------Author's Note------

Hey guys!

I realized that I missed the one year anniversary of me publishing this book (by about a month, whoops)! It's hard to believe that February 25, 2020 was over a year ago. I'm so grateful for all the people who have supported me along the way. Especially the people who found me when I was a nobody (you know who you are). It took so many chapters with only 5 reads, probably most of them from me looking for typos, until I started seeing views tick up. It's insane to think I have over 200k reads right now. I'm beyond grateful for each and every one of you.

It only makes sense that this be the chapter I'm mentioning this in, considering this was one of my first ideas when the story came to mind. I knew that whatever I wrote had to get me to this point. It's without a doubt one of the chapters I've anticipated the most. I really can't wait for you all to read it.

Also, sorry I picked like one of the longest songs I could've, but I really do love this song and I can just see people sitting around a campfire and singing it. I definitely recommend listening to it.

Stay lovely ❤️

And enjoy!

•°•°•°•

Koto's POV
(Friday the 26th)

When we get to the party, it's been dark for a few hours already. The house is in a nicer neighborhood, large houses lining either side of the street. We park a couple blocks away, the curbs already packed with cars, and walk to the house with music blasting. People stand around outside, talking and drinking from plastic cups. 

How basic, I think as we cross the large front lawn and head inside. I would say the sound is what hits me first, but it's actually the smell. It's like one of Mic's parties, yet somehow worse. 

Sweaty teenage bodies mingle with every type of cheap alcohol on their breaths. I catch whiffs of smoke in the air as Kati and Macy pull me through the dancing crowd and into the kitchen. 

Drinks of all kinds litter the marble countertops and a group of college aged guys play beer pong on the dining room table in the next room over. 

My friends pour themselves some jungle juice, but I mix my own drink in a red solo cup. A couple other girls come up to them, pulling them into the mass of dancing teenagers. Kati extends her hand to me, but I wave her off, already feeling a little overwhelmed. 

I stay in the kitchen for a while, supervising the game of beer pong, before the guys start to notice me watching. I head outside before any of them can talk to me. I nurse my drink as I watch all the people who've decided to be outside. 

Teenagers laugh and splash around in the large pool, illuminated in the dark, while a couple makes out in the hot tub, others doing the same on lawn chairs or in the flower garden. A group sits on the patio, smoking and laughing with each other. 

I walk past all of them to the back of the yard where a fire pit is already roaring with a tall flame. A small group sits around the fire, which is probably too close to the tree line to be safe, but I don't mention that. 

A guy in a white t-shirt and jeans sits on a lawn chair, strumming an acoustic guitar and humming. His eyes go from his fingers to the fire and then he just keeps them close, completely feeling the music and drowning out everything else. His calm features draw me towards the group. 

I sit on the ground to his left. I examine how the fire illuminates his dusty brown hair and sharpens his facial features, but soon lose myself to the music as well, instead opting to watch the fire. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the rest of the group staring at me, confused.

Did they already realize I don't belong here? I think worriedly. Thankfully, they go back to swaying to the music, but I still feel like I interrupted something. 

Eventually, I find myself attention shifting back to the music which sounds strangely familiar, but I just figure it's some English music I haven't heard since moving. That is, until the words come to me in my mind. 

"I understand about indecision,
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin' in competition,
All I want is to have my peace of mind."

It seems to be an acoustic version of a classic rock song I heard on GGG's playlist. 

I begin humming along with him as he plays the guitar riffs. I hear his fingers stumble a bit on the strings, but he continues, fingertips dancing across the strings until the very end. 

I look up and smile at him, having genuinely enjoyed the song, when everybody's eyes seem to pin me in place. Especially his green eyes as they flicker in the firelight. He raises an eyebrow at me. 

"You know that song?" He asks. It seems to be the only sound in existence, as if the crackling fire and chirping crickets quiet down to listen to him speak.

I nod and say, "B-Boston, right?" A small smile splits his face as he begins retuning the guitar.

I glance around to see all the other girls staring angrily at me and that's when I realize:

There's only girls sitting around him.

The pretty brunette next to him looks as though she could drill holes through me with her dark blue eyes. 

Annie.

I look up at the guy sitting next to me and realize with a start who it is. 

Jupiter.

"So whatcha got, snowflake?" He asks, looking at me intently. 

I gulp down my fear and respond, "I d-don't really s-sing."

He breathes out a dry laugh and fixes me with a look that says, c'mon, really? "Neither do I," he says, "so I don't judge. Just sing whatever you want."

He stares blankly at me for a tense moment where I can feel all the other party goers' eyes on me too. Even the couples by the pool and stoner kids look over when they hear the music stop. It appears as though they're used to him playing the soundtrack to their nights. 

I painfully wrack my brain, hoping I didn't offend, but I know it's in vain. I take another sip of my drink, hoping what they say about "liquid courage" is true. The girl I assume to be Annie pushes her curly brown hair over her bare shoulder, maybe as a move to try and entice him.

I guess we're doing this, I think as some of the others walk over to see what the holdup is. I open my mouth and try to force my mouth to form the right words:

"A long long time ago
I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while."

Jupiter begins strumming quietly as I continue.

"But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step.
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
Something touched me deep inside
The day the music died."

I let my voice become a little louder, remembering how good it feels to sing and not worry.

"So
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

Jupiter starts strumming quicker as the song picks up. I fall into the same trance-like state I was in before and just let myself belt out the words.

"Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues"

The new crowd cheers as I hit the high note, letting my voice dance through the music like I wish my feet could at the moment. Annie stands up and pushes past everybody else, the other girls from before grudgingly listening to me sing as the newcomers cheer.

"I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin'"

For one moment, Jupiter and I turn to each other at the same time and share a smile. I'm shocked when he joins me in singing the rest of the song.

"Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

Now, for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
But, that's not how it used to be

When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me

Oh and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned

And while Lennon read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singin'

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
And singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast

It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance

'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
We started singin'

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
And singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again

So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend

Oh and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell

And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singin'

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

The guitar quiets down as Jupiter leaves me to sing by myself.

"I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away

I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play

And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken

And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singing

Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

He joins in one last time, some others in the group trying to remember the lyrics with us.

"They were singing
Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die."

A spattering of applause and cheering rises as we finish singing. I glance at Jupiter to see him putting his guitar away into its case. 

"Nice choice, snowflake," he says, standing from his seat and walking along the tree line to the street. He seems to tower above everyone else. I notice two vertical cuts in the back of his shirt as he walks away. "I'm heading out."

"Wait!" I hear myself call after him. It seems entirely silent as he stops and turns to look at me, as if everyone is holding their breath. 

I'm not sure why I say what I do. Maybe it's because I hate that Annie feels as though she's claimed him or that I want to talk up Kati, maybe just that I felt some kind of connection. 

"Wanna get a drink?"

------Author's Note------

Yay!!!! I'm so excited to share this chapter with you guys! Also, I figured I should attach a picture of what I imagine Jupiter to look like...

Probably without the facial hair considering he's a teenager, but this is what I imagine. Btw, this dude's name is Dylan Matthews, a YouTuber on the channel Dylanisintrouble. Just in case you were curious.

Alrighty, have a good week, y'all!! Best I luck with all you have ahead of you! Stay safe!!