Thirty

"Is this a date?" Jeanie called from the living room as I exited the bathroom.

"No," I replied, before locking myself in my room.

All week she'd been asking if the concert was going to be my first date with Devon. It wasn't. The more she asked, the more I wondered if it was a date, and I knew that had to be her plan all along. The more I associated the concert and Devon with the word 'date,' the more I'd believe it actually was.

I walked into the living room to find Jeanie cuddled into Rick's side. He petted his fingers through her hair as he watched TV, but when I walked in, they both cooed. "And you say you're not going on a date," he teased.

"I'm not."

"But you're dressed up," she defended.

I wore black jeans with thin white stripes and tucked it into a black t-shirt with a belt. Plain black boots and a plain black coat. It was a normal outfit. It may have been dressier for two friends going out, but my clothes were either really nice or way too casual. Since we were going to an outdoor concert, it was better to dress simple.

"This is what I wear all the time," I argued.

"Yeah, but you took the time to put something together. You're wearing more makeup than just your usual purple lipstick. And you even curled your hair a bit. You're trying to look good," she smirked. "Even if you don't think it's a date, you want it to be."

"It doesn't matter what I want it to be. It is what it is. I'm not going on a date, I'm seeing a Billy Joel tribute artist."

"Billy Joel?" Rick said. "Hasn't he written a bunch of love songs?"

"Yeah. Just The Way You Are. This Night. If I Only Had The Words To Tell You," Jeanie listed.

"We don't need to go over all of his songs."

"You're My Home," Rick added.

"An Innocent Man. Honesty."

"Honesty is not a love song," I stated.

"It can be," they said.

Rolling my eyes, I glanced out the window as I heard a car drive by. I thought it was slowing down, but it was some neighbor.

"And now you're waiting for him to pick you up. Honey," Jeanie exclaimed, "admit it! You want it to be a date, and you know it."

I sighed. "I do."

"Aww."

"Shut up," I groaned. "It doesn't matter. I meant what I said. I won't have time to date him. I'd rather not start something I can't finish. I don't know how hectic everything is now going to be. I want to be in a relationship I know I can work on."

"You keep saying that, and the more you're going to believe it. I'm telling you, if you want to make time for him, you will," Jeanie preached. "I know you're scared to be in a relationship, but stop making excuses. That's how you miss being with someone who really cares about you and actually wants to be with you."

Devon knocked on the front door, and Jeanie jumped up from the couch to answer. She held the door open and ushered him inside. "Hi, Devon. I'm Jeanie. It's so nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," he said with a polite smile. "I'm surprised you two are sisters. You don't look that alike."

"Yeah, we get that a lot," Jeanie said. "It helps since no one can know we're related until she's graduated high school."

"Why?"

"Safety reasons. No one knows where I'm located, and it keeps me safe. And it will keep her safe as well from anyone sending us death threats."

"Death threats?" Devon asked, his calm demeanor gone. "Who's sending out death threats?"

"People who hate the idea of a female gamer doing well and making a difference," I snickered.

Devon jerked his head over to me, and his face relaxed the moment he saw me. His cheeks tinted as he stared me up and down, and I saw Jeanie smirking at me from behind. She mouthed, 'Told you so' before walking back to the couch.

"You look beautiful, Mel," he murmured.

"Thank you. So do you," I whispered. He wore the same outfit he wore on our fake date. I found the all black look on him to be very attractive. And with his pink hair, it was even sexier.

"You don't want to be late," Rick smirked.

"Please, you just want the house to yourself," I grumbled, taking Devon's hand as I walked out the door. "We'll be back late."

"Have fun!" Jeanie called out.

Devon laughed as he fixed his grip on my hand and led me to his car. "Are you excited about tonight?"

"Very. I've been looking forward to this concert."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah. I love Billy Joel. He's one of my favorite musicians of all time. I know it may not seem like it since I listen to mostly punk and alternative, but he's so easy to listen to. I can put him on and feel completely relaxed."

"I'd like to point out that you also like to listen to glam rock and video game soundtracks, so it's not a big stretch for you to like Billy Joel."

I shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a nerdy goth."

"You're not even goth," he snickered. "Take away the looks, and you're left with one of the most unbrooding people I know."

"Unbrooding?" I chuckled.

"Yeah. You're a ray of sunshine."

I grimaced. "Are you sure you even know me?"

"Of course! You're trying to act like you have this tough side to you, but you're just a giggly girl. Again, a ray of sunshine," he smirked. "I should know. I'm the same way."

"I didn't know you were a giggly girl."

"Oh, ha ha," he deadpanned. "I mean it, Mel. We act like we're tough so people don't mess with us, but at the end of the day, we're just people who like to laugh and have fun and pursue their passions."

"Speaking of, how are you enjoying the writing group at the Clubhouse?"

"I love it," he exhaled. "I'm trying to convince Amber to join."

"You two really hit it off."

"She's awesome," he gushed. "And she sent me a chapter of one of her books. Oh my- I swear, it was pure poetry."

I thought that over. "Wait, was it a book or a poem? Ooh! Or one of those books that's written in the poetry format?"

"It's a book, but it was so beautiful. She's promising to send it to me chapter by chapter so I can give her feedback." I saw him blush, biting his bottom lip to keep himself from smiling. "I was thinking she could do the same for me."

"You're thinking of writing a book?"

"Not like a full-length novel or anything. More like a novelette or something."

"You'll have to let me read it when you finish it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't mind reading it chapter by chapter, but I'd prefer to binge my reading. Like I won't read a series until all the books are out."

"You read?" He said it so seriously, I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. I hoped he was.

"Yes, I read. Not as much as I'd like to, but I do. It was how I spent a lot of my summer. Playing drums and reading. So you better let me read your novelette once you finish it."

He didn't say anything. Maybe Devon didn't want me to read his work. I understood since I wasn't a writer like him. Sure, I wrote music, but there was a difference between putting sound on paper and writing worlds. Or maybe his work was very personal, and he was attempting to share it with other writers, because they could understand it better than me. Or he legit did not want me to read them just because. All of them made sense, but they were disappointing. He was a writer. Anything he wrote came from his mind and heart. I wanted to know more about him, and his work would let me see into his mind. You could tell a lot about a person based on what they wrote about and how they format it. And with writing being important to Devon, I wanted to know more about how he showed his care for it.

"I can't believe you want to read my stuff," he shyly mumbled.

I couldn't help but smile. "If you wrote it, I want to read it."

Devon wouldn't stop smiling the rest of the way to the concert, not even when we found a spot to set up our lawn chairs. The concert took place next to the town's library. There was a large strip mall that boxed around a beautiful courtyard with an artificial pond in the middle. There were a lot of open seats, and since the band was playing on a stage set up in the pond, it freed up more room.

We sat near the pond, facing the way "Billy Joel" was facing. The impersonator looked a lot like him, though more in his older days than his younger. The balding head. The larger body. And when he started the concert by singing My Life, it was like I was listening to the original artist. I was impressed.

I danced in my seat with Devon shimmying right beside me. We glanced at each other and laughed. As they played Uptown Girl, Devon stood up and pulled me up with him. I would have complained that we were going to block everyone else's view, but a lot of other people were dancing up front, and we joined them. He grabbed both my hands, and we jumped and danced with a group of middle-aged women dancing with their preteen children. They didn't start dancing until they saw us dance, most likely thinking that if we thought it was cool to dance, then it would be okay for them to as well.

We danced through Still Rock 'n Roll To Me, Movin' Out, and Stiletto, but the moment they played the first notes of This Night, I felt my heart melt. It was my favorite Billy Joel song. It was a romantic classic and one of the first songs I learned to play. I was surprised to hear Devon hum to the lyrics. It wasn't a popular song by any means. It was one that diehard fans were more likely to know.

Devon slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. He held our hands up to our face as we swayed, and he continued to hum the song as I rested my forehead against his shoulder. He traced his fingers in short, slow lines across my back. He nudged his head gently against my mine, prompting me to look up. His eyes were closed, his forehead pressed against mine.

"This night, you're mine," he sang under his breath. Only I heard him. "It's only you and I. Tomorrow is a long time away." He opened his eyes. They were intense. I couldn't breathe. "This night can last forever."

He pressed his nose against mine, and I shut my eyes. Right there, I felt it. This wasn't just getting lost in a song. If he was going to kiss me this time, there would be no way to cover it. I wouldn't want to go back to being just friends. I could fuck up my entire friendship with him and wouldn't care, because I at least got the chance to be with him. Jeanie was right. It was better to have tried and failed at a relationship than to not give it a chance.

I wanted Devon to kiss me, but I was relieved when he pulled away. I wanted to be with him, but I was afraid. Whatever time I would have with him would be limited. The fact that didn't scare me was terrifying. I wanted to make time for him. I wanted to be with him. And as he stared back at me, eyes clouded in what I could only assume was lust, I wanted the chance to fail even more. That was what scared me the most.

Devon led us back to our seats. He didn't pull his hand away from me. For the rest of the concert, he held my hand and drew circles into my knuckles with his thumb. We may have swayed in our chairs, but we didn't dance. The show ended a few songs after This Night, and as everyone left, we stayed behind. I assumed it was because of the traffic overflow that was bound to happen.

"I like you, Mel," Devon murmured.

It came out of the blue, which prompted me to believe it was just a compliment. "I like you, too."

His grip tightened. "More than that."

I took a deep breath, waiting for him to look up at me. He was petrified of what I was going to say. The only thing I could think of was, "Me too."

Relief washed over his face. "You do?"

I nodded, unable to fight my smile. "Yeah. For a while, actually."

He smirked as he leaned in. "How long ago? Sophomore year?"

"I meant more like since we started hanging out outside of school," I giggled. "I don't know when exactly, but I remember thinking it was just a crush. And you can get rid of crushes, but then actual feelings started happening, and now... here we are."

"Here we are," he murmured. His face fell. "You wanted to stop having feelings for me?"

"We're friends. We had a thing going for us, and I didn't want to ruin it," I replied. Like clockwork, I interfered, "Plus, you know, I didn't have time for a relationship-"

"Because of your band, I know." He sighed. "I know that, and I completely respect it. But after everything we've been doing, I had to tell you I'm starting to have feeling for you. So maybe we should take a step back." He let go of my hand. "I don't want to just stop being around you, but maybe we should set some boundaries."

No.

That's not what I wanted.

I covered my face with my hands and listened to him list a few suggestions. No more holding hands. No more flirty texting or texting when bored. But the moment he suggested not being alone together, I jerked my head up to him. Letting out a tsk, I said, "This would be so much easier if you still went to school."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Easier how?"

"Then there would be some time for us to see each other. Maybe then we could actually give this a shot."

Devon sat up straighter. "Are you saying that if I come back to school, you'll go out with me?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. There's no guarantee that it will work, but at least we'd be able to try."

"And... y-you're actually willing to give- try it?"

I nodded.

"What about what you said about your band taking up your time?"

"It's going to. I mean, we may not even have time to give it a shot, but if we did, school would give us more time together. We'd see each other in the halls, share a few classes." I stared down at the grass. "But I get you don't want to come back. Are you still worried you're going to punch Jett the moment you see him?"

He sighed, but nodded anyway. "He has a little brother, you know. Greg."

I recalled Rena mentioning him and how he wouldn't be going to the same high school as her.

"They were paired up for a project where they had to walk around school and take pictures for their photo editing class." His jaw tightened, and he squeezed his fists, digging his nails into his palms. "He began touching her. He kept messing with her until he dragged her into an empty classroom and started kissing her. One of her friends was passing by using the bathroom and saw them. She was going to reprimand them until she saw how he was forcing himself on Rena, and she stopped it and got the teacher involved right away.

"The next day, I confronted Jett about teaching his brother some fucking discipline. Instead, he told me to fuck off and leave his family alone." He scoffed. "I planned to walk away and let the teachers and his parents deal with it, but he told me that my sister was a slut who most likely deserved it."

I instantly grabbed his hand and he held it tight. "I'm so sorry."

"I lost all of my self-control and punched him." He smirked. "Rumor has it you can still see his blood on the sidewalk."

"You can," I whispered, but Jett deserved it. I knew Devon had his reasons for punching Jett. Jett was a smug bastard, but I never thought about him condoning his brother's assault and then blaming the victim. Then again, it was Devon's sister. He wasn't right in blaming the victim, but I understood why he did. It was to get a reaction from Devon, one that resulted in a blood soaked sidewalk and a suspension.

Devon's grip tightened as his body shook. "I'll come back."

"Devon-"

"By not coming back, I'm letting him get to me," he snarled. "I don't want him to think he can just do whatever the fuck he wants and strut around the halls like he's the victim. My sister is."

I placed my hand over ours. "I will be right by your side. We all will be."

His grip softened, and he brought my hand up to his lips, kissing my knuckles. "I also want to give this a chance."

I swooned, something I never thought I'd do. But he made me happy, and I was excited.

"If you're serious about wanting to give this a chance, then let's do it," he murmured. A giddy smile instantly appeared. "Can I kiss you now?"

I giggled. "Yes."