Episode 02

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.