“So, this guy…” James began as I methodically ate spoonfuls of cereal that morning. “He’s… Older than you. He lives far away. A musician, with long hair.”

“Yeah, so?” I twirled my spoon in between my fingers, rolling my eyes.

“Well, Elena…”

“Spit it out.” I glared at him, my taste of milk on my tongue suddenly sour. I pushed the bowl of cereal away from me with a sigh.

“Is he- well, I’m guessing he isn’t the best influence on you, is he?”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean! Wyatt is a great guy!” I snapped, jerking my head up to look James in the eyes.

“To you, he is, sure, but from an adult’s point of view…”

“Oh, shut up! You don’t know him at all, don’t fuckin’ stereotype him! Fuckin’ asshole!” I spat out with a scowl, standing up. “Fuck you, man!”

“Hey, hey, Elena!” My mom’s voice rang from the bathroom. “Don’t talk to your stepdad like that! And James, don’t stir the pot, okay?”

James shook his head and muttered something to himself. I crossed my arms and stormed away to my bedroom, where I did my makeup carefully.

And, a few hours later: “Elena!” My mom called from the living room as a knock hit the door.

I nearly fell over as I rushed down the hallway, my shoes already on while I shoved my arms into my leather jacket- Wyatt’s leather jacket. I opened the door and rushed outside before we could say hi.

“God, am I glad to see you.” The air froze a plume of my breath in the cold afternoon air. “Life’s hell!”

“Missed you, Layne.” He grinned at me, and we climbed into his car- Sky’s car.

As he drove, Wyatt passed a small shoebox to me, which rattled from the inside. He told me, “I got some demos I wanna show you. Put one on.”

I smiled as I opened the shoe box, looking at the collection of cassette tapes, with scrawled titles written on the sides. I chose one at random and slipped it into the car’s cassette player, and, suddenly, an acoustic demo was playing through the speakers, something like Nirvana Unplugged meets Jar Of Flies.

“Jesus Christ,” I said in awe. “You’re gonna be famous, you know? This’s great.”

“Ya think?” Wyatt was grinning at me like mad, having trouble keeping his eyes on the road.

“Yeah! You’re crazy talented, you really are,” I told him sincerely.

We drove downtown to a cafe, where we bought coffee and sat discussing everything under the sun that there was to discuss. Topics flew by, quickening the speed of time. Everything was more interesting, everything was easy again.

And, all of a sudden, it was dark out, our coffee cups drained, and we laughed over ourselves. Time flies when you’re having fun.

We ended up back in the parked car, the old heaters blasting with every strength left in them. The console was thrown back, hot mouths together again.

“Wait, shit, what time is it?” He asked, leaning away to check his watch. “I gotta go soon. I gotta get back to Sovernon tonight.”

“Fuck, I hate that.” I sighed. “I really hate that, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.” He frowned and wiped a bit of my lipstick off his mouth. “It’ll be alright, though. I’ll drive you home…”

We listened to more of his demos as he drove me home and then, he pulled into the driveway, and leaned over to kiss me goodnight. “Love ya, Layne. See you later.”

“Love ya,” I whispered, before sliding out of the car and walking inside, waving profusely as he drove away. I unlocked the door and walked inside, trying to conceal a frown.

I walked into the living room, where my parents were half-asleep watching TV, like they typically did on a Sunday night. I stood there for a moment, before I turned and hid back in my bedroom.