SHATTERED

three

alex

i sighed as i walked down the streets of new york. it's the beginning of november, so it's starting to get chilly. i had a graphic t-shirt on with a jacket pulled over it; it was zipped a little over halfway. i had on dark, slim fitting jeans, and a pair of well-worn air forces; they weren't dirty, but they weren't exactly clean either.

dirty, beat up air forces (or really, any shoe for that matter) truly irks me.

i had my hands in my pants pockets as i walked, and my hood was thrown over my head. i sighed as i got to a crosswalk and had to wait to walk across the street.

soon enough, i was pulling my keys out my pocket to unlock the door to the building that the band practices in. once i was inside, i was met with a warm room, instead of the cool 52 degrees fahrenheit that it is outside. i spotted jessie laying on the couch. she was on her phone, and she had an elf bar laying on her chest.

they used to always have a novo instead, but they switched to elf bars about two years ago.

i locked the door back after i shut it, and i walked over to jessie. i took the elf bar off their chest. i saw that the flavor was blue razz ice, which is definitely her favorite. i took a hit as i walked over towards my guitars.

"miggy and saylor aren't here yet?" i asked.

saylor has been in the band for about two weeks now. she learned our songs pretty quickly, and she fit right into our practices.

we have a gig at some bar tonight, which will be her first time actually performing with us. if she does well tonight will prove if she can stay.

"nah, but miguel said he'd be here soon; saylor too," jj told me as they remained on the couch.

i hummed before i took another hit of the elf bar. i then grabbed my fender telecaster, which is by far my favorite guitar out of the four that i have. i plugged it in and adjusted the volumes. i brought jess's elf bar back over to her, then started to mess around on my guitar. i practiced some of our songs for tonight.

soon enough, the door opened. miguel walked in, and i gave a nod. after he stepped in, i saw that saylor was with him. they both greeted jessie. miggy came over to talk to me for a moment, but saylor stayed by the couch with jessie.

"yeah, we need to go ahead and start loading everything up so that we can get it over there and set up," i sighed as i took my guitar strap off and placed my guitar back on its stand. "i was just getting a little bit of practice in before we do."

"alright," he nodded. "the van is outside, so just whenever you're ready."

miguel has a van specifically for getting everything we need to all of our gigs and shit. jessie has one too for her drums, though she has a set that's specifically for the gigs that we do, and it stays in the van until we have a gig.

i mumbled an "okay," as i pat his shoulder and walked past him. i walked over to the couch, where jessie was still laying down. i moved her legs so that i could sit. i slouched, kicked my legs up onto the coffee table in front of the couch, and i shoved my hands into my jacket pockets. i glanced up at saylor, who was leaning against the armrest on jj's side of the couch.

"you ready for tonight?" i asked as i raised a brow. "you won't piss your pants, huh?"

she rolled her eyes. "performing in front of people isn't a big deal. i've been doing this shit."

"yeah?" i narrowed my eyes. "when?"

"i was in a band back in high school, and we had a few gigs. i did that shit for a few years until i moved here," she spoke before she walked over to miguel, who was already getting his amp and everything packed up.

she's not from here?

"wait, hey, alex, where the fuck is my nic?" jessie quickly sat up.

"i handed it back to you," i sent them a are you serious? look.

"no?" her eyes widened as she looked around. "it's not here."

"i don't know what to tell you; i handed that shit back," i muttered as i pulled my phone out of my pocket.

"i'm about to beat someone's ass, bruh, for real. where is my nic?" she was quick to get annoyed.

this continued on for about five minutes. she eventually found it between the couch cushions. "oh... my bad," they mumbled sheepishly. they quickly took a hit from it.

"fuckin' idiot," i chuckled. i sat up, and i walked over to start getting all of my things ready to go as well.

•

i glanced out across the bar as i strummed my guitar. i moved closer to the mic.

"all that time spent with my therapist, talking over all your arrogance. told her how you loved to drink and drive. all that footage, i got rid of it, but i bet somewhere you've hidden it. just like you to bury me alive."

i made eye contact with a girl, and i smirked as i winked at her. she covered her mouth as she giggled and leaned into her friend's side.

once the song was over, we took a break, and we came off stage. there wasn't a way anybody else could get to the stage, unless they worked at the bar, so leaving our stuff there until we played again was fine.

i made my way over to the bar, and i leaned against it as i ordered a drink. the bartender fixed it quickly, and he set it in front of me. as i took a sip, the girl i had winked at walked over. a subtle smirk formed on my lips as she opted to sit in the stool beside where i was standing.

"hey," i greeted lowly as my eyes glanced over the revealing outfit she was wearing.

she smiled her eyes ran over my body as well. "hi," she replied. "i like your band. your music is really good! you looked pretty cool up there, too."

"yeah? you think so?" i chuckled. she nodded. "what's your name?"

"amelia," she answered. "and you are?"

"alex," i told her. "you want a drink? it's on me."

she covered her mouth again as she giggled. "yeah, thank you."

she ordered a drink, and we continued to talk. i eventually had to go back on stage. i leaned closer to her.

"i have to sing a few more songs, but what do you say after, you come back to my place?" i asked, my mouth next to her ear, as i spoke lowly with a small smirk tugging on my lips.

"i'd love that," she replied breathily.

"you gonna come be front stage again?" i quizzed as i pulled back and raised a brow.

"you want me too?" she bit back a smile.

"of course," i grinned.

i glanced over at jessie as they called me over. i then made eye contact with saylor, who quickly diverted my eyes, seeming annoyed. my eyes narrowed, but i shrugged it off.

i made my way back upstage, and i slung my guitar over my shoulders. i stood a foot in front of saylor as i looked down at her. i kept my eyes on her as i played the opening to kiwi.

•

a/n ayooo

thoughts?

any predictions?

words:
1304