Strung (Rock & Romance I.)

Chapter 1. - Sixteen

*8 years ago*

*London Grey*

The coffee shop was buzzing, which was hardly news. It was Friday night after all, and everyone who was too young to go to a bar, but too old for the bowling alley was in attendance. This shop was the newest in town, owned by a young couple who moved from somewhere in Seattle. The coffee was great, they had every kind of dessert imaginable on tap, and a multitude of live bands played on the weekends.

I was here with my two best friends, Ginger and Callie.

The three of us girls have been best friends since birth, having lived and grown up on the same small street. Ginger, as the name suggested, had red hair. She was the shortest in our group, with a rounder figure, glasses, and a brilliant mind.

Callie was the gang leader - tall, blonde, beautiful, and popular with the boys. Her father was a famous actor back in the eighties, who then married his twenty years younger costar. It was quite the scandal back in the day, but they were still together, so I supposed the press was wrong about his intentions.

I, London, was the artsy one. On the shorter side, with brown-black hair that turned this weird shade of orange in the summer, olive skin, and usually covered in paint. I was in that awkward teenage stage where I felt ready to have a boyfriend, but somehow turned into a babbling idiot in front of them. So tonight, Callie would be my wingwoman.

She orchestrated the night perfectly - Colton Bryer, the captain of the volleyball team was here, along with a few of his other athlete buddies. I have been in love with Colton Bryer for ten years, and tonight, thanks to Callie, I would have a conversation with him.

"You got that dreamy look on your face again." Ginger commented dryly.

My eyes darted to hers. "I do not!"

Callie chuckled and leaned over the table to whisper over our cappuccinos. "She's thinking about Colton, I bet."

I rolled my eyes. "I am not!" I sighed. But in my head, I already imagined what it would be like to be on his top friend's list on MySpace. Last time I checked - this morning - he still had that bitchy cheerleader ex-girlfriend listed on there, who has so moved on in since the split.

"Don't worry!" Callie said, a small smile playing on her lips, letting me know that I wasn't fooling her. "He's going to be here." She assured me. I was going to let her know that I didn't care if Colton Bryer would show or not, but my friend was already typing away on her new Sidekick.

"I never understood why you were so into that jock." Ginger might as well have hissed that last word. "He never paid any attention to you."

Her statement hurt a bit, but I knew better. Colton Bryer didn't pay attention to me, because he didn't know how special I was. But once he got to know me, he would see what he was missing out on, and we would laugh about how long it took him to finally ask me out on our wedding day. Yes, I was that into him.

"Here they come!" Callie sang, as three tall guys walked through the door of the cafe - Colton Bryer, followed by his two right hand men. I knew their names, but my nerves were already running in overdrive from the fact that the love of my entire existence would soon be sitting at the same table as me.

"Callie!" Colton smiled at my best friend when they approached our table, and the other two guys gave us all a respective nod. "I have never noticed how long your legs were. Dress code doesn't suit you."

"I know right!" Callie agreed, then turned toward me. "You remember London and Ginger, right?"

Colton's eyes skimmed over us while I held my breath. They moved on too quickly, and turned back to my gorgeous, blonde best friend. "Are those nicknames?" One of the other two jocks asked, to which Callie answered.