Cuts

9. Hearts and Flowers - Jeff and Maggie

Jeff rested his bass on the wall carefully and then looked at the clock Stone had hung on the wall. It read 5.30 pm and he had promised her he'd meet her in her apartment for drinks and dinner and maybe stay over. He wanted to spend the night with her.

"You're going already?" Stone curled an eyebrow as he took his eyes off his guitar.

"Yeah..." Jeff scratched the back of his neck, a gesture Stone recognized as nervousness. It had been a few years since he knew him. Jeff was definitely nervous.

"What's the matter?" Stone also rested his guitar on the hanger and looked back at Jeff. "You've been weird lately... you're even stuttering." He pointed out which left Jeff even more uncomfortable.

"I am fine." Jeff shrugged but Matt chuckled and both Stone and Jeff looked at him. "What?" Jeff asked. "Why are you all giggly?"

"Because... clearly, it's a girl... and you're not saying." Matt said.

Matt, though he was Soundgarden's drummer, had been helping them with some new demos. Stone turned on the wooden stool to look back at Jeff. Jeff felt himself shrinking under his inquisitive glare. Then, he narrowed his eyes and Jeff grabbed his jacket trying to zip it, but his restless hands were not cooperating.

"Why are you so nervous?" Stone asked again. "It is a woman... Matt is right but why are you so nervous?"

"Fuck..." Jeff raised his hands. "It's not!" He was a terrible liar though.

"It is." Matt nodded, looking at Stone and Stone nodded back, snickering.

"I just don't understand why he doesn't admit it?" Stone turned to Jeff again.

"Fuck you both." He finally zipped the jacket. "I am out of here..." Jeff started walking away.

"Come back here, you pussy!" Stone yelled.

"I think it's Maggie." Matt mumbled. Stone lost the smile on his lips and looked at Matt. "I think it is..." He confirmed.

"Jeff!" Stone rose from the stool and run after him. "Jeff, wait..." He stormed out of the door, catching Jeff in his parent's living room. "Hey!" He grabbed his arm and Jeff turned around. "Is it Maggie?"

"What if it is Maggie?" Jeff looked in his eyes seeing Stone going pale. He raised his arms in the air without saying a word and then frowned.

"Are you out of your mind? She's our manager!" Stone argued. "Are you crazy? If things go wrong, she can leave us and she has great contacts!"

"Is that the only thing that matters?" Jeff questioned him.

"It's all we have been fighting for..."

"But does it have to be everything about success?" Jeff shrugged. "Stone..."

"Stay away from her." Stone pointed his finger at him. "If you fuck things up, she might fuck up things for us too."

"It's not Maggie!" Jeff ended up yelling. "OK? It's not her... happy?"

"Chill..." Stone breathed.

"I gotta go." With that Jeff turned around and left.

He walked until Maggie's apartment. It was around a twenty-minute walk but he needed to cool his mind. He had promised her he'd tell Stone about them and he had chickened out. It's not that he was afraid of him but he knew how his mind could go South. Right when he entered Maggie's street, he felt drops of rain starting to fall over him and Jeff's thoughts were erased and replaced with the need to run or it would pour down on him. The sky had been heavy gray the entire day, menacing to rain at any second. The rain Gods, like punishing him for not complying with his promise, decided it would be the right time to unleash all the water that had been accumulating in the clouds that hovered above the city.