My Brother's Best Friend (Shay Mooney)

Chapter 2

After a long night of loud music and the strong smell of cigarettes, I decide it's time for me to go. I step out of the trailer that serves as the backstage and dial Dan on my iPhone. It rings five times before there is an answer.

"Emily?" a voice that isn't my brother asks. "Emily, it's Shay." Music is blaring in the background and Shay is shouting to be heard.

"Shay?" I whisper. "The concert's over...I'm ready to go."

"Listen, your brother's wasted. Abby drove separate. I already took Dan's car keys. I can come get you and get Abby to take Dan home," Shay shouts. My brother's drunk? I've never seen him drunk before. I've never even seen him drink before."Em?" Abby is Dan's girlfriend. They've been together for two years now.

"Yeah, um...please. Thank you, Shay."

"No problem babe. I'll be there in about five minutes. Bye." Shay hangs up. I'm still shocked that Dan is drunk.

I step back into the trailer and tell Jason that I'm leaving. "Do you need a ride home?" is his response.

"No, Shay's taking me home."

"Okay. See you tomorrow?" Jason asks.

"Absolutely." I hug him. "Bye guys!" I shout to my other friend who are sitting on the long sectioned couch.

"Bye Em," Bryan responds, smiling. No one else acknowledges my goodbye.

I step out of the stuffy trailer and into the chilly night. The full moon hangs unusually low and projects light into the parking lot. My hair smells like cheap cigarette smoke. It's a good thing Dan's drunk or he would pound me with questions, even though he knows I don't smoke.

Shay pulls around the corner in my brother's old mustang. I tuck my long brown hair behind my ears. At some point tonight, I seemed to have lost my hair tie. Shay jumps out of the car before I can get to the passenger seat and opens the door for me.

"Thank you," I say, sitting down.

"You're welcome."

It shouldn't be awkward to be alone with Shay. I've known him forever. I try to break the awkward silence that's taken us over. "So Dan's drunk?" I ask. "I've never seen him drink before."

"Yeah, he is. And me neither. I'm usually the one that he has to drag home, usually the one getting wasted at parties. I've never even seen him touch alcohol. It was kind of fun to see a new, loose Dan."

"Wow. Where were you guys?"

"At this party that Becca Quentin hosted. She said her parents are out of town for the weekend," Shay says, shrugging.

"Becca Quentin?" I ask, in awe. She's the most popular person at Nashville High. She's really pretty and despite her status, she's really nice.

"Yep. It was nothing special though. Actually, it kind of sucked. But I never really enjoy parties anyway," Shay confesses.

"You don't enjoy parties?"

"Not really, no. But I like the idea of them. Loud music, friends hanging out, being carefree. I go to each one, hoping it will be the same as what I imagine. It never is, but I keep going to them anyway." In that moment, I see him differently. For some reason this statement changes my opinion of him. He may not be the bad boy I've always assumed he is. I see a different side to him, a side that's more sensitive and more reserved. I see the side of him that's actually willing to drive his best friend's little sister home when her brother gets wasted. I'm not sure who this person I'm next to is, but I like him a whole lot more than my brother's best friend.