corrupted lungs | d.w #Wattys2016

t e n

6:20 pm.

I had just taken a shower and was now standing in the middle of my room, a pile of clothes by my feet. I had no idea what to wear. First of all, I'd never been to a concert. Well, except for my dads. But it wasn't really formal clothing there, people wore whatever they felt like. And what if Gabe's school was a super-formal-classy school and everyone was wearing tuxedos? I doubted that, but still.

I finally found a pair of black skinny jeans and a blouse that weren't made in see-through material like the other ones I owned. Why had I even bought them in the first place? I didn't know. I slipped on my clothes before I headed to the bathroom.

When I'd gotten back inside after shoveling snow, I had realized that my makeup from last night was smudged out under my eyes and that I'd looked like a ghost. I had felt embarrassed since I had talked to Gabe, but he didn't seem to care about it.

I quickly applied some concealer, foundation, powder, eyeshadow, eyeliner, did my eyebrows and finished off with some mascara. I let my still wet hair down over my shoulders before blow drying it and brushing it through.
Soon after I was done, my mom called down from the kitchen.

"Dinner's ready!"

I exited the bathroom and headed for the stairs and so did my dad. He wasn't usually upstairs, but when he was, it was because he talked to me or spent time in his studio. I supposed that's where he'd been now.

"You heading out?" He questioned and I smiled.

"Yeah, after dinner. How'd you know?" I asked and he chuckled.

"Well, you're very dressed up and your makeup is done, which it usually isn't by dinner." He explained.
We arrived down in the kitchen, sat by the table, said grace and started eating.
I tried not to eat too quickly, but since the clock had already passed seven pm, I was kind of stressed since Gabe was showing up soon.

"So, Gabby, where are you heading tonight?" My dad suddenly asked from across the table and my mom turned her attention to me.

"Oh," I said and looked between the two of them before continuing. "A new friend of my asked me if I wanted to come and see his band perform tonight. I thanked yes." I told them, a small smile creeping over my lips.

"Who's this new friend of yours?" My mom asked.

"His name is Gabe and he goes to the music school." I explained and my parents hummed a little to show that they understood.

As on cue, someone knocked on our door just as I finished the last piece of food on my plate and I got up from my seat. I opened the door and was met by Gabe. He smiled at me. He was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a white tank top and a leather jacket on top. I smiled back.

"Hey!" He said, his eyes brightening up. "You ready to go?" He asked me, and I nodded.

"Yeah, just let me get my things." I told him before disappearing upstairs. I opened up my purse, stuffed my phone, earphones, wallet and my water bottle in there. I slipped on my leather jacket as well, even though it was cold outside, before happily skipping down the stairs. As I came back down into the hallway, I saw my parents standing in the doorway talking to Gabe, and silently prayed that they hadn't asked him where he lived, how old he was, where can we reach your parents and all that other parent-talk.

I walked up in between them and cleared my throat, gaining my dad's attention. I already had Gabe's.
"Oh, hey baby." My dad said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"We were just talking to Gabe about you." My mom announced, and I blushed. I didn't know what they'd told him, but it didn't sound good. It never did when parents said that.

"Gabe, don't we have to go?" I asked impatiently, really wanting to get out of this embarrassing situation. He nodded and I slipped out of my dads grip and out the door.

I heard Gabe tell my parents that he'd take "good care of me", before saying goodbye and coming up on my side. I looked up at the tall boy and he looked down at me.

"They're nice." He said. "Your parents, I mean."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." I chuckled. "So, will I get to meet your bandmates?" I asked him jokingly and he chuckled.

"I'll make sure to get you backstage," he said jokingly and winked at me. The blush creeped over my cheeks again, and I looked down. I suddenly felt an insecure arm slip around my shoulders and looked up to find Gabe nervously biting down his lip, but relaxing once I smiled up at him and leaned into his touch. I was glad that I didn't stay home tonight.