It Started With a Song [editing]

Chapter 6 - Conversations & Surprises

CHAPTER 6

Leaving the boys to prepare for the next half of their concert, my friends and I began to walk back to our seats.  On the way there, I was besieged by another flood of questions. 

“So,” Olivia began, “were you nervous up there at all?  I know I would be.”

I thought about the question a little bit.  Being in a band, I was already used to performing, but tonight was the first time I had ever performed solo, and there were much more people in the audience then I was used to.  Audiences that my band performed for usually were about 50 to 75 people, not hundreds.  “Yeah, I guess I was a tiny bit,” I answered, shrugging. 

Diana started laughing at that statement.  “Ly, I know you.  You were probably so nervous that you could barely stand.  You probably wanted to go running back home instead of stepping on that stage,” she teased me, walking backwards in front of us.  As my best friend, she knew me the best and apparently that gave her the right to tease me like that.

I felt Scott's eyes on me as I responded, “That’s not true!  I mean, I was probably just a little bit more than a tiny bit nervous, but I was excited, too.  Performing tonight was seriously a dream come true for me.  I can’t tell you what ran through my head as I walked onto the stage because I was thinking so many different things at once.”  I paused for a breath.  “Sorry, that was long,” I said, grinning, quickly looking sideways at Scott.  He was smiling at me, which again made my heart stop for a beat.  I’ll figure this whole thing out later, I told myself.  As Diana and Olivia began to walk further ahead of us, I turned to Scott and jokingly asked, “So, what do you and your sister think of 1D’s music so far?  Not that bad, is it?”

He laughed.  “No, it’s not,” he replied, “they’re actually pretty good.  I can see why you like them.  Diana was actually cheering for them at one point earlier, so I think we can safely assume that she likes them, too.  She just won’t admit it.”  He paused, looked around furtively for a few seconds, and then continued in a fake serious voice.  “But if you tell anyone that I like them, you will be in trouble.”  I knew he was joking, and he proved it when he finished, “It will destroy my tough guy reputation.”

I burst out laughing, causing Diana and Olivia to look back at us.  Telling them that we were fine, I continued the conversation.    “What ‘tough guy reputation’?” I asked, laughing at the look of pretend hurt on his face.

“Oh, that hurts, Lyla,” Scott whined, “Would you like the knife back?  Or would you like me to keep it?”  He smiled after his last statement, reassuring me that the teasing was okay.

Scott was like a brother to me, and I've known him pretty much my whole life, especially since I was best friends with his sister.  Up until the last year or so he always hung out with my little brothers, Zeke and Caleb.  Last year, though, when his family moved into the house three doors down from us, he and Diana (who are twins) started going to the same school that I do.  The three of us began to hang out together more and more, and now he seems like less of a brother and more of a friend.  He’s my best guy friend, I guess.  Lately, though, I’ve been a bit more nervous and reserved around him, not joking and teasing him as much as I used to, and I sense that he’s being the same way.  I don’t really know why, but our conversations always seem slightly awkward.  I like talking to him, and he’s one of my closest friends, but I can’t seem to help being shy around him.

Anyways, as we walked back to our seats, we continued our conversation, talking about baseball and school and performing.  While we talked, I felt a bit more comfortable around him, more like I used to.  In fact, when we were sitting back in our seats and the lights dimmed, I was sad to stop talking to him.  But still very excited for the rest of the concert and my one last surprise.