Until There Was You

*a few months later – Britt is at Stanford (but still communicating between the two bands on tour details), Susan and Michelle are at Boston College, Phone Calls From Home have finished recording and are practicing for tour, Boys Like Girls are meeting PCFH soon*

Despite not having seen Britt since the first time in Boston, we’ve texted and spoken multiple times, but mostly regarding the tour dates. She’ll be joining us, or technically Phone Calls From Home, on the last four days of the tour, which was really exciting. We’ll be meeting them in a week or so. My phone vibrated with a new notification, bringing me out of my thoughts. Facetime notification…from Brittany? I answered her call. “Hii!”, she says perkily. She’s even prettier than what I remembered from the show. “I hope I’m not bothering you?”

“Not at all.”, I reply easily with a smile. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. I just thought I’d introduce you, since you’re the main person I’ve been communicating with about this whole tour thing, and Dave. He’s the lead singer. And my best friend. So it just made sense. This way, it’s not completely awkward when you guys meet for the first time. He can be quiet. But you’ll have no problems with Danny. He’s a riot.”, she said brightly. Turning her head, she shouts, “Dave! Come here. You’re going to have to meet him eventually! I promise you it’ll be easier than doing it next week.” I hear someone speaking, presumably Dave, off the camera, but I can’t make out what he said. Turning back toward the camera, she grimaces, saying, “Hold on a sec. Sorry about this. Dave is shy, and doesn’t always enjoy the perks of technology.” She props her phone somewhere, and I have a view of her bed. It’s nice, with a black headboard and contemporary looking pillows and duvet. Sprawled on it are also a lot of open notebooks and textbooks. I hear laughing, and two heads appear on-screen again, hers above his. It looks like he’s giving her a piggyback ride. Jealousy courses through me for a moment. “We’re back!”, she exclaims. “And this is Dave, being a good boy.” She pats him on the head. “Dave, this is Morgan. Now be best friends while I go find something I can wear for tonight. Also, turn the volume up so I can hear what’s going on.” With that, her face disappears from view again.

“So man, what’s up? You’re at Stanford with Britt right now?”, I ask. “But we are still meeting in Illinois right?”

“Yea, and yea.”, he responds quietly. “Britt brought me out for a few days.”

“Britt brought you out?”, I question. I was wondering how he got there. Did she buy him plane tickets?

“Yea. She’s loaded, and for some reasons enjoys spending it more on me, the band, Susan, and Michelle than herself. A kind heart through and through.”, he says with a small smile on his face.

“Wow. That’s unbelievable. She has a nice dorm at Stanford. I didn’t know college looked like this.”, I change topics, not wanting my jealousy to show.

Dave chuckles. “Dorm? Her mother almost fainted when she realized her daughter would have to share a bathroom. No way. She decide it was simply unacceptable, and that Britt would need to either go to a more local college so that she could commute to, or she had to let her mother rent her an apartment near the school. And even though she wanted to be financially independent, there was no way she was quitting Stanford before she even started, so new apartment it was. Well, more like penthouse.”

“Wow.”, I say, impressed. “That’s…something.” I hear Britt say something to Dave, to which he laughed. “What? What’d she say?”, I asked, not wanting to be left out.

“She told me to stop embarrassing her.”, he says with a laugh. Then I hear a door slam.

Bewildered, I asked, “Did she just leave?”

“She’s coming back.”, he says easily.

“Oh. Ok.” An awkward silence hung between us, neither of us sure how to keep the conversation going.

“You’re really lucky she’s your friend, you know?”, Dave says seriously, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “You know about her family, I’m assuming, and what a difficult time she’s had with everything. She trusts you, so don’t screw it up.”

Taken aback, I ask, maybe with a little too much hostility, “What’s it to you?”

He replies, just as serious as he was before, “I’ve known Britt since she was 16. To have a girl two and a half years younger than us managing was weird at first, but we realized quickly that she was an insanely bright girl. She’s kept the band together, helped us find new band members when we needed them, and she’s my best friend. I don’t play games, but I will hurt anyone who hurts her.”

Before I could open my mouth to respond, the door slams again, and I hear her talking, probably greeting Dave. He manages a tight smile at me, before looking away from the camera and at her. He catches something. “Here’s your set of keys. Sorry I didn’t have them ready for you when you came. I’ve been trying to finish all this work ahead of time so that I can take that week off for you guys. Have you and Morgan done whatever it is that guys do to bond?”

Dave disappears from the screen. “My favorite little scholar.”, I hear him say to her, not answering her question about us “bonding”. “I’m not little!”, she protests. “Now let go of me, I still need to get ready for tonight. I can do some proper partying now that you’re here to watch my back. Now go talk to Morgan some more.” His face reappears again.

“So, she gave you keys to her penthouse?”, I ask with my eyebrows raised.

He shrugs. “She also has the keys to my apartment.”

“And you guys…are not together?”, I clarify.

“Nope.”, he says, popping the p. “I said before, we’re best friends.”

Changing the topic again, I ask, “So are the tour arrangements ok for her? She can manage her classes even with a week off?”

“She’s a genius you know? You’d never be able to tell, and she’ll never tell you herself. But she is. Valedictorian of her class, but she was almost always with Susan and Michelle, or working with the band, or hanging out with me. And of course, dealing with her mother.”, he says. Britt is saying something to Dave again, but too far away for me to make out the words.

“And this time…”, I let my question trail off.

“She’s not a genius.”, he says with humor in his voice. “But it’s clearly—“

“Dave!”, I hear her say sharply, and he surrenders. Her voice turns sweet and happy again, “So, how does this look?” Dave leaves the scope of the camera again. She scolds him again. “Dave, don’t just leave him there!” Suddenly, her face is on-screen again. She put make-up on, and has curled her hair. She looked even more stunning now. “Sorry Morgan. We have dinner reservations and a party, so we’re kind of in a rush. I’m so glad you guys were able to talk today. Thanks for your time! You’re too sweet. Bye!”, she says quickly, and then she ends the call. I can’t help but wonder what she was wearing for the dinner and party.