Beautiful Mess

Chapter 3

 “I can’t believe you did that,” Hannah laughed. She was hunched over on her bed, a book in her lap, trying to hold back her surprise. Sonya shook her head, smiling. 

 “I can’t believe I did that,” I replied. I was still in shock at what I had done. Never in my life had I ever done something so rebellious. My father probably would not have been proud of me, though he didn’t really fathom my mohter’s attitude about the situation.

 “So, who was the boy that was watching you play?” Sonya asked. I shrugged and took a sip of the soda that Hannah had gotten me.

 “I don’t know. He had blonde hair and he was somewhat, really tall,” I answered. Hannah sat up straight. Her eyes were wide and a slight smile crept up her lips.

 “Did he by chance have, I don’t know, blue eyes?” she asked leaning in closer to me. I could tell that she had an idea of who it was. I pictured the guy standing in front of me, one floor down, planted on the edge of the sidewalk. He was watching me so intently; I knew that I had known him from somewhere. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t picture where I had seen him.

 “Um, I guess?” I answered. Sonya raised her eyebrow, watching Hannah with as much curiosity as I was.

 “Scruff?” she asked. I could see a smile forming on her face. She looked like she was about to jump out of her skin from anticipation.

 “A little,” I replied, trying to remember exactly what he looked like. I did only see him for about a few seconds before he realized that I was watching him and bolted for the street. He never did look back.

 “Oh my god,” Hannah squealed. Sonya and I covered our ears. Hannah jumped off the bed, her nightgown flowing behind her from the speed. She ran over to her bureau and ripped a picture out of a magazine. She rushed back over to me, her eyes wild with excitement. “Did he look like this?”

 I glanced down at the picture. A guy with shaggy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a little bit a facial hair was standing in front of three other guys. The moment I saw him, I knew exactly where I had seen him. Chase Matthews. He was the lead singer for The Blue Panda, a local band that has toured with bands from around the nation. I had known he lived here in our town, but he was rarely out much due to the sudden boost in popularity that I had forgotten he had.

 “Yeah,” I answered. Hannah jumped up and nearly fainted when she landed. She grabbed my arm, not realizing how much pressure she was enforcing.

 “Chase Matthews was listening to you sing,” Hannah whisper-shouted. “Riley, it’s your chance. You will be a star.”

 I laughed. Sonya shook her head slightly before Hannah slit her eyes in her direction.

 “He saw her once,” Sonya stated. I nodded my head in agreement.

 “It’s fate,” Hannah announced, crossing her arms. She sat down on the bed and glanced down at the picture of the band. “Fate wanted Chase to hear Riley play.”

 “Well, fate also wanted Chase to rush away when I saw him watching me,” I said. I slid off Hannah’s bed and made my way to the door. I turned around and watched Hannah shake her head. “I’m going to brush my teeth.”

 “It’s fate, Riley. Fate always has a way of working this kind of thing out.”

* * * * *

 “Riley,” Hannah’s voice carried across the hallway. I shut my locker and looked down the hall at my frantic friend who was pushing passed multiple students in her will to get to me. She had a yellow paper flailing in her hand as she made her way through the student body. I held my books tight against my chest and leaned against the locker. I raised my eyebrow as she stopped in front of me, breathless.