Heard it Through the Grapevine

Chapter Ten

I woke up later than usual. My throat was dry and my head was pounding. I sat up and started getting out of bed to go get a glass of water, when I stopped short. Memories from last night started flooding my brain. I layed back down and squeezed my eyes, trying to get the thoughts to stop. They didn't. Matt really had kissed me.

I eventually found the confidence to head downstairs. I slowly crept to the kitchen, trying not to make much noise. It was no use. My worst fears were confirmed: all of the rest of the Honeyboys were in the kitchen.

Immediately, I could tell the energy was off, but no one said anything about it. The boys were all preparing breakfast–ari standing at the counter nursing a cup of his signature green tea. They all smiled wearily at me. Matt and Grady both caught my eye, but neither of them held the glance for long enough for me to tell what was going on in their heads.

I really didn't know where I stood with the boys. As the morning went on, I felt confused with my feelings. Ari had been my first real crush in the band–and grady had practically spoken to my soul as he sang last night. But matt? I couldn't figure him out. I still couldn't believe last night had really happened.

Eventually, we were all called into a band meeting. The tension dissipated a bit, and we all stood anxiously fiddling with our instruments as Ari talked about the wav zine show we were supposed to play at that night.

"Its gonna be so great. You're first show with us! I can't wait for everyone to meet the new Honeyboy." Ari said excitedly. Everyone else smiled. It made me feel weird. I was excited for my first show, but after all the drama, I wasn't so sure if i was ready to be on the stage.

After a long day of preparation and anxiety, the time to go to the show finally came. We arrived at Jeffrey house, and met up with the other bands playing that night. Earthship, who I recognized from the night before, was soundchecking their instruments. I noticed a group of long-haired blonde people standing off to the side, scowling and mumbling to each other.

"Those are the Sandspits" Reese leaned in to explain. "They won the battle of the bands last year. Only worked in their favor cause they were in with the judges." I kept staring at them. The leader of their pack gave me a death glare. "Careful of that one. He's Ari's ex." I felt my blood run cold as we walked past them.

Just then, I saw Matt off to the other side of the stage, talking with—a girl? She was obviously flirting with him–grabbing his arm, smiling and twisting her hair. He certainly wasn't holding back either. It was clear to me what was going on, and my heart sank. How could he be doing this, right in front of me? Did he know what he was doing to me?

My fears were confirmed when he looked over her shoulder and we made eye contact. He held my stare for a moment, before diving straight back into his flirting. Did last night really mean nothing to him? Was it all a mistake? Before my anger could get the best of me, I hurriedly followed the rest of the boys to where they were setting up.

Eventually, it was time for us to go on. A very intimidating gaggle of indie kids filled the crowd; I didn't think I'd ever be able to dress half as cool as them.

"Hey everyone–hope you're having a great night!" Ari addressed the crowd, and they all screamed for him. I felt my hands get sweaty, my saxophone started to slip. I looked over at Grady, and he nodded encouragingly.

"Well we're the Honeyboys–and this is Mr. Daniels!" Ari exclaimed. But, just as we started our opening notes, a loud, growling voice rang out from the front of the crowd.

"Nathan, looking a little scared up there! Best not fuck up your first show!" I looked up and saw the lead singer of the Sandspits, screaming up at us. "You all look stupid. WOOOWWWIIIEEESSS!!" Then, the crowd started booing and screaming along to the wowies chants. I couldn't tell if they were booing us or the hecklers. I started backing away, my eyes filled with tears. Our aggressor started towards us, but before he could get anywhere, someone dashed out in front of me. It was Grady! With one large swing, his fist collided with the lead singer's nose. There was a cracking sound, then the crowd went silent. Everything seemed to stop as Grady looked down at his hand.

Then, the crowd exploded. People started moshing, throwing their doc martens, yelling at the top of their lungs. In the confusion, I lost the band. I had to get out of there. I ran towards the house, where I saw Nick and Reese escaping. They ushered me in, then pointed towards the bathroom.

"He's in there, you should go check on him." Carefully, I opened the door to see Grady standing at the sink, roughly scrubbing at his knuckles. He was gonna make them bleed worse like that.

"Here, let me." I took the towel from him, and motioned for him to let me help. He averted his gaze, but let me take his hands. I wet the towel in the sink a bit, then inspected his knuckles.

"This is going to sting a bit." I slowly pressed the damp towel onto the wounds. He let out a small hiss, but didnt say anything. We stood there in silence for a few minutes. Then, he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry I got so out of control." He said.

"No, thank you for stopping him. I–I was so scared." We stood there for a while. Eventually, the bleeding had stopped. I found a bandaid in one of the cupboards, and put it on. He finally looked up at me, and before I could say anything, he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. It was quick, over before it even began. He leaned away from me, and looked down. My head was swimming. We were both shaking. I didn't want to move, but I didn't know what I would do if I stayed

Finally, we left the bathroom silently, to see the rest of the boys standing in the living room, looking despaired. Nick and rese were huddled together, speaking in whispers. Matt was pacing around, but stopped short when they came out and looked at them with a blank expression. With a huff, Ari stood up from his place on the couch.

"Let's head back to the Hive–I think that's enough excitement for tonight." Nick drove us home in the van in an uncomfortable silence, and when we got back, we all retired to our rooms without a word.