Page 84 of Jace
I’m really starting to get annoyed now. “For the third time; what. do. you. mean? I still have a year and a half to go here. We have plenty of time to figure this out. We just started dating, why do I have to think about it now?”
She looks apologetic now. Which scares me, really.
“Have you forgotten that me, Ava and Asher are seniors?” She inquires softly, and I swear my fucking heart cracks.
“What do you mean by that?” I ask softly this time, staring into nothing really. It appears I’m stuck on repeat, but I actually don’t want to hear what she’s saying.
“You’ve forgotten that we’re graduating next semester, haven't you? That Asher is actually graduating this semester already?”
I glance her way and she and Ava are looking at me like they’resorryfor me or something, making me scoff, because I don’t know what they’ll have to be sorry for me for.
“What? That you three will be leaving after next semester and will be leaving me alone here? Trust me, I haven’t forgotten about that.” I didn’t. I really didn’t. I just conveniently makemyself not think about that too much. I hate to admit it; but I’m too darn happy here. I love this school, the people, my band, even football now that the guys finally toned it down a bit. This week there weren’t any incidents whatsoever. I don’t know exactly what transpired, but most of them are cool now. If being cool means ignoring me most of the time and not throwing any insults my way that is.
And the things I’m most happy about since moving here are my friends. Especially my fellow band members. I’ve met a lot of fun people here, but those three have honestly become way closer than anything I would've ever imagined.
It’s not fair really, that I had to start in my junior year instead of my senior year. I’m actually a year older than Tyler–twenty-two–and should be in the same year as my friends, but the school system back in the Netherlands is a bit different, so I could only come here if I started as a junior to get all the credit that I need. Stupid rules.
So no, I don’t think about any of that. Because thinking about the fact that my found family will be leaving in less than six months just hurts too much.
“We were actually hoping that you would be leaving with us after next semester,” Missy interrupts my thought, petting me on my knee as I frown at the emptied stands, the orange seats bright in the afternoon glow.
“How? I can’t flunk out of school. Do you have any idea how much money I have to pay back if I quit in the middle of my scholarship? Not to mention that I have a visa based on it. So if I quit, I’ll go back to Europe and will be paying off my loans until my fifties.”
“Well,” Ava starts, “we were hoping of course that with the rising media attention, we will score a record deal or something. If so, maybe they can help with that.” There’s honest to god hopein her voice but I can only snort at the stupid thought, feeling worse by the second.
“We don’t stand a chance at that. You really believe we can score a record deal in the next couple of months? Don’t be delirious.”
Now I’m making Missy glare at me, while Ava is seriously munching on the last of the nachos like she’s watching some show. “You seriously have no idea how hard me and Ava are working for this, do you? Do you have any idea how hard our socials are rising? How much attention we’re starting to get since you’re fronting? You do pay attention when we talk about this stuff, don’t you? Or are you really always zoned out into your little notebook?”
“I know, and I’m grateful for it. I love you guys but I don’t care. I’m finishing my degree. I will not leave this place with a mountain of debt in my name and a high chance of being shipped back to the place I’m avoiding.”
“Please,” she waves my comment away. “You know I’ll marry you in a heartbeat if it ever comes to that.”
“Me too!” Ava chimes in happily. “Or I don’t think Asher would be too pleased with that. He’s a bit more traditional, you know…”
I raise my brows as I take my last sip of coke, and Missy snorts.
“Yes, he’sverytraditional. Just tell me exactly how traditional he is when you’re online shopping for whips and flogs,” she says sarcastically.
I almost snort the soda out through my nose. “Didn’t need to know that,” I splutter as I wipe my face with the hem of my jersey.
“But I’m not kidding,” Missy continues, now looking at me seriously, “I will marry you if you’re ever in trouble of getting shipped out of here.” She gives me a smile and my throat sortof clogs up. I swallow it away and throw my arms over her shoulders, giving my Morticia a short hug.
“I know. But I do want to finish my degree. I can’t just quit halfway through. We’re not sure if we’ll get a contract, it’s way too unpredictable. If we fail–”
Ava has the audacity to gasp at that and punches me in the shoulder behind Missy’s back.
“I sayifwe fail, I do need my piece of paper as a safety net. You guys all graduate this year, I would appreciate it if you give me the same courtesy.”
“We know,” she says as she pats my back awkwardly. “We can always commute while you finish up your last year. I mean, LA isn’t that far away from here. You can come over on the weekends, stay with Ty during the weeks, letting us do all the work of managing the band and aiming for a contract while you relax and fuck and study.”
“That’s more like it,” I answer with a chuckle, getting my phone out of my shorts as it starts buzzing with some texts. The girls are actually wearing jeans and have coats on, complaining that it’s getting too cold to go bare-armed like me.
Cold my ass. It’s November and it’s still pushing 70 degrees. Where I’m from, in November, it usually starts snowing. So I’ll be perfectly fine in my shorts, t-shirt and boots. I actually went out in flip flops this afternoon for the game, but Missy nearly got a heart attack and basically threw my boots my way.
I chuckle again when I read my texts. He’s managed to stuff my inbox in less than a minute. It’s adorable, really.
Tyler: Apparently we’re having a late Thanksgiving dinner at our place. Lamar’s mom stuffed the house full with food, he’s now doing a weird dance in the middle of the locker room.
