You Mentioned a Girl?
-Chapter one-

. . . . . . . .

“So,” his mother began, a smile playing across her lips, “you mentioned something about a girl.” The curly-haired, tan-skinned boy smiled back at her and climbed into the passenger seat of her car.

“Yeah,” he responded, closing the door and putting his seat belt on, “I did mention a girl.” His mother stared at him expectantly, waiting for his explanation that would hopefully take the rest of the drive back to their home town to complete.

“Well,” he began, watching the road as his mother began to pull out of the parking lot of his college dorm, “she’s wonderful, amazing, spectacular—”he paused then, sighing dreamily at the thought of her—“she’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a girl, mom.”

“Yeah?” his mom asked, subtly forcing him to continue.

“I can’t believe it took me a year away at college to figure out that she’s the one I’ve been looking for my whole life.” His mother smiled, turning onto the interstate.

“So she’s from back home?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said, “I’ve actually known her for about a year now, maybe two.”

“Oh?” She asked, “What does she look like?”

“She’s beautiful, mom,” he answered, his brown eyes sparkling uncharacteristically, “she has brown hair, usually cut short, brown eyes, but I hear she has blue contacts now, she’s kind of tan, and she’s around my same height—”he paused again, sighing again and smiling softly—“and I’ve known her younger brother for awhile.”

“Wow,” his mother said, delightfully surprised by everything he felt for this girl, “you must really like her.”

“I do, mom,” he said, “I really really like her.”

“Yeah,” his mom said, “and here I was thinking it’d never happen for you.” The boy blinked and ran his fingers through his hair self-consciously before continuing.

“What does that mean?” he asked her, brow furrowing in confusion. His mother laughed and grinned at him, changing lanes.

“Honey,” she said, “you have to understand, your father and I thought you’d never be interested in girls like that.” He turned and stated at her, still confused by her words.

“You thought I’d be into…guys then?” he asked, swallowing hard. His mother laughed harshly.

“Of course not!” she said, “We just thought you’d be devoted to your music and your music only, son.” He breathed a sigh of relief and turned back towards the road as a small smile played across his lips.

“She loves my music,” he said, “She says it’s rough, but I see her when she listens mom,” he paused then, pressing his lips together and trying to hold back the moisture that appeared in his eyes before continuing in a whisper, “she’s amazing.”

. . . . . . . .

“It’s so good to be home,” he said, carrying a box of clothes he and his mother had brought back from his old dorm. He decided it would be fine if he just left the rest of his dorm stuff in the back of the car for now and dig it all out later.

“Welcome home, son,” his dad, who was sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for the two of them to finally come home, “ready for church?” The curly-haired boy laughed then.

“Give me a second to catch my breath, dad,” he said, “I just got home.”

“And,” his mother began, “he has a crush.”

“A crush?” a darker boy with straight black hair asked, entering the living room at the first mention of his older brother’s romantic life.

“Yup,” his mother beamed, patting her son on the back. The curly-haired boy blushed and stared at the floor.

“I’m just gonna,” he began, still blushing, “go put this in my room…and stuff.”

“I’ll help,” his younger brother offered, smirking.

. . . . . . . .

“Sooo,” his younger brother began, sitting on his bed.

“Don’t start with me, Josh,” he protested, putting the box of clothes on the floor of his empty closet.

“But this the first time I’ve ever seen you like this,” Josh teased, watching his brother dig through the box of clothes for something to wear to the church service that started in—he checked his phone—an hour.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, with an exasperated sigh, “mom was surprised too.”

. . . . . . . .

“Cara!” a heavy girl, that wasn’t so heavy anymore, squealed loudly, wrapping her arms around a thinner (by like one size), taller girl with long dark brown hair and light blue eyes.

“Crys!” the long-haired girl exclaimed, hugging the girl that had just jumped into her arms.

“I’ve missed you so much!” the shorter girl squealed.

“I missed you too, Crystal,” she said, pulling away from the smaller girl and grinning widely.

“So,” Crystal began, “where’s this boy you’ve been talking about for the past three months?”

“Weeellll,” Cara began, smiling and motioning to where a tall, blond boy was entering into the front lobby of the church. Cara grabbed Crystal’s hand and rushed over to him once he reached the middle of the lobby.

“Taylor,” Cara said, pulling the boy she had been dating for the past three months into a hug and giving him a kiss on the cheek before pulling back and motioning to the short girl next to her, “this is my, like, best friend ever, Crystal.” Taylor smiled down at Crystal and offered his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Crystal, Cara has told me so much about you.” Crystal blushed and smiled at him before sharing a long meaningful glance with Cara.

“He’s amazing, right?” Cara asked, gripping Taylor’s hand in hers.

“Totally,” Crystal agreed, “now, we need to take a potty break before church starts, ‘kay?” Cara rolled her eyes.

“Fine, Crys,” Cara said, letting go of Taylor’s hand and walking with her best friend towards the bathroom.

. . . . . . . .

“He is so hot,” Crystal squealed once the two of them had entered the bathroom, “why didn’t you tell me what your boyfriend was that hot!”

“Didn’t think I had to, Crys,” Cara said, fluffing her hair and heading for the bathroom door.

“Wait,” Crystal said, prompting Cara to turn back towards her.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Tell me,” Crystal began, “you’re over him…right?” Cara bit her lip for a long second and stared at the floor in front of her.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not,” she said, finally, “but, look, it’s not like it matters anyways. He’s hours away at college and I’m finally home for the summer so let’s just forget about him, okay?”

“But you were in love with him, Cara,” Crystal whispered, “You don’t just forget that.”

“So what?” Cara said forcefully, “I’ve got Taylor now and everything is going great between us; I’m not going to let some short, incredibly cute and equally amazing Spanish boy ruin that.”

“You sure?” Crystal pressed.

“Positive,” Cara said, turning on her heel and grabbing the door handle before mumbling, “Besides, it’s not like I’ll ever see him again,” to herself.

. . . . . . . .

“It’s been awhile since I’ve played here,” the curly-haired boy admitted to his younger brother as he stood on the stage, admiring the new drum set the church had purchased in his absence.

“Yeah,” his brother said, smiling half-heartedly.

“You sure you’re cool with me playing tonight?” the older boy asked his younger brother, taking a seat in front of the drum set and picking up the sticks.

“Positive,” Josh said, scanning the crowd before mumbling, “I’m sure she needs it,” and rushing down the stairs before his older brother could ask him what he had said.

. . . . . . . .

Crystal opened the door to the sanctuary and led Cara to their old spot over by where all the instruments were placed; where Cara had spent many a Sunday and Wednesday admiring the musical talents of the new drummer’s older sibling and now occasionally sat during her college breaks to half-heartedly admire the church band.

Once the old drummer had left, the sense of aching she had gotten from hearing him play vanished and it was hard to get used to it; it was hard to adapt to life without him.

She bit her lip and combed her fingers through her hair, shaking the thought of him from her head and mentally preparing herself for finally introducing her first love’s younger sibling, who had become a close friend to her in his brother’s absence, to the boyfriend she had kept a secret from everyone but Crystal and her parents for the past three months.

She swallowed hard and stared at the drums, trying to make eye contact with the young boy, but she didn’t see him. In fact, she couldn’t see anything.

“Who moved the banner?” Cara asked Crystal, just as Taylor took the seat beside her.

“Dunno,” Crystal said, “it wasn’t like that on Sunday.”

“What wasn’t like that on Sunday?” Taylor asked.

“Nothing, honey,” Cara said, grabbing his hand, “don’t worry about it.” Taylor raised an eyebrow, but quickly let his curiosity go as the piano began and the countdown shown on the screen behind the choir members.

“Hey, Cara,” Josh said, entering through the side door closest to the stage exit as the countdown went from minutes to seconds.

“Josh,” Cara said, blinking in confusion, “you aren’t playing tonight?” Josh smirked and shook his head no, turning back to the countdown.

“Nope,” he said, “they got someone better.” Cara raised an eyebrow.

“Better than you, little buddy?” she asked, “I sincerely doubt it.”

“I don’t,” he responded as the minister of music began to play the piano louder and the bassist joined in on her bass, the choir began to sing a familiar song, and the tambourines began to shake to the beat that they all knew, and then finally the drums began to play.

“O…oh,” she whispered as a feeling she hadn’t felt in so long came over her and she felt her knees go weak. The aching in her heart returned as people around her began to sing and clap. She whimpered, her free hand pressing against her lips as tears welled up in her eyes.

She felt stupid behaving like this, but the emotion from hearing him play again was so breath-taking that she couldn’t help it.

“J-J…J…” she tried, but couldn’t finish. Josh turned around and looked at her then, his eyes both amused and apologetic.

“It’s him,” she mouthed to Josh and he grinned widely, nodding.

“It is,” he mouthed back, knowing full well that the feelings Cara had harbored for his brother for so long were still there.

And with that exchange of information Cara glanced at Taylor, mouthing something along the lines of ‘potty break’ and grabbing Crystal’s hand, yanking her out of her seat and towards the side door Josh had just recently entered in through.

. . . . . . . .

“What?” Crystal asked, pacing in front of the stall Cara had gone into just moments before, “What happened? What is it?”

“It’s him,” Cara sobbed from inside the bathroom stall, “him!”

“Taylor?” Crystal asked, “Did he do something bad?”

“No!” Cara shrieked, hiccupping, “the drummer.” Crystal stopped pacing and stared at the door.

“You mean J…” she started, but cut herself off, “the old drummer?”

“Yes!” Cara screamed, “How could Josh do this to me?” she whined, “He could have at least told me his stupid older brother was coming home! At least then I would’ve been mentally prepared for all this torture!”

“Cara,” Crystal said, rolling her eyes, “stop being so melodramatic, let’s just go back into the sanctuary and enjoy praise and worship.”

“I can’t,” Cara said, “Not like this, not with him out there playing the drums.”

“What happened to forgetting him?” Crystal asked, sighing heavily, “Just come on, it’ll be fine.”

“I don’t wanna hear him play,” Cara whimpered, sobbing loudly, “I’ve heard him play in my head a thousand times since he’s been gone, Crys, I don’t want to hear him for real.”

“Cara!” Crystal yelled, “Come on, get over it.”

“I can’t, I can’t, I can’t,” she sobbed.

“Don’t make me break down the door,” Crystal warned, preparing herself to throw her body against the door of the stall that her friend was crying in, but it swung open immediately.

“Okay, okay,” Cara whimpered, “I’m out.”

“You look like crap,” Crystal said and Cara whimpered, letting another sob escape.

“Well, I’d like to see you sit in a church sanctuary with your first love playing your favorite instrument while sitting behind his little brother and in-between your current boyfriend and a very unsupportive best friend!”

“Chill,” Crystal said, “I’ve got my makeup bag. Just let me go back to the sanctuary and get it so I can try to fix your mascara…and eye shadow.” Cara sighed and nodded.

“Please hurry, Crys.”

. . . . . . . .

Crystal walked all the way over to the side entrance and entered quickly, the music was still playing so she knew they were still safe and nobody would miss them until it was time to go to youth group.

She grabbed her purse and left just as quickly as she had entered; ignoring the questioning glances she received from both Josh and Taylor.

. . . . . . . .

“I’m back,” she announced, catching Cara checking her makeup in the huge mirrors over the sink.

“Thank you Jesus,” Cara said with a sigh of relief, “I am in dire need of some makeup right now.” She reached for Crystal’s makeup bag then, digging through it until she found the eye makeup remover and grabbed some paper towels.

“What’re you doing?” Crystal asked.

“Washing it off so I can re-apply,” Cara answered, running the paper towel under some water before applying some of the eye makeup remover solution onto it and scrubbing her makeup off.

“Well, hurry up; it’s almost time to go.”

“Chill, I’ll be ready in a second.”

“Yeah, okay. I just don’t wanna be late for youth group.”

. . . . . . . .

“I can’t believe you made us late for youth group,” Crystal muttered as the two of them walked down the hallway quickly and towards the youth room where they could hear that the sermon had already begun.

“Sorry! I didn’t want to look like crap.”

“Right,” Crystal said, “of course not.”

“C’mon, Crys,” Cara said, “I’d do the same for you.”

“’Kay then,” Crystal said, “whatever.” Cara reached out and gripped the door handle, pulling the door open just in time to catch a large group of teenagers staring directly at them. The two girls ignored it and walked swiftly, taking a seat in one of the cold metal chairs, neither paying much attention to who they were sitting next to.

. . . . . . . .

“Hey Ben,” the curly-haired boy began once their youth pastor had dismissed them, “your sister still off at college?” Ben raised an eyebrow at the shorter boy and shook his head.

“No, she’s been home since Monday, dude,” he said, “man, she sat right next to you…can’t believe you didn’t notice.”

“Next to me?” he asked, confused.

“Yeah,” he said, turning to look around the room before nodding towards where the curly-haired boy’s little brother stood, “she’s over there talking with Crystal, her friend Taylor and your little brother.”

The shorter boy turned then, staring straight at his friend’s older sister and blinking slowly.

“Whoa,” he said, “she looks so different.”

“Yeah,” Ben responded, “she lost a lot of weight while she was at college, kind if ironic, don’t you think?” He asked, but the boy was no longer listening, he was too busy taking in her new features; her hair was longer now, her eyes a light blue because of the contacts she was wearing, and she was a lot tanner than she used to be.

“Hey, James!” His younger brother called out to him, waving him over. James shook his head no and motioned towards Ben.

“Nah,” Ben said, catching his motion, “its chill, go catch up with Cara, I’m sure she’ll enjoy your college stories a lot more than I will.” James muttered under his breath and walked towards the small group.

“Hey,” a tall blond boy said once he had finished crossing the room and now stood beside him.

“Hey,” he said back, “I’m James.”

“Taylor,” the boy responded, squeezing Cara’s hand gently in such a way that no one noticed.

“You were about to tell us something,” Josh said suddenly, staring directly at Cara who was staring at the floor, blushing profusely.

“I-I…” she stuttered, “I…I…T…Tay…” Cara swallowed hard and Crystal rolled her eyes.

“She wanted to tell us that she and Taylor are together,” Crystal said, “Woo.”

“That’s cool,” Josh said, glancing towards his brother who was trying to compose his emotions, “congrats.”

Then without warning, all eyes were on James as he struggled to make his face appear like he hadn’t just lost everything he had been wanting since his last semester of being a college freshman had began.

“I’m…” James squeaked out, “Wow…that’s so great.” He laughed a little too loudly then and Cara looked up at him, her eyes showing confusion.

“Are you okay?” She asked him.

“I’m fine,” he laughed, “just surprised, why didn’t you tell me this on Facebook…in fact, why didn’t you tell me you grew your hair out and…changed so much.”

“I…” Cara began, “I didn’t think it would matter to you. I mean, I honestly didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

“Okay,” James said, desperately trying not to let himself show any sign of hurt, “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks,” Cara said with a smile, even though she knew from his tone and the hurt that shone in his eyes that he was so far from happy it wasn’t even funny; because she had been there a million times before.

. . . . . . . .

It's not really finished, maybe I'll update it eventually.