the new day - samuel kiszka (greta van fleet)

15- my kind of woman

Rowan

Sam and I spent almost all of our free time the rest of that week hanging out. Whether it was just the two of us or us and the rest of the boys, it didn't really matter. I loved spending time with them in general. I hadn't gotten to see Ronnie as much, she was still really busy with soccer which I understood, but it was nice to be able to talk to another girl sometimes. I ended up telling her about how I was feeling about the whole situation with Sam and what we had spoken about. I told Josh too, though I figured he already knew. He listened contently and supported me regardless, which I greatly appreciated.

I still hadn't gotten to hear the boys play, which made me mad. I'd been longing to hear them the past couple months and I still didn't get the chance. Jake did say I could come over whenever, but I didn't want to mess them up or something. Overthinking is clearly my special talent. I'd always wanted to be in a band, but I only knew how to play the piano. I wanted to learn guitar, but I never really found the time.

I wasn't doing much, just laying in my room and listening to Disraeli Gears by Cream, inarguably one of the best albums of all time, along with Led Zeppelin III by Led Zeppelin and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars by David Bowie. Long title, I know. Anyway, I wanted to listen to the boys play. They had to be good, right?

I quickly got up from my bed before heading over to the window. Thankfully, Sam was in fact in his room. He sat criss crossed on his bed with a notepad in his hands. He was writing what seemed to be lyrics of some sort, and he was very focused on it.

I didn't want to interrupt him so I waited contently, watching his face scrunch up when he was deep in thought. His hair fell over his shoulders, occasionally blocking his field of view, leading him to tuck it behind his ears. He was adorable. I wondered what he was writing. Eventually, about fifteen minutes or so later, he sat his notepad down, and I cracked my window, waving to get his attention. Yeah I had his number, but I preferred talking to him this way, it was more us. I could have used his method of marbles but a part of me thought that with my luck I'd end up cracking his window or something and Josh would never let me hear the end of it.

I caught his attention pretty quickly. He made his way over to me, cracking his own window open so he could talk to me.

"Hi, Samuel." I smiled cheekily. Just looking at him made my day.

"Hello, Rowan," He grinned, "To what do I owe this pleasure?" what a goof.

"Well..." I began, dragging out the word in a suspenseful manner,

"Can I pleeeeeeeaaaaaseeeeee please please hear you guys practice today?" I questioned, giving him my best puppy dog eyes. His own lightened up, he seemed amused.

"You actually want to?" he asked with a smile,

"Of course I do, Sam." I gave him a look of disbelief. I'd wanted to hear them play since he told me that they had a band. He was being a shithead when he told me but thankfully he's out of his jealousy phase.

"Well, you're in luck. We're all gonna have practice in like, thirty minutes." he seemed glad that I was so interested. I was interested in everything he cared about; that's what friends are supposed to be like, right? Friends. Friends is confusing, comforting, and confining all at the same time. I need a therapist or something.

"Ro!" Sam shouted, snapping me out of whatever that was, "Are you coming over or what?" he questioned, I could tell he was curious as to what in the world I could have been thinking when I was zoning out.

"Yeah, yeah, Sammy." I said, rolling my eyes playfully. I quickly turned around, getting ready to grab my shoes,

"WAIT!" I heard Sam yell though the window, "Can you bring me a popsicle please?" this time he was giving me the puppy dog eyes.

"Green?" I asked with a groan. I wanted to get over to the house to see them.

"Of course, m'lady. You know me too well." he had a goofy grin, as always. Something he and Josh had in common.

After heading down to the kitchen and grabbing his green popsicle out of the freezer, I headed over to their house.

Karen greeted me with a huge hug before telling me Sam was still upstairs waiting until it was practice time. I was so excited to see them play, and even more excited to hang out with Sam. His room was eclectic, but certainly not messy. There was just a lot of stuff, it was cluttered in a beautiful way. Posters of his favorite bands were scattered all over the walls and his small piano laid in the corner. His keyboard was on his bed, as was the notepad he had been writing on earlier. Before that point I'd only gotten to see his room in small glimpses through our window encounters.

"Hey, Sam." I smiled, "Can I come in?" he nodded quickly, smiling back at me.

"Of course, I was just writing some stuff . You got here quick." I shrugged, handing him his green popsicle and plopping down onto the edge of his bed. I was honestly just excited.

"Mmm" he groaned, putting the popsicle in his mouth. "Thanks, Ro." he sure loved the green ones. They were my least favorite in all honesty, so I didn't really mind that he took them all.

Sam sat on the floor, eating his popsicle and rambling on about his brothers, the band, school starting soon, really everything under the sun. I loved it. He's a very passionate soul, but also so delicate at the same time; a duality id never sensed so strongly in a person before meeting him.

"So..." he looked at me as he got up and threw the popsicle stick in the trash bin by his bed, "Your 17th birthday is in a couple weeks, are you gonna have a party?" he questioned. I genuinely hadn't thought about it. He was the only one who knew my birthday was soon. I figured Josh and Ronnie would force a celebration of some sort, which despite my love for them, I did not want in the slightest.

We were supposed to start junior year on August 30th, and my birthday was the 28th. It was all happening so fast. I'd never been one for big celebrations and gatherings, especially not ones that solely revolved around me. I knew i'd probably have spend the day with my dad or Ronnie or something along those lines, but I wouldn't have a party.

"I don't think I wanna have a party." I mumbled with a shrug, meeting his gaze.

"Why don't you want to have a party? You only turn 17 once." he spoke as if he was trying to convince me or something. It wasn't working.

"It's too overwhelming. Besides, 16 and 18 are far more important than 17, if anything not having a party for this specific year makes more sense." I rambled on hastily, trying to make a good case. I kind of realized that in reality that wasn't the best reasoning, but more of a façade. The real reason I didn't want to have a party is because it's my first birthday without my mom.

"It's okay, Ro." he smiled, motioning for me to stand up from his bed, "Parties are overrated anyway." I knew he started to realize what I was thinking about. It was like he could read my mind sometimes. He pulled me into a quick hug, wrapping his arms around my waist and squeezing the life out of me. I hugged him back with a groan before he loosened his grip.

"Hey!" he began with a smile, keeping his hands on my waist despite the fact that the hug was over, "How about you and I have a movie night for your birthday? Just us. I can set up the projector downstairs and we can watch your favorite movies?" He looked so excited, I couldn't help but crack the biggest smile known to mankind.

"I'd love that Sammy. Thank you, really." I didn't know what I did to deserve someone like him. He just knew me in a way that nobody else ever had, not even my mother.

"And we can get those little chocolate chip cookie dough thingies that you can get at the movies that you love." he began to ramble on, "Oh, and we can freeze grapes and eat those too. I'll make sure just to get the green ones 'cause they're your favori—"

"Sam," I cut him off, grabbing his shoulders, "It sounds amazing, but you don't have to do all that for me."

"I'd do anything for you, ya know?" he looked at me though his eyelashes, a tint of pink flooding his cheeks.

"Yes Sammy, I know you would, and for that i'm incredibly grateful." I said softly giving him another swift hug. He was going to be the death of me, I knew it. His smile, his soul, his goofiness, all of it.

"Now," I began with a smirk, "It's time to show off these bass skills of yours."

"Yes ma'am!" he said excitedly, "It's been overdue far too long."