"Hey Hinds, congrats on snare." Rowan Hinds' smile lit up the bleak band room, and she bit her lip with a slight bouncing motion. She wanted to scream, to tell the world what she had done. Not only had she found a spot on the Stonewall High School Drumline, but she was going to be alongside her closest friend, Ryles McAlester for the next 6 months, nonstop.
Stonewall's Drumline was the most respected program in the school other than the band itself. They competed nationally, gaining titles and the greatest fame a high school student could get outside of Hollywood. It was a dream come true, and for Rowan, it was one step closer to joining a Drum Corp. She had been in the pit since she was a freshman, but there was nothing with as much glory as being on a line.
"You should pretend I am running around in an excited circle," she said jokingly, accepting the snare sticks from Ryles'.
No one noticed their exchange, despite the obvious look of enthusiasm on her face. The band room was buzzing with results from other auditions, and it would take a few more minutes before the rest of the band would consider the placements of their peers. For a brief moment, she wondered who had taken the new assistant Drum Major spot, since their friend John was now the head major, but even then, that seemed less important than a place on the line.
He winked at her. "Just don't get too cocky. You know I can't do you any favors," the section leader pointed out as he wrapped a sturdy arm around her shoulder, "even if you are my girl."
He never meant that statement literally. Although, through the years of their friendship, Rowan had developed a slight crush on Ryles, it was never mutual, and she was sure that she had grown out of it. The newly instated drummer frowned, casually shrugging off his arm to toss her bag onto her shoulder.
Ryles was everything she wasn't. He was the type that girls fawned over, and yet it never went to his head. It was impossible to not find him rather charming; he was intelligent and opinionated, but fiercely loyal. And he had an unmatched talent with sticks in his hands. But despite that, he had been her best friend for as long as she could remember.
"I know, I know," she pushed on the door to find a quiet place to call for a ride home, but Ryles caught her hand, glancing at her nervously.
"Hey Hinds I wanted to—"
"Rowan?" a voice called from behind her, and she pulled away from Ryles' grasp. Tom Henderson, no doubt this year's trumpet section leader, stood expectantly across the room. "I heard the good news!"
She smiled, nodding as she wondered why he had taken notice on her placement. Tom was the band director's son, and he had the talent to match the title. No one ever questioned the lack of bias behind his high chair rankings; he could blow you out of the water with just a trumpet in his hand.
Rowan attended homecoming with him her freshman year, and since then she had always felt like his eyes were on her. Ryles was always more protective of her when Tom came around, and she figured that Ryles assumed something had gone wrong at the dance. It had actually been a good time, but usually Ryles made a joke about Tom before she could ever relay that to him.
"So I'm gonna guess and say you got the trumpet position?" she spoke almost as if it were just a statement rather than a question. "I'm not sure if I should be worried about you and Ryles spending so much time together, as section leaders and all. It might turn into disaster." Rowan and Tom laughed, but Ryles crossed his arms, looking bothered by her joke.
Regardless, it wasn't a lie. Ryles and Tom had never been extraordinarily close, but when they got together, havoc was guaranteed to take over. The two boys had a similar taste in pranks and practical jokes, and for causing explosions with household objects. If Mr. Henderson hadn't been Tom's father, he and Ryles probably would have gotten into a lot of trouble with the stink bomb that had accidentally exploded in the ceiling, bursting a pipe. Rowan had never quite understood how Ryles crafted this stuff, and how it always managed to 'accidentally' falter.
"I'm afraid my dangerous days are over… Unfortunately, society tends to frown upon that kind of behavior. I have to start looking good for college, you know?"
Of course she knew, but she also knew that college was never going to stop Ryles. Tom was bright, but the drummer, who was obviously borderline genius, outranked him in the class. Ryles depended solely on the fact that he was intelligent, and that he was a good drummer. And as much as teachers wanted to tell him that he would have to grow up, they knew that he could succeed in life with or without homemade Dran-O bombs.
"Right… Maybe I will get around to that, too. Growing up, I mean," Rowan stated, laughing at her own childishness. Ryles for had inspired her so long that she never took time to notice how immature she could be.
They were all going to be seniors, but Rowan didn't feel like she was old enough or smart enough. It seemed like her high school adventure had just begun a few days before, but now it was suddenly entering its final year.
Tom laughed, reaching out to touch her arm, causing a faint redness to come to her cheeks. "Anyways, congratulations again on the line. That's pretty awesome. I don't see how you guys do all of that stick stuff. I'll just stay with the buttons, I guess," he blabbered on, holding up his trumpet to press the keys. She was gathering herself to say thanks, but before she could respond, he began again, scratching his neck. "So I was thinking… maybe… we could go—"
She felt Ryles pull her towards him, his hand on hers once again. "Hinds, we really need to go now." Tom exchanged looks with Ryles, completely cut off and dumbfounded.
Rowan shot her best friend a ponderous look, not knowing what he was talking about. They never had any plans to go anywhere. "Y-yeah," she stuttered, taking a step away. "I'll talk to you later Tom." Tom smiled; nodding with an unsure wave as the center snare dragged her off.
Turning away, Ryles and Rowan walked towards the door that opened up to the student parking lot. "What was that?" she inquired curiously, wondering what had caused his untimely entrance into the conversation. "Tom was trying to say something."
He rolled his eyes. Of course he was. But Ryles was going to let Rowan's oblivious nature keep him out of trouble this time. "Rule number one. You're in the drumline, you don't need to call your mom to get rides home anymore."
Chivalrously, Ryles opened the door to his black jeep, offering out a hand to help Rowan climb up into the seat. Ryles and his dad took the jeep on all sorts of terrain, so it was built tall, and out of reach of Rowan's 5'5" legs. Just as she shut the door, the other drummer hopped in next to her, giving the jeep a slight bounce as he turned the key in the ignition.
"So," he said as he pushed his aviators down from his head, "what's the deal with Tom?"
She cocked her head to the side, pushing her wind-bound hair from her face. "How could you tell? Was I being that obvious?"
Ryles took that hit hard, but trying to hide it in his face. He could tell that Tom showed particular interest in his best friend, but he had no idea that she still held onto those feelings from freshman year. That's what she was implying, right? "I didn't… I mean… I thought that was back when we were freshman."
He looked over, seeing her fidget with her thumbs; her head bowed slightly. "I don't know… This whole past week at camp he just—"
Ryles immediately cut her off, knowing what she was going to say. He had seen Tom paying particular attention to her all week, doing little kind gestures to get her attention. "You're not saying that carrying your music stand and taking your trash is the way to your heart…?"
She looked slightly offended, but drew her eyes to slits in consideration of his comment. "Well, no… but… I thought that was sweet. Do you think I should talk to him?"
"Well obviously he's interested," she raised her eyebrow at him. "I mean, I don't think he'd just go out of his way like that for no reason."
"Are you sure? Did he say anything?"
He shook his head, "I don't really talk to Tom. And even if I did, I'm sure he wouldn't tell me about this, because he'd bet I'd want to beat the crap out of him if he went near you. But it's obvious, really."
"So what do you think…?" Rowan genuinely wanted his opinion, and that pained him. As he tried to piece together some sort of response, he pulled into her driveway, leaving his hands on the wheel and staring at it discontentedly.
If he said what he thought, she would not have a moment to worry about Tom. He peered at Rowan from behind his sunglasses, seeing how the sun reflected off the brown streaks of her hair. In the most firm opposite of cliché, she was a work of art, and Ryles wanted nothing more than to finally admit everything he had been holding back for so long.
But he wouldn't trouble her like that. He knew she would feel guilty, and he couldn't get himself to be okay with that. "I think you should go for it."
She smiled, leaning forward to give him a hug, but planting her lips on his cheek for a brief second before jumping out of his jeep. "Thanks!"
He watched to make sure she got inside safely, but then took in a deep sigh and rested his head on the steering wheel, avoiding the horn. Rowan could not even begin to notice how many male eyes followed her, but at the end of the day, she'd always tell him that his friendship mattered most.
Ryles couldn't tell himself when, but at some point in their unmarked companionship, he had fallen completely in love with her. Rowan was clumsy, and she worried too much, but she was perfect. And as he rapidly approached his senior year, his father began to speak more frequently of his future. But Ryles was never embarrassed nor scared to admit that no matter how far he went with drumming, he had no future, if Rowan wasn't in it.
His cheek burned, and he knew that as long as he was too afraid of scaring her away, Ryles had no future.
Ohhh, don't you just love boys that know what they want? Anyways, there's chapter one! This should prove to be pretty interesting; who do you like better? Ryles? Tom? If you're skeptical, trust me, you'll get plenty of chances in the future to decide who is better for Rowan! R&R!
