Deviation

18: Advice, Clubs and Crashes

“How do I look?” I asked Rocky, spinning around so she could see my entire outfit. I was getting ready to go watch Vincent and his band perform. It was at a club which meant I needed to dress up a little so I wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. I was surprised Ms. Duran, the teacher going with us, was letting them perform at a club.

She nodded slowly. “Awesome.” I raised an eyebrow at her single word answer and turned back to the mirror. I thought I looked pretty cool. My dress was black, strapless and short, falling an inch above my knees. I had paired it with fishnet tights, high-heeled boots and a leather jacket.

“Wow, I can tell you put a lot of thought into that answer,” I replied sarcastically. She smiled apologetically, but she still looked distracted. As I worked on curling my hair, I asked Rocky, “What’s wrong?”

She sighed and leaned against the wall next to her bed. “This guy asked me on a date yesterday…”

“What did you say?” I exclaimed, burning my ear on my curling iron. I scowled and rubbed my soar ear, putting down the curler.

She looked down at her blanket. “I told him maybe, but I still don’t know what to say…”

“Do you want to go out with him?” I asked, unplugging my curling iron. My hair was curly enough.

Rocky shrugged, a hopeless expression entering her face. “I kind of do, but I would much rather go out with Connor. If only he would man up and ask me!” 

  “You should ask him,” I suggested, grabbing my purse after re-applying my lipstick. She was silent and I glanced over at her; there was a thoughtful expression on her face that said she was seriously considering it.

 She shrugged, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear. “I’ll think about it… What time do you have to leave?” I glanced at the clock and resisted the urge to swear.

 “Five minutes ago. I’ll see you later.” I heard her callout a farewell as I left the room in a hurry. I was supposed to meet Vincent, his band and Ms. Duran at the office. Luckily it wasn’t too far from my dorm.

I got there two minutes later and joined Vincent while trying to slow my breathing. He was standing by the door, talking to who I assumed was his band. I smiled apologetically, “Sorry, I lost track of time.”

“It’s not a problem,” one of the guys replied, looking me up and down. Vincent scowled at him, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me to his side.

He then said, “ Greg, Chase; this is my girlfriend, Gina.”

“Of course it is,” Greg, the one that had been checking me out, muttered. The other gave me a polite nod. Chase had curly blond hair and gray eyes.

Vincent rolled his eyes. “Where is Matt?”

“He’ll be here; he’s running late as always,” Chase informed him as Ms. Duran reached us. She was wearing the same professional clothing as usual. But what had I expected?

 She gave us a tight smile, “Are you ready to leave?”

“We’re waiting for Matt,” Greg informed her.

Ms. Duran pursed her lips and nodded. I looked back at the band members and asked, “Who plays what instruments?”

“Vincent plays the drums. Greg is the lead singer. Matt plays bass. And I play guitar,” Chase told me, holding up the guitar case in his hand.

I nodded as a guy came bustling in. He had bright red hair that was falling everywhere and lots of freckles. I assumed he was Matt. He grinned at us. “What did I miss?”

“That’s Gina, Vincent’s girlfriend,” Greg introduced me.

 Matt bowed and spoke in a faux British accent, “It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, my lady.”

“Uh… Okay. It’s nice to meet you too,” I replied uncertainly. He laughed and Vincent scoffed at him, shaking his head.

Ms. Duran interrupted us, “Let’s go.” We all fell silent and followed her outside to her van. After loading the instruments, we all squeezed inside. Mat, Vincent and I ended up in the back, with me squashed in between the both of them. Greg and Chase were in the middle and Ms. Duran was alone up front. 

 “You know where we’re going, right Ms. Duran?” Chase asked. She nodded shortly, not bothering to talk to us. She seemed to think all kids were ungrateful little rats.

Vincent nudged me. “You look great Gina.” I smiled shyly, staring down at the floor in embarrassment. I wasn’t used to receiving compliments from someone that wasn’t directly related to me.

 “Hey! What about me? You didn’t compliment my outfit!” Matt exclaimed before I could reply. Vincent and I both looked at him curiously. He was in jeans and a tee-shirt; nothing too special.

Vincent raised his eyebrows. “Did you want me to?”

“No, that would be awkward,” he said, smiling innocently. Vincent rolled his eyes and took my hand in his. This caused Matt to exclaim, “You don’t hold my hand! Our band is being torn apart because of your girlfriend!”

He pursed his lips. “Matt… What is wrong with you?”

“I’ve been asking him that since I met him,” Chase stated.

Matt grinned. “I’m special…”

“Yes, you are,” Vincent said, reaching past me to pat his friend’s shoulder. I raised my hand to my mouth to cover my amusement at their interactions. That was pretty much how the rest of the drive went; everyone, excluding Ms. Duran, acting as if this were a tour bus. It was official, I loved Vincent’s friends.

We reached the club and Vincent’s band began setting up on stage while Ms. Duran and I sat at a table. I focused on watching Vincent and trying not to think about how awkward it was sitting with a teacher… A waiter came over to our table and we ordered drinks, and then we fell back into silence. This was so awkward…

When Vincent’s band finished performing, I was awestruck. They had sounded amazing. Ms. Duran and I stood up as they joined us. I wrapped my arms around Vincent’s neck and told him, “You guys were awesome!”

“Thanks,” he returned, smiling at me. There was a light layer of sweat that coated his forehead which was understandable because of all the body heat. He would appreciate the snow now...

Sure enough, he sighed in relief when we made it outside. We all gathered into the car again, but this time even Matt was quiet. All the guys were worn out and I wasn’t going to bother talking to Ms. Duran.

The ride was going great… until we got on the freeway that went past Linden. We were almost to the school’s border when a car came out of nowhere- headed straight towards us. Ms. Duran swerved immediately, but the car still crashed into the side of ours.

The last thing I remember thinking was how odd the other driver’s eyes were. I’d never met someone whose eyes glowed such a bright red.