Work Text
Claire Novak pushed her black rectangular glasses further up her nose as her blue eyes devoured the text in front of her. She was highlighting the text and making notes for the midterm exam next month. Her roommate, Krissy Chambers, barged in, letting the door slam behind her. She tugged on one of Claire’s blonde braids.
“Hey, Brainiac! The midterm in your dad’s class isn’t until next month. Come out and play with me tonight!”
Claire smacked the other girl’s hand away. “No way, Krissy. I have to make good grades in this class. My dad will literally kill me if I don’t.”
“Don’t you mean ‘figuratively’?”
“No, I really, really don’t.”
Krissy just rolled her brown eyes in exasperation. “Come on! You haven’t been out in
months
!”
It was Claire’s turn to roll her eyes. Her roommate wasn’t wrong. Claire hadn’t been out since she and Kaia broke up. She guessed it was time. “Fine. What did you have in mind?”
“The Lord’s Prophets are playing at the Snake Pit tonight. And we’re going.”
Claire grabbed her pillow and screamed into it. “You want to pull me away from my very important studying just so you can ogle some hot chick?” It was no secret that Krissy harbored a massive crush on Josephine Barnes, the groups’ bass player.
“No, I want to pull you away from your ‘very important studying’ so you can get out of this room and off this campus for a night! Ogling Josephine is just a bonus.”
“Ok, fine.”
“Good. Get dressed.”
“I
am
dressed.”
“You are not wearing
that
to a club!” Krissy waved her hand over Claire’s blue denim jeggings, black Star Wars tee shirt, and hot pink Chucks.
“Uh, yeah, I am. Or I’m not going.”
“Ugh, fine.” Krissy conceded as she pulled her own club clothes out of her closet. Krissy would be donning a black pleather mini skirt, a grey fringed AC/DC shirt, ripped fishnets, and black Doc Martens.
***
Claire was actually enjoying herself. She even let Krissy talk her into joining her in the mosh pit, when the band started to play a punk/rap version of “Stairway to Heaven.” Krissy looked over at her friend, expecting her friend to launch into her diatribe about how this overrated, overplayed piece of dreck is Led Zepplin’s worst song. (Claire was an elitist about classic rock.) Instead, what she saw was the absolute last thing she was expecting. If they had been cartoon characters, Claire would have actual heart eyes aimed at the lead singer, Kevin Tran. Krissy took a look at the guy, yanking her focus away from Josephine. She supposed he wasn’t bad looking, if one was into that sort of thing, which judging by the look on her roommate’s face, Claire was. He was a slender Asian kid dressed in a tight black Sex Pistols tee shirt and ratty blue jeans. One leg of his blue jeans was torn about mid-thigh all the way down to the ankle, revealing a toned, tattooed calf. His trim forearms were also covered in tattoos. Krissy couldn’t make out what they were; they looked like some foreign language to her. His eyebrow, nose, and lip were pierced. Krissy shrugged, she thought he was alright, but not her type. Of course, she couldn’t resist the urge to needle Claire about it.
“Claire, are you actually drooling over that guy? You don't drool over anyone, ever.”
“Well, he
is
aesthetically pleasing,” Claire answered with a dopey little smile.
The concert ended shortly after that, and Krissy practically dragged Claire backstage with her.
The first person they ran into was the band’s drummer, known only as Aidan. He had his arms wrapped around two groupies, but was just cocky enough that he immediately approached the new arrivals. “Well, hello, ladies. Care for a drink?”
“Ew, no.” That was Krissy.
“I don’t drink.” Claire.
“Also, you’re disgusting.” Krissy again.
“She’s not wrong.” Claire.
Krissy took Claire’s hand and led her through the hall where they found Josephine and Kevin smiling and signing autographs. “Your drummer is a dick.” Krissy said by way of greeting.
“Yeah, he kinda is,” Josephine agreed. “But he’s the best drummer in the state.” She shrugged. “So, we keep him around.”
“He really is phenomenal,” Kevin said, finally looking up after signing his last autograph. “Do you know these lovely young ladies, Joss?”
“This is Krissy from my Advanced Trigonometry class at school,” Josephine replied, pulling Krissy into a hug and kissing her cheek.
“And who might you be?” Kevin asked.
“Oh, I’m just her roommate.” She made a loose gesture in Krissy’s direction.
“Well, enchantée, Krissy’s roommate,” Kevin said as he took her hand and placed a small kiss to the back of it. “What can I call you?”
Claire snatched her hand away and barely contained her glare. “Claire. My name is Claire.”
“Oh my God. Why did I do that? That was so cheesy!” Kevin blushed and hid his face in his hands.
Josephine slapped his arm. “Yeah, why did you do that? Creeper.” She turned to Claire. “I would like to apologize on his behalf. Kevin isn’t usually this much of a dweeb.”
Claire just stood there, staring, clutching her hand to her chest as if it had been burned.
“Why are you still looking at me like that? Why is she still looking at me like that?” Kevin addressed the second question to Krissy.
Krissy pulled away from Josephine’s lips. “Oh, Claire doesn’t really like physical contact from people she just met. It’s a thing.”
“Well, maybe we can all go out for coffee tomorrow and get to know each other.” Kevin suggested with a genuine smile.
Claire shook herself out of her daze. “I can’t. I have to study for midterms.”
“Midterms aren’t until next month,” Josephine said.
“Claire has to get really good grades. Especially in her dad’s class or he will literally kill her.” Krissy stated.
“Don’t you mean figuratively?” Josephine asked.
“No, I really don’t.” Krissy said.
Josephine turned her attention to Claire. “Who’s your dad?”
“Castiel Novak.”
“Oh, shit. You’re not kidding. He will kill you dead.”
“So, your dad is a hard ass, huh?” Kevin finally rejoined the conversation.
It was Josephine who answered. “You have no idea. Professor Novak is the strictest. If you’re a minute late to class, he locks the door and won’t let you in.”
“Well, if you need a break from studying, me and Josephine always get coffee after practice on Saturdays. And from the looks of things, Krissy will probably be there too. So, if you want to, you’re welcome to join us.” Kevin offered.
“I’ll think about.” Claire conceded.
By this point, Krissy and Josephine started making out again, leaving Claire and Kevin to make stilted small talk while they waited for their friends to come up for air. Once they did, Claire convinced Krissy it was time to head back to the dorm.
Saturday found Claire once again nose deep in a textbook while Krissy was getting ready to meet Josephine and Kevin for coffee. She was wearing faux leather leggings and a black off the shoulder tee shirt with “Blondie” in rhinestones across the chest, dark hair loose over her shoulders. Claire was in her standard wardrobe of jeggings (black this time) and a pop culture tee shirt (Harry Potter) with her blonde hair in braids.
Claire pushed her glasses back up her nose as she looked at her roommate over her book. “Where are you off to?”
“Coffee with the cool kids. You should come.”
“Nah. Not interested in being a cool kid.”
“You know, I think Kevin likes you.”
“Yeah, and?” Claire snapped her gum in annoyance. She really needed to get back to work.
“And you find him ‘aesthetically pleasing’…” Krissy used finger quotes around the phrase Claire had used the other night.
“So?”
“So, maybe you should come along and get to know him. Josephine says he’s a good guy.”
“Not interested.”
“Is this about what happened with you and Kaia?”
“Aren’t you going to be late? You should go. Bye.” Claire deflected.
A couple of hours later, Claire returned to her studying with a fresh bottle of diet Coke and bag of Twizzlers from the vending machine in the lobby and cracked open the textbook for her investigative journalism class. The class her dad taught. She wanted to be a journalist and travel the world. Her dad didn’t take her ambitions seriously. She thought he was just bitter because he didn’t become the journalist he always wanted to be and became a teacher instead.
She shook herself out of her reverie so she could focus on her studying. She was about really buckle down where her phone pinged.
[Unknown Number]
I’m sorry if I came on too strong the other night. Joss said I was acting like a bit of creeper.
[Me]
Who even is this????
[Unknown Number]
Oh, sorry. This is Kevin Tran. Krissy gave me your number. Don’t be mad at her, I kinda weaseled it out of her.
Claire absolutely
did not
smile a little tiny smile at her phone. How could she be smiling, when she was furious and was likely going to kill her best friend?
[Me]
I’ll kill her later. Did you want something? Because I’m in the middle of studying.
[Kevin]
I thought maybe we could get to know each other, you know, via the safety of text messaging. ;-)
[Me]
Oh. I guess that will be ok. But don’t expect an immediate response. I am studying.
[Kevin]
I totally understand. I will be happy to text at your schedule.
Claire absolutely was
not
smiling as she put her phone aside and returned to her studying.
Every morning Claire woke up to a “Good morning, Sunshine” text from Kevin, and each night he’d wish her a good night. Some days Claire wasn’t able to respond at all. It was those days that Kevin kept a running commentary on his day, songs he was working on, and just random silliness. Other days, they would talk for hours about anything, but not quite everything. There were just some things that couldn’t be discussed via a text message.
Midterms week rolled around, and when it was time for her midterm in her dad’s class, Claire was a bundle of nerves. Krissy rolled her eyes. She was doing that a lot when it came to Claire lately.
“Geez. Your other dad needs to do a better job.” Krissy said over breakfast in the dining hall. A breakfast Claire was barely eating.
“What do you mean? He does a great job at the shop.”
“Not that kind of job. At home. Maybe if Professor Novak got laid more he’d be less of a hardass.”
“Ew! I don’t want to think about my two dads doing the dirty!”
Krissy laughed at her friend’s reaction, and like that the thick tension was broken.
Claire’s morning was relatively uneventful. She was more than prepared for her other exams. Her exam in her dad’s class was after lunch. If he was hard on the other students, he was doubly hard on her, so she was rightfully petrified. As she was walking across the quad, the gathered crowd and the sounds of an acoustic guitar caught her attention. When she got closer, she noticed Kevin and Josephine were performing. They were playing a much tamer version of “Stairway to Heaven” than they had at the concert that night. By the time the song ended, Claire made her way through the crowd.
“You know, that has to be Led Zepplin’s most overrated song.”
“Well, hello to you too,” Kevin replied with a wink. “What song would you like to hear, milady?”
“Blackbird.”
“Your wish is my command, milady.”
He put his fingers to his strings and started singing.
“Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Take these broken wings and learn to fly…”
When Kevin started playing, it was as if the rest of the world just fell away. For those few minutes, it was just Claire and Kevin and the music that surrounded them. Claire’s lips parted slightly on an awed sigh as her cerulean blues locked with his chocolate browns. He truly was beautiful to her, from his spikey black hair to the way the sun glinted off of his piercings, and even his tattoos. The term “aesthetically pleasing” did not do him justice, in her opinion. Over the past several weeks that they had been texting, she also learned that he is just a really nice guy and so much more than a pretty face. She was glad she had the chance to get to know him without being under any pressure.
As the last strains of the music filtered out into the air, the rest of the world came back into focus, but neither of them seemed to notice. Claire clapped joyfully, her smile lighting up her entire face. “Kevin, that was beautiful.” She finally remembered where she was. “What are you doing here anyway?”
“Well, Joss doesn’t have any exams today, so we thought we’d give everyone else some good vibes for theirs.” Kevin shrugged. “Although I may have had an ulterior motive.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Well, there’s this cute blonde that goes to school here who’s been freaking out about a particular exam today. I thought maybe I could cheer her up.” Kevin smiled mischievously.
“Yeah, do I know her? Is she prettier than me?”
Kevin took her unadorned hand in his ring and bracelet covered one, and Claire let him this time. “I’d say you know her pretty well. She’s smart
and
hot
and
she makes me laugh. She’s kinda the whole package, if you know what I mean.”
“She sounds great.” Claire smiled at him.
“Yeah, she kinda is.” Kevin shot her a goofy grin. “Feeling better yet?”
“Yeah, mostly. Thanks, Kevin.” Claire tried to pull her hand away to leave, but he stopped her.
“Wait, I have something else for you. I mean, besides my good looks, charm, and lilting voice.” Kevin reached into his guitar case and pulled out a tiny succulent plant. It was dusty purple, and surprisingly soft looking for a cactus, like a tiny lotus blossom. It had the color of a desert sunrise that matched the strands of chalked purple in Claire's long hair. “I didn’t get a rose because I know you don’t like cut, dead flowers.”
“And Krissy may have told him about the succulents you keep in the window sill in your dorm,” Josephine added with a smirk.
“Yeah, cut flowers are for a funeral, because they’re dead too.”
“Yes, yes, I remember,” Kevin said with a grin. One late night texting session, Kevin made the mistake of asking Claire what her favorite kind of rose is. She went on for well over an hour about the ecological concerns that go along with the cut flower industry. He never forgot.
“Thank you, Kevin. That was very sweet.” Claire cradled the plant close to her chest. She slowly removed her other hand from Kevin’s. “I should actually get going. If I’m late, my dad will lock me out and I’ll miss my exam.”
“Should I be worried that your dad is such a hard ass?” Kevin asked.
Claire just shrugged. “Probably.” That was the last thing she said before finger waving and walking away. She ducked her head to hide her dopey grin under a cascade of blonde waves.
Midterms were finally over, and Claire aced them all (as if there was any doubt…well, maybe a little bit.) She could finally relax. Well, sort of. Finals were only a couple of months away, after all. Claire decided now would be a good time to finally take Kevin up on his coffee invitation. Their relationship, or whatever it was, was progressing, and there were things she needed to tell him before they could move forward.
When she arrived at the café, her friends were sitting out in the sunshine. Krissy and Josephine were wrapped around each other mid-make out session. Kevin was looking down at his watch with an amused expression on his face. “They’ve been going at it for at least 15 minutes.” He said with a chuckle when she walked up to their table.
She barely spared a glance for them. “Can we go inside?”
“Sure.” Kevin stood up, picking up his guitar case that he always had with him. He held open the door to the café. “After you, milady.”
They selected a secluded table in the corner and Kevin got them drinks. Coconut water for him and iced Chai for her. As soon as he sat down, Claire spoke up.
“Kevin, if we’re going to, you know, date, then there’s something you need to know about me. And if you can’t deal with it, then this ends here.”
“Way to sound ominous there. You’re not dying are you? Or moving to Manila or some other far away exotic land?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“Well, then, I’m sure whatever you have to tell me will seem mild in comparison.” Kevin winked at her for good measure.
Claire took a long pull from the straw of her drink before continuing. “I’m demisexual. That means…”
“That means you’re on the asexual spectrum don’t feel sexual attraction to someone until you’ve formed an emotional bond.”
“Wait, you know about that?”
“Well, yeah. I read.”
Claire took a breath to steady herself. “Well, that’s good. You should know that I’m –um I’m pretty far on the asexual side of the spectrum, so I don’t really like to do much more than kissing and stuff. I mean, sometimes…but not often. It’s why my exgirlfriend broke up with me. She wanted to do it all the time.”
Kevin shrugged. “Then it’s her loss. There are other kinds of intimacy besides sex.”
“But don’t you…?”
“I can live without it.” Kevin looked around and leaned in as if he was sharing a state secret. “Actually, I haven’t hooked up with anyone since that night we met.”
Claire smiled and blushed a little, before rushing to say, “That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe you didn’t have an opportunity.”
“Really? Really? Dude, I’m hot
and
I’m in a band. Trust me, I’ve had opportunities. I just didn’t want to.”
She couldn’t deny the truth in that statement. “So, why didn’t you?”
“I knew I’d met someone special when I met you. Didn’t want to screw it up before it happened.” Kevin shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin.
“Oh. Well. Ok then. Yeah.” Kevin’s confession left Claire at a loss for words. Which never happened to the journalism major.
Kevin took her hand in both of his. “Look, I’m willing to move at your pace. Whatever that pace may be. I like you, ok?”
“Ok.”
Before they could say anything further, the lights dimmed and a red haired young woman took the stage at the front of the coffee house. “Welcome to Open Mic Night at Charvelle’s!” A blonde woman whispered something in her ear. “Oh, ok, Open Mic Day. Whatever,” she amended. “Today we are proud to welcome Kevin Tran to our stage. You are all probably familiar with the punk stylings of his band The Lord’s Prophets. Well, today he wants to show us his softer side. And I can only guess it has to do with that blonde sitting with him in the corner.”
Kevin stood up and picked up his guitar case. Before he could make his way to the stage, Claire put her hand on his arm to stop him. “Kevin, what’s going on?”
“I wrote something for you. Just sit back and relax.”
Josephine and Aidan joined him on the stage, instruments at the ready. Kevin picked up his guitar and the first strains filled the air.
Waitin’ for the phone with tremblin’ hands.
I’m so nervous that I can barely stand.
I can’t believe that I still feel like this.
Lost somewhere between your smile and that first kiss.
And you-ou got a hold on me.
I-I gotta let you see.
Thinking of those times when I’m alone.
Lack of love it can turn a boy to stone.
I can’t believe that I still feel this way.
Drop my jaw, and then you take my breath away.
And you-ou got a hold on me.
I-I gotta let you see.
You-ou got a hold on me.
I-I gotta let you, I-I gotta let, I gotta let you see.
It was Claire’s jaw that dropped. She met him halfway on his way back to the table. “Kevin, that was incredible.”
“So you liked it?”
“Yeah. A lot. I just have one question though.”
“What’s that?”
“What ‘first kiss’ are you talking about?”
“The one we’ll share whenever you’re ready for it,” Kevin answered with a soft smile.
“Oh. Well….” Claire reached one hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down to her. She kissed him softly on the lips. “There you go.”