The sun was just beginning to set and a light breeze blew across the field. It wasn't enough to warrant the wear of a jacket, and just enough to remind you that it was autumn in North Carolina. Haley looked around and smiled as she sat on the large blanket covering a piece of grassy knoll. She was at the Alltell Pavilion outdoor concert venue in Raleigh to see one of her favorite bands of all time, Journey.
Music had always been such a huge part of her life growing up. Even though the James family moved often from place to place and town to town, they were always in the running to catch a good concert now and then. While most girls her age were cheering from the stands watching the Backstreet Boys or Jessica Simpson, Haley had grown up rocking out to Peter, Paul, and Mary, Fleetwood Mac and Credence Clearwater Revival.
Smiling, she closed her eyes and thought back to a warm day when the brood had been traveling through Wisconsin. It was summer and the fireflies were in the air as she sat atop her daddy's shoulders and listened to Carole King sing, You've Got A Friend. Just hearing the tune and feeling the words, the togetherness of family…it was one of her all time favorite memories.
"Here's your Coke", Chris handed her a red ice filled cup.
"Thanks", she looked up and smiled.
"And I have a surprise for you", he said, one hand hidden mysteriously behind his back.
Haley grinned.
"Did you get me flowers?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Chris Keller doesn't do flowers. But here you are. I knew you'd appreciate this more."
Haley clapped her hands together like a little kid.
"Cotton candy? You rock!"
Chris shrugged.
"I know. So you've got your soda pop and enough sweets to rot out most of your teeth and you've got the music of Journey…and most of all, you've got me. What more could any chick ask for?"
She just shook her head but he was right. She was pretty lucky. She was having a great time at a great concert listening to a great band with a pretty great guy. They had been working together for weeks and things were going better than Haley ever could have imagined. But just when life seemed to be at a climax, once again her expectations had been exceeded ever since the night he had asked her out as more than friends or musical partners.
They had gone to a local java house and sat at a table in the front sipping Espresso and listening to kids play read poetry and perform monologues. It was low key and artsy, the perfect atmosphere for Haley. They'd had a good time and afterwards, walked around the city, sometimes holding hands as they chatted about music and life and got to know each other. Haley talked about her family and school and annoyed him with disgusting tricks like turning her eyelids inside out like a walking zombie. Chris spoke of his brief stint in theatre acting and some of his favorite bands, while irritating her with the indulgence of his favorite hobby…stealing spare change out of public fountains.
But all in all it had been a good time. They laughed and talked. They had much in common. It was fun. It was nice to see a different side of him away from the stage and the studio. Chris was into her and she definitely liked what she saw so when he asked her out again to a concert, Haley readily accepted.
The weather was perfect as they laid out the huge blanket and relaxed. There was plenty of refreshments and conversation with other concert goers in the casual environment. It was a nice time but both had been particularly excited by the time Journey finally took the stage. They'd done so many awesome songs over the years, Haley kept her fingers crossed that they would sing some of her favorites. Much to her delight, she'd already heard hits like Faithfully, Only The Young, and Lights. And when they played Be Good To Yourself, she and Chris had sang the words together.
"You know what? I am having a fabulous time! I mean it. This was a pretty rad idea. Thanks for inviting me."
"Your company isn't so bad", he smirked.
She shook her head.
"I called my parents while you were getting the snacks. Oh man, my mom was so jealous! They love Journey. Anyway, I threw them a bone and put my cell on speaker so they could hear a little bit of Wheel In The Sky."
Chris nodded as he stretched out on his back and relaxed his hands behind his head.
"Yeah, this is pretty cool, I guess."
"Do you think they'll sing Don't Stop Believin'? Oh dude, they have to. I will like seriously jump off a bridge or something if they don't. It's like one of my favorite songs ever."
"They will. It will probably be the last one."
She nodded as she continued to sway her body to the beat of the song. Chris couldn't help but look at her. She was really pretty. And she was so different than the other girls. Yeah, Haley James was something else.
"So I guess you go to a lot of these", she finally turned around. "Concerts, I mean."
"Yeah. Not so much anymore because I spend a lot of time with the guys working on our stuff but I still like to get out when I can and check the bands out. The last concert I saw before this was Velvet Revolver."
Haley closed her eyes.
"I love Velvet Revolver! I would kill to see them live. Did they totally rock out or what?"
"Hell yeah. You know they did. And at the end it was really cool because Slash just launches into this like 15 minute riff and everybody was going crazy. That dude is nasty on the guitar."
"He is such an awesome musician. The place that my folks live at now in Florida is like on a whole bunch of open land and sometimes out of boredom or frustration or just too much freaking energy, I'd run barefoot out by the woods and just go into the loudest, craziest guitar solo I could think of. And I'd play and scream and rock out and just have the best time by myself."
Chris chuckled.
"Your folks must have just loved that one."
"Actually, they didn't care. Now our neighbor, Mr. Jones? That's another story. I think we totally get on his nerves. He definitely thinks we're weird. But noise doesn't really bother them. With six kids, there is a lot of noise, trust me. And we're all into music so one of us was always on the harmonica or the guitar or the piano and the times we didn't have instruments, we just made our own. Hell, my brothers learned to drum by beating spoons on Mom's pots and pans. Anyway, I remember being in our van one time moving and that's the first time I heard Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N Roses and I just remember getting this chill. So every time I hear it, it kind of takes me back."
"Okay. Let's play a little game. I want to know where your head is musically."
Haley made a face.
"Um, alright. Go for it."
"I'll give you an action or a feeling and you tell me the song that makes you want to do that."
She smiled.
"Fine. But only if you answer the questions, too."
"Alright. Name the song that makes you want to dance."
Haley blushed.
"Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees. You?"
"Fall Out Boy's Dance, Dance. Okay…makes you happy?"
"Cat Stevens' Peace Train."
"Pearl Jam, Corduroy. Okay what reminds you of an ex love?"
Haley thought.
"I don't know if you've heard of it but it's called Sand and Water by Beth Nielsen Chapman and uh the words of the chorus are, All alone I came into this world, All alone I will someday die, Solid stone is just sand and water, baby, Sand and water, and a million years gone by."
"Yeah", he said softly. "I do know that one."
"So what about, Keller? Tell, me what is the song that makes you most ponder life."
"Eternal Life."
"Jeff Buckley? That's the guy that drowned in the river, right?"
Chris smirked.
"Yeah. It's a shame now that's mostly what he's known for, his death. He was a hell of a musician. That guy is the reason I first picked up a guitar."
"Why?"
Chris looked right at her.
"Because he never sold out."
Haley nodded. She couldn't stop staring at him. Maybe it was the sky that had darkened and with it, had produced a bright, full moon and hundreds of beautiful stars. Or maybe it was the music and the people. Or maybe it was the way he was looking back at her.
"Chris…"
Before she could complete her sentence, the music started. They looked at each other. Haley's wish had come true after all as the unmistakable beginning of Don't Stop Believin' blared loudly out onto the venue.
Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere
Haley bit her lip as she continued to stay lost in his gaze. She couldn't talk or breathe or even think. All she knew was the music was there and she was sitting on a blanket with a wonderful guy underneath a star speckled night sky.
Just a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train going anywhere
There was a dangerous lump forming in Chris' throat. He didn't know quite how to handle. The mood was so heavy. And the chocolate eyes fixated on him weren't making things any better. He wanted to say something smart or funny, anything to lighten the mood but he couldn't. All he could do was just be next to her.
A singer in a smoky room
The smell of wine and cheap perfume
"Haley…"
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on
She shook her head and swallowed hard.
"Don't say anything", she commanded in a soft whisper.
Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people
Living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night
She cupped her small hands on his face and drew him in close to meet her. Their eyes closed and their lips met at the same time as she kissed him for the first time. It was sweet and soft but soon grew more passionate. It was a great moment with the tunes in the background set up as sort of their own personal little Chris and Haley soundtrack.
But they lost themselves in the moment, just enjoying it all and especially the taste of each other. Their lips nipped and tongues fenced, the passion fervor between them rising. It wasn't until the music stopped, the band said good night and they heard giggles among the people sitting closest to them, that they finally pulled away, breathless.
"That was…nice", Chris commented.
Haley nodded in agreement.
"Very nice."
So nice that she didn't want the night to end.
"Um, you want to go back to that coffee house? I don't know if anything is going on there tonight but we could talk, you know, hang out."
Apparently, he didn't either.
"Okay", she said softly as he stood and reached out his long arm to her.
She accepted his hand and returned his smile, shivering as his other hand rested on the small of her back. As they walked back to his car and the breeze blew against their flushed skin, Haley couldn't help but stare up at the full moon and smile. She couldn't escape the irony. Folklore had always linked full moons to such things as disasters or tragedies or bad luck. She had never noticed before but looking over at Chris Keller's smile, she didn't feel a thing except good.
