Living for the Music

My eyes flew open suddenly. My iPod was still playing, the last few chords of ‘Nobody’s Home’ dancing through the room. I sighed as I caught sight of my clock. Late again. I pulled myself out of bed and stumbled over to my dresser.

I pulled out a pair of dark jeans, shaking off my pajama pants and throwing on the jeans. I opened another drawer, rifling through my shirts. Finally, I found one that would cover my shoulder and my wrists. My arm screamed as I forced the sore muscle to work, sliding the top over my head. The black fabric hugged my skin and the silver design made me feel girly without being showy.

Glancing at the clock, I quickly decided I had time to run into the bathroom. I glanced in the mirror and was a little shocked that the red print had mostly disappeared. I rubbed some concealer on it just to be safe before moving on. I added some silver eye shadow and stuck a tube of glittery lip gloss in my pocket. I quickly brushed my air, deciding it looked fine down. In record time I was downstairs, ready to go.

I went outside, locking the door behind me. Aaron’s car was waiting for me. I slid in to the front seat, glancing at the clock on the dashboard. “Do we have time for a Starbuck’s run?”

He sighed in mock exasperation as he spun the car around. “I guess I could manage that.”

I settled down, glancing out the window. It was disorienting driving this way. I was so used to driving by Seth’s old house I almost forgot this end of the street existed. But within two minutes we were back on the main street. Aaron swung into the lone Starbuck’s drive-thru. “I’ll have two caramel Frappachino’s and a chocolate chip muffin.”

I smiled at him. He knew what I liked. I happily took the sugary drink, taking a careful sip as Aaron began to drive again. “So you wanna come over tonight?” he asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.

“Maybe,” I replied. “Depends on how long my physics project takes.”

Aaron winced sympathetically. “That’s not gonna be fun.”

I shook my head. “Especially since I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.”

“I’d help you, but I’m no good at school.

I smiled at him. “Trust me, I figured that out.”

He smiled sheepishly. Aaron liked school less than I did, but unlike me he actually was smart. He had the ability to remember useless crap and promptly forget it. It worked great for him, but sucked when I needed help.

“Well, gimme a call when you‘re done.”

I nodded as we pulled into the student parking lot. I grabbed my muffin out of the bag and swung my backpack over my shoulder before picking up my drink. I shivered slightly in the wind. I’d need to remember my coat tomorrow. Aaron wrapped his hand around my free on, leading me to my locker. As I grabbed the things I’d need for the first three hours, I couldn’t help smiling. Thursdays were good days.

Together we headed up to the forth floor. Aaron’s locker was right outside my first hour. I waited as he opened it, watching the people walk by. A few boys were checking me out, so I quickly turned and checked out my own boyfriend.

Aaron was wearing well-worn jeans that were tight in all the right places. He had on a plain white t-shirt under an unbuttoned button-up. He glanced over and saw me watching him. Aaron grinned at me, shutting his locker before coming over to wrap his arms around my waist. He leaned down and kissed me before pulling back teasingly. I reached up and pulled his head back down, forcing him to kiss me again. I’m not big on PDA, but Aaron tended to make me forget about that.

The bell startled us apart. “I gotta run,” he sighed. “I’ll see you at lunch.” He gave me a quick peck before taking off down the hall.