Jon, Zeek and Trent were in a circle group with Felice and Aiden, talking and laughing. Lauren came in, having gone to the bathroom before going backstage, and when she came in, she watched Trent turn around and stare at her.

Trent shoved his hands into the pockets of his worn jeans. He tapped his shoe, which was made of dark brown leather with white stripes on the sides - vintage looking - which made Lauren smile - and stretched his hands down deeper into the pockets, making his lean torso even longer under his tight black shirt. He gave a slight, nervous smile as he looked her up and down curiously. He walked to her, a few feet away from the crowd, and narrowed his head so he was looking down at her. "Hey."

Lauren smiled at him, overly and embarrassingly happy that he wasn't being the asshole he usually was when he was 'uncomfortable'. "Hello. What's going on?"

Trent shrugged, his crooked smile still on his face. Lauren studied his face, and saw a few thin, white scars on the tan skin of his chin and jawline. It made her smile falter for a minute, but she just grinned. "Um, nothing really... You look really nice."

Lauren smiled and stared at him, her face frozen. Trent took his right hand out of his pocket and ran it through his messy, thick black hair, and she saw his cheek redden slightly. "I thought I looked like a preppy teen-ager." She rose her eyebrows in question.

Trent looked at her, then, taking a chance, reached and put a loose strand of short hair behind her ear. "Na." Was all he said. Trent knew he usually would have gotten a bit offended or hurt if someone had countered his compliments... but this was a time for new growths, wasn't it?

"Thank you, then." Lauren laughed, but didn't touch him - she wasn't exactly sure how to act yet. She then looked behind him, and saw that the others in the room were staring at them... silently. The minute Felice saw Lauren staring at them, she instantly began chattering and moving her hands expressively, almost wildly, as she looked back and gave Lauren a huge grin and waved.

Lauren laughed, "I'm thinking maybe we should join them?" She began to walk around him when she felt his hand grab her elbow through her thick pleather jacket. She looked up at him in surprise.



"I need to talk to you." He said quietly, looking straight at her. When she didn't respond he turned to the others and said, "Hey, I'm going to take Lauren home to get something she forgot. For you, Zeek." Trent said instantly when he saw Zeek open his mouth and give them a confused look.

"Oh, alright man." Zeek gave his goofy grin, but the others still looked at them with bewilderment written on their faces. They just shook their heads, "Okay, see you all later."

"Trent, call my cell if we're not here when you get back. We're probably going out for coffee or something again, okay?" Jon said.

Trent nodded, touched Lauren's arm again as he looked at her then moved and walked across the room to grab a black hoodie with a red Zumiez logo across the front he had draped on the back of a chair. He put it on quickly and then walked over and grabbed Lauren's hand, waved at the group, and together they walked out the door.

**

"You guys - is there something going on I don't know about?" Jon asked, still holding his drumsticks (a/n: Ah, can't remember the name of those...) and fiddling with them.

Aiden and Felice looked at each other and smiled slightly, and Aiden squeezed Felice's hand in a knowing way. "Trent's obviously interested in someone." Aiden said, and Felice let out a small laugh. "Yeah, that's kind of obvious."

"But, like, he hasn't been interested in anyone for like... a million years. You know, since the accident. He's had a couple girls but I don't know... Dude, is there something special about Lauren with Trent? Or am I just imagining things? I get confused so easily." Zeek was looking at the wall blankly as he talked, and then he focused his eyes on the group. "You know what I mean?" He wrapped his hand around Mandy's waist and pulled her against his side, who smiled up at him.

"Nothing to be confused about, Zeek."

**

Trent and Lauren walked silently through the filled, noisy restaurant. Looking around, Lauren saw the glares from some other women and girls. Reverting her eyes, she looked at the back of Trent's black sweater. When they finally got outside, Lauren instantly scooted a bit closer to Trent for warmth without noticing. Wrapping her other arm around her and watching her breath come out in white, frosty puffs, she asked. "So, where are we going?"

"You know the fish market under my apartment, right?" Trent looked across the street for his car.

"Yes." Lauren looked among the row of cars as well, spotting her BMW.

"Well, it gets turned into a bar every night, and there's a band playing there sometimes. You wanna go?"

Lauren smiled, feeling Trent's grip on her hand tighten just a bit. Only then did she realize they were holding hands and felt her cheeks burn and her insides churn. Amazing, she thought, that just a look or a simple touch or gesture can make your insides turn to mush. "Sure."

"Okay, there's my car." He pointed at a freshly painted, black '63 Mustang.

Lauren rose her eyebrows as they walked across the street. "Wow, did this just get painted?"

"Yeah, I had some free time so I took her over to Jon's and we worked on it. Put some new interior in, too. No big deal." Trent pulled some keys from his pocket and unlocked the door for her and helped her in before walking around and getting in.

Lauren watched his as he rubbed his arms before starting the car and Lauren felt a hot blast of air the minute he turned the car on. She sighed, "That feels good." She put her hands up to the heater and looked at the interior. There were new cream white leather seats and the dashboard and steering wheel were all polished. "This is really nice."

Trent put his arm behind her seat and turned around to look out the rear window for any oncoming traffic. Lauren looked at the strong curve of his jawline and the veins in his throat. He was wearing a necklace with wooden beads and pooka shells that she hadn't caught before. Just then did she notice that they weren't moving anywhere and that Trent was staring at her. Making eye contact, she laughed, "Sorry," she mummbled, and looked away.

"It's okay." Trent laughed, too and pulled out. "What were you looking at?"

"Your necklace. I like it."

Trent put both hands on the steering wheel and spun it, then began to drive down the long stretch of road, putting his arm back behind her seat. "Oh. I got that at the beach a couple years ago."

"That's cool."

They were silent for a couple minutes, so Trent reached over and turned the radio on. He let out a small laugh as he said, "I love this band. Isn't that crazy?"

Lauren grinned. "Me, too. And this song is really cool." Garbage was droning on about a Stupid Girl. The sound filled the car.

"I like your shoes." Trent said suddenly, without looking at her.

Lauren laughed again, "Well, why thank you."

Trent grinned. Relief fluttered through his chest - he wasn't uncomfortable, he smiled more with her than he had in almost four years, and she was... she was different. He liked her.

**