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17 / Where Loyalty Stays
Something was definitely weird.
When I came into work today, Manager King apologized for yelling at me. He never took back what he said to his employees. Not only that, but in the locker room were flowers from Candace.
A bouquet of beautiful, red roses with a tiny card that said in her curly-shaped writing:
I'm sorry for what I did to you. Please forgive me. Let's be friends.
Love, Candace.
This had to be a sick dream.
However, it wasn't. I pinched myself many times to wake up, even asked Kristen to slap my face a few times — she wouldn't though — and it was all true. Manger King and Candace asking for my forgiveness? It wasn't April Fool's day; it was almost July. So that couldn't be it.
Assuming that Carly forced Candace to drink some potion that made her suddenly nice — though highly unlikely — or smacked some sense into her older sister — I would love to see that happen — I had a hard time believing this sudden burst of friendliness.
It has only been a day since she made me look like a bad guy.
Ending my shift, I was checking my cellphone and noticed I had a missed call. It was just an unknown number.
Checking my voice mail, a familiar voice spoke, "H-hey... Maisie! It's A-A-Alec. Um, you didn't pick up... your... your phone. Ha..ha..ha, obviously. Man, what is wrong with me? Uh... so... so.... I just wanted to t-tell you that we're performing at L-L-Lucky House Café tonight at 6. If you're... free... did you want to come and watch us? O-okay... that's all. Oh yeah... if you're wondering... Mason gave me your n-n-number. I hope — err we hope to see you there!"
Wow, I never heard Alec stutter that badly before.
If I remembered right, he was the one with the most confidence when performing. Nonetheless, it made me release a laugh hearing him.
Mason, you're dead though.
Looking at the time, it was 5:15 PM. Lucky House Café wasn't too far so, I'd make it in time. After saying bye to my coworkers, I headed down the elevator. As the elevator doors slid open, my lucky self spotted Bryce and Candace. What surprised me was seeing Logan there too.
The three appeared to be simply standing there with their attention towards the lobby.
Please not for me.
How I wished I was invisible.
Before I knew it, the doors were about to close on me until I let out a loud yelp, shoving my hand out. My shout caught their eyes, and now my existence was known.
Bryce's annoyed face grew tender when he watched me exiting out the elevators. Candace's cunning eyes were on her bouquet I was holding, and she held a mischievous grin. Maybe I should have just thrown it away to anger her more. However, it was good seeing Logan ever since the time Bryce took me away without a choice. It has been that long come to think of it.
Logan gave me a friendly wave once I reached the three at a reasonable distance.
Candace was the first one to speak up, her voice was sugar-loaded, "I see you got the flowers, Maisie."
Feeling a tad uncomfortable, I nodded.
"Thanks. You didn't have to though."
"Of course I do. I have to show my love to the needy, right?"
Candace's blue-green eyes batted innocently.
How I wanted to punch that nose so badly.
Giving her a sweet smile back, I countered, "How thoughtful. You know, funny this is that I do too. Looks like you need this more then."
Handing back her bouquet, Candace flashed me an appalled expression while Logan and Bryce stifled a laugh from behind. Keeping her chin up, Candace harshly snatched the roses from my hands.
She spat, "Fine then."
Her voice shifted in a sweet matter unexpectedly.
"Maisie, what are you doing tonight?"
Shrugging, I gave her a blunt reply, "I'm going to watch my little brother perform. Why?"
Candace's lips stretched into a bragging smile.
"Oh nothing. We're just going to watch a movie premiere. It's a red carpet event, but looks like you're busy."
"Wait, Mason's show is tonight?" Bryce entered the conversation, disregarding what Candace said.
Logan was eying Bryce curiously, and Candace exhaled sharply for being disrupted. When I nodded my head, Bryce clicked his tongue.
"I forgot it was tonight. Let's go, Maisie."
Before I could even say anything, Bryce was motioning me towards the lobby entrance, leaving Logan and Candace behind. As I looked over my shoulder, I caught a very angry Candace, and once again, I was leaving Logan without properly talking to him. I was such a bad friend.
Once we made it outside, I fidgeted to stop Bryce from controlling me like a robot.
"What the — Bryce! Let me go!"
Huffing, I flipped towards to face him, my hair whipping along.
Bryce folded his arms and declared, "You, Daisie, just saved my life."
There he goes again calling me "Daisie". He seemed to know my real name. Why did he still call me that?
The voice in my head remarked, "It's his special name for you, duh."
Be quiet, voice.
Confused, I raised my eyebrows.
"Save your life? How?"
"I forgot you're a little slow. Candace, who else?"
"So this whole thing was just an excuse to avoid her?"
Bryce replied honestly, "Not really, I don't mind seeing Mason perform."
"What about Logan?" I asked, growing concern that he was left with that psycho model.
Bryce shrugged in reply, saying how Logan can take care of himself. Without letting me have a say in anything, Bryce and I were both sitting in my car driving to Lucky House Café.
Feeling a bit weird about everything, I asked through the silence, "So, Candace —"
"Let's not talk about her right now. She's making my head explode," Bryce muttered, looking outside my car window.
"Have you met her little sister, Carly?" I questioned anyway.
Bryce nodded.
"Yeah, she looks a lot like Candace when we were that age. But Carly is ten times — even more — better than the person Candace will ever be. So, can we please stop talking about her?"
Zipping my mouth shut, Bryce was right. To think that Candace's flowers would be a sincere apology. I knew it was just a publicity stunt. Hitting close to Lucky House Café, I parked my car after fighting for it. The place was packed. Bryce was following behind me once I locked the car.
Before we went in, Bryce reminded, "Don't think I forgot. You were going about another day without giving your delivery boy his hazelnut coffee."
Forgetting about Candace and everything else, Bryce's words made me twitch into a smile as he returned with a grin back. As he opened the doors for me — yes, he could be a gentlemen — I nodded.
"This cafe has pretty good hazelnut coffee."
Lucky House Café was your not so average cafe. It had a laid back feel to it — huge and spacious, with comfy sofas scattered around. It made you feel like you were home, relaxing in front of the fireplace. There was also a leveled deck inside with proper wooden tables and chairs where people could dine or study. It was best known hosting performances for local, aspiring bands. They had a designated stage just to emphasize the attention on them.
As Bryce and I were standing side by side, I instantly spotted Mason, Alec and the rest getting their instruments and equipment ready for the performance. About to wave down a waiter's attention, Bryce suddenly stopped me.
He grinned.
"I want you to get our drinks. I'll find us a spot."
Nodding along, I made my way towards the register. Before going, I made sure that Mason knew I was there.
Immediately, I noticed a hoard of high school girls giggling as they stalked — I mean excessively admired — my little brother and his friends. The group of ten were all talking loudly to get their attention but looked like it wasn't working. Mason had his mind on the equipment while Alec and the other two, Travis and Nick, were busy tuning the instruments.
Moving closer to the stage, I casually called out to Mason. Looking up, Mason grinned widely.
"Hey, Maisie!"
Following Mason were the other three. There was a tint of red growing on Alec's cheeks. Oh gosh.
Giving the four some support because the café was filled, I smiled.
"Kill it tonight, okay?"
Alec jumped in, almost dropping his guitar, "Just for you, Maisie!"
Nodding as I laughed, I turned around only to find a bunch of evil stares directed at me. Lifting my hands up, I rolled my eyes at the high school girls.
"Chill. Mason is my brother, so stop crapping your pants."
As I was walking off, I heard the girls gasping and whispering how they had to be nice so I could give them his number.
Was this how crazy girls were nowadays?
Actually, I needed to get back at Mason for giving Alec my number.
After ordering two hazelnut coffees, I found Bryce sitting in one of the black leather sofas. The delivery boy chose one of the farthest spots here. Maybe he wanted to keep a low profile. Heading towards him, I noticed a huge smirk that was etched onto his face.
Handing him his drink, I asked before taking a seat, "What's so funny?"
Bryce took a sip before speaking, "I wonder what will happen to you when those girls find out you're here with me."
He probably witnessed the whole thing.
Snorting a laugh, I was close to spitting my drink out.
"Don't get too cocky now."
Bryce noticed everything, and he chuckled.
"Very graceful, Daisie."
Our conversation was put to a stop when the lights of the café dimmed, and the spotlight was on Mason.
He was standing by the mic and spoke confidently, "Hey everybody, I can tell it's going to be a good night. Take a seat, relax and enjoy."
Has my younger brother grown or what?
All of a sudden, you could hear the room fill with happy sighs coming from the lovestruck girls which made me wince. Mason walked back, and the spotlight emphasized the whole group now. When Mason got his guitar and motioned the guys, the sound of their music scattered. They have gotten a lot better since they started out.
The guitars, drums, and singing synchronized perfectly as one. From the corner of my eyes, I even caught Bryce tapping his fingers against his leg. Everyone had their undivided attention on them. I smiled at the sight — I couldn't help but be proud.
After performing two songs perfectly, the crowd, including Bryce and me, stood up to give them a round of applause. This time, Alec took the mic. He was filled with charisma which opposed the anxiety he has around me.
Alec's calm voice echoed.
"You all having a good time?"
Shouts and screams blended together. He chuckled, his hazel eyes soon searched the area.
"This song... is dedicated to someone who's one in a million to us. This is for you, Maisie."
Back it up.
Did Alec just say my name?
Mason and his friends all held the same grins and started playing. This was probably the sweetest thing someone has done for me. I was probably going to get murdered by raging high school girls after. Brightly grinning, I glimpsed back at Bryce who had a very dry expression on his face.
What a kill joy.
Once they were done playing, everyone stood up again in applause, and I was clapping happily. Mason and his friends played two more songs, and their successful performance came to a close. As they were packing up, a rush of girls were running towards them.
Turning my attention to Bryce, I asked casually, "They did great, didn't they?"
"You're still blushing. Do younger guys attract you?" Bryce bluntly pointed out.
"Ew, no! That's just a sweet thing they did." I retorted, twitching a smile.
When the crowd cleared away, Bryce and I got up from our seats to personally congratulate the four.
Giving Mason a high five, I beamed, "You really make the Lockhart family proud."
Mason stuck his tongue out.
"I try — Bryce! I didn't know you were here!"
The two did the usual "dude" handshake. Bryce gave Mason and the rest a friendly grin.
"Nice job, what's your band name?"
Alec answered this time, "We... actually don't have one yet; we're just doing this for fun. Hey, you're one of the Valentino's! Are you Maisie's boyfriend?"
Instantly, I shouted out, "He's just a friend!"
Bryce smirked.
"You should be honored."
The guys laughed in unison, leaving me with a stale expression. Alec appeared to be sighing in relief though. After moments of talking and thanking them for dedicating a song to me, I figured it was time to go. When I asked Mason if he needed a ride, he answered that he was hitching one with Travis. Nodding my head, I told him to be safe while Bryce and I were heading out.
Alec waved.
"S-see you n-next time! T-thanks for coming, Maisie!"
Waving back, my smile dropped when I heard Bryce say, "You're about to hit the door."
What door?
Oh, fuck.
When I turned straight ahead, I was welcomed by the glass smacking against my forehead. Even though Bryce assisted me, he was holding in a laugh until he fully released it.
Keep laughing, delivery boy.
As I was rubbing my forehead, he held the door open for me, still laughing. Shooting a glare at Bryce, I gritted my teeth.
"It's not funny."
Bryce chuckled anyway.
"It kinda is.. you okay though?"
Rolling my eyes, I walked out, letting the cold air seep through my skin.
"I'm fine. Thanks for asking so late."
He replied, "At least I asked."
Before I could respond, Bryce was calling Mason and his friends who were walking towards their car.
The four looked somewhat confused until Bryce continued, "I forgot to mention since you guys did a good job today, I think you all deserve a day of unlimited arcade gaming and bowling."
Like winning the lottery, the four eighteen year olds' eyes lit up.
Mason answered, unsure, "Wait, you serious?"
Bryce nodded his head.
"I told you I would, right Mason?"
Travis and Nick both looked like little kids getting free candy in the candy store. Alec grinned ear to ear.
"That would be awesome, man!"
The four all did a high five, leaving Bryce with a satisfied look. I couldn't help but wonder why he was doing this. Random act of kindness?
Mason slapped Bryce's back and praised, "Thanks, Bryce... I think I'm starting to love you more than I love Maisie."
Oh, I understood now.
His friends — including Alec — nodded, agreeing word for word. Suddenly, Mason's brown eyes flashed at me, and he stuck his tongue out.
"Just kidding, Maisie."
Before I could chase after Mason for betraying me, all four of them ran off to their cars. Bunch of runts. When Bryce turned around to see my expression, a triumphant grin grew on his face.
His voice danced with victory.
"I just wanted to show you how easily I can take your 'one in a million' spot."
Darting my eyes at him, I scoffed, "You suck."
Turning away, I mumbled under my breath, "Cocky delivery boy always has to be number one."
"What's that?" Bryce playfully cupped his ear in a joking matter.
"Nothing," I answered, trying to be bitter as I fished for my keys out of my bag.
"Don't see why that Alec kid likes you so much," Bryce ranted out as we walked to my car.
"Excuse me? What's there not to like?" I answered with confidence, hoping I'd get Bryce to be quiet.
Instead, Bryce moved closer — the kind of closeness that would tug my heartstrings. As I waited for a reply, Bryce eyed me slowly from head to toe and soon released an amused face.
Blushing, I barked out, "Sorry for not looking like your lovely Candace."
Bryce took a step back and then threw on a charming grin, surprising me.
"No. Thank you for just being Daisie."
~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Dedicating this to InnocenceLost15 for all the support and encouraging words you've given to me.