june and the blond boy

The Direction of Combat Rock

ᴊᴜɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴏɴᴅ ʙᴏʏ

As Hayden and He-who-shall-not-be-named roamed through opposite sides of the record store, I snatched Lars by his arm off to the side.

He knit his brows together in confusion as I took the Diamond Head record out of his grip. "Do you wanna tell me what the hell you're doing in Downey?" I hissed under my breath.

He scoffed softly, taking back the record. "Me and James just wanted to jam together for a bit. Are you gonna sue me for it?"

I cocked my head back in surprise at his tone. What happened to the nice tennis player I used to know?

He raised his eyebrows, waiting for a response. "Well?"

"Well, I'm just surprised.. that's all." I muttered quieter, averting my eyes to the floor. "I wasn't expecting to see you.. and James..."

He laughed, probably recalling my embarrassing moment from the grocery store earlier today. "Yeah, I could tell."

I rolled my eyes, smacking his arm softly. I was unable to hide my amused grin though. "No. It was so embarrassing."

He shrugged. "At least it wasn't some random dude."

Yes. I am so fortunate to have fallen on my knees in front of my big fat crush instead of a random stranger that I'd probably never see in my life again.

"Yeah, I guess." I shrugged then. Now that the conversation was more laid back, I felt like I could open up about the situation.

"It's just weird for me. James and I haven't— we aren't—" I struggled to find the words, shaking my head softly.

"I get it." Lars shrugged once more. "I kinda thought somethin' was up."

I knit my brows together. "Why? Did he say something?" I shuffled on my feet as they grew tired of standing in the same spot.

"Well, I just suggested that we invite you to hang out with us and he immediately switched the subject. It was weird." he explained with furrowed brows.

"Huh," my lips curved downward as I took in his words. "I can't imagine why."

Lars scoffed amusingly at my clear sarcasm, punching my arm softly. "Come on. You like The Clash, right? They got the new album here."

He hooked his arm around my shoulders, walking me in the direction of Combat Rock.

-

After we left the record store, we weren't sure what do to, so I suggested that we just go back to my house to hang out for a bit. Hayden and Lars were all for the idea; my neighbor kept silent.

And I mean silent. So silent that I could almost hear his heartbeat from his chest as we stalked behind Lars and Hayden. They were in an animated conversation. I was about two cracks in the sidewalk behind them, James another one crack behind me.

Breaking the silence, he chuckled bitterly.

I thought my ears had fooled me. I blinked, looking over my shoulder at him. My ears were right. He was rolling his tongue on his cheek, avoiding eye contact with me.

"What's funny?" I muttered, trying to hopefully start some conversation between us for the first time in weeks.

"You."

I furrowed my brows. Me?

"Me?" I mumbled, keeping my eyes forward as I spoke.

"Yeah." he paused for a moment. "I mean, it's a joke. Just a complete joke, right? You're fuckin' with me."

My eyebrows were connecting at this point. So was my chin with my neck as I cocked my head back in surprise and confusion. I finally turned to face him, stopping in my tracks. "What are you talking about?"

this chapter is so short because I'm doing a double update tonight.. it used to be one whole chapter but it's way too long so I split it into two. second one is pretty crazy tho yall. Buckle up..