Something Else

As I pushed my sunglasses up from the rim of my nose, I walked from my car, grabbing my purse and coffee, then shutting the door with my hip. I quickly pressed the lock button hearing a loud blare from my vehicle come, signifying that it was locked. I hung my bag on my right shoulder, letting it fall to my waist area and a smidge below it. I made sure my outfit for today was looking acceptable and then walked into the thrift store. There was a large mirror as soon as you turn to the right when you walk in, and I checked my hair, also making sure it was still in tact with the bandana that was holding my bangs back.

The lady at the front greeted me with a smile, it was that same woman, Melanie. This time she had red lips like me yet was still wearing all black. She went back to doing her counter work and I went back to looking for some vintage clothing for this one store that I bought for all the time. I was flipping through the vintage band tees because that's what's been most requested lately. Nicole was styling for a photoshoot today, so she'd be busy all day and I was on my own for the most part. I was supposed to have dinner with my parents at their house tonight; I went once a week. It was their way of seeing me and keeping up with my life and me getting a home cooked meal from my mother.

Almost quickly, I had found many vintage band shirts ranging from Motely Crue, to Guns N' Roses, to David Bowie and Nirvana and I felt like I had hit the jackpot when I found multiples of it. During my buying, I was chatting with Melanie about what I do for a living, since she was curious as to why I was buying a lot of things for a second time in a week. She thought it was really cool that I was a buyer and a stylist. Once I had found all that I needed, I paid, then walked back to my car to put the bags in the backseat. I sat in their for a while choosing a song to drive to, then took off to the record store. Gus had called me yesterday to tell me that they got new shipment in and I was gonna die.

After a while of driving, I had parked and got out of my car. I tossed my clear coffee cup that held iced coffee inside of it in the trashcan before the store. I walked in, the bells ringing overhead as always, and was greeted my Gus' pearly whites. "Bon, get over here and look what we have!" He shouted almost instantly and I jogged over to where we was and waited for him to look for the records they had gotten.

He pulled out a record that I'd been searching for for years; the band eventually stopped making this album vinyl and I was devastated. The black, orange, and yellow cover showed an astronaut dressed in a white astronaut suit floating over the ocean in what seemed like a sunset. Brand New's Deja Entendu was an absolute must for me. I think I screamed when he showed me. He handed it to me carefully and I held it in my arms. "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. Is this even real?"

Gus chuckled, "Yes. As soon as we got it, I had to hide it from other customers because I know you've been looking for it for years."

"Oh my god Gus, thank you so much!" I gave him a hug and continued to stare at what was going to become my vinyl for my collection. I could have died and gone to heaven. I was too enamored with the record that I didn't even hear the bells to the door ring and Gus walking away to greet the customer.

I felt a huge smile on my face as I stared down at the record. I had all of Brand New's vinyls except for this one and Daisy, but now I could officially add this one to it's own little Brand New family. I imagined listening to this in its entirety at home when I was alone, or blogging, or just relaxing. I couldn't wait to get home and put this on my record player.

"We've got to stop running into each other like this." A familiar voice came from behind me and I turned to see Mike standing there smiling. It wasn't just me inside anymore, it was me, Gus, Mike, and three other guys who were scattered around the store looking.

I smiled back and replied, "I actually think you're stalking me." I joked, making him laugh. I was holding onto my record tightly, almost selfishly not wanting anyone to know I had it and beat me up for it.

"Nicole was talking about this place the other day so I decided to check it out before I go home tonight." He explained as he flipped through records to see if anything caught his eye.

"This place is amazing. It's the only record store I'll come to here in LA. It's the only place worth it in my eyes." I began to flip too, searching for more classics to add to my library.

"What do you have there?" He pointed at the record that was underneath my arm in hiding. He moved his body and saw the famous astronaut and his eyes bulged out of his sockets. "Shut the fuck up, is that Deja Entendu?!" He shouted and I told him to shut up.

"Shh! But, yes. I have the only one." I grinned evilly and proudly at the same time.

"Wow, I'm fucking jealous Bonnie." He shot me a smirk that could have very well killed me, it hit me so hard. His smile was killer, to say the least. He turned his head to where the other three guys were. "Those are my band mates. Wanna meet them?"

I nodded, "Sure. Hopefully they don't suck half as bad as you do."

Mike chuckled, then called the other three guys to where we were. "Guys, this is Bonnie; Nicole's friends. And Bonnie, this is my brother Vic, our bassist Jaime, and our other guitarist Tony."

I shook all of their hands while saying, "Nice to meet you," and them saying it back. They were all very sweet, and I giggled a little at how much taller Mike was compared to his brother. We all stayed there chatting for a moment about how I knew Mike and then about music.

"What are you doing today?" Mike questioned curiously as Vic, Jaime, and Tony listened.

"I did some buying today, and I have to go and take the clothes to the shop I bought for, then I'm going home and then going to my parent's house for dinner tonight. Why?"

"Because, I'm leaving tonight and we should hang out before you have to go to your parent's house. What do you say?" He raised an eyebrow and curled his smile and I looked over at Vic who was smirking as well.

"I say that sounds like a good idea." I answered suddenly, surprising my own self, really.

"Good, so I'll ditch these losers and hang out with you for the rest of the day?" He suggested with a laugh. The shop doesn't care who goes buying with me, not at all. Then, I assumed we could grab lunch then head over to my place before each of us had to go.

I nodded, "Yeah." I looked up at him and smiled sweetly, internally feeling a little nervous yet excited that we were hanging out one-on-one; and actually hanging out. He went to go tell his bandmates, whom had walked away, that he was going to be with me, so to not drive off to San Diego without him. I continued to flip through the records finding The Cure's Disintegration and holding it with my other record.

I had decided on those two and then paid for them while Mike and the guys were still searching. Mike had chosen one that he liked and then he paid, then telling the guys goodbye before we both hopped in my car and I drove us to the store I buy for. He was searching through my music library on my phone and going on and on about the songs that he liked and how he wishes he could have seen this so-and-so band in concert. I just sat there and listened to him. He was so cute to just watch ramble on about things, important to him or not. He had something to say and I did not mind a bit just letting him talk.

"So Bonnie, tell me about yourself." He said in an almost demanding tone. He had finally picked a song to just listen to and it happened to be my favorite Young the Giant song, "My Body".

"First of all, this is my favorite Young the Giant song." I pointed out with a big grin, pointing at the stereo system and looking at him quickly before looking back on the road. "What do you wanna know?"

"I don't know. Things about you. Things you like, don't like, favorite food, favorite song of all time, how and why you got into fashion. Things like that, just things to let me get to know you better." He said softly but sternly.

I giggled a little bit. "Well, my birthday is April 21st. I'm 24. I was born here in LA. My dad is a lawyer. My mom was his paralegal when he first started but she left when she had me. I am an only child. My favorite food is pizza.My favorite TV show is this show called Sirens on the USA Channel. I also watch a lot of that Investigation Discovery channel and it's a little obsessive, actually. Um, my favorite movies are Pineapple Express and Pulp Fiction. I spend way too much money on coffee, clothes, and makeup because I really like trying new things and wearing new outfits. I became obsessed with fashion when I was 13 because I had snuck into my mom's room and stole her Vogue magazine and I kept it and it was literally the greatest thing I've ever seen. It became my Bible."

"Ah, the same thing with me when I stole my dad's Playboy." He joked, chuckling as he was proud of himself for his joke. "Did you go to college?" He questioned looking seemingly interested in my life.

I nodded, "Yeah. I hated it more than anything. It was super boring and the biggest waste of money but my parents wanted me to go so I did. They had told me if I went to school and graduated they would pay for it and I could save my money and get my own apartment with Nicole, which I did."

"Any tattoos or piercings?"

I laughed then answered. "I have a couple tattoos. Small ones. I have my tongue web pierced, and my nose, and my ears of course."

"Can I ask you something?" He questioned then paused waiting for my nod before he continued on. "So, since your dad is a prestigious lawyer, did you grow up pretty privileged? Like, big houses, nice cars, you getting whatever it was you wanted?" I was waiting for that question. I was always prepared to answer it because I expected it from everyone that I met.

"I'm not gonna lie, I did. We have a very nice house in Beverly Hills before I moved out on my own. We have a really nice and big apartment in New York, but it's usually for one of us to stay when we have business there. And we had nice cars, but it's not like everything was handed to me. My dad made me get a job as soon as I turned 16. He said when I get enough money, he'll take me to look for a car. And, it wasn't very pretty compared to what we did have. He made sure that I knew that in order to have nice things, I'd have to work and work very hard to get them. I'm not like Paris Hilton or something. My parents taught me to be very blessed for all that I had growing up, even now. That's why I have always refused to let them pay for things for me. I have my own hard earned money, I can pay for my own things. I was 16 paying for my car monthly and insurance because my dad made me. I'm glad he did though. Some other wealthy girls I grew up with definitely had everything handed to them and now they can't survive without their parents' money."

He nodded as he looked straight ahead and then he looked over to me and smiled. "Your dad sounds like a very smart and humble man."

"He really is." I turned into a parking spot and then killed the engine. "Help me carry some of this stuff. I have things in here from the other day, too." I got out grabbing my bag and then opening the back seat door on my side, as Mike did the same to the other side. There were a lot of bags and a box of shoes that I had found a week ago that I was pairing with some of the outfits. Mike carried the box that held the shoes and had a few bags in there and I had the rest. We walked into the store and the girls and the counter looked at me and grinned brightly as they greeted me.

"Bonnie!" The manager named Lora shouted kissing me on the cheek, "Got some new goodies for us?"

"I sure do. I completed outfits to some of them, head to toe, for the site but ultimately it's up to you how you want to style them." I gestured to Mike to put the box down on this table that I had lead him to. "Lora, this is Mike and Mike this is the owner of this shop, Lora."

She held out her hand as she studied him, "Nice to meet you, Mike."

"Nice to meet you, too." He said politely then proceeded to stand beside me as he watched me do my thing.

I began to take out the clothes that I had found and then laid them out on the table so she could see all the amazing things I had found. She was super excited on the vintage band tees because that's been the most requested item and the item that sells out fast. Mike had taken a seat on a chair nearby and would occasionally check his phone for what I'd figure was a social network or something. Other than those few times, he was watching me do what I do best.

"So, I personally would pair this tee with these booties and those black pleather leggings that you're obsessed with. It looks super cute with chunky accessories and maybe topping it off with a hat of some sort." I explained, laying out the exact outfit that I was describing and her eyes lit up.

"Oh my god, I love that idea. That's incredible. I love everything that you've chosen, Bon." She complimented me then we talked for a while about other outfits that I had ideas for then Mike and I left.

He fastened his seatbelt then eyed me with a smug grin, "That was kinda cool."

"What was?" I asked laughing as I put on my seatbelt and began choosing a song to drive to.

"That whole thing. Like you were putting stuff together and that lady seemed to like it a lot. She liked everything you bought. That must mean you're good at what you do."

"Maybe. I haven't had any complaints so far." I answered smartly. "You wanna grab something to eat or order something when we get to my place?"

"I'm kinda feeling pizza, since you know, that's your favorite." He grinned widely.

I chewed on my lip and smiled, "Yum, I'm down with that." I began to drive off towards my house as Mike once again asked a billion questions until we parked in the parking lot to my loft.

We walked in together, me digging for my keys in my Chanel bag and then fishing them out to unlock my front door. It opened and I stepped in with Mike following me inside. He shut my door and then we walked into the kitchen where I had the menu of the best pizza place in LA. We discussed what we wanted on the pizza and then I made him order because I hated doing it.

While we were waiting for the pizza to be delivered, we sat on my couch and we were watching some tv show that he picked to watch. Neither of us really knew what it was, but we were super into it. I was sitting criss cross, with my shoes off and Mike's legs were stretched out and landing on the shag rug that was sitting on the ground. He was also in his socks and I liked that he wasn't afraid to be comfortable around people he kind of knew. There's a confidence in that that I wish I could be like.

There was a buzz coming from the intercom speaker by my door and I knew it was the pizza guy. I got up and buzzed him in and then a moment later, there was a ring from the doorbell. I opened the door to the bearded pizza guy who looked about 19. He had on a black hat that read, Rome's Pizzeria in red lettering and a red bomber jacket that had the same name in white lettering. When I went to dig money out of my wallet from my bag, Mike stopped and paid the guy in cash with tip, telling him thank you before he shut the door.

He brought the box over and sat it down on the counter before saying smoothly, "Can't let the girl pay on the first date." He winked then laughed at what he said.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed us plates and then we grabbed a couple of slices then went back to the couch to watch that show. After a few episodes of the show and us being super full of pizza, Mike's head was cocked as he was looking around the loft. "What's up those stairs?"

"My room, the restroom, and an extra bedroom. There's a smaller lounge area, too. Wanna tour?"

He nodded, "Yeah." He followed me up the light color wooded steps and we were brought into the small lounge area. I told him that I don't really sit there but it's still really pretty. I showed him the guest bedroom and the restroom. Then, we went into my room which wasn't too big, but not too small either. It had a connected restroom and a huge closet so that's all that mattered to me, really.

Mike ran and collapsed on my bed as he laughed and held his stomach because he was so full. "I like your living style, Bonnie. And, this bed is super comfy." He grabbed the tribal printed throw blanket that was over it and covered himself, covered up to it.

"What on Earth do you think you're doing, Mike?" I asked with my hands on my hips and trying my hardest not to burst out laughing at how cute he was.

"It's nap time, duh." He said closing his eyes and pretending to sleep. I began to laugh as I walked a step closer to my bed, close enough for Mike's arm to grab a hold of me and then toss me on the bed. Which he did. I laid there under separate covers really wanting to take a nap at this point. Mike looked me in my eyes and said softly, "Bonnie, I think you're amazing. A really, really, really amazing girl with big dreams and you're interesting. I like interesting." He said shyly before giving me a small smile, then closing his eyes for a small nap.

Before I shut my eyes also, a smirk formed on my lips at what he said. No one has ever called me interesting in a good way before. This Mike guy was making my stomach turn in a good way, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

Notes