Telescope

Paralian

Benny

"Benny!" Mason crashed down the hall, landing in front of my locker. I smiled, shaking my head. 

"Hey," I said, swinging my locker shut. Down the hall, Mitch passed by Dylan, completely ignoring each other, except a moment of eye contact passing through the air, so thin you could barely notice. 

"So, what did you think of Ryder?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows. Mason does this every once in a while; he latches on to someone he thinks is cool and wants everyone in his life to love them. 

"He's alright," I said, not trying to hurt his feelings.

He narrowed his eyes. "Well, I think we should all hang out more, you know?" I sighed at this, then smiled to show I was still the fun, goofy guy he needed me to be. 

"Sure, man," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "I actually have a lot to do, like um, this project for the school."

Mason shrugged. "Yeah, well, we'll figure it out," He said, clearly unbothered. He didn't even know about the project or what I was talking about, but he didn't seem to care enough to ask. He pushed open the door to the classroom and we walked in, strolling to our seats in the back. I slumped into the cramped chair, watching as kids filed into the classroom. 

"Benny!" I turned at the voice behind me. Jorden, my ex-girlfriend who had decided this year she wanted to clear the air and become friends, was hovering behind me. 

"Hi," I said, and she sat in the seat in front of us. Mason beamed, he clearly liked her. He hadn't told me this, considering she was my ex, but we were all friends at this point and I really didn't mind. 

"So," She said, running a hand through her dark hair, "I was thinking about how we never really hang out, and since it's getting warm again I'm gonna throw a pool party!" She grinned, trying to gauge our reactions. 

"Yes!" I could tell Mason was already excited. "When?"

"I was thinking Friday," She said, "But can you guys invite more people. I want it to be super fun!"

And here I was, despite knowing almost everyone in the school, thinking of Juno. Thinking of her blonde hair and freckles, the way she laughed, the way she closed her eyes when she listened to music, leaning close to me. 

"Yeah," I said. "I know some people."

I wandered into the Trap Wednesday night at ten, pushing through the crowds of adults escaping their families and twenty-year-olds trying to have a good night. There was a table with a few kids I recognized from school, one who was dating one of the band members. Instead of sitting with them, I found a barstool.

"Hey man, what can I get you?" The bartender asked.

"Coca-cola, please," I said, and for some reason, my mind went to the sandy beach and her can of coca-cola propped near the guitar. The guitar which was now nowhere to be seen as she stood in front of the microphone on the small stage in a white top and black jeans, those laced high heeled boots making her taller. 

She was setting up, plugging things in with Grace and Darius. Grace played drums and Darius was the bass player. They were opposite of Juno, both with dark hair and dark clothes, eyeliner lining their eyes. Juno, now crouched by a few plugs, with her blonde hair falling over her face and her sunkissed skin, looked like an outcast on stage. A guy with dark hair came over to her, saying something. She looked up, eyes cold, and said something back, smiled fakely, and stood up, walking back to the microphone.

"Hey," She said. "I'm Juno, that's Grace on drums, Darius on bass, and we're Paralian." She saw me and smiled, nodding slightly. 

As they started playing music and she started singing, she kept looking up and smiling at me. I realized now, that despite their differences, they worked together amazingly. I sat in the back, watching, completely mesmerized. At some point, I looked up Paralian. It's a Greek word that means one who lives by the sea. 

Of course, her band was called one who lives by the sea.

Their set was an hour-long, and her voice was amazing. She did covers and originals, and when she played Orpheus, she looked at me almost the whole time. 

When she finished, she helped take everything apart, and then headed over to me. I couldn't help but be happy as she passed her friends' table to come see me. "You made it," She said, smiling. Even with her heels, she was much shorter than me. She leaned against the bar, smiling at the bartender. Her face was a little pink, she looked like she was probably hot.

"This is Lewis," She said. "He owns this place. Lewis, this is Benny."

"Nice," Lewis nodded, then went away. 

"So," She said. "What did you think?"

"It was great," I said. I wished I had a way with words, that I could tell her how it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up when she hit the high notes, and made my heart feel like it was glowing when she smiled at me. Instead, I said, "Really great."

She smiled softly. "Thanks," She sighed, looking over at her friends. "I should probably go say hi and thanks and stuff." She looked at me and smiled apologetically. "I won't subject you to that madness. Unless you really want to come."

"Sure," I said, and she smiled. 

"Thanks," She took me hand and led me through the crowd to her friends' table. They were all gathered around, laughing and talking. Darius had his arm around his girlfriend and Grace and a guy and girl were all talking. Juno smiled at them. 

"Hey guys," She said, letting go of my hand. "This is Benny. Benny," She motioned at everyone, "Darius, Lilly, Grace, Caleb, and Ariana." 

They all nodded at me, then focused their attention back on Juno. "You guys did so good!" Ariana, a redhead with dark eyes, said.

"Thanks," Juno said, leaning against the table. She took someone's drink and drank it, ignoring Caleb's cry of protest. She set it down. "I just did an hour set, give me a break."

"I hate you," He said, rolling his eyes. 

She smiled, "But you still came to see me."

After a few more minutes of talking, Juno sighed. "Alright, guys. I'm tired and hot and I need to go to sleep." She turned to me. "Do you by any chance have a ride?" 

I nodded. "Yeah," I said.  

"Come on, then." She took my hand again, said goodbye to her friends and pulled me outside into the cool night. 

"My car is a few blocks away," I said. 

"Okay, hang on," She bent down and pulled her shoes off. "What? I'm better barefoot than in heels," She said. She made a funny face, saying, "All those hot days on the beach, barefoot on the burning sand..." She trailed off, shrugging. 

"You can tell you write by the way you talk," I said. She looked at me, so I added, "Music, songs." Something seemed to light in her chest, pull her further into the sun even on this dark night, as the wind cut through our clothes and blew her hair out of her face and made our eyes water. 

A few minutes later, I realized she was probably cold, rubbing her arms as we walked. "Here," I said, pulling off my hoodie. It was large and black, with a logo on the front. I handed it to her. She looked up at me, eyes apologetically grateful.

"You sure?" She asked, holding it close to herself.

"Yeah," I said. "I had it on the whole way, I'm already warm."

"Thank you so much," She said, pulling it on. It fell over her hands, catching on her boots. 

Cute.