Wake up Under the Sun

I felt completely out of place as Lex pushed the gate open and dragged me directly into the middle of a group of boys sitting around a bonfire. She swore these boys were down to earth, always willing to meet new people to hang out with. I awkwardly stood in my spot as Lex made her rounds, hugging each of the boys. There were at least 7 of them, all quite good looking. After the hugs, she wasted no time introducing me to everyone. One of the guys disappeared before Lex could formally introduce us, but the others definitely didn’t let that faze them.

Kennedy, a tall, handsome boy with these powerful eyes that completely looked right through me and into my soul, escorted me to the table they had set up outside and made a drink for me. He then pulled up an empty chair next to his and offered it to me, quickly catching me up on their current conversation. Even though I had just been briefed on the conversation, I couldn’t help but focus on the one going on behind us.

“Does she know who we are?” I heard one guy ask.

“Does it matter?” a second countered. “She’s cute and she knows Lex. Why would you question that?”

“Yeah, but Lex knows a lot of people and some are kinda questionable.”

“Are you really going to avoid making new friends just because you’re in a band?”

“No, but-”

“No buts. Shut up and go introduce yourself.”

I felt my chest tighten when a chair scraped up next to mine and a warm body flopped into it. I felt him staring at me, the introduction he ran away from bubbling in his throat. I slowly turned to face him, my lower lip caught between my teeth and my eyebrow quirked. I could see his cheeks burning bright red.

“I’m John,” he awkwardly said. “I, uh. I like your hair?”

I giggled, my hand covering my mouth instantly. “Thanks. I like your hair, too.”

He laughed softly and his shoulders noticeably fell as he relaxed into the chair. He scooted his chair closer, the conversation around us growing louder.

“So, what’s your name?” John asked me.

“Delaney,” I replied with a small smile.

“Why haven’t I seen you around before, Delaney?” he questioned curiously.

“I just moved back,” I answered slowly. “I used to live here with my parents but things kind of went sour between them and I was shipped off to my grandparents’ in Oklahoma. I decided to come back when Lex called me one day, practically begging me to come back and be her roommate.”

“What?” Lex demanded, sitting on my lap. “I didn’t beg.”

I laughed, “What do you call ‘Laneyyy, pleeeease? I need a roommate!’?”

John laughed, too, and shook his head. “That sounds like begging to me, Lex.”

Lex made a face as she wrapped an arm around my neck. “Shut up, Johno.”

“Where’s Loren? Aren’t you two attached at the hip?” John shot at her.

Lex sighed dramatically before answering. “He’s packing for tour and couldn’t come out tonight.”

With that being said, Lex pushed herself up from my lap and ventured to the other side of the bonfire. I looked at John and he looked at me, a crooked smile on his face as he prepared to say something else.

“Delaney,” I heard from somewhere in the circle. I looked away from John to find out who had said my name. “You know who we are?”

“I mean, I’ve heard a song on the radio and Lex has been introducing me to the rest of your music since I’ve come back,” I replied uneasily. “But I wouldn’t have known it was you guys, though. I didn’t have the internet at my last house, so..”

“No internet?” Pat shrieked. “How is that even possible?”

The boys laughed and the one they call Moose spoke up. “You lived without it before, dude.”

“But that’s just.. No internet, really?” Pat gaped.

I laughed at how cute he was. I felt John’s eyes on me again, begging me to engage with him again. But I couldn’t focus only on him, even if I wanted to. The boys kept asking me questions; how old I was, where I lived before I left, where I lived when I left, which high school I went to, if I wanted to go to college and where, if I had any pets, and the question that sent the entire group into complete silence: did I have a boyfriend.

I fluidly answered their questions, surprisingly unafraid and willing to share my life. I’m 18. I used to live in Scottsdale with my parents and then moved to a little town outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma, with my grandparents. I went to Saguaro for a year and a half. I wanted to go to college but wasn’t sure where and although I wanted to get into the music business, I wasn’t positive that would make me happy enough. I’ve never had any pets. Or a boyfriend.

“No boyfriend?” Garrett asked incredulously.

“Why’s that so hard to believe?” I asked, pouting slightly. “Boys are dumb.”

When the boys all whimpered at my statement, Lex laughed so hard she almost fell off her chair. John was the only one that didn’t make any noise or movement, and when I looked at him he was staring right at me.

“You’re interesting, Delaney,” he concluded, leaning back into his chair and taking a sip from his cup.

“Well I’m sure a boy like you has had plenty of girls come in and out of his life,” I said and leaned back into my chair as well. “I didn’t want to put myself into that kind of situation. I didn’t want to be just another girl to check off a list.”

John scoffed slightly, his eyes now fixated on his drink. I instantly felt bad for making that remark. I didn’t know anything about him, who was I to make such a comment about his personal life?

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled to him.

“It’s fine,” he said softly, the voices of the others drowning him out. “I just think it’s funny because you would think I’ve had plenty of girls.”

“And you haven’t?” I dared to ask.

He shrugged. “I’m not saying there haven’t been girls in my life but I dunno. None were all too great in the end.”

I felt the chills crawl up my arms as his eyes slowly slid up to meet mine. Every time he looked at me, I felt some sort of ease fall over me. He stood up unexpectedly, towering over me, and offered his hand to me. I cautiously placed mine in his and allowed him to pull me up from the lawn chair.

“I need another drink,” he said as we began walking into the house. “And you need a jacket.”

“I’m fine, though,” I said, patiently waiting and watching as he poured liquids into his cup.

He just shook his head, sipped his drink and draped an arm over my shoulders, guiding me up the stairs. I probably would have been more hesitant if it had been any other time, but for some reason I trusted him. I trusted all of the people here after barely even getting their names matched up to their faces.

John pushed a door open and I was faced with a slightly barren room. There were a few posters and flyers up on the walls but the room was the epitome of simplicity. He set his cup down on the dresser so he could dig through the closet.

“Is this your room?” I asked, looking around some more. There were a few books and magazines lying on the floor, a backpack slumped in the corner, and a suitcase overflowing by the bathroom door.

“Yeah,” he replied as he tugged a jacket off a hanger. He scratched the back of his neck, “It’s kinda messy. We just got back.”

Even though I wasn’t necessarily cold I took the jacket from him and put it on. I sat on the edge of his bed and picked up a book. It didn’t have a cover, or any of the copyright pages. In fact, it started on page 19.

The bed dipped as he sat next to me. “I was going to read it, but Pat’s dog decided it would make a better toy.”

I laughed softly. “I really am sorry about what I said outside. I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know you.”

“Do you want to stay up here and talk? Get to know each other so we don’t run into that situation again?” he asked hopefully. I looked up at him with a smile and a slight nod.