Southern Belle |M.C|

Chapter 12: You Are My Favorite Lullaby

Belle POV

“We’ll call ourselves ‘R!ot’!”

“Wait, I really like that.” I thought. “I vote yes.”

“Same.” Michael agreed.

“What the hell just happened?” Luke asked.

Savv gave him a kiss. “You just helped us choose our name. Thanks baby.”

Luke just blushed and strummed his guitar again. “It was nothing.”

“We need to call Tara and Avery. Final Jam is in one week and we need to start rehearsing. Now.” Savv immediately started texting them, and in no time I found myself in a group message, both girls enthusiastically agreeing to sing with us. We decided to go to savv’s house tomorrow for the first official meeting. I was told to bring an unfinished song or two and we’d start working on it. If we didn’t finish, we’d just sing something done by someone else.

“Can we watch a movie now?” Michael whined. “I want snacks and snuggles.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, let’s watch a movie.” Michael and Luke excitedly chose the Lego Movie, something I didn’t know existed or had the desire to see. Both boys sang along to the songs and made jokes throughout the whole thing. The movie was complete shit, but I had fun seeing how excited 18 year old boys could get about plastic figures. I had made popcorn while Savv and Luke shared a bag of chex mix. I knew the stuff was her favorite, while I felt like movies and popcorn went hand in hand. Like peanut butter and jelly. Spongebob and Patrick. Me and Michael. It just felt right.

I smiled as we put on one of the Fast and Furious movies. Thinking about Michael as my boyfriend was a new thought, but not one I was opposed to. I couldn’t deny the attraction I had to him. From the moment he walked into my life, it was like a constant battle between my loyalties to Drew and being happy. Now Drew was out of the picture, hopefully forever. Michael was in and I hoped he would stay for a while. I liked having the tall boy with green hair to call my own. And I’d like to think he felt the same way about me.

This new girl group was on my mind though. I was always a soloist. I didn’t know anything else. Now I was going to be in a group with three other girls, writing and performing together, It was either going to be a lot of fun or a huge mess. I convinced myself I was just stressing out for nothing. A song or two with my friends at the Fall Jam? No big deal. It’s not like we were going to get discovered right then and there and become famous. Not when we lived in Enterprise, Alabama. If anything, we’d win the jam and people might book us for parties in the future and we could make some money.

Eventually, I settled into the movie. Michael’s arm around my shoulders and Paul Walker shifting gears on screen. Nothing could be better. Michael’s breathing was even and calming; quite the contrast to the chaos erupting on screen. Savv was quiet; I knew she loved these movies. Luke was staring at her more than the movie. It was like he was studying her reactions to everything. Constantly trying to memorize how her face moved of her little habits. I knew she was a lip biter and she touched her hair a lot. Personally, I cracked my knuckles and licked my lips.

I shifted in anticipation as Paul Walker began to take off his shirt. One of the few things I enjoyed about these movies was the actors. Excellent casting in my opinion. Michael’s fingers absentmindedly traced up and down my arms, giving my goosebumps. I couldn’t decide if it made me uncomfortable or if I liked it. Drew was more into grabby and needy PDA, nothing minimal. ‘Go big or go home’ was his motto for nearly everything. My train of thought was distracted once again when Michael moved his head so it was closer to my neck. My heart raced as he gently pressed his lips to the tender skin under my jaw. I felt myself stiffen then relax. In a moment of Savannah-like courage, I turned around and kissed Michael. He seemed surprised that I had made a move, but happily kissed back.