Sparrow of the Dawn

One More Moon

When I get home from work, I go straight to my room to grab my notebook; I need to write about what just happened with Jake. After writing for a few minutes, I feel my phone buzz. "Hey Lex, Jake was upset coming home from work tonight. Did you work with him? Do you know if anything happened? He won't talk to me or Danny." It was Sam. Perfect.

"We just talked about our friendship. I don't know why he would be upset about it though," I answer a little carelessly.

"Just friends? I guess that answers any questions I was gonna ask," he texts back.

With my newfound confidence from earlier, I type into my phone, "Does your band have any shows coming up? I'd love to come see you," and hit send. Sam doesn't answer for a few hours after that but when he does, he sends me a link to a free ticket to their next show for tomorrow night with a winking emoji.

***

I roll up to the venue in style: on the bus with my dirty converse like always. I don't have a huge selection of clothes but I put in effort tonight. I'm attempting to pull off a grunge look with a flannel and leggings that make my ass look good. My hair is messy and I've got on red lipstick so I feel pretty cute. I walk in, go straight to the bar and order two shots of vodka.

"Hey you didn't tell me you were here!" Sam says walking up behind me.

"Just got here! It's almost showtime, why are you out here?" I say, putting my last shot glass down. Sam's got sunglasses on and his hair is up. It works as a cheap disguise, he looks cute.

"I was actually looking for you; I wanted to let you know Christa's here too. She came with Jake," he says awkwardly.

"So he doesn't know I'm here, does he?" I ask. He shakes his head. "That's fine, I'm here to see you anyway."

Sam looks surprised at my answer but he smiles and looks at his phone. "You better come backstage after the show then," he winks at me and turns to go backstage.

The show starts and the guys put on an electrifying show. I try to concentrate on the music but my eyes and thoughts keep wandering to Jake and his guitar thrusting. God I wish that could be me I keep thinking. I start to feel overwhelmed when I see Christa blowing kisses to Jake from the side stage. Why does SHE get to watch from there? I ask myself.

I head to the front of the venue, to stand directly in front of the stage. I want Jake to see me. I put my hands up and exaggerate my love for the band like all the other screaming girls. Predictably, I catch Jake's eye and watch his enthusiasm fade as he's playing. He quickly faces the other direction. Ouch. Just as I'm about to turn to go back to the middle of the crowd, I see Sam giving me a huge smile. He mouths the word 'stay,' so I stay in the front until the end.

When the show's over, I wait until everyone leaves to make my way backstage. Sam is there to meet me so the guard doesn't turn me away. "How'd you like the show?" He asks me.

"My mind was blown like always. You looked so good up there, I wish I could've watched you play more!" I'm a lightweight, so I'm still a little buzzed from the shots I took 45 minutes before. Sam leads me down the hallway to the band's dressing room and I sit on one of the couches while he gets me a drink.

Just as Sam gets back with my beer, Josh, Danny, Jake, and Christa all walk in cracking up at some joke Josh told. "Hey guys," I say cheerfully. Danny and Josh greet me with smiles and huge hugs, while Christa and Jake wave. We all sit down and start talking and telling jokes. The talking goes on for a couple of hours and by midnight, there are beers all over the coffee table. I notice that Christa has been trying to hold Jake's hand all night but he keeps removing it from her grip. He's probably just doing that out of respect for me I think. Why wouldn't he like Christa? She's beautiful and funny... she's just rude when she doesn't get her way.

After a while, Jake and Christa excuse themselves and go to a different room. Danny, Josh, and Sam start to joke that the new couple are going to mess around but stop after I start to cry.

"Guys I'm sorry, I don't mean to cry. I think I'm just drunk," I say, embarrassed.

"Nah, we're sorry, we shouldn't have joked about that," Josh answers.

Sam gives me a hug and leads me out of the room and into the bathroom. "You ok?" He asks, holding my face.

"Yeah, I'm just confused by Jake," I say, wiping my tears. "We weren't really 'just friends' like I said... I just want to forget about him."

"Come here," Sam says, pulling me into a long hug. Sam is so sweet, I should have picked him to fall for in the first place I think. Sam let's me go slowly. As I'm pulling away, I admire the shape of his face and the way his hair falls by his shoulders. Before I know it, I'm leaning in to kiss him.

Just as our lips are about to touch, Jake busts through the door catching his breath. "Lex," he says quietly, "I gotta talk to you."