All in the Band

Tony’s mother, like he had said, was ecstatic at the prospect of driving me home. The only thing was that she was stuck at a lunch, then a church service with her friends, so she couldn’t be home until later. So, to kill some time, Tony and I had set ourselves up in the living room, flipping through the channels, trying to find something to watch. We hadn’t settled on anything, and we’d been searching for 10 minutes.

“There is literally fucking nothing to...you wanna see my room?” Tony asked, turning to face me from his side of the couch. I blinked.

“Um...what?” His eyes widened as he realized what he was implying. His face immediately turned a bright red and he shook his head vigorously.

“NO! No I didn’t mean- I just thought that- you know since it’s kind of boring and-“

“Tony, chill! It’s fine! Sure, lets go,” I replied, laughing at his how anxious he was. He smiled, obviously relieved, standing up and offering his hand to help me off of the couch. I took it with a small smile, following him out of the living room and up a staircase.

He continued down a short hallway until he reached a white door. He turned the gold, rusting knob, and pushed the door open.

“After you,” he said politely, bowing his head playfully and making a gesture into the room with his arm. I laughed softly, feeling myself blush as I entered his room.

The walls were painted a dark blue, and on his wall hung a silver, electric guitar. A plain acoustic rested in a stand in the corner. Clothes were scattered everywhere- on the floor, hanging on the lamps, on the dresser, peeking out of the dresser, on the bed, under the bed...everywhere.

Noticing this, Tony blushed furiously and scurried forward, grabbing armfuls of clothes and shoving them into the dresser drawers. I laughed, watching him hurry about the room in a panic, trying to clean it up.

He shoved one last pile of clothes into his closet, slamming the door shut so they wouldn’t all fall out onto his head. He grinned sheepishly at me, sitting on his unmade bed, slightly out of breath. I raised my eyebrows at him. His eyes widened and he jumped off his bed, running over to his desk chair and sitting down quickly. I laughed, finding it cute that he was so nervous. He smiled back at me, scratching the back of his head.

“S-Sorry, I just don’t have girls over often and um...yeah, sorry. I’m not good with- I mean I don’t really know how- oh, but I mean, not that it’s like that, but- I just-“ I shook my head, waving my hand to show him that it was okay.

“It’s fine, Tone,” I laughed. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something move. I looked over and noticed a glass case sitting on a table next to the wall of the room. I squinted, and was surprised to discover that inside the case was a turtle. An actual, living, moving turtle.

I squealed, clapping my hands excitedly and rushing over to it. Tony laughed, walking over to stand beside me.

“This is Tommy VI. I’ve had him for about two months now,” he told me proudly, lifting off the top of the box and picking up the small, green creature. He pet his shell with one finger before outstretching his hands to me.

“What happened to Tommy I, II, III, IV, and V?” I asked. His eyes widened.

“We don’t speak of it,” he replied. I couldn’t tell to what extent he was joking and to what extent he was actually being serious. I shrugged.

“Okay.”

“Want to hold him?” he asked. I hesitated before nodding, holding out my palms. Tony carefully placed the turtle in my left palm. To my surprise, he didn’t squirm or even move in my hands at all. I slowly lifted my right hand and stroked his back with one finger. Tony smiled.

“Good boy,” he praised the turtle. I held Tommy for a few moments before holding him out to Tony. He took the turtle from my hands and placed him back in the glass case, returning the top to its original spot.

“I love turtles,” I grinned. He smiled widely back at me.

“Me too.”

“TONY! I’M HOME, SWEETIE! IS ABBY STILL HERE?” a voice called from downstairs. Tony’s smile quickly faded, turning into a disappointed look.

“My ma’s home,” he sighed. I looked at the time on my phone.

“I should get going anyway. Thanks for having me over! I’m sorry I didn’t bring my own ride,” I frowned, mentally scolding myself. He shook his head.

“It’s fine, don’t worry. My ma lives to drive my friends home. She might interrogate you, though, just warning you,” he chuckled. I laughed softly, standing awkwardly, wondering how to say goodbye. I looked up at him, stepping forward to pull him into a quick hug.

“I’ll see you soon?” I asked, trying to hide the hopefulness in my voice. He nodded vigorously.

“Definitely.”

I began walking out of the room, but heard Tony’s footsteps thumping after me.

“Hey, Abby! Wait!”

I turned around, facing Tony, wondering if I had forgotten my wallet or something else of a similar nature in his room. He took a deep breath before pulling out his phone and waving it slightly at me. My brow furrowed.

“I was wondering if I ah...could get your number maybe? Just in case, y’know, or if you maybe want to hang out sometime or-“ he stuttered. I laughed, taking the phone from his hand and entering my number into the contacts.

“Here you go, feel free to call me whenever. See you around, Tone!” I grinned at him, turning back around and walking downstairs.