17*Bee's POV*
I dumped my books in my locker, fished my Shuffle out of my pocket, and started blasting "Mobile".
Jet leaned against the locker next to me and said… something.
"What?" I yelled, not bothering to turn my music down.
He yelled it this time.
"WHAT?" I still didn't turn it down.
He snatched my Shuffle. "Don't forget band practice this afternoon."
"I won't." I waited and stuck out my hand. "Give it back, Jet."
"Give what back?"
"Give me my Shuffle!" I said, grabbing the hand it was in and prying his fingers open.
I snatched it back and punched him in the arm. "Don't. Touch. The Shuffle," I said, only half-joking.
"Yes, Your Highness." He pecked me on the cheek. "Gotta run!" He started jogging away.
"Did you get detention again?" I called after him.
"Yep!"
I just rolled my eyes. Oh, yeah! I forgot to mention something. Jet and I've dating for, like, a week and a half.
What? Are you surprised?
I smiled a bit. Then I noticed Longshot scowling next to me.
"What?" I asked.
He shook his head. (Nothing.)
I rolled my eyes again. "Practice doesn't start for two hours. What do you wanna do?"
He shrugged.
Wow, I rolled my eyes three times in less than two minutes. A new record! "C'mon," I said, grabbing his wrist and dragging him to our building.
I dragged him to the hall outside my dorm. "Wait here," I said.
I ran in and grabbed my acoustic. I'm the guitar in the band. I know acoustic and electric, but Jet's song choice is more electric. Actually, I'm not sure he even knows I play acoustic. It's not that I don't want him to know, he just never brought it up.
I walked back into the hall, guitar in one hand, sheet music in the other. Not that I really needed it.
"Any idea where we should go?" I asked him. What was wrong with my dorm, you ask? No boys allowed in girls' dorms, visa versa. Stupid rule. Lived by it for years.
He shrugged again.
I almost rolled my eyes again, but then I realized something wasn't right. He usually thought of what to do. Actually, he'd been like that all week.
"You okay?" I asked.
He looked kinda startled. (What? Yeah, I'm fine. Why?)
"You been kinda out of it all week."
(I've just… got a lot on my mind.)
"Like what?"
(It's nothing, really.)
I gave him a weird look. It wasn't like him not to tell me what was wrong. But I knew better than to pressure him.
"Let's go up front," I said. "Not many people will be outside in mid-January."
He nodded and waited while I ran back into my room and grabbed my jacket. I wasn't a big fan of the cold myself, but thinking of quiet places after school, indoors, at a high school is pretty tough.
We'd just walked out of the building when I realized something. I turned to him.
"Shouldn't you get your jacket?"
He shrugged. (I'm fine.)
"Waddaya mean 'You're fine'? It's, like, thirty-five degrees out."
(I'm fine,) he repeated.
I gave him another look. He usually hated the cold.
I shook my head. "Whatever. C'mon." We walked over to the front of the school and sat down on one of the benches. I was right, there was no one around.
I set my music on the ground and put the guitar in my lap. Even after all these years, it was still a little too big for me. My dad gave it to me before he… I won't get into that.
I dug out the music for the song I wanted to do. I'd memorized everything but the intro.
Let's see, I thought. I looked at the page. A5, B5, D5, A5…
I started strumming. There were supposed to be, like, three guitars, drums, and what sounded like a synth, but too bad.
I started singing along.
"I'm standing on the bridge
"I'm waiting in the dark
"I thought that you'd be here by now
"There's nothing but the rain
"No footsteps on the ground
"I'm listening but there's no sound
"Isn't anyone trying to find me
"Won't somebody come take me home
"It's a damn cold night
"Trying to figure out this life
"Won't you take me by the hand
"Take me somewhere new
"I don't know who you are, but I
"I'm with you
"I'm with you
"I'm looking for a place
"I'm searching for a face
"Is anybody here I know
"'Cause nothing's going right
"And everything's a mess
"And no one likes to be alone
"Isn't anyone trying to find me
"Won't somebody come take me home
"It's a damn cold night
"Trying to figure out this life
"Won't you take me by the hand
"Take me somewhere new
"I don't know who you are, but I
"I'm with you
"I'm with you
"Why is everything so confusing
"Maybe I'm just out of my mind
"It's a damn cold night
"Trying to figure out this life
"Won't you take me by the hand
"Take me somewhere new
"I don't know who you are, but I
"I'm with you
"I'm with you
"Take me by the hand
"Take me somewhere new
"I don't know who you are, but I
"I'm with you
"I'm with you
"I'm with you
I strummed the last chord. It was one of the many things only Longshot knew about me: I'm a singer.
I heard clapping. I turned to Longshot.
(Bravo, bravo.)
I glared and raised a fist.
He stopped. (Right! But, seriously, it was good.)
"Ha ha, very funny."
This time he rolled his eyes. (Why won't you believe me?)
I just shook my head and dug out the music for "Complicated". We sat there a while, me playing one song after another, him listening in silence.
It was time for practice before I knew it.
Literally.