Thirty-Four

Henry was part of the Clubhouse's writing group. He stopped by on Sundays and one random day of the week, always depending on what worked with his schedule. I was glad he was there that day, because while Nate and I worked on a new song for the band, Devon could talk about short story ideas with someone.

Nate was already at the Clubhouse when we arrived, playing my drums. He was talented, probably having taken lessons in the past, but guitar was what he was best at. It was the instrument that he took the most time learning to play. It was the one that he clearly felt the most comfortable playing, because as I watched him drum, he was deep in thought, trying to remember what came next.

"I think someone's trying to steal your crown," Brody teased as he turned the page of his book. "You're still my favorite."

"Gee, thanks," I snickered.

"Welcome back, Devon." Brody glanced at our hands and smirked. "I take it things last weekend went well?"

"They did," Devon agreed, as he smiled down at me.

"He's back at school now, too."

"Good," Brody stated. "I don't like the idea of you not going to school."

"I mean, I was still doing the work-"

"It's not the same thing," he deadpanned, glaring at him. "If anyone is going to date Mel, they have to be going to school. They have to understand what the future holds, both for them and for Mel. And they have to be approved by me."

"That hasn't stopped me in the past," I lied, just wanting to get a reaction from him.

"Darling, you have never dated anyone in your life," he scoffed, still staring at Devon. "So, you're going to school. Good. What about the future?"

"Well, I don't know what it's going to be like for Mel and I. I'm going to go to college while she's making music. So I guess if we can make things work, then that will be great. But if they don't, I can't exactly get mad at it." He looked at me. "I mean, you said you didn't want to date anyone until you were comfortable with your time schedule in a band. But you're making an exception for me, so I'm going to honor that and accept whatever has to happen in order for you to succeed."

I blushed, smiling as I glanced from him to the floor, to Brody, and back to him.

"What are you going to school for?"

"Going to become a doctor, hopefully."

"Hopefully?" Brody questioned, his voice no longer mockingly serious.

"It's expensive. I'm working to get as many scholarships and loans as possible, but if I can't afford it, I may not finish, you know? And even if I can afford it, what if no one wants me for an internship? Then what?"

"Continue to work hard," I stated. "You want it, take it. That's what I'm doing. You can do the same."

He smiled and squeezed my hand. "That's what I'm hoping for."

"Alright, alright," Brody dramatically sighed. "I accept you two dating."

"Thank you, sir," Devon smiled. "And I know you'll be watching us, and I take that statement seriously."

Brody cackled. "Oh, I definitely like you."

Nate quit drumming mid solo and called out, "Oh, hi, Mel!"

"Hey, Nate." I squeezed Devon's shoulder before skidding to Nate's side. "You said you had some lyric ideas?"

"Yeah. I have an idea for a song to go with that solo you did. I just need to see if it works."

"If my solo works?"

"If what I wrote to go with it works. If you want to ad lib anything, be my guest, but it'll most likely be me doing the fixing." He pulled over a spare chair, sat down, and placed his guitar in his lap. "Can I hear your solo again?"

We played for nearly two hours. There was one brief break in between to grab a drink, but it was nonstop revising. His song was called 'Darling, Do You Remember The Good Times?', written about his ex-girlfriend during their trial separation. The title itself reminded me of something Fall Out Boy would use for a title, but it was more of a glamour track. The song was very personal, despite how he played it off like it was nothing. It could have been nothing for him to share his feelings like that, but based on the way Devon reacted whenever he showed me one of his pieces, I assumed Nate was playing it cool.

He fixed the lyrics, I came up with a beat, but we didn't wind up using the solo. My drumline inspired the solo and all the emotions I shoved into it. We agreed that something else would work well with the solo.

"And if anything else, while James changes clothes, you can play that solo to fill in the time slot."

"You mean I get my own solo time? Like not just in a song, but an actual solo?"

Nate shrugged. "It depends. Whenever we do the song 'Chasity,' we have an actual drum solo on it. Since it'll now be your solo, you can play whatever you want. But after two minutes, James comes out in a new outfit, and we continue the show."

"Does everyone have their own solo slot in the show?" I couldn't remember that when I saw them, but I could recall a thirty second ad lib from Nate.

"Eh, it sort of depends. You won't get a solo every night. Maybe a thirty second one, but not a full two minutes. It all depends on the show. Depending on where we play depends on how long we play, and if we can fit you in, we can. If we can fit Lucy or I, or even James in, we will. But we always said that once we make it big and we're playing stadiums and touring, everyone will get some sort of solo."

"What's James's solo going to be? Him playing piano and singing a ballad?"

"Yes." Nate put his guitar back in its case. "Are you planning to be with us when we tour?"

"What do you mean?" Was this going to be a subtle way of telling me I was only temporary until they found someone better to be their permanent member? At least I'd have the practice for the future. That way when I found my own permanent band, I could say that I'd played with someone before.

"I guess I'm worried that we're going to have another drummer leave us. You're, like, our third drummer now. Possibly the fourth, really."

I quirked an eyebrow. "I mean, I hope I get to stay. It's always been my dream to play with a band and tour and make it big. No matter what, I'm going to continue being a musician until I die. I'll only ever be in a cover band if I have to- I'll even give out expensive lessons, but it's my dream to play drums. So if your band still wants me by the time you all go on tour, I'll be right here," I stated, crashing a symbol with a smirk. "Guaranteed."

Nate snorted, covering his mouth as he looked away.

"Shut up. I felt it the moment I did it," I cringed.

"Oh, you are going to fit in perfectly with us." He nodded. "I guess Petula helped the band pick out someone great."

"Is she not normally helpful?"

"She's helpful in distracting James whenever we need a moment," he snickered. "She's his Princess, so what can we do?"

"At least they're happy, right?"

"Oh, definitely," he quickly agreed. "I meant more like when we need a break. It's nice, because when she has a free moment, he's more than willing to cut rehearsals short to spend time with her. And we're all still in school, so it's nice to have extra time to do homework or relax on our own or with friends."

So Petula occupying James meant more time for me to spend with Devon. I glanced at him, who still sat next to Henry. They laughed as they worked, and he glanced up at me, smiled, and looked back down at his work.

"How long have you two been together?"

"Not even a full week."

"How long have you two known each other?"

"Since late August."

"Little over two months," he nodded. "I promise, rehearsals won't take up as much of your time as you think. But since you are in high school and still have the Monday through Friday week, it will feel more time constricting. If you ever think you need a break for mental or physical health, just tell us. We will keep you in the loop."

"Like, you'd have rehearsals without me there?"

"Why not? We just had one without James or Lucy, right?"

"We were just writing music."

"Still counts. Look, I'm not saying we exclude people. I'm just saying that if you're sick and can't make rehearsals, that's fine. You told us that all you ever do is play drums, so it's not like we need to worry about you slacking off. High school is a stressful time. If you need to take a day off, let us know. We have two rehearsals a week on Tuesdays from five to nine. Sometimes it's actual rehearsing, sometimes it's brainstorming or writing, or it's band bonding. Then we have our weekend shows, then it's back to school on Monday. It's a lot of hard work. I'm in my last semester, and so is James. Lucy's graduated, and you said you're skipping college. Just one more semester to go, then we're going to be set. We'll have more free time to focus on us. We can space out rehearsals better and spend time with people we love. But while it's most stressful now, seriously, don't be afraid to ask. Sometimes you have to put yourself first."

As simple as it sounded, it wasn't that easy to incorporate. Yes, I needed to focus on me and my mental and physical health. Yes, life was going to be stressful while dealing with a band, school, and my personal life, which now included a dating life. I was going to be spread thin, but I made a promise to the band. Devon already knew it, and I planned to make sure the band knew as well.

7 Years of Blood came before anything else.