She was mesmerised. The way his fingers glided up and down the fingerboard and the way he strummed at the strings, it was…amazing.

‘Whoa’, I whispered. I couldn’t hear anything, let alone myself, so no one around me asked whether I was going nuts. I blinked only once or twice before he looked at me. Still playing his guitar, he turned to me and stepped on a pedal to make his guitar strings amplify, and he smiled. I continued to watch him play the guitar solo as he continued to smile at me.

‘You guys having fun?’ asked the lead singer as they had just finished their second last song. He wasn’t talking to anyone in particular, just to everybody.

‘Yeah’, everybody cheered, as the band laughed.

‘Well, we only have time to play one more song’, the lead singer shouted again, before the guitarist I had been watching started the song.

‘I’m going to go up and talk to him’, I whispered to best friend Laani. They had finished their last song and their manager was throwing out free stuff.

‘Go ahead’, she smiled as I nodded and made my way up to the guitarist I had been watching the whole show. I was almost there, about three meters away from him when a bunch of popular girls jumped in my way and smirked.

‘Hey Jaimee, long time no speak, I missed you since you went and got a dead end job’, Ashley smiled sarcastically, flipping me the bird before heading over to the guitarist.

‘Hey Ashley, long time no speak, how’s your crabs going? Manage to get rid of them yet?’ I asked, smiling sweetly. I watched her eyes widen as the guitarist started laughing.

‘I think you better leave the school grounds now, Miss Mortimer, abusing the students is one thing we will not allow’, a teacher screeched as she led me to the school gates.

‘That was kind of harsh’, Laani pointed out as she jogged over to the gate that I was currently leaning against, trying to stop myself from laughing.

‘Yeah I know, but to see her face was just priceless’, I smiled as Laani just laughed and shook her head.

‘S’later’, I laughed as Shannagh and Laani walked up the ramp of the library to go to class as lunch had finished.

I had accepted a job offer just before year 11 had started, and I obviously took it. Once a week I would stop by the school on my lunch break and say hello to everybody, catching up on the stuff I missed out on during the week such as the latest fights, who’s dating who, all that girly stuff.

I was tossing up whether to go to the library and borrow a book before heading back to work, but a flash of green caught my attention before I could decide. Sitting there, in the car park, was a Holden Thunder Ute in British racing car green. I was almost drooling. I made my way over to it and just stared. I had made a deal with myself as soon as I turned 21 I would take out a loan and get one.

‘You like?’ someone laughed behind me as was now kneeling beside it, running my fingers over the word “Thunder” just beside the wheel.

‘Yeah, this…’ I started as I stood up and looked to the person I was talking to and it made me stop and shut my mouth.

‘Yeah, bought it a year back’, he laughed as I nodded and smiled uncomfortably.

‘Second hand?’ I asked, finally getting my voice back as I ran my hand along the large and deep scratch down the side of the tray.

‘Actually, no, just not a very good driver’, he smiled as I turned to him and gaped.

‘I would kill you right now if it wasn’t for the fact that I like your taste in cars and guitar’s’, I smiled as I stood up.

‘Good thing then’, he laughed, hands in his pocket as I noticed his pants fall down a little more. ‘So what did you want to talk to me about today?’

‘What makes you think I wanted to talk to you?’ I asked him smirking as I stood beside him again, looking at the car for any more blemishes.

‘Maybe it was a give away when you insulted the girls that were talking to me, or maybe that was just me’, he said, nudging me as I cracked up laughing.

‘You’ve got it all wrong, mate, me and Ashley go way back’, I answered as he laughed.

‘Are you sure you didn’t just want to talk to me?’ he tried, nudging me.

‘I was going to talk to you, I’ll admit that, but she got in my way first and I’ve always been one to seek revenge…’ I just shrugged and smiled, looking at his number plate.

‘Can I give you a lift home?’ he asked, shrugging while pulling hands out of his pockets.

‘Nah its cool, I’ve got to head back to work, anyway’, I smiled as he nodded.

‘My name is Dane’, he said, holding out his hand.

‘S’later, Dane’, I laughed, pulling out my car keys and heading over to the combo van parked across the way.

I walked around the corner, the dog pulling me along and found someone leaning against a car, on my front lawn. I rolled my eyes and waited till I was pulled closer to take my head phones off.

‘And how can I help you?’ I asked. I looked at the guy cautiously, before sighing softly.

‘Miss me?’ he asked as I walked up the driveway.

‘What do you want?’ I mumbled. He just stood up straight and laughed, doing his usual reaction to a conversation. He shoved his hands in his pockets, which caused his pants to fall down a little.

‘Aw, I didn’t know you cared’, he laughed as I walked up to the front door and let the dog inside before closing the door and walking back down the drive way, only to stand a meter or so in front of him.

‘What do you want?’ I asked him, pulling my jacket further around me as it was almost three degrees outside.

‘I don’t know your name?’ he smiled as I just scoffed and turned around, ‘Wait’.

‘What do you really want?’ I asked as he just nodded and sighed.

‘I have never met anyone that was so into guitars and cars’, he started as I just raised my eyebrow at him and smirked. ‘I have never met anyone that actually new the brand of my car without looking it up on the net. I’ve never met anyone…’

‘I get it, alright. You’ve never met anyone like me’, I sighed as I crossed my arms.

‘You don’t believe me?’ he asked as I just nodded.

‘I have a sneaking suspicion you might be telling the truth. But then again, there is always the niggling voice at the back of my mind saying: “He knows nothing about you and you know nothing about him”’, I sighed again, this time an exasperated sigh.

‘Hi. My name is Dane Falten, I’m twenty one. My birthday is on the fourth of July. My mothers name is Lillian, my fathers name is Matthew. My father passed away when I was five and I was raised by a rock and roll crazy mother. I started in the band, the one you saw, about two years ago, and helped named it; Calerway’, he stated all rather quickly as I just laughed.

‘Nice to have met you, Dane’, I smirked, nodding at him before heading up the driveway, ‘Again!’ and in through the front door. I smiled secretly as I closed the door and leant on it softly. I was smiling all dumfounded and love struck when the question had been thinking popped back into my head. How on earth did he find out where I lived?

‘Did he really?’ Laani squealed, which was most unlike her as I sat on her lunch table plastering the visitor’s sticker to my head out of boredom.

‘Yeah, I came round the corner and boom, there he was, parked on my front lawn’, I smiled as she just looked at me.

‘You like him don’t you…’ she smiled, knowingly, and I could never lie to Laani.

‘Not like, I just, I guess I’m just caught up with the fact that he met me once and then decided he wanted to see me again, and all I did was comment on his car’, I smiled, as she just shook her head and looked at me.

‘You’ve got it bad’, she smiled wider this time and I hid my head in my arms, as the first siren sounded for the end of lunch.

‘I do don’t I’, I blushed as I stood up and made my way towards the gate with Laani in tow.

‘Definitely’, she smirked as I just shook my head held my arms out. She hugged me before waving good bye.

‘What’s this hear…’ came a sneering voice from my left side as I made my way down the path to my van, ‘…about you doing my boyfriend?’

‘And who’s your boyfriend now?’ I questioned, stopping not a metre away from it.

‘Don’t be dumb, he’s in that band that played here yesterday’, Ashley growled as I just laughed at her.

‘That doesn’t narrow it down, what’s his name?’ I smiled, turning to her as she just smiled back.

‘It’s…’ she paused, ‘…Roger’.

‘Oh yeah, now I remember, Roger, yep, he was right after Dane, the guitarist’, I smirked as she just glared at me before turning around and storming back into the school.

‘School girls make me laugh’, I smiled, getting into the van and putting the key into the ignition. I still had half an hour till I had to get back to work, I might as well make the most of it. I switched on the stereo and put in the Gotye CD and grabbed the Picture mag off of the chair while winding down the window.

‘I don’t think you’re meant to be reading that’, came a voice at the passenger window, causing me to jump and knock my knee on the steering wheel.

‘I don’t think you’re meant to sneak up on someone having their lunch break either’, I snapped as he opened the passenger door and got in. ‘Nor jump into someone’s car uninvited’.

‘Miss Mortimer’, someone was shouting outside somewhere. ‘Jaimee!’

‘Hold that thought’, I muttered, taking the keys out of the ignition and looking for whoever was shouting my name. ‘Hey Peta, what’s up?’

‘You left behind you’re watch’, she huffed, smiling.

‘Oh, shit, thanks, can you sign me out?’ I asked sweetly and she just rolled her eyes and took the visitor’s sticker off of me.

I made my way back to the car and jumped in, forgetting that Dane was still sitting there. He was reading the Picture mag when I looked at him. ‘So Jaimee, that’s a nice name’, he smiled as I just glared at him.

‘What do you want? I mean seriously, the showing up wherever I am thing is starting to get a little stalker-ish, and knowing where I live, what is that?’ I shouted; putting the key’s back in the ignition.

‘You like the attention, admit it’, he smiled, nudging me.

‘I do, and that’s what scares me. I know nothing about you, and you show up at my house, and all I can think about that is what a girl thinks when a guy smiles at her “Oh he likes me”. What is that? And now you show up here, at my school, well technically not my school, but still, when you don’t even need to be here, and still all I can think is, “aw, how cute”’, I growled, starting the car

He just sat there laughing at me as I put the car in reverse. ‘Is that seriously what you’ve been thinking?’ he asked as I just nodded.

‘Yeah, creepy, eh?’ I smiled as he just shook his head.

‘Look, let’s go for a bite, if you decide after that you don’t want to see me, then fine’, he offered.

‘All right’, I muttered, nodding, wiping my fringe up out of my face, ‘I’ve got a few jobs to do in the city; I’ll meet you in JB-Hi-Fi’.

‘Cool’, he smiled one more time before going to get out. He stopped and looked back, reaching out he kind of held my chin and leant in and kissed me ever so softly. ‘I’ll see you in half an hour’. I just nodded, unable to say anything. I drove off nervously and headed towards the city to do a few jobs before I was forced to meet him.

‘It’s not so bad so far?’ he questioned as I just nodded. I looked at him as he smiled, I smiled softly in return.

‘So where are we headed, exactly?’ he asked me as I continued to walk down hay street further and further.

‘We, are headed to go and get my free mango mania from Java Juice’, I smiled, leading the way.

‘Do I get a free one?’ he asked childishly.

‘Depends if the manager is there or not, if he is, no, if he isn’t then probably’, I smiled, absentmindedly grabbing his hand and pulling him into Java juice. ‘Hey Lucy’.

‘Hey Jay, you’re late’, Lucy smiled as I just shrugged.

‘Blame him, it’s his fault’, I laughed, nudging Dane as he came crashing down to earth.

‘Does he want a mango mania too?’ Lucy asked and I just nodded as he looked at me funny.

‘Go sit down, I’ll come get you in a sec’, I laughed as he headed for a seat and grabbed a magazine.

‘He’s cute’, Lucy whispered, as I leaned over the counter and grabbed a piece of banana from the jug.

‘He’s my new stalker’, I smiled.

‘Stalker?’ she asked confused as to why I was smiling.

‘Yeah, he played a gig at my old school on the day I usually have lunch there, and ever since then, he’s been showing up where ever I am, in a way it’s creepy, but then again, I’ve never had anyone so infatuated with me before’, I laughed as Lucy shook her head.

‘You are the strangest person I have ever met’, she smiled, pulling the jug off of the mixer and shook it a bit before pouring it into two cups.

‘I know, but would you get through your Wednesday’s without talking to me?’ I smiled, taking the two cups and heading down to where Dane was seated.

‘Probably not’, she laughed, ‘S’later’.

‘Here’, I smiled, handing Dane the drink and heading out the door.

‘Where to now?’ he asked as I just shrugged.

‘I’ve done all my jobs around here because you were late; I’ve only got jobs in Scarborough now, care to join?’ I asked, heading back towards where I had parked my van in a loading zone.

‘Sure why not, I’ve got nothing better to do’, He smiled as I just shook my head and laughed, while unlocking the drivers door and hopping in.

'So tell me', I muttered, staring out at the ocean as I sat on the ladder on the roof, Dane beside me.

'Hm?' he questioned, playing with the salt packets he had stolen from a restaurant that I had a monthly at.

'Why on earth choose me out of a million other girls that were squealing over your guitar, or looking at your car? Huh?' I asked, looking him in the eye as he shrugged.

'I've seen girls like them before. They want to know more about your guitar, your band, your car, your house, your family... and then you have a new found stalker', Dane huffed, 'But...'

'So what are we calling what you were doing then?' I smirked.

'But... hear me out', he smiled, 'you weren't like that'.

'I wasn't like that how?' I queried, curiosity getting the better of me.

'Sure you were interested in my guitar, my car, and even me, I saw you watching', he joked as I started to blush, 'but, not once have you asked about my family, asked about the band, or even asked where I live... to me, so far? That's special in my books'.

'Wouldn't that be rude?' I questioned, looking at him funny, 'I haven't even tried to get to know you, in fact, I've been avoiding you as much as possible, and here we are, sitting on the roof of a van staring at the sunset'.

‘I can see what you’re thinking, but the thing is, you brought me out here, didn’t you?’ he smiled, leaning forwards.

‘True’, I mumbled.

‘And you haven’t tried to kill me, yet, in fact, I think you’re enjoying this’, he started to smirk now.

‘Don’t get cocky, I know where my manners are’, I smirked back, leaning backwards.

‘Where were your manners in the car? Huh?’ he smiled, knowing it was pushing my buttons.

‘That was…’ I started.

‘Don’t say a mistake, you’ll lose your cred, kid, don’t say mistake’, he laughed.

‘I’m not a kid’, I snapped.

‘Okay’, he said, looking slightly uncomfortable.

‘Sorry’, I mumbled, looking from my wringing hands to the sunset. ‘Ever since I got this job, people have told me they don’t want me working in there building because I’m only a kid, I wouldn’t know what I was doing’.

‘Those places we went to before, nobody said anything there’, he smiled, rubbing my back.

‘I earned their respect’, I sighed, ‘One of their Vesda’s was going hay wire and I shut it up, even though we hadn’t quoted for it yet. Then boom, all of a sudden I was a legend’.

‘But at least you proved yourself’, he mumbled.

‘I suppose’, I smiled, looking from the sunset to him. He was the strangest person I had ever met, yet I got along with him like a house on fire.

‘What’s a Vesda?’ he laughed, as I shook my head slightly, shaking out of my reverie.

‘Very early smoke detection apparatus, it’s like a smoke detector, only this one goes off way faster’, I mumbled, looking away from him as I answered.

‘You like you’re job, don’t you?’ he muttered, draping his arm around my shoulders.

‘I love my job’, I laughed, thinking about how retarded I must seem.

‘That’s cool’, he said before pulling me into him. This was rather weird.

‘Wake up’, someone whispered at me. I groaned slightly and rubbed my back. ‘Quick get up’.

‘What?’ I snapped. It was Saturday, I knew it was, because my phone was going off in the background somewhere.

‘You’re phone’s ringing’, the person muttered. I groaned, rolled over slightly and finally opened my eyes as I pulled out my phone. It turns out it was ringing, but it was still Saturday.

‘Hello?’ I mumbled into the phone.

‘Where are you?’ someone snapped into the phone.

‘Scabbie beach’, I yawned as I heard seagulls.

‘We’ve got a six monthly, Jaimee, you’re late’, they shouted before hanging up.

‘Get up, get in the van, I’m late’, I groaned, crawling out of the back of the van. ‘When did we get in there?’

‘I have no idea’, Dane yawned, standing by the passenger door as I unlocked it, and put the keys in the ignition.

‘I am so dead’, I mumbled tiredly, pulling out of Scabbie beach car park and heading back towards the city.