Would You Believe Me If I Said I Didn't Need You?

When we arrived at the stage where Matt’s band was doing a sound check I saw Sora and quickly removed Matt’s arm from my shoulders. I hope she didn’t notice.

However, as she was talking to Tai, I don’t think she did. It was the first time I got a good look at Tai.

He looked almost the same, it was quite creepy really. His hairstyle was exactly the same; the only thing missing was that stupid headband and his stupid goggles (which were given to the Davis kid) his outfit had changed too. He no longer had on those gloves or those shoes he always wore, but had on some white sneakers, dark jeans and a black hoodie. I wasn’t sure if that was his normal attire or just for this occasion, but he’ll sure get hot with that hoodie on…

“Hey, Scarlett. Do you remember Joe?” Matt asked me, as I turned my attention away from Tai and back onto Matt.

I then looked to where Matt was looking. In front of us was Joe Kido, the awkward boy from summer camp who was nerdy and very scared. He looked the same, but very different at the same time. His short messy hair had been grown out to a very neat shoulder length. His nerdy vest had been replaced with a very conservative looking blazer and his large glasses were now small, professional looking.

“Wow, Scarlett you look very pretty. It’s alright if I call you Scarlett, right? Matt said you don’t like being called Scar anymore, but I remember you used to hit Tai for calling you Scarlett.” Joe winced.

Upon hearing his name, Tai came over to join the conversation.

“Oh, you dropped the nickname of Scar? What a pity! I ALWAYS thought Scar suited you so well! Guess I’ll have to stop calling you Scarlett and start referring to you as Scar to make up for everybody else calling you Scarlett.” Tai grinned.

“You know what? I always thought TAICHI suited you so much better than Tai.” I bit back, anger taking over.

“Call me whatever you want. I don’t care. Come on Sora, let’s go talk to people.” Tai said, and Sora gave me a warm smile as she quickly followed Tai as he walked off.

Matt’s arms quickly found their way around my shoulders again.

“Hey I’m going to go do my sound check, okay? But you better not move, I want your pretty face in the front row as I play. It will calm my nerves.” Matt smiled, lingering for a few seconds before finally removing his arms and making his way onto stage.

“So how are you? How are the grades?” I asked Joe.

“I’m great, and so are the grades. If I do really well this year I’m hoping to get a scholarship for college, that will really help me out on my path to being a doctor.” Joe explained.

“That’s great…listen this will sound weird but has Matt said anything to you about me?” I asked Joe.

Joe’s smile grew, and he looked on the verge of chuckling.

“Even the great Scarlett Lancaster couldn’t resist Matt Ishida’s charms hey? Don’t worry; he’s definitely into you. He forced me to this gig, saying I had to come for you. He’s apparently been blabbering on about you to everyone…except Sora of course who he rarely speaks to. I’ve also had to study a bit of psychology and his body language just screams that he’s into you. I wouldn’t be worried at all.” Joe smiled.

“That’s exactly what I DIDN’T want. Sora is my best friend and we’ve gotten really close over the past week. It would be disrespectful if I dated him.” I explained.

“You know Scarlett, I wouldn’t worry too much about Sora if I were you.” Joe smirked, and pointed across the room.

I looked over to where Joe was pointing. Tai had his arms draped over Sora’s shoulders casually; kind of what Matt had been doing to me. However Sora had cuddled herself up to Tai; closed her eyes in bliss and a huge smile on her face. A best friend would not react that way to such a simple gesture.

I looked back at Joe, and wore the exact same smirk he wore.

“Okay, she likes Tai. So? It’s still disrespectful for me to date Sora’s ex. Maybe in thirty years he’ll be allowed, but right now he’s off limits.” I said to Joe.

“Pfft, girls make things so complicated. This is also Sora we’re talking about; she’s more understanding and reasonable than most girls. If you and Matt like each other, I’m sure she’d eventually understand.” Joe explained.

“It’s not just for Sora. It’s a personal thing too. I want to be a good friend, and a good friend does NOT date her best friend’s exes.” I defended.

“Okay then, if you insist. Pretty much every girl in this town loves Matt though, so you won’t be keeping up that tune for long.” Joe smirked.

I just poked my tongue out at him, as I noticed the room began to fill up. They must be letting people in now.

Joe and I joined Izzy right at the front as girls began to squabble over who was closest to the stage.

Joe just eyed me and smirked, and I just rolled my eyes. I always hated Matt’s pretty-boyness, and it was even more so annoying now that he had herds of girls following him around.

About ten minutes later, the lights dimmed and Matt and his fellow band members walked onto stage. A few girls screamed, yelling out “I LOVE YOU MATT!” and a few girls started to hold up some signs they made.

Cue more eye rolling from me. It’s not like Matt was the new ‘it’ celebrity he was just part of a local band. This was a LOT of effort from these girls for a local band. I guess he really was a local celebrity.

Matt grinned at the attention, picking up his bass guitar and approaching the microphone.

“Hey guys, welcome to the show and we’re The Teenage Wolves. Before we begin I’d like all my lovely fans to give a very warm welcome to my good friend Scarlett. She’s in the front row, the one with the brown hair,” Matt introduced me, pointing straight at me “She’s an old friend and new in town, and I thought because you guys are so awesome, you could make her feel welcome”

I gave a look of disbelief to Joe and Izzy, whilst the crowd chorused ‘Hi Scarlett!’ and a few girls gave me a pat on the back.

They may be acting all nice in front of Matt, but I bet this causes problems later. That, and I hope Sora doesn’t take it the wrong way.