The Locker Wars

“I’ll just be maybe a few hours,” Adele called to her parents from the front door. “I’m just gonna go out with Riley and Kirsten. I’ll be back before ten!”

Adele’s parents shouted faint goodbyes from where they were in the house, and Adele hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder. She closed the door behind her and got into the car and started to drive.

She finally arrived at her destination, and she could see that it was going to be packed. She slipped on her sunglasses, even though it was night and everything was dark and nobody would recognize her anyways.

She grabbed her backpack and quickly rushed inside the building with the crowd. She looked around for a seat up close, somewhere where she would and wouldn’t be seen. If she was seen, then she’d make a clear exit.

This lonely plan of hers was new. She’d had to dress up in some disguise by herself, she had to plan herself, and she had to buy stuff by herself... no teamwork. But wasn’t that usually what Adele Bradlee was all about? Herself?

She sighed just as the lights dimmed and everyone started to cheer. Her sunglasses made everything darker but of course she could recognize the thin figure stepping onto the stage, guitar in hand, his forehead already shining with sweat. He gave a nervous laugh into the microphone and about a hundred girls died on the spot, Adele took in.

“How are you all tonight?” William Beckett’s voice was ringing clear throughout the room. Adele’s palms gripped her bag, her heart beating fast. She still had to wait until he actually started singing. “That’s good. Hey, I’m really excited to play tonight.” He talked as he tuned his guitar delicately.

Adele relaxed in her chair. Boy, did he talk a lot.

“So, tonight, um,” William’s laughs faltered, “I’m dedicating this show to one girl.” Half the girls in the crowd screamed. “I... well, I guess I wrote these songs for her, but it’s not like she’ll ever hear them, so I’m going to share them with you guys. I wrote this song a few nights ago.” He strummed a few chords on his guitar. “It’s called Broken.”

The crowd cheered and Adele watched William take a deep breath, his eyes quickly scanning everyone in the crowd. He stopped. “Wow, I’d just like to thank everybody for coming too.” With that he smiled and started playing, a few sad-sounding chords, a few sour ones, and then his shaky voice toppled over the melodies, and it seemed to fit all together.

She sat there, mesmerized by this song, and then realized; she’d seen these lyrics before. They were in the notebook. She’d analyzed and analyzed them, who could make him so ‘broken’?

When the song ended, Adele was entranced with the song. It was so... weird, seeing him perform like that, on stage, able to admit secrets in a song. She envied him, but she was so captivated at the same time. She watched as he played a few more songs, and she hardly paid attention to the time as her breath was held in small gasps.

“This... This song goes out to the girl,” William smiled and an embarrassed red flushed across the apples of his cheeks, “...For everyone who’s waited up, for anything, about the one they loved.”

Adele felt a slight pang in her stomach. She couldn’t do this to him. She didn’t know why. Seeing him up there like that, so honest and truthful and full of raw emotion and everything in between... This was a different Beckett. He seemed like the polar opposite of who she shared a locker beside, and strangely... she wanted to know more about this Beckett. She wanted to ask him a million and one questions about the lyrics that he wrote. She’d looked at them for days and she couldn’t make any sense of them. Now, she understood.

She sat there for the whole set. And when the time came for him to leave the stage everybody left except for a few people waiting for the next performer. Adele got up, and feeling something weird in her stomach, went to see if she could spot William outside.

All of a sudden, a hand clamped over her mouth. Her eyes grew wide.

Jason’s voice was in her ears. “Okay, so we spotted you, Adele Bradlee. You’re not going to ruin this for him.”

Adele shook her head, and pulled Jason’s hand off of her mouth. “Let me go! I wasn’t even planning anything!”

Her bag was snatched from her hands, and it was Butcher. “She’s got... tomatoes in here, does she?”

Jason’s eyes widened, but Adele was quick to defend herself. “I wasn’t going to throw them. Honest. Please, just let me go home. I feel shitty. You can keep those tomatoes. I want the bag back before next Tuesday.”

“What are you on, seriously?” Butcher asked. “Trying to sabotage this for him. You don’t know how hard he worked...”

Adele shrugged and rushed past them.

“Even if we’re not behind him on everything, this is it!” Jason cried after her.

“Fuck off! I wasn’t even...” Adele turned around and gave them the finger. They both eyed her coldly and Butcher shook his head disappointedly.

“You know, no wonder your friends abandoned you.”