54. Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Sloane
I go through the next eight days in a funk. I don't care how I look, and I even made the most melancholy mixed tape because happy music just isn't what I want to hear right now. I also don't want to hear about prom. I just want to get the heck out of this school and leave all this behind. Thankfully, Tameka came home from college to go see The Lemonheads at the Metro Mount festival with me, and I know we'll have a blast. I try not to think about prom as we drive to Stone Mountain together.
"How about we go to the Mick's for dinner tonight?" Tameka suggests as I park my car.
"Ooh, good idea," I say, already thinking about their delicious Oreo cheesecake for dessert.
"Then, maybe we'll go see Benny and Joon again," she says referring to the Johnny Depp movie that I saw when it came out last month. "I know Johnny Depp will make you happy." She giggles as she wiggles her eyebrows at me, making me laugh.
"Or maybe we'll just go to Blockbuster and rent a bunch of his movies," I say as we get out of the car, then grab our blanket and cooler out of the trunk.
"Whatever you want to do," she says as we head across the parking lot to the field where the stage is set up.
I smile. "Thank you so much for coming home this weekend and hanging out with me."
Tameka smiles wide. "Of course. We're going to have so much fun. Maybe we'll get to talk to Evan again."
"That would be awesome." We find a spot for our blanket and get situated. We arrived late so when the crowd thins out in between bands, we move our set-up closer to the front. Once we're seated again, I see people hanging out by the lake off to the side of the stage. "Is that Evan?"
Tameka pops up and looks. "Yeah! Let's go say hi."
When we make our way to Evan, I recognize the girls we met at his hotel. As we approach, Evan sees us and his face lights up. "Hey!"
"Hi," Tameka and I say, and I feel the butterflies start to flutter. Is it possible that he is better looking than he was when we met him?
"Sloane and Tameka, right?" Evan says.
I can feel myself beaming, "Yeah, you remembered."
"Of course," Evan says. "You remember Nikki and Ashley." He nods at the redhead and blonde seated with him on the grass, and I notice they have backstage passes hanging from their necks.
"Yeah, hi," I say, still smiling.
"We're so excited for your show," Tameka says.
"Yeah, cool," Evan says. "I'm glad you could come out," His eyes are fixed on me. "Especially since you had to miss the last show."
"I can't wait," I tell him.
"That last show was amazing ," Ashley says as she tosses her blonde hair over her shoulder. "You really missed a good one." She looks at me as if to try to make me feel bad about missing it.
I smile tightly. "I'm sure we did." I mean, what else am I supposed to say to her?
"I'm glad y'all made it to this one," Nikki says sweetly, her gorgeous red curls vibrant in the sunlight. "It's gonna be great!"
"I think you'll like the setlist," Evan says as he winks at me causing my heart to flutter.
"I know I will," I say then worry that I sound like an idiot. I feel awkward on a good day and here's this gorgeous rock star talking to me and making my brain forget how to work. It doesn't help that there are two gorgeous girls sitting with him who are way cooler than me.
"Does that mean ‘Bit Part’ is on the setlist?" Tameka asks referring to her favorite song.
Evan smiles at her. "You'll just have to wait and see." He stands up. "I've gotta go talk to my band." His eyes fall on me again. "It's good to see you."
"Yeah, you, too," I reply softly as my voice decides to ebb, as if caught off-guard by his stunning beauty. I clear my throat. "Have a great show."
"Thanks," he smiles, and I worry I will quickly become a puddle in the grass. He turns to Nikki and Ashley. "See you in a few."
Ashley beams at Evan. "See ya!" As he walks away, she grabs the lanyard around her neck and holds it up. "We've got backstage passes."
"Cool," I say.
"It's so great seeing you two again," Nikki says to us, and we chat mostly with her for a bit.
"This is fun and all, but we've gotta get backstage," Ashley says as she stands up and holds out a hand for Nikki.
"It was so good seeing you," Nikki says. "Bye!" She waves as Ashley pulls her other hand toward the backstage area.
"Well, it was cool we got to see Evan again," Tameka says.
"Yeah, it was." I plop myself onto the grass. "I wish we had backstage passes."
Tameka sits down next to me. "Do you want to hang out here and see if they come back?"
"Sure, I'm really only here to see them anyway," I tell her as Gene Loves Jezebel takes to the stage. We end up staying there the whole time and when we see Evan run onto the stage, we hop up and run over to our blanket.
When we get there, Tameka looks at me and says, "Let's try to get up front."
We leave our blanket and cooler and make our way to the front where it's standing room only. Somehow, we get all the way to the barricade and are right up front to watch my favorite band. Evan's presence is magnetic on stage and off. The band sounds amazing, and in no time, I'm lost in the jangly sounds of his guitar and his soulful and smooth voice. About midway through the set, the band plays ‘Being Around,’ and the third song was ‘Mrs. Robinson,’ the two songs I told Evan I liked. They also play ‘Bit Part’ and I’m so happy because Tameka lights up when she hears it and sings her little heart out. Prom is not even a thought in my mind as I'm lost in the music and energy of the crowd.