I exit the water after a long day of surfing and head back to my house on the beach. The holidays are here, and I'm far from home. I decided to move a three years ago when things fell apart. I didn't mind spending the holidays alone, they were stressful around others, anyways. I reached the porch of my house, went through the back sliding glass doors, leaving my board on the porch. I poured myself some orange juice and walked up to my room to grab clothes and shower. I took the longest shower I possibly could, spending the whole time thinking. Sometimes being alone made me feel so empty, and when that would happen I'd sing. After showering, I blew dry my wavy blonde hair, applied some mascara, blush, and lip balm, then threw on a pair of shorts, my favorite tank top and my favorite sandals. I looked at myself in the mirror for a few minutes before turning the light off, grabbing my acoustic guitar and walking downstairs. I quickly finished my orange juice then walked down to the beach sat in the sand, played my guitar, and sang. I thought I heard some voices, so I turned and looked, but no one was in sight. I continued to sing. "Wow, you have a really beautiful voice," I heard a voice say, making me jump and my heart stop. "oh...thanks," I said turning around seeing a boy behind me, I half-smiled. "Sorry, for scaring you. I was over there with my band playing football and heard you singing, I was wondering if you would be interested in helping us out tonight? We have a duet to sing at our show and we need a girl to do it," he asked. "Well..." I began, trying to think of an excuse. "If you have plans it's okay, forget about it," he said. "No, I mean, I can do it," I said. A beautiful, large smile spread across his face. He was tall, pretty muscular, he had brown hair, and green eyes. He also had his nose pierced and many tattoos. He was beautiful. "I'm Zack, by the way," he introduced. "Kaylie," I said smiling. "Well, Kaylie, would you like to meet the rest of the band?" He said smiling. "Yeah, sure," I said. He held out his hand to help me up, I put my hand in his and he pulled me off the ground. We awkwardly walked together to the rest of his band. "Guys, this is Kaylie. Kaylie this is Alex, Jack, and Rian. Over there is our tour manage Matt, and our merch guy, Vinny," he said introducing me to everyone. "Hi," I said smiling at all the new faces. "Al, she is an awesome singer, she's the girl we heard. She said she'd sing Juliet's part if we wanted her to," he explained. "Awesome, sounds good. Why don't you guys go somewhere and you can teach her the lyrics and stuff?" Alex said smiling at me. "Okay, sounds good," Zack said, smiling at Alex. I shyly smiled, "We can go back to my place, it's only up the beach a little," I explained. Zack smiled, "yeah, sounds cool." We walked back to my house, he was trying to make small talk. "So, what are you doing alone for the holidays?" he asked curiously. "I live alone, I'm miles away from home," I explained. "Oh, I see, college?" he asked. "Nah, I just thought this would be best for me, there's a lot of places I can go to clear my head. I surf and skateboard, which this is a good place for both of those, and the beach is a good place to play music when I want to as well." I explained. He looked at me in disbelief, "You skate, play music, AND surf?" I laughed, "Yeah, I do." He shook his head. "What about your family and friends, don't they miss you?" He asked me. "Well, my family kind of has fallen apart, and I had only a few friends, one stabbed me in the back and the other passed away. I kind of lost everyone," I explained. He looked sorry for asking. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked, I hope I didn't upset you," he said sincerely. "You didn't, it's kind of good to get things out once in a while," I said half-smiling. We finally arrived at my house. We sat on the porch and he taught me the song. He told me how well I did. "So, is your band from around here?" I asked as we sat on my porch. He was about to answer but then it started to down pour. I laughed, I grabbed my guitar and we ran into my house. "Sorry, I didn't know it was supposed to ran," I said. "It's okay," he said smiling. "We're from a town a couple hours away, we're finishing our tour this weekend," Zack explained, answering my question. "Ah, cool," I said. He looked around my living room, "YOU'RE A GAMER TOO?" he asked excitedly. I laughed, "sure am!" It seemed like we'd get along SO well. "We should hang out sometime! I mean, that is if you want to," he said looking up at me. I smiled, "yeah, we should, that'd be cool. I'm always free, so you can stop by whenever."
We waited for the ran to passed and while waiting we watched my favorite movie, the Boondock Saints. "I have never met a girl into all these things before, it's so cool!" he said. I laughed, "For you, it's cool. For me, it's hard to be anything more than just friends with a guy. I'm just one of the dudes." He shook his head, "the thing is though, even though you're 'one of the dudes' you're feminine as well, so it's like you can be a pal one minute and then this incredible girlfriend figure the next, ya know? It's like you're a superhero or something!" I couldn't help but laugh, it's been forever since I've been able to laugh and smile. "Yeah, a real superhero over here!" I said sarcastically, "What time is the show?" He checked his phone, "it's at 6, we should probably get going soon." I got up and walked over to the mirror. "I should probably change my outfit," I said with a laugh. He smiled at me, "take your time, I'll wait here." I ran up the stairs and tried to decide what to wear, I haven't sang in front of an audience in so long. I decided on a pair of dark skinny jeans, a sheer teal top, and a pair of heels. I quickly fixed my make up, which had been messed up by laughing so hard, then I walked down the stairs. "You look good!" Zack said when he saw me. I blushed, "thanks, you ready?" We walked out to my car, trying not to get too wet. I forgot that the last CD that had been playing in my car was John Mayer. Zack's jaw basically dropped, "You like John Mayer!?" He asked. I blushed so bad, "yes, please don't make fun of me!" He laughed, "I love John Mayer, I would never make fun of you." The whole ride to the concert venue we sang along to every song together. I hadn't felt so at home since Austin was alive. At a stop light, I looked over and smiled at Zack, he smiled back. We finally arrived at the venue and when we walked in the rest of his band looked at us like we just committed a crime. Zack and I looked at each other confused, "what?" we both said at the same time. The guys just shook their heads.
I was so anxious waiting to go on stage, and so nervous. "Relax. You're going to do great," Zack said reassuringly. I smiled at him. Finally, they went on. I watched them from side-stage. They were really good. After a few songs it was my time to go up and sing with them. I walked across the stage at my part, exchanging a look with Zack. "Good luck," he mouthed. I half-smiled. Despite my nerves, I sang my heart out. Their fans were surprisingly accepting, and cheered. I smiled as I exited the stage. They played the rest of their set and Zack ran off the stage hugging me. "You did awesome!" He said excitedly. "Thanks!" I said smiling. I checked my phone, it was getting late, "Hey, Zack, I'm gunna start heading home." He looked sad, "oh, alright, well, I'll call you or text you later, let's hang tomorrow, ok?" "Okay," I replied smiling.
