The Only Girl in the Band

The Only Girl in the Band...[Part 8]

I tried to avoid the band for the next week. I faked sick, telling them that being out in the freezing rain for so long had given me a cold. I called off of work giving the same excuse. I didn't want to see anyone. I didn't want to talk to anyone. But this was proving to be more than difficult because Mae wouldn't leave me alone.

"What happened that night?" she asked for the millionth time when she caught me as I walked out of the bathroom. I groaned.

"Nothing! Nothing happened! I don't know why you're so hung up about this! I just needed some time off. I need to catch up with school work and everything. Finals are next week and I need to concentrate," I explained, not looking her in the eyes. I knew she knew that I was lying. But I didn't want to talk about what happened with Ian. I wasn't ready to deal with it just yet. And I wasn't lying completely. It was the first week of December. Next week my finals would begin. I really did need to study.

"Ness, I've known you for almost 10 years now. You know you can't lie to me," Mae told me. I looked up at her.

"I don't want to talk about it right now," I said somberly. Then I moved past her and locked myself in my room again. I sat on my bed, my finance textbook open in front of me, and became lost in thought again.

I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. It was so random, so out of the blue. It was completely unexpected. One minute we were arguing and the next we were making out on Caleb's bed. I thought he hated me. I thought I hated him. Then why did I kiss him back? I groaned and laid down on my bed. I had to talk to him. What did it mean?

                                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, you've been MIA," Caleb said as he opened the door to his house. I stepped inside.

"Yeah, I had finals. They're done now," I said.

"I thought you said you were sick?" he asked. I gulped.

"I was! At first. Then I got better and had finals week. I needed to concentrate," I said.

"We called you like a million time and left you like a thousand texts," Caleb told me.

"I know..." I mumbled.

"Did you read any of them?" he asked.

"No...I didn't get a chance to," I said. I wasn't lying. I didn't read them. But it wasn't because I didn't have a chance. It was because I knew they were wondering where I was and if I was all right.

"Well that's too bad. There was some good news in those texts," he said, turning and walking downstairs to the basement.

"What? Good news? What are you talking about?" I asked. We went to the studio room. No one else was here yet. I had come early so I could talk a bit with Caleb.

"The band. We got some good news," he told me.

"Well spit it out! What happened?!" I asked.

"On one condition," he began, turning to face me. "You'll tell me the real reason you've been avoiding us," he said, his blue eyes knowing. I closed my own eyes and sighed. He already knew me too well.

"Fine," I said, knowing full well I wasn't going to tell him about the kiss.

"Ok, so the good news is..." he said, pausing for dramatic effect.

"Caleb! Just tell me!" I cried.

"We got a record deal!" he said. I let out a squeal. He handed me a letter from Alltime Records. I read over it, beaming. It felt good to get some happy news.