“Well,” Alex ran his fingers through his hair, “we should probably get going before it gets dark.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” I agreed.

I’d been so swept up in Alex’s story about the star that I’d temporarily pushed the yellow-eyed death monsters out of my mind. But when we started the walk back to the car, and the silence set in, my mind raced back to the what-if’s. What if the monsters were hiding out there? What if they were real? What if they showed up and tried to kill me?  What if they… well, you get the picture.

So, needless to say, I was beyond thankful when we made it safely back inside the car. It was then that I silently vowed to myself that I would never go up into the mountains again, unless it was absolutely necessary, which I could never see it being.

By the time Alex was turning the Camaro onto the main road, dark had settled in. The glow of the headlights glistened against the icy roads as we inched nearer to town. Alex and I hadn’t spoken a word to each other since we’d headed back to the car, and I was still confused why he’d brought me up to the mountains in the first place. To tell me about the fallen star? It seemed like a really strange reason.

“So,” he dimmed the headlights for a SUV passing by in the opposite direction, “you live with your grandparents?”

“Huh?” It had been quiet for so long that his voice startled me. “Yeah, I do.  But how did you know that?

He shrugged. “And you like to be by yourself a lot, too, I’ve noticed.”

“I guess.” Like always, I was confused. “What’s with the analysis?”

“I’m just curious…about you.” He gave me a sideways glance. “I find you fascinating.”

“Fascinating?” I gave him a doubtful look. “I highly doubt that. I think the word you’re looking for is annoying.”

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “I already told you, I’m just a moody person.”

“You can say that again.” I paused, realizing it was kind of a bitchy thing to say. I made what I hoped looked like an apologetic face. “Sorry.”

He laughed. “Well, that’s a cute side of you.”

I chewed on my lip, replaying his words. Cute? Had he meant it as a compliment? Or had he meant it as an insult?

I was guessing the latter.

Suddenly the radio, which had been playing quietly in the background, cut out and static screeched through speakers. The sound was like nails on a chalkboard, and I threw my hands over my ears.

Alex hurried and turned the volume down. He pointed to the visor above my head. “Grab one of those CD’s and put it in, would you?”

I lowered my hands from my ears and flipped the visor down. Oh. My. Word. I was in heaven. Okay, so let me explain why. I’d developed a huge obsession with music over the last couple of months. An obsession that had played a bit of a part in the whole Marco and Sophia vs. Gemma showdown because, apparently, blasting music was a very rude thing to do. At least that’s what Sophia had told me. She’d also threatened to take my computer away if I didn’t stop listening to music. But I loved music way too much to quit listening to it completely. I was in love with the lyrics, the rhythm, and the way it could sweep me away to another world.  So late at night, when Sophia and Marco were sleeping, I’d put my headphones in, listen, and relax.

What was exciting here was that Alex had great selection. Chevelle, Hawthorne Heights, Dashboard Confessional, they were all such great bands.

I decided on Rise Against and slid it into the CD player. Five seconds later, the intro popped on.

“You like Rise Against?” He sounded somewhat shocked.

“Yeah…” What was with all the weird questions? “Why do you sound so surprised?”

“I just hadn’t pegged that about you.”

“Pegged what about me? That I wouldn’t like music? Or that I wouldn’t listen to Rise Against?”

He pressed the skip button, skipping the CD to the next song. “That you’d be the kind of person who likes listening to music.”

“Why?” I felt my skin warm. And it was not from the electricity. Nope, I was getting pissed. “What kind of person would I have to be to like listening to music?”

He frowned. “Gemma, I’m not trying to insult you? I’m just trying to get to know you better. That’s all.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth or not. He sounded like he was, though. “Well, I like music, especially the soul speaking kind.”

His expression fell into a look of horror.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. Had I said something offensive?  After all, I was a bit of a newbie at the whole socializing thing, but he was saying a lot of strange stuff to so…I don’t know.

“It’s nothing.” He shook his head. “Sorry.” His smile returned, but it looked forced. He fiddled with the heater, turning it up full blast. Then he cranked up the volume of the music so loud the windows vibrated.

I took it as a very unsubtle hint that our conversation was over, so I stopped talking.

Neither one of us made so much as peep until he’d pulled back into the school parking lot and parked his Camaro next to my Mirage, which was now covered in a thin layer of snow.

He turned the volume down and said in polite tone, “Thanks for taking a break with me.”

Matching his polite tone, I replied, “Well, thanks for the break.”

“Yep, no problem.”

I opened the door and climbed out into the cold night. The parking lot was empty, except for my car and his. There was only a single lamppost that actually worked, so it was basically dark.

I went to shut the door, but heard Alex say my name and paused.

“Sweet dreams,” he said, in a soft voice that made goose bumps sprout up on my skin.

I smiled at him as I closed the door. Then I jumped in my car and let it warm up just long enough for the ice to melt away from the windshield. To my surprise, Alex waited for me leave before he did. He followed me out of the school parking lot, staying closely behind me until I made a right turn onto Main Street.  There he turned left, his headlights disappearing and taking my sense of comfort right along with them.

All the lights at my two-story red brick home were off when I pulled into the driveway. It was only a little after seven, too early for Marco and Sophia to be in bed. They must have gone out for dinner or something.

I locked the back door behind me and stumbled around in the dark until I found the light switch and flipped it on. I grabbed a Coke and an apple from the fridge and headed upstairs to my room, debating whether or not to do my homework. My brain was distracted by the weird day I’d had. The weird day I’d spent with Alex.

My day with Alex.

Holy freaking cow.

A light suddenly flipped on behind me.

“And where have you been?”

I whirled around, almost dropping the can of Coke.

Sophia was standing at the bottom of the stairs with her hands on her hips. She had a fluffy pink robe on, and her auburn hair was curled up in rollers. I guessed I’d been wrong when I assumed she’d gone out. But what had she been doing; waiting around in the dark for me to show up?

So weird.

“I was out with…a friend,” I told her, knowing how unnatural the word “friend” sounded coming out of my mouth.

She narrowed her eyes. “You don’t have any friends.”

“Yes, I do,” I protested. “Sort of.”

“If that’s the case, then why haven’t I seen any of these friends?”

“Maybe because I don’t want to bring them over here,” I snapped hotly.

A strand of her hair unwound from a roller and landed in her face with a bounce. “What's wrong with over here?”

I gave an exhausted sigh. “Nothing’s wrong with here. I don’t know why you care about any of this anyway.”

Her eyes widened. “I don’t.” She pushed past me and marched up the stairs, calling over her shoulder, “In fact, I don’t care what you do at all.”

I’m not going to lie. Her words hurt me like a knife to the heart. I mean, I’d always assumed she’d never liked me that much, but now that she put it out there…I felt like I might cry. They didn’t care about me.