Chapter 7

                                    

                                          
Red 
                          
"That's sick!" I shouted. I ran up on stage and hugged Mike. We were having a soundcheck before the actual gig and so far, Mike was killing it. "That was awesome. You're a natural, right Eric?" I turned to face Eric. Eric nodded his head. 
                          
"Yeah, he is. I may have to replace you with him for real." He joked. He turned around and put back his mic on the stand. 
                          
"You do that, you die." I hissed at him. I pulled my thumb over my throat, threatening him.
                          
"Red or die, Eric." My bassist Keith, stood up for me. I flashed him a grateful smile.
                          
"Come on, another song." I said and jumped off the stage. I wasn't even playing and I'm the nervous one. Everything must be perfect. 
                          
"What? No break?" Mike asked, whining like a boy. He stood up and looked at me, his hands on his hip. I shook my head. 
                          
"That's Red alright." Eric mumbled, getting in place for another song.
                          
"Butt down, let's open the show." I ordered.
                          
Mike 
                          
"Can I practice throwing my sticks?" I joked after yet another song. If I didn't know better, I would think she's nervous. Red laughed and then put on a straight face.
                          
"No." She muttered, her voice sounded cold. "Kay, that's good. We're ready. Sound check done. We just have to wait till 7." She announced. She's now seated on the ground in front of us, her legs stretched out infront.
                          
"Hey Red, wanna grab some Starbucks?" I asked her. She smiled and nodded. 
                          
"Yeah, you guys wanna come?" She asked, getting to her feet. Eric, Keith and Aiden, our lead guitarist declined. Eric gave out a fake laugh even.
                          
"I don't think we should. You guys go ahead." Eric whispered so only us could hear. I talked to the guys about it before and they said they saw it too. They think Red likes me and maybe I'm going to ask her out. I stood up and walked to Eric. 
                          
"Thanks man." I whispered to him. I massaged his shoulders, flashing him a grateful smile.
                          
"I'm your wingman." Eric replied. I jumped off the stage and wrapped my arms around Red's shoulder, pulling her closer to me. 
                          
"See ya guys at 7!" I shouted and waved at them. Red smiled and wrapped her arms around my waist. We walked out the venue like that. The spot where she's holding me tingles by the time we reached Starbucks, her warmth already seeped through my shirt. "What do you want?" I asked her. She stared at the menu board for awhile. 
                          
"I want the.. Caramel frappe." Red told me. I nodded at her. 
                          
"Okay, you take a seat. I'll be back with our drinks." 
                          
"Alright." Red let go, sadly, and walked to a round table in a corner. I queued and got us our drinks. I'm getting nervous even more with each minute and it's not even because of the gig later. It's Red. 
                          
"So Red, umm, how come you don't have a boyfriend? You're gorgeous and all, so why don't you have one?" I asked her, after talking for awhile. Our drinks nearly finished. Red was taken aback by the question or by the fact that I called her gorgeous. It just came out. She tilted her head a little and narrowed her eyes at me. 
                          
"Why don't you have a girlfriend?" She shot back. I leaned forward to show that I'm serious about the question. 
                          
"Cause I haven't ask her to be mine yet." I answered easily. "Your turn." 
                          
"Cause he haven't ask me to be his yet." Red answered and looked away, a small grin on her lips. She took a sip from her drink to hide the smile.
                          
But so, she already have someone. I sighed mentally and put on a fake smile. "It's almost 7, we should head back." I told her, standing up and grabbing my drink. Red followed suit. "Let's go." I said, grabbing her hand and interlocked my fingers with hers. We made our way back to the venue in silence. Me, glancing over at Red once in a while to see her cheeks all red and her lip in between her teeth.
                          
"Wait." Red said, once we're outside the venue. We both stopped walking and I turned towards her. The blush and the grin wiped clean from her face. It caused me to worry. 
                          
"Is something wrong? Are you nervous?" I asked. Red shook her head and avoided my eyes. I realised she does that alot when she's nervous. Avoid eye contact and look down at her feet. "Then what is it?" I urged her to tell me. She took a deep breath before looking at me.
                          
"Thanks. For everything. For playing the gig, for the Starbucks, for being my friend." She said, our hands are still interlocked with each others. She gripped my hand tighter and took a step forward, bringing us closer. I could hear my heart beating. It was beating so loud as she tiptoed on her tiny feet and planted a kiss on my cheek. She let go of my hand and escaped in the venue alone, leaving me to catch my breath and calm myself down. She took the first step. That was a hint. 
                          
I sat on my hot seat behind the drums. Eric started the show and the crowd was amazing. I didn't thought it would be this big and fun. I've played gigs plenty of times but I left my band when we moved. Red was standing backstage, supporting us and I would start blushing every time I looked at her. She made me even mkre nervous and it's thrilling. A grin appeared on my face and I gave everything I had on that stage, just to impress her.
                          
"So this would be our last song we're gonna cover. It's called Sweet Child Of Mine." Eric said breathlessly into the mic. Aiden and Keith started playing queuing me to play. I played my parts and Eric started singing. I love this song, a classic. I looked at Red once in awhile but she's not looking back at me. Finally, I caught her eye. She looked at me, her face a little red. Probably thinking about what she did. That took alot of courage and I applaud her for that. I gave her a warm smile and wink which made her laugh before looking away. 
                          
As soon as the song is over, I felt nervous. I knew I to do, I knew it had to be now. I stood up, the crowd still cheering like mad, and ran over to Red. I grabbed her by her shoulders and leaned in. Please don't slap me, please. I pressed my lips against hers. I closed my eyes and felt her lips on mine but I'm afraid she'll push me away. But she didn't. Red kissed me back. Her hands went to my neck and kissed me back. I felt butterflies in my stomach and it feels so good. I can't help the smile that crept onto my face.