and the stars will all come out

chapter twenty-nine! ☆

THE NEXT DAY, LANDRY WATCHED SILENTLY AS DAVE BASHED THE DRUMS.

Every now and again, Adam would want Dave to record a drum track instead of Taylor for one reason or another, and there hadn't been an instance yet where he'd denied the opportunity. And it was a much different energy when Dave was on the drums, as he took to pounding the shit out of the kit much harder than Taylor did. The edge of punk rock was there, and the differences in Taylor and Dave's drumming background became apparent the longer she listened.

He'd mentioned that he was a drummer sometime months ago (which now felt like it was a past life), but she'd only ever heard him play the guitar. Maybe she wouldn't have been ready for it back then, because this was unreal. 

"That was perfect," Adam said as soon as he'd finished. "I think that's exactly what we want. T, what do you think?"

Taylor was messily rolling a joint on the coffee table, tiny bits of weed scattering everywhere. "Great job, guys!"

Behind the kit, Dave was gasping for air, his cheeks pink, sweat materializing on his forehead as his heart pounded hard in his ears.

He dropped the sticks. "I think that was good, yeah."

Nate was upstairs in the kitchen making a fresh pot of coffee, so all eyes fell to Landry, who smiled. "That was really great."

Breathing hard, Dave got up from the kit, adrenaline and satisfaction still flowing through him like he'd been running a marathon. "I think that's enough from me for today, I need a breather."

"Want to go smoke outside?" Landry asked pointedly. "I checked, there's not much snow out today."

The weather in early Virginian December lately had taken to alternating between heavy snow and heavy rain, which was entirely unpredictable and extremely annoying to deal with. They'd celebrated Nate's thirtieth birthday on the 2nd in freezing rain, wondering if it would be safe to drive Landry home on the roads overtaken with black ice.

"Sure," Dave agreed, completely surprising her.

☆

"IT'S A WINTER WONDERLAND OUT HERE," Landry observed conversationally as they crunched through the snowy twigs and grass. It wasn't cold enough to warrant gloves or a jacket warmer than the one she'd been casually tossing over her shoulders since October, but a slight frosty chill was in the air, and she kept her eyes trained on the ground for slippery ice just in case. "The trees look pretty."

They did look pretty. The last time she looked up from the ground, the pine trees lining their path stuck out starkly against the ice and snowy mud, dark and green and luxuriously untouched in the deep forest.

"T told me he was thinking of getting one of those trees over there for Christmas," Dave responded, pointing in the distance as they walked. "Cut it down and drag it back to the house one day. What do you think?"

Landry shrugged. "I don't really celebrate Christmas. Whatever you guys think is the best is the best to me."

Dave gave her a glance. "You grow up religious at all?"

Landry said nothing as her eyes returned to the ground. She couldn't help but notice the amethyst glittering on her pale middle finger - still - and inhaled sharply.

"I did, but I decided it wasn't for me, so I haven't celebrated Christmas in about six years now," Landry said, hoping her voice sounded measured. "Just a personal choice. I'm not Scrooge or anything. And Hope really doesn't give a shit if there's a Christmas tree in the apartment or not."

They both ducked under a low-hanging branch dotted with snow, and she hurriedly estimated that there was at least ten minutes until they reached the boulder. She had to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible.