The Rockstar's Juliet

Too Intense

Juliet was surprised to see Dustin waiting for her at the airport. He looked undone, but she figured he looked like that to throw people off. A beanie covered most of his hair, his eyes hidden behind dark shades. His clothes had seen better day, an oversized hoodie and ripped jeans which looked more ripped than it had fabric. She wanted to laugh right then and there, but she figured it would get people's attention. So she kept a straight face and approached him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, surprised when he reached for the handle on her suitcase and dragged it with him.

He was in a rush, but she didn't mind. She understood him wanting to leave a public place like that. She followed after him, trying to keep up with his long strides. Once they reached his rental, Dustin put the suitcase in the trunk while Juliet took a seat in the passenger seat. Dustin climbed in a few seconds later, took his beanie off and faced her.

"Zachary had a meeting he had to attend together with Adam. He asked me to come pick you up instead." He explained, "Our own little road trip." Dustin grinned from ear to ear, "Fun, right?"

She smiled, "It will be fun if we have good music."

"How about our new album so you can sing along later?" He suggested, "Don't give me that crap you already listened to it. We both know you were full of it when we first met."

She laughed, shaking her head at him, "I did listen to it." She told him, "When I was on my way to the hotel. Scanned through it quickly to get a feel of your sound."

"You don't like our sound?"

She shifted in her seat and reached for his phone, going through the playlist, "I liked the song I listened to. It was a slow one, just your voice and Zachary's guitar in the background." She lowered her voice, "It was really good."

She noticed how he clenched his hands around the steering wheel. She wondered if she shouldn't have said that, maybe the song meant something to him. Biting her lips she tried to think of a way to talk around it, changing the subject so he'd feel comfortable around her again.

"It's the one song I'm actually proud of." He told her.

"I can tell." She told him, "Your voice, it held so much emotion, I could actually feel every word you sang."

His grip on the steering wheel loosened, "At least there is one song you like. Maybe tonight won't be such a drag for you then."

"Even if I didn't like it I'd still sit through it all." She told him, "Isn't that what you do for your friends? Support them no matter what."

"You mean what you'd do for Zachary."

She threw him a playful glare, "Hey! Not just Zachary, okay. I also like Max and Braden and of course we can't forget about Adam."

Dustin smirked, "Of course." Juliet chose the song they both loved to play in the background, using the phone's Bluetooth and held onto his phone, he didn't seem to mind, "How about me?"

She couldn't help but to smile hearing him ask her that. She knew that must have took a lot of courage on his part. If he asked her that question before they talked over the phone she would have answered him differently. She felt as if something between them changed. Like they could understand each other better. There was also Chloe who was the voice of reason every time she let her emotions get the better of her. Chloe kept her grounded, reminded her that she and Dustin were a lot more alike than she liked to admit. It made her look at him differently, hold less resentment toward him.

"You're the most important part in it all." She told him without hesitation, "We met each other first. I was able to meet the others because of you. It's a rule that I should always consider your feelings first since we were friends first."