I'm Barely Hanging On {Mike Fuentes/girl}

Chapter 2

*Marianna's POV* 

I slid on my skis away from the tall guy who had just landed on me, and made my way towards my little brother. I hadn't made it halfway before Marco ripped out his headphones and grabbed me by both arms. "Were you just talking to Mike from Pierce the Veil?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I was," I sighed. "He's a bit of a jerk, Marc."

"What?" he yelled and let go of me. "Oh my god, Mari, what did you say to him?" Before I could even explain it to him, he had turned and walked back towards the guy, so I followed.

"Marco, just wait," I called. I caught up to him just as he was reaching to tap the man on his shoulder. The guy turned around and smiled at me, but I turned to my brother. He didn't say anything, just stared at the guy, so I spoke first. "Uh.. Mike, is it? This is my brother Marco, he's a fan of yours.. I mean of your band." 

He smiled, at me again, but said to Marco, "that means a lot, man." Marco smiled and asked him to sign his snowboard. I guess the guy next to Mike was also in the band, because Marco asked for his signature, too. While he was talking to the smaller guy, Mike turned back to me. "Hey, look. I am really sorry about falling on you. And if my joke wasn't funny. But I was just trying to joke around."

I nodded and tried to seem polite, but I was looking around for my dad, honestly. "It's fine, Mike. Thanks for being nice to my brother."

"It's not a problem," he laughed. "Give me your number and I can get you guys some tickets for a show or something!"

I wasn't trying to be mean but I felt my face twist in disgust. "No thanks," I mumbled. "I'm not really a fan, just my brother."

"What, you don't think we rock?" he asked, a smile on his face. I had to admit that he seemed a lot kinder than I would have expected from someone in one of these bands my brother listens to.

"I just think," I started, but paused trying to find the right words. "I think my brother has changed a lot since he started listening to your music." He looked at me like I had upset him a bit so I tried to keep explaining, I really wasn't trying to be rude. "I just meant that he's been angry and keeping to himself and all he ever plays is loud, scary music!"

He actually laughed for a while before he said, "I think you should really give us a try. I think you'll find you like it more than you think." With that, him and his bandmate waved to my brother and turned to walk away. 

"I can't believe you said they aren't cool," Marco scoffed and rolled his eyes at me. I watched Mike stalk away through the snow and found myself biting the inside of my lip, because Marco was right. He was cool, and I had just let him walk away. 

*Mike's POV*

It took a lot of self control to not look back, so of course, I did. She was watching me walk away, so I smiled and waved. She actually did the same. I turned away and slowed my pace a bit. 

"Come on, Mike, we need to get going to the cabin," Vic called, not slowing down with me.

"I need her number," I said, coming to a full stop this time. Vic turned, still moving away from me, and frowned.

"It's just going to be a distraction, Mike. The perfect album, remember? Focusing, remember?" All the while, he was still making his way towards the bottom of the mountain, back to the car. 

"Sorry, man," I said, reaching down to undo the straps on my skis. "I'll meet you down at the car, promise!" I picked up the skis, buckled my boots back tights, and turned to head back up the mountain. 

"You don't even know her name!" I heard Vic calling from far below. 

"Shit," I mumbled under my breathe. I finally saw the back of her winter coat, red and black plaid with a fur lined hood. "Hey!" I called out, embarrassed as hell to not know her name, but she turned anyway. 

"Wow, back again," she said, this time her voice sounded sarcastic but not cruel. I smiled and laughed a little.

"Yeah, I just thought you should probably take me up on that offer about the free tickets. I mean, come on. Fan or not, that's a sweet offer, right?" I tried my best to sound nonchalant as I shrugged on the last line. She smiled a crooked smile that I really liked.

"Sure, why not?" she said as she held her hand out. I laid my phone in her palm and she typed her number in. She had saved it into my phone under Marianna. 

"Marianna? That's a cute name," I said, not realizing quick enough that it was out loud. She smiled and her cheeks turned a deep shade of red. I held back a huge smile and tried to seem cool. "I guess I'll hit you up when we have a show around here, then," I said, turning to walk back down the mountain to Vic.

As I made my way through the thick snow, I heard Marianna call out "I'm studying at UC San Diego, so the show should be down there! And you can hit me up whenever!" I didn't look back this time, because I was embarrassed at how big my smile was now.