Thirty-Eight

Although James said that Petula didn't mind if we went out to dinner or that she was the one who wanted us to talk in the first place, I still felt the need to talk to her myself. While I was sure that James was being honest about everything, as he loved Petula and would never want to do anything to hurt her, I still felt like it was my job as her friend to tell her about my side as well. Nothing happened between James and I. Nothing was going to happen between us. She knew nothing was going to happen between us. But I still should say what happened.

The conversation was simple. I asked her why she felt so worried about me she had to ask James to speak to be about it, and she told me about how she's seen me overwork myself into madness before (which I couldn't deny, since I did on multiple occasions), and she didn't want it to happen again. I assured her I wouldn't and that James and I talked it out. She then asked how dinner went, and I was honest about how it was nice and that we had a good time. She seemed thrilled for us, and she knew in the end why I felt the need to talk to her. She told me she had no issues with the two of us getting dinner and hanging out as long as we didn't keep secrets from her (unless it was a surprise for her or something), and I promised I wouldn't. I knew she'd do the same if she and Devon ever hung out on their own.

Texting her made me feel relieved, and I walked into school the next day refreshed. Jeanie asked a lot of questions, but I was able to sleep at a good hour, and I was able to make it to school for first period. People were staring at me, some smiling, some glaring like usual, but most were gossiping. While I was used to it, I wasn't used to the overwhelming positivity that surrounded the murmurs.

When I arrived at my locker, I understood why everyone was whispering about me. Taped to my locker were two red roses, tied in a purple ribbon that matched my lipstick, with a card that read:

Roses are red;

You wear all black;

I hope these roses embarrass you;

How will you counterattack?

I snorted, laughing as I opened my locker, grabbed my book, and headed to the library. Was he actually trying to embarrass me? I'd never been given roses before, so even if it was just a way to tease me, I still found it to be sweet. And I carried them around with me all day, enjoying the new jealous stares from my classmates. I had a boyfriend who would go out and buy me flowers. That was pretty outstanding. It finally made sense why girls paraded their gifts around. I felt special and loved. I enjoyed flaunting it. Shove it back in the assholes' faces who mocked me just because Buddy was my friend. And it felt damn good to see them glare.

Buddy laughed when we finally saw each other. "What happened yesterday to get those?"

"No idea. Just found them taped to my locker," I said as I handed him the note. He cackled as he handed it back. "What should I do to counterattack?"

"Not sure. Pinch his cheeks and use baby talk on him-"

"That's more embarrassing for me."

"In front of our friends at lunch?"

When lunch rolled around, I held Devon's hand as we walked to our usual table. "Aww, you two are so cute. Celebrating your one week anniversary?"

"No," I deadpanned.

"It was her band's first rehearsal yesterday, and I thought it would be a nice gift," Devon said as he gazed at me. I felt bad for wanting to embarrass him, but since he wanted me to, I went for it.

I reach out, pinched his cheeks and cooed, "He's such a gweat boyfriend. So shweet."

Devon glared at me as he lowered my hand. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he poked my side, and I giggled as we sat down. "Aren't you adorable?" he teased.

"The most," I smirked.

"Still in your love bubble, huh?" Yasmine commented. "Enjoy it while it lasts. It eventually pops."

"I'm right here," her boyfriend Roy groaned, albeit playfully.

Was this what a love bubble was? Just joking around and goofing off? It wasn't like we were being cutesy for the sake of being cutesy. He was being a sweet ass with the flowers and card, and I was just giving him what he wanted by teasing him. Did those sorts of things eventually fade after being together for a long time? James and Petula had been together for well over a year, and they were going strong. Same for Lucy and Amanda. Maybe a love bubble was just the easy part where everything felt natural. Would the easiness eventually go away?

No shit it would. My band was going to make things harder. That was just the way it was going to be. Enjoy the love bubble while we could; enjoy what time we had together while we could.

^^^

Devon asked me to go out with his cousins after school. While I wanted to go, Jeanie texted me and told me I needed to head straight home after school. I thought I was in trouble, despite the fact she kept telling me I wasn't in trouble. If I had time, I would meet up with them later. I'm sure his cousins wanted to give me the speech about protecting Devon and making sure I treated him right.

I walked inside, and the first thing I noticed was Jeanie's storage room's door covered in wrapping paper. "What the hell is going on?"

"I made a trip to Goodwill!" Jeanie squealed as she bounced her legs on the couch. "I emptied the room out completely."

"Why?"

"Because you need the room now more than I do. Rick and I are now joining the Renaissance Gaming family, which means I get my own office space, a new recording room, and a team to help me distribute merch to my fans."

"That's great!" I exclaimed, hugging her. "So you got rid of all your gaming stuff here?"

"Well, my recording room will still be a gaming room, but it's no longer going to be the only room I'm ever in anymore. I'm not going to be home as often, so I thought you would have better use over the spare room than I would."

My heart raced I ran to the room, hoping it was what she was implying. I slammed the door open, falling to my knees as I screamed and cried in joy. My own personal drum kit sat in the middle of the room with two folding chairs leaning against the wall. "Are you fucking with me?"

"Nope," she smirked. "Now you don't have to go to the Clubhouse all the time to drum."

"Best of all, it's soundproof," Rick added.

"It is not," I gasped, noticing the same soundproof decals from the band's shed were on the wall. "You're shitting me."

"Nope. This is all yours," Jeanie squealed, and I joined her, hugging her again.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Just don't be reckless in here. I'll let you know if I somehow hear you play," she chuckled. "Why don't you try it now?"

I pulled my drumsticks out of my backpack and sat down. I didn't know what to play, deciding just to play whatever random song I could come up with. Jeanie cuddled into Rick's side, resting her head on his shoulder as they watched and smiled. Even as they left to go on their date, I didn't stop playing. I must have played for hours. No original songs for the band. No covers we would have to do. It was just me and my drums, playing like I always had.

When I took a break, my phone finished ringing. I quickly picked it up, seeing I had two missed calls from Devon, one from an hour ago and one from just now. I called him back, and he instantly answered.

"Sorry, I was drumming. What's up?"

"For an hour?" he chuckled.

"Of course. It's my favorite thing."

"True. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Yeah. Jeanie bought me my own drum kit for the house, so I've been playing nonstop."

"You're kidding! I thought there was no room?"

"She emptied our storage room."

"What about her filming?"

"Room's soundproof. Plus, she's now part of a gaming company, so she won't always be recording at home anymore."

"That's great! For both of you, of course."

I chuckled. "Are you still out with your cousins?"

"No. Just left."

"Want to come over?"

He was over in five minutes.

"I love it," he said as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. "Now you'll be more like your sister."

"How so?"

"Constantly cooped up in your room doing work."

I snorted. "No way. I want to have a life outside of drumming. One where work isn't my main priority."

"You just told me you were drumming for over an hour straight."

"Yeah, but I wasn't playing anything for the band. I was just having fun."

"Can you play something for me?"

I rushed out of his arms and into my seat, drumming again. Devon sat and watched me for a while before playing on his phone, but he'd still glance up at me and watch. I closed my eyes halfway through, absorbing myself in the music. I opened my eyes as I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders, lowering my hands.

"You play beautifully, and I love hearing you play, but I don't want the only time we have together to be you playing the drums."

"Are you worried that that's all this will be?"

"Partially, yeah," he murmured. "Is that bad?"

"No. I'm worried my drumming will get in the way of this, too. You just have to remember that my career comes first. We're high schoolers. You're leaving for college soon. I have to focus on my career, you know?"

"I know." He kissed my cheek. "But while we do have time together, I'd like to spend it with you. I never mind listening to you play. I love watching you-"

"But music is also something you listen to and not just watch, I get it." I turned my head towards him. "No matter what, I'm going to do what's best for us both." Even if it meant breaking up.