Sketches

12. Heartbeats

Josiah

He said I would like him when I see him? Huh? Me? Like a pop star? Never! He was probably some douchey guy with songs that were aimed at one demographic. And Baring being his weird self would probably be gaga over whatever song was aimed at young girls.  I rolled my eyes, looking at the way Baring was hyper and the goofy smile on his face told me he probably wouldn't care.

"Come on," He yelled, pulling me towards the east of the fair.

I let him drag me behind him until we reached the makeshift stage. The place was full of... Well, you guessed it, a lot of screaming girls. And a couple of boys looked like they had been dragged along by their girlfriends or friends while others tapped their feet inconspicuously.

Baring swung a hand over my shoulder and pulled me closer. I smiled at my feet as heat filled my cheeks. Baring was always generous with physical contact and I guess he wasn't going to stop just because we were in a public park full of many unsuspecting people.

"Hey!" Baring's excited voice sent fireworks through my body and I hugged the ridiculously large bear closer to my chest, "Nicolai hasn't performed in months because of some hush hush project he has been working. Isn't it great that you get to see him today."

I looked at Baring's grin and nodded. It wasn't great that I got to see him in action but... Baring's infectious smile made me feel excited. With Baring smiling down at me like that  I could have been excited to see a rock in my own backyard.

"Oh man. You are going to love Nicolai. He is amazing. His songs are great, he performs well and he has a stage presence. The real kind, not the kind other celebrities try to manufacture. I swear you will like him..."

Baring rambled on excitedly and I watched him become a fanboy right before my eyes. For someone who seemed to have been cool and nonchalant about most stuff, he seemed intensely drawn to this Nicolai guy. The more praises Baring sang the more excited I became. It felt like his energy was charging me up. By the time Nicolai arrived on stage he was more important than the large teddy bear I was clutching under my arm.

The stage lights cast a soft glow over the audience. Baring grinned, he pumped his fist into the air 'Whooped' something I had never seen someone do in real life. I smiled to myself. Baring was giddy; there was no other way to describe it. He leapt up into the air haphazardly as if that would make him hear better. I looked onto the stage found this Nicolai guy. I couldn't see much from the spot we were in but he looked like a textbook badboy. The kind you read about in books. I laughed at the absurdity of the situation, of course that's the guy Baring would think was great.

"He is cool right?" I barely heard Barings voice over the loud music but I managed to nod my head. He wasn't all that bad.

I watched Baring grin like an idiot as he got swept up in the commotion of the song. He pulled off his jacket and dropped it at his feet and with more vigour than before he sang along to the song I didn't know. I clutched my bear to my side and watched Baring. His skin glistened under the lights and a thin sheen of sweat coated his skin like it belonged there. I squeezed my bear harder. The urge to draw him had never been as strong as it was in that moment. Seeing Baring next to me, smiling, dancing and not caring about the world was...

"What?" Bearing asked, smiling at me.

"Breathtaking." I said.

I didn't realise the music had momentarily stopped until Baring's eyebrows shot up and he smiled at me. Blood rushed to my face and I hid it in the head of the large Teddy Bear. I had been swept up in the excitement. I hadn't meant to say anything.

I felt Baring's breath beside my ear and electric waves vibrated through me when he whispered into my ear, "So are you."

My cheeks felt even warmer and I looked up intime to see him smiling down at me. And as if the music was trying to give us room to talk. It got loud again. Baring winked at me and looked at the stage as the music swept him up again. My heart abandoned its steady thrum for a loud messy thumping that filled my ears. The song got lost in the commotion as my heart beat filled my ears.