I pretend that I'm asleep while Liliana gets dressed. Her favorite band is blasting through her speakers. I try to bury my head into the pillow so I don't hear it. The music is okay, but it's just not me. I just can't believe she is going to drag me to their concert. 

"Chelsea," Liliana says, breaking through my haze. She tears the blanket off my body, and I scrunch my eyes up.

"What?" I ask as she grabs my hands. I laugh as she tries to lift me up into a sitting position

"Why are you so heavy?" she mutters, and I glare at her.

"I think you're just weak," I argue.

"You need to lay off the chips," she says and I laugh. "What? It's true."

"You're rude," I say, rolling my eyes.

"No, you're the rude one. I invited you to a concert and now you're telling me you don't want to go? It's tonight, Chelsea! And I already paid for your ticket and everything!"

"Okay, calm down," I say.

She tugs me up, and a frown takes over her face. "You messed up your hair!"

Her fingers work their way through my dark curls, and I sigh.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"He used to like this band."

Her eyes harden. "I thought we weren't talking about him ever again."

"Easy for you to say." I shrug, my throat burning. "He texted me the other night."

"Please don't tell me he wanted to get back together with you."

"Well . . ."

She draws her fingers away from my head and fixes them on her hips. "What did you say? Did you take the dirty cheater back?"

I meet her eyes and say, "No. I didn't. He kept messaging me that he wanted to come see me, and I realized all he wanted was a booty call."

She snorts. "You finally see that. Good for you."

She reaches behind me and grabs something from off her desk. Her blonde hair brushes against my cheek, so I push it out of the way. "I hope he's not going to the concert tonight."

"He probably doesn't have enough money to do so," Liliana says absentmindedly. "Get up, Chelsea. I am going to make you pretty and we are going to that concert. You'll have fun."

I roll my eyes as she drags me to her small vanity. She pushes me down in the chair and placed her hands on my shoulders. "What am I going to do with you?" she mutters.

"Nothing too much," I reply.

"Nothing too much," she repeats in a high pitched voice. "Come on, Chels. You know me."

She whips out her literal box filled with makeup. Everything is thrown in there, and I'm pretty sure some things are broken. That becomes evident when a cloud of powder drifts my way, and I cough.

"I need to buy you something that'll hold all your makeup without them having to be thrown together," I say, waving my hand.

"That would be appreciated!"

Another puff of powder comes my way and I hold my breath, waving it away. "Liliana, stop doing that!"

"I can't!" she responds, grabbing my face. "Sit still! I don't want to poke your eye out!"

I groan. "Have I told you that I hate you?"

"Many times throughout the years."

I become still as she continues putting makeup on my face. I know she means well. She tries to make me happier, but it's hard when I don't want to be.

"You look beautiful."

I glance at myself in the mirror. I guess I do look pretty. She didn't put a lot of makeup on, which is unusual. But she did draw the blue out of my eyes, making them appear brighter than they really are.

She checks her watch and a small scream erupts from her mouth. "We have to go, Chels!"

She grabs me and nearly drags me out of her room. I shove her hands off me and say, "I think I can walk by myself, thank you very much."

She grabs her keys off the small table near the door, and we step out into the hallway outside of our apartment. Liliana runs toward the stairs and says, "I'll race you!"

I laugh as the door slams behind her. Little does she know that I'm taking the elevator. I step into it and press the ground floor button. She turns around and I can see her face through the window. Her mouth is dropped wide open, and I laugh.

The elevator ride only takes a minute. I step out into the lobby and patiently wait for Liliana to arrive. The stair door bursts open and a panting Liliana stumbles out.

"Mistake," she gasps out. "Such . . . a . . . mistake."

I steady her and laugh. "I won."

She grips my arm really tight and says, "I hate you. Did you know that?"

"Yup." She catches her breath and we walk out to her car. "So, how excited are you?"

She grins. "Very excited. Especially because I bought meet and greet tickets."

"You did what?" I ask incredulously.

"I bought meet and greet tickets for the both of us."

"How much did those cost?"

"A lot."

"Oh goodness," I say, sighing. "I'll pay you back later."

"You don't have to pay me back," Liliana said, shaking her head. "This is for fun. We both deserve this."

"Fine. But I still feel bad."

I get in the passenger side of the car and she gets in the driver's side. "It should be a quick drive over there," she says, buckling up. "They're performing in our city, after all."

I nod. She throws the car into drive and we pull out onto the road.

"Can you shuffle The Driver Era, please?"

I laugh and press shuffle on her phone. The first song to play is San Francisco, one of the only ones I know. She throws a smile at me and says, "This is my favorite song by them. I hope they sing this tonight."

"It's not bad," I reply, shrugging.

The lyrics sounds so earnest and it brings me back to my ex. We had a good time once, and I can't help but picture it as this song plays. I don't look at Liliana as I clear my throat, trying to get rid of the burning sensation. I should hate him by now but I just can't. We had something good . . . until he ruined it.

"Chelsea, look at me." I look at her and she offers a soft smile. "Don't think about him tonight. Let loose and have fun. I'll be right with you through it all, and I want to have fun."

"Okay," I whisper. "Okay. I got this. I'll have fun."

"There you go."

I smile. I shove all my thoughts of him out of my mind and focus on the upcoming night. It will be fun. I know that Liliana will have fun, and she'll make sure I will too.

"We're here!" she squeals.

I laugh at her giddiness and say, "Are you going to faint when you see them?"

"If I do, will you catch me?"

"Of course."

She jumps out of the car, and I sigh. Her happiness almost blinds my sadness. Almost.

My door opens and she yanks me out of the car. I groan as I roll my shoulder. "You really had to do that?"

"Yes! I'm excited!"

I smile as she pulls me toward the front doors of the venue. She's literally shaking with excitement. "You need to calm down, Lil," I say with a laugh. "You are really going to faint."

"Maybe you should push me toward Ross or Rocky and have them catch me," she says, glancing at me. Her eyes are wide. "And you can snap a quick picture of us. That would be perfect."

I roll my eyes, my smile widening. The line to the meet and greet isn't very long, and the security guard checks us in as quick as he can. We are ushered with the rest of the girls through the venue until we're in a room. Five people are milling about and they brighten up when we walk in. 

"Hey guys!" a blonde guy says, waving. 

"It's Ross!" Liliana hisses in my ear. "It's really him! His hair looks so fluffy! Can I touch it?"

But I'm not looking at him. I'm looking at the other blonde guy who is laughing about what someone else said. His eyes focus on mine and his smile widens. His features are so soft, hitting me right in the gut. My breath barely reaches my lungs as he makes his way over to me.

"Hello," he says in a gentle voice. 

"Hi," I say, my heart hammering in my chest. 

I have no idea why I'm acting like this. I just had a recent messy breakup, but I'm acting like this dude is my next soulmate.

"You look a little lost," he says, tilting his head toward me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I answer, offering a smile. "I've never been better."

"That's good," he replies. "I'm Riker, the bassist of the band. What's your name?"

"Chelsea," I tell him. "Nice to meet you."

He sticks his hand out, so I shake it. I nearly rip it out of his hand as a shock pours through me.  He holds on a little longer than I planned, and my heart races even harder. What is happening to me? He smiles and says, "Maybe I could see you later, Chelsea."

"Maybe." Riker moves away from me and Liliana runs right to me, her face lit up. 

"Was that the Riker Lynch flirting with you?"

"I don't know," I say with a smile. "Maybe."

"And did you flirt back?"

"Maybe."

"This is awesome!" she screeches. A few people look at her, and she smiles sheepishly. "I'm really happy for you, Chels. You deserve so much better than what you had."

I glance at Riker and smile. "Yeah. I do."