Past, Present, Future

Rock Show (flash back, several weeks later)

Today at school had been like any other, and she was at her locker, getting her things to leave for the day. But just as she was turning to leave, a visitor approached her locker. They never spoke at school other than to nod hello in the hall. So, seeing him head over to her instantly caused butterflies to form in her stomach.

“Hey, kid,” he said with a grin, leaning on the locker next to hers. She rolled her eyes at the nickname; she was only a year younger than the other boy.

“What’s up?” she asked, trying to remain cool. She couldn’t figure out why he was approaching her. They had had this understanding that their relationship was a little secret, something they kept only to themselves. It was half of the fun.

“So I wanted to talk to you,” he started, nervously looking at her feet. “Uh, my band is playing a show tonight. I thought you might like to come.”

“Oh?” she asked, genuinely surprised. She had been hoping he could invite her to one of their shows.

“Yeah, um, we need all of the support we can get. Invite some friends to come along if you want. I probably won’t be able to hang with you there, but I’d like if you could come. Will you be allowed?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there. You know my parents don’t care about where I am. I’m glad I’ll finally be able to hear the band I hear so much about.”

He laughed then, running a hand through his dyed blonde hair. “Cool. Cool, I’ll see you later, then, Jo.”

“Bye, Brian,” she replied, nodding to him before walking away. She looked back and he was watching her, making her grin at the fact that he was checking her out made her excited. Almost as excited as she was to see him play tonight.

-----

Joanna dragged her big sister along, just so she didn’t have to go alone. The pair really weren’t that close, but they were both always trying to find an excuse to get out of the house, away from their parents who were either fighting or gone, supposedly working at their demanding jobs. As they got older, both girls weren’t really sure if they believed their parents, but they didn’t question it either, not wanting to ruin the freedom it allowed them to have. And they also didn’t want to deal with their anger.

“Come on, Sam. Just sit with me, okay? I don’t want to be here alone,” Joanna pleaded when they entered the venue. Her sister was already looking for better people to be around than her kid sister.

“Fine. But if John Barker is here, I’m gone,” Sam said, causing her sister to roll her eyes.

They found a seat on towards the right of the stage at a high top table, ordered some Cokes from the waitress, and waited for the band to start. Her sister saw a friend and waved them over, keeping her promise to Joanna, and invited them to join. Joanna didn’t care; she was grateful to look like she had more friends to bring with her so Brian wouldn’t think she was a total loser.

Five boys got up on the stage then, some she recognized and some she didn’t. But her eyes stayed on Brian the whole time, in awe of how well he played. She barely like the band (screaming wasn’t her favorite style of singing), but loved watching him. He was the best part by far, already showing what a star he could really become. She didn’t know if their band would ever make it big, but she knew deep in her heart that he would. He was amazing.

They only played for about half an hour, but every second of it was great. The kids that paid attention to them were really into the show, practically moshing in front of the tiny stage. Everyone else at the bar tolerated the group, keeping to themselves, but it was better than nothing.

When they finished they stayed on the stage to pack up their things and the radio came back on. The crowd dissipated, going back to their own business as if the concert had never happened. Sam and her friends were chatting away, having barely paid attention to the boys anyways, and were ready to head somewhere else.

“We’re going to try and get into Daily’s,” Sam told her. “You want to join?”

“Thanks, but I don’t have a fake ID. Go ahead.”

And just like that, she was alone again. She sighed and stayed at the table for a moment longer, wondering if she should go up to Brian, stay where she was, or just go home. She wanted so bad to run up to him, kiss him and congratulate him on such a good show, but knew that probably wouldn’t go over well. He wasn’t exactly her boyfriend.

Taking a deep breath, she got out of her chair and walked over to the stage. He did ask her to come, so she figured she should at least make her presence known and say hello or good job. He didn’t see her at first so she hung back, awkwardly waiting for him to turn around.

When he did he smiled and waved, then looked back at his bandmates, all of whom were busy talking to tearing down their stuff. He took the step down from the stage and walked over to her, grinning the whole time.

“You came,” he said, practically giggling.

“Wouldn’t miss it. Um, my sister and some friends were here too, but left right after the show. They liked it!

“Nice. Did you?”

“Of course I did. If only the lead guitarist didn’t suck so fucking much.”

Brian laughed, “Thanks a lot, kid. You really know how to stroke a man’s ego.”

Joanna laughed as well, shaking her head. “In all seriousness, you guys were great. But you were the best part.”

He grinned and chuckled, “Thanks, Jo. Means a lot.”

“Gates!” the drummer yelled from behind them. “Let’s go get wasted!”

He held up a finger at his friend and turned back to Joanna. “Do you want to come?”

She was totally surprised by this, not expecting him to mix her in with her group of friends. But the thought of it made her nervous; she didn’t think she could handle meeting new people and drinking all at the same time. It wasn’t something she had ever done; she hadn’t really ever drank either. She didn’t want to make a fool out of herself.

“I don’t know...” she started.

“I get it,” he said, a sadness on his features. “I guess I’ll see you Tuesday?”

“Yes, Tuesday.”

“Ok. Bye,” he said. He looked back at his friends, who weren’t paying them attention. Turning back to her, he leaning down, giving her a light kiss on the lips. He winked when he pulled away, leaving her behind to be with his friends.

She bit her lip to tame her smile and turned away, heading home before she ran back to him, turning that kiss into something more.

Notes

xoxo JJ