Despite how much I enjoyed complaining about the fame, fortune, and hard work that came with being a part of the band, I think I loved playing in it more than I did whining about it. I would still love it even if we weren’t famous; music would always be a huge part of my life. Most of the time, when school hadn’t previously ruined our day, rehearsals didn’t feel like work at all. It was just as it should be – a group of friends productively fooling around with a bunch of musical instruments.
After starting the school year off on such a bad note, the rest of the month was going great. I had been running into Richie all over the campus and we had eaten lunch together almost every day. I’m not sure what kind of talk Cooper and Nat had with the rest of the band, but the relentless taunting of my lateness had virtually disappeared. Rehearsals were fun again, and I was no longer a loner at my school. Things were going much more smoothly than I could have ever imagined.
The best weeks were always over much too quickly; it was the last Friday of the month before I knew it. For one reason or another, we had all come down with a bad case of the giggles during practice. Even Cooper couldn’t control himself when one of Alex’s drumsticks slipped out of his hand, hitting the high-hat and making a loud crash. The moment was made even funnier when the noise caused Qaasim to jump and scream in a rather high voice into his microphone.
“Today’s just not our day,” Nat said cheerfully as our laughter died down.
“Sorry about that,” Alex apologized with a smug grin aimed towards a red-faced Qaasim.
“You guys heard nothing,” he said.
“Of course not. We totally didn’t hear you scream like a girl.”
“You mean that wasn’t Rosalina?” David smiled.
We all shared another good laugh when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I checked the message and then noticed what time it was.
“Hey, Coop. You don’t mind if I leave a little bit early?”
“I don’t see why not. We’re pretty much done here anyway.”
“Do you need to be somewhere, Rosalina?”
I hesitated slightly before answering. Nat was always suspicious of my plans nowadays. I didn’t blame him for it, but it was defiantly becoming more of a hassle to keep Richie a secret now that we were good friends. “Yeah. I have plans. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
Luckily, the guys were finally learning how to mind their own business. However, I could still feel Nat’s eyes drilling into my back as I walked out of the warehouse. Shrugging off the uncomfortable feeling of being watched, I quickly slid around the corner and into Richie’s car; I never let him park in front of the warehouse because I didn’t want him to be seen.
“How long are we going to have to pretend that I don’t exist?” he asked, casually picking at his nails.
“Until I say so,” I winked. “Seriously, though, I don’t know. I’m just afraid of what they might think.”
“I understand that, but they’re more likely to think what you don’t want them to think if they find out on their own. Would they really make such a big deal about you actually having a friend your own age?”
“No, but considering that you’re a guy and that the rumors from that article haven’t completely left people’s minds yet, I’m still worried about telling them.”
“True. It’s not my place to say, anyways. Just try not to make a decision that you’d later regret.”
We remained silent for a few minutes, staring through the windshield into blank space. Eventually, Richie turned on the ignition and the engine came to life. “Well, we should get going. My bags won’t pack themselves.”
“I can’t believe that you’re still touring this early on in the school year.”
“Only for a week. I got a call yesterday that one of our guys couldn’t be there for the last bit of the tour so I’m going to replace him for a few days.”
“Sounds like a messy industry.”
“You’re a part of it, too. The entertainment business has always been messy.”
“True.”
“Right. I have to leave tomorrow morning, so let’s get to work.”
As Richie pulled away from the curb and made his way back to his house, A thought crossed my mind. “You know what?”
“What?”
“I’ve never been to your house before. You haven’t really said anything about yourself since we met.”
He was quiet for a second, and I wondered if it was wrong of me to ask. Before I had the chance to apologize, he spoke. “I don’t usually tell people that much about myself. I just never felt it worth talking about. Then again, I’ve never really had any close friends before. I guess there’s a first time for everything.”
“Why don’t you like to talk about it? I know that both of our lives aren’t really what people would call normal, but it can’t be that strange, right?”
“Well, it looks like you’re in for quite a surprise.”
