The first day at school with Ethan and me as a couple was the weirdest day ever. It’s like dating a member of Kickstart has qualified me to be socially accepted by the cheer squad, which, apart from Casey and Brie, are a bunch of airheads whose main objective is to climb the popularity ladder and date a band member or the next best thing, a jock.
The fact that they’re being nice to me freaks me out and is about as genuine as Nicki Minaj’s chest. Drew’s girlfriend Dannii seems nice but there’s something about her that’s a little off, I’m just not sure what. The guys all seem cool; Jackson is hilarious, I like him a lot. And apparently so does Brie, now that Ethan’s off the market.
“Hey Princess, loving your shirt this morning,” Ethan greets as I climb out of my car at school.
I look down to remind myself which shirt I’m actually wearing, and realize it’s the Pi one I wore that first day in the library.
“Are you staring at my chest, Jamison?” I ask in mock disgust.
“I’m allowed to ogle your breasts now, you’re mine,” he says, winking and pulling me into his side, kissing my temple.
“So romantic,” I sigh and shake my head but I can’t keep the goofy smile off my face.
“So, Sam, our manager, lined a gig up for us tomorrow night. It’s at a pretty cool club in town; the band they had booked bailed so we’ve got the spot. I was wondering if you wanted to come.”
I’ve only seen a few live bands before, and they’ve always been with Em. We did attempt to go see Kickstart play once at the beginning of the year, but it was smoky and overcrowded. Emily felt ill and we left just as the band came on. She was there for Ethan rather than the music, so once she’d caught a glimpse of him she admitted defeat and we left before she passed out. It’s weird how things turn out. I still feel a little guilty that I’m with him and can’t help wondering if she’d be okay with us. I think she would, but I’d give anything for her to be able to tell me that in person. I miss talking to her, or rather I miss being talked at by her. The thought makes my chest ache and I have a sudden overwhelming urge to cry.
“You look like I just ran over your cat, not asked you to come listen to us play. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” he says noticing the look on my face.
“What? Oh, it's not that, of course I’ll come. I’ve only ever been to a few gigs and they were with Emily; you asking just made me think of her, is all.”
“I’m sorry, Princess,” he says, stopping and pulling me into his chest tightly. His strong arms pin me in place and I close my eyes for a second, my ear pressed to his chest listening to the steady beat of his heart.
His chin is resting on top of my head and I want to stand like this forever, enveloped in his warmth.
“Yo, dickhead!” TJ’s voice breaks the moment and Ethan pulls back, looking at me, “You okay?” he asks, and I nod and smile my reply.
“E, man, how’s it going?” TJ asks, coming up beside us as we make our way into the building.
“Hey Blair,” he flashes me a smile and turns back to Ethan.
“We’re good, you?”
“Better once we’ve nailed the new set list tomorrow night.”
They do the weird first bump thing guys do and then carry on talking music until we reach the halls and need to separate for different classes.
“Meet you at lunch,” Ethan says, kissing me quickly on the cheek and then disappearing around the corner with TJ as I make my way to my first period Lit class.
I’d spoken to Ethan before heading out to the club and he’d instructed me to wait for him once Kickstart’s set ended so we could go grab something to eat. I’m sitting at a table a couple rows from the stage watching the guys cast their magic. Drew has a great voice but Ethan’s is so good, like ridiculously good. I can’t take my eyes off of him. His body’s glistening with sweat as his fingers are moving frantically over his guitar and his eyes are closed tightly as he sings the lyrics into the mic. It looks so natural to him, like he was born doing this. The crowed goes nuts as he finishes the song and opens his eyes. I jump up cheering, getting caught up in the atmosphere. I want to melt as he scans the crowed for my face, finds it and then winks at me. Every time he does it I get goose bumps. It's so cocky but totally sexy and he knows it. I take my seat again as someone comes to sit beside me a little too close for comfort, I turn to see Della smirking at me. Great!
“Hey it’s Blair, isn’t it?” she asks.
“Um…yeah, hi.”
“So, how’re things with Ethan?” As soon as the words leave her lips I want to get up and leave. I know this isn’t going to end well, it’s written all over her overly made-up smug face.
“Fine, thanks,” I clip out, hoping like hell she’ll just get up and leave. No such luck.
“You know, it’s not going to last, right?”
What a bitch!
“Sorry, why’s that?” I ask, trying to feign nonchalance in my tone.