Undone – Ch. 6
Chapter 6
Lucas wasn’t greeted at the door so much as tackled by Adrian, who bent him over and placed him in a headlock as the rest of the guests watched from behind. “‘Sup, little bro?” Adrian said as he playfully noogied Lucas.
“Dude, I’m three months older than you,” Lucas said as he broke free of Adrian’s grasp.
“Details, details,” Adrian said nonchalantly. “You have any idea how weird it is having to ring the doorbell now?” He looked over Lucas’s shoulder at the redhead trying desperately to merge with the paint on the wall and nodded in his direction. “That the new roomie?”
Lucas motioned to Julian. “They won’t bite, I promise.” Julian stepped forward hesitantly for the introductions. “Guys, this is Julian Mercier, my new roommate. Julian, this is Adrian Wallace, lead guitarist, best friend, and former roommate.”
Julian approached the wild-looking and boisterous young man. He offered his hand for a handshake, but Adrian clasped it in such a way as to pull Julian towards him and clap him on the shoulder twice with his free hand. “What’s up?” he said before releasing his grip and stepping aside.
A tanned guy with shaggy brown hair entered the house next. He carried two guitar cases and introduced himself as Troy. Evan, the bass player, was a well-groomed brunette bearing several steaming pizza boxes. Zack, the drummer, wore ragged clothes and long greasy black hair. He had a girl in close pursuit.
“Picked up a stray,” he said as the girl pushed past everyone with a squeal and made a beeline for Lucas. “She pulled in right behind us.”
“Lucas!” the petite blonde shrieked as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his, giving him a short but lingering kiss that was full of promise. Lucas returned the hug and kiss and smiled at her, hoping it didn’t seem as forced as it felt.
“Hi, Sara. Didn’t expect to see you for a couple of weeks at least.”
“Surprise!” she giggled. “I found some free time and I missed you so much, I decided to come over.” She kept her arms around his neck and turned to look at the stranger, resting the side of her face against Lucas’s chest. “I’m Sara,” she said, smiling serenely. “Lucas’s girlfriend.”
“I gathered,” Julian said. He introduced himself to this last person, then stepped back as Troy squeezed by to set the guitar cases down in the living area. He studied Sara and came to one decisive conclusion: he hated everything about her.
She never took her hands off Lucas. She was one of those girls who took a little too much pride in her appearance. Her hair was naturally dark blonde, as evidenced by the roots that were beginning to show, and had been dyed three different lighter shades of blonde for highlights. Everything about her appearance was perfect: her perfectly styled hair, her perfectly applied makeup (all three pounds of it), and her perfect clothes. She wore a very trendy skin-tight top that left her perfectly flat belly barely exposed. The V-neck plunged downward, revealing her perfectly shaped cleavage. Yes, even Julian couldn’t help but stare. The fabric was the perfect shade of pink for her perfectly fair skin.
Julian didn’t necessarily have a problem with the fact that she put forth more effort than necessary into her appearance. It was the simpering way she clung to Lucas and gazed at him adoringly that was disgusting. She wanted the world to know she was his, or rather that he was hers. She was more interested in status than in anything deeper than her shallow personality. Lucas was just another status symbol to her. She was dating the lead singer of a marginally popular local rock band; what more could a girl want?
Julian wanted to scream at Lucas to get rid of her immediately. He could tell she was bad news and would only hurt Lucas in the long run. He held his tongue, however. He wasn’t going to let his surprisingly intense feelings toward Lucas interfere with a situation he knew very little about.
He couldn’t help but smile to himself at Lucas’s reaction to her affections. He was uncomfortable and trying not to show it. It was noticeable to him and the others, but Sara was too smitten to see it.
“Pizza is served!” bellowed Adrian. The boxes lay open on the kitchen counter. The smell hit Julian’s nostrils and his stomach gave an audible gurgle, reminding him he hadn’t eaten since his meager, coffee-less breakfast.
“Help yourself,” Lucas said to Julian as he disentangled himself from Sara’s arms. She pouted and flopped onto the couch, curling up next to an armrest. Lucas brought a plate with enough slices to feed both Sara and him, and she kicked her legs up and laid them over his lap as they ate.
The band lounged around on the couch and in chairs, with Adrian sprawled out on the floor. They ate and discussed band business, most of which was lost on Julian, who sat apart from the crowd in the dining area eating his two slices of cheese pizza. He hoped to go unnoticed, but during a lull in the business talk Adrian asked him about himself. He briefly recounted the events of the past twenty-four hours, leaving out specifics on why exactly he had been kicked out, stating only that it had been a huge fight with his father.
Soon the pizza was gone and Adrian and Troy began unpacking their guitars. Julian quietly excused himself to finish unpacking. The house was well-insulated and Julian couldn’t hear the noise from the living room at all once he’d tuned his clock radio to his preferred radio station.
It was nearly ten o’clock at night by the time Julian was satisfied with the room. The empty boxes were nested neatly on the bare mattress and all the extra bags were shoved into one single bag and placed inside the innermost box. The clothes were organized just as he’d had them at home, and everything was in its proper place.
He was exhausted. It had been a long, eventful day after a restless night, and it had drained him. He changed into a comfortable pair of shorts and a t-shirt and opened the door with the full intention of going straight to Lucas’s bedroom to collapse into a sound sleep. Instead he was drawn to the living room by the sounds he heard.
Adrian was sitting on the floor cross-legged with an acoustic guitar, strumming a melody he’d come up with to match Lucas’s lyrics. Troy was providing accompaniment on his own acoustic, providing a rich, full sound to the fast-paced song. Lucas leaned forward from his spot on the sofa with his eyes closed in deep concentration, singing along with the music and seemingly oblivious to the girl draping herself over him and beaming at him adoringly. Evan and Zack were listening with equal concentration, and from their finger and hand movements seemed to be trying to imagine how their own instruments would fit in.
Julian was transfixed. Lucas was born to sing. His voice meshed perfectly with the music Adrian and Troy played. Though Julian wasn’t exactly well-versed in current music trends, he thought he could begin to appreciate and enjoy Sunder’s style.
The song ended abruptly. Lucas’s eyes open and immediately fell on Julian. “Hey,” he said warmly. “Did you need something?”
“Oh, no. Just eavesdropping.”
“What do you think?”
“I like it.” Lucas was pleased. “I’d love to stay up and hear more, but I’m worn out. I think I’m gonna go to bed.”
“We’re about to wrap it up here anyway, I think.” Adrian nodded and began packing his guitar away. “We’re practicing next weekend and should be getting word on our next show soon. I’ll make sure you know when it is so you can be there if you want.”
“Sounds good.” Julian yawned. “Night. See you tomorrow.” He went into Lucas’s bedroom, fumbled for the light switch, and turned it on before shutting the door behind him.
He was surprised at how much smaller this bedroom was. The full-sized bed took up most of the room, with just enough space left over for a tiny dresser and a keyboard for songwriting. Julian saw where the desk had been located and could see why Lucas had been so keen to free up space; with the desk in here there had barely been room to move around.
He pulled back the covers on the bed, then turned off the light and climbed in. He was so overcome with exhaustion that he barely registered the scent of Lucas’s pillow before he passed out, a hint of a smile on his face.
