Page 13 of Got to be You

“Okay, sounds good. What are we playing?” I ask. “Do we have any time for me to catch up?”

“Of course. Here. This is one of our new songs, if you’re willing to learn this quickly?” Spike asks. “Or we could go through a familiar song that you already know, just to see how we work together?”

No way am I going to take the easy way out here. I want to know what sort of music the band members are thinking of playing, anyway. I need to know if this is going to be the right fit for me as well. I can’t get too carried away and end up signing to a band that doesn’t make me happy. I already have enough experience with something that makes me unhappy when it comes down to college. I know the experience doesn’t suit me, so I don’t want to get myself embroiled in anything like that again. But I have a good vibe already. I take the music sheet from Spike with a smile and let the joy of the moment flood me.

“I can do this. I’m a quick learner,” I reassure them. “I’ll get this nailed in a moment.”

“Right on.” Harry nods encouragingly. “Well, we’re here if you need any help.”

I glance at Will, who looks pleased with me, giving me yet another positive vibe. My God, if this is going to be my entrance into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, then I’m over the fuckingmoon. This couldn’t be better. I’m loving my life right now, and this feels like the right path forward for me.

“We kick ass!” Spike chucks his drum sticks in the air in excitement. “Oh, my God, Will. Fucking hell. When you said that you had an idea for the perfect guy for us, I wasn’t convinced. But you nailed it.”

This is a high unlike anything else, and to hear Spike enjoy playing with me as much as I have him, well, it just adds to the experience. We did sound incredible together. Will clearly has an eye for making things work out, and he’s meshed us together well. Harry high-fives me and really welcomes me in.

“So, Will,” Spike continues. “Are we going to do this thing already? Are we going to sign some paperwork and become the best rock band that you’ve ever dealt with? Because look at us, listen to us, you justknowwe’re going to make you some money. It won’t be a challenge to get us a record deal.”

I love his confidence. I know it’s the sort of attitude that’ll make us go far. With someone like Spike telling everyone that we’re amazing, it won’t take long for them to see it too. I’m buzzing, high on life, soaring higher than I’ve ever gone before. This is it.This ismyband, I just know it. My instincts, my gut… it’s all telling me that this is where I need to be, what I need to be doing, no matter what.

“Well, guys,” Will replies, “we can either head over to my office now and sign the paperwork, or I can give you a couple of days if you want to think about it. I don’t want to put you in any kind ofposition where you make a snap choice. If you would all rather sleep on it first, then I understand.”

I’m too eager. I don’t want to wait. I want to do it all now. But of course, I have to wait to see what the other guys think first. Thankfully, they’re nodding eagerly, more than willing to go now.

“I want to go now.” Spike jumps in first, of course. “But if you guys need the time…”

“Not me.” I shake my head immediately. “I love this and I want to make it happen.”

“Yes!” Harry can’t contain his excitement either. “Let’s do it, guys… then we need a band name.”

Oh, my God, a band name… it’ll all be real then, won’t it? Signing a contract is one thing, but having a name for the band will be something else. Then I’ll belong to something, to a real band, and my future will be on the right path at last and I’ll have Adam to thank for it. If he didn’t send me off to that music competition, then everything wouldn’t have spiraled from there. He truly is the best friend ever, and I’ll let him know as much. But he won’t be the one I’m celebrating with tonight. This time, we’ll be doing it my way. Much as the party was amazing, I just want it to be me and her.

And who knows, maybe tonight will be the night, in the middle of the celebration, that I tell her that whether she has fallen in love with me or not, like I promised her that she would, I’ve fallen in love with her. I’m about to embark on a brand-new journey in my life, and however awkward it might be, I want her to be a part of it. We have enough between us to make it work, to make it last, I just know it.

“That’s the paperwork signed.” I high-five all the guys in my happiness. “And we have a band name, can you believe it?LionHeart. Won’t be long before we’re seeing that name up in lights.

My dream is within my reach now. Will is excited about us and is already in the process of using his connections in Hollywood to land us some meetings with record labels to get this going. we’re on the train now, speeding down the tracks, heading to our destination in a heartbeat. I don’t know what it’s going to mean for my life here, to be honest, and I have no idea how it’ll affect my college education, but that is in the back of my mind. I’m not going to put off the chance of a lifetime just because of what other people think I should do. Sure, I might be able to hear Adam in the back of my brain now, yelling at me that we’re so close to the end now that I should stay until the end of college, regardless of this being the chance to actually do what makes me happy, and I can also hear my father’s criticisms, but I don’t give a shit.

I have Spike and Harry now. We’re about to become a family of our own since we’re going to go through this brand-new experience together, and they get me. They understand this dream and the need to achieve it, they want me to be happy along with them, and I can’t wait. I’ve foundmypeople, people who are going to further my dream with them because we’re all working toward the same goal.

“My God, I can’t wait to tell my family.” Harry laughs. “They have been hopeful for me, but I don’t think they thought it would ever really happen. I’m so excited to prove them all wrong. They’re going to see now that I wasn’t deluded, that I knew what I was doing the whole time. I’m smart.”

“Oh, me too.” Spike nods emphatically. “I’ve worked my ass off for this shit. I’ve been playing the drums since before I could talk, annoying all of my family all the time, and now they will know it wasn’t for nothing. They’re going to be stoked for me. I haven’t told them anything, so I’m looking forward to seeing the looks on their faces when they know I’m going to make it. LA, baby. Can you believe it?”

I don’t think any of us can believe that this is real and not a dream. It’s almost too good to be true, but at the same time, we all know we have a lot of work to do before we can get anywhere… and even then, it’ll be tough. Thankfully, none of us are expecting an easy ride. We know what it takes.

We fist bump, a unity floating between us. I can feel a connection building between us, a friendship that will last forever. I mean, all bands are friends forever, because they share a bond. These guys started off as strangers at the start of the day but are now some of the most important people in my life.

I can’t wait for them to meet Lilly. I bet they will love her. I don’t know if either of them have girlfriends yet. We haven’t discussed that much, but I hope if they do, they will all get along and all become friends as well. I don’t want Lilly to feel like she’s pushed out of my new life. I want to bring her with me.

“My family might not be too pleased,” I admit, because I might as well start on an honest footing. “But they will soon see, because I know we have what it takes to go far.”

Eventually, I say goodbye to the guys after exchanging cell phone numbers and social media accounts because we need to become entwined in one another’s lives as of now, and I head back to college campus, safe with the knowledge that my future is in the hands of someone who really knows what he’s doing.

Will can help us succeed. He has something magical inside him, and he’s waving his wand forLionHeartright now. I don’t thinkanythingwill be able to bring me down right now. Even as I finally get back to college and I head into the room to find Adam with his face buried in a book, trying to study while also arguing on the phone, seemingly with Anna, by the sound of it. He’s going to be in a bad mood, and I’m sure that my news isn’t going to help things, but this is what I need to do for me.

10

LILLY

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