Livin' off the Party Scene

“Why were you talking to John?” Taylor questioned skeptically as Kara came closer to the two.

“You know him?” Kara asked back, unaware.

“Everyone here knows the guys of The Maine, they’re the reason this is here.” Taylor stated like it was the biggest deal in the world.

Kara questioned, “How so?”

“Their drummer, Pat, is Tim’s little brother, and their band is the first one that he managed; getting him to where he is today.” Taylor gossiped.

“If they’re so successful, then why are they hanging out in this dump?” It didn’t make sense to her.

“They’re slowly getting there. They don’t want to be an overnight sensation they want to work their way to the top.” Taylor explained.

“Okay…”

“You don’t get it Kara.” She shook her head at her confused friend.

“No. I don’t.”

“If you hung out with us more you would.” Garza mumbled, but Kara still heard it.

“Oh don’t blame this on her not coming here all the time, this isn’t everyone’s scene. Sometimes I don’t even want to be here.” His eyes widened with shock. “But I come because I love you and this makes you happy, and when you’re happy, I’m happy.” Taylor defended Kara, then pecking Garza on his cheek to enforce the last part.

“Uck, mushy stuff.” Kara turned around and walked back over to the bands van to wait for Justin.

_________________________________________________________________________

“So what’d you think?” Justin asked coming down from his adrenaline rush.

“I think that after TSS plays, you have to take me home.” She told him seriously. She’s had enough; she came here to watch her friend’s play, and according to her, that was enough and it was now time to go home, shower, and read.

“I don’t think so.” Godsey countered, crossing his arms over his chest while shaking his head, a small smirk evident on his face.

Kara couldn’t believe that he wouldn’t take her home. She came here, she did what he wanted, against her better judgement, and now it was his time to repay her. “Alright.” She started to walk off, angry at his unfairness.

“Kara, where are you going?” He yelled after his best friend. He didn’t think it was that big of a deal for her to get so upset over, he just wanted to stay an extra hour or so and hang out with his friends in the other bands.

“I’ll be fine. I’m going to watch the bands perform.” She reassured him. “And no I don’t want you to come!” She added, yelling back as she kept walking away, enforcing the statement.

As she walked away, she fought the urge to cross her arms over her chest, hang her head low, and storm off, she wanted to look calm, cool, and collected for all those bystanders who would glance her way as she passed them. Kara always wanted to make it seem like she knew what she was doing, she hated feeling vulnerable.

“What’s with her?” Godsey’s band mate Ryan, asked him as he stood next to Godsey, watching Kara walk away from them.

“I won’t take her home.” Godsey told him, still in disbelief that she could be so upset over that one little thing.

Ryan shook his head, “If you want her, you’re going to have to please her and put your stubbornness aside.”

“I’m not stubborn.” Godsey argued. “I just want her to get to know my likes. Just like my music, Kara’s really important to me.” he told his close friend sincerely.

“Don’t we know it.” Ryan rolled his eyes. The whole group knew that Godsey had special feelings for Kara, except Kara herself; they also don’t even think that he is fully aware of his feelings for her either. To them, Kara and Justin have been playing this game since the first day they met each other all those years ago, and it is now the time for them to stop and confront their feelings.

Kara kept walking until she was out of sight from her friend’s vans and far past the main stage. She kept walking until she noticed a group of boys and a couple girls sitting out front their written on van in beach chairs. She confronted the group, noticing that one boy from before.

“Good to see you stopped by.” The familiar face greeted her. “Where’s your friend?” John asked, though he was glad to see her, and that she actually came over here, he found it weird that she didn’t come with Justin glued to her side like he thought they would be, after seeing their exchanged glances before.

“Hanging out with the guys.” She told him with a shrug. Kara was still standing in front of the group, who were all set up in a semicircle with their lawn chairs around a cooler and a few lanterns.

“Loner.” A boy with shining blue eyes, shaggy light brown hair, and a nose ring said, earning a light backhanded smack from the petite red headed girl sitting next to him on a bench with another brown haired girl a little taller than herself.

“No.” She shook her head. “Out of place, yes.” Kara corrected him.

“Out of place?” A small childlike boy with long brown hair and brown eyes asked.

“This isn’t really where I prefer to spend my time.” She plainly told him.

“Then where is?” the childlike boy asked, putting her on the spot.

“I don’t know.” She hated being put on the spot, to Kara, it was worse than giving a fifteen minute explanation on an extract from some book she read. Feeling nervous, she crossed one arm around her torso, taking the elbow of her other arm stiff at her side in her hand. “Anywhere with my friends, or at home with a book.” She decided to answer.

“They’re your friends.” He pointed out.

She was at a loss for words. “Yeah…”

The petite girl decided to add her two cents, “You look like you’d fit in.” She told Kara reassuringly. “You just need to get comfortable with everyone first.” She told her knowingly.

Kara was confused. How could anyone say she belonged here, when she herself knew that she was just so out of place? “Huh?”

“The way you’re dressed right now says a lot about you.” The red head started to explain. “If you give this place time, then you’ll see you fit in. Everyone’s welcoming here, so you just have to be willing.” She told Kara. Kara was wearing dark denim legging skinny jeans with her traditional The Rolling Stone’s brown colored band tee with traditional converse.

“You get all that just from my outfit?” She asked the girl who was giving her the advice.

“Rachael’s a fashion major.” The other girl next to the red head explained.

“Oh, that explains it.” Kara gave in to them, deciding to agree with what they say even if it still doesn’t make sense to her.

“Yeah, that’s my girl.” The guy with the nose ring threw his arm over her shoulder and pecked her cheek lovingly. They were obviously something more than friends.

“You wanna take a walk?” John asked her, jumping in sensing that she was feeling really awkward.

“Um, sure.” Kara agreed.

John arose from his seat, coming over to Kara, and from there the two left the group behind.

“So, Lady Kara, how old are you?” John asked her once they were a few feet out of ear shot from the group.

“Seventeen.” She told him.

A smile graced his face in finding some sort of common ground between them already. “That is two years younger than me.” he told her.

She just nodded her head out of lack of things to say.

“Have you ever been here before?” He began. “Let me rephrase that,” He tried again. “Have you ever been to any of the bands shows before?” he finally got around to asking. John was trying to get to know this mysterious girl that stood out apart from all the others here, she intrigued him. He would try anything to make her talk to him, even if he had to force it out of her.

“No.” She shook her head as they kept walking away from any group of people they came across. “I mean, I go to in stores and the practices of my friend’s bands, but other than that, no I haven’t.” Kara told him truthfully.

“Some friend you are.” Kara looked at him at disbelief, he mouth agape. John smirked in return, letting her know that he was joking. She smiled in return. There was something about John that made Kara trust him.

“I don’t like being surrounded by people I don’t know.” She started to explain herself, though the explanation to her seemed rather random. “It makes me feel uncomfortable, standing there in that pit of bodies. If you couldn’t tell, I’m a shy person.” John knew she was a shy girl, he was too, but he learned to get over that feeling over the years, especially with the band. Something inside him, from the moment he saw her standing there all alone and awkward, made him want to get her out of her shyness rut, and see the real Kara while was living inside this shell. He needed to see who she really was, out of pure curiosity.

“I’ve noticed, and I am too.” He told her, turning his head to look at her on his left, as she too looked up at him.

“No you’re not.” She argued. “You don’t seem like it.”

“Well I am.” He smiled at her. “You just don’t know the real me. I’m in my element here so nothing can faze me.” He held his head high at the latter, causing Kara to let out a light laugh.

“Lucky you.”

“So what bands are your friends in?” John asked to change the subject, and to get her to speak more than him hearing his own voice.

“The Season Premiere, My Girl Friday, and The Summer Set.” She simply listed off.

“Such talented fellas, and lady.” John complimented them, added in the latter because of the chick on sticks in The Summer Set.

“I like them.” Kara said.

The couple heard footsteps following behind them, coming closer and closer with every step they took. “John, hey!” A male’s voice yelled towards John, causing the two of them to turn around in the dark area of the parking lot that they have strolled to, and came face to face with Tim. “You need to get your stuff together, you’re on in twenty.” Tim said, coming closer to them.

John didn’t say anything to his best friend and manager. “Tim, this is Kara.” He motioned to Kara who was now on his right, introducing her to Tim.

She gave him and small smirk and wave.

Tim thought he recognized her. “You were with Justin before, right?” He asked, making sure he was correct on his assumption.

“Yeah, I was.” she confirmed.

“John don’t go stealing other guys girlfriends, you know that isn’t nice.” Tim scolded John, wagging his pointer finger at him. “Especially when you work with them.” He added to point out how wrong it is for them to be together.

“I’m not…” Kara started to say but Tim got the message without her needing to finish.

“Oh, sorry.” Tim apologized. “It just looked like it.”

Kara couldn’t disagree, Godsey and she were always together and their friendship was so close that onlookers would get the feel that they were a couple. “Yeah, we get that a lot.”

Tim nodded and then walked off towards the stage ahead of the two. John and Kara followed behind him.

Approaching the backstage area, John stopped walking and turned to Kara who also stopped after him. John was the first to speak, “I guess I’ll see you from the stage.”

“I guess you will.” Kara said, giving him a smile.

“See you later, Kara.” I waved, turning on his heels away from her, ignoring the feeling to lean in and give her a hug.

“Bye.” She waved to him.

When John disappeared backstage, Kara turned around and started walking towards the front of the stage. “Hey!” She heard Stephen calling behind her. “What were you doing with John?” he asked.

“Talking.” Was all Kara told him. He didn’t need to know anything else, not like there was anything else anyway.

“Do me a favor,” Stephen told her, rather than asked, “Don’t get caught up in him like all the other girls. He’s not what he seems to be.”

“How do you know?” she countered, looking away from Stephen’s stare and towards the stage where she spotted John setting up his stuff on the stage. To her John seemed different, someone she could talk to and get along with outside her usual group. She liked him, but only as a friend.

“Just trust me, okay.”

She nodded her head with two fingers crossed at her side, still watching John skinny frame disappear behind the stage.