Is This What You Always Want Me For?

Part 8

Promptly at eight I said goodbye to Emily and headed out to the parking lot. I made my way over to my car and saw Frank leaning on the driver's side door waiting for me. He was dressed in his usual garb and I received his wicked smile when he caught my eye.

"Give me your keys," he said as I approached him.

"What! Why?" I said hesitate about his request.

"'Cause I'm going to drive," he answered standing up and holding out his hand.

I dug out my keys and started to give them to him slowly. "Um...you do have a license, right?"

"Maybe."

"Frank!"

"Of course I do," he said grabbing the keys. "Now get in!" He laughed and pushed me towards the car with his arm.

I sighed and walked around to the passengers' side and climbed in. Frank started the car and backed out quickly. "Um Frank," I started. "Where exactly are we going because it is a school night and it's already eight and I have a lot of work to do if you want your English paper done by Friday..."

"Vee," Frank said stopping me. He looked over at me and gave a small laugh. "Relax."

I sighed and turned to look out the window. Yeah, relax. He doesn't have homework. "So where are we going?" I tried one more time.

Frank turned to me and laughed before answering. "We're going to a basement show."

"Okay," I said not quite understanding. "What's that?"

Frank turned to me and gave me one of those 'are you kidding me' faces. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," I said slowly. Now I felt stupid and that was a first.

Frank shook his head and gunned through a yellow light. "You must be really sheltered."

"Hey, there's no need for personal attacks," I defended as my heart jumped from his reckless driving.

Frank laughed and gave me a sideways glance. "Okay, I'm sorry."

"Thank you," I said crossing my arms.

Frank smiled and took a left down a suburban street. "Basically a basement show is just that," he explained. "A band plays in somebody's basement."

"Oh," I said feeling stupid I had asked.

"Don't worry about it," Frank consoled. "A lot of people ask."

"Really?" I felt a bit better.

"No."

"Frank!" I gave him a hit in the arm.

"Hey don't distract the driver," he laughed out.

"Whatever."

We arrived at a dark house and headed down into the basement. It already held a bunch of kids and more just kept coming. The air was full of perspiration and smoke, threatening to trap me in the squalor. What had I gotten myself into?

"Um...Frank," I said following him into the masses. "I feel a little out of place."

"What are you talking about?" He said raising his voice above the crowd.

"I'm pretty sure I'm the only person here with clothing that is in one piece and a shirt telling you to read more," I said. It was true. My bookstore shirt read: Books = Knowledge.

Frank laughed and grabbed my hand. "C'mon."

I took his hand without protest. I didn't want to get lost in the masses, and whether I admitted it or not Frank's touch was comforting in this unfamiliar setting.

The band that played was called You're Dead To Me. Frank said they were pretty popular in the area but I had never heard of them. Surprise! Surprise! Their music was something I never heard before. The first time they started playing it gave me consuming goose bumps. It was so loud with so much emotion in it. Oddly, I enjoyed it.

Later that night we met Maria and Gerard. Gerard was clearly intoxicated and gave myself and Frank a big welcome.

"Vee," he said planting a wet kiss on my cheek. "I missed you." I had no clue what he was talking about. I had just seen him a couple of hours ago, but I just smiled and tried to back away safely. As much as I demanded my personal bubble, it seemed like it was always being invaded. Maybe I would have to make a pamphlet for Frank and Gerard to demonstrate the acceptable space between people.

Maria and I left Gerard with Frank for a while and roamed the basement. It turned out Maria knew a lot of people there and introduced me. The tattered and intimidating kids turned out to be friendly and inviting. Their acceptance filled my insides with glee. All in all, I had to admit I was having fun.

"Frank," I said exhausted. "We have to go." Maria had spent most of the night dragging me along to new faces while the music raged on, and I was exhausted. I had had a great time, but then I looked down at my watch. It was 11:30 on a school night. That's when the fun stopped.

"What? Why?" Frank asked.

"Because its 11:30 on a school night." Didn't this kid have any responsibility?

"C'mon Vee," he said with a small laugh as if I was joking.

I huffed as Frank turned back around to continue a previous conversation with a group. I really did need to get home. He had no idea the amount of homework I had lined up. I bit my lip as I tried to work up a plan. I smiled as one came to mind. I turned back to Frank and wrapped my arms around his back. He gave a small jump as if surprised and looked back at me.

"C'mon Frankie, please," I said pouting. I was hoping the whining girlfriend would work.

Frank smiled back at me as if saying 'well played'. "Okay," he said twisting around still in my arms. "But only because you called me Frankie," he whispered with a grin.

I shook my head and followed Frank out.