A Price For My Soul

“That was—Wow,” I quietly said, causing Sam to look up.

From what Gemini had said earlier, I’d expected that she’d be good. But “good” didn’t come close to doing her justice. To he honest, I couldn’t think of any words that could fully describe her voice. It was sweet, kind of like honey, but at the same time it was like an uppercut with the way it took me by surprise and left me feeling a bit dazed.

Shitty metaphors aside, I thought she sounded amazing.

“Toldja she was a maniac on the guitar,” Gemini said, brimming with pride.

“And she’s got a set of pipes, too,” Rian added.

Sam flashed us a shy smile as she handed the guitar back to me. I was really tempted to ask her to play another song, but with the way her cheeks were beet red, I sensed that she wasn’t up for it. Once I took the guitar back, she turned her attention toward her sister and began signing.

“Thanks, everybody,” Gem spoke for her. “I’m glad you liked it.”

“We should be thanking you, Sam,” I said. “That was great.”

Still blushing, she looked down and scratched the back of her neck.

It was still hard to believe that such a powerful voice could belong to such a soft-spoken girl. But that just made her seen all the more endearing. At least to me it did.

“Oh shit! It’s almost 3?” Gem said, looking at her watch. “The Maine’s set is going to start in a few minutes!”

Sam quickly signed something, and her sister vigorously nodded.

“Why would I lie?” Gem said, taking her hand. “C’mon. John Oh awaits!”

That being said she grabbed Sam’s arm and quickly waved goodbye to us before running off toward the Hurley stage.

“What’s so great about The Maine?” Jack asked, clearly upset that the girls (Gemini in particular) had left.

“Well, Garrett’s hot,” Rian replied, shrugging.

“Pat’s really cute,” Zack noted.

“And John is dreamy,” I jokingly added.

Jack rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.
Yeah. He’s definitely got it bad for Gem.

“Aww, don’t worry, Jack,” I teased, ruffling his hair. “Gemini will be there for our set. After all, we’re one of her favorite bands.”

This comment probably came off sounding cocky, but it was true. After all, that’s why Sam was so persistent when she was apologizing to Jack about the whole Starbucks incident.

Even so, he continued to pout like a 5-year old.

“Dude, you should be glad that they hung out with us at all today,” I said. “I mean, you were acting like a complete douche at the tent.”

“I know,” he sighed. “I’m an idiot.”

“Exactly,” I laughed.

“Not helping,” he said, slapping my shoulder a lot harder than necessary.

“Oww,” I said, rubbing the area he hit. “Jeez, no need to be violent.”

Even though the name “Jack Barakat” is synonymous with “groupies” when on tour, that’s only a part of the story.

Little known fact: when Jack does fall for a girl, he falls fast and he falls hard.

And from the looks of it, that’s what was happening with Gem.

“You really like her, don’t you?” I asked.

“I could ask you the same question,” he replied. “You were getting pretty chummy with Sam.”

“Me and Sam? Bro, you’ve got it all wrong.”

“Uh huh,” he sarcastically replied. “That’s why you had that dopey grin on your face when she was singing earlier.”

“What? I did not.”

Shit. I wasn’t that bad. Was I?

He grinned, jumping at my defensiveness.

“Did so,” he said.

“Nuh uh.”

“Yeah huh.”

“You know what?” I asked. “I’m gonna be the bigger man and just stop here.”

“Please. You wish you were the bigger man. Everyone knows that your dick is nothing in comparison to mine,” he said, smirking.

“Yeah. Sure,” I laughed, rolling my eyes.

“Rian, who’s dick is bigger? Mine or Alex’s?” Jack asked, as if it was a serious question.

Rather than responding, he shook his head and chuckled.

“Why Sam and Gem wanted to hang out with you guys, I’ll never understand.”