Chapter 3
You’re Everywhere
“Why are there so many damn Dreamscape posters on campus?” I asked bitterly, glaring at the most recently spotted one in the food court.
It had been a week since the party, a week since I’d seen Grey and that stupid smile that had confused me.
I hadn’t been sure what it’d made me want to do in the moment, but with some introspection, I’d settled on wanting to smack it from his face.
“I hadn’t noticed.” Kellan bit into a burger and chewed thoughtfully, ketchup staining his face.
“Well, there’s a lot.” I jabbed my chili fries with a fork. I’d barely touched them. Something had made me lose my appetite. “How many trees do you think they’re single-handedly responsible for killing?”
“Hmm.” Josh looked up from his anatomy book for a second. “Let’s say there’s five thousand around campus and each one is about six square feet and each square foot takes about—”
“I’m sorry I asked,” I groaned. A notification went off on my phone.
Greyson Hyun has posted for the first time in a while, Instagram told me. I’d followed him a couple of days ago in a moment of weakness and had since forgotten about it. Now, he was there yet again, taunting me with his existence.
I chewed on my lip, debating whether or not to click on it. Glancing up at Josh and Kellan, I decided to save the post for later.
“I’ve got to get going.” Josh got to his feet. “I’ve got lab in a few.”
“Gross.”
Kellan and I scrunched our faces.
“Won’t be gross when I’m making bank after school,” Josh said, hinting at an old, playful argument between us three. Of us, he was the only one who had any idea as to what he would do after graduation.
“See you later.” I waved him off.
Kellan and I weren’t far behind. As we walked toward the exit, I came up short, my hand on the door. Staring right into my eyes was Grey as he looked out from a Dreamscape poster that had been plastered across the surface.
“I think the purpose is to go through the door,” Kellan said teasingly.
With a disgusted grunt, I tore down the poster, crumpled it, and tossed it into a nearby trash can.
“Sheesh, what did that ever do to you?”
“There’s just an annoying number of them around.” I shoved the door open.
“Pretty sure you’re the only one who cares.” Kellan followed me outside, keeping a couple of steps behind me. “Where is all this hostility coming from?”
“There’s no hostility,” I said. There definitely was.
“Look, man.” Kellan grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop in the middle of the sidewalk.
We earned a couple of angry looks as students had to divert their paths to go around us.
“What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me.” Kellan’s voice was serious. All his usual playfulness had evaporated. “I’m worried about you.”
“What is there to worry about?” I’d gone to all my classes, done all the work I’d been assigned so far. I’d even left the room on occasion. I was killing it.
Kellan let out a heavy sigh. “I’m beginning to think you’ve got a problem.”
“A problem,” I repeated.
“Yes. You’ve been way too obsessed with this guy.”
“I’m not—” Kellan held up his hand, cutting me off mid-sentence.
“You are. You spent last week stalking him all over social media. Then, since you saw him at the party, you’ve gone all weirdly hateful toward him. Why?”
“I—” Hanging my head, I took a breath. “I don’t know,” I admitted.
“Like, are you in love with him?”
I glared at Kellan. “I don’t even know him.” It was only after I’d given him an honest response that I realized he hadn’t been serious.
“Then stop giving him so much of your energy,” Kellan said. “You told me yourself that you had this grand plan for the semester. Well, so far, you haven’t talked to a single girl.”
“Not true. I got Piper’s number,” I protested.
It was true. After Grey had disappeared from the party the other night, Piper had given me her information. I hadn’t called her or anything, but I still had it.
“And yet you haven’t done anything about it because you’re too focused on some nerd with a band,” Kellan said.
I was quiet as I let his words sink in. His points were valid, and I hated it.
“You’re right,” I finally said. “I need to get over this.”
Kellan nodded. “If I were you, I’d start with texting Piper. She was definitely undressing you with her eyes at that party.”
My face warmed at that. “ Okay, I’ll text her and ask her out.” It was what I should do—what the version of me I’d envisioned for this year would do. So I would do it even if it felt like the last thing in the world I wanted to do at the moment.
“There’s my guy.” Kellan patted my shoulder. “I’ve got to go. You’re going to make me late to class… again.”
I grimaced as he turned on his heel and left. He disappeared into the flow of students before I’d even realized it. Sighing, I made my way toward the library to start on my first major paper of the semester before I had to head to my next lecture.
I opened my phone with the intention of texting Piper and seeing what she was up to but stopped when I saw the notification from Instagram again.
My thumb hovered over the screen for a second before I gave in and hit it.
Instagram popped up to show me Grey’s feed.
It wasn’t anything that exciting, just a picture of him looking dreamily into the camera, which I supposed could be considered exciting if one were into that sort of thing. Then I saw the caption.
Come see Dreamscape perform at 9 p.m. this Thursday at the Lake View Bar. Tickets only $15 at the door.
So he was performing this week. That’s… No, I couldn’t let myself fall down this rabbit hole again.
Going to my messages, I sent Piper a quick text.
I would go on a date with her. As I put my phone back into my pocket, my mind began to wander.
Well, I would need something for us to do on said date.
And she did say at the party that she was a Dreamscape fan.
A smile spread across my lips. My plan formed before I even entered the building.
Thursday night, Piper met me outside the bar.
She looked incredible in a form-fitting dress.
Her skin seemed to glow, and her dark hair fell in waves over her shoulders.
Under normal circumstances, I would’ve been just as happy hanging with her outside as I would inside the bar.
But these weren’t normal circumstances. Grey would be inside the building, and though I couldn’t see him yet, I could already feel his magnetic pull.
I really needed to figure out what it was about him that made me like this. A gorgeous girl stood right in front of me, and all I could think about was getting into the bar so I had a chance to see some guy in a band.
“You look amazing,” I said to Piper upon seeing her, forcing myself to focus on the present.
“Thanks. You clean up pretty nicely yourself.” She nudged me playfully with an elbow. “Should we go in?”
Booming music engulfed us as we entered the bar. A quick glance told me no band occupied the stage yet, just a guy playing in the DJ booth. Piper and I ordered drinks before settling down on an old couch in the corner of the room.
“This was a really great idea,” she said over the music. “I’m a big fan of Dreamscape.”
I laughed. “I figured after you gushed over Grey the other night.”
Piper flushed a bit but remained unashamed. “I was tipsy and caught off guard.” She took a sip from her drink. “Besides, he’s pretty hot.”
I couldn’t argue with her on that point, so I settled for drinking from my glass instead.
“But I’m glad you reached out,” she continued. “I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when I gave you my number. Talking with guys feels a lot like Russian roulette a lot of the time.”
“Dangerous?” I asked. “Or a bad idea?”
“Bit of both,” she admitted. “Your gender is kind of crazy, you know?”
Considering I had spent nearly two weeks obsessing over some guy I had only kind of met twice, her words hit a bit too close to home.
But I was proud of myself. Sure, I was at the venue where his band was playing, but I was with her.
My plans I’d made over the summer were finally coming to fruition.
Right then, the music died down, leaving a ringing silence in its wake.
“I think it’s time.” Piper’s eyes brightened with excitement.
I shared the feeling. Ever since I’d seen Grey’s smirk at that party over a week ago, it had been prancing in and out of my mind—something it had no right to do. Getting angry hadn’t helped, clearly. So maybe seeing him on stage while I danced with my arms around a girl would fix things.
It made sense to me anyway.
We got up from our seat and moved to the center of the floor with the rest of the forming audience.
Excited chatter rippled around us in waves.
Everyone stared at the dark silhouettes getting into position onstage.
One of those figures was Grey, and that knowledge alone made my stomach tense with anticipation.
The sound of a bass drum hit three times, sounding like a heartbeat. It hit three more times, then the lights came up onstage. The crowd cheered.
Grey stood at the front of Dreamscape, his lips inches from the mic, like he was about to kiss it. “We’re Dreamscape, and this song is called ‘You’ve Gotta Know.’”
Apparently, it was a crowd favorite because everyone went wild as he hit the first note. The music built with the bass and synth joining in, then Grey started singing.
“Round and round I find myself chasing you.
You’ve only let me down, but I’ve got something to prove.
It’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen your face,
And I know that I’m making a big mistake,
But round and round here I am chasing you.”
I’d heard Dreamscape’s music performed by Greyson Hyun a couple of weeks ago, but I hadn’t been paying attention.
I’d been much more focused on my conversation with Kellan and Josh at the time.
But now, as I heard his voice sliding across the lyrics, my body felt alive—like I’d been hit with a bolt of energy.