slow burn // derek discanio

two

The back room quickly became packed as everyone sat around and ate pizza. People were sitting on the ground or on cases, but I was lucky enough to be on the piano bench.

"I heard you set up my drum set, thank you so much," Evan said as he sat down on a guitar case a few feet away from me. "I had some drama to deal with."

"Oh, it was no problem, I--" I started, but I was quickly interrupted.

"She showed you up, too," Derek chimed in, appearing out of nowhere. He slid onto the piano bench next to me, but there wasn't a lot of room so we were very close. The spot where our legs were touching was nice and tingly. "She set them up in half the time it takes you."

Evan laughed. "Oh really?"

I shrugged, shrinking down into my seat. "I've never really known I was fast."

"I bet she plays better, too," Derek added. I gave him a questionable look, which he returned with a grin. "Just a feeling."

I smiled as my cheeks turned pink. "I doubt it."

Over the next few minutes before the performance, I chatted with and got to know the rest of the members and discovered that they were really cool guys. There weren't a lot of people I felt instantly comfortable around, but they were so easy to talk to. It was too bad that they lived a few hours away because I could really use some friends. Unfortunately, it looked like this friendship would only last a few hours.

Eventually the performance started and I took a seat behind the cash register. Not too many people shop around when someone's playing, so I could just sit there and enjoy the music. Only two songs in, I realized that they sounded pretty good live and almost exactly like the recordings. I have much higher respect for bands who don't rely on autotune for success.
Every few minutes, I noticed Derek glancing over at me. It was pretty obvious since he had to turn his head quite far to face me. I blushed every time.

The last song was acoustic, so Derek sat on a stool while Tyler pulled out an acoustic guitar. It was such a sweet song and made me melt. Hearing punk bands write vulnerable lyrics is always adorable. He gave me a little smile at the end and my heart exploded.

They wrapped up the show and lots of fans stuck around to take pictures. Eventually we had to kick them out to close the store, which made me feel a little guilty. Everyone helped the band put their equipment back in the truck while I cleaned some things up inside the store to prepare for closing.

I knelt down to pull some boxes out from under a display table. When I stood up, I was surprised to be face-to-face with Derek.

"Oh! Hi," I exclaimed.

"Did you make a decision?" He had a smartass grin on his face.

"What?" I laughed.

"You said you'd be a fan of us as long as we weren't assholes," he explained. "So what do you think?"

I smiled. "They're all nice, but the lead singer's kind of a d-bag."

Derek's mouth went wide with surprise as he chuckled. "Yeah, I agree."

I grabbed another stack of records and placed them in the box. Derek grabbed another stack and helped me out without being asked. We sat on the ground as he continued to add albums and I straightened the pile. "So, the guys and I are trying to get signed by this label here in New York City pretty soon so we can get another album released and go on tour. We'll be spending a lot of time in the city over the next few months, especially if we get signed, so I was wondering if you--"

"Derek, come help me carry this!" Ryan yelled from the stage as he held onto one side of a large box.

Derek looked slightly irritated as he yelled back, "One sec!" He turned back to me, a smile returned to his face, and said, "Sorry, it was really nice meeting you, Albany."