Walking After You | Dave Grohl

nine

9

"WHY ARE YOU SO nervous?" Dave chuckled, sensing her discomfort on the passenger seat. "You have met my mom before"

A Sonic Youth record played softly on the radio, but Nessa wasn't keeping attention at all to the music or to the road Dave was driving on. Since they had gotten in the car, she had looked at her reflection in the mirror more than five times, anxiously nibbling on her fingernails.

Nessa had spent a long, and out of the ordinary time, staring at her open closet, before she settled on an outfit she considered appropriate enough for a lunch date at the Grohl's — a simple floral dress paired with a black leather jacket.

"Last time I saw her was years ago," she whined lowly, fumbling with the curly hairs of her bangs. "And that was before we slept together"

Dave couldn't help but laugh at her logic. Nessa usually didn't care about impressing people, but there she was, worried about leaving a good impression upon his mother.

"Well," he started, using a matter-of-fact tone, reaching over to the radio to turn the volume down so that they could talk comfortably over it. "To be fair, the first time you met my mother, you sneaked into my house in the middle of the night and passed out on our couch"

Nessa scoffed in surprise, feigning offense, and punched his left arm lightly. "I didn't sneak into your house. I got locked out of my grandma's, remember?"

Leaning back on the passenger seat and crossing her arms against her chest, Nessa smirked pretentiously. "And just so you know, I only went with you because Stacy's house was too far away to walk"

This was Dave's turn to pretend to be hurt, pressing a hand to his chest. "Are you telling me I wasn't a hero that night? I was simply the convenient option"

Nessa shrugged, holding the chuckle that Dave's drama had challenged in her. "I could've slept inside my grandma's car"

Dave scoffed, shaking his head. "All of those options and you still chose to walk with me to my house?" he asked smartly. "You don't fool me, missy"

He smugly waved his index finger from side to side in her direction. "You came with me because you wanted to spend more time with me"

Nessa giggled in defeat, clearly called out for her bullshit. Of course, the main reason she had chosen to go with him was because it was indeed the safest option, but wanting to spend more time with him had for sure taken part in her decision.

She resigned with another chuckle, before letting out a long breath and looking out the window. "Yeah, maybe it was a bit of that too"

"Thank you for stating the obvious— Hey, I'm driving here," he protested mid-laugh when she threatened to swing at his arm once again.

"Look, you don't have to worry about my mom. She was really excited to see you again,"
Dave's words reassured her, but they didn't help her relax. Nessa couldn't explain what exactly she was feeling, but it was almost as if she felt pressured.

The night they had spent together changed things between them, at least to her, and that sudden change implied something that she hated: losing control of her emotions and of what happened around her.