𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬.

Chapter Twenty| Lucas

Carrying my new guitar downstairs, I beam, seeing Jamie. She lets the band use her aunt's van to move our instruments to the venue the competition is at. She hands me the keys, and I promise I'll take good care of it.

"You sure you don't want to go with us?" I ask.

"Yeah. I have to finish up a project so I can have the rest of the break to chill. I'm rooting for you guys, though."

She gives me a quick hug while the guys finish packing up their instruments. We don't have to worry about Austin's drums because the competition thought it is easier and faster to let everyone use the same drum kit for our performances. It makes sense because everyone would have to set up their kits, and it would take to long.

There are only four other bands in my finals, so we have to make a great impression. I told the boys we should match in someway but also stand out from the rest. We chose to all wear black jeans and a white shirt, but what makes us stand out is our red leather jackets with our band logo on the back.Last week I looked up the other bands to see how they sounded and what they looked like. Three of them have people in their mid-twenties to thirties-one with forty to fifty-year-olds. Half is an indie band and the other punk rock. Jamie describes us as a pop-rock, but I think we try to incorporate flares of all styles. We don't focus on genres and trying to fit into one of them. I create music to represent my emotions; if so happens to sound like rock or pop, so be it.We hit the road, and I ride in the front seat while Austin drive. Cameron and Micah take the back seat and begin singing along with a song on the radio. Leaning my head against the glass, I watch the dark clouds float above us. The sun barely peeks through, causing the sky to turn grey. It's now winter, but it's still only chilly outside.

Further in the month, it'll get much colder. My fingers flick on the heater to the van, and a brush of hot air hits my arms. After two minutes, I'm all warmed up.

Passing the ocean, I frown, wanting it to be summer already. My entire body is in the urge to go surfing. I wonder if Jamie is staying for the summer too. She's never gone surfing before, and I'd love to teach her before she goes home-the waves crash across the shoreline. No one goes to the beach during the winter, so it's quite barren. Only a few birds fly over the water.

Micah grabs my attention by pulling a strand of my hair. My head yanks back, hitting the back of the seat. Groaning, I turn, giving Micah a mad glare.
"What the hell!" I shout.

"Sorry, dude, but I called your name like a hundred times." Huh? Was I that deep into my thoughts?

"Okay, what you want?" I rub the back of my head. It still slightly stings mainly from the impact of hitting the car seat.

"We're grabbing something to eat after the competition, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Sophie wants to join." He says, looking down at his phone, probably texting her right now.

I'm glad Micah found someone sweet like Sophie, but sometimes their relationship is nauseating. I don't think they'll go a whole day without seeing each other.

"She can only if Jamie comes along. No one wants to see you two suck face the entire time."

When Jamie isn't here, Sophie cops out of the conversation by being overly affectionate to Micah, and they ended up making out regardless of what we're doing. Sophie hasn't integrated herself into our group as Jamie has. Sophie simply doesn't share the same interests as most of us. I'm surprised how well she and Micah work considering their polar opposites. I believe their music taste is the only thing they have in common come to think of it. Jamie, however, is up for anything and loves finding out about new things. She's never afraid to ask questions or feel stupid when she gets something wrong. That's why she gets along with all of so well.