Time And I

Forty-Nine

James was pissed at me for the rest of the week, but it wasn't because I had passed out. No, he was pissed because all it took to find us a cheap way to record an EP was for me to pass out. He despised the idea of admitting there was some good to come out of me passing out, and I loved to admit that I enjoyed his discomfort, as did the rest of the band. We didn't think his 'daddy' side could take it.

As for New Year, we were playing at Lucy's friend's house party. I guess the hostess was a big deal on campus or something. Something about her mom being one of the scholarship providers for the arts program. But that meant we were getting paid to play for a bunch of college kids, and that meant I could invite my friends to come watch. Darcy couldn't come because she was spending time with her girlfriend, and Buddy was out in Indiana with his aunt and uncle. So while Rena was with her aunt and uncle, Devon and his cousins came to the party.

I was glad that they were in the audience tonight. I'd missed seeing them, and with the band and school and everything, it made it impossible for me to see them. With our month off after tonight, I promised to make plans to see them again. We had a lot of catching up to do.

We had roughly an hour until the second half of our set. Since it was a house party, we would play for an hour and a half on December 31, and then another ninety minutes on January 1. It was going to be the actual New Year in fifteen minutes, and I was trying to find Devon. He ran off with Sylvester once we finished playing, and I hadn't been able to find him since.

As I wandered around the house, I got multiple pats on the back for a good job. Even some of my classmates wound up at the party, and despite most of them hating me for being Buddy's friend, they congratulated me and told me I did a good job. I wasn't sure if they were hoping to earn some points with him or something, but I loved them complimenting me.

Francine jumped on me from behind, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. "You look like you're having fun," she teased. "Don't worry. Sylvester and Devon left to go to the gas station down the street to use the bathroom, since there are long ass lines for all of them here. Plus, I'm pretty sure someone is doing coke in one of them."

"Wouldn't be a surprise." I shrugged, and she led me out to the backyard. Most people were either smoking or swimming outside, but Bella found a bench away from everyone and was holding three water bottles. When she saw me, she handed me one.

"I figured you'd need a drink after your show," she smirked. "You worked up quite a sweat."

"Don't go getting sultry," Francine quipped as she sat next to Bella and wrapped her arm around her waist. "But after what happened last time, we were worried."

"I'm a lot better now. For the past few days, I've literally just stayed inside and done nothing. Buddy'd come over, and we'd play video games, or Devon would come over, and we'd hang out, but I was mainly just napping and watching TV. This is the first time I've played drums since the show."

"Damn. Look at you taking care of yourself," Francine cheered.

"Yeah. I have played drums almost every day since I was in seventh grade. The longest I'd go without playing was a day, but this time I've gone four. I felt a sense of withdrawal, but by the second day, I was okay," I chortled. "I'm just really wanting to take care of myself. And drumming like this has become a bit of an unhealthy obsession. I need to take a break and not feel anxious if I go a few days without playing. As much as I love drumming, I have to do better."

"I'm proud of you," Francine chirped, holding her bottle in the air as a toast.

"Me too," Bella added, nodding furiously.

When Francine smirked at something behind me, I turned around and spotted Devon and Sylvester walking up to us. Devon ran up to me and picked me up by the waist. I squealed as he kissed my cheek. "You were amazing, Angel. I loved every second of it."