The Bird and the Worm

“Well hello Miss Byrd,” said the counselor, immediately putting on a fake smile, her hands folded on her desk. “It’s been a while since you’ve come to see me. I’ve actually been wondering if you’re still a student here.” I half-smiled, and I pulled my sunglasses off, setting them aside. “What would be the reason for this visit? Having trouble in classes? Professors giving you a hassle?” I shook my head. “What, then?”

“I was actually thinking about changing my major. I mean, I know I was pretty adamant on the whole sociology thing, but about a little while ago, well, that changed.”

“How drastic is this change?” I bit my lip, and she raised an eyebrow.

There was a slight hint of apprehensiveness to my voice now. “I was actually considering being a music major, going more for the performance side of it.” Her eyes widened and then narrowed, and she rapped her fingernails on the desk for a few moments. “I know. It’s a complete flipside change, but I think it’s what I want to do.”

She seemed to consider my words for a moment, chewing on her lip and sighing in a huff. “Was there a specific reason for this change? I mean, I’ve been your counselor for two years now, and I’ve never heard a peep about the music business.”

“I met somebody a while back that really changed my outlook on things, and I figured out that I was hiding behind this sociology degree with no ambition because it was a hobby instead of a lifestyle, you know?” She nodded slowly, and I knew she still wasn’t following me. I was silent for a few moments, and then I tried again. “I went to this concert a few weeks back, and when I was backstage with the band, an A & R guy approached me, asking me about a little performance I gave.” I bit my lip for a moment, fighting the urge to blush. I didn’t exactly have to divulge the reason for me being with the band, and I didn’t have to tell her who had changed my insight, either. “And I dunno, just being onstage, it was…”
There were no words, and Brie knew it. She smiled a warm smile. “Well this is really good timing, since you’ve just finished the core classes and only a few towards the sociology degree. Is this something you’re absolutely sure about?” I nodded. “Okay, well here’s what we’ll do. It’s almost the end of the semester, and so it’s about time to start scheduling for next year. What we can do is get you started on this new major, and then go from there.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket. “Sounds great.”

“You’re sure about this.”

I smiled. “Yeah. For the first time in a while, I’m one hundred percent on something.”

“Okay then. Is that all?” I nodded. “Okay then. Stop by later on, and we’ll get started on classes for next term.”

She smiled. “Any time.”

I smiled back, and then I put my sunglasses back on, exiting the office and making my way back to my car, flipping my phone open as I went, pressing it to my ear. “Hey you. I’ve been wondering when you were going to call.” I heard a soft chuckle on the other end of the line. “What’s so funny? I missed you.”
He laughed again. “I missed you too. Jesus, I can’t believe it’s been a month already.”

I groaned. “Yeah, only one, and there are four more left.”

I could almost hear him flashing a smile. “Just think of it this way. You have four months to think about all the things we can do once I’m back. All the ways I can touch you, kiss you, and…” I was silent, and I smiled slightly as I made it to my car. “People still freaking about that ring since the last time we talked?”

“Yeah well my friends have pretty much gotten used to it, except people in my classes are still asking me when I’m actually going to marry you.” He laughed. “You never said I had to tell people it was only a promise ring. I mean, Gina is sworn to secrecy…”

“I love you, Heather,” he said, and I felt a flutter of butterflies in my stomach as I thought about how long it had been since I’d heard him say those words- five whole days had gone by since our last phone conversation. “I miss you like hell, too, Trying to figure out some time to be able to come back for a couple of days…but it’s not going so good. We’re going in and out of Europe and shit like that for the rest of the tour.”

I started the car, turning on my Bluetooth headset. “I can wait for a few more months, Brian. Don’t worry about it. Your girlfriend’s still a lowly college student, remember?”

“Yeah…hard to believe I’m dating a sociology major, of all things.” He laughed. “I mean, go you, but you know. Sociology?”

“Um. Actually…”

“Something’s changed?”

“Yeah. You’re dating a music major now.” I heard a soft ‘oh’ on his end of the line, and I smiled. “You might say that those three days changed me.” Biting my lip, I glanced at the ring on my finger, smiling to myself. I couldn’t help it. There was just something so sweet about it, and I sighed. He sighed, too, though it sounded a little different than mine.

“You do realize that you are probably the best girlfriend I’ve ever had, right?”

“Not yet, I’m not.” I smiled. “I became your girlfriend a few hours before I left. So in four months, I may be the best you’ve ever had.” The omission of the word ‘girlfriend’ was intentional. “But for now, I’m just the girl that’s waiting for you.” I cracked a smile, and I heard him chuckle softly to himself. “So, hot stuff, what are you up to? I mean, on a bus with your four very handsome best friends…has the Coke supply finally waned, or did you nut jobs buy more?”

He laughed. “We have more. Lots more. You actually got us addicted to it.”

“It’s way better than beer, isn’t it, McFly?”

He groaned. “And of course the hot one has to be the one that can act like one of the guys…”

“Hot?”

A small chuckle, and then he said, “Unfairly.” I bit my lip, smiling slightly. He was good. Far, far too good. “What’s my girl up to tonight? You gonna hang out with Gina or something? Chug some beer? Share numerous girl-on-girl kisses?” I scoffed. “I know, I know. I’m dreaming, but you know. A guy can get his hopes up.” He sighed. “I wish you could see Germany. It’s so fricking beautiful here.”

“I miss you.”

“I know, but I’ll be with you soon.”

“You better be. I’m not going to pretend to be engaged to a mega hot rock star for five months straight and then get nothing in return for my efforts.”

“Oh trust me. Your efforts will be rewarded greatly.”

“They better be, damn it.”

“Is that assertion I hear coming from you, Heather Byrd?” He snickered, and I smiled to myself. “I think I kind of like it.” There was laughter in the background. “The guys are making fun of me again.”

I laughed. “When are they not making fun of you?” I sighed, running a hand through my hair and glancing around as I turned my blinker on and changed lanes. “Alright, you. I have a slight amount of pity for you, only because Gina seems to enjoy teasing me about my sudden 180 in personality.”

“Your personality did a 180?”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been dating this insanely hot rock star for the last month, so such a travesty was difficult to prevent.” He chuckled softly, a habit of his whenever he was on the phone with me. “Heard anything from the wicked witch of the beach?”

“No. I think Val pretty much warned her that I was with someone else, so she hasn’t been calling.” I smiled to myself. That was good. She’d given him a lot of trouble for moving on once she’d left him, and to hear that she’d given up on him was a relief for me. I hated that he’d been so stressed- being this far away from him, I couldn’t exactly kiss it better. “Did you ever get a chance to re-straighten things out with your mum?”

“Nope. She actually hasn’t called me since that day she reamed me out for being with you.”

“I’m sorry, Heather.”

“Don’t be. I want to be with you more than I want to prove something to my parents.” He sighed, and I pictured him rolling his eyes. “Hey. I love you.”

“I know. I love you too.” Traffic started to slow down, and I sighed, rapping my fingernails on the steering wheel and biting my lip. This was going to take forever. “What’s wrong over there?”

“Traffic’s backed up. Either there’s an accident or it’s that time of the day for people on the PCH.” He laughed at me. “You may be amused by this, but without someone here to calm me down, it’s frustrating as hell.”

“I wish I could be there to help you control your road rage, Heather Byrd, but sadly, your rock star is in another country, so that might not work out too well.”

“Alright Mr. Smarty-pants. You behave, or you know what I will, uh, postpone once we’re all snuggled up tight in this supposedly ginormous house of yours.” He gasped. I had to say that it felt good for all of this to be so second nature now that we’d been together for just over a month. “You gonna be a good boy?”

“I’ll behave,” he said, “Just don’t take away the sex…” His whining was so convincing, and it made me laugh. Someone talked to him in a soft voice on the other line, and I sighed, leaning my head back, still stuck in a traffic standstill.

I waited patiently, figuring that it was important.

Finally, he said softly, “I have to go. Jimmy and Vengeance are having some issues, so I should probably help out. I love you, okay?”

“Yeah. I love you too.”

“Bye Heather.”

“Bye.” His end of the line went dead, and it was just then that traffic began picking up speed. I glanced up towards the sky and scowled. “Stop showing off,” I muttered, and then I continued on to Malibu- where Gina and her latest arm candy awaited me.