Juke Box Hero

Stars In His Eyes

We were going to see Foreigner that night, but I had to work another shift at the diner. With some of my tip money, I had to call the auto repair shop and tell Mark I'd be late. The rain was pouring, and didn't look like it would be letting up anytime soon.

I ran back to the apartment, completely soaked in my little yellow and white dress. Mark was standing in the kitchen by the door, leaning on the counter, looking impatient.

“Mark, I'm sorry! I was the only server in the restaurant, and my manager made me-”

“Babe, it's okay. But we seriously need to hurry! It's Foreigner! And they might be sold out already!” He patted my ass as I ran into the bedroom to get out of my dripping uniform. My hair was just gonna have to be flat and wet tonight.

We jumped out of the taxi, and he covered me with his leather jacket. The sidewalk we usually stood along in line was empty. Mark ran ahead to the box office, and shouted something indistinguishable to the man behind the glass. With a look of defeat, he slammed a fist on the brick wall, and headed back toward me.

“They're full. Come on…” He shouted over the sound of the rain hitting the pavement, cars passing and splashing puddles everywhere. He grabbed me by the arm and led me briskly around to the back. I got a sudden chill down my spine, afraid of him for some reason. His grip was tight. Was we mad at me? In a filthy alley, Mark found a small back door.

Excitedly, he pressed an ear against the cold wet metal. We listened to the crowd roar as the band must already be on the stage. Suddenly, a guitar screamed out, singing it's own wordless song. Mark looked at me with starry brown eyes, his long wet hair nearly covered his face. He smiled that goofy smile, and stood up straight to lean his back against the door. With his head back, he shut his eyes and listened.

Soon a bass joined the guitar, thumping a melody underneath. And then the drums blasted behind them. The music blew Mark completely away. We stood there in the rain, listening to the muffled band for what felt like forever. Mark looked so happy, so blissful, letting the rain stream down his smiling face.

“You wanna know something funny?” He mumbled without opening his eyes.

“What?”

“Even if we got here on time, I wouldn't have enough money to buy the tickets.” he smiled, and peeked at me with one eye through his soaked bangs. I was pissed for a minute, but laughed with him.

“Well, I have enough for one ticket, and I was gonna send you in there. I'm pretty sure Wade and Molly are in there, so you would have been safe.”

“Haha! How sweet of you to spend your last Lincoln on me!” I sneered sarcastically, throwing a soft punch onto his chest. We laughed for a moment, then listened to the band for a few more songs. Pretty soon, we heard bouncers on the other side of the door, so Mark grabbed me again, and we ran all the way home in the rain.