Thinking About You - Joel Pimentel

Chapter 28

"Mario, I swear, if you don't hurry up, I'll drag you de las greñas!" I threatened as I grabbed my belongings. This week went by so quick I'm done with school but I graduate next week.

"I'm coming." He shouted from upstairs. Seconds later, he appeared wearing a white shirt and dark blue jeans. "What?" He asked.

"I think this is the first time I don't see you wearing black." He chuckled and grabbed his keys. We headed out and got into his vehicle.

What's today? Today's the Pitbull & Enrique concert in LA. I decided to go and surprise Cnco. It was barely 1 but with traffic, we'll probably get there right on time.

On our way to the arena, Mario and I would talk about next week practices, jam out to the songs on the radio and of course, I asked about the topic I told him I wasn't going to let it die.

"So who's the girl?" I asked wiggling my eyebrows and turning down the music. Although he was concentrated on the road, his cheeks turned red.

"I told you it's no one." He said.

"Then why are you blushing?"

"Because it's hot. I get red when it's hot." I rolled my eyes and looked at him. He seemed uncomfortable but nervous mostly.

"Oh come on. I'm your best friend. You can trust me."

He looked at me and said. "I thought Joel was your best friend." I glared at him and he laughed. His eyes traveled back to the traffic.

"Why don't you want to tell me? Do I hate her?" I bombarded him with questions but he stayed silent. I sighed and looked outside the window.

"You know, I liked it better when you would talk about Joel. I'd avoid getting questioned." He chuckled.

The traffic began to move and we stayed silent again. You see, I may have lied when I said I stopped thinking about Joel. In my defense, we kissed so how was I suppose to forget? Plus, I haven't seen him and the thought of us going downhill again, made me anxious. We're not completely okay but we're better now? We just need to talk and clear things.

"You're thinking about him aren't you?" Mario asked smirking.

"Yeah. But this time it's different." I said. "A good different."

"See? All you needed was to let go. You're so stubborn I swear." He chuckled. "You're happier and I see you've grown a lot."

"I guess." I simply said. "I guess I just needed to talk to him. I don't know, I never really explained myself."

"I thought you did?"

"No i didn't. But hopefully today I can." I said and bit my lower lip as I saw the famous tall palm trees appearing.

"Hopefully because I need you two to have a happy ending." He said before laughing. I smiled and nodded.

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"What seat are we?" Mario asked as we walked towards the rows of seats. The arena was somewhat empty but more people began to fill in the seats.

"We don't have seats." I said looking at a very confused Mario. "We have VIP but I have an idea." I took out my camera and a vip pass.

"Here, wear it. Don't lose it." I said handing him the lanyard. He took it and studied it. "It's a copy of mine. I just added your name." He shook his head and put it on.

"So what's the plan?" He asked as we walked closer to the stage.

"Take your own advice, go with the flow. Don't think." I said as he glared. Why was he panicking?

We stood in front of the stage with the other photographer and waited for the guys to get on. After the lights were off, the guys appeared. "Act like you're reporting this or something." I told Mario. He nodded and took his phone out.

The guys started off with Devuélveme Mi Corazón and the first to noticed me, was Zabdiel. His expression was worth millions. It seemed like he saw a ghost.

They continue to perform and although I had my camera, I decided to enjoy the show. Once in a while, I'd take pictures just to seem like I was doing something and not to seem suspicious.

After their set, Mario and I walked backstage. A body guard stopped me but then noticed my badge and let me through.

"Oh my god. I thought he was going to stop me too." Mario said as he trailed behind me. I chuckled at how relieved he was.

We got backstage but there was no sign of the boys. Until I heard Richard yell my name in a high pitch voice. I turned around and saw him running up to me with his arms wide open. I met him half way and hugged him tightly. The boys noticed me and all ran towards me. They also join in on the hug.

We pulled back and they looked over my shoulder at Mario. "Quien es ese?" One of them asked.

Mario came forward and said. "Hola. Soy Mario, amigo de Yadira."

"Ah ese es el tal Mario?" Zabdiel asked. Mario furrowed his eyebrows and looked at me. I laughed and nodded. "Soy Zabdiel. Yadira mucho hablaba de ti." He said.

Mario shook his hand and kindly smiled. One by one, they all introduced themselves. When it was Joel's turn, it got a bit awkward. "I know who you are. I kinda, you know, found you and told you where to find–you know never mind." Mario spoke. Joel awkwardly laughed and shook Mario's hand.

"Ya terminaste tus estudios?" Christopher asked. I nodded and their eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Pero todavía no me graduó." Once i said that, their eyes became dark with sadness. "En tres días los mire otra vez." I added.

Then it went silent. It wasn't awkward but we just stood there looking around or at each other.

"A que salir a comer?" Christopher suggested. We all nodded but Joel shook his head no. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't upset.

"Mi familia planearon salir hoy. Perdón." He said. We nodded and saw the Pimentel family approaching us. The closer they got, the more nervous I got. Joel waved goodbye to us and walked away with his family.

Looks like I won't be able to truly explain myself to Joel. I sighed and put my camera in my bag. The guys chatted with Mario as I stood there listening.

"Todavía quieren salir?" I asked. All eyes were on me. They nodded before walking away to change out of their tour clothes.

"They seem like great people." Mario said excitedly. "I can see why you miss being on tour."

I sighed. "Yeah totally."

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Published: July 16 2017

So sorry I took long to update. I've been so busy with work and summer homework. But thank you for the 5K reads! ❤️

Word count: 1158