it was friday. april had finished working her shift at a coffee shop downtown and flopped down on her red bedsheets. it was surprising that her dad hadn't kicked her out since she'd finished highschool, but she wasn't complaining. she knew, however, that as soon as she had saved enough money she would move into her own apartment.
after their jam session, a multitude of thoughts had been swimming through aprils mind-- her youth, cherry, dave, her dad. april knew (although she wouldn't dare say it to anyone) that she was a very lost person. few people caught on to that considering the version of herself she presented to the world, but it was true. she was also deeply insecure, and that was one thing that dave had begun to recognize in her eyes.
she would get this hazy, almost stoned look in them when she would fake a smile. the few times she would crack a genuine smile, or let a real laugh escape her lips, it was almost like heaven. in the week that had past since they had gathered together in cherry's apartment to play together, dave and april had begun to call one another.
the first time he dialed the number on the crumpled piece of paper, he hung up as soon as her voice echoed through the receiver.
"hello?"
taking a breath and leaning against the wall, he dialed it again.
"yes?"
"it's dave."
"oh, hey dave." she replied, twirling a piece of hair in her finger as she held the phone up to her ear. "what's up?"
"oh, well... it was just cool playing with you the other day and i, um, well i remembered i had your number so i wanted to give you a call."
"cute." she spoke into the phone, biting her lip and resisting the urge to giggle. she loved flirting for the fun of it. she knew what she was doing.
they had continued calling the past couple of days; april always unapologetically flirtatious, and dave always bit his lip at her bluntness. days after they had begun to talk over the phone, april called him around midnight.
"so, are you going to the show friday?" she asked, walking over the her vanity with the phone still pressed against her cheek.
she applied a layer of dark red lipgloss to her lips and observed her face in the mirror. and observed, meaning, picking apart every flaw, misplaced hair, odd freckle and textured area of her skin. she was on her way to pick up from her dealer at the park, and she could often get a discount if she came dolled up, so that's what she did.
"it's midnight, april." his voice was deep, sounding as if she had just woken him up, and she smirked.
"you didn't answer my question, grohl."
"yeah, i am-- you gonna be singing?" he asked, recalling the intoxicating sound of her voice as she sang. he heard april let out a "ha" on the other end of the line, then the flicking of a lighter.
"fat chance. that was a one time thing, grohl, i won't be getting the old vocal chords out again any time soon."
his heart sank.
"well, i think that's bullshit." he challenged. she raised an eyebrow, scoffing before taking a drag of her cigarette.
"oh really; why?" she questioned, eager to hear what he had to say.
"because i think you're scared." he spoke, and the words hit her in the gut. "i think you're scared that you'll fall in love with music again and have a passion for something. you're scared to have a reason to not get loaded and wait to die."
what made her mad the most of all was how he was true, and that how without trying, he could read her. that's what made her mad. he could pinpoint the truth of the matter, and that was endlessly frustrating.
"you don't know anything about me." she spoke through gritted teeth, caught between wanting to scream and wanting to cry.
and you never will. she thought to herself.
they hadn't spoken since, and now that it was friday, she was bracing herself to face him. per usual, she dusted her cheekbones with glitter, and dabbed her lips with color. she slipped on a black skirt and tank top, chunky mary janes, and as always, slung her camera bag over her shoulder.
cherry wasn't able to pick up april before the show because she was busy setting up, but april just planned on taking the bus. she pulled her hoodie tightly around herself as she ambled to the illuminated bus stop. she watched the scenery around her change as the bus drove to downtown olympia.
she hopped off in front of the venue; one she hadn't been to before. she walked to the front, where a small line had begun to form. she got to the front when she realized she left her fake id at home.
fuck.
she tried to compensate for this by batting her lashes at the burly security guard who stood in front of the door with his arms crossed, but to no avail.
"listen, ma'am, if you can't prove your identity, then i can't let you in." he spoke firmly.
"look, i'm friends with the girl in one of the bands performing, cherry, just tell her i'm here!" she spoke exasperatedly.
"ma'am, like i said--" the security guard began to repeat the same line again, but was cut off by a voice behind april.
"she's with me." she turned her head swiftly around and was met with dave, wearing jeans and a black flag shirt. april looked back at the security guard with a raised eyebrow. he just sighed in response as he let them in, probably too tired to put up a fight.
as they entered the club, april turned to face dave with her arms crossed over her chest.
"as much as i appreciated that, i really don't need you to swoop in and save the day." she spoke.
"oh really? well, if you like sitting on a curb not inside the fun music club, have at it." he replied with a smirk, taking a page from her book of teasing. she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "what, i think i at least deserve a thank you." his six foot frame practically towered over her five foot six stature, and as she glared up at him, she could feel her cheeks flush.
they kept the eye contact, challenging each other with it, the electricity between them was undeniable, and if cherry were there to witness it she would be having the time of her life.
"whatever, i'm getting a fucking drink, and then i'm gonna take some fucking pictures of my friends band." she broke the eye contact first and spun on her heel.
and in the moment, he had won. she had backed down for the first time since he had met her, and it was a rare sight to see april turn away from a glaring competition. that interaction only made the electricity between them stronger, each one of them practically feeling the static radiating off of the other's body. and it was magnetic.
it was an hour and a half later, after snapping both backstage pictures and pictures of the band performing, that april rolled the joint. she didn't like to be just drunk or just high, as she found that with only one or the other, she never had full control.
with alcohol, you just made a fool of yourself, and with weed, you overthink everything so much that you end up just sitting there in a pool of your own thoughts, giggling or panicking. so she liked to mix them--get the best of both worlds-- feel loose and free, while also keeping the voice in the back of your head.
and from across the room as she put out the joint roach, she locked eye contact with an equally crossed dave. there were no words spoken as april stood up from the couch and walked to the restroom. it was empty, so as she washed her hands she could hear his footsteps as he entered through the door.
when she looked up and into the mirror, there he was behind her. she turned around against the sink, facing him and looking up at him in with challenging eyes once more but this time they held a glint of mischief.
his gaze flicked up and down from her lips to her eyes, and once he settled on staring at her lips, he pulled her into a kiss. she reached her arms up to wrap around his neck, and he hoisted her onto the sink, his eyes locking with hers once more when the broke the kiss.
deep inside each of them they both knew that this was possibly one of the dumbest things they could do, they knew they should have stopped-- but that's just what made being crossed so fun. they didn't care.