The Singer and the Teacher

Even though my days were long and repetitive, the day of the concert was drawing closer. It was my very first weekend of my very first week teaching. Other than the few of the girls having a hard time being quiet, I thought it went rather well.

The weather was cooperating today in the bay area, so I decided to take a trip down to Fisherman's Wharf. I picked up a mocha on my way, and soon enough I was leaning on the railing by the sea lions, watching them sun bathe on the docks.

My life could have easily been very different. Derek didn't have to leap into action and could have called the cops instead. Those boys could have easily picked another target, or I could have simply been on another part of the Wharf. It didn't matter what anyone said; I knew that everything happened for a reason. Everything.

* * *

Each show was just like the last; screaming fans, signings, no Adriene and long bus drives. They had their own little quirks that made them unique, but all in all, they were just shows. I was happy that we were on tour again, but with the San Francisco date being our next stop I couldn't be as excited about the others.

"How long until we're in San Francisco?" I asked the driver, who was eating a sandwich that he had picked up at the last stop for gas.

"About four hours," he answered through a mouthful. "It'll be nice to see the Pacific again, won't it?"

"Yeah, the Pacific," I said, my gaze focused on the road but my eyes seeing something completely different.

"Four hours," he said again before taking another bite. "We'll stop outside of the city for some grub before your performance. I'm getting a little, uh, sick from all the fast food you boys like after a concert. I'm not that young anymore," he laughed and patted his belly. "You go on back and leave the driving to me." I reluctantly left the front of the bus and sat down on my bunk, hoping that my phone wasn't dead again.

Adriene refused to text me back during her classes, so she wouldn't have any idea that I would be mere minutes away by the time she checked her phone. I sighed loudly and laid down, scrolling through tweets and looking for something interesting to occupy my mind for a few hours. I didn't find anything.

I set my phone aside, closed my eyes and started humming. Normally that calmed my nerves, but it only seemed to make my stomach churn in anticipation. I was only humming for a few short minutes when Jake asked me if I wanted to play Black Ops with him. I was grateful for that distraction.

* * *

Tamara was waiting for me when school let out, a tall boy with sandy hair standing behind her. He was wearing a Mayday Parade t-shirt for the concert tonight, and I found that I appreciated that more now that I knew them.

"Are you guys ready?" I asked, sounding much calmer than I felt.

"Definitely," she said, smiling widely.

"Well, Derek said that he was going to be there early, so there should be plenty of time to hang out before they go on stage," I said, finally checking my phone to see that Derek had flooded my inbox. He didn't like that I wouldn't text him during school.

"I still can't believe this is happening," said the boy, grinning and hopping in place. "Thank you so much, Miss McNair." Tamara had told me that he went to the public school down the road and he had randomly offered to walk her home one day.

"Not a problem," I said, beckoning for them to follow me. "I was actually kind of afraid to go alone, so this works out for everybody."

We stopped at my apartment first so I could change into the clothes that were the reason behind my fear of going alone. Mayday Parade booty shorts, Mayday Parade t-shirt, Mayday Parade sweatshirt and Jake had even managed to pull Mayday Parade Converse out of his ass.

"That's um...interesting," said Tamara, trying not to laugh.

"Jake made me swear," I said, trying to tug the shorts down to cover more of my legs. My phone started ringing in my pocket and I knew it was Derek before I saw the caller I.D.

"You're on your way, right?" he asked, panting.

"Were you running?" I asked, ignoring his first question.

"Alex was being a jerk," he answered flatly. "So? You're coming right now?"

"Yeah, we're leaving my apartment right now," I said, waving for the two teenagers to follow me back to my car.

"We?"

"I'm bringing one of my students and her, uh...friend with me," I said, unsure of what to call the tall boy.

"Oh, okay," he said. "Hurry."

"I will."

"Hey, I love you."

"Love you, too."

I felt the blush creeping onto my cheeks as I climbed into the driver's seat. I'm not sure I would ever get used to hearing that.

"What would happen if you and Derek got married?" asked the tall boy, whose name was Nick, from the backseat. I almost choked on my own saliva.

"We aren't that serious yet," I said, leaving out that Derek probably was. "But I don't know. We would live on a beach somewhere."

"What are all of them like?" he asked, leaning forward to listen to me closely.

"Alex is kind of a goofball, but he's a really nice guy. Brooks is quiet and reserved, he probably won't talk that much. Jeremy is the best learner and is even cooler than Derek and Alex combined. Jake is...well, Jake is Jake, you'll just have to meet him. I only see Derek from one point of view, so you'll have to meet him to get your own opinion," I said, trying to avoid talking about Derek too much.

When I saw the Mayday Parade bus, I pulled into the back parking lot by simply saying that I was Adriene McNair and hadn't been parked for more than a few seconds before Alex skidded to a stop by my window.

"Quick! Before Derek gets here, you have to tell me something mean to call him!"

I didn't even have time to summon a thought before Derek shoved him out of the way. He looked furious for only a moment until he saw me. He opened my door and literally pulled me out of the car before lifting me off my feet and holding me to his chest and burying his face into my hair.

"You're back where you belong," he whispered, still not letting me down.

"I know," I answered. He set me down and looked straight into my eyes, his hands on my cheeks. "I don't want to imagine going a day without hearing your voice."

"Is that a yes?"

"It means that I'm leaning towards a yes," I said, standing up on my tip toes to kiss him.

"You're going to make me work really hard for this, aren't you?"

"See? You know me better already."