The Rhythm Of Love

[MarilynFae]

~ John ~

Hearing the music blaring from his alarm clock, John slammed his hand down on the device and groaned as the sunlight shined through his window. He rolled onto his stomach so he could ignore the morning rays in his room, but once he heard his door creaking open, he braced himself for what he knew was coming: His sister. Feeling the weight on his back, he groaned and rolled over to get her off of him.

"You can't be late again, Johnny! Come on, it's time to shower and get ready to go. Mom is going to be upset again if you don't," his younger sister said as she stood up from his bed. He had never been a morning person, which meant that the majority of his life he had been late. To school, to work, to football games, but never to practice. Glancing over at his drumsticks, he looked up at the ceiling and groaned.

"Okay, I'm up. Go, so I can get dressed," he said with a sigh. Once she had smirked and walked away, he stood up and grabbed some clothes from his dresser. Slipping them on, he glanced at his mirror to see his outfit. Dark jeans with a light blue T-shirt. Slipping his shoes on, he grabbed a jacket in case it was chilly or the spring rain had started, and he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.

He grabbed himself a banana before plopping down at the kitchen table where his sisters ate cereal. They talked and asked him where he was going, and he just shrugged as he ate and tried to think for himself. After finishing up, he threw the banana peel away and heard his moms voice behind him, talking to his sisters.

Smiling softly, he turned just as she said his name. "So John, have you decided where you're going? I think you should go by the hospital. I know you said you didn't want to work there, but they pay well and have good job offers. Plus they love you! It's just been awhile and I think it'll be good for you." The smile he had turned to a frown. "I haven't decided yet. I'll think about it though," he said quietly. "Well, either way, be safe, okay? I love you. Have a good day," she said as she wrapped her small arm around his much more muscular body. He hugged her softly, almost afraid to hurt her. As he walked out the door, he tried to pick his first desitination.

@MaryGold

 

[MaryGold]

e v i e ​

no-lightbox

String music of the violin could be heard through the entire Taylor house as Evie played, her eyes closed, feeling the vibrations the violin sent through her body. The oldest Taylor daughter was so focused she wasn't able to hear the ringing music of her phone, that or the ringtone, which was Sleeping Beauty Waltz, sounded only as the music she was playing. It was the latter. But she quickly snapped out of it when she realized she was playing Beauty and the Beast Little Town.

Evie set down her instrument and picked up her phone."Hello?" She answered, knowing it was her best friend, Jamie, from reading the caller ID. "What are you doing calling so early in the morning?" She opened the curtains of the living room for the sunlight to stream in. When she had first awoken, the sun was only just starting to rise now it was up. The Taylor's were early birds.

Jamie scoffed through the line."It's not that early and I knew you were already up anyway." Evie could hear her grin as she spoke. She couldn't but grin herself at her friend's cheery voice. "Anyway, I know you have the day off, we're all meeting at Joy cafe. There will be cute boys." She whispered.

At that, Evie couldn't help but laugh as she sat on the piano bench. "A mixer this early in the morning?" Still, she wasn't at all surprised by Jamie's announcement. "I dunno know if I want to spend my day off hanging out with strangers."

"Strangers and friends. Plus, it's just morning coffee not drinks at a club." Evie tapped her fingers against the wood of the bench and lifted her head when he baby sister came walking down the stairs, rubbing her eyes groggily. Well, not all the Taylor's were morning birds. She was only drawn back to the conversation when Jaime said,"I already promised you were coming, so don't make me a liar. See you in a bit!" Then she hung up.

Evie stared down at her cell phone in disbelief. It was so like Jamie. She sighed, trying her best to be irritated, but she truly didn't feel even the least bit upset. She only grabbed her purse from her room and left after kissing her baby sister on top of her head. She would eat breakfast at the cafe.

However, when she arrived, she didn't immediately spot them. The cozy cafe was usually crowded, today. She only hoped they had picked a table already.

 

[MarilynFae]

John was getting into his truck when he heard his phone begin blaring an AC/DC song. He answered without looking at the caller ID and turned his truck on. Looked at the seat beside him, he tossed his book bag in the back and sat his jacket beside him. "Hey, we are all meeting at the Joy cafe today, you're in right? It's just going to be a bunch of us grabbing breakfast. I kind of told them you were coming," his friend, Jason said. "When?" John asked, unsure if he would want to go at all."

Jason had been Johns best friend for, well, ever. They grew up in the same school and for awhile when they were younger, were next door neighbors. As they got older, they started up the band that they have now, and became even closer than before. There wasn't a lot of memories that John had that didn't have Jason in them too. They had always just been that close, which was why John usually never said no to Jason. But he was pushing his luck with this breakfast date.

"Well, it's in like 15 minutes?" Jason said, smirking through the phone. "Come on, there's gonna be all the boys there and Jamie is bringing a bunch of her girlfriends. It'll be fun," he said. John groaned and backed out of his drive. "Okay. But you're buying me breakfast," he said. He could hear the beginning of Jason's refusal as he pressed the red button and drove towards the cafe they were meeting.


As he parked, he walked in and saw that it was a lot more crowded than normal. He wasn't sure why until he say a sign that said today was 1/2 off pancakes. John chuckled as he walked by tables having strange conversations, until he finally spotted Jason in the back corner with others. Plopping down, he leaned his chair back against the wall.

"Why the hell did we decide to have a breakfast date on the busiest day of the year for Joy cafe?" He asked with a laugh. He looked around the table at the faces. The majority he recognized, but there was one he was sure he hadn't seen before. He would've remember her. "So, is this everyone?" He asked, realizing all the seats were full.

 

[MaryGold]

e v i e ​

no-lightbox

When Jamie spotted Evie, she immediately called her over, grinning in that typical Jamie way that reminded Evie why she agreed to come in the first place. It was damn near impossible to deny her best friend anything, especially when they had been together through thick and thin. Really, the other girl could have been Evie's twin sister, despite them being so different, that was how close they were.

Once the blonde was seated beside her curly dark-haired friend, she picked up a menu and began reading what was listed. No one had actually ordered food yet, just drinks, so she did the same. Evie ordered orange juice, the best juice there was. Really, she'd rather drink it than any other beverage anywhere. Including alcohol at a party which was why Jamie called her a killjoy because of her tendencies and practical personality.

The blonde remained quiet, while there were some people she recognized and hung out with before, there were others she hadn't seen before a day of her life. Jamie was the only person she was close to there, mainly because she didn't get out much. So, she remained quiet while they all babbled on and only entered the conversation once or twice, ignoring flirtatious smiles directed at her. They all seemed nice enough.

And then, came another guy, another person who was unfamiliar to her. Her eyebrow quirked at him, but Jamie did the talking for her. The dark-haired beauty seemed to light up at his appearance. "Yes, it is! You're the rotten egg, Johnny boy," she told him playfully.

"Oh!" She began as an afterthought. "You have yet to meet my best friend, all of you really." She tossed her curls over her shoulder and gestured toward Evie. "This is the one and only Genieve Taylor. Classic virtuoso, local hottie and totally single." She winked.

Evie shoved Jamie's shoulder, blushing only slightly, but just enough for it to be seen. "Shut up!" she hissed, clearly embarrassed but Jamie only giggled. At that, she had to roll her eyes and clear her throat before putting down her glass of orange juice and smiling at John.

"Call me Evie, please." She held out her hand to shake.

 

[MarilynFae]

John was widely known for being the life of the party. He loved having fun and making sure everyone else did, but he didn't take shit from anyone, especially those who thought they were better than everyone else. So when he got to the table and sat down, it was no surprise the boys started making dumb jokes and even Jamie perked up a bit.

He laughed a little at Jamie's response and rolled his eyes. Looking over at the girl beside her, he smirked a bit and watched her carefully when he saw her blushing. He was surprised that she held her hand out for him, so he reach over the table and took it in his own. Squeezing it softly, he let it go and then turned to look back towards his friends that were trying to tell him some dumb story.

As they listened in to Matthews story, a waitress came to see what John wanted to drink. Biting his lip, he glanced at the menu. "Orange juice, please," he said, after seeing her hand an orange juice to the girl Jamie had just introduced to him. Smiling up at her, John winked before looking away. This Evie girl was really cute, he just wasn't so sure she was the type of girl to hang out with them. She seemed much more... what was the word?

John had known Jamie forever. They had been friends since the beginning of high school probably. She was fun to be around and loved to let loose and forget about troubles. It was great having a friend that was ready to do anything, anytime. They began dating after awhile of being friends, but it was weird. It wasn't meant to be like that, which was why they decided to just be friends. Since then, everything was back to normal and no one even acts like they dared. In fact, no one outside their small friend group ever knew, and no one new was ever told.

Hearing a laugh, John looked over to see Michael inviting everyone to a gig at the new hub opening up, where their band would be that weekend. John, Matthew, Jason, Michael, and Eric were all in a band together. They were pretty well known around their small town and performed different gigs locally, but hadn't gone anywhere big yet. This weekend was suppose to have a lot of people there. It was at some new hub in town, everyone was wanting to check out. Michael's uncle was good friends with the new owner, which was how they landed the gig.

After everyone starting talking about it, John looked around and thought quietly to himself. He got quite distracted by his own thoughts often, so he barely noticed the noise around him.

 

[MaryGold]

e v i e​

no-lightbox

Evie fell back into silence after shaking the newcomer's, John's, hands. She picked up her glass of orange juice again and sipped from it. It was becoming warm, she should have asked for ice. However, she waited until a waiter or waitress passed by. Luckily a waitress came over to John's order, he ordered orange juice. At that, she raised an eyebrow but flushed slightly when he winked at her. Momentarily she forgot to ask the waitress for ice before she left. Evie managed to regain her composure, annoyed with herself for being so easily frazzled at times. But who wouldn't blush when a handsome guy gave them flirty gestures. So, she simply looked away and asked for ice.

The others easily fell back into conversation excited about their band getting a gig or something of the sort. It was more than enough to make her smile. While Evie practiced a very different type of music, she did like and respected other genres of music.And these boys music was literally almost the exact opposite of her favorite genre. And unlike them, getting 'gigs' was easy when her father was the maestro of the New York Symphony, both her parents were famous in the classical world. She was obviously to follow in their footsteps.

Sadly because of that, and the fact she barely knew them all, she had nothing to contribute to the conversation. Jamie was too busy talking with them all to make sure Evie was involved. And frankly, Evie didn' mind that in the least, she much preferred to slip into the background being as awkward as she was. Usually, the blond virtuosos only spoke when spoken to. And in this case, it was relatively easy seeing how she was practically pushed out of the conversation. And again, another reason why she hated getting together with other people besides Jamie.

Her gaze wandered back over to John, though. He wasn't talking with them either. He looked lost in thought, so, she took that moment to examine him. He was handsome enough to be a player, and he was in a band, she was sure that attracted girls. None of this was confirmed yet, nor did Jamie tell her much about him or anyone. Either way, she wasn't interested in dating, she had her own work to focus on.

"What are you thinking about?" Evie asked him, figuring making friendly conversation was the best option. "The secret behind Hermit crabs and their shells?" she joked, smiling behind her glass.