The alarm blared, and Lynn reached over, stopping the music. After a quick shower, she began working on her list of objectives for the day. Breakfast was first, and as she ate, she planned how to get everything else done before sundown.

            She had managed to clean the house the previous night after everyone had either left or passed out. At least she didn’t have that added onto her list today.

            “Paul,” she prodded, dumping a cup of water over his face.

            “Huh, what?” He flailed around as he sat up, wiping at his face.

            “It’s eight in the morning. Wake up.”

            “It’s only eight,” he groaned, throwing a pillow over his face. “Wake me in eight hours. There’s a party at Mark’s place tonight.”

            Lynn rolled her eyes, picking up the smashed cup from underneath him. Tossing it in the trash, she gathered up her library books, starting for the door. Just as she opened it, she jumped back.

            A part of her had hoped he had forgotten. He had been drunk after all. She herself must had been slightly wasted just from the fumes. In her right mind, she knew it was futile. They were totally different people, and unless he showed her that he had changed, there was no way she would do more than ache from afar.

            Or maybe not from so far. The books in her hands almost pressed to Rodge’s chest as she closed the door behind her. Paul never knew what happened between them, and Lynn wanted to keep it that way. She could handle herself.

            “I, uh, I realize I was a complete douche,” Rodge said. Something which sounded like crumpled paper rustled behind him.

            “Just a bit,” Lynn agreed, not bothering to try and maneuver around him.

            He cussed softly, shuffling his feet. “This seemed a lot better idea hungover at five AM,” he muttered. “Anyway, here,” he said. His hand unwound from behind him, and he set on her books a beat up brown paper bag like the ones she used to bring to school.

            Turning away, he slipped into his car and the engine revved. The tires squealed in protest as he shifted gears too quickly before speeding off.

            To Lynn, though, his presence loitered, causing her an odd mixture of comfort and uneasiness. Not so capricious by nature, that was one of the things which originally drew her to him. It gave her a rush, feeling two things at once, no knowing which sensation she would experience next.

            The walk to the library seemed so much less mundane with the unopened bag relaxed over the books. The collection of words altered from the occasional novel to the more common self-help book or non-fiction.

            When she entered the house, Lynn noticed the lacking presence of Paul. Setting her new pile of books onto her bedside table  hours after leaving, Lynn’s fingers shook as she sat on her bed, the bag on her lap. A rush clouded her mind as she unrolled the top.

            Inside didn’t lie much. Only a lonely cut out of a heart on red construction paper sat bent at the bottom along with two long pieces of paper. Lynn pulled the heart out, confused. Turning it around in her hand, she saw some words scrawled on the back.

            So here it is. I know it sucks, but I also know you, and you’ll need proof. I can’t exactly hand you my real heart, even though it does try and escape my chest whenever I talk to you, and I don’t think you would appreciate that much anyway. So I made this.

                                                                                                -Rodge

            She then reached back in, slipping out the pieces of paper.

            Concert tickets for her favorite band, Paramore, along with many more musicians.

            She had wanted to go so bad, but the price of the tickets didn’t fit in with her budget. Also she seemed to remember that there was some scheduling issue as well. She stood to check, but found herself walking numbly from her room. Unsure of what she was doing, she got in her car and started driving. Only then did she realize she had left behind her planner, but she didn’t turn around.

            The line was already stretched around the surrounding buildings when Lynn arrived. With an ever growing urgency, she searched the line for the familiar face.

            “If it isn’t Lynn Harold,” a girl’s voice teased. “What happened to your hair? Someone mistake it for a rat’s nest? Will Princeton allow girls with such an ugly complexion? You think you’re so perfect. You think you are better than us all just because you have your life together. Well let me tell you something-”

            “Shut up, Brit,” Rodge said from beside Lynn. “You’re just lacking sleep because your mom brought home yet another hobo last night.”

            Britt’s jaw clenched as she ground her teeth.

            “Oh, I’m sorry. Was there two of them?”

            Her fingers unclenched, and her pointed nails unsheathed like a cat’s. Just before she could pounce, Rodge drew Lynn away, guiding her to the back door. The bouncer gave him a nod as they walked in.

            “My uncle works here,” he whispered to Lynn, leading her down a hallway. Eventually, they made it to the front of the standing room just in time as the rest of the audience started flooding in.

            “Ready for the time of your life?” Rodge asked. “I’m actually surprised you came. Didn’t you have something on your schedule?”

            Lynn’s heart stopped momentarily. She had completely forgotton. She did have something on her agenda, but no matter how she thought, she couldn’t remember what it was. The noise was already deafening, and it was hours until the show started.

            “Just forget about it all and relax, go with the flow.” That was the last thing Lynn remembered until the last note resounded around the theater.

            Her mind was a tangled mess. Her plans and her heart were in a delicate battle inside her. They wove around each other, pulling her tighter, making it harder for her to think clearly.

            Warm bodies rubbed against each other as alcohol sloshed over Lynn’s clothes. They were all drunk on the liquid, but Lynn was drunk on something else, or someone else. He didn’t touch one drop the whole time. Instead, he stayed by her side, using the energetic crowd as a reason to entwine their fingers, letting them tangle together until it was impossible to part them.

A/N

Be back Monday :) Sorry I have been so inactive. I.. yeah haha