Living for the Music

Seth pushed the book away from him, running a hand through his hair. “Let’s take a break,” he suggested.

“Good idea,” I agreed. “My brain’s turning to mush.”

“Want to hear the good news?”

“What?” I asked, following him into the kitchen.

“I think you’re almost caught up.” He opened the fridge and threw me a can of Coke.

“Seriously?” I replied, popping the top.

“Yeah. There’s not a ton more I can teach you.”

“Thank God,” I muttered, taking a long swig of the cool drink.

Seth straddled one of the chairs, motioning for me to sit down. I ignored the spot he indicated and hopped up to perch on the counter. “So what was England like?” I asked. I had resisted asking at first, not wanting to hear about Taylor, but now that I knew about her…

His eyes lit up. “Honestly, Sophie, it was amazing.” He took a swig of Coke. “You should’ve come, at least to visit. It was so cool.”

“And how could I have afforded that?” I asked wryly. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly made of money.”

“Yeah,” he said moodily. He seemed to be thinking a bout something, and by the look on his face they weren’t happy thoughts. “I guess you’re right.”

“But you liked it?”

“Yeah.” The slight frown that had marred his face evaporated as he talked about his home for the past three years. “It’s so different, Soph. A totally different culture.”

Aaron hadn’t been kidding when he said Seth could talk forever about England. In fact, his enthusiasm bordered on obsession. I let him talk for about twenty minutes before glancing pointedly at the clock. Seth seemed to snap out of his rant and began apologizing.

“I’m probably boring the heck out of you,” he sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“No, no,” I laughed. “It’s fine.” I was happy just watching him. It was the first time I could remember seeing him genuinely passionate about something. Well, aside from music. And sports. And math.

“No, really. I’m done.” He finished the last of his pop and stood up, stretching slightly.

I pushed myself off the counter, wincing as my butt went numb from the time in the uncomfortable position. “So… now what?”

“Back to studying?” Seth suggested.

“I was afraid you’d say that,” I muttered before letting out a sigh. “Let’s do it.”

I followed Seth into his room and sat back down at the desk, bracing myself for another cram session. He flipped through the book, stopping where we had left off before moving a few pages ahead. “Okay,” he finally announced. “I’m making you a pop quiz.”

“Seth,” I moaned.

“How else will you know if you can remember it?” he pointed out.

I sighed, sitting back in my chair. It was less work if I just let him have his way. It wasn’t like I had to try or anything. He wasn’t actually going to grade it. Still, I found myself going through the various things I’d learned in the past, hour, wondering what exactly he’d put on there.

The chords of Disturbia interrupted my thought process. I quickly pulled out my phone, glancing at Seth – who was still writing – before flipping it open. “Yeah?”

“You never called me back,” Jared accused.

“And you still didn’t take the hint?” Actually, I didn’t remember him telling me to, but I didn’t mention that. I leaned back in my chair, unable to keep the smile off my face. “What do I have to do, block your calls?”

“No, cause then I’d leave long annoying messages.”

I laughed despite myself. “What do you want, Jared?”

“I just want to talk,” he protested.

“Well, I don’t.”

“Come on, Sophia, don’t crush my dreams.”

“Crush your dreams?” I repeated incredulously. “Try another line.”

“But that was my best one!”

“Then give up,” I suggested. I heard Jared start to say something else, but I interrupted him. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have a cousin named Aaron, would you?”

I saw Seth glance up at the word ‘Aaron’ but I ignored him. “Um, yeah. How did you know?” His voice brightened. “Are you stalking me? That’s cool!”

“Um, first of all, no,” I shuddered. “And secondly, if for some crazy reason I was, that wouldn’t be a good thing. But back to Aaron-”

“Yes it would,” he interrupted. ‘It would mean you’re not as indifferent as you pretend to be.”

“Well, you have me interested,” I assured him. “So tell me about this cousin.”

“Aaron? Oh, he’s not that special. He’s younger than me, but they live up here so I see him a lot. Only child, kind of quiet at first… until you get to know him, and then you start wishing he was.”

“What’s his last name?” I asked, beginning to wonder.

“Why the interest?” Jared shot back.

“Just answer the question, Jared,” I snapped.

“Schuler.”

I almost dropped the phone. I hadn’t seriously thought… “Sophie?”

“Don’t call me that,” I replied automatically, still dumbstruck. “Please tell me you’re joking. You talked to Nathan, right? Or Seth?”

Seth shook his head next to me and I could feel his eyes watching me seriously. “No.” Jared sounded genuinely puzzled. “What do they have to do with anything?”

If I hadn’t already been sitting down, I would’ve fallen down. “You’re serious.”

“Yeah. Come on, Sophia. What’s the big deal?”

“Have you talked to Aaron recently?”

“No…”

“Do that. Ask him about me. Then call me back.” I hung up the phone before he could ask any more questions.

“Same Aaron?” Seth concluded, still watching me.

“Same Aaron,” I repeated, staring at my phone.

He laughed softly, shaking his head. “Honestly, Sophie, your life is more like a soap opera than an actual life.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I snapped.

“Alcoholic dad, abusive boyfriend who’s mysteriously related to a stranger you met at a party-”

“A wedding,” I corrected.

He waved it away. “All you need is for your mom to make a reappearance and say her death was faked in order to avoid an evil terrorist and save you from their wrath. And for the boy you cheated on your boyfriend with to turn out to be the good guy who helps you reunite with your mom and get you a happy ending.”

“That’s not funny,” I said softly, staring at my hands.

Seth seemed to see he had gone too far. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. “It just seems… too weird to be true, you know?”

“Yeah, well, what’s it they say? Truth is stranger than fiction,” I replied bitterly.

He didn’t have a response for that. We sat in silence, lost in our own thoughts. Did he want to be my Prince Charming? I wondered. Because that would be-

“Here’s the quiz,” Seth finally offered, effectively interrupting my thoughts.

I took it from him and glanced at it briefly before sticking it in my bag. “Thanks.”

“Wait, what?” Seth looked puzzled. “Aren’t you going to do it?”

“I’ll have it for you to correct tomorrow,” I promised. “Right now, I need to get home.”

“Ok,” Seth sighed. “You know you’re welcome to stay, right?”

“Thanks,” I replied, smiling at him. “I know. I just want to get home.”

“Ok,” he repeated, walking me to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Unfortunately,” I agreed, mentally flinching when I thought of going back to school.

“You want a ride?” Seth asked.

“Thanks, but Aaron has me covered.”

“Oh right. Of course,” Seth mumbled. “Then I’ll… see you.”

“Yeah. Bye,” I called as I headed down the steps, cutting across the yard to my house.

I saw Seth watching me with the same confused look on his face, and I couldn’t even pretend I didn’t know why. In the last five days, we’d taken three giant steps forward. In the last five minutes, we’d taken one humongous one back. And even I didn’t know exactly why.