I pushed her away when all she wanted was to help.
"You deserve enough arseholes in your life," I say, but obviously it doesn’t come out the way I meant.
Her face is contorted—she’s holding back laughter, a step up from her hardened expression.
"Right. That was off. What I meant was that I was an envious drama queen, a massive arse when you were nothing but kind to me. I am a jerk, who still fancies you, but you don’t deserve another arsehole in your life."
"Then don’t be one," she says.
My eyes widen. Does she mean she’s willing to give it another shot? "I really am sorry, Cassie," I say again, but this time I take her hand and squeeze it tight before I let go. "I want to sort this—our relationship—out, if you’ll let me."
Her eyes shift from left to right before stopping on me. They register fear.
"It’s my attitude to setbacks that have caused this massive mess and I’m working on it. I’ll keep on working on it and it will take a while because I’ve been like this my whole life. So I’ll need you and my mates to tell me when I’m out of line."
The creases on her forehead disappear, but she remains silent, so I continue.
"I want to be your boyfriend," I say and know how much it means for her to hear this label. She didn’t get that with Toby, and I want her to know I am notgoing to do what he did to her. I will do what it takes to earn back her trust, even if it means we can’t be together. "If that means that I have to go back to being your mate first, I’ll do that. I want to earn that label, not jump into it."
Her mouth twitches. I don’t know if she’s going to walk away or agree to this, but I stand my ground.
She moves forward, pulls me into a friendly embrace, and whispers, "Okay."
When she lets go, she clarifies, "Mates first."
I nod and break into a grin. I’m happy she wants to be part of my life. For now, that is enough.
A bunch of crew members in charge of tuning and setting up rush by and yell out directions. Benji and Eric follow behind with instruments in tow. They nod at us and motion for me to join them.
"Oh!" she says, remembering the chaos we’re in, and glances at her watch. "Four minutes ’til The Fortunate Only, then The Gramophones are up next. Better not delay their set time."
I gasp. "We’re opening for The Gramophones?"
She smiles.
"You so fancy me," I tease.
She laughs and rolls her eyes. "Bring on your A-game, Cameron. Callum Ford’s watching. He wants to set up Ear for Music as a non-profit and hire a bunch of us to launch it—specifically you and me to lead the whole team."
On impulse, I kiss her cheek.
"Oi!" She swats me away, laughing, though her face is reddish. "Mates first."
"That was a friendly kiss," I say and shrug. "No proper ones until we’ve sorted everything out."
She pushes me towards the direction of the stage. "Now, get."
I laugh and salute her as I walk to the side of stage where a crew hands me a guitar. Right before I enter the bright lights, I turn around and say, "Thank you."
After all, this journey started the night I walked into the basement of Tokyo Drift and met her. If Lewis hadn’t dropped me, then I would never have had this opportunity to grow, meet Cassie, form a band with my best mates, or play for an amazing community such as The Hush Society. Most of all, it’s pushed me to face my insecurities—ugly as they are—and strive to let go of constantly comparing myself to other musicians. So wherever you are Lewis…thank you.
As soon as I step into the stage, the flashing lights drown everything around me into a white haze. The crowd cheers.
When my eyes adjust, there’s a smiling Callum Ford centre stage with a microphone. "Well, Manchester, I believe it’s time for our next band, The Fortunate Only!" he says, tossing me the microphone.
I catch it in time as Eric pounds his snare drum and Benji plays his bass line. We are connected to the crowd by this invisible line, this energy we're feeding and producing. There is nothing like the rush of being at a rock show.
We're a pulse growing, swelling, ready to explode.
We're a riot escalating to its peak.
My head moves with each bang, strum and beat; sweat rains down my back.
I grab the microphone to sing the first line.
Our energies bounce back and forth with the crowd. I never imagined we’d be playing to one as massive as this—and with The Gramophones listening in somewhere backstage. I spot my family—Mum, Dad, Timmy and Tamara—going absolutely nuts, head-banging and dancing. I laugh aloud.
The emotions I’ve kept at bay in the last two weeks, unleash themselves on the stage. The negativity releases itself into raw, bouncing energy.
I couldn’t be more proud to have my best mates at my side. And to be able to play music with them on stage, hopefully for the rest of our lives. They chose not to give up on me when I was at my worst. Our journey is ours alone, but we don't have to go through it alone.
A female voice screams for Benji—sounding a lot like Amber, no doubt. That’s when I spot more familiar faces. Judy and Nate wave at the middle of the mosh pit beside Amber. Beside them are some of our mates from The Hush Society. Lily’s beaming face is a reminder that our music makes a difference. The potential of what Ear for Music can do for others. She is proof we have something to fight for.
My fingers are on fire with the metallic strings of my electric guitar. I scream as loud as I can, urging the crowd to go mad.
"Sing it loud!"
I let go of the stand and take the microphone
