- Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell-

https://open.spotify.com/track/13zmzwQNK2EOJ9zp8yrt47

- July 3rd -

The week disappeared in finishing projects and packing up the band gear ready to move it to the garage.
We held back the stuff we needed for the gig, but by friday it was all a pile of boxes so we decided to load it into the van and go.

Ethan and I spent pretty much every possible moment together. We'd been on dates and tried our best to behave.
I had a very sexy man wanting me and my inner fangirl and my inner dork were constantly battling for control.

"How the hell did you manage to resist?" I asked Ellen.

She lifted an eyebrow.

"I didn't," she replied.

"But you did. When you were actually dating!" I said.

"Yeah, well. Simon works best in the forbidden fruit department," Ellen grinned.

"Meaning?" I asked.

"Meaning... I wasn't anywhere near as obsessed with him when I had him. Once we were done and he told me he wasn't interested. Hormone central. One way ticket," Ellen laughed.

"How's that going by the way?" I asked.

"His royal hotness is still messing with my groove... not touched him since April and suffering some withdrawals, but I'll live," she shrugged.

"It was all about the sex, huh?" I asked.

"Yup," she replied with a satisfied smirk.

I looked up and spotted the man in charge of my ever changing heartbeat.

"And there you go. Eyes glazing over again. Drool dripping..." Ellen huffed.

"But he's so fucking hot," I giggled.

"No comment," Ellen laughed.

There was a moment of intense joy when Ethan sat next to me with a smile.

"Hey," he whispered and rubbed his nose on mine.

"Hey," I replied with a smile.

"Okay... You two had better get it on soon. There is a nuclear reactor somewhere in Asia threatening to melt down from the sheer pressure," Ellen sighed heavily.

Ethan looked at her with confusion.

"Seriously. Children will die. Sheep will be born with extra limbs!" Ellen grinned.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because the tension between the two of you needs to be dealt with," Ellen sighed, waving her finger between us.

I laughed and shook my head. Bluntness wrapped in metaphors.

"There. I said it," Ellen grinned.

"She's not wrong," Ethan muttered with his lips brushing my neck.

Goosebumps and shivers ran along my skin.

I was about to turn into a kiss when I became aware of voices behind me.

Two miniskirted girls were sending me evil looks.

"I told you. She only got into that band for one reason," blonde girl said just loud enough for me to hear.

"Yeah. I don't know what he sees in her," the other one huffed as they walked past.

I didn't want it to upset me. But somewhere in my gut a cold lump was forming.

"Hey," Ethan murmured and tipped ny chin towards him.

"Jealous bitches," Ellen muttered.

"They have nothing on you," Ethan smiled and rubbed his nose on mine again, instantly dissolving my insecurity. The look in his eyes was all for me.

"Guys... trying to eat here," Ellen said with a false disgust.

"Sorry," Ethan grinned and stole a radish from my salad.

A few hours later we were at Ethan's house with a van-load of band equipment. I'd had no idea we had so much stuff! Oddball had an extra drum kit. Simon had three amps for his two basses and came dragging the acoustic bass from home at the last minute.
All of Ethan's guitars and amps were enough to keep me laughing. In addition to the two guitars we usually used for practice, there were two acoustic and another two electric in the band room.

We arrived at the garage and were about to start unloading when a loud squeal assaulted my ears and an over excited Selma more or less tackled me to the ground in a hug. Laughing I managed to untangle her from me.

Simon was looking at us with a mischievous smirk.

"One. Sister. Two. Girlfriend. Eyes averted!" Ethan muttered with a grin as he registered Simon's face.

"It's still kinda hot," Simon shrugged.

"Still... no-go-Simon-zone," Oddball laughed and gave me a hand up from the grass.

Selma got up and took my hands before jumping up and down like a loonie.

"You finally came to your senses!" She giggled and gave me another hug.

"Yeah... I could only resist for so long," I grinned with a look towards Ethan.

He came over with two guitar cases and simply leaned over for a quick kiss, ignoring his sister still holding my hands.

"About fucking time!" Selma laughed and let go of me.

"I need to carry some stuff upstairs," Ethan said.

"Need a hand?" I asked.

With a nod he handed me the two guitars. He went back to the van for two amps before leading me into the house. I followed him up the stairs, seeing the walls up the stairwell covered in photos of kids in all ages, diplomas and mementoes. I resisted the urge to stop and see if I could pick out Ethan in any of the photos

His room was a true chaos of sheet music, instruments and coursebooks. On the wall hung a plexi glass electric violin next to a banjo and an ukulele. A rack by the wall held three guitars and two violin cases were laid on his desk. One was open. A notestand held a Bach piece.

"Sorry 'bout the mess," he said as he took in the chaos.

"No worse than mine," I replied with a smile, loving how his music was such an integral part of his life.

I looked over at his chest of drawers. Among the piles of sheet music, was a picture frame. It had either fallen over or been placed face down.
I lifted it to see a photo of me. It was taken during the second Rock Central gig and showed me playing the blue guitar. My body was turned one way but my face was turned back over my shoulder with a smile and my eyes fixed behind me. Meeting my gaze, in the side of the photo, was Ethan.
I looked at the way our eyes linked, the look on both our faces and I felt my heart constrict. It was right there. All along. The way we looked at each other.
Ethan came up behind me and looked at the photo over my shoulder.

"Best photo ever," he said softly.

"Yeah... What's the deal with that guitar?" I asked thinking it might be time to find out.

"Pretty guitar. Pretty girl. Easy maths," he shrugged but there was a twist to his smile.

"But?" I asked hinting for more.

The guilty look on his face was priceless as he rifled through a stack of guitar and music magazines untill he found the same one he'd had when I'd first seen that blue guitar.
The pen mark was still next to the picture.

"Do you never throw stuff out?" I asked.

"This catalogue is special," he grinned and turned the page to show an advert for the same blue guitar. It showed a girl, in leather jeans, heeled boots and singlet. Her loose wavy hair flowing as she played.
Ethan lifted the photo of me from Rock Central wearing an outfit very similar to the girl in the advert and my hair flowing.

"I wanted that guitar because the advert could have been you," he grinned.

I looked between the advert and the photo, finally connecting the dots.

"When you turned up in those jeans that day... Let's just say I was distracted," Ethan grinned.

"Mission accomplished," I replied with a dry chuckle.

"Another hint?" He asked.

I nodded.

"I can't believe it was this obvious and we never saw it," I said pointing to the photo.

He took the photo from me and put it away.

"It is obvious how I feel about you right now, Izzy!" He murmured before he kissed me again.

"We can see you!" Oddball shouted in a teasing voice through the open window.

"Yeah. Slackers. Get to work," Simon called.

I looked out the window to see them looking up at us. One with his arms crossed over his chest and a wide grin. The other with his hands in his pockets and the attempts of a smile. There was a hard look in Ethan's eyes as he had noticed the difference between the two. I chose to ignore it when he turned to me with a smile before he kissed me again in full view of the two outside. Oddball's wolf whistles went unnoticed.

We made our way back down and I found Selma sitting on the swing. I walked over, leaving the heavy lifting to the guys.

"So? How have you been?" I asked.

"Bored with school," she replied with a shrug.

"What are you doing after school? Going to university in September?" I asked.

"Nope. I don't know what I'd like to do. So I'm taking a gap year," she replied.

"Travelling or working?" I asked.

"Both. I thought if I get a job until Christmas, I can save up and go travelling," she said.

An idea formed at the back of my mind.

"What kind of job?" I asked.

"Don't know," she shrugged.

"Stay here!" I said with a smile and left her before she could say anything.

"Guys! Band huddle!" I said once in the garage.

They all stopped and looked at me while I explained my idea.
Five minutes later, all four of us rounded the corner and stopped in front of Selma.

"How would you like to combine work and travel?" I asked.

"What do you mean? " She asked.

"See... The most amazing rock band in the world is in need of a personal assistant... And we were wondering if you want the job," Ethan grinned.

For the second time that afternoon, Selma tackled me to the ground, this time dragging three boys with us.

After Selma stopped jumping on us, Ethan and Oddball went in to phone Mr. Summers.

I went into the garage and found Simon sitting in the two seater sofa that someone had taken the trouble to carry into the garage at some point. His face was in his hands and he was rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"You okay, Simon?" I asked.

Slowly he lifted his face towards me, as if he was afraid of what I might see.

"Yeah," he sighed heavily.

There was a weird wounded look in his eyes that he tried to mask.
I sat down next to him, rubbing his back.

"This is gonna sound all wrong, but are you okay with Ethan and me?" I asked.

"I just want you to be happy, Izzy," he muttered.

There was a weird sadness over him.

"I'm happy. And grateful. And I know that you have more than just a finger in getting us together. I just need to know that you are really okay," I said.

"I'm okay. But I miss you, Izzy. That good thing we've always had. I miss team Izzymon," he mumbled.

"You're still my best friend," I replied softly.

"Good," he said and turned to give me a hug.

"Thank you," I said into the hug. There was no need to explain. He knew I was thanking him for a million different things. Ethan, the friendship and the way he still looked out for me.

"You love him. And you're happy," he shrugged.

There was a good feeling between us as I stood up to unpack some more gear from the van. By the door I spotted Ethan with an upset look on his face towards Simon and me. The panic settled in my gut as I took in the buttoned mouth and ice cold look inn his eyes.
The smile melted off my face.

"What was that?" He asked me in a broken voice and I realised he was in no way sure about my feelings.

"That was a hug," I said, my voice sounding a lot calmer than I felt.

"Just a hug?" Ethan asked suspiciously.

"Simon is still my best friend," I replied.

Ethan fixed his eyes on me and the cold fear of losing him again rose in my chest. There was that same guarded look that I had seen in the car junkyard that day. Similar to the look of betrayal he'd worn the day after Simon had kissed me.

"No. No. No. No," I chanted, fighting back the panic rising.

Ethan's eyes were studying mine with what I recognised as fear to match mine.

"Please don't make me choose. I love you, but Simon is my best friend. I need you both," I begged.

There was a slight shake of Ethan's head, and the look of suspicion softened on his face. He'd registered my fear.

"Dude. It was just a hug," Simon said before he left the garage.

"Please," I whispered looking into Ethan's eyes, feeling my tears well up from the thought of losing him again.

There was a hardened look in his eyes again as he wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm with you. I just need my friends too," I mumbled.

To my surprise I registered that I actually felt annoyed with him. I didn't want to stop caring about Simon. It wasn't a case of choosing between them.

"You're mine," he said before kissing me.

There was something hard and possessive about it. Not soft and loving and gentle as all his previous kisses had been. His hands were hard on my neck and back, pinning me to him.
I pushed him back a fraction and forced him to soften the kiss until he mellowed.

"I'm yours. But you need to trust me," I murmured into him as we released from each other.

"But you hugged Simon!" He grumbled.

"Simon is in Obstruction. He's gonna be there. For the next year. Or even longer... I can't be kissing you, hugging Oddball and ignore Simon. He's a part of this too. And he's a huge part of me," I said before giving him a hug before I walked outside to get another box out of the van. I had to get away from him before it turned into an actual argument.

As I got outside I spotted Oddball's grin. There was no doubt that he had caught the whole scene. He set a drum down before folding me up in a hug.

"I've got to get all my hugs now before Ethan finds his jealous streak again," he laughed.

"Oh fuck off, Oddball," I heard Ethan mumbled.

"Not my fault that you choose the most huggable girl on the planet," Oddball grinned.

Ethan sent him a glare that could have had anybody else scared. But not Oddball.

"Not too late to change your mind," Oddball told me with a mischievous grin.

"Nah. He might be a grumpy ass sometimes. But he's my grumpy ass," I replied with a telling smirk towards my boyfriend.

For a second I thought I might have put my foot in it as he stopped, turned and came towards me with a fierce look on his face. It only lasted until I saw the glint of mischief in his eyes.

"I told you... so many times... only when you're being annoying," he sighed as his face melted into a crooked smile.

The noise of the drum being lifted told me Oddball had moved on.

"You done being daft?" I asked.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"Good. Cos you've got nothing to worry about," I replied sharply, still a bit peeved about his reaction to a hug.

I studied his sheepish expression, swallowing my annoyance, his eyes were looking at me as if he had committed a crime. I felt myself soften and he must have seen it, because his face changed into a puppy pout and a playful glint appeared in his eyes.

"Cos you love me?" He begged with a cute pout.

How could I be annoyed with him when he looked at me like that? I tried to keep a smile off my face.

"You know I do, Ethan," I pouted back.

Grinnning he took the last step to me.

"I will prove that I'm worth it," He muttered.

"Yeah? How?" I asked.

"Always so straight to the point," He laughed and lowered his mouth tho my ear.

"I will show you in any way you ask me to," he whispered sending shivers down my spine.

I grabbed the front of his t-shirt.

"You'd better!" I murmured back.

"Hey. Are you two pitching in or making out?" Simon asked from somewhere near the back doors of the van.

"At the moment, making out," I answered, staring straight into Ethan's laughing eyes.

"Whatever. Odd and I will wait in the garage. Come and get us when you're done," Simon huffed.

"Oh.. But they are so cute. Like slugs on a window," Oddball laughed as they retreated.

Ethan lay his forehead on mine.

"So? Are we okay?" He asked.

"No," I replied.

"No?" He asked.

"You haven't kissed me yet," I smiled.

"Was that our first fight?" He asked.

"More like our fifth," I replied just as he kissed me again.

"I guess we still have stuff to work through, huh?" Ethan mumbled with a defeated shrug.

"We'll get there," I murmured.

We had unpacked and were testing the set up when I looked at Simon with a grin.

"Remember this?" I asked and started strumming 'Heaven and Hell' by Black Sabbath.

"You still remember it!" Simon laughed and played the distinctive bassline of the song.

"Yeah!" I grinned and sung the first few lines.

"Black Sabbath?" Ethan asked.

"It's the first rock tune Simon taught me to play," I said.

"Why that one?" Oddball asked.

"A few years ago, Simon convinced me to spend a weekend learning 'Heaven and Hell' so he could perfect the bass and convince some guys to let him play in their band," I replied with a dry laugh.

"Well... it worked. He aced that audition," Oddball grinned.

"Considering only he and Billy actually showed up," Ethan shrugged.

"Starting a band when we were 15 was such a bad move," Oddball told Ethan with an ironic smirk.

"Yeah. Terrible idea! Got us wound up with all kinds of losers and misfits," Ethan grinned at his best friend.

I looked at them and realised that it was all connected.

"Those guys were you?" I asked and saw how Simon nodded.

"Audition was held right here, " Oddball said with a arm sweeping around him to indicate the garage we were in.

"Everything goes in circles," Simon nodded.

"Hang on... Simon... When you said that song was awsome with a girl vocal... You were talking about Izzy?" Ethan asked.

Simon nodded again.

"Seems a bit too random, doesn't it?" I asked.

"And why isn't it on our playlist?" Oddball asked.

"Because you guys laughed when I said about girl vocals... So I haven't suggested it," Simon shrugged.

"Yeah... but... Izzy!" Ethan laughed and scratched his head.

"I told you she'd be perfect!" Simon grinned back at Ethan.