The Battle of the Bands ✓

The Battle of the Bands | 7

My palms were sweating profusely as I sat next to Kenzie in the car. I was never one to go to parties, it wasn't really anything I was ever interested in, but now that I was actually at a party, I had no idea what to do.

"Hey, I'm gonna head inside," she started, "Are you gonna be alright?"

I let out a breathy sigh that I didn't realize I'd been holding in. "Yeah, I should be fine."

She gave me a disbelieving look but said nothing more, exiting the car and heading inside. My mind raced with everything that could go wrong tonight, but I tried not to focus on the bad. After all, this was my first party.

It could be fun.

Giving one last sigh, I exited the car and followed Mackenzie inside, noticing that the house was filling rather quickly. Music was already coming from a couple of speakers in the living room, a trashy song that I was vaguely familiar with booming throughout the house.

I felt awkward and out of place, that is until I found Charlie. He made the nervousness wash away, leaving me feeling much less anxious than before. He walked towards me before I had the chance to move, a warm smile on his face.

"Kylie, glad to see you made it." his smile formed into a smirk, his face unreadable. "Where's Kenzie?"

I shrugged, unsure of where she'd run off to.

"She probably went to get something to drink," I replied truthfully, my arms folding into an awkward stance.

"Wanna dance?" he asked, his eyebrow raising ever so slightly in a way that made him so much more attractive. That was the kind of look that would make anyone weak at the knees.

"Uh, sure," I said dumbly, following him to the dance floor. The two of us danced for a while, Charlie easily taking the lead. It was obvious that I had no idea what I was doing. After we danced for a little longer, the party was in full swing, with people all over the place.

I recognized a few people from Asheville, but most were unfamiliar.

"So who's party is this?" I asked, glancing at Charlie with curiosity.

"A buddy of mine, Trevor," he replied, smiling slightly, "Are you enjoying yourself?"

I nodded my head in response, my cheeks heating slightly. After a few more minutes, my boredom had grown, so I decided to check out the rest of the house.

I walked through all of the different rooms, seeing a few things that would scar me for life, like the couple that was basically dry-humping each other in the kitchen.

My eyebrows furrowed as I saw Mackenzie, talking to a boy from our school in the hallway. I was pretty sure his name was Scott or something, but I wasn't completely sure. Maybe she was trying to get over Nick, which couldn't hurt, I suppose.

I continued to walk around, sipping on the coke that I'd made myself. Watching people dance while they were hammered was more than a little amusing, and it seemed I'd found my main source of entertainment for the night.

Sadly enough—though I figured it was bound to happen—I ran into Maxwell. He looked smug as usual, his disinterest present when he glanced at me.

"Well if it isn't Kylie Thompson, the second-best trumpet player in the state of California," he mused, sipping his drink.

"Last time I checked, I beat you at Districts last year," I retorted, sarcasm present in my tone.

"We'll see how that goes for you this year," he smirked, "Especially since you don't have your beloved teacher anymore."

I narrowed my eyes at him with the mention of Mr. Everett.

"You know, just because I'm better than you at playing the trumpet doesn't mean you have to get so upset about it," I replied, "But I'm sure playing the trumpet isn't the only thing you suck at doing with your mouth," I added, successfully knocking the smug smile off of his face.

He scowled, crossing his arms over his chest and making a 'tch' noise.

And honestly, I'd be lying if I said his pissy expression wasn't at least a little cute.

"Whatever," he muttered, knowing he'd lost the argument. I rolled my eyes slightly and continued walking throughout the house, nothing eventful happening for the rest of the night.

Well, aside from a girl taking her top off and flashing a dude long enough for him to take a picture of her. I'd probably hear about that at school tomorrow.

Other than that, the rest of the party went smoothly, or I should say, as smoothly as a high school party can go.

Eventually, it was close to three in the morning, so Mackenzie and I decided to head back to Asheville. We made it back home safely, and I soon realized how stupid it was to stay out so late.

First of all, I had to sneak back into my own house to avoid waking my mother. And second, I woke up Tuesday morning with a throbbing headache, most likely from the lack of sleep I'd gotten. I felt like I had a hangover, even though I had no idea what a hangover was like, nor had I ever gotten one.

None the less, my day was going by peacefully, until an unknown number texted me during my home economics class, saying they'd gotten my phone number from Kenzie. For a moment, I was slightly confused as to who would get my number from her.

Then I realized that it must've been Charlie, 'cause he was one of my only friends that didn't have my phone number.

I quickly texted him back, asking to make sure that it was who I thought it was.

***

From: Unknown Number

hey I got ur number from Kenzie, hope that's ok

To: Unknown Number

yeah that's cool, this is Charlie isn't it?

From: Unknown Number

yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out later today?

Contact changed to Charlie ;)

To: Charlie ;)

yeah sounds great, should I drive to McKinley or are you gonna drive here?

From: Charlie ;)

I thought I'd drive down there and save you the trouble of driving up here all by yourself

***

I smiled to myself, not having realized what a gentleman he was.

***

To: Charlie ;)

Sounds great

From: Charlie ;)

alright, i'll head that way after school, see u then

To: Charlie ;)

alrighty

***

I wrote that last text with a winking emoji, letting him know that I was looking forward to hanging out.

Suddenly, I couldn't wait for school to be over.