It's a One Shot Thing

“Farron?” I wake up with a hand waving in front of me

“Huh? What?” I groan as I try to get more sleep

“Uhmm, well, can you wake up first?” I hear my roommate tell me

I open my eyes a little and saw the time

“Kathy, it’s eight in the morning! What is so important that you have to wake me up this freaking early?” I whine as I lay down again

“uhm, well, can you like, fill in for me at work later tonight?” she asked softly, knowing what my reaction can be

“Wha—what?” I yell out, completely awake now

“Uh, see, I have like, some papers to finish, you know, final term papers and since you are basically done with every college requirement you need to graduate, I thought you would want to fill in for me at work. You are free today right?” she asked with obvious nervousness

“But Kathy, today’s supposed to be my free day, you know like my rest day” I sigh and made quotation marks while I say the word rest.

“I know, and I am really sorry for shocking you at this time of the day. I just had to get it off my chest” she explained

“Fine, anything for you. I could have appreciated it more if you told me last night or something. I could have reacted more mature” I tell her

“Aw, Farron! Thanks! I really do owe you!” he squealed as she hugged me

“Yeah yeah, sure! Just finish your papers Ok? I wouldn’t want to leave you behind in college while I graduate” I joked

“Yeah, I’ll d my best. Thanks again!”

“Sure, now, can I go back to sleep?”

“Yeah, alright” she smiled

I weakly smile to her then fell straight to sleep again



I wake up around two in the afternoon and found Kathy still typing on her laptop.

“Hey, you’re still on it?” I ask as I put a glass of juice on the table for her

“Yeahp. But, I think I can finish by twelve midnight today.” She said as she yawned

“You also need to rest. It might affect the quality of the paper you know” I tell her as I drank my juice

“Well, I’ll have twenty minute breaks after every two hours” she sighed while drinking her juice as well

“Good luck with that. And, you know, if you only followed me, you wouldn’t be cramming” I grinned at her

“Okay, yeah, I lose, you are right. I was really stubborn, partying all the time” she said

“You learned your lesson now” I say then tapped her on the head

“Thanks for filling in later, by the way. I know how you hate concerts and all” she said

“I don’t hate concerts. I just don’t like too much noise. It really does depend on the artist playing on stage” I defended myself

“It’s still the same” she pointed out

“Nope. It’s different when the artist onstage is playing music or just making noise onstage” I clarified

“Right, of course, you’re the smart one” she laughed

“I don’t even know how you can last in your job”

“Why? What’s wrong with being a— uh—“she trailed off

“See, you don’t even know what to call it. I mean, what do you call a person who’s there to always just assist in everything? It’s like you do a piece of what everyone does. You’re like a trainee or something. When will you be promoted anyway?”

“I have to last for a couple of months first I guess. Maybe they’re testing my resistance to resign. They do make me do shitty stuff”

“Shit, like what?” I asked because hello, I’ll be filling in for her tonight

“Uh... Well, they usually ask me to bring the coffee for everyone and fix the little disasters before the show. Once I had to run all the way to a grocery store to get the brand of juice that the performer wanted. It is kinda tiring at times but it can be fun, when you get used to it”

I sigh then stood up

“Where are you going?” she inquired

“I’ll relax first before I get stressed tonight” I tell her as I grab my skate board and headed to the door

“You know, skate boards are really dangerous. Three out of five kids get into accidents because of skateboarding” she said as she eyed my skate board on my hands

“Not if they have been skateboarding half their life already” I tell her then opened the door to go out “Bye, I’ll see you around five.”

“Be careful!” she yelled as I shut the door

I go out the apartment then took in the fresh air outside. I walked along the sidewalk and the next thing I knew, I was skating beside the road already. This is really fun. It can always cheer me up and make me feel better whenever I am sad or stressed. I love the feeling of the air just hitting my face and messing with my hair. Sometimes I just want to be a kid again and do whatever kids do. I don’t want to always care about how my hair looks like or if I have to wear make up today. At times I get sick of always having to put on make up just so I’d look presentable to people who think make up matters. I just don’t get the point. I mean, cant I just go outside with just a simple shirt and jeans? People would probably think that I am homeless.

I get lost with my thoughts and I randomly bump into someone as I skate. Great. Good thing it wasn’t a car or a truck. Whew.

I obviously fall down the ground.

“Sorry, it’s my fault” I mutter as I stand up with my skate board around my hands

“Farron?” I hear a familiar voice

I nervously look up and indeed it was him. I can’t believe that it’s him. I never thought I would see him again. Well, really, I never wanted to see him again.

“Farron!” he exclaimed as he saw my face

“Kyle.” I say blankly, with a matching blank expression

“I… I never thought I’d see you again. And you seem like an expert in skateboarding already!” he smiled

“Yeah. I have to go” I mumble as I turn around

Of course, I without delay felt his hand on my arm, turning me around to face him again

“Farron, come on, cant we just forget about it and be friends again?” he asked seriously

FRIENDS? What the hell is that? We most definitely cannot be friends! After everything that happened? Oh, no. that is not possible anymore.

“Sorry, but did I hear you right? You want to be friends again?” I can’t help but scoff

He looked down then slowly nodded his head

“Why can’t you look at me straight?” I ask bluntly

“I... I am really sorry” he said, his eyes still on the ground

“That’s all you can say? I cannot believe you!” I kinda yelled now

“Farr—“

“Just let me go Okay? I never wanted to see you again. This is such a big mistake” I mumble as I yank my arm off his hands

“Farron!” I hear him scream after me as I skateboard away from him.

I feel tears forming in my eyes while I skateboard. I abruptly halted when my vision was hindered by the tears already. I sat on a random bench and started sobbing by myself. Why did I have to see him again? After two years, I thought I was over him already but turned out, I am so not over him yet up uintil this day. He really betrayed me. I never thought he’d just forget about me like that. Oh well, he has his new friends and new girlfriends now. He doesn’t need me anymore.



When I felt a little better already, I decided to head home and get ready for work. I slowly walked to the house and found Kathy sleeping on her laptop. Looks like she will have to stay awake the whole night. I look at the clock and saw that it was six already. Shit, I was supposed to be home at five because I needed at least thirty minutes to get ready for work and to be able to rest a little. I have to get there by seven. Ugh, looks like I can’t rest anymore. I sigh then went to shower and clean myself up.

I was ready within forty five minutes. I just have to get a cab and go to the venue. I smile as I pass a still sleeping Kathy. I got a post it and wrote a note to her before sticking it on the laptop screen.

I walk out the apartment then hailed a cab for myself. I think of Kyle as I sat inside the cab. I do miss him but I am just not ready to talk or even see him after everything or more specifically, after what he has done to me. I thought we had something but maybe it was just me. I trailed off my thoughts as I see the concert venue. Looks like a lot of kids are seeing this concert, whoever the performer is. There are a lot of teenagers around. I step out the cab and went inside the venue without bothering to look at the posters that most kids were blocking when I passed by. I smile at the guard, and he smiled back. He knew me as Kathy’s friend. He’s really nice and jolly actually. Not like those snub guards you see in other places.

I casually walk in then looked for Kathy’s boss to inform her about me filling in for Kathy. Where can she be? It is quite busy here back stage. I always dreamt of going in the backstage but I never thought of it as this cramped and hectic in here. I see a blonde girl that looked like Sarah, Kathy’s boss.

“Sarah?” I called to her

She turned around and saw me. She immediately smiled and approached me.

“Hello! Farron Walters! How are you? And where is Kathy?” she asked as she looked around for her

“Uhmm, well, see, Kathy has some college stuff and she sent me here to fill in for her, if that’s alright” I smile, hoping she doesn’t get pissed about Kathy ditching work

“Oh? Really? That girl works so hard that she kinda neglected her studies already. Well, that’s alright, at least she just didn’t ditch and left us one person short” she cheered

“Wow, okay then. What can I do now?” I ask, bracing myself for the series of random things she might ask me to do

“Luckily, things are running smooth tonight. There are no usual problems with the band or the tech. people. I honestly like these guys” she smiled “You can just go to the band and entertain them and see if they need anything.”

“Oh, so a band is performing tonight?” I ask

“Yeah, they are nice kids, really”

“Who are they?”

“Hmm, forever the sickest kids, if my memory serves me right. They are not high maintenance and I love it about them” she laughed as she strolled away

I froze there not knowing how to react to this. This cannot be fucking happening! Why the hell didn’t I look at the fucking posters or ask Kathy if she knew who the performers were? I am so stupid, I swear. I stood there for what felt like forever when someone tapped my back.

“Uh, Ms. Walters?” a girl with glasses asked me

“Yea—yeah?” I mumble

“Sarah told me that you would be the person that is supposed to be in the room with the band? You know, to attend to their needs before the show?” she inquired

SHIT. What have I fucking gotten myself into?!

“Uh, yeah I am that person” I say, still stunned

“Uhm, are you okay? You are pale” she asked with a worried voice

“Of course I am fine. I am… I am just really pale” I say randomly

“Okay then, I’ll escort you to their dressing room” she smiled then walked ahead of me.

I slowly and anxiously walked behind her. I still have a chance to run. I can just easily turn around and leave this place. I was about to run for my life when I remembered the reason why I was here. I was doing this for my best friend. I am doing this for her. Okay, so my best friend needs this more than I do. I just have to suck it all in and face him for a couple of hours. I mean, what could happen in a couple of hours right?

The girl stopped in front of a door with a piece of bond paper stuck on it and the name of the band written in black pentel pen.

“Okay, I’ll leave you here” she smiled before walking away

“Shit” I mumble under my breath

I am literally shaking now. If I open this door, I will surely see his face again. I took a deep breath then finally opened it. I had no choice because I have to do it some time. I slowly turn the door open and saw a redhead sitting on the couch, beside four other guys with insanely long hair. I mean, not really so long, but it was too long for a guy. I don’t get why buys would like their hair to grow that long. Do they even brush that? Knowing guys, I don’t think they do.

“Hey” the guy with black hair and a beard greeted

“Are you the person who would be keeping watch of us before the show?” the guy with curly hair with a beard as well asked

“Uh, yeah, that’s me” I mutter as I close the door.

“Hi! Don’t be scared, we’re nice” a guy with brownish hair now said

“I am not. I am just kinda confused with all the testosterone in the room” I say

They all laugh then one guy spoke up in the middle of laughing

“So, who can this hilarious lady be?” he asked

“Well, I think you guys need to introduce yourselves first, seeing that you are the guys” I smile to them. I am kinda getting comfortable here already even though the worst is yet to come

“Okay, okay, we’ll introduce ourselves, one by one” the redhead said

“I am Marc”

“Austin”

“Jonathan”

“Kent”

“And I am Caleb” the redhead said as he reached out his hand to shake mine.

“Hey there boys. I am Farron” I smile as I shook his hand

“Farron? Nice name” The Austin guy said

“It is unique indeed” Kent added

“Thanks for the compliment, if it was a compliment” I say

“It is of course” they both said

“Well, this isn’t the whole band actually. Where the hell is Kyle?” Caleb asked his band mates

“I don’t know. He said he’d be going around but he never showed up again” Marc answered

“Sorry, our drummer is not yet here. He’s always late” the guy named Jonathan explained

“Sure that’s ok” I say. If only they knew how much I dreaded seeing their drummer.

“Sit down” Kent smiled to me as he stood up to give me his seat

“Aw, thanks. What a gentleman” I smile to him

“Of course I am” he grinned

At the instant I sat down, the door flew open, revealing the person I never wanted to see again.

“Oh man! You are late again” Kent told him as he closed the door and scanned the room

“Sorry, I was ju—“ he stopped as his eyes met mine

“Oh yeah, this is—“ Kent was about to say my name but Kyle said it for him

“Farron?” he said without taking off his stare

“Kyle” I sigh

“You... you know each other?” Marc asked

“It’s Farron Walters, Marc” Kyle told his step brother

“Oh Fuck. I didn’t recognize you!” he said as he realized who I was

“I need to talk to you” Kyle said with a serious voice as he grabbed my arm

“No, you don’t” I sternly said as I grabbed my arm back

“Please, Farron, don’t make this hard” he pleaded

“I am not. We don’t have to talk. We could ignore each other for that matter. It would be way easier that way” I say

“No, I need to talk to you” he insisted then grabbed my arm again, with a tighter grip this time

“Guys, I just have to get out with Farron for a few minutes. I’ll be back for the show” he announced to his stunned band mates as he pulled me out the room, ignoring my trying to make him let go

“Kyle fucking Burns, let go of me or I’ll scream” I threaten him as he brought me out the venue.

He sighed then loosened his grip

“I can’t let go completely because you’ll surely run” he said with sad eyes

“What do you want?” I ask indignantly, not looking at him

“Can you look at me since you are talking to me” he asked, trying to look at my face

I didn’t follow and looked anywhere except his face.

“Fine, I’ll just talk while you examine everything around us” he muttered

I roll my eyes and still didn’t look at his face. I cannot manage to look at him because that might just make me softer on him. I cannot be all soft to him right now. I just can’t. He needs to get what he deserves.

“Farron, I am really sorry for ditching you. I had no choice” he apologized

“That’s all you can fucking say after leaving me hanging in thin air? You never even bothered to call or tell me that you couldn’t come Kyle! You didn’t even bother! What do you call that? You promised me and you broke it. You lost my trust” I stated

“Farron, I am really terribly sorry for that. I had no choice. We had to do this big show and it can really help the band. I am needed there because I am the drummer, Farron. I have no replacement. I can’t go all the way to Texas from L.A. I tried calling you but you never picked up”

“That’s because I threw my phone after waiting for five days for you to come. I tried to tell myself that you wouldn’t break your promise and that even if you were late, you’d still be coming. But no, of course you never came. That was the last string, Kyle. I mean, I tried to keep up with you being always absent in special occasions or the times wherein you forgot to call me but breaking the promise that you made to me that was really important for the two of us just shows that you don’t care about our relationship anymore. ” I said, my voice cracking a bit now

“Farron, I tried my best to come. I just couldn’t”

“Well, you made your choice now. You can’t take it back anymore” I say as I yank my arm off his grip “Go on and do your show. That’s all you have right now” I spit out as I walk away from him. I was already in tears as I walked away.

I still cannot accept the fact that he never bothered to come when I needed him most. He didn’t come when my dad died and my brother was about to die. He promised to be there and to assist me for I was all alone at that time. My mom was dead already and my only family was my brother and dad. He promised to always be there for me whenever I needed him. Wasn’t that the perfect time to come home and be with me? I was so helpless and alone. I could have really used a boyfriend at that time but he never came. He promised to me when he went for tour but he gradually forgot that promise as time went by. At that time, I told myself to forget about him since it looked like he didn’t care enough about me. He didn’t even think of how I was and how I was dealing with being alone

I went back in the room, and saw the five boys sitting there and talking among themselves. They all look at me as I enter.

“Shit, Farron, is you okay? I am really sorry about Kyle” marc said as he stood up

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault anyway” I mutter then sat down

“We are sorry about your brother and father” Caleb said

“Wow, so Marc gossiped about me already? For guys, all of you are exceptionally nosy” I laugh

“Sorry, we couldn’t help but ask” Kent said

“It’s okay, really. They died two years ago and I accepted that fact already. The only thing I can’t understand is how Kyle forgot about me” I say as Kyle coincidentally stepped in

He gave me a sad look and then sat across me. There was obvious tension between us that the guys felt as well.

“Oh, time for the show guys!” Jonathan declared then all of them stood up to pump themselves

Kyle stood up, still looking at me. I ignored it and concentrated on my phone. I pretended to be texting just so I can have an excuse of not looking up. They all eventually walked out and started the show. I sat there the entire concert and never bothered to go out anymore. I don’t want to see him anymore. My job is done, so I can leave now. I slowly walk out the room as the band played their last song. I faintly hear the music, specifically the drums as I go out the building. It was like he was stopping me from leaving whenever I heard the beat of the drums. I drowned the noise by putting on my ear phones as I hailed for the cab. I can’t stand to hear his drumming because I might end up running back in there and telling him how I really feel.



A few days passed after seeing Kyle in the concert. Kathy saw the difference in me when I went home that night. She didn’t know about Kyle and that night, I told her everything while I sobbed about it. She said sorry a million times because according to her, if she wasn’t an irresponsible student, I would not have filled in for her. Of course, I told her that it wasn’t her fault. Maybe it was all meant to be that I see him again.

Days passed by and I was still depressed. I don’t know why, but seeing Kyle again just made me feel the feelings I felt before for him.

“You know, Farron, I think you still like him. You should have just forgiven him and forgot all about it. I mean, he is sorry right? You might be happier now” she said we both sat in star bucks

“No, I can’t. And even if I say that I still love him, it’s too late” I mumble

“So you still love him! I knew it!” she said

“Of course I still live him. I never stopped loving Kyle. I was just afraid and shocked when I suddenly saw him. I needed time to think”

“And... after a few days of thinking…” she dared me to finish

“I realized that I do want him back. I am such an idiot Kathy”

“Aw, Farron, that’s alright. I am sure you’d see him again” Kathy cheered

“No way. That could never happen again. It was my chance and I blew it” I sulked

“Of course it can happen again” Kathy said

“Why the heck are you so optimistic?” I ask

“Farron… I believe that is Kyle buying coffee” she said as she eyed someone behind me

I turn around and saw Kyle buying coffee. Oh my god. My eyes were so wide. I instantly turned around again and looked at Kathy nervously.

“You’re so red” she laughed

“What will I do?” I asked frantically

“Go to him. Talk to him. Explain your behavior. I am sure he is ready to negotiate” she giggled “It is your last chance Farron. Go get him”

I sigh then glimpse at him again. He was just sitting on a table, waiting for his coffee. I have to get to him before his coffee is done.

I quickly stood up and approached him.

“Kyle” I said as I stood in front if him

He slowly lifted his head and looked at me

“Farron” he said back

“Ca—can I uh… sit?” I asked

“Sure” he was confused. I can see it in his face

“I… I just wanted to... uhmm…” how the heck will I tell him than I made a mistake, that I really still do love him and that I forgive him already?

“Farron, why are you suddenly talking to me? I thought you hated me and—“

“I forgive you Kyle” I cut him off

His face turned from confused to a surprised and happy one.

“Rea—really?” he asked with glitter in his eyes

“Yeah” I smiled

“Wow, Farron, I… I can’t even begin to thank you” he said happily

“You don’t have to. Just… can you promise me one thing?” I asked nervously

“Anything, anything for you” he automatically said

“Can… can you not do that to me again because I don’t know how I can stand it that you are not with me. I need you and I… I may still feel something for you Kyle” I whispered

“Farron, I cannot believe this! I love you! I still do! The feeling never went away”

I lifted my head and looked at him “Are you saying the truth?”

“Yes! Farron, I never forgot about you, I swear. You have always been in my heart, always and forever” he said with so much sincerity as he held my hands

“Same thing for me” I mumble

“Farron Walters, are you willing to take a chance on me again?” he asked as he looked straight to my eyes

“Kyle, as strange at this sounds considering all the things I told you a few days ago, I am willing to take the chance with you” I answer

He smiled as he cupped my face. He leaned closer and the next thing I knew, his lips were on mine already. It really felt right. His lips on mine were perfect. It was like he was a missing piece in me. I felt myself kissing back and holding on his neck to draw him closer to me. It was like before, it felt like before.

“Coffee for Kyle?” I hear the person say but we didn’t bother to pull away. We were so into the moment to do that.

“Kyle your coffee” I giggled and pulled away a little

“No, let the coffee be. I want you more than that” he said as he brought my lips to his again

It was like no time passed by. His kiss still sent shivers throughout my spine and sent me to this frenzy that until now, I still cannot explain. I still do love him.

“I missed this. I missed you Farron” he whispered to me as we both pull away but our faces still insanely close

“Me too” I smile back, looking at him under my lashes.

“I love you, and I will always be here for you, I promise” he said

“Are you sure you can fulfill that?” I asked

“Positive. I am changed person now you know”