"Matthews calling your phone,"

"Ignore it,"

"Don't you wanna talk to him?" Billie asked confused, the phone in his hand and a slight glimpse of excitement in his eyes.

I gave him a shrug through the mirror. "I don't know, I guess I'm just not in the mood to talk to Matt right now,"

"Okay...?" He slowly whispered putting my phone back down on my bed, trying not to smile.

"So..." I dragged out, spinning the seat around from the mirror and to Billie who was sat crossed legged on my bed. "...How'd the date go?"

I didn't wanna know, for the first time in what might have been ever. I didn't wanna hear about all the flirting and how great Nova was. But I couldn't help but ask.

He shrugged. "Well, I suppose it went good? Y'know? We talked a lot, left the diner. I took her for a walk around the streets and then she left,"

I wasn't sure why I asked my next question. Because I didn't want to meet her. I didn't want Mike and Tre to think she was so great either. But yet I still had to open my mouth. "So when do Tre, Mike and I get to meet her?"

"Well," He hummed. A look on his face that he needed to admit something. "I'm meeting her again later so-"

"-Later...?"

He paused, looking at me confused. "Yeah? Later?"

"But- it's Friday?"

"What about Friday?"

"You perform at Gilman every Friday night?"

"Oh- well, yeah," He spoke casually. "Y'know? I thought I would invite her,"

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

His question made me realise how selfish it had sounded. My eyes flickered away from him as I began to mummer. "Well- seems as Tre always brings Luella and Mikes gonna bring Sage. You'll have Nova and I'll have...."

"You'll still have everyone?"

"No Billie that's not... that's not how it works,"

He shifted in his position, moving his legs as they swayed off the bed. "What do you mean NJ?"

"Well... Tre said this thing to me about-"

"-You know not to listen to Tre,"

"No, but he made sense,"

Billies face pulled tightly for a second. An attempt at not. to snigger. "Alright then, what did he say?"

"Well, he said this thing about how it's always balanced out. How at Gilman when Tre brings Luella and Mike brings whatever girl he's talking to at the time which is- y'know, right now Sage. Then left is me and well- you,"

"But we aren't...?"

"But we don't have to be- it still makes it even,"

He looked over at me equally still confused.

"Oh c'mon Bill," I sighed. "Y'know what I'm on about. Like when Tre and Luella are together and there's Mike and whoever. Whose left is me and you. But now... it's Tre and Luella. Mike and his whoever. You and Nova.... and me,"

I think he realised what I was saying, his eyebrows furrowed differently. From confused to frustrated. "What so- you just want me not to bring Nova so everythings even? Is that it? Even numbers? What is this some OCD thing or something I don't understand-"

"-No Billie. I'm not asking anything from you. I'm just saying that when Tre has his girl... and Mike has his. You've got... well yours now. Then,"-

-"Well... it's kinda like how Mike's bringing a girl and I am, your Billie's girl,"-

-"Whose girl am I?"

"Well, your Matthews girl course- isn't that what you want?"

"But Matthew isn't in this. Your not getting this Billie." I sighed standing up from the seat. I walked over to the bed and sat beside him laying back as I grabbed my phone.

'Four miss calls from 'Matthew''

"And besides," I carried on, turning my phone back off. "I don't know if I want to be Matthews girl anymore,"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means what I said. I just don't know how I feel about anything anymore,"

He looked over at me before laying down too beside me. He looked over at me as I looked back, my cheek touching the bedding over my bed.

"What did he do?"

"It's not what he did," I shrugged. "It's what he doesn't do. Y'know? One of those things,"

He looked away from me up at the ceiling, his thinking face on. "I was going to say you could invite Matthew if you wanted," He whispered.

I sat up abruptly, confused. "Huh?"

"Well... y'know." He told me sitting up beside me. "Even numbers,"

"Well- I mean- yeah, even numbers. But... I thought you hated him?"

Billie shrugged tilting his head to the side. "Eh, I can stand it for a night,"

Oh my God.

~

"I'm going insane- wanna know what he said to me back at mine?" I asked in the back seat of Mike's truck. As Sage sat in passenger, Mike in the driver's seat and Tre, Luella and me squished uncomfortably in the back.

"What he say?" Tre asked from beside me.

"He said he can stand Mathew for a night- he said he was gonna say I could invite him to Gilman so I'm not an odd number! How weird is that!?"

"Whose Matthew?" Sage whispered to Mike clueless.

"Matthews NJs boyfriend," He answered. "He's a prick,"

"He is?" Sage asked turning in her seat as she looked over at me.

I gave a shrug. Not sure whether to bother defending him or not. The last time I spoke to him was at his football game.

"You're not defending him?" Tre noticed.

I shrugged again. "Eh,"

"Eh?"

"Well, he is a little bit of a dick,"

"Glad you finally noticed," Mike mumbled as he pulled the vehicle into the parking lot.

We slotted Mikes truck into a conveniently empty space beside the building of Gilman, Billie was supposed to already be here with Nova or whatever he said.

We all climbed out of the car, Luella and I holding our arms in the cold.

It must've been around half nine, the sky was at the weird phase of passing through blue and on to black. The weather had been pretty shitty today, so it looked like sort of an apocalypse was about to happen.

"Promise not to leave me at any point tonight with Tre," I whispered over to Luella purposely walking into her gently to grab her attention as the five of us walked into the building.

"Hmmm, y'know... just for leaving me to be awkward the other day I just might," She grinned mischievously, joking. I hope.

"Don't you dare, please Lou I beg you,"

"Don't you like Billies girlfriend?"

"He's not her girlfriend yet..."

"You didn't answer,"

"It's not that I don't like her." I shrugged, pushing the back doors of the building open as we walked in. The two boys and sage following a while behind us. "It's just that- y'know?"

"No?"

"Yeah... me either. She did nothing wrong. She's sweet, she's nice, she's pretty and- well Billie more than likes her. But I just- I can't like this one,"

We walked through the halls and down past the poster Mike had found his newly loved bass with. Finding our way into their backstage room for the night where Billie and Nova were suppose to be in. Just that, they weren't.

"They should be here by now?" Mike mumbled confused, as he set his bass guitar down in its case for a second in the corner of the room.

"Relax Dirnt." Tre laughed jumping back on the sofa. "He'll be here,"

"Billies never late," I mumbled to Tre from the other side of the room.

"Exactly, he'll show up,"

Mike shook his head before taking the bass out of its case, making sure the four strings were tuned while we waited for Billie Joe to turn up.

In the end, he rushed in late into the room with Nova behind him. "I'm here!"

"About time," Mike breathed under his breath.

"I got stuck behind a slow car- it wasn't my fault. Anyway- everyone, this is Nova. Nova- that's Mike, Sage whose Mikes date, Luella who is Tre's girlfriend and you already met Tre and Nightlyn," Billie briefly introduced her to everyone quickly. Not having the time to really give an introduction since he came in so late.

"Oh erm- Hi everyone," Nova smiled overwhelmed.

Sage gave her that girly welcome. Where they hugged and gave each other compliments about their hair and facial features. Luella gave a casual. "Hiya," before Mike dragged Tre and Billie out the room to get ready to perform with his bass.

"So have you heard Billie sing yet?" Luella asked Nova making conversation as she took Tre's place on the sofa.

Nova sat down on the chair in front of the huge mirror on the wall across the other side of the room, the chair facing the rest of us and not the mirror as she replied. "Not yet," She smiled looking down. "I was quite surprised when he told me he sang,"

"He's super good." I added sitting beside Lou.

"He did tell me he was," She laughed slightly.

I shook my head. "Cocky little shit,"

Sage joined Lou and I on the sofa as Nova spun around to the mirror. I suppose she was fixing her hair as she kept pushing it up and combing it through with her fingers.

Lou and Sage started to talk, but all I could do was stare at Nova's reflection in the mirror. And the strangest part was she couldn't even see I was looking, she was too busy looking at herself.

I watched her fix upon her lipstick by wiping some away, she pushed her eyelashes up with her fingers, played with her hair until she was satisfied, made faces in the mirror and almost just sat admiring herself the whole time.

It was painful to watch, I looked at her with envy as she carried on. Before realising time had been passing us.

"We should go get into the crowd now." I announce getting up off the sofa. "They'll be on any minute,"

"What time is it?" Sage asked, also standing to her feet along with Luella.

"Nearly ten," I read looking away from the clock and at Sage. "They come on at ten,"

"Good call," Lou nodded.

We all looked over at Nova, who was still looking back at herself. Not even noticing there wasn't just my eyes on her now but two more pairs.

"Erm..." Lou spoke up, but her voice got lost not being able to find it in her to say something. She looked over at sage and I for some help.

Sage let out a light cough, it still didn't seem to grab Nova's attention.

Sage and Luella both looked at me.

I let out a little sigh. "Hey- erm Nova?"

She looked over her shoulder, her hair flipping over her back. "Yeah?"

"The boys are about to be on stage in like-" I looked up at the clock on the wall. "-Actually any minute now. We're about to go into the crowd. You erm- you coming?"

"Oh yeah, course," she told us, turning back around to the mirror. "Just one second,"

Sage and Lou looked back at me as I shrugged clueless on what to do.

"We don't have a minute," Luella whispered.

"I know,"

I looked back at Nova. Who was most literally just admiring herself in the mirror.

I kept looking at her and back at the clock. Becoming anxious that maybe they were already on.

"NJ, say something," Lou whispered again.

"What else do you want me to say?"

"I don't know- say something though they'll be on right now!" She hushed.

I rolled my eyes walking over to Nova. "Hey- you ready now?" I looked down at her in the chair.

She looked at me then back at herself. Making one more change with the way her hair sat, before she stood up.

I mumbled 'finally' under my breath walking back to Lou and sage as we left the room, making our way back down the hallway where we could already begin to hear the crowd.

We made our way between the people where Billie, Mike and Tre were already preparing themselves to perform. Tre sat behind his drums ready as Mike and Billie plugged their guitars in making sure everything was right and working.

Billie, being the small guy, adjusted his microphone to fit his height more before saying hi to the crowd.

They played a few songs, one or two covers as the crowd constantly cheered for them. It was easy to say they were a well loved and known band here at Gilman, there were some people here in the crowd you'd always see, some others just came here for some fun tonight or maybe even dragged.

But never the less, they killed it, as expected. Each one of them on their individual instruments, they were all great tonight like they were every single night. Best not to flatter them though, Tre easily gets a big head.

When the concert had started, Billie was looking around the crowd to spot where we were. When he found where we were, he looked over a lot at Nova. And she loved it, squealing right in my ear. Bursting my eardrums.

So after they were done, the four of us left through the people in the crowd as the next band came on. We made our way back through down the small halls finding the three boys in the room. As hyper and full of adrenaline as most times.

Billie walked over to Nova before anyone else with a huge smile as she pulled him into a huge hug. "You were so good," I heard her tell him.

Billie smiled at me as he hugged Nova, I pulled the ends of my lips tight into a line indicating I was pissed off. He raised his eyebrows confused as me as I quickly directed my eyes as the girl he was holding.

But then she pulled him away speaking to him again.

I felt an arm sling heavily around my shoulder as I looked to the side of me to see Tre. "Someone doesn't look happy,"

"I'm not," I mumbled to him.

He looked at me somewhat seriously. "What's up Jersey?"

"Billies girl," I whispered carefully.

"Jealous?"

"Not at all. She nearly made us late,"

Tre looked away from me at everyone else who was doing their own thing. Before announcing. "Me and NJ are gonna head to your car, Mike,"

Mike looked away from Sage and nodded. "You'll need the keys,"

Tre held his hand out as Mike tossed the keys over for Tre to catch.

"Wait- you've barely spoken to me?" Billie said over to me, before Tre and I could leave.

I gave him a tiny smile. Before whispering. "Odd numbers,"

Successfully, Tre and I left that time as we walked down the hall. Out the fire exit around the back of the building.

"So what's up?" He asked, his hands in his pockets.

"Well, first of all, Billies girlfriend nearly made us miss the start of your gig. Y'know- I think I've found a flaw-"

"-Was you looking for one?"

"Well... yeah,"

"Why?"

"Everyone has one,"

"Alright... so what's hers?"

"She wouldn't leave the mirror, she wouldn't stop staring at herself- I mean- we nearly missed the start off your guy's gig!"

"Maybe she just wanted to make sure she looked nice for Billie," he suggested. "Y'know? Don't you do that for Matthew?

I grunted slightly as we reached the car, Tre leaned his arm on it as I stood with my arms around myself beside him. "Don't even bring Matthew up,"

"What's he done now?"

"It's not him- it's me-"

"-that's always what girls say,"

"No but really. It is, y'know? It's just... I can't find the effort in myself to pretend like I'm still running after him because for once I don't want to be. I've given up, I don't even wanna be with him anymore- so why am I?"

Tre looked stunned, pretty overloaded with everything I'd just say as he stood up straight. "I mean... I don't know Nightlyn... why are you still with him?"

"I don't know," I whispered.

We stood quietly for a moment, the both of us shocked.

Until the chatter of Mike, Sage, Billie, Nova and Luella was slowly becoming louder.

I looked over at them all. Mike was in a current conversation with Sage and Luella, Billie walked a little behind closely to Nova. Their shoulders brushing and both of them laughing.

When the five of them reached Tre and I, Tre unlocked Mikes car as Tre, sage and Lou all climbed in. Leaving Mike, Billie and his new found girlfriend who nearly made us late.

"Y'know Mike," I spoke up, looking over at Mike who was looking at me concerned. "I think I'm gonna... walk home tonight,"

He scrunched up his eyebrows. "Walk?"

"Stretch my legs y'know?"

"It's more than a stretch of the legs- NJ you'll be walking for ages,"

"Mike's right," Billie joined in from behind him. "You can't walk that,"

"Why not?"

"One, it's too far. Two, it's dark. Three, there's weird people around. I don't wanna be worrying about you, none of us do,"

I sighed, looking away from Billie and at Mike. "Alright... well I was actually going to take a detour to Matthews,"

"Let me drive you there," Billie quickly asked.

"I don't wanna disturb you and Nova, I don't mind with walking there it's not far,"

"NJ, I'll drive you. It's really no big deal. Right?" He said looking over at Nova.

Who in honest opinion went a little silent, looking away from Billie. But the silence slowly made her squeak an un honest 'Yes' out.

That was enough for Billie, I'd said goodbye to everyone else following Billie and Nova through to the furthest other side of the parking lot to where Billie had parked his car.

The journey wasn't much of a tell. Nova and Billie spoke a lot in the front seats, I sat at the back looking out the car window for the majority of the ride until I felt the car terribly jolt. Meaning Billie had parked.

I briefly said my thanks, without a proper goodbye I got out of the car making my way up to Matthews front door hearing the car drive away in the background of my knock.

There was a long delay of the door answering, but none the less Matthew came to the door. Confused to see me here at this time.

"Nightlyn?"

"Hey..."

"Hey?" A smile began to come through. But he looked confused more than anything. "I've- I've been trying to call you lately- have you got my calls? No one answered and-"

"-Yeah, I got them,"

"Why didn't you answer?"

I in hailed. "Matthew, I think we need to talk,"

"Talk?"

"Yeah-"

"-What have I done wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing, y'know? Nothing wrong. It's just... well we really need to talk,"

"Okay?" He questionably agreed, before moving out of his way letting me into the house.

Matthews dad was pretty wealthy off. Meaning he had a big important job to do, which also required him not to be home a whole bunch. So the house was normally empty, Matthew took great advantage of that.

We walked through into his living room, before he sat down on the sofa looking on edge. I sat beside him.

"So what is it?" He asked me, rotating his body towards me.

"Well... do you think we're good together?"

He looked at me confused, blinking twice.

"Y'know what I mean by that right? Do you think we're a good match? Y'know? Do you think we're right for each other? That we're a good couple?"

"What?" His mouth gaped open. Eyes flickering around my face. "Why are you asking me that? If I didn't think we were at least a little bit good together we wouldn't be together, don't you think?"

I wobbled my head a little. Before mumbling out. "Exactly,"

"...What do you mean exactly?"

"Well-"

"-Nightlyn if it's about that time I cheated y'know I'm sorry for that. I don't know what more I can do to prove I am I'm-"

"-No, no Matthew. It's not that. It's not even you. Y'know? It's me and-"

"-When girls say that, it always means it's not them,"

That's correct.

"No, but really Matthew." I tried to comfort. "It's not you. I just- I think right now I need to focus more on other things. I don't think a relationship is right for me right now and- well I can't hold you back,"

He shifted up, fixing his posture a little to a more serious one. "So... you're meaning to say you're breaking up with me then?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, my stomach feeling swirly and sick. like roller coasters were going on and on and on in the pit of my stomach. Before I could nod. "Yeah..." I whispered. "I'm sorry Matt,"