Twenty

I kept my promise of texting Devon. In fact, I texted him twenty minutes later, but it was more than just to check and make sure he made it home safely. When he confirmed he did, we just said goodnight again, and in the morning, I was the first one to text him.

All week long it was the same thing. Sometimes he'd text first, sometimes I'd text first, but we were constantly texting throughout the day. Last week it was all little things, just the occasional "good luck" and whatnot, but it developed into deeper conversations. We would text about school and the assignments we were working on, and it would turn into TV shows and movies, music, and the new short stories and poems he was working on. Those were my favorite to hear about.

"Are you sure there's no one you like?" Buddy questioned as we walked to our math class. "No one at all."

"Band first."

"That doesn't mean you can't like someone." Buddy grabbed my hand, holding me back before I could enter the classroom. "I know you're trying to be discreet because of me, but I am still your best friend. You can still tell me these things."

I knew I could tell him, but it didn't feel right. I wanted to tell him about what I was feeling for Devon. I needed to talk through my feelings with someone, and he was always my go-to person. But since it hadn't been that long since I rejected him, it would have been rude to talk about it with him. I needed to give him some time and space from that part of my life until we could get to a point where it wouldn't hurt him to talk about those things. I knew he would be happy for me to be with someone else, but not completely. There would still be some resentment, and until that went away, I couldn't talk to him about any of it.

I looked him in the eye. "Let go of me."

Sighing, he let go of my hand and followed me into the classroom. He didn't look back at me once throughout class. And once class let out, he exited without saying a word. I understood he was pissed, but I didn't want to deal with it. He could be upset all he wanted, but I didn't want to talk to him about my current love life. I didn't even want to think about it. At the end of the day, I needed to focus on my music career before I could think about dating anyone. Long nights would soon be ahead of me, and I had to focus on those so I could balance my time accordingly. I didn't have time to think about dating Devon.

Then again, I didn't even have the ability to date him, either.

^^^

"He feels terrible," I told Devon over the phone as I went through my closet. "You spent all that time studying with him, and it didn't boost his grade enough." It was why Buddy left class so quickly. He had to call his mom and see if he could still somehow go to Petula's boyfriend's concert, using the excuse of making sure I was safe. She didn't agree.

"I can tutor him for the next one," Devon said. "It should be easy to get his grade up at this point. It was the second test of the semester. We can work with him to improve his grade, and by the time the finals roll around, he'll be prepared and pass."

I chuckled. "Thank you. I'll be sure to pass the message along."

"So who are you going to concert with now?"

"Darcy. She's really curious about Petula's boyfriend as well. There's a reason why she thinks Brody and I are going to end up together, and I want to know why."

I heard him scoff. "Like you'd ever actually date him. It'd be like dating your dad."

"Thank you!" I exclaimed. "He actually wanted to come with, but Petula said that since he was over eighteen, he could go any time he wanted and I should invite someone who couldn't. I feel like she's trying to hide him from her boyfriend."

"Or she wants you to have a fun time with someone who won't treat you like a parent."

"Yeah, but now I have to parent Darcy," I laughed. I tossed a pair of black shorts onto my bed with a black lacey top and my scarlet cardigan. I was going to pair it with my matching combat boots and black nylons. And my purple lipstick, of course.

"Is she a handful in these situations?"

"No, but she knows how to party like it's 1999," I snorted.

Devon laughed. "Have a good time tonight."

"You too. Night."

"Goodnight."

I hung up and quickly changed. Darcy would be over in a few minutes, and I didn't want to keep her waiting. When she arrived in ripped jeans, a Metallica t-shirt, and a red plaid jacket, we took off for the forty minute drive to Newport where the concert would be. It was at a sixteen and up club. The venue served alcohol, but you had to buy a wristband in order to drink anything. Not that we would want to. Darcy was driving, and I didn't trust anyone around me when I wasn't fully there.

"Do you know what sort of music they do?"

"Alternative rock," I replied. "Leans more on the glam side."

"Glam? Like actual glam rock?"

"I guess. Inspired by Queen but sounds more like Palaye Royale."

"So... they're going to be like The Struts?"

I smirked. "Now I'm hoping so."

We laughed as she parked the car near the front in a spot saved by the band. Petula stood out front with her pale pink coat wrapped tightly around herself. When we pulled in, she squealed and danced in front of us.

"I don't think I've ever seen you wear pink," I commented as I climbed out.

She giggled. "My boyfriend likes it on me. Oh!"–She clapped her hands–"I'm just so excited for you to meet him. And I'm glad you could come, Darcy. This is going to be like a girls' night for us. I haven't had one in... ever."

"Then tonight's definitely going to be fun," Darcy smirked as we followed Petula into the building.

There was a large crowd forming, and a few people greeted Petula as she walked past them. We made our way to the front before turning to the right. There was a closed off section with couches and tables. There was a large group already there, all having the punk rock fashion down. They all were wearing matching t-shirts or hoodies that said '7 Years of Blood' in red, with the letters looking like they were dripping and soaked in blood.

Everyone waved and greeted Petula enthusiastically as we sat down on the empty couch. A tall girl leaned down and whispered in Petula's ear, and she walked away after Petula lifted three fingers to her.

"Why 7 Years of Blood?" Darcy questioned.

"Because in Sex-Ed, the band learned that menstruation begins, on average, around twelve and ends at fifty two. That's forty years of periods, 480 periods. If you have them for an average of five days, you'd be bleeding for 2400 days. That's seven years of bleeding."

Darcy stared at her, jaw flopping to the ground, while I snorted. I loved it. "And so all these boys just decided to call themselves 7 Years of Blood?"

"I knew you'd like that," she smirked. "But there is a girl. She's a bassist."

"She's racist?" Darcy exclaimed.

"Bassist!" Petula strummed an air-bass. "She the bass player."

"Oh." She exhaled and chuckled. "That makes more sense."

"When are they going to start?"

Petula checked her watch. "In the next few minutes. Good thing we're up here with all the other bandmate's partners. The girl getting us water is the bassist's girlfriend."

Darcy smirked. "I didn't know there were going to be any other queer people here."

"Yeah, they're both pansexual. And my boyfriend... well, you'll see," she giggled.

I didn't know what she was getting at, and while I wanted to ask, I waited the few minutes to see what was going to happen instead. The bassist's girlfriend, Amanda, came back with three water bottles and handed us each one. She whispered something in Petula's ear again, and she nodded before quickly uncapping the bottle and chugging a quarter of it.

Darcy looked at me and I shrugged. Whatever was going on was between them.

The lights dimmed, and the crowd exploded with cheers. Dry ice spread across the stage floor as the lights flashed. With each flash, a new band member popped up on stage until a woman stood in the center in front of the mic, dressed in all black. It was difficult to see from where we sat, but she was wearing fishnets with ankle boots that have a crystal heel. Her shorts went to the lower flaps of her butt, and her tank top showed off a lot of cleavage, despite not having any breasts at all. Her sleeves were sheer and loose, traveling down to her wrist and covering part of her hands for her to flap around while on stage. Her platinum hair fell in beach curls down to her shoulders while the right side of her head was shaved.

She held up her arms, her sleeves swaying gently, earning a loud roar from the audience. Darcy and I couldn't help but howl as well. But when she opened her mouth and sang, we both fell silent.

"Isn't James so dreamy?" Petula screamed for us to hear.

"That's your boyfriend?" I exclaimed.

She nodded, cheering wildly. Her boyfriend noticed her and winked, and she swooned.

As surprised as we were, Darcy and I could admit that he was an incredible singer. His stage presence was enticing, and it felt as though he was having sex with himself on that stage. I couldn't look away, and I didn't want to. His vibe was glam rock superstar, and the music was very similar with an alternative vibe. He reminded me a lot of Luke Spiller in his mannerism, but he had the style of Lady Gaga. I was looking forward to meeting this man all the more.

He sang a few dance numbers before diving into a love ballad, which he played the piano for. He faced us on the stage for that song, singing directly to Petula. Darcy and I were cooing the entire time, swaying with her. And we danced a lot that night as well. For the second half of the show, we went down to dance with the main crowd. Before Petula joined us, Amanda held her back, whispering in her ear again, and Petula told us to go off without her.

We didn't want to leave her behind, but when she pushed us out of the booth, we danced more wildly and crazily with other fans. This was a band I could listen to all day long. I didn't want to stop listening to them. By the time the encore finished, I felt a bit depressed. The moment was gone. I would have to come back for any and all concerts I could go to.

Darcy and I climbed back up to the booth. Petula sat on Amanda's lap, giggling to themselves while the others laughed. When she spotted us, she jumped up and asked, "You girls really liked it?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed, holding out my arms to my side and leaning my head back. "I didn't want it to end. They're so talented- James especially."

"Do we really get to meet him?" Darcy pressed.

"Yeah, but we have to wait a minute for them to unwind and the crowd to dissipate. So sit and relax for the next twenty minutes. You're going to need your energy."

"I have too much adrenaline running through me to want to sit down," I laughed, but Darcy flopped onto the couch.

"Sweet. More room for me."

"Move your feet," I laughed, lifting her feet and placing them in my lap.

The group of partners all laughed quietly together, occasionally looking back at us. "Do you think they're making fun of us?" I whispered to Darcy.

"Just you. They haven't looked at me once," she stated. And when they glanced at us again, I realized it was just me they were looking at. "Do you want me to kick their asses for you?"

"No," I sighed. "It's probably nothing. Petula despises bullying and gossiping. She'd tell them to fuck off if they were."

"Then they all find you to be adorable," she cooed, pinching my cheeks.

"Ah, shut up," I pouted.

Petula stood up and faced us. "Ready to meet the band?"