Author's Notes: Sooo, this one focuses a lot of Kalel's and David's relationship. Kalelercorn? lol...idek what the name for it would be. Umm, so the next chapter - let me just tell you that I had SO MANY ideas for it. I don't think I'll be spoiling anything by telling you it's gonna be Anthony's show. And here is just an example of a few of the ideas that I scrapped (though if you really want to see any of them happen, I can probably work it in! haha): David trying something harder than weed like X or Acid, Kalel and Joven getting drunk and making out, Joven trying weed, Kalel mixing alcohol and Ativan and it having adverse affects, David, Ian, and Joshua getting messed up on something after the show and having a threesome. ...cough. Yeah. My mind is a crazy place. But I think you guys will like what I DO have in mind. Especially those certain Ianthony fans (coughcoughthemediakillercough :P) ANYWAY. Dinner is ready, so I'm gonna end this here and go eat. Enjoy!
Saturday came surprisingly quick. Normally the school week dragged on, but this week flew by before David even knew it. He woke up to the distant sounds of people moving around downstairs as well as the twinkling notes of a piano as Kalel practiced her piece repeatedly. He sat back and listened to her, realizing just how good she was. Her fingers seemed to dance over the fast notes, playing with such beauty and grace that could only come from someone with a natural, raw talent. How could she even doubt her ability to do well at the recital?
He rolled out of bed, tossing on a T-shirt to accompany his boxers before making a pit stop at the bathroom to relieve his bladder. Once that was taken care of, he headed to Kalel's room, finding the door open a crack. He knocked lightly to announce himself before pushing it open all the way. Kalel looked up suddenly, grabbing for the bottle of pills beside her in order to stash them away - only to relax when she saw it was David. She still tucked them out of view, but it was with less of an urgency.
"How many do you have left?" David asked.
"Enough. Don't worry, you won't have to get more..." She turned back to the keyboard.
"That's the thing, though. I do worry. I worry you don't know what you're doing and you're spiraling out of control. Why are you so sick lately, Kalel? It's a side effect of the drug, isn't it? I know because I felt the same thing when I took it."
She looked at him for a long moment, her eyes filling with tears as she shook her head, "You don't know..." She stopped playing long enough to bury her face in her hands. "You don't know what it's like to have all this pressure to be perfect. I feel like I'm dying on the inside. Falling, but there's no safety net."
David studied her sympathetically. He walked over to the bench, taking up the edge and easing his arms around her shoulders, "You're right. I don't know what it's like to strive to be perfect, because I know I'm far from it. I don't have nearly the same amount of pressures as you do, but whenever things got bad, I used to turn to my meds as a safety net. I think in the end, though, they only weigh you down and keep you anchored to the ground so you can't be free. The thing I found that helps the most when my anxiety is eating away at me, is pot."
Kalel seemed surprised, "You do that stuff?"
"It has more of a stigma than it deserves. Look at all of its medicinal uses. Look at the fact that it's natural or how it's better for you than cigarettes which have been legal for ages. I'm not trying to sit here and praise it, but I'm offering it as an alternative to the Ativan. It opens you up creatively and takes your cares away. I'm worried you're gonna hurt yourself more with the medication than you would with weed, and if you absolutely need a crutch to get through this - I think you should think about trying it."
"I don't know," she wrung her hands apprehensively before placing them on the keys.
"Just give it some thought, okay?" He nudged her lightly with his shoulder.
She nodded, moistening her lips before diving into the classical piece once again.
"Also, you should come out with us to Anthony's show tonight. I think you could use a break."
Kalel slipped on her notes and then started from the beginning again, "I can't afford the distraction. He's already messing me up."
"How so? You two seem to be good together."
"Seem to be, yeah. But he doesn't think of the future. He doesn't think of the consequences of his actions. He's just a free spirit who wants to play music, and that's great - but where is a guitar going to get him if he doesn't apply himself? He thinks everything will just fall into his lap, and it doesn't work like that! How can I build a life with someone who thinks he can support us just by playing some local gigs with the hope of someday making it big?" Kalel's playing became furious, punching each of the notes with a deeply rooted anger. "How can I build a life with someone who thinks life is more about luck than it is about skill? How can I build a life with someone who doesn't have a backup plan in case his dream goes down the toilet?" Her notes became messed up, and she slapped her palm against the keys. "Fuck!"
David watched her, not sure of what to think. Why was there so much emphasis on the future? Why was she so concerned about things later in life when they hadn't even finished their senior year? "We're still young, Kalel. Can't you just enjoy Anthony for what he is? If you live so far in the future, you're not living in the moment. You're missing all the things that make living right now so great..."
Her lips set together and for a moment she said nothing, but the rage behind each note was still there as she plucked away at the piece. "I need a plan. I need a surefire plan to make sure I don't wind up back here. Anthony always fit into that plan. He was always my prince, for the two years we've been dating. If he's not it, then what did I waste these two years for? He has to be. But he also has to learn responsibility. There's not much time left." Her breathing began to become panicked and she went to reach for the pills she hid away with trembling fingers.
David stopped her hand before it got that far. "Stop, Kalel. Stop living with a plan and start actually living. You don't need Ativan to live." His eyes swept the sheet of music clipped to the keyboard, getting an idea from it. He took her by the hands and dragged her up to her feet. "Improvise!"
Kalel arched a brow, a smile fighting its way to her lips, "Improvise? What do you know about improvising?"
"It's about being spontaneous and feeling the moment, right? You'd be surprised at how good a grasp I've got on it lately," David grinned. "So here's the plan. You're coming with me for my first driving lesson and then we're gonna go to the mall. Ian can pick us up from there in time for Anthony's show later."
She shook her head, protesting weakly and moving to break their contact, "It sounds fun, but I caaan't. I have so much to do."
David clutched her hands tighter so she couldn't get away, drawing her closer. "One night, Kalel. One night of mental rest and fun. That's all I'm asking."
"...you're not gonna take no for an answer, are you?"
"Nope."
Kalel sighed in exasperation, "Fiiine. I'll take a break. But you better leave me alone to play all day tomorrow, then."
David felt a great deal of relief when she finally gave in. He thought it was going to take far more work. It just went to show it was probably something she really wanted, and all he had to do was give her the push. "Deal. Now let's go."
"Um...wait. Time out. Don't you need to get dressed first?"
He paused and looked down at himself before branching off into a laugh, "...Oops. Yeah. I guess you have a point."
"Go, get some clothes on. And since you're dragging me out to the mall, expect to be getting a full makeover while we're there. You'll look so good, Ian won't be able to resist ripping the clothes off of you."
David smiled, "You know - he has a hard enough time resisting that as it is. I don't really think you'll have to do anything special."
"Thanks for putting that mental image in my head. It's bad enough I got a front row view. If you two had been naked, I would've died."
"Your impeccable timing spared you from seeing us draw our swords, but if you barge into my room again whenever he's over, I can't guarantee you'll be so lucky."
"Ugh, you are so gross. Get out of here and get some pants on already."
"I'm getting, I'm getting," he staggered forward as she practically ushered him out of the room.
David thought the conversation had gone well. The only thing left to do was make absolutely sure she had a good time. So he went off to his room to change. What he didn't know, was as soon as he walked away, Kalel went digging through the drawer and popped one of the Ativan pills, washing it down with a swig of her energy drink.
The driving had gone horribly, as David expected. How the hell did people pay attention to their mirrors, their speedometer, the road signs, and the gas and brake without running over pedestrians or smashing into each other all the time? He had a newfound respect for anyone who could accomplish all those things and still do other things at the same time. Hell, Ian was pretty incredible for not getting them killed that one time David went down on him on the way to school. The drive itself had been a jerky one where he would gas the car and then hit the brake, never finding a smooth transition between accelerating and decelerating. He found he hated left-hand turns, and people tailgating him made him extremely nervous. But at the end of the allotted driving time, they survived. So David figured it was an accomplishment and a success.
He left the car feeling empowered, and the good feeling accompanied him even to the most girly of stores Kalel dragged him to in the mall. She had been supportive of him - teasing his mistakes, but also telling him he did well for a first timer. And more than that, him getting behind the wheel inspired her to do the same. David suggested they do it together, that way they could be each others support. Kalel agreed, but of course, said she couldn't really start until after the recital. So they set the tentative date for their road tests during the first week of December, and it was subject to change depending on how prepared either felt when the date approached.
They browsed stores idly, window shopping and trying things on they couldn't afford. Kalel insisted they go into a suit store and David put one on, and when he came out of the dressing room - she marveled at how handsome he was and took a few pictures on her phone to go on her instagram. It was the closest she got to giving him a makeover, though, because everything they wanted to buy was well out of their price range.
Apart from that, they spent the rest of the day cramming themselves into the photo booth and taking goofy faced pictures, getting smoothies at the food court, lingering around the arcade, and tossing pennies into the fountain at the center of the mall after making wishes. David wished for whatever it was Kalel wished to come true, because all of his own pretty much had.
It was amazing to him how far he had come from life just a year ago to now. The school year had barely even started, and David had a feeling it was going to be great. He had been content to have Joshua as his best friend, and Ian as his boyfriend - but now it seemed his and Kalel's world were converging to make the perfect group. If Ian and Anthony made up and regained the friendship they once had, then everything surrounding them would be solid with the possible exception of Kalel's and Anthony's relationship. Things between them seemed a little rocky, but David was sure that was due to the sheer weight of Kalel's stress and nothing more. She obviously loved him enough to think about spending the rest of her future and life with him, after all. David wondered idly if he and Ian would ever get to that point. Love.
The day grew later, and although there were still daylight hours left - it was at the time of year where those hours were getting shorter and shorter. By the time David and Kalel went outside to meet Ian, the sun was already in the process of setting. They sat on a low-sitting concrete wall that acted as a protective barrier for an array of floral arrangements, sharing a bag of freshly roasted, glazed almonds from the sweet shop and passing it back and forth when they finished their handfuls.
"You know, it's funny," Kalel plucked an almond out of her palm, popping it in her mouth. "I have to admit that you and Ian make a good couple."
David looked at her in confused amusement, "...thanks?"
She laughed, "I was just thinking about it, and how I was giving you a hard time for hanging around him. But I think that was probably because I was worried you were gonna turn into him. Just seeing him and Anthony start talking again, though, makes me realize you're a good influence on him. If you'd never come along, I bet things would have just stayed the same. Anthony might not admit it, but I could tell he really missed what they had. He's not nearly as close with any of his other guy friends as he was with Ian."
"You never know, Ian might've taken the first step. I mean, he told me it'd been two years and it was pointless to hold onto the grudge since it's senior year. Who knows. I mean, do you really think I could've had any influence on him at all?" David took a handful of almonds and shoved them in his mouth all at once.
"Psh. I know it. A year ago, that kid was a mess. And not even a hot one. He didn't seem to care about anyone except maybe Melanie. They've always had a weirdly close friendship...thing. But now I can totally see a sincerity in him. It's like little by little, the old Ian is coming back. He used to be crazy popular back in the Smosh days. He was just so funny and so personable. I'll admit...I only started talking to Anthony so I could get to know Ian."
"You had a crush on him?" David asked in surprise.
"Oh, back then - a lot of girls did! Who doesn't love a sexy drummer with an amazing sense of humor and blue eyes that were to die for?" She grinned, nudging him playfully with her shoulder. "Apparently we were barking up the wrong tree."
David looked down, his cheeks heating. "He's bisexual, so there was equal opportunity."
"I hope you can bring the old Ian out. I think you'll love him even more than the one you're with..."
David didn't bother to correct her and tell her what they had wasn't necessarily love. That would be a long, boring, and complicated conversation. Instead, he grabbed the bag of almonds and poured himself some more, simply responding, "Maybe."
They had just finished talking about him when Ian's car pull up to the curb. Joshua sat in the front passenger's seat, looking mildly uncomfortable. Ian, however, seemed even more attractive than normal. There wasn't anything much different about him, but Kalel's conversation made David see him in a different light. Kalel and David rose from their waiting spot, and David headed over to the driver's side. Ian rolled down the window and was suddenly bombarded by an eager kiss of greeting. They lingered there for a moment until David tapered off, and Ian studied him with a mix of confusion and lust.
"Alright, Joven. Get the fuck out and into the back. David's up front."
"But, I-" Joshua looked at Kalel and became flustered.
She smiled easily, which probably only served to make it worse for him, "Don't worry. I don't bite."
"Don't listen to her. She really does. She's a fucking vampire. She'll suck you dry," Ian deliberately made his statement overtly sexual in order to make Joshua even more uncomfortable.
It worked. He went red-faced, got out of the car, and silently settled beside Kalel, sitting there as though he was ashamed to exist in her presence. David couldn't say he cared too much because he got to be next to Ian. And even though it pushed Joshua out of his comfort zone, David was pretty sure he was happier sitting next to Kalel. Which speaking of Kalel, she took the bag of almonds and whacked Ian upside the head for the remark.
"Don't go spilling my secrets, idiot," there was a fondness in her tone before she turned to Joshua and offered the bag. "Toasted almond?"
"Oh, I...you guys had your hands in there, and I kind of have this thing with saliva and germs, so I can't," Joshua waved his hand in protest.
Kalel giggled, "That is probably the most elaborate rejection of food I've ever heard. Suit yourself. You want the rest, David?"
"Pass 'em up," David turned, taking the bag and offering some to Ian. Ian reached in, grabbing a bunch and cramming them in his mouth. A few spilled onto his lap, and David eyed them.
Ian met his gaze and winked, "I know what you're thinking. Looks appetizing, doesn't it?" He lifted his hips teasingly.
David shook his head in amused embarrassment, redirecting his attention to the window, "Asshole."
"Didn't know you were that kinky, but I'm willing to try anything if that's what you wanna taste," Ian snarked.
David wrinkled his nose with a laugh, "I just can't say anything without my words getting twisted around, can I?"
Kalel leaned forward, planting her hand on his shoulder sympathetically, "Welcome to relationship life, brother dearest. Your words will always get twisted into their most perverted form."
"Great. The future's looking grim," David shook his head, sparing a glance toward Ian who had a smirk on his face, before he looked up at the rearview mirror to sneak a peek at Josh who was just looking and listening to the rest of them.
David couldn't ever remember a point in his life where he felt like this before - surrounded by people he cared about. It was such a nice feeling, perhaps the best feeling, the feeling he belonged.