✺ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 ✺- Josh Kiszka

Part 6

We drove about twenty minutes when we were approaching the second half of the drive to the park. Josh and Danny had made some small talk about their band while I gazed around the car. It was a red and tan 1990 chevy Silverado with chipping paint and several dents over the exterior. The interior was worn and patchy tan leather. It smelled nice because of Josh's many car fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror. He had random stickers all over the dash. Some of them were from national parks like Isle Royale and Pictured Rocks. I loved his car. I always had a thing for old worn-down cars. They just felt more comfortable to be in and more unique.

I had stayed chiefly quiet the whole ride, speaking up now and then when one of the boys asked me something or inserted me into their conversation. I was sitting in the front seat; I had started to get in the back, but Danny insisted that he sit in the back and I take the front. I sat with my feet up on the seat next to me, wrapping one arm around my left knee. I was staring out the window, taking in the green forest dappled with occasional orange and yellow-tinged trees as fall crept in.

After Danny and Josh had stopped talking, I became bored of the silence and decided to make some meaningless small talk.

"So does your band have a name?" I asked, directing my gaze to Josh.

"We've actually been discussing that recently," Josh replied while keeping his eyes on the road. "Our dad came to us after chopping some wood for one of the elders of the town. Her name is Gretna Van Fleet. We kinda found it interesting. It has a 'nomadic' feel to it if that makes sense. We asked her if we could use it as our band's name right before we played at a recent town festival, and she said it was ok." Josh replied.

"But we decided to take out the 'N' in Gretna, and just have it be Greta Van Fleet," Danny added. "It flows a bit easier off the tongue."

"I like it." I said, "It fits your style. I can't wait to hear what type of music you play. It's intriguing hearing all about your band but not even knowing the genre that you play." I said.

"It's honestly like new age classic rock." Danny said, "Like a bunch of 70s and 80s rock rolled into one."

"That sounds sick," I say. "I'm excited to hear it."

"Would you want to come with us tomorrow morning to our practice? You wouldn't have to wait until next Saturday."

"Sure, that would be fun. I won't have to be alone Sunday either." I say.

"Should I pick you up?" Josh replied, "I can come by your house and take you back to ours. We're practicing in our garage tomorrow."

"I mean I could just drive back to your house in the morning, I wouldn't want to make you go out of your way to get me."

"But I want to come get you, so that wouldn't make it out of the way," Josh replied. I looked over at him and a small smile formed on his lips.

I could feel myself going red.

"Ok, that would be great," I replied

And It was probably nothing, but I happened to notice Josh glance into the rearview mirror at Danny, and they both slightly smirked at one another before looking away.

About five minutes later, we pulled into the small lot of the park's trailhead. We got out of the car and grabbed our stuff. I went and walked around the truck towards Josh.

"Hey, you can put anything you need in my bag," I offered, "and I brought some extra water if you or Danny need one."

"Thank you." He said, turning and smiling at me. When our eyes met, I realized how close we were to each other. He was leaned over, grabbing out his wallet and a thing of bug spray from the center console. I took off my drawstring bag and opened it to put his stuff in. I was about to sling it over my shoulder, but Josh stopped me.