Autumn Henningsen lives and breathes music. Just like her father, and his father before him, she has dreams to be a star.
But those dreams won't happen if she stays in Gullwitch Cove, LA, a small town with a population of about 1000. Nothing ever h...
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Harley
Her bright green eyes bore into mine, tired but still with their signature spark. Her pale cheeks are flushed red with cold, and her red hair blows gently in the sharp wind. I don't know what it is about her that always finds me tongue-tied. Maybe I'll never know.
My eyes focus on her red, dry hands. "Careful," I click my tongue, "You don't want those pretty hands to dry up."
"Shut up." She turns and begins to walk down the road. I follow her, trying to get in front of her, but her long legs make it almost impossible.
"Stop walking so fast," I say, trying hard to catch up with her. We're about five stores down from the cafe, the only store open on this block. Every other store is dark. Uninviting. The path is slick with fresh rainwater, and she somehow doesn't slip over any of them.
"Stop following me." She moves faster, practically running as she tries to get away from me. I always knew I wasn't a nice guy, but girls normally don't trip over themselves trying to get away from me.
Then again, Autumn isn't like other girls.
Every other girl I've ever met has been fake. They act interested in me, but it's obvious that they don't care, that they just want someone to make them catapult in the social pyramid. Autumn isn't like that. She's a rose with thorns, tough on the outside, but sweet on the inside..
And something about that smile makes her seem worth knowing.
"Can you please just listen to me?" I run in front of her and stop her from walking. She slams into me, almost falling on the dead leaves lining the sidewalk. She gracefully stops herself from falling, and stands back up, green eyes flashing.
"What?" She throws her hands up in the air, flopping down on a bench near the edge of the road. "What do you want?"
I can't believe I'm doing this.
I've missed playing. The feeling of being on stage, Adrian pounding the drums behind me, Jayden playing the bass to the right of me. I had loved being on stage once. But then, Adrian died.
That changed everything.
So, maybe what I asked her next was fate. I'm not religious. I don't believe in omens and coincidences. If I were sane, I wouldn't have asked her.
But, I'm not.
"Can you play with my band? Just one show, and you'll never have to see me again after that."
Her eyebrows perk up, interested but trying hard to not show it. She fiddles with a lock of her hair, eyes staring off into space. Her legs are crossed, left leg over right, and her left leg bounces up and down. She bites the inside of her lip, thinking hard.
"Can you make up your mind? It's getting late." I say, standing in front of her.
Her green eyes snap back into focus and she stands, popping the bones in her neck. "For the record, I want nothing to do with you," she says, gathering up her stuff.
