Catch Me

Chapter Four: The Wailing Donkeyz

Chapter Four: The Wailing Donkeyz

Haleigh and Toby continued to talk for a while in the living room. Haleigh kept finding herself sneaking glances in Zander's direction as the band played song after song. Partygoers cheered and clapped for The Wailing Donkeyz after each song they played.

At some point during the night Charles had set up a beer pong table in the middle of the living room which allowed for less dancing. The crowd didn't seem to mind as they watched the beer pong match between Charles and another frat boy. Sam stood off to the side as she cheered Charles on.

"So Haleigh, where are you from?" Toby asked his cheerfulness was still present in his voice. Haleigh wondered if Toby's face ever started to hurt due to his constant toothy grin.

"I'm from a small rural town about an hour away from here." She explained. She was starting to become more comfortable with Toby. He seemed like an okay guy. An overly happy, cheerful guy. But he was nice, and was making an effort to make Haleigh feel comfortable, and she was grateful for that.

"Oh really? Born and raised Vermonter, huh?" Toby smiled at his new friend. She nodded in response. "You're so quiet." He nudged her side.

"Where are you from?" She asked trying he best to be polite and not at all awkward. Although she was failing miserably and had a feeling that everything she said was wrong. 

"I'm from LA." He responded as he took a sip from his red cup.

"As in California? Why would you come here?" Haleigh asked flabbergasted that someone from LA would want to go to school in Vermont.

"Well my grandma is from Vermont, I have always loved the winter time here. I love to ski and I wanted to be closer to her I guess."

"You're crazy." Haleigh could not wrap her head around the fact that someone would want to come to Vermont on their own free will. Sure it was a beautiful state, especially during the fall. The leafs were a beautiful sight when they were at their peaks of turning different colors every fall. The maple syrup was a great perk too. Haleigh had countless memories helping her grandfather boil sap in his sugar shack producing gallons upon gallons of delicious maple syrup. However, it had always been Haleigh's dream to move out of Vermont, to get as far away from the small state as she possibly could. So it was hard for her to understand why someone would choose to come live here permanently. "LA must be so amazing. I don't know why anyone would leave it."

"It okay. There are a ton of opportunities out there, don't get me wrong. It's just the hustle and bustle of the city life can be a lot. I wasn't happy. And when my mom passed away there wasn't any reason to stay." Haleigh was concerned when Toby's normal, intensely happy smile vanished as he talked about his mother.

"I'm so sorry." Haleigh's heart started to race as she realized she had probably just said something stupid. She let her gaze fall to the scuff on the top of her black converse. Toby cleared his throat, and then as if nothing had happened his smile was back.

"You want to dance?" He asked as he placed his cup down on the coffee table. Haleigh could feel her pulse start to quicken and heart felt like it might jump out of her chest. Haleigh had never even been to one of her high school's dances before. She had no idea how to dance. But how could she say no to Toby without making him sad again?

"I don't know." She finally answered, panic starting to set in.

"Oh come on, it will be fun." Toby reached his hand out and Haleigh reluctantly accepted, and sat her cup down beside Toby's. Toby lead the way to the small part of the living room where others were dancing as they tried to avoid Charles' beer pong table. It was then that Haleigh's stomach began to churn and she could feel a panic attack coming on. She told herself to take long deep breaths.

"You don't have to be so shy, I don't know how to dance either. We will be fools together." This was a comment she would have normally heard from Shane. He was the one who always told her not to care so much what people thought. It was easy for Shane to make Haleigh feel comfortable in her own skin. With Shane around she wasn't the only odd one. Having someone around like Shane, and now Toby, someone who didn't care what people thought of them, reminded Haleigh to not care what others thought of her. It was something she needed. A feeling of ease washed over Haleigh as she began to dance to the rhythm of the music alongside Toby who was shaking his butt as if no one was watching. It was Toby's simple comment 'We will be fools together.' that allowed Haleigh to forget her fears, she had someone who in a way took the focus off of her. Someone who didn't care what others thought, and someone who she could see herself being friends with.

Haleigh found herself genuinely smiling for the first time in over a month. She was getting lost in the music as she let her body move from side to side. She glanced up at Zander who was watching her intently as he played notes on his bass. Feeling herself blush again, she looked away quickly. Soon the song was over, Toby and Haleigh stopped their awkward dancing and clapped for the band.

"Thank you, Thank you!" The lead singer spoke into the mic. "We are The Wailing Donkeyz, and we're so happy to be here tonight!" The room erupted into applause. "We are going to take a short break, and we will be right back!" Zander set his bass down, leaning it against the wall before walking passed Haleigh, smiling at her. Once again she could feel her face start to turn red. Someone turned some music on the large stereo which sat on the other side of the living room.

"Want to get some air?" Toby suggested. The house was starting to grow extremely hot, the number of people stuff in that place was causing the temperature to rise. Haleigh was grateful Toby had suggested getting some air. The two of them made their way outside to the covered porch where various people were talking amongst themselves. Some were smoking cigarettes, while others were just sipping on their solo cups.

From the corner of her eye Haleigh noticed a tall dark haired figure who was standing off to the side of the porch in his leather jacket. Zander was talking to someone on his cell phone as he puffed on a cigarette. She tried not to stare at the attractive, mysterious bass player, and focused her attention back on Toby.

"Thanks for inviting me tonight, I've had fun." She was being truthful. The night had started out a bit rocky, and she was more than self conscious throughout the majority of the night, however it had been nice to connect with someone, someone who seemed to understand her.

"Of course! You're a great dancer by the way." Toby smiled at her. After a few minutes of mindless chit chat there came a loud crashing sound from inside the house. Toby jumped then excused himself to go find out what the commotion was. Haleigh was left alone for the second time that night. Her bare arms were starting to grow goose pimples as the chilly fall breeze swept through the air. She contemplated going back inside, but Toby had told her he would be right back. She should wait for him, right? Not knowing what else to do, Haleigh decided she would return to her dorm room. It was too cold to just stand around waiting. With a sigh she turned to walk down the steps of the porch.

"You're not staying for the rest of the show?" A deep voice came from behind her, she turned to find Zander following close behind. She made it to the grass lawn.

"It's getting late..." Was the only thing she could think to say, which was ridiculous because she had only been at the party for a little over an hour. Zander looked at her with confusion, and chuckled a little.

"It's only 10:30." He pointed out as he glanced at the watch around his wrist.

"Yeah, I've got to study." She lied.

"On a Friday night?" He smirked at Haleigh, his golden brown eyes seemed to paralyze her.