Baby Blue Eyes

Chapter Six

I rub my fingers over my forehead, wondering if there’s anything that I can do to convince him. Matt and the others clearly aren’t going to believe me if I say that I try my hardest.

‘What if there’s something we can offer you in return?’ I ask him, nervously. ‘We could make some sort of deal.’

Levi stiffens. ‘Are you trying to bribe me to join the band?’

‘Oh no,’ I reply quickly. ‘Just, er, offering you an incentive.’

‘Surely that’s a bribe?’

I shake my head. ‘Nope.’

He still doesn’t seem convinced, and instead leans forward to press the STOP button, as we’re nearing school.

I’m failing this dramatically, and now I’ve run out of options. Every response and argument I thought up last night in the middle of sleeping has been driven out of my mind by my nervousness at having to bargain with an ex.

Suddenly, I remember what Eddie said about puppy dog eyes, and so being very brave, I reach out to him, touching his arm lightly to make him look at me. Which he does.

‘Levi? Please?’ I beg.

As his eyes meet mine, I widen my own, gently biting my bottom lip as I watch his expression soften. Or that could be my imagination. This all feels rather familiar; I remember the countless arguments which ended like this.

The bus lurches to a halt, and the spell is broken. Swinging himself up, he walks down the bus, checking his phone again, with an air of irritability about him. With a sigh, I follow, cursing myself for being such a failure at this.

I don’t bother trying to catch up and beg him again. He’s made it all too clear that he’s not going to join, and that I’m a fool for thinking otherwise.

I head into school, anticipating the meeting with the others unenthusiastically. Matt will not be impressed that his bribery idea didn’t work, I just know.

As I walk past the school car park, I notice Tasha’s boyfriend Kieran’s car in front of me, and I glimpse the pair of them in the front, passionately kissing.

Averting my eyes, I fold my arms to wait for her, wishing she’d hurry up. As Kieran works just down the road from here, he gives her a lift to school every morning, but this just seems to be an excuse for her to fit in a little extra make out time, which really isn’t something I want to witness.

Eventually, I hear a car door open, and Tasha gets out, leaning back in once more for one last kiss. I laughingly roll my eyes at her as she re-emerges, a grin on her face. Waving him off, we walk together to our tutor room.

‘Things are going well between you two, then?’ I ask, giving her a sideways look as she hugs her books to her.

‘Oh definitely,’ she tells me. ‘It’s been the most amazing thing ever, Zo! I’ve never had a boyfriend like him before- he’s so much more mature than the others, you know?’

‘He is two years older than all the others,’ I point out. ‘But I know what you mean. He does seem like a grown up.’

Tasha’s always been the sort of person whose rarely been without a boyfriend. Her striking looks and confidence never fails to attract the attention of several boys when she enters a room, and the knowledge that she’s not available often seems to disappoint. She’s never been with anyone as long as she’s been with Kieran though- they must be coming up to their twelve month anniversary soon, which is more than double the usual amount of time.

‘It’s his twentieth soon,’ Tasha says. ‘I’m not sure what to get him, really.’

‘Twentieth?’ I repeat. It sounds strange to think that she’s with someone who is that much older than us; despite it seeming to be common, I can’t quite get my head around it.