“We’re all fifty shades of fucked up. Well join the club, yeah join the cub.” And with his parting line, the singer drops his mic on the stage and raises his arms in the air. A giant smile is spread across his face and you can tell that he truly loves what he does. The crowd roars as the band walks away and I feel a small pang in her chest at the absence of the blaring bass line.

As I exit the venue I grab my phone out of my back pocket to check if I have any messages.

Unknown Number: hey! it’s alan. the guy from the bmth show? ready for some dinner? ;)

Alan. The name suited him somehow.

I save his name into my phone before typing; Sure! How does waffle house sound?

Alan: sounds good. i think there’s one around the corner. meet you there?

A small smile lights my face. I was going to eat a late dinner with a rather cute boy and it was only my third day in Torrance, CA.

See you in a few. :))

The Waffle House is just as greasy as any other and decorated in the usual yellow and red color scheme. I notice the boy, Alan, sitting in one of the cherry colored booths and slide into the other side.

“Hey,” a lopsided grin appears on his face and my own grows wider.

“Hi, Alan.” We both reach for a menu at the same time and our hands brush. I blush at the contact and draw back my hand, gesturing for him to go first.

“So,” he starts a few minutes after we receive our food, an omelette for him and chocolate chip pancakes for myself, “let me get this straight: your name is Dakota, you’re 19, and you just decided to up and move to California one day?” I nod casually.

“Yeah. Well, there was a bit of planning involved. I applied for a spot in a tattoo shop, so at least I have a job. And I have an apartment so it wasn’t just a spur of the moment kind of thing.” He shakes his head as he chews, still in disbelief.

“You’re crazy.” I laugh, taking a sip of my diet Coke. “And meeting up to join a band with someone you met on a dating website isn’t insane?” He laughs with her, shrugging.

“Fair enough.”

“But Austin is a pretty cool guy. I think you two would get along well.” I grin impishly, eyes alit.

“Already making plans to see me later, are we?” He shrugs, biting his lip as he leans across the table to get closer.

“Maybe. I guess you’ll have to wait and see.” I gulp at his flirty tone and lean back in my seat.

His bright eyes dull slightly and I begin to feel guilty.

“You know, I always wanted to be in a band.” His eyes spark back up once again.

“Really? Why didn’t you?”

“I lived where metal music wasn’t very popular. It was either country, rap, or the top 40. Not a whole lot of kids listened to Attack Attack!” He chuckles appreciatively.

“Well now you live in Cali. The metal scene is pretty sweet here, so why not start a band now?”

I visibly perk up at the idea.

“You’re right! And I have my guitars and drums with me, so why not?”

“Exactly!” He urges and we both are still laughing and making plans well after the waitress brings the check that Alan insists on paying.

“So I’ll see you tomorrow?” I nod, rubbing my arms at the slight chill in the air as we approach my apartment.

“Sure. I get off work at 7, so maybe we can catch a late dinner?”

He ruffles his bright hair, grinning.

“Sounds good. I’ll text you later.” I move to unlock her door but he grabs my wrist, stopping me.

He softly kisses me and I lean into his embrace. When we part, both of our cheeks are aflame, rather resembling his hair.

He slowly backs away with a confident wave.

“See you tomorrow!” I nod, still breathing heavily from the kiss.

I enter my disorderly apartment and lean against the kitchen counter.

Well, that was certainly a good concert.

Notes

Chapter two, yeah? What do you think? :))