Hi Guys!

Another chapter for ya! Enjoy! :)

-Homey

Disclaimer: HOA belongs to who it belongs to! ;)

©HomeschoolGirl 2012, or at least this actual post is. The characters, not so much. But anyway, please don't use this as your own. Thanks!

Alfie

He heads backstage after yet another night of crash and burn comedy. People filter past him, oblivious to the defeated man, as he takes another drink of water. Fleetingly, he finds himself wishing it were something stronger.

Making people laugh used to be so easy. He knew he wanted to do it forever from the time he was little. Occasionally his antics got annoying, especially during his high school years, but people always laughed. Now, he thinks that maybe they were laughing at him. Good old Alfie Lewis, a total joke.

He quit believing in himself after she left. He woke up one morning to find her packing everything, darting around the room so quickly her hair flew out and stirred the stale air with the scent of her strawberry shampoo.

"I'm so sorry," she'd said through teary eyes. Alfie watched, emotionless, as she stuffed another blouse into her already bulging suitcase. "I can't do it anymore."

"Amber, please-"

"No, Alfie! I'm sorry! We're…we're not meant to be." She threw the suitcase down on the floor and wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm so sorry. I can't take LA anymore, I just can't. I can't stand not having money."

"We're engaged, though," he had protested weakly.

She rolled her eyes. "We're never going to have enough money for a wedding. You said it yourself: Vegas. Well, I'm not that type of girl. I don't love you enough!"

And that's what kept him from going after her, kept him rooted to his place on the bed. He watched as she packed the rest of her things, called a cab, and offered him a smile.

She'd whispered, "Here," and thrown a wad of cash on the bed. "This month's rent. I know you don't have it."

And that was also the thing that kept him loving her. She still cared, even if she wouldn't admit it. But she never did admit it, because she left only a short five minutes later, taking every last piece of her, only leaving the money.

It's like that's all she could stand to give of herself. A few pieces of crinkled paper. And he hated her for it, but he hated himself more.

He's so lost in his thoughts, he doesn't notice the girl darting past him. He doesn't pull his foot back in time. The heel of her black boot catches it and she goes crashing down next to him.

"I'm sorry!" Alfie exclaims, reaching forward.

The girl keeps her head down, trying to untangle herself from her legs. "It's fine. I'm sorry. My fault."

He notices the scrape on her knee and touches the skin hesitantly. "You cut yourself. Why don't I go get a first aid kit?"

She keeps her head down, but sits on the floor. "Okay."

He leaves and comes back a moment later with a bandage and some ointment. Gently, he spreads it on the cut, and smoothes on the band-aid.

"Scooby Doo?" She asks with an incredulous laugh.

"The very best," Alfie jokes. "He solves mysteries and protects common household scrapes from germs!"

The girl laughs and looks up. For a moment, they just stare at each other. Alfie's stomach clenches and unclenches itself.

"Piper?" He asks at last.

The girl tilts her heads and understanding dawns on her features. "Alfie! Oh! Wow!" She leans forward to hug him, brushing her cheek against his. He sees her now. The same red hair, slightly pale skin, the full-lipped grin. How could he have not noticed?

"What are you doing here?" She asks as she pulls away. "I'm sorry I didn't notice before. I should have known it was you with the band-aid and all." She grins.

Alfie struggles to smile back. "Came here for open-mic night, actually."

"Really? I'm about to go onstage to play the piano."

"Oh?" Alfie raises his eyebrows. "Can I stay to watch?"

"Sure!" She exclaims, jumping up to clap her hands together. "And maybe afterwards we can go get coffee or something?"

He nods, grinning.

"Awesome!"

She walks away, toward the gap in the stage curtains, and he notices she's limping slightly. Great. Why does he have to be so clumsy?

Alfie starts forward as he hears her voice in the microphone, stopping to peek through the velvet curtains. She's just sitting down at a large black piano, smoothing her skirt as she does so. Her eyes dart back to meet his, and she grins. For a moment, Alfie feels his hope surge. Maybe she likes him but-ah, no. She's probably laughing at him, like all the others before.

She begins to play, then. Her fingers dance across the keys with shocking speed. The music that flows from the instrument sounds like something from an orchestra, like more than one person is playing at once. He watches, mesmerized, as her fingers move. She carries herself with an air of importance. He wishes he could still do that.

She finishes and everyone claps, him loudest of all. He doesn't even realize he's forgotten about his lousy night. He just thinks of her.

She turns and bows briefly before walking backstage, grabbing Alfie's wrist and jumping up and down.

"That went so well! Thank you for watching."

"Anytime," he said, his voice ringing with sincerity.

Her cell phone starts ringing and she looks at the caller ID. "Oh! That's my boyfriend. I've got to take this." She starts backing away, toward the exit. "I'll meet you at the Daily Grind café in five minutes, okay?"

He nods, feeling his happiness sink. There it goes, down, down, down. Out of reach. Out of his reach.

He goes anyway, even though he shouldn't. Five minutes exactly and her car pulls in next to his. Punctual.

"Hey," she says, sliding out of the passenger seat. He can't help notice her eyes are a bit puffy, even in the dark.

"Is everything okay?" He says, opening the door to the café for her.

She nods. "Fine." But there's something strange in her voice.

They both order lattes with extra whipped cream, and Alfie laughs. After a few seconds, she joins him.

"I guess we have similar tastes, huh?" He asks as they take their drinks and sit down at one of the many tables.

She smiles. "Guess so."

They sit and sip at their coffee slowly, making small talk. Alfie asks about Patricia, who's doing well as a veterinarian.

"And you?" Alfie says. "What do you want to do?"

She pauses and then sighs. "Compose music. But people don't want to hear piano pieces. They want stuff that can be played on the radio. I've been trying for five years and I just want to give up."

He nods slowly. "I know how you feel. But…if you could have seen yourself on stage tonight, you wouldn't say that. You looked…different, somehow. Happier."

"I am," she says, twirling her coffee with one finger. "Lots happier when I play. It's my means of escape." She grins. "So, enough about me. How are you and Amber?"

Alfie freezes as a thousand memories rush back to him. He clears his throat. He avoids Piper's searching eyes.

"We…broke up," he says at last. "Or, she broke up with me."

"Oh," Piper says. "I'm sorry." She sounds like she means it, too.

Alfie offers her a smile. "I guess I wasn't enough for her."

Piper puts her hand over his on the table. The gesture is so sudden, he freezes and looks down. His eyes dart up once, and then he just stares.

"Don't say that, Alfie. You are perfectly good enough. You're great. Amber just…I'm guessing she wasn't enough for you. She must have known it, too. You guys never were the most compatible, if you don't mind my saying so."

He grins. "Not at all. You're the first person who's told me that."

"Because I care."

They walk back out to their cars, hands twitching, wanting to hold onto each other but being afraid to.

"I had fun," Piper says as they stop by their cars.

Alfie smiles at her. "Yeah."

"Maybe you can call me sometime?" She scribbles her number on his hand and grins. "Now you can't lose it, either."

"So you expect a call?"

"I expect a call."

He stares at the numbers and smiles. "Okay, then."

She smiles and turns away. But he stops her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Piper-"

She whirls and stretches up on her toes to press her lips to his. Alfie freezes for a moment and then relaxes. Gently, his hands meet her waist. They felt like they were meant to be there.

"Don't give up," she says as she pulls away, keeping her eyes closed. "Amber was an idiot to leave you, but you can't let things like that drag you down."

Alfie can only fathom one thing. "I thought you had a boyfriend?"

She grins and holds up her phone. "We broke up. Well, I broke up with him."

He looks at her with confusion. "Why?"

She swallows looks up at him, grins. "I'll explain on our first date. You and me. Open-mic night. Next Thursday."

He smiles. "I'll be there."