Love Is Hell

Lina.

The rest of the week had flown by in a hurry. I wasn’t planning on going to The Maine’s next show that Friday at the same dingy bar, but Courtney guilted me into agreeing because she confessed her crush on Pat. After telling Joey that our cousin Jared was in the band, too, even he wanted to go.

I sighed, remembering the show on Monday. They actually weren’t too bad. John had a better voice than I was expecting, but the bar wasn’t even crowded enough for me to complain.

My mind flashed to my conversation with the guys: Tim, Pat, John, Kennedy, Jared. Garrett. I’d actually been civil with him, which I normally refused to do. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Garrett. He seemed nice. It was because of that day in the hospital, when he’d seen me at my worst. He’d seen me on the day Daniel was born, and the day my father left. I hated letting people see me as a mess, and the demon in me was instinctively trying to prove to that boy with messy hair that I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Mostly, I was angry with myself for even letting him see me like that.

“Lina! Get down here, we’re leaving!” Joey yelled from downstairs. Slipping my arms through the sleeves of my leather jacket, I ran down the stairs and got into Joey’s suburban.

***

After talking with the guys -or, more accurately, Joey talking to Jared and Courtney talking to Pat and me silently standing between the two of them- I found a seat at the bar while Joey and Courtney stood listening to the band play.

“What’s a pretty little thing like you doing here, by herself?” a boy with short, brown hair asked as he sat down next to me, grinning.

“Not talking you, obviously,” I said as I looked away from him.

“Hey, I’m not that bad! I’ve heard that I’m actually a pretty good time.”

I glanced back over at him for a second. His boyish face was grinning even though I’d just shot him down.

“I’m Eric, but everyone calls me Halvo,” the boy said, holding out his hand.

I shook it gingerly and said, “Halvo?”

He nodded. “It’s short for Halvorsen. That’s my last name.”

I sighed. “Cool.” It was pretty evident I held no interest in the conversation. I hoped he would take the hint and leave.

“You bet, babe. Aren’t ya gonna tell me your name?”

I grinned wickedly and said, “Nope.”

His face fell. “Why not? We’re friends, right?”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know you. We’re not friends.”

“Lina, get your ass out here and dance with us!” Joey yelled at me, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from Halvo, which I was thankful for. But, he’d just told him my name and I cursed in my head.

“Lina, huh? Not sure if that suits you,” Halvo said, following me to where I was standing with Courtney and Joey.

“Who’s this?” Joey asked, glaring at the boy. I think this might have been the first time I was thankful that my brother was protective of me.

“The name’s Halvo! I’m a friend of the band’s,” he said, gesturing to the stage, where The Maine was playing.

Joey nodded. “We’re Jared’s cousins.”

“I’m just a friend of Pat,” Courtney added in.

I saw Halvo looking between Joey and me. “So you guys are brother and sister?” he asked.

“Yeah, twins,” Joey said. Dammit, Joey, didn’t Mom tell us not to talk to strangers?

“You look exactly alike,” Halvo remarked. It was true. I had dark, wavy brown hair that reached my chest, and Joey’s was dark and curling around his ears. Our eyes were hazel, and our noses held the same curve. The only difference between us was Joey’s prominent chin and height. He was tall, a good four inches taller than me. He was muscle and I was soft curves. My mom told me one day I’d appreciate my height -or, lack thereof- and feminine body, but right now, all it got me was corny pick up lines from assholes like Halvo, here.

I was distracted from my thoughts as Courtney grabbed my hand and spun me in a circle, saying, “Dance with me!” She loved to dance.

I frowned but let her push me around, eventually coaxing a small smile from me. We looked up to the stage to see John smiling at our antics, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

“If I could gather up the nerve, I’d put my feelings into words,” he sang.