"Prithee my dear... why are we here... nobody knows..."
The Pixies; I Bleed
"Summer? Where are you taking me?" Summer smiled up at the tall man holding her hand, and squeezed it tightly. She couldn't help thinking, at times like this, just how lucky she was to have a guy like Ryan. She wasn't exactly a good catch, she told herself that every day, but he certainly was.
"It's a surprise," she said happily, swinging her arm slightly and Ryan stopped it abruptly, glaring down at her.
"Summer, you know that I don't like surprises." Summer felt the bile rise in her throat, as she got that sick feeling that she'd done something wrong again. She hurriedly swallowed it down, reminding herself that she was the manager of an up-and-coming local band after all – it was her mantra, her good-luck charm, the way she proved to herself that she must be doing something right.
"I'm s-sorry, Ry," she apologized, thinking back on how hard it had been for her to say that at first. I'm sorry had never been a phrase in Summer Hathaway's book, she preferred to just take things as they came, sometimes having the grace to look a little ashamed, but since meeting Ryan she'd got used to saying it.
Besides, Ryan was special. She had to make some exceptions for him.
"So I'm going to ask you again, Summer, and this time I expect a proper answer. Where are you taking me?" He softened slightly when he saw her startled expression, allowing her a rare smile. "I'm sorry, Sum, I overreacted. You know I don't mean to act like this, it's just... my father..."
Summer always felt honored, in a bizarre way, when he spoke of his father. He rarely spoke about his father to anyone, and Summer knew it was a touchy subject. She just felt lucky that Ryan allowed her to see the softer side of him, the vulnerable side. She knew that he seemed stand-offish and perhaps even a little harsh to outsiders, but they didn't know him like she did.
"I want you to meet my friends," she whispered, hoping it would turn the subject onto lighter issues. "I invited JD and Trent as well, so don't worry, you won't be completely outnumbered!" she added with a light laugh, referring to two of Ryan's oldest and best friends.
Ryan scowled at her, however, his good humor darkening. "Summer, do I have to meet your little friends?"
Summer flushed, uncomfortable under his gaze and not for the first time. Nevertheless, she refused to let him intimidate her. "Yes, Ryan, you do. They're very important to me and, well... so are you."
Ryan's face broke into a smile and, picking her up, he swung her around in the air, laughing as he heard her delighted squeals. "I can think of a billion things in the world I'd rather do than hang out in that dusty old coffee shop you seem to adore," he started, setting her down gently and enjoying her touch as she clung onto him to steady herself, still dizzy. "But, because this is what you want, this is how I'm going to spend my afternoon."
A smile curved her mouth, and Ryan couldn't help thinking how beautiful she looked when her eyes sparkled like that. Impulsively, he bent down and kissed her rosebud mouth, loving the way her eyes lit up and amazed by the fact that he, Ryan Jameson, could make her so happy.
"You look like a fairy," he told her quietly, "from the old tales. No wonder your friends call you Tinkerbell."
Summer laughed, walking close beside him as he casually slung his arm around her shoulders. "What do you mean?"
"Well, let me think," Ryan teased her, affection clearly visible in his warm brown eyes. "Jet black hair, ruby red lips, big brown eyes, creamy porcelain skin, tiny pixie like stature... Sum, you're just too good to be true!"
"I am not," Summer protested, pushing him playfully. "You're the one that's too good to be true."
"Hey, I was only talking about the way you look," Ryan pointed out, tightening his hold on her and feeling happy as she leaned into him. "What about the way you always put others before yourself – especially this band, who don't even seem to notice half the sacrifices you make for them."
"Ryan, they're not like that," Summer argued, although a secret part of her felt pleased that at least someone noticed.
"Yes, well, I suppose I'll have to decide that for myself," Ryan replied, his lips tightening, and Summer couldn't help feeling like his mind was already made up. Oh well, they'd wanted to meet him and after all, it wasn't the end of the world if her boyfriend and band didn't get along. There were other, more important things.
She wondered if JD and Trent would turn up. She hoped not; although having them around would make Ryan more relaxed, they would not get on at all with the rest of her band. She bit her lip nervously as they neared the coffee shop and a thought struck her. She realized that in her mind she'd got into the habit of referring to Freddy, Katie and Zack as 'her band,' and not as her best friends.
She quickly pushed these thoughts away as the familiar grime-streaked window of the tiny shop came into view and she pretended not to notice as Ryan wrinkled his nose in distaste. Well, maybe she noticed a little. But only because he looked so cute when he did that.
She hit the door in the exact right way to make it open, one only regulars knew, and couldn't help letting a pleased smile show when she saw Freddy, Katie and Zack sat in their usual seat. They'd clearly made an effort, for her, and although Freddy was still in his oldest Metallica shirt he'd at least changed out of his tatty, holey jeans into a pair of black combat pants – not much of an improvement, but with Freddy you had to take everything you could get.
Ryan was looking a bit uncomfortable and Summer thought for the first time how awkward this must be for him. The first time she'd met his friends, there'd only been one of them each time, and it hadn't been arranged like this had. But Ryan had heard so much about her friends, he must feel like it was hard for him to measure up. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before leading him over to one of the soft leather couches and he sat down next to her.
Katie smiled, obviously approving of what she saw so far, and Ryan gave her a faint smile in return. Summer flashed her friend a relieved smile, knowing she could rely on Katie at least. "So, Ryan," Katie said cheerfully, "it's nice to meet you at last. We've heard a lot about you," this in a sly tone.
"Uh, thanks," Ryan said, his smile deepening and bringing out the dimples in his cheeks that Summer adored. "All good, I hope."
"Yeah, Summer never shuts up about you." Summer glared at Freddy, reflecting on how well it had all been going up until that point. Ryan didn't seem to notice the sarcasm in the other boy's voice or, if he did, he ignored it. Just when Summer dared to think that it might not be a total disaster, the door flew open with a loud bang and they all looked up to see Trent and JD framed in the doorway.
"Hello, losers."
The air left Summer's lungs with an audible sigh; JD always did that to her. The older girl's breathtaking beauty never failed to affect Summer, and most likely everyone around her. She stood tall and slim, with long tanned legs that seemed to go in forever under her tartan skirt that was short, but not short enough to be slutty. Her white halter neck top clung to every curve, and her jet black hair cascaded down her back, shining under the dim lights in the coffee shop.
Even Freddy seemed taken in, his gaze fastened on JD's liquid black eyes which sparkled as she took in her surroundings. Katie appeared to be the only one not under JD's spell – which Summer knew would probably be broken once JD opened her mouth anyway. Katie's usually pleasant and happy face was creased up into a frown, which seemed to be directed more at Zack than JD.
Trent protectively slipped one arm around JD, proud of the stares his girlfriend was attracting but wanting to make it clear that she was off-limits. Used to fading into obscurity beside her, Summer couldn't help thinking that Trent was attractive in his own right, and would probably get a lot more attention if he didn't always have the stunning JD by his side.
His mussy black hair was always curling over in soft spikes and his goatee would have looked out of place on anyone else but, somehow, just suited him impeccably. His pale skin was only accentuated by the silver ring through his eyebrow and he although looked nineteen, Summer knew for sure he'd just turned twenty one.
Katie was the first to speak, turning to Summer. "Who are they?" she demanded, refusing to allow the two beautiful people to intimidate her, but Ryan spoke first.
"My friends," he said coolly, gently pulling Summer closer towards him. "Is that a problem?"
It was a problem to Summer, actually, although she'd never say that out loud, and certainly not to Ryan. Although she loved Trent, he was one of the nicest guys she'd met, and JD was lovely too, but Ryan was different around them. He elevated to their status, and while this usually didn't bother her – subconsciously Summer probably did it as well – she knew it wouldn't work well around Freddy, Zack and Katie. She knew that her friends would see JD, Ryan and Trent as being stuck up and superior, and she knew that Ryan's friends would not even realize they were acting this way.
"No, not at all," Katie started to say, still making an attempt to be polite, but Freddy interrupted her.
"Yes, it is, actually." He turned and glared at Summer. "Jeez, Summer, you could at least have warned us instead of just letting them turn up. It's not like he needs moral support or a babysitter."
"First of all, I didn't realize this was your coffee shop and that we all needed permission to be in here," Ryan said immediately, his hand tightening on Summer's arm, which she knew always happened when he was stressed. "Second of all, it wasn't my idea to invite them here. Summer thought it would be nice if her friends and my friends could mix. Clearly, she was wrong."
"Is there a problem?" Everyone looked up at the sound of the melodic voice, and Zack even flushed slightly. JD smiled down at them all, aware of the effect she was creating. "I'm JD, and this is my boyfriend, Trent. It's nice to meet you all."
"Oh, how unusual," Katie said politely, although she was reminded immediately of Zach Braff's character in Scrubs, a TV show she adored. "What does it stand for?" she asked, adding only in her mind, John Dorian?.
"It's just JD, thank you," JD replied, smiling at the other girl but, as usual, Freddy had to speak up.
" Just JD? My, oh my." Sarcasm was evident in Freddy's voice for the second time that evening and Summer was grateful for Katie hitting his arm, managing to make it appear playful. Freddy took no notice, however, continuing in his scathing tones, "I didn't realize that two letters constituted a name."
JD raised one of her perfectly arched eyebrows at this rudeness, but nevertheless didn't press it. "And your name is?"
This was a touchy subject, although JD didn't know it – and if Summer herself hadn't known better, the mischievous sparkle in the older girl's eyes may have led her to believe otherwise. Freddy hated his name, calling it childish and stupid, but he hated Frederick even more and because he, as yet, hadn't managed to come up with an alternative, Freddy was the name he now gave her.
"Freddy," JD repeated, a fleeting expression of amusement crossing her face. "How... delightful. And may I be introduced to the rest of you?"
"I'm Katie."
"Zack." JD's eyes flickered across them both, pausing to rest on Zack and seeing the color flood to his face. Katie looked annoyed at this, Summer mused, then changed her mind. No, annoyed wasn't the word. Maybe more... disappointed. Trent seemed to notice this too and winked at Summer before smiling down at Katie.
"Katie, did you say your name was? Is that with a y, or ie?"
"It's ie, but it's really just a nickname for Kathryn," Katie replied, a faint blush now on her cheeks, and Summer couldn't help smiling as she noticed Zack subtly move up to her friend, placing his hand on her arm somewhat possessively.
"Oh, awesome. I have a younger sister called Kathryn, she's fourteen. We call her Kat, though, not Kathryn."
"Aw, sweet. I've always wanted a little sister, but I've only got an older brother and we don't really speak about him," she joked, and Summer felt relieved when JD and Trent laughed appreciatively.
"What about you, Zack?" asked JD, discreetly bringing the other boy into the conversation, and Summer wondered at the fact that neither Zack or Katie could see that they were being manipulated – not in a bad way, but just that they were playing so easily into the other two's hands.
"I'm an only child," Zack replied quietly, and Summer looked around when she felt Ryan squeeze her arm.
"Those two are amazing match-makers, right?" She laughed lightly, leaning into him and feeling reassured by his touch. It was all going so well until Ryan decided to try and help Freddy join in. "So, I like your shirt." He nodded at the Metallica design.
"Really?" Freddy sat up, looking interested for the first time since they'd arrived. "You're a Metallica fan then?"
"Yeah, anything before St Anger. I think after that it all went a bit downhill, though. They didn't get on as well and it started to show on the record," Ryan said seriously, his brown eyes fixed on Freddy's own.
Freddy raised his eyes to the heavens and looked away. "Great. Another elitist. I guess you'd call them a sell out, huh?"
"'Course I wouldn't," Ryan replied, still trying to keep the conversation civil. "I never use that term; there's no such thing as a sell out."
"Well, sor-ee for bringing it up in the first place," Freddy snapped, and Summer couldn't contain herself any longer.
"Frederick David Jones, just step off, OK?"
This got everyone's attention, especially Zack and Katie's. Not only had she used Freddy's full name, including his middle name, but she'd also told him to 'step off,' an insult that all four of them had made a pact to use only in the worst situations, sort of as a measure of how serious it would be. Which meant that this was very serious.
"Jeez, Summer, who shoved a stick up your ass?"
"Hey." Ryan stood up, his hands unconsciously clenching themselves into fists. "I don't care how good of a friend you are, you do not talk to Summer like that, and especially not while I'm around."
Freddy stood up too, smaller than Ryan but with just as much attitude. Even at ten years old, Freddy had never been one to back away from a fight, sometimes getting him into some dangerous situations. "Hey, man, you wanna go?"
"Oh, spare me," Ryan said, in his most sarcastic tone. "I'm getting into a fight with a third-grader."
"Freddy might act stupidly sometimes but he is not a third-grader. Don't judge him when you barely even made an effort to get to know him," Katie snapped, knowing she had to stick up for her friend, and JD rolled her eyes.
"Look, sweetie, you just look pretty and shut up where it doesn't concern you, 'kay?"
"Don't tell Katie to shut up!" Zack snapped, and Trent grinned.
"Aw, look, the little man's sticking up for his girlfriend."
"Oh, here we go," Summer sighed. Trent, JD and Ryan seemed to have slipped into their condescending natures, and she knew that this would only aggravate her friends further.
"Never mind. I'm out of here," JD said smoothly, and Trent gave her a light kiss on the cheek.
"Same here. If I wanted to hang around with kids then I'd go back to kindergarten." He smiled at Summer. "We'll catch you later, Sum."
"Yeah, bye Summer!" JD said lightly, giving the smaller girl a kiss on both cheeks before taking hold of Trent's arm, laughing and joking with him.
The remaining five were left in awkward silence for a while longer, until Summer stood up. "Come on, Ryan, I know you want to go with them. And to be honest, I don't think I want to be around my... friends any longer. Not when they can't respect my boyfriend."
She stood up with Ryan, who dropped a light kiss on the top of her head before taking his hand and leading her, in silence, out of the coffee shop.
Not one of the friends spoke. They'd known each other for nine years, long enough by now to also know that the guilt they were feeling was mutual.