. She's living her best life travelling the world and enjoying her gap year, and she just so happens to be on the Canadian leg of her trip in Vancouver at The JUNO Awards.

"Sum 41!" she exclaims over the excited chatter in the background. "Like the band Sum 41! Like the Pop Punk icons that are being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame today, Sum 41! They were right there in front of me!"

"Don't rub it in. I'm already jealous you're going to be there live to experience their final performance." I'm not actually jealous. I know I'll see all the best angles and close ups of the show , and I'm happy that Lori is out in the world and experiencing life, even if I'm not there beside her. She's grown so much more confident and comfortable in her own skin since deciding to defer her university admission for the year and backpack across the world, and I know when she's ready to settle down in med school, she's going to be the best, happiest version of herself.

"You went to see them in concert last year with Adam and Kellan, so now it's my turn to see them live," she says with a laugh.

Beside me, Adam mutters under his breath, "A concert she wormed her way into coming with us."

Kellan and I make eye contact, each of us wondering what to do about Adam's statements. Kellan tilts his head toward Adam, clearly hinting at me to address it.

There's an excited cheer from the phone, and Lori says, "Oh, I've got to go, Faye, they're making an announcement that they're starting soon! I'll send you pictures when I can! Bye Kellan, bye Adam!"

"Have fun. We'll try to spot you in the audience!"

The line disconnects, and after one more silent conversation with Kellan, I shift to look at Adam.

"Okay. Out with it." I say, crossing my arms against my chest as I glare at my brother. "You've been throwing jabs all week and are starting again tonight, and I won't let your sour mood ruin Canada's biggest night in music. What's going on?"

Adam's jaw ticks, his eyes bouncing between me and Kellan.

"It's whatever."

"Nope. Nuh-uh, that's not happening." I point a finger accusingly at him. "We agreed we'd be more open with the communication thing. You need to tell us how you're feeling, right now. None of this holding it in and ignoring our issues thing."

We decided long ago, after what happened in Cuba, that we would talk about our feelings instead of holding it all in and assuming we would know what the other is thinking. Change doesn't happen overnight, and so I've been making an effort to call him out on stuff when I see it happening to force us to talk about stuff, even if it makes us uncomfortable.

He gives a long suffering sigh, like this is all his greatest form of torture. "I don't know. It's...annoying," he emphasizes the word like he's forcing himself to say it, "when my best friend keeps blowing me off to hang out with my little sister."

My jaw drops at Adam's confession, who refuses to meet either of our eyes.

"I'm not blowing you off for Faye," Kellan says, frowning as his mind races.

In the silence that follows, I ask, "I thought you were cool with me and Kellan dating?"

"I am. But when my best friend since infancy keeps cancelling plans with me to see you, it gets old, fast."

Kellan has been spending more time with me than normal lately, but since my best friend left to travel the world and school work has made me too busy to make an effort to go out with other friends, I've been lonely. And it's been too natural to fall into depending on Kellan to hang out every night.

Guilt churns in my stomach when I admit, "I have been monopolizing a lot of Kellan's time."

Kellan puts a hand on my thigh. "No, don't say that. You don't make me cancel plans, I do that all on my own." He leans around me to better look at Adam. "It's not cool of me to cancel plans— for Faye or for any reason. I figured because I saw you all the time since I'm always here, it wouldn't matter. But you're right. From now on, once we make plans, we stick to it. Let's go to a Jays game next week. Tickets on me. No girlfriends allowed—sorry Faye." He adds the last part sheepishly, but he gives me a wink, and I know he'll more than make up for it when they come home after the game.

Adam considers it for a moment, then nods, the tension in his posture disappearing. "Cool." He sits back against the couch like the moment never happened.

"So... everything's fine now?" I ask, trying and failing to find any hidden animosity in Adam's expression.

My brother shrugs, grabbing a handful of popcorn with noticeably less aggression than before. "We're boys. Not everything has to be a big thing."

Kellan chimes in, saying, "Remember that time we accidentally forgot Ray's birthday and went to a Leafs game instead? He was pissed and all it took was us taking him out for drinks for all to be forgiven."

Adam laughs, "He forgot what he was upset about the next morning, too."

I roll my eyes. Boys are so weird.

The commercial ends, and suddenly the screen fills with a cheering crowd live from Vancouver and inside Rogers Arena.

"Shhhh!" I shush them, sitting up to attempt to spot Lori in the crowd. "It's starting! No arguing unless it's to take bets on who will win or disagreeing over fashion choices."

Kellan wraps his arm around my shoulder and steals the bag of popcorn from Adam as Michael Bublé appears on screen with a bright smile as he opens the show.

"I bet the party sized pizza we ordered he'll open with Everything." Adam says, joining in on the fun JUNOS discussion from before.

"You're on," I say, happiness settling over me for more reasons than the show starting.

I raise the volume on the television to hear over Kellan and Adam's comments, thrilled to watch The JUNOS with my boyfriend who's amazing, and my brother, who may be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I guess he can be pretty cool too.

***

Thank you so much for reading this special bonus chapter of Best Vacation Ever! It was so much fun rejoining these characters and seeing what they're been up to since we last left them. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Host Michael Bublé is bringing the party to the 2025 Juno Awards, and it's going to be everything. Watch live on Sunday, March 30 at 8pm ET on CBC-TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and CBC Listen—or stream worldwide at cbc.ca/music/junos.