I'll Be There

I woke up and blinked slowly, not realizing what time it was but guessing it was almost noon from the amount of light blinding me. Then I shot up, throwing my hands to my head. The hat! I still had it on! I smiled and yelled in happiness, making my friend look at me stupidly. I stuck my tongue out at her and jumped out of bed. Carefully I set the hat on my pillow and ran for a shower. Once I had thoroughly scrubbed every inch of my body I spent another hour drying and styling my hair. I threw on a big tee-shirt to come out just as my friend called my name. “Phone!!” she said. “Who is it?” I asked, running out and slipping on real clothes. “No caller ID.” “That’s him!” I yelled and grabbed the phone from her. I composed myself quickly and answered. “Hello?” “Raven?” came the reply. “Yes.” I said. I knew that voice. It was him, really him. I slipped on my converse with one hand and held the phone with the other. “It’s Dj…can you be ready in 20 minutes? I’ll come and get you.” “No problem, I’ll see you soon!” I replied, possibly a little too cheery. The line went dead. I hooked my phone to the charger and grabbed his hat, putting it on carefully so as not to ruin my hair. Then I waited.
Dj couldn’t believe that his sister Kari had told him to keep it up with this girl. She insisted though that no matter what it was this feeling should be acted upon. “You never know,” she said in her educational sisterly voice, “God may want you to be around this girl for some reason. She’s not a kid either, so don’t treat her like one. Treat her like a lady. But be fun with her too, you remember how you were at that age.” And indeed he knew. He was really quite crazy. His sis always knew best though, so he would listen to her and hang out with Raven today. Besides, he needed his hat back. The only reason he gave it to her was because he needed an incentive to call her. He was afraid he wouldn’t. He grabbed his car keys, buttoned up his shirt, and headed out the lobby of the hotel. Luckily any sane person was at lunch right now and wouldn’t notice him leaving. Except for one very nosy Axl Rose. “Where you goin’ Dj?” He asked in a fatherly yet annoying voice. “None of your business rosey” Dj said with a smile. Axl glared at him. “Gonna go see that little girl and get arrested before tomorrow’s show? I really don’t want to cancel.” Dj stopped and looked at his lead singer. Although he knew he was joking, it was really bothering him. “She’s not little, Axl, and yes I promised I’d help her get better at guitar while I was here.” Axl suddenly turned serious yet gentle all at once and in a calmer voice said “Don’t get attached.” Dj looked down for a minute, then continued to leave, only saying “I’ll meet you at the venue” before disappearing into his blacked out ride.
My phone beeped. A text from a blocked number, that’s him, he’s here. My heart skipped. I checked myself in the mirror, plain black shirt straight and unwrinkled, jeans on right, converse tied. “I’m going!” I called to my friend. Then I ran out the door. Sure enough there was the death ride waiting at my curb. Dj was leaning on the driver’s side door, watching me approach with a smile. I tried not to look awkward, so I just stared at his ice colored eyes, brighter amidst the dark outlines underneath. He bowed to me like an old knight, then dramatically waved his arm at his Challenger. “My lady, your carriage awaits.” I smiled and followed him to the passenger side as he swept open the door for me, plucking the hat from my head as I sat inside. He winked and shut the door. I quickly straightened up my hair as he got in beside me, placing his hat over his black bandana and messy spikes. “So, where are we going?” I asked curiously.
Dj considered this for a moment in his head, but in reality took only a second to answer. “Well I thought we could get some lunch first, if that’s alright with you?” He looked over at her questioningly. Though she tried to hide it beneath her hair, which was the color that matched her name, he could see her blush as she responded with a shy “Yes.” He resumed watching the road, much busier at this time of day. His real dilemma however was avoiding the hotel. He was going to take Raven back to his room to practice some riffs with her, but with Axl guarding his every move he didn’t want to chance it. He would take the time during lunch to consider any alternative options. Dj drove around for a while, debating many things in his head. How to avoid problems with his lead singer, where to teach Raven guitar, where to go eat that wouldn’t be swarmed by pap or TMZ, and mostly…Raven. He remembered his sister’s instructions to treat her like an adult even though he was internally treating her as young as possible. Plus he didn’t even know her that well yet, what if she turned on him? He had plenty of bad experiences in the past to know that trusting girls equals trouble, and usually heartbreak. The last thing he needed was to fall for some teenager that would ruin his reputation the second she got upset. This stopped his line of thought completely. Fall for a teenager? He didn’t like her. Did he? Besides, she’s not just a teenager, she’s a legal adult, and mentally a young woman just like his sister said, and he had never once doubted his sister. Dj gripped the steering wheel and closed his eyes for a brief second, just long enough to clear his head.