I'm Amazed That I Got This Far

Once I got home, I went into my house, to hear my parents talking in the kitchen. I flipped off my shoes as Kayla bounded down the stairs, and she looked at me.

"Are you still going to my car wash tomorrow?!" She asked.

"I have to." I shrugged. "And John's coming. Don't say anything to mom or dad."

She sighed, before crossing her arms. "I don't want him there."

"Come on, Kayla." I said. "What do you want from me?"

"I want to use your black and pink purse." She said.

"The one grandma got me?!" I said. "That cost a fortune, Kayla!"

"Well, then I'll just tell Mom that John's coming." She sang as she ran her finger down the banister.

I threw my arms up. "Fine! Take it for the week!"

"Thanks." She giggled.

"Time for dinner!" I heard our mom call.

Kayla hopped off the last stair and her and I went into the kitchen. Our parents were already sitting at the table, with the silverware and plates set out and the food ready. Kayla and I took our seats and we grabbed some food, before we started to eat in silence.

"I saw John's car pull into the driveway when you left." My mom said as she looked at me, after a few minutes.

"That wasn't John..." I said slowly.

"He has the fucking mullet looking haircut. It was John." My dad stated. "His junky car that he can't afford to fix was rumbling. We're not deaf, Kalen."

"Okay, so?" I sighed. "I went with him to band practice."

"I do not want you around John!" My mom snapped. "I don't want my child hanging around that boy."

"He doesn't have many friends, Mom! I'm his best friend!" I said.

"No wonder he doesn't have any friends! He's probably a drug addict." She said.

"John hasn't even touched drugs!" I said. "He's not like that!"

"He doesn't go to school, he doesn't work, he doesn't care about going to college." She said, holding up a finger as she said each thing. "What kind of best friend is that, Kalen?!"

"He's loyal." I said, holding up a finger, before continuing. "He's nice, he cares about me, he doesn't try and talk me into skipping school, he's always there for me, he doesn't let anyone mess with me. That's what kind of best friend he is."

"You don't just go out with him whenever you want. He's trouble." My dad said, pointing his fork at me. "You're better than him, Kalen."

"So what if I'm better than him or not?! That doesn't mean we can't be friends!" I exclaimed. "The only reason you think I'm better than him is because you've never even really met him!"

"We've met him plenty of times!" He said. "He's dumb and immature."

"He's a high school boy! What do you expect?!" I asked. "He can't act like he's 30 years old when he's 18, Dad!"

"And you let him drive you to school!" My mom said. "What if he crashes one day and something happens?!"

"There's just as big of a chance of me crashing as there is for him!" I said. "John's one of the safest drivers I know! Why can't you just accept him for who he is?!"

"Because he's not socially accepted by anyone!"

"He's socially accepted by me!" I yelled, as I felt my eyes start to water.

I hated when my parents talked about John like this. John hasn't done anything to them, and they just feel free to shit talk him. No one talks about my best friend like that. No one. Just because he doesn't want to college doesn't mean he's a bad person. He already has plans for himself, and going to college isn't one of those things. No one knows how much he wants to be a musician, and that's why my parents always ripped on him. It hurt to know that they didn't accept their daughter's best friend.

Kayla has brat friends, but my parents love them. They come in our house, take our food, watch our TV, play our video games, and are pretty rude. Do my parents care? No. They either think it's adorable or it's just because they're "young". John has never treated my parents with disrespect; they only hate him because of the plans he has for himself. If they got to know John; really know him, they would like him. John's a likable person and if he wasn't as shy as he was, he would have more friends.

"Don't start this." My dad said, as he ran a hand over his face.

"Don't start what?!" I asked, as tears started to run down my cheeks. "I can't stand up for my friends?!"

"He isn't your friend! When you graduate you two will never talk again! He's not going to go to college and you're going to be in school with a job!" He yelled.

"Why does our friendship have to revolve around school, Dad?!" I cried. "John isn't trouble!"

"Oh, bullshit." He muttered.

"Have I gotten brought home by the cops, yet?! Has he crashed his car, yet?! Have my grades been falling?! Have I been wanting to quit school?!" I asked. "No, I haven't! John wants me to do well in school, even though he doesn't want to do well himself!"

He shook his head and sighed, and Kayla looked down at her plate. My mom was pushing her corn around on her plate, and I stood up from the table. I wiped my eyes and walked out of the kitchen, before grabbing my car keys. I slipped on my shoes, almost stumbling over my own feet, and walked out the front door.

Once I got to the park, I turned off my car and looked over at the car next to me. It was John's car. I scrambled out of my car and wiped my eyes again, before walking towards the dirt path. I walked through the leaves and sticks, to mine and John's stone path, and walked towards our spot. When I got to it, John was sitting on a log, his hood over his head, and his head down. He looked up at me, before flipping off his hood.

"Why are you here?" He asked slowly. "And why are you crying?"

I sat down next to him and sighed softly. I shook my head before wiping my eyes and sighing again. John was staring into my eyes with looks of confusion and concern.

"What's up, Kay?" He wondered, as he wrapped an arm around me.

"They just don't understand, John." I said sadly.

"Your parents?" He asked.

I nodded and wrapped my arm around his waist. "They'll never understand why we're best friends. They can't even accept their own daughter's best friend."

"Well, that's their problem." He whispered. "If I didn't have you, Kay, I would probably be halfway across the country. And I'd be shit broke and homeless. You're the only reason I'm staying here, and if your parents don't understand that, then...I don't know."

"Kayla can have the brattiest friends ever, and it's okay with my parents." I said, as another tear ran down my cheek. "But I can't have one best friend."

John frowned slightly and wiped my eyes. "Don't cry, Kay. They just don't get it. My parents don't get it either. They don't know why someone like you is hanging out with someone like me."

"Because you're my best friend." I said.

"Opposites attract, right?" He smiled.

I laughed slightly and nodded. "Always."

He nodded and laughed to himself, before rubbing my back comfortingly.

"Why are you here?" I asked curiously.

"Just thinking. I've been here since I dropped you off." He said casually with a shrug. "I just didn't feel like going home to do nothing."

"You're going home though, right?" I said.

"Yeah, probably." He sighed. "I gotta practice the songs for tomorrow. If you can't go because of your parents, it's alright. I can go by myself."

"I'm going to go, John." I replied. "They're going to work in the morning, so they won't really know what I do."

"Just don't get in trouble; it's not worth it." He said. "Okay?"

"Alright, John." I nodded.

He nodded and wrapped his other arm around me and hugging me tightly.

***

The next morning, once I was ready for John to come pick me up, I sent him a text. I went down the stairs and put on my shoes, as Kayla trailed behind me.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"John's band practice." I replied. "If Mom or Dad call, don't tell them."

"Okay." She sighed. "When are you going to be back?"

"Around 11:45. We'll be back before your car wash."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye, Kayla." I said, as I walked out the front door.

I locked it behind me incase Kayla didn't think of doing it, and I sat down on the porch. I put my elbows on my knees, and my head on my hands, while I waited for John. When I saw his car turn onto my street, I stood up and walked down the porch stairs. Once John came to a stop on my driveway, I went over to his car, got in, and put on my seatbelt.

"Are you ready for practice?" I asked John, as I looked out the window.

"Yeah." He said excitedly. "I got down the lyrics for one of the songs already. I don't need the paper to look off of."

"That's awesome, John." I smiled. "I can't wait to hear you sing."

"Really?" He said, a smile spreading across his face.

"Yeah! I always am." I shrugged.

"Thanks." He said.

"No problem." I grinned.

When John and I got to Kevin's house, he pulled into the driveway, and put his car in park, before he turned it off and we got out. John grabbed his acoustic and started towards the front door. I took John's guitar case from him and hugged it to my chest.

"Why'd you take my guitar?" He chuckled.

"So you can fight off the dogs." I said. "They're so scary!"

"Awe." He laughed. "They're just really big."

I rolled my eyes and leaned against the railing next to the porch stairs, as John knocked on the door. We heard the dogs start barking and then Kevin opened the door. The dogs ran out and started to jump on John and me, as they continued to bark. I shoved one of the dogs off of me and John pushed the other two away, so I could go inside. I walked in the door and pushed past Kevin, who started laughing. John came in behind me and shut the door.

"So, ready for practice?" Kevin asked, as we started towards the basement stairs.

"Yeah." John nodded, a smile on his face.

"Good." He chuckled. "What's up, Annie?"

I rolled my eyes and handed John his guitar back, before replying flatly, "Nothing."

"Well, let's get downstairs and get started." Kevin said.

The three of us walked down the basement stairs and Brian and Jake were ready to start playing. I went over to the dirty couch and slowly sat down on it.

"Ew." I said, as I brushed crumbs of food and dirt off of the cushion.

John looked over at me and smiled to himself, before setting his guitar case down next to me. I looked over at Kevin and he looked back at me, before winking. I rolled my eyes and folded my arms over my chest, hoping this practice would go by fast. I didn't want to sit here with these creeps. I wasn't ever going to want to. John wanted this, though. He wanted it a lot, and I was going to do everything I could to support him, so I might as well suck it up and get used to seeing these disgusting skaterats.

"Are you guys ready?" Kevin asked, once everything was set up.

John, Jake, and Brian nodded, before they all started to play. I shut my eyes and put my head down as this loud noise filled my head. Not music. Noise. As the song progressed, it felt as if my brain was pushing on the walls of my skull, and it was just going to bust. This was the worst "song" I have ever heard. The only thing that made me actually pay attention was John singing.

He made the song sound softer and less heavy than it was, and I loved that about the way he sang. He didn't have that heavy metal, aggressive voice that made me want to punch someone. He had a raspy voice; raspy but soft. It put a nice affect on the music and made it sound a little better. These boys butchered the song as it is, so John couldn't do too much to make it actually great.

"Hey, Annie." Brian said, after their fourth song.

"Kalen." I stated.

"Right, right." He nodded.

"What do you want." I sighed.

"You mind going upstairs and getting us water?" He asked with a smirk.

I glared at him and stood up slowly. "Just because John's here."

"I can go get them." John offered as he looked at me.

"It's fine." I shrugged. "Stay."

"They're in the fridge." Kevin said. "And make it quick."

"Excuse you." I scoffed, before walking up the basement stairs.

Once I got to the top of the basement stairs, I went down the small hallway and towards Kevin's kitchen, which was a mess, along with the rest of his house. I made my way to the small, old fridge, and opened the door. I looked in and there were water bottles in the back. I pulled out a few dishes with food on them and almost gagged at how old they looked. Did Kevin's parents ever think about cleaning? Or at least throwing old food away? I never thought that adults would let a house get this dirty.

I pulled out four water bottles and I felt something on my bare foot, since I was wearing flip flops. I looked down and a mouse was running across my foot. I screamed loudly and kicked the mouse away. It started to scurry across the floor and I hopped up on the counter, knocking things onto the floor. I threw the water bottles at the mouse as it made its way across the kitchen floor.

"Kalen?!" John yelled, as I heard him pound up the stairs.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Kevin exclaimed.

"What's wrong?!" John asked, once he saw me standing on the counter.

"Get me out of here, John!" I demanded.

"What's your problem?!" Kevin said again.

"There's a fucking mouse! It ran across my foot! That's what my fucking problem is!" I screamed as I looked at him.

"Okay, Kalen. Calm down." John said as he came over to me.

"You're scared of a mouse?" Jake chuckled.

"She's not a big fan." He said.

John reached his hands out to me and I shook my head. "I'm not stepping on that floor, John."

He looked at me and smiled, before rolling his eyes. "Okay, Kay."

He held out his arms and I sat down on the counter, before he scooped me up in his arms. "I'm going to take her to the car and then I'll come back in for my guitar."

"Whatever, bro." Kevin sighed, before him, Jake, and Brian walked back downstairs.

"There was a mouse, John! It was so nasty and gross." I whined.

"Well, maybe you should wear closed-toe shoes next time." John chuckled as he walked towards the front door.

"And long pants and a turtle neck." I said.

"Whatever works for you." He smiled.

He opened the front door and Kevin's dogs ran over to us. John held the door open with his leg as the dogs ran inside. I pushed the door shut and John set me down on the ground. I walked over to his car and stood next to it, waiting for him to unlock it.

"Here. I'll be right out." John said, tossing me his keys.

I caught them and unlocked his car, before climbing in. I stuck them in the ignition and started up his car, as he went back inside. I sunk back into the car seat and sighed. I wanted to get away from Kevin's house, and just away from all of them. His house was disgusting, their music was complete shit, and those stupid boys didn't have any manners. I'm surprised John doesn't say anything about the dirty house. I know he's a guy and everything and shouldn't care, but he likes things to be pretty clean.

I'm not saying he's a neat freak. He's far from one. He just likes things to be put in their place, so he can find them later. Like in his room, certain things have to be in certain places, or he'll forget where they are. His room wasn't squeaky clean, but it was clean enough for him to find things, and it was clean enough to walk around in. Kevin's house was too small to have so much junk everywhere, and I was guessing his parents were either pack-rats or worked so much that they didn't have time to clean. Hell, they weren't even home today or the day of the first band practice.

After a few minutes passed, John came out Kevin's front door, and shut it behind him. He walked down the driveway and to his car, before putting his guitar in the back seat. He slid behind the wheel once he opened the driver side door, and backed out of the driveway, before taking off towards my house.