Nineteen

Coffee was the remedy for everything, especially hangovers. I felt one hundred times better after one sip. I sighed and glanced over at my brother who was flipping channels on the TV. Why did he not like Frank? He hardly knew the guy! It made me mad to think back and Mikey's words;

"Guys that don't travel around the country looking for cheap fucks."

"When are we leaving?" I asked.

"Like an hour." Mikey mumbled unhappily.

"Kay." I replied and took another sip of my coffee. I guess I should be concerned that Mikey is angry at me but right now the only thing on my mind was the question if I was ever going to see him again.

Six Months Later

The Bovine was packed lake it usually was but it would never be as synchronized as The Reverb in New York. I can never get that night out of my head. I come to The Bovine every saturday like how I have for all those years and every time I hope Pencey Prep is playing. They never do. Mikey refuses to come with me anymore so I either go alone or with my cousin Ray. They guy is like a big teddy bear with an afro and he is just amazing. One thing about him is that he loves to party so he is always excited to come with me on my Frank scouting expeditions. Of course, I have never told him about Frank.

"Look at her! She's so gorgeous!" Ray yelled over the music and pointed to a blond girl with black glasses. I instantly recognized her as the girl who dragged Mikey onto the dance floor. Ray also didn't know of my lack of interest in girls and my love of men.

"Yeah." I answered back unenthusiastically.

"Honestly Gee, if I didn't know better I would swear you were gay." he laughed. "Not that theres anything wrong with being gay." he added quickly. I laughed mechanically even if I didn't find it funny. What was great about The Bovine was that you would see the show from the bar but it was easy to talk to other people around you without too much yelling and still listening to the band.

"I'm not gay." I laughed. Ray joined in with my laughter and ordered two beers which were handed too us almost instantly. Maybe I was gay or at least bi but Ray didn't need to know that yet. Not here anyways.

"Put your fucking hands together for Pencey Prep!" I nearly choked when Sam said that name. They were back! The band jumped into one song I really liked, Nineteen. I swear it was their best song.

"I gotta go to the bathroom." I announced to Ray who was already distracted by the blond girl.

"Sure." he said and got up and began walking over to the girl. I walked into the crowd and pushed past jumping fans. Avoiding the mosh pit, I detoured to the front of the stage and gazed up at Frank who had not yet noticed me. His hair got longer and it was cut into the beginning of sidebands. It looked good on him but i liked the jock-like spiky hair he had when I first met him. Today he wore a Black Flag shirt and loose jeans. Bottom line was that he was adorable. Suddenly he looked down to where I was standing and he seemed to freeze up and forget a few words. I had the song memorized so I knew that. The band looked at him questioningly for a moment before resuming their normal stances. Frank shook his head as if to shake me from his mind and he wondered to the other side of the stage, away from me. Nice to know he remembered that night six months ago.