Dance to This Beat

When I woke up the next morning, the guys were practicing over at Jon's.

"I chimed in with 'haven't you people heard of closing the goddamn door'. No, it's much better to take these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality," Brendon sang.

I smiled to myself then got up to get dressed.

I pulled a Fall Out Boy T shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. After I put those on, I slipped on my beat-up Converse.

"Swear to shake it up if you swear to listen. Oh we're still so young, desperate for attention. I aim to be your eyes trophy boys, trophy wives."

I sang along to the music blasting from next door while I did my make-up and hair. After I was ready, I ran downstairs to grab some quick breakfast (okay, fine, coffee).

"G'mornin' momma!"

"Hi sweetie. How'd you sleep?"

"Great."

"Someone's happy."

"Uh huh," I nodded. "Jon told me he loves me."

"Awww. When'd he tell ya?"

"On the way home from Spencer's."

"And what'd you say back?"

"That I love him too." I grinned at the memory.

“Awe, baby. My little girl’s finally grown up and fallin’ in love.”

“Yeah, ma. I am.”

------

“Hey,” I said when I reached Jon after breakfast. “Y’all sounded great earlier.”

“Thanks.” He bent down to kiss me.

I stood on my tippy toes to reach him.

“Dude, no time for macking, we gotta record this damn demo,” a voice called from the garage.

“I’m coming,” Jon yelled back.

“I guess I’ll go then?”

“No. Stay. Please.”

“Okay then, but we should probly go to the garage,” I laughed.

We started walking back when I decided to ask Jon a question. “Did you mean it? Everything you said last night.”

He stopped walking and turned to me. “Yeah Claire. I love you.”

I nodded and started walking again.

Jon grabbed my arm and stopped me. “Why? Do you not love me?”

“Please don’t say that. Of course I love you. I always will.”

He nodded this time then we walked to the garage (for real this time) holding hands.

------

After hours of loud music, annoyed parents, bathroom breaks, and phone calls, the guys finally had their demo recorded.

“Dude!” Spence exclaimed. “This is surreal.”

“Good word,” I commented.

“Thanks.”

“Come on. We have to celebrate,” Brendon said.

“Where?” all of us asked at the same time.

He gave us a Look.

“Oh God,” Ryan said. “Brendon, no. You almost got us killed last time.”

Spencer and I exchanged confused glances.

“Please Ryan, no one’ll be there at nine on a Monday,” Bren pushed.

Ry sighed deeply. “Fine.”

“To the skate park!” Brendon called out with glee.

“Oh Jesus,” Spencer muttered.

“What’s the big deal?” I asked him quietly.

“Last time we were there, there was this gang from school there, too. Brendon, the idiot he is, had to steal one of the guys’ girlfriends and they weren’t too happy.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, but that was two years ago and they were drunk. They graduated already.”

“Still, there has to be other gangs at school, right?”

“Yeah, there’s plenty, but no one actually goes to this skate park anymore. Ryan’s just paranoid about it.”

“I see.”

“Yeah. So we should be fine and dan--Ryan! Where’s Brendon going?!”

He shrugged as we watched Brendon run down the street towards Spencer’s house.

“Oh God,” Jon nearly shouted.

We all turned to look at him.

“Alcohol.”

“Celebrate good times, come on.” Spencer sang.

I cocked an eyebrow.

“Let’s just say, Brendon doesn’t know how to handle his alcohol,” Ryan said.

“You would know,” Jon said while putting his bass into it’s case.

“Shut up. Dude, that totally sucked. I had to clean it up, mom’s car smelled disgusting, and dad grounded me for a month.”

Spencer tried to hold back more laughing.

“I’m back!” Brendon yelled, running into the garage, before Ryan could say anything else. He was holding up a bottle of vodka.

“Holy shit,” I muttered.

Jon looked at me while I stifled busting out laughing.

The whole scene reminded me of my cousin’s sixteenth birthday party. He got totally hammered and I had to drive him back home. Not to mention I was only fifteen myself, and I only had my temps.

“Nothin’,” I mouthed to him. “I’ll tell ya later.”

He made the “okay” sign and nodded.

------

“Here we are,” Spencer said to me when we reached an old dilapidated fence with a concrete sigh in front of it. In the sign, the words “Baker Bowl” were etched into it.

“I see why no one comes here anymore,” I laughed.

The guys hopped the fence, followed by me.

“Dude, you’re just like, well, a dude,” Brendon said.

“Yeah, well, I have three older brothers. It helps with stuff every once in a while.”

He nodded.

“Hey, look!”

We all turned to look at Ryan, who was pointing at something along the sides of the park.

It was a sign.

“By law, this skate park will be filled in and be turned into a new factory setting for Lovely’s Furniture on the twenty-eighth of September.”

“Damn,” Spencer muttered. “Can they do that?”

“Apparently they can.”

We turned to look at a sullen-faced Brendon.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Ryan assured him. “If we can get people to start skating here again, then they can’t fill it in. Right?”

“I would ask my dad, but I’m currently not speaking with him.”

This time they turned to look at me.

“What would your dad know about this?”

“Okay, one: just ‘cause we’re from Mississippi, don’t mean we’re just a bunch’a hicks that don’t know nothin’, and two: he’s a lawyer.”

“Oh.”

Brendon sat down on the side of the bowl and opened the vodka. “Man, this sucks.”

“We’ll find another place,” Jon told him.

“That’s not what I’m talking about. Well, it is, but it isn’t. I’m saying, this place has no value whatsoever, but it has a lot of sentimental value. To me. To us.” He took another big drink of the alcohol in his hand.

“To y’all,” I said, feeling slightly left out.

“Sorry Claire Bear.”

I nodded. “It’s all good.”