"AHHH!" I fell into the bed giggling about the book I’d been reading.

"They kissed already! AHHHH!" I screamed, kicking my feet and slapping the book on my face.

"After how many chapters? God!" I grinned, but then my phone rang.

"Whatever you want to say better be useful, because if it's not, I’ll bury you alive," I answered.

"Amanda!" she yelled and damn, that hurt my ears. I rolled my eyes playfully.

"What now, Sarah?" I said, getting off the floor and sliding the book back onto the shelf. "I'm tired." I yawned.

"I got us tickets! Yay!" she exclaimed.

Sarah Watson is an energetic, extroverted woman who loves to go out and party every chance she gets. I mean, it’s fine if I’m in the mood but she drags me out every single time. Ugh.

"Tickets to what?"

"Night Loud! They’re performing at the Thunderbolt Bar!" she said excitedly.

"Really? Supporting your best friend?" I teased.

"What? Of course I am! And don’t tease me about him—we're just friends."

"Yeah, keep telling me that." I smirked. Best friends who act like a couple. Sigh.

"Come on, hurry up! We’re leaving at seven!" she said, ending the call. This girl, really.

I sighed and went to my dresser, pulling on some jeans and a t-shirt. I did a little makeup, tied my hair into a ponytail, and grabbed my glasses.

Once ready, I slipped on my black-and-white sneakers, gave myself one last look in the mirror, and then my phone lit up. I knew who it was.

Sarah:

Be there in 5 minutes.

Me:

Sure.

When we arrived at the bar, they were already on stage, looking effortlessly cool as they sang Creep by Radiohead.

"But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo..." their vocalist sang Xavier, Sarah's best friend.

But my eyes weren't on the vocalist. The guitarist caught my attention. He looked effortlessly cool strumming his red electric guitar. As I stared at him, the world seemed to slow down. My breath hitched.

Then—

"WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE!"

Sarah’s voice snapped me out of it as she screamed along to the lyrics. I looked at her dreamily singing toward the stage and laughed.

"SHE'S RUNNING OUT THE DOOOORRRR! HOOOOO~"

She kept going. I really wanted to tape her mouth shut. She sounded like a hyena in karaoke mode.

I looked back at the stage, staring at their guitarist again. Sigh.

What the hell am I doing?

I wasn’t even done admiring him when of course Sarah snapped me out of my little fantasy.

Fantasy? Really? Ugh.

“SOOO GOOD! THEY’RE PLAYING THEIR NEXT COVERRRR!” she yelled like she was the concert host.

“So we’ll be playing our next cover—‘I’ll Be’ by Edwin McCain. Enjoy,” their vocalist, Xavier, announced.

He glanced over at the guitarist the one I totally wasn’t staring at obsessively and gave him a quick nod. The guy responded with a small gesture and began strumming.

The soft sound of the guitar filled the bar, wrapping around us like a warm blanket.

“The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful

Stop me and steal my breath

And emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky

Never revealing their depth"

...To be continued....

As they finished playing, the band disappeared backstage, but Xavier came straight toward us first. "Amanda, Sarah! You came." He smiled at me, and I returned the smile.

"Of course your best friend asked me to," I teased.

He laughed, then turned to Sarah.

"Heh. How was the set?" he asked her.

"Terrible," she said flatly, rolling her eyes.

"Terrible?!? How dare you?" He pouted dramatically, and I watched them with a small, fond smile. These two were always like this bickering like an old married couple in denial.

"Oh yeah come on, follow me. I’ll introduce you both to the band," he said, grabbing Sarah’s hand and pulling her with him. I followed behind, silently wondering if I was about to see that guitarist up close again.

We entered the backstage area, and all of Xavier’s bandmates looked up as we walked in.

I caught a glimpse of him, the guitarist. His gray eyes met mine for just a second before he looked away. Still, that quick glance was enough to send a flutter through my chest.

"Hey! Let me introduce you to our number one fans!" Xavier said proudly.

"Ew, I'm your number one hater," Sarah shot back, smacking him lightly on the back of the head.

"Ow! That hurt!" Xavier winced, putting on an exaggerated pout as he rubbed his head, eyes fake-teary.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

"So, this is Sarah my best friend," he said, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"And this is Amanda," he added, gesturing toward me.

"Hello," I said, giving a small wave, suddenly aware of all their eyes especially his on me.

"So this is Zac, our drummer. Shawn, on bass, and lastly Sam, the guitarist!" Xavier introduced them cheerfully.

My eyes flicked to Sam as Xavier said his name. Sam. So that’s what he’s called.

"Hi! Nice to meet you all! I really enjoyed your performance!" Sarah beamed, practically bouncing with excitement.

I just smiled politely, not trusting my voice around Sam. He nodded at me, and for a second, our eyes met again.

Something about the way he looked quiet, thoughtful, a little curious made my stomach flip. I quickly looked away, pretending to be busy examining the wall. Wow the wall looks nice.

"So, after this, we're going to grab something to eat. You wanna come?" Zac announced casually.

"Yeah, it’ll be fun. We can actually get to know you two," Shawn added with a friendly grin. "Right, Sam?"

Sam glanced up and gave a short nod.

"Yeah."

I opened my mouth, ready to politely decline.

"Sure! We'd love to!" Sarah jumped in before I could say anything.

This girl has way too much energy. I can’t.

"Amanda?" Xavier ask me, but i have no choice. Do I?

"Sure." I smiled at them.

.

As we arrived at the restaurant, laughter and conversation filled my ears, the place was buzzing with life. The guys led the way, already talking about food and music as if we’d all been friends for years.

We found a big table near the window with just enough chairs for everyone. Before sitting down, I excused myself.

"I’ll be right back. Bathroom," I mumbled, slipping away to quickly fix my hair, check my face, and try to calm the chaos in my chest.

When I returned, they were all seated, mid-conversation, half of them already holding menus.

And then I saw it.

Only one empty chair left.

Beside Sam.

Shit. Really? I stood there awkwardly, debating my life choices,

but then—

"Amanda!" Xavier waved me over, grinning. "Go sit beside Sam!"

Of course he sat beside Sarah. Of course he said it out loud. Loud enough for the whole table and Sam to hear.

With a breath I hoped no one noticed, I walked over and slid into the chair next to Sam, doing my best to look calm and totally unaffected.

Which I wasn’t. At all.

Sam glanced at me briefly, then looked back at his menu.

I stared at the menu like it was written in ancient Greek. I had no idea what to pick.

"I suggest this," a low voice said beside me, and I felt him lean just slightly closer. He pointed to something on my menu.

Italian Broccoli and Salmon Bake.

Wow. Fancy.

"Thanks," I said with a small smile, glancing at him. He didn’t look away immediately this time.

"You know," he said after a beat, "you don't have to feel nervous around us."

Wait what?

I blinked, caught off guard.

"Nervous? No, not at all." I laughed, probably too quickly. Probably too awkwardly.

He raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced but too polite to say anything else. Instead, he leaned back slightly, the tiniest smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

I turned my attention back to the menu, cheeks warming, trying to act normal.

After we finished eating, we stepped outside the restaurant. The night air was cooler now, a nice contrast to the cozy warmth inside.

Zac and Shawn had already said their goodbyes and gone off in a different direction, which left just four of us, me, Sam, Xavier, and Sarah.

Great.

I noticed the two best friends whispering to each other, obviously plotting something. A second later, Sarah stepped forward with a suspicious smile.

"Me and Xav are gonna go," she said, dragging out her words like she was up to no good.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," Xavier added way too casually. "Sam and Amanda live in the same direction, right? So... you two should just head home together. Y’know get to know each other more. Yeah?"

He looked way too pleased with himself.

"And Sam brought his car, didn’t you, Sam?"

"Yeah," Sam replied simply.

"Sooo... bye! Have fun getting-to-know-each-other!" Sarah chirped, looking at me with the smuggest teasing grin ever.

Sarah. You are so dead tomorrow.

Before I could even react, they were gone. Just like that POOF. Vanished into the night.

I stood there awkwardly for a second, then turned to Sam.

"Uhm... Sam, you don’t really have to. Sarah’s always like that," I said with a sheepish smile, trying to give him an out.

He glanced at me and smiled softly.

"It’s okay. I don’t mind at all."

And for some reason... that smile made my brain stop functioning for a full two seconds.

Kidding. It’s not like the books I read.

Get it together, Amanda.

...To be continued....

The car ride was silent but not the awkward kind. It felt warm. Comfortable. Peaceful. The kind of silence you didn’t want to break… but I did anyway.

"Thank you for taking me home. I could’ve just booked a Grab," I said, glancing over at him.

His eyes stayed on the road.

"Like I said, it’s no problem. We’re headed in the same direction... and I don’t mind taking a friend home."

Friend? I let out a soft laugh.

"I didn’t know we were friends." I giggled, teasing.

This time, he looked at me just for a second and there was a flicker of something playful in his expression.

"You don’t like it?" he asked, a teasing tone in his voice.

Damn. He can joke?

"I didn’t say I don’t like it," I replied. "That’s where it starts anyway... or maybe more..."

I turned to look at him, and I caught the smile pulling at his lips. He said something, but I didn’t catch it, I was too focused on how warm that smile felt.

I looked back at the road, trying to hide my own grin.

"So... you're in a band with Xavier. Does that mean you go to the same school too?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah, Xavier and I go to the same university. Zac and Shawn go somewhere else."

Wait... does that mean we’re at the same school?

I smiled at the thought.

"What are you studying?"

"Engineering," he answered simply.

My eyes widened.

"Wow. Cool." I smiled again, a little impressed, a little more curious.

"Maybe we’ll see each other more often," I said.

"Here’s my stop. Thank you again… Sam. Take care."

The way his name rolled off my tongue sounds nice.

He smiled as he pulled over.

As I opened the door to my house, I stopped at the entrance and leaned against the frame, placing a hand over my chest.

What the hell is this feeling?

Stop it, Amanda. This is not you.

I shook my head, dropped my things on the table, and made my way to the fridge. I grabbed a bottle of water and took a long drink like it could wash away the butterflies attacking my insides.

Then, I went straight to the bathroom, washed my face, brushed my teeth, tried to get a grip.

And finally, I walked toward my bed, ready to collapse and forget everything.

But just before I could let my butt hit the mattress,

My phone rang.

It’s the devil herself. Sigh.

“You—” I started, but she cut me off.

“How was the ride, babe?” Sarah asked, way too teasing for my current mental state.

“You are so dead tomorrow, lady!”

“Oh, come on. You’ll thank me later. I’m helping you find a boyfriend!”

I could practically hear her evil grin through the phone.

“I don’t need a freaking boyfriend, Sarah,” I groaned.

She just laughed.

“Tsk, you’re no fun. And I know Sam is good for you. Don’t think I didn’t notice how you got all nervous around him.”

For freaking sake. This girl never shuts up.

“Yes, I admit he’s cool, he’s handsome, he’s… whatever,” I muttered. “But that doesn’t mean I like him.”

“Whatever you say, Missy," she paused.

"But you’ll thank me eventually! Byeee~ hihihi!"

She hung up before I could say anything back.

I stared at my phone like it had personally betrayed me.

"Unbelievable," I muttered, tossing it on the bed.

I finally collapsed into the mattress, covering my face with a pillow.

Cool, handsome, and more?

God, Amanda. Get a grip.

I sat up and took a deep breath, trying to shake off the chaos Sarah left behind.

I stood up and walked to my bookshelf, scanning the spines with a tired smile, deciding who to "date" tonight.

Once I picked a book, I collapsed back onto my bed like I hadn't just spent the night internally spiraling.

Time to date the men who don’t cause real-life confusion.

I giggled at my own thought, flipping open the cover.

But just as I was about to lose myself in fiction-

My phone rang.

Again.

This shit.

Without even glancing at the caller ID, I snatched it up and answered.

"You better have a freaking good reason to call again, Sarah, because if not I swear I’ll—"

"Sorry—uh, is this Amanda?"

I froze.

That was not Sarah's voice.

"S- sam?"

...To be continued....