Hey Stephen

Saturday, it came way too fast for my liking. I took the bus to the venue by myself, which in itself was a little depressing. Usually, Stephen was with me going on and on about how great I was going to do. Instead of getting a pep talk from him, like I was used to getting, I got one from myself which sucked.

Every time I tried, I always thought of different ways that I could screw everything up. Of course, this just made my nerves worse. No matter how many times I got in front of those people on that stage, my nerves would always start. So, instead of thinking about things that would make me more nervous, I settled for going over lyrics in my head. I was playing something new tonight, after all. I would need to be prepared.

This, of course, wasn’t any better than what I was doing before. But, I figured it was better than nothing. I wouldn’t want to forget the lyrics. That would be the worst thing that could happen, ever.

With those lovely thoughts lingering in my head, I gulped and slug my guitar case across my shoulder. The bus stopped outside the café and I stumbled off the bus. My legs were shaking. This was the first time I would ever be here without Stephen. Oddly, I felt extremely uncomfortable. It felt wrong being here without him, but I couldn’t just leave. I knew how annoying it was when a performer didn’t show. I would not be one of those people. So, I toughed it out, took a deep breath, and walked into the café with my nerves still shaking.

“Hey Leslie!”

My head snapped to the right, where the voice had come from. Though it wasn’t the person that I really wanted to see, I let a small smile grace my lips. “Hey Marsh,” I greeted, waving slightly.

The small barista waved back enthusiastically as he served people their drinks. It didn’t take me long to notice that the café was oddly crowded. I slowly walked over to Marshall, pushing my way through the crowds. Another thing that I noticed on my way over was that most of the people were teenagers. This was becoming more and more nerve racking as the night went on.

“Who are all these people?” I all but whispered to Marshall as my eyes shifted from left to right.

Marshall’s blue eyes sparkled with amusement, something that I did not take as a good sign. “You mean you don’t know?” He asked.

“Know what?” I asked cautiously. People were looking at us now. I didn’t like it.

“Your boy toy brought all of these people here to watch you.” He smirked, the glint still in his eyes.

My face burned crimson. I hated it when he used the terminology, but I knew exactly who he was talking about.

Stephen.

And that could only mean one thing. He had somehow managed to get Quinn to move her party to the café. I felt my face heat up more, causing the color to deepen. I could feel my heart rate start to quicken and tears prick at my eyes at the sheer thought of getting up in front of all these people. I could only imagine what I looked like right now.

“Oh,” I managed to squeak out.

Marshall’s sly grin widened, “He said that you said this one was important,” he said, raising his eyebrows, “And that got me thinking,” he said.

“Uh-huh,” I said, shifting my eyes, looking for something to get out of this situation.

“You wrote him a song, didn’t you?” Marshall accused, smug, knowing smile on his lips.

I paled, how did he know? “No,” I denied, pathetically.

He rolled his eyes, “You suck as lying, Leslie.”

I groaned, throwing my head back. “I know! And I’m going to do so bad!” I moaned.

Marshall laughed his cute, soft laugh and pat my shoulder in re-assurance. “You worry too much, Leslie.” He commented, “You’ll be fine, you always do great.” He smiled.

“Thanks, I guess,” I said letting out a deep breath of air.

Marshall giggled, “Well, I have to get back to my job. It would suck if I got fired.” He said, “Break a leg Leslie!” He shouted over his shoulder as he disappeared behind the counter.

I pushed myself away from the counter and turned on my heel, facing the crowds that were standing around the small room. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t realized it before; almost all of the people here were from my school. I took another deep breath and pushed my way through the crowds and to the door that led to the stage. My time to play was 8:00, and there were only five minutes left until then.

I pushed my bangs away from my face as I ducked in and out of the lines of people. I just wanted to get this over with.

The plan that I came up in my head on the way there was perfect. First, I would get to the stage. Then, I would do my set. And after all that, I would haul my ass out of there without talking to anyone. That included Stephen, because more than likely he was with Quinn. Which brought up another thing, I wasn’t going to play my new song. Instead, I was going to replace it. With what? I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that I was replacing it.

Something, apparently, was against me. Because the next thing I know, I’m approaching the stage and there they stand hand in hand. I almost turned and walked away, but I couldn’t do that. As soon as I started to turn, Stephen’s eyes wondered over in my direction.

“Leslie!” He said happily, waving me over.

I smiled wryly, lifting my hand in a small wave. I cursed to myself as my feet started moving on their own, towards the smiling couple. My eyes flashed from Stephen’s smiling face over to Quinn, who was also smiling, but was obviously hiding something.

A strained smile was on my face when I stopped in front of them. I kept my eyes on Stephen, unable to look at Quinn and hold the fake smile. I could feel her eyes burning into my skull.

I hadn’t ever talked to Quinn before, especially not since her and Stephen became ‘an item’. But, even so, it was obvious that she hated me just as much as I hated her. It seems that I was better at hiding it, though. Because with the looks she was giving me, I should be six feet under.

“Hey Stephen,” I managed to spit out through clenched teeth. It was taking everything in me not to freak out. All I really wanted to do was glare right back at Quinn, but Stephen was standing there in front of me. That was the only thing stopping me.

“Quinn moved her party here so I wouldn’t have to miss your show! Isn’t that great?” He asked, smile on his face as he looked down at the petit blond at his side.

“Yeah, great.” I muttered.

Stephen turned to look at me oddly. I guess I wasn’t being very convincing. “It means a lot,” I said, taking it a step further. I turned to Quinn, who was looking at me smugly. My jaw clenched tighter as I fought the urge to smack the smile off her face. “Thanks a lot, Quinn.” Her name came out strained, but the sickeningly sweet smile stayed on my face.

Her smug attitude only grew as she noticed my strain, “It’s no problem really, anything for my Stephen.” She said, emphasizing the word my.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Stephen grimace. I fought the urge to laugh right in her face. She might have him, but she obviously knows nothing about him. Stephen hates possessive people, especially when it comes to relationships. I remember last summer when he went on a huge rant about it after watching a couple at the pool. I, personally, thought it was hilarious. The couple didn’t find it as funny as I did, though.

Quinn didn’t seem to notice Stephen’s expression, because she continued to give me that smug smile. I just let her have her fun.

“Anyways,” Stephen said, looking back at me, “I’m excited to see what makes this show so exciting.” He laughed.

I paled slightly. I forgot I even said that. Oh god, does that mean I have to play it? If I don’t then I’ll just look like I said that to get him to go. But, if I do things will turn to shit.

“I’m going to get a drink, do you want anything, babe?” Stephen asked, looking down at Quinn with the same look as before. I felt the jealousy inside me burn.

Quinn looked him, same look in her eyes and dimples on her cheeks. I fought the urge to scowl. “No thank, you.” She said sweetly.

His smile widened, if possible, and he bent down to kiss her. My heart squeezed painfully and it felt like minutes before they pulled away, even though it was only seconds.

“I’ll be right back,” Stephen said quickly before disappearing into the crowd.

Quinn watched his retreating form, along with me. When I could no longer see him, I turned to the small blond, only to find the most deadly of glares on her doll-like face.

“Stay away from him,” She growled, taking a step towards me.

I took a step back in turn. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said harshly, trying to keep as calm as possible.

Who did she think she was?

She laughed, “I don’t know what you’re planning, but I do know it has to do with Stephen. He might be your best friend, but he’s my boyfriend and as far as you and I can tell, he’s happy with me. So, stay away.” She demanded, giving me one last glare before turning and stalking off after Stephen.

I wanted so badly to go after her and slam her head into the concrete, but I restrained myself. I watched as she reached Stephen’s side and a smile instantly graced his face. My heart dropped, again, and I realized that Quinn was right. Stephen as happy and who was I to take that from him and make things awkward?

I sighed, and looked up at the stage. Trace, the piano guy, was motioning frantically for me to get one stage. I couldn’t stop the smile for making its way to my face. The distressed look on Trace’s face was hilarious. “I’m coming,” I mouthed, and stepped up the stairs, to the stage.

I stepped up to the microphone, and sat on the stool that was waiting for me there. I took my guitar out of its case, trying my best to ignore all the looks I was getting. I could feel my nerves, which had somehow managed to disappear, return. I took a deep breath as I situated everything and finally looked up at the crowd for the first time.

My eyes widened slightly as I found every pair of eyes looking right at me. I avoided looking in the direction that I knew Stephen and Quinn were standing. I couldn’t bare to look at them, I didn’t know the effect it would have on me. I was unpredictable, even to myself.

I couldn’t bring myself to even say anything to the crowd; my nerves were shaking too much. Instead, I started my set.

The first three songs were easy. I had played them here before, and it seemed like everyone in the crowd were enjoying themselves. By now, I had loosened up and was talking to the crowd a little before every song.

The third song ended, and it was time for the fourth song. The whole time I was up here, I was trying to think of what song I would replace with the new one I had originally planned.

“Okay guys,” I said, situating myself on the stool, “I only have one song left for tonight,” I said softly.

There were a few groans from the crowd, one that I recognized as Stephen’s, whose was the loudest. I smiled, “So, I’m going to be playing a favorite here at the caf-“ I was cut off by a very loud yell from the back of the room.

“New song!” The voice yelled. My eyes shot over to the source of the noise, only to find Marshall’s small body jumping up and down in excitement. I glared slightly, but covered it up quickly.

“I couldn’t possibly-“

I was cut off once again by another collection of screams begging for the new song. I was sincerely shocked.

“Come on, Leslie!”

My eyes found the source of the voice, and they ended up on Stephen. His smiling face made my heart beat quicken, but the small blond beside him caught my eye. She was glaring at me fiercely, and that was enough to make my decision for me. My hate for her took over my logical thinking.

“Okay, okay,” I said, shifting again. I turned to Trace, nodding at him to let him know that I would be doing this one on my own. He nodded back and exited the stage.

I turned back to the crowd and at all the expecting faces. Needless to say, I was nervous. But, I sucked it up and spoke into the microphone. “I wrote this song last week about someone really important to me.” I laughed, knowing that it wouldn’t take them long to figure out who. “It won’t take you long to figure out who,” I said, voicing my thoughts.

I looked down at the guitar, placing my fingers on the right fret and strings. “Here we go,” I whispered loud enough for them to hear. Then, I started.

Hey Stephen, I know looks can be deceivin'
But I know I saw a light in you
And as we walked we were talking
I didn't say half the things I wanted to

Of all the girls tossing rocks at your window
I'll be the one waiting there even when it's cold
Hey Stephen, boy you might have me believin'
I don't always have to be alone

After the first verse, I had loosened up a bit. I could feel several pairs of eyes on me. I knew who some of them were, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at any of them. Instead, I kept my attention on random people in crowd.

Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel
Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain so
Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you
Can't help it if there's no one else
I can't help myself

Hey Stephen, I've been holding back this feelin'
So I've got some things to say to you
I've seen it all, so I thought
But I've never seen no body shine the way you do

The way you walk, way you talk, way you say my name
It's beautiful, wonderful, don't you ever change
Hey Stephen, why are people always leavin'
I think you and I should stay the same

I still couldn’t look at them; I could only imagine the looks on their faces. I couldn’t take the thought, let alone actually seeing Stephen’s face.

Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel
Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain so
Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you
Can't help it if there's no one else
I can't help myself

They're dimming the street lights, you're perfect for me
Why aren't you here tonight?
I'm waiting alone now so come on and come out
And pull me near and shine, shine, shine

I made myself look up at him. I needed to look at him in the eyes when I said these words. I had to.

Hey Stephen, I could give you fifty reasons
Why I should be the one you choose
All those other girls, well they're beautiful
But would they write a song for you?

The look on Stephen’s face was a little relieving. There wasn’t the look of anger, or regection, not even pity, which is what I expected. Instead, there was just shock, which wasn’t much better but it worked. Quinn’s face, on the other hand, made me laugh at the end of the verse. She was glaring at me much like she had before, except with added intensity. Her usually beautiful skin was the color of a tomato and it looked like she was getting ready to cry. Usually, this wouldn’t make me so happy. But, it’s Quinn. I couldn’t help it.

I repeated the chorus twice before ending the song on a few hums. The crowd burst out into applause, and I stood, taking a bow with a smile on my face. “Thanks everyone!” I waved, before exiting the stage.

It took me all of five seconds to realize what I had just done. I just committed a cardinal sin, at least in my book. I just ruined my friendship. I took it and ripped it to pieces like a piece of paper. Then, I put it in a burning fire to turn into soot. Oh god, what have I done.

My eyes widened and I looked around at all the people behind me. I had to get out of here before he found me, because knowing Stephen, he would find me.

I did the only thing I could do. I used my small body to my advantage and ducked in and out of there as fast as I could. I didn’t even wait for the bus after I exited the café. Instead, I took off in the direction of home, guitar bouncing on my back.



I had been laying here for hours. My guitar was laid on the other side of the room in my desk chair and I was laying face down on my bed. I don’t think I had actually moved since I had gotten home. It was now midnight, at least my digital clock said so, and I had officially been cursing myself to oblivion for three hours.

“I hate my life,” I moaned loudly into my pillow.

Life sucked, badly. All in one night I had managed to rip my friendship to shreds, ruin all chances with the one guy I actually liked, and made a fool out of myself in front of almost the entire school population. Currently, my life was great.

I sighed loudly and shifted as I felt my arm start to go numb. It was at that moment, that I heard a sharp taping sound. My head shot up and looked around my room. There was nothing.

“You’re losing it, Leslie.” I muttered, further proving my point by talking to myself.

I went to lie back down, but the noise came again. This time, I was able to pin-point a location. As my eyes scanned my window, I saw a small object make contact with it before disappearing.

My eyebrow raised instinctively and I slowly got off my bed. I inched over slowly, wondering if I should do this or not. I mean, it could easily be a psycho axe murder out to kill me. But, I looked against my better judgment.

I opened the window and looked down. My first thought was that I would much rather it be a psycho axe murder. I quickly shot back into my room, hoping that he didn’t see me. But, I was silly to hope that. Things just don’t go my way anymore.

“I saw you Leslie,”

I cringed at the sound of his voice and sighed after I processed his words. There’s no getting out of it now. I slowly walked back to the window and to my doom. I leaned out with another sigh, “What do you want?” I said weakly, looking down at the figure below.

“Come down here,” he said, his breathe making a puff of smoke in the winter air.

I hesitated, and apparently it was obvious. “Please Leslie,” he begged. I couldn’t say no.

“Fine, I’m coming.” I said, shutting the window and turning back to my room. I hadn’t undressed since I got home. So, I was already dressed to go outside. Slowly, I made my way to the door, careful not to wake my parents, and walked to the side of the house where he was waiting.

“Hey,” I said quietly, wrapping my arms around myself as I approached him.

“Hey,” his voice echoed back. I stopped just a few feet from him, not knowing what was too close.

I looked up into Stephen’s brown eyes and quickly looked away. They held something I hadn’t seen before, it made me nervous. “Listen,” I said looking at my feet, “I’m sorry about tonight, I completely underst-“

I stopped talking when I felt a pair of calloused fingers push my head up from under my chin. My eyes widened when I realized how close we were. I could feel his hot breath brush against my cold cheeks. It smelled like cigarettes and coffee, something that I found comforting about being around him so long.

I didn’t even have time to collect my thoughts before the unthinkable happened. I didn’t even see him inching closer and closer, the only clue that he had was the soft pair of lips that were now touching mine.

I took a sharp intake of breath, which Stephen responded with wrapping his long arms around my waist. My body went into autopilot. My arms circled around his neck, pushing my body closer to his and my lips pushed back. I felt his lips curl into a smile as our lips moved in sync. My heart pounded against my ribcage so hard that I thought it was going to burst out at any moment.

It all ended too soon when Stephen pulled away to breathe. If it was up to me I would never breathe again for that to happen. But, that didn’t mean that I wasn’t shocked beyond belief at his actions. “W-what was that?” I asked, my arms still around his neck.

He smiled. “That song, did you mean it?” He asked, completely ignoring my question.

I nodded stupidly.

He smile widened into a grin. His forehead lowered to rest against mine. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.” He said.

The confusion was now gone, and replaced with an incredible amount of happiness. Was this really happening? “Are you serious?” I blurted out.

He laughed, “I’m completely serious.”

I couldn’t contain myself after those words. I let out a small, excited squeak and I pulled Stephen close to my body. I never wanted to let him go. It was finally happening and after a song, an amazing song. I didn’t even care about Quinn, as far as I was concerned she never exsisted. This was the happiest moment of my life and I never wanted it to end.