Burn

By the time Wednesday rolled around, I was so jittery with nervousness and excitement I was basically pacing in the elevator on the way up to my boss's floor. I needed this good news. I'd read Jessica's text message over and over again, hoping to decipher some hidden message from the screen, but in the end just ended up giving myself a headache instead.

The text message I'd received from Caleb that morning gave me the confidence I needed just as the elevator dinged.

Good luck today, Viola Lion. I know you'll come rushing home with exciting news. :)

I smoothed down my skirt as the doors opened, practically running to Jessica's desk. When she noticed me, a giant grin came across her face, and she stood up to come around the front where I was standing. "Mr. Clancy got called into a last minute meeting. He told me to run over the details with you until he can talk to you his self."

I nodded, waiting for her to finally reveal the big secret.

"He's promoting you!"

A feeling of extreme elation filled my entire body, so much I couldn't even form a proper thought, so I just grinned and threw my arms open. "Oh my God!" Jessica squeezed me tightly in return, laughing. "Congrats!"

"Come sit." she went over and plopped down on the couch in the little waiting area, patting the space beside her. "So your next assignment is a big one. I'm sure you're ready for it, though."

I took a deep breath. "What is it?"

"There's this band that have decided to record their next album in a studio right near our little city. They're called The Maine."

I racked my brain trying to think of why the name sounded so familiar but nothing came to me. I didn't listen to a lot of music these days, so I wasn't up-to-date on who was who.

"Do you know who they are?" she questioned. When I shook my head no, she looked relieved. "Good. Mr Clancy was worried about that. He wants you to give an unbiased review of their show here Friday for the music section. He was hoping that you didn't know them at all."

"Well I don't." I admitted, giving her a grin.

"Excellent. So Mr. Clancy will give you a backstage pass to the venue. Interview them, watch the show, and give an honest review. Easy enough?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "I think I can handle it."

Jessica grinned. "Of course you can." She stood up, heading back over to her desk. She turned around as I was walking away to call out, "Oh! And take that fancy camera of yours!"

My heart soared.



I drove over to Caleb's apartment after work to see our friend's car already sitting in the driveway. I bounded up to the door and knocked, bouncing on my toes from eagerness to share my good news. Caleb opened the door quickly, grinning. He was only wearing a plain, dark blue t-shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans but my insides jumped at how good he looked.

"Hey Viola." he moved aside to let me in, and I shook off my coat and hung it up by the door. I turned around, grinning at him, and he caught on quickly. "You got the promotion?"

I nodded enthusiastically, and he picked me up, making me squeal unattractively. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he held me there, leaning up to capture my lips in a chaste kiss. I grabbed his face and deepened it, feeling his lips curve up into a grin against mine.

Our friends began to whoop and holler from their seats in the living room and Caleb let me slide down to the floor, only pulling away from me when my feet were on the ground.

"Am I missing something?" Callie asked. Alex whispered something to her quickly and she replied, "Ohhhh." before grinning at me. Caleb stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on top of my head. "Everyone should be happy to know that this girl right here just got promoted at her job!" Our friends clapped loudly and I curtsied daintily, grinning extremely hard. "Tell us what you have to do!" Rose said impatiently.

Caleb sat down in the recliner, pulling me with him and into his lap. His hand slid up my sweater to rest on my bare lower back, making goose bumps erupt all over my body. I shivered unnoticeable before starting my explanation.

"Mr. Clancy wants me to interview this band that will be recording their next album here in town. I don't know anything about them, except that they're called The Maine."

Joel and Rose's eyes widened. "The Maine?" Rose repeated. "I'm so jealous!"

Caleb squeezed my side with the hand that was under my sweater. "The other day at breakfast, me and Joel were talking about going to a concert this weekend, remember?"

I frowned, shaking my head. Joel nodded. "Yeah, Caleb and I planned on going to their show at The Palace."

The Palace was a little night club/concert venue that was located in town. People could eat and drink while listening to live music -- it was a really popular spot for younger people. I groaned, realizing this. "Is The Maine one of those bands that attract a whole bunch of screaming teenage girls?"

Rose pulled up something on her phone before walking over to the recliner. "Wouldn't you scream like a little girl at this?" she turned her phone around to show me a picture of a guy in a blue button-up, smiling brightly at the camera. He had a strong jaw line and beautiful teeth, and his hair was a medium-long length. Even though it was a picture, his eyes were extremely mesmerizing.

"Who's he?" I asked, snatching the phone from her and looking closer at the screen. Caleb peeked over my shoulder at the picture. "That's John, the lead singer." he answered.

"Wow, he's pretty good-looking." I said, handing Rose her phone back. "You mean extremely hot." she replied giggling. "Just wait until you hear him sing!" Callie piped up, fanning herself playfully.

"He's not that great." Caleb muttered, removing his hand from under my sweater. He moved me off of his lap and stood up, walking into the kitchen. "Hey," I said, jumping up and following him. I grabbed his face with one hand, making his lips pucker together into a fish face. "Don't be pouty Caleb."

"I can't help but be pouty Caleb when you're acting like this." he murmured through squished cheeks. Rose groaned from the living room. "Can you guys stop being an UN-official couple for like two seconds and come hang out with your friends?"

I narrowed my eyes at her comment and she shot me a glare right back. "So about this concert Friday." Alex said. "Me and Callie want in."

"We can all go." Joel said, smiling. "To support Vi on her new assignment."

I grinned. "I'd rather have you guys there anyways, maybe it'll help with the nerves."

Joel clapped his hands. "It's settled. Alex I believe you and I have a Madden rematch to get going." All the girls groaned in unison. I glanced at Caleb, who was smirking slightly. "Can I use your laptop for a second?"

"Yeah, I'll go get it."

I motioned for Rose and Callie to join me at the kitchen table as Caleb came back with his laptop. We scooted our chairs together and I quickly pulled up a new tab on Google Chrome. "I probably need to know more stuff about The Maine before I have to interview them."

"Yeah, you should look up some of their live performances." Callie commented and Rose nodded in agreement. "And some of their previous interviews. Maybe you could get some good question ideas." she added.

I began typing in 'The Maine' into Google and Rose giggled. "I hope none of Caleb's porn sites pop up in the search bar."

Callie snickered and I rolled my eyes. "I highly doubt he watches that stuff."

"On what planet do boys not watch porn?"

"On the planet where they have a girl to satisfy their needs." Callie said, winking at Rose. She raised her eyebrows at me, but I ignored their comments and clicked on the band's Wikipedia page.

"Tempe, Arizona--2006--3 full-length albums--and signed to quite a few record labels over the years. Seems simple enough." I murmured as I scrolled down the page.

Rose pointed at the screen. "It says here, they're working on their fourth album, entitled Forever Halloween."

"Google 'John O'Callaghan'." Callie urged, and I typed quickly, only to pull up a bunch of pages about a DJ with the same name. A picture of a white, bald guy appeared in the corner of the screen and I winced. "Please tell me that's not him now, is it?"

"NO." Rose and Callie replied in unison. Rose added 'The Maine' to the end of his name, which redirected us to the person she'd shown me on her phone earlier. I scrolled down the countless images of him -- shirtless, smiling, laughing, making goofy faces, singing, playing guitar. "No wonder girls are in love with him." I commented, pulling up YouTube. "He's quite photogenic."

"Let me and Callie pick the song you listen to." Rose said, pulling the laptop in front of her. "You need to hear just how beautiful this man's voice is." After they quickly decided, the laptop was placed back in front of me, with Rose and Callie leaning on either side to get a better look. 'Inside of You' began to play through the laptop speakers, and John's uniquely rough and twangy voice filled the kitchen.

"He's wearing more makeup than me." I commented, and both girls shushed me loudly.

"That hair. That voice. That face!" Callie shuddered, making Rose and I giggle. "Whose hair, voice and face?" Alex asked, coming into the kitchen. Joel and Caleb and followed him, standing behind my chair to see the music video. As it ended, Rose groaned. "God, what I would do just to run my hands though that hair."

"Come on you guys," I said, smiling slightly. "He's just a guy in a band. He could be a total dickhead for all we know."

"I'm not sure I would mind that." Callie admitted. Alex frowned and pinched her arm, causing her to yelp. "That hurt, Alex!"

I shushed them as I turned up the volume on an interview. "10 Favorite Things With John O'Callaghan." Caleb read sarcastically. "Sounds so exciting." I rolled my eyes at his sudden attitude. He had such a jealousy issue for some reason.

When the interview was over, I shut down Caleb's computer and handed it to him, heading into the living room to sit down on the couch. I whipped out my phone and pulled up Twitter, quickly finding the band's page and following them. I started a new Tweet:

@ViolaLion: Interviewing @themaine this Friday at The Palace! Excited to see the show and meet you dudes!



Caleb and I were laying in his bed, a bowl of popcorn between us as we watched Maleficent. We were at one of my favorite parts of the movie so I shushed Caleb loudly, even though he wasn't talking. He gave me an amused look.

I cleared my throat before doing an almost-perfect impression of Angelina Jolie. "I hate you. Beastie."

"You're a dork." Caleb said, throwing a kernel at my forehead. It bounced off and I heard it roll around on the wooden floor.

"Yeah? Well who got promoted today and who didn't?" I shot back. He smiled slightly before a look of seriousness washed over his face.

"Are you nervous?" he asked. I thought about it for a second before answering. The nervousness hadn't really hit me yet. I was more excited than nervous, since I'd only been to a few concerts in my lifetime. It was going to be a semi-new experience for me, and I would be taking pictures, which was something I loved doing.

"Not really. At least, not yet. I think it's going to be fun."

"Band interviews can be awkward if you don't know what to ask. Are you sure you're even ready for this?" he teased. I paused the movie and positioned myself so that I was sitting cross-legged in front of him. "Okay , so let me practice on you."

He raised his eyebrows but said nothing, so I began, holding an invisible microphone in front of my mouth and putting on my best serious reporter voice. "So, The Maine has been on tour for quite a while now. Are you guys happy to have this time off -- not just to record the album but to take a break from the road?"

I held my invisible microphone out to him so he could answer but he shook his head. "I can't answer that! I'm not them."

I sighed, rolling my eyes at him. "Just make up something."

"Okay, um, yeah. We're pretty excited for this break from touring. It tends to get tiresome after a while."

I smiled, thanking him, and proceeded with my next question. "Forever Halloween will make album number four for you guys. Do you feel like the band is more comfortable with the recording process now?"

Caleb held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. You are ready. Those were both really good questions."

I smiled brightly. "That's what you get for doubting me."

"I don't doubt you." he said, taking my arm and pulling me to him so that I was settled against his chest. I could feel the soft thumps of his heart on my back through his thin t-shirt. "I have the utmost confidence in you. Always."

I smiled, closing my eyes and relaxing against him. "Just my luck, I'll freeze up and totally embarrass myself in front of them." I mumbled.

Caleb laughed, making his chest vibrate. "I'm actually betting on that."

"What?" I exclaimed, sitting up once again and turning around to face him. His hazel orbs dance playfully. "It's nothing." he said, smiling slightly. "The guys and I just bet how you would react to meeting and interviewing the band."

My mouth dropped on in faux hurt. "I can't believe you! I'm gonna make sure I do extra good now."

"Yeah, yeah." he said, waving his hand and dismissing the conversation. "Can we finish watching the movie now?" I asked, picking up the remote. He shrugged in response.

"Hmmm..." he pondered. He reached out to grab a hold of my chin, bring me forward to that our lips touched gently. "Now we can finish watching the movie."

I pressed play, immediately finishing the sentence Maleficent was saying. Caleb chuckled once more, rolling his eyes. "God, you are something else."