Oasis blares through my headphones as I tap my pen against my history textbook, ingraining the beat into my brain. I can't believe the lads agreed to this, I was sure they'd think it was too mellow, and quite frankly a tad cheesy to perform at Battle of the Bands. And if I'm being honest, I can't believe I even suggested it. But it's her favorite. It's her song. And I know she'll lose her shit when she hears us playing it.

That's what I want. I want her to lose her shit. I want her to let go. Just once. I want her to tune out the world, the static, all the bloody voices that are illegally squatting in her big brain.

It seems exhausting, her life. Not that mine is any better. Silence is not a remedy for noise. But she needs some silence, an escape, a mute button. Just for one night, I could maybe be that for her. An oasis. She's been one for me recently. She really has.

Fuck sakes. I close my eyes, rubbing the sore tear ducts as I sigh. This is bad. Or maybe it's good. I don't know yet. I don't know because she's been ignoring me all week. But I will know soon. In two days. Just forty-eight hours. I can wait.

She's worth the wait.

I hope.

"What's up, London?!" A dainty yet surprisingly firm hand smacks me across the shoulder blade and I perk up, turning my head towards Maxine's voice. "Doing a little studying, are we?"

"Trying," I grunt as she pulls up a seat next to me and places two coffees and two muffins on the student lounge table. I raise a brow and reach for the to-go cup. "You bought me a coffee? Awe, you shouldn't have."

"Back off, Ollie." Maxine swats my hand away with a frown. "Not for you."

I roll my eyes. "Two coffees isn't going to magically make you understand world history, you know?"

"Oh, shut it" Maxine clicks her tongue as she pulls out her phone, unbothered as always. "It's not for me, it's for Kenny."

I sit up straight. "You've talked to her? How- how is she?"

"Boy..." Max snorts, cocking her head, a knowing grin on her face.

"What?" I ask, trying to relax my posture, unsuccessfully. "I'm just curious is all. She's been a ghost all week."

"A ghost?" Max hums, pursing her lips. "As in she's uh- ghosting you?"

I stiffen.

"Oh, chill, I'm just joking," Max laughs, fist-pumping my arm. "She gets like this when exams roll around. She'll come up for air at some point." She checks her watch. "In twenty seconds to be exact."

"Are you her secretary or something?" I grumble, scanning the entrance of the lounge. "Privy to her private schedule?"

"No, I'm her best friend," Max says. "Kinda know the girl well. She's never late." She pauses, letting out a chuckle. "Although, I've never showered with her so you got a leg up on me there."

I whip my head towards Max so fast that I pull a muscle. Fuck. "What?"

"It's all over Hilton Hears," she explains, shoving her phone in my face. "See? Your little sexcapades are all over the school."

I blink, reading the blast.

Hilton Hears that Golden girl is truly an environmentalist. While some of us try to save the planet by using paper straws, Kennedy goes above and beyond by showering with her mail-order boyfriend. For an act that's supposed to be so clean, why does it feel so dirty?

"Shit," I mutter, balling my fingers into a fist. "Think she saw this?"

"Probably not," Max replies. "She has a strict no social media policy during midterms."

"That doesn't surprise me," I say, shaking my head. "You know it's lies, right? I mean, we didn't-"

"Bang in the boys' bathroom?" Maxine tosses her head back and laughs. "Uh- yeah, no shit."

"If only the rest of the school knew her as well as you do," I muse. Who the fuck runs this app? Idiots. Losers. Fucking scum. "She's going to be so pissed when she sees this."

"See what?!" My head snaps up to Kennedy who drops a pile of books on the edge of the table. She smiles, tightening her messy ponytail. "What are you talking about?" She glances down at the coffee, eyes widening. "Oh my God, for me?"

"Yup." Max nods, a glimmer of disapproval tugging at her lips.

"An angel! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Kennedy exclaims. "Seriously, I need this. I'm so tired right now! Like I could just fall asleep right now. It's nuts." She takes a nip, shimmying her shoulder. "Ooo, nutty!"

"You don't seem very tired." I narrow my eyes and scan her face. "You alright?"

"Me?" Kennedy blinks, tossing Max a side-eye. "Oh yeah, I'm totally fine, just busy busy busy." She clears her throat. "How are you guys? Only one more day! Yay!"

Max shifts awkwardly beside me. "Why don't you sit down, Ken? Just for a minute maybe?"

"Oh, I can't!" Kennedy exclaims, repeatedly tapping her coffee. "I only have like two minutes before I need to go and review my notes for-." She frowns as she pulls her phone from her pocket. "Hello? Hello?" She grunts, hanging up. "This is like the third time I've gotten a call from an unknown number and they don't say anything! Creepy right?!"

"Maybe it's a telemarketer or a scam call or something," Max suggests.

"In order to scam someone, you kind of need to talk to the person," Kennedy says, sucking a sharp breath and letting it out. "Wow, it's hot in here."

"It's not," I note in a cold tone, meeting her round eyes. "It's actually a bit chilly." I glance at Max suspiciously. Something is wrong. "Are you hot, Maxine?"

Max blinks. "Uh- I guess, a little. Kind of stuffy here."

"It's all the warm bodies!" Kennedy chirps with a nervous laugh. "Okay well, I gotta go now but-" She swallows, smiling at me. "I'll see you Saturday? At eight? You put my name on the guestlist, right? I don't need an ID?"

"So you did get my texts," I say slowly, an uneasy feeling in my gut.

"I did and I'm sorry for not replying!" she says. "I've been busy, you know, exams and stuff. But I'll be there, I promise, okay?"

"Saturday's your show right?" Max asks. "Cliff told me about it when we were uh- hanging out."

"You coming?" I ask, keeping one eye on a fidgeting Kennedy.

"Can't," Max sighs, rolling her eyes. "It's my dad's birthday so we're having a family night." She looks at Kennedy. "But I'll help our girl get ready so she doesn't stick out like a sore thumb amongst all the leather and ripped jeans."

"Right." Kennedy's cheeks flush. "And with that, I take my leave." Her jaw locks as she says, "Bye Maxine." With a softened expression, she smiles at me. "See you, Ollie."

"Mhmm," I hum, watching her walk away. When she's out of sight, I turn to Max and shoot her a stern look. "What's she on?"

"What?" Max peeps, taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't," I state, a tiny ember of anger burning inside me. "You know what I'm talking about."

"I don't think I do," Max mumbles into her coffee.

"I'm serious Maxine, tell me," I demand. "Her pupils were dilated and she was bloody shaking. What is she on?"

"Drop it, Ollie," Max sighs, closing her eyes. "Just let it go. There's no point, trust me, I've tried."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Please just let it go," Max pleads, desperation in her voice. "Please? She's fine, just a little stressed, okay? She needs to figure shit out herself."

I shake my head. Of course, she's on drugs. It makes so much sense now.

"You shouldn't have given her a coffee," I mutter. "She could pass out or something if she's on what I think she is."

"I know," Max says in a defeated tone. "It was decaf."

"Decaf? She'd kill you if she found out."

"Yeah, well are you going to tell her?" Max asks.

"'Course not." I pause. "Should I be worried, Max? Is she really okay?"

"She's fine, she's just- she's Kenny." Max glances at the two muffins in front of her. "Shit, she needs this. I doubt she's eaten all day. I gotta go find Ken." Max stands up and tosses me a weak smile. "Catch you later, London."

"Yeah," I say, handing Maxine her notebook. "You're a pretty good friend, you know that, right?"

Maxine scoffs. "Am I? Doesn't feel like it sometimes."

"Why?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

"Forget it, it's nothing," she says, waving me off. "I'll see you after the break? Good luck on Saturday, 'kay?"

"Thanks."

"Dude," Max adds, placing her hand on my shoulder. "She's fine, okay? Relax."

"I am relaxed," I mumble, turning my attention back to the textbook.

"Yeah, and I'm a fucking unicorn," Max sings before trotting away.

I'm not in any position to judge Kennedy, I know that, but I don't like this. Not one bit.

I'll ask her about it later. After the show maybe, when her guard is down. When she'll know exactly how I feel. When all this fake shit gets put to rest. I know what I want now. I've known for a while I think.

I want real.

***

"One more time," I call out, wiping a sheen of sweat from my forehead as I rest the drumsticks on the tom. "Let's go."

"Dude, we've played the fucking song like three times in a row already, I think we're good," Ricky grunts, pulling a joint from his breast pocket. "Now, we just need to zen the fuck out before we're on, which is in-" He checks his phone. "Thirty minutes, so let's get it lit boys."

"I'm with Rick on this one," Jaime says, walking towards the couch and taking a seat next to Colt. He glances at me, a taunting grin on his face. "Are you nervous or something Oliver? Worried you'll choke?"

I scoff. "Hardly."

"Then stop practicing and get over here!" Colt exclaims, putting his arm around Tia. "We sound good, right babe?"

"You sound great, baby." Tia snatches Colt's chin in her hand, grinning mischievously at him. "God, I love that mouth."

"That's not all you love," Colt smirks.

"Get a fucking room." I roll my eyes, bile on the verge of creeping up my throat.

"Play nice," Colt says, his voice muffled by Tia's lips on his.

"Whatever," I mutter, pulling out my phone and re-reading Kennedy's texts.

"What are you smiling at, Ollie?" Raven asks, coming up behind me, the strength of her dollar store perfume suffocating me.

"Nothing," I say, meeting her devious gaze. "Can I help you with something?"

Raven rolls her eyes. "For the amount of weed you smoke, you'd think you'd be less uptight."

I snort. "I am not uptight."

"So then you just don't like me," Raven muses, tossing me a coy pout as she runs her fingers across my shoulders. "How can I change that?" She leans down and whispers in my ear, "I know of a few ways I can umm...help you de-stress."

"What a lovely offer-" I shrug off her hand. "But I'm not interested."

"Really?" she asks, a hint of annoyance in her tone as she crosses her arms. "Come on, Oliver, I know you want to."

I blink at the delusional girl in front of me. "No, I really don't. Trust me."

"Sure," she says, flipping her hair. "We'll see about that."

I grin in spite of myself. "I love the confidence though."

"See? Breaking you already." She winks at me. "It's only a matter of time."

"Best of luck with that," I say, checking the time.

Thirty minutes. Shit.

"You are nervous, aren't you?" Raven asks, narrowing her eyes at me. "You don't need to be, Ollie. You're gonna kill it. You always do."

I toss her a weak smile. "Appreciate it."

She's right.

I am nervous.

Just not for the show.

__________________________

So if you weren't aware, this girl ( me ) was in a car accident (I'M OK THO) and I wasn't able to write BUT I'm feeling much better now SOOOO this means FREQUENT UPDATES ^.^ YAY

THOUGHTS ON THIS CHAPPIE? PREDICTIONS?????

Things are gonna get....INTERESTING *insert evil laugh*