XPLR | Colby Brock

~86~

Call me when you get to the greatest city in the world, Ms. Rose. -Logan.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

"Hey," I heard from beside me. There stood the one and only, Colby Brock. Smiling at me. That smile made me forget everything I was just thinking about.

I turned towards him and took his hands, pulling him towards me before I kissed him and wrapped my arms around his neck. His hands found my waist and held me there, and I couldn't help but open my eyes for a moment. Once we pulled away, I glanced around and caught Logan turning to his car. Glancing at me and Colby.

Good. Maybe that could defuse that tension quickly. Logan and I are band members and that's it. Nothing more, and if I do go to New York, it will be with Colby. I won't need Logan's help.

"Rose," Colby sang. "Who's he?" Colby asked suddenly, accusingly. I followed his gaze to see him looking at Logan, who he must've seen me looking at.

"A guy from the Phantom of the Opera." I said. "He's from New York and will be going back there soon. He gave me his number and I told him I had a boyfriend and all that. No need to get worked up," I say softly as I place my hand on his cheek so he'll look at me. At least he isn't leaving me drunken voicemails. If only I had gotten so mad so quickly as Colby just did.

Colby huffed like a child. "Well. Let's go get something to eat," he said and took my hand protectively, pulling me a bit towards his car.

"Colby," I said with a chuckle as he glanced back at me. There was a glint in his eye that I hadn't seen before. Like he realized something. Realized that I'm not invisible. And that it's possible that we won't always be together.

But we will always be together. He promised with the rose ring.

It's too much of a fairytale for it to end well for you. This is a Brothers Grimm story waiting to happen for you, Rose.

Hopefully with less gore and fear and psychopathy.

But with the same pain.

Shut up.

Colby's hand rested on my thigh once we got in the car. He took a few breaths and composed himself. He leaned over and kissed me again, like we just had next to the orchestra hall.

"I knew my destiny lied with music, so I left her and China."

Where does my destiny lie?

Does my destiny lie?

Colby's kiss wiped away all of those thoughts. All of my desires rested on him. The way his hands moved to my waist and the small of my back and up was enough to make me want to crawl in the backseat with him and show him how much I love him.

God, I love him. I love him so much. I love music, I love music so much. But I don't know how to choose, because in the end, my heart knows that that is what it will come to.

"Six months today, babe," Colby said when he pulled away. He had never given me a pet name like that. Maybe because he knew it put a certain distaste in my mouth I couldn't explain, but... that felt nice. I wanted him to call me that again.

I smiled at him as he kept our faces inches apart. "Six months," I echoed, but I couldn't bring myself to call him the same name.

"What If you skipped the rest of class?" Colby asked with a half smirk as his hand ran down my thigh. "Colby, Mr. Ling would get so upset with me."

"Why?" Colby asked with a chuckle. "Because," I started. Because he knows I could be throwing away my future for you.

"Because he knows I've skipped a lot of class to hang out with you. I need to go this time," I said. Colby sighed dramatically and leaned back in his seat. "Oh, whatever will I do without thy sweet Rose? With skin as fair as the moon and freckles like the stars in the sky! I wish I were the glove upon thy hand that way thou could lay upon your face!" He said. Romeo and Juliet.

"Where did that come from?" I asked with a surprised chuckle. Where would Colby get Romeo and Juliet from?

"You were doing a project for your history class a few weeks back, remember?" He asked with a playful glare, as if teasing me on my forgetfulness. "Yeah? And?"

"I wanted to help you so I read some of Romeo and Juliet. It's a good read. I didn't understand a lot of it but I watched the Leonardo DiCaprio movie and I got the gist of it," he said and shrugged. That's my Colby.

I smiled as I took his hand since I couldn't hug him in the confines of our car. He smiled and leaned over, kissing my cheek, in which I promptly kissed his back. "I'll never stop trying to impress you, Rose. I love you," He said as he spun the ring around my finger, as if to remind me that it's there. Like I could forget? I don't even take it off when I'm practicing piano.

"I love you too," I said, before he pulled out of his parking spot and he whisked me away to wherever he hoped would surprise me, in his little maroon chariot.

My Montague.