Love and Conspiracy
Melodramatic Fools.
I was sitting on the couch for at least an hour and a half watching TV before Mike came out again. He sat next to me and put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said. I shook my head.
“It’s okay, I understand,” I said as I put my head on his chest.
“We decided that we’re going to have band practice tonight, you know, to help get his mind off things a bit. You’re more than welcome to come along if you want,” Mike said, rubbing my
arm.
“Where do you guys go to practice?” I asked curiously.
“Tre’s place since they actually have a garage for us to practice in. I think his roommate’s girlfriend might be there if you want some company while we’re playing,” he suggested. I nodded.
“Alright, that sounds like fun,” I answered with a smile. He smiled back before kissing me. That tingling sensation filled my body again as his lips touched mine. When he pulled away, my smile grew wider. I wrapped my arms around him, continuing to watch TV again.
~~~
Another hour had passed until we heard Billie’s door open again. I could tell that he had just woken up.
“When are we going to Tre’s?” he grumbled from his doorway. Mike looked over at him.
“I guess in like an hour or so?” he answered. He stood there for a minute.
“I’m gonna have a smoke,” Billie said, before walking out the door.
“Does he go through this often?” I asked once he was gone. Mike slightly chuckled.
“Oh, yeah. He has a bad reputation with girls. I mean, he seems to attract them easily enough, but when it comes to keeping the relationship, something always goes wrong. I actually thought that he and Izz would last, though; I suppose not,” he said.
“What made you think that?” I was interested. He shrugged.
“Just the way they were around each other,” he paused, “Now that I think about it, they did fight a lot. About practically everything, too,” he drifted off, rethinking what he had assumed. After being lost in thought for a few moments, he continued, “However, he’s had his share of times being the heartbreaker, too. It’s not always him getting hurt.” I slightly laughed.
“Yeah, that seems more like him,” I said, right before the door opened. Billie came in and sat on the other side of Mike. His blank eyes glued to the screen.
“How you holding up?” Mike asked his friend. He didn’t answer him. That caused Mike to take his arm away from my shoulders and stand up. “Get ready, we’re leaving early,” he said, mainly to Billie. Mike walked over to his room and shut the door to change, from what I guessed. Billie let out a long sigh before getting up, leaving me alone in the living room.
After Mike was finished, I went into his room to change, myself. I grabbed my bag and searched through it to find something casual to wear. It didn’t take me long to pull on jeans and a plain blue shirt, along with quickly scribbling a little eyeliner around my eyes. With that, I was ready. Luckily, I wasn’t the one we were waiting for. It took another ten minutes before Billie came out of his room, ready to leave. I had no idea what took him so long, considering that he was a guy and all. As he walked past us, the smell of weed lingered on his body. I should have figured.
“I’m taking my car,” Billie said as we walked towards the parking lot.
“Alright, we’ll see you there, then,” Mike answered, getting into his own car.
“Does Tre know that you’re having practice tonight?” I asked as I climbed into the passenger seat.
“Nope, but we always stop by unexpectedly, so he’s used to it,” he said.
It took us less than five minutes to finally reach Tre’s house again. Surprisingly, Billie wasn’t there yet. Before we even made it to the front door, it swung open and Tre was standing there with a smile on his face.
“You survived!” he yelled before running up and hugging me. I laughed.
“Heads up, Izz broke up with him. So, be prepared,” Mike told Tre as we walked inside.
“Aw, man!” Tre whined. When we walked into the kitchen, there was a guy and a girl eating pizza at the table. “Oh! This is Chris and Jess!” Tre quickly introduced me. I simply waved.
“Hey, I’m Lucy,” I said awkwardly. Before they could say anything more to me, Billie walked in. He remained quiet as he walked through. Tre began to hum the theme song for the evil witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz as he quickly followed Billie in the other room. Mike looked over at me.
“You can come watch us, or chill with these guys,” he said.
“She’ll chill with us. Come, sit down!” Jess said cheerfully, answering for me. I did as I was told and sat at the table with them as Mike left the room as well. Chris offered me some pizza, but I politely rejected.
“So, where did they find an innocent looking girl such as yourself?” the girl asked in a sweet tone.
“Arizona, actually,” I said, matter-of-factly. The guy’s eyes widened in surprised.
“You mean in the past couple of days they were there?” Chris asked. I nodded my head. “Damn, they must’ve had a strong liking for you if they invited you to live with them on such short notice,” he continued, causing me to laugh nervously. The girl gently hit him.
“Shut up, Chris,” she said, before smiling at me. “There is nothing wrong with that. How do you like it here?” she asked.
“Well, I haven’t really been out since we got here, but I’m digging it so far,” I said with a smile.
“Mike will have to let me steal you away sometime and show you around. We’ll have our
own girl fun,” she said. I nodded in agreement.
“Alright, that sounds awesome,” I replied. I was beginning to feel extremely comfortable with these new friends of mine. Just then, music blasted throughout the house.
“I’m gonna go listen for a bit. I’ll be back,” Chris said, before running out of the room. Jess grabbed my hand and led me back outside to the front yard. She plopped down on the grass right away, patting the spot next to her for me to join.
“Don’t worry. They have band practice all the damn time, so you’ll see them play soon enough. I just needed a break from all the dudes 24/7,” she quickly said. I laughed, causing her to look at me. Once she examined me, she said, “You’re lucky you have naturally light hair. You should really consider putting some colors in it.”
“I’ve always wanted to, actually. I’ve just never taken the effort to do it,” I told her. She got an excited look on her face.
“You should put purple in it! No, wait. Red! That’s what you should do, red!” she exclaimed.
“Won’t that look like I’m trying to copy Billie a little bit?” I said with a laugh. She frowned.
“That’s true. Damn him… Well, he seems to change his hair all the time, so we’ll just wait until he gets sick of it,” she said, smiling. She quickly jumped topics, “So are you and Mike together? Or are you just a friend of theirs?” I paused to think about it. I had never even thought about what we were to each other.
“I don’t really know,” I said in a distant voice. Her laugh caught my attention again.
“How do you not know?” she asked, “Either you are, or you’re not.”
“I mean, we’ve kissed a couple of times, but we’ve never really talked about it.”
“Well, do you like him?” she asked, causing me to blush, “Aw! Okay, so that’s a yes. Do you think he likes you, too?” she paused, but quickly answered her own question. “Duh! He must if you guys have kissed and he asked you to live with them! Plus, what’s there not to like about you? Hell, I don’t even know you, and I like you!” I awkwardly laughed. “You should ask him sometime what he thinks about all of this,” she said in a more calm tone. I nodded.
“Yeah, I probably should.” We were silent for a moment.
“So, how old are you?” she asked, curiously.
“Seventeen,” I said quietly. Her jaw dropped.
“Seriously?! I could’ve sworn you were nineteen, at least!” she exclaimed, causing me to laugh.
“Hah, yeah. I get that a lot,” I replied. After she got over the shock, she proceeded with the conversation.
“That’s cool, though. I’m eighteen and Chris in there is nineteen, so you’re not the only underage one,” she said with a smile.
“That is really comforting, to tell you the truth,” I hesitated. “I’m surprised that your first reaction wasn’t for the fact that I’m so young to be out on my own,” I said truthfully. She waved her hand in the air as if she was pushing the idea away.
“Psh, I moved in with Chris when I was seventeen, too. So, I don’t blame you,” she answered. I immediately felt our friendship grow a little more.
~~~
We continued talking about random topics, building a strong bond between us. Time really happened to fly; what seemed like twenty minutes, was actually two hours later by the time we heard the music stop.
“Sounds like they’re finished up in there. Let’s go see what they have planned for the rest of the night,” she said, getting up off the ground. She held a hand out to help me up. When we got back inside, Tre and Chris were in the kitchen again.
“What have you ladies been up to?” Chris asked.
“Talking about girl stuff. You know, periods and boys!” Jess answered, trying to gross him out. She was successful as he winced and covered his ears. Tre, however, thought differently.
“Aw! Why do you guys always leave me out of that stuff!” he said with a baby voice. Jess and I started to laugh.
“Next time, big boy,” she said, patting his shoulder before sitting down at the table. Finally, Mike walked into the room. He came right up to where I was and wrapped an arm around my waist as he kissed the side of my head. I could see Jess in the corner of my eye smiling uncontrollably.
“How’d it go?” I asked Mike, trying to hide my nerves. He nodded.
“Good, like always,” he said with a smile.
“Ooo, cocky much?” I joked with him. He laughed.
“You won’t be saying that once you see us perform again,” he admitted right before Billie
walked into the room.
“You got any beer, Tre?” Billie asked. “It’s time for a party,” he added with a smirk. I was shocked to see his drastic mood change compared to how he was when we first got there. Tre opened the fridge to reveal all sorts of alcohol to the room. Billie’s mischievous smile grew.
“Now we’re talking.”
“I’m sorry about that,” he said. I shook my head.
“It’s okay, I understand,” I said as I put my head on his chest.
“We decided that we’re going to have band practice tonight, you know, to help get his mind off things a bit. You’re more than welcome to come along if you want,” Mike said, rubbing my
arm.
“Where do you guys go to practice?” I asked curiously.
“Tre’s place since they actually have a garage for us to practice in. I think his roommate’s girlfriend might be there if you want some company while we’re playing,” he suggested. I nodded.
“Alright, that sounds like fun,” I answered with a smile. He smiled back before kissing me. That tingling sensation filled my body again as his lips touched mine. When he pulled away, my smile grew wider. I wrapped my arms around him, continuing to watch TV again.
~~~
Another hour had passed until we heard Billie’s door open again. I could tell that he had just woken up.
“When are we going to Tre’s?” he grumbled from his doorway. Mike looked over at him.
“I guess in like an hour or so?” he answered. He stood there for a minute.
“I’m gonna have a smoke,” Billie said, before walking out the door.
“Does he go through this often?” I asked once he was gone. Mike slightly chuckled.
“Oh, yeah. He has a bad reputation with girls. I mean, he seems to attract them easily enough, but when it comes to keeping the relationship, something always goes wrong. I actually thought that he and Izz would last, though; I suppose not,” he said.
“What made you think that?” I was interested. He shrugged.
“Just the way they were around each other,” he paused, “Now that I think about it, they did fight a lot. About practically everything, too,” he drifted off, rethinking what he had assumed. After being lost in thought for a few moments, he continued, “However, he’s had his share of times being the heartbreaker, too. It’s not always him getting hurt.” I slightly laughed.
“Yeah, that seems more like him,” I said, right before the door opened. Billie came in and sat on the other side of Mike. His blank eyes glued to the screen.
“How you holding up?” Mike asked his friend. He didn’t answer him. That caused Mike to take his arm away from my shoulders and stand up. “Get ready, we’re leaving early,” he said, mainly to Billie. Mike walked over to his room and shut the door to change, from what I guessed. Billie let out a long sigh before getting up, leaving me alone in the living room.
After Mike was finished, I went into his room to change, myself. I grabbed my bag and searched through it to find something casual to wear. It didn’t take me long to pull on jeans and a plain blue shirt, along with quickly scribbling a little eyeliner around my eyes. With that, I was ready. Luckily, I wasn’t the one we were waiting for. It took another ten minutes before Billie came out of his room, ready to leave. I had no idea what took him so long, considering that he was a guy and all. As he walked past us, the smell of weed lingered on his body. I should have figured.
“I’m taking my car,” Billie said as we walked towards the parking lot.
“Alright, we’ll see you there, then,” Mike answered, getting into his own car.
“Does Tre know that you’re having practice tonight?” I asked as I climbed into the passenger seat.
“Nope, but we always stop by unexpectedly, so he’s used to it,” he said.
It took us less than five minutes to finally reach Tre’s house again. Surprisingly, Billie wasn’t there yet. Before we even made it to the front door, it swung open and Tre was standing there with a smile on his face.
“You survived!” he yelled before running up and hugging me. I laughed.
“Heads up, Izz broke up with him. So, be prepared,” Mike told Tre as we walked inside.
“Aw, man!” Tre whined. When we walked into the kitchen, there was a guy and a girl eating pizza at the table. “Oh! This is Chris and Jess!” Tre quickly introduced me. I simply waved.
“Hey, I’m Lucy,” I said awkwardly. Before they could say anything more to me, Billie walked in. He remained quiet as he walked through. Tre began to hum the theme song for the evil witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz as he quickly followed Billie in the other room. Mike looked over at me.
“You can come watch us, or chill with these guys,” he said.
“She’ll chill with us. Come, sit down!” Jess said cheerfully, answering for me. I did as I was told and sat at the table with them as Mike left the room as well. Chris offered me some pizza, but I politely rejected.
“So, where did they find an innocent looking girl such as yourself?” the girl asked in a sweet tone.
“Arizona, actually,” I said, matter-of-factly. The guy’s eyes widened in surprised.
“You mean in the past couple of days they were there?” Chris asked. I nodded my head. “Damn, they must’ve had a strong liking for you if they invited you to live with them on such short notice,” he continued, causing me to laugh nervously. The girl gently hit him.
“Shut up, Chris,” she said, before smiling at me. “There is nothing wrong with that. How do you like it here?” she asked.
“Well, I haven’t really been out since we got here, but I’m digging it so far,” I said with a smile.
“Mike will have to let me steal you away sometime and show you around. We’ll have our
own girl fun,” she said. I nodded in agreement.
“Alright, that sounds awesome,” I replied. I was beginning to feel extremely comfortable with these new friends of mine. Just then, music blasted throughout the house.
“I’m gonna go listen for a bit. I’ll be back,” Chris said, before running out of the room. Jess grabbed my hand and led me back outside to the front yard. She plopped down on the grass right away, patting the spot next to her for me to join.
“Don’t worry. They have band practice all the damn time, so you’ll see them play soon enough. I just needed a break from all the dudes 24/7,” she quickly said. I laughed, causing her to look at me. Once she examined me, she said, “You’re lucky you have naturally light hair. You should really consider putting some colors in it.”
“I’ve always wanted to, actually. I’ve just never taken the effort to do it,” I told her. She got an excited look on her face.
“You should put purple in it! No, wait. Red! That’s what you should do, red!” she exclaimed.
“Won’t that look like I’m trying to copy Billie a little bit?” I said with a laugh. She frowned.
“That’s true. Damn him… Well, he seems to change his hair all the time, so we’ll just wait until he gets sick of it,” she said, smiling. She quickly jumped topics, “So are you and Mike together? Or are you just a friend of theirs?” I paused to think about it. I had never even thought about what we were to each other.
“I don’t really know,” I said in a distant voice. Her laugh caught my attention again.
“How do you not know?” she asked, “Either you are, or you’re not.”
“I mean, we’ve kissed a couple of times, but we’ve never really talked about it.”
“Well, do you like him?” she asked, causing me to blush, “Aw! Okay, so that’s a yes. Do you think he likes you, too?” she paused, but quickly answered her own question. “Duh! He must if you guys have kissed and he asked you to live with them! Plus, what’s there not to like about you? Hell, I don’t even know you, and I like you!” I awkwardly laughed. “You should ask him sometime what he thinks about all of this,” she said in a more calm tone. I nodded.
“Yeah, I probably should.” We were silent for a moment.
“So, how old are you?” she asked, curiously.
“Seventeen,” I said quietly. Her jaw dropped.
“Seriously?! I could’ve sworn you were nineteen, at least!” she exclaimed, causing me to laugh.
“Hah, yeah. I get that a lot,” I replied. After she got over the shock, she proceeded with the conversation.
“That’s cool, though. I’m eighteen and Chris in there is nineteen, so you’re not the only underage one,” she said with a smile.
“That is really comforting, to tell you the truth,” I hesitated. “I’m surprised that your first reaction wasn’t for the fact that I’m so young to be out on my own,” I said truthfully. She waved her hand in the air as if she was pushing the idea away.
“Psh, I moved in with Chris when I was seventeen, too. So, I don’t blame you,” she answered. I immediately felt our friendship grow a little more.
~~~
We continued talking about random topics, building a strong bond between us. Time really happened to fly; what seemed like twenty minutes, was actually two hours later by the time we heard the music stop.
“Sounds like they’re finished up in there. Let’s go see what they have planned for the rest of the night,” she said, getting up off the ground. She held a hand out to help me up. When we got back inside, Tre and Chris were in the kitchen again.
“What have you ladies been up to?” Chris asked.
“Talking about girl stuff. You know, periods and boys!” Jess answered, trying to gross him out. She was successful as he winced and covered his ears. Tre, however, thought differently.
“Aw! Why do you guys always leave me out of that stuff!” he said with a baby voice. Jess and I started to laugh.
“Next time, big boy,” she said, patting his shoulder before sitting down at the table. Finally, Mike walked into the room. He came right up to where I was and wrapped an arm around my waist as he kissed the side of my head. I could see Jess in the corner of my eye smiling uncontrollably.
“How’d it go?” I asked Mike, trying to hide my nerves. He nodded.
“Good, like always,” he said with a smile.
“Ooo, cocky much?” I joked with him. He laughed.
“You won’t be saying that once you see us perform again,” he admitted right before Billie
walked into the room.
“You got any beer, Tre?” Billie asked. “It’s time for a party,” he added with a smirk. I was shocked to see his drastic mood change compared to how he was when we first got there. Tre opened the fridge to reveal all sorts of alcohol to the room. Billie’s mischievous smile grew.
“Now we’re talking.”