High School Never Ends

Bang on 8 o’clock, there was knocking on my door.
“Austin, I’m heading out! Be back around 11!” I called out
“Hang on!” Austin exclaimed as he came running into the living room. “Where are you going, on a school night, that’s keeping you out till 11?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Austin shook his head.
“The guys are taking me to a gig, alright?”
“Guys? As in boys!?”
“Jesus Austin! They’re my friends!”
“I want to meet them, now!”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“They could know who you are and then they might look at me differently and it’s just no.”
“Aria, I’m not letti…”
“Paige was good friends with them!”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeh. Vic? Fuentes?”
“Oh, uh… That does ring a bell…”
“Good, bye bye.”
I legged it out of the door, straight past Mike, and jumped into the passenger seat. Mike climbed into the car a few moments later.
“Y’know when someone knocks on your door you normally greet them…?” Mike stated
“Oops.” I replied
“What’s the deal then?” He asked
“What?”
“Running out of the house?”
“Oh, my brother A-A-Adam is in town and he wasn’t keen on me coming out with a group of guys.”
“He doesn’t trust us!?” Jaime pretended to be hurt
“He’s not gonna beat us up, is he?” Tony asked, cautiously
“No. I’ll deal with it, don’t worry Tony.” I giggled
“So… Are you guys any good?”
“WE’RE FUCKING AWESOME!!!” Mike cheered
“We’ll see.” I smirked
“Are you doubting my judgement!?”
“No, no… Never.”
When we pulled up outside the venue, I took a moment to admire it. It was outdoors, almost like a garden with a little stage in the middle.
“C’mon!” Mike pulled me out of the car
“I’ve never been to a local gig.” I said whilst still staring at the venue in awe
Mike chuckled while he slung his arm around my shoulders.
We sat on the grass, facing the stage, while some guys set it up for their set.
“Okay, we need to set some ground rules so pay attention Ari!” Mike stated
“Aye aye, captain!” I saluted him
Jaime, Vic and Tony all laughed at my comment however Mike still had a completely straight face.
“Alright soldier, you ready?” He asked
I nodded vigorously
“Okay! No flirting, touching inappropriately, kissing or sex!”
“Can I have any human interaction with anybody?”
“Yeh… Us!” Mike beamed
“He’s kidding…” Vic sighed
“No I’m not!”
“Mike, I’m just here to hear you guys play… Get a grip!” I laughed
Soon, the place was filled with kids from all over town. I recognised a few faces, but not many. The guys had left me with a front row view, whilst they got ready for the set. All around me, people were getting pissed and fucking around. Nobody here seemed to care about the guys; they were just here for a good time. Me, however, I was definitely here for the guys. I paid no attention to what was going on around me. Every so often, some guy would try to hit on me but I pushed them away. Mike’s rules didn’t really mean to much to me, but I was telling the truth when I said that I wasn’t here to hook up.
When the guys came onto the stage, everybody quietened down. They introduced themselves, and Mike sent a wink my way from behind the drums. They began playing as the crowd cheered them on.
I lost myself in the music. The passion that had been put into these songs was evident to me. Everything around me became a blur, so that I was only focusing on the words that Vic was singing.
On the way home, everybody seemed pretty drained. It was about 23:30, Austin was going to be pissed. Vic and Jaime had passed out in the back while Tony was blasting music through his earphones.
“You we right… You guys were fucking amazing!” I grinned as I turned to face Mike in the driver’s seat
“Thanks.”
“I’m serious. Like, where have you been all my life? Every word was just… It was just so hearfelt. Everything was thought out thoroughly and carefully. I can safely say that it’s probably my most favourite gig that I’ve ever attended and I’ve seen Green Day live.”
“It means a lot, honestly. It’s what we love to do.” Mike smiled. “Have we got you into trouble with Adam?”
“Adam?” I asked, confused
“Your brother?” Mike responded, just as confused as I was
“Oh… Adam. Uh, I’ll deal with it. He’s not been around for a while. Sometimes, I forget I have a brother.”
“He seems to care about you. Maybe you should let us meet him if he’s so desperate to meet us.”
“I never… You heard?”
“You guys were pretty loud.” Mike chuckled
“How much did you hear?” I asked, worriedly
“My opinion won’t ever change, I don’t care if he’s some sort of convict or whatever.”
“Convict!?” I choked out through laughter. “Jesus Mike! He’s not a convict!”
“Oh… Sorry.” He chuckled. “Will you at least tell me his real name?”
“Austin.”
“See, it wasn’t so hard. What’s the deal with Austin then?”
“Oh… He’s In some band…” I trailed off
“Maybe I’ve heard of them?”
“Uh, yeh maybe. They’re called ‘Attack Attack!’” I confessed to Mike

Notes