I woke up in a panic because my alarm didn't go off. I was up until late, staring at my phone, waiting for Caleb to text me back. I know it sounds sad, but he said that he would get back to me Saturday night, but he didn't get back to me at all. I did text him, but he didn't say anything. I texted him back, but he didn't even read the message. So I threw on some clothes and some shoes and rushed out the door down the hall. I reached the top of the stair, and I heard talking. I stopped and walked down the stairs quietly.

 

"Steven?" I heard. I turned and saw my mom and Aunt Dani sitting in the living room, surprisedly staring at me.

 

"Hey," I said.

 

"What are you still doing here? You are supposed to be in school," My mom said.

 

"Oh well, my alarm didn't go off. I am heading there now," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

 

"And how were you going to get there?" My mom asked, crossing her arm.

 

"Uh, Uber?" I said, and my mother's frown became more profound. Man, she is mad.

 

"Steven, this is very irresponsible of you," My mom said.

 

"I know, mom. I'm sorry," I said.

 

"First, you stall at picking a college, then you go out hanging out with random boys, and now you are cutting school AGAIN," My mom said. I bit the inside of my cheek, knowing that whatever I said won't help.

 

"Hey Jen, relax school first period doesn't start for ten minutes," Aunt Dani said.

 

"Well, you haven't been here, so you don't know what is going on, so I suggest you stay out of it," My mom said.

 

"Well, I am here now, and you need to relax because you are acting like Steven committed a crime," Aunt Dani said.

 

"And what do you call what Steven has been doing?" My mom asked.

 

"Simple, it is just him being a teenager," Aunt Dani said, crossing her arms.

 

"I don't have time for this, Steven. Let's go. I am taking you to school," My mom said, gathering her things.

 

"I can take him," Aunt Dani said.

 

"Dani, that is enough. I have to go to work. I am running late, and I will be even more late if you keep fighting with me," My mom huffed.

 

"Well, technically, you are making yourself late. I told you I would take Steven, so you are just making a poor excuse for being late," Aunt Dani said. I know my mom is a top-notch lawyer, but when it comes to a debate, Aunt Dani will beat her every time.

 

"Ugh, Dani. I hate when you do this," My mom said.

 

"Well, don't the player hate the game. Come on, Steven," Aunt Dani said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me out of the living room and out of the house.

 

Me and Aunt Dani sat in the car in silence for a minute until she got to a stop light, and she reached over, flicking me in the forehead hard.

 

"Ow, what the heck was that?" I said, rubbing my forehead.

 

"Who is the guy that you have been hanging out with?" Aunt Dani said.

 

"Who told you, my mom?" I asked. The light turned green, and she started driving again.

 

"No. Well, yes, but your sister told me first when he invited you to his party," Aunt Dani said.

 

"Ugh, Nina has such a big mouth," I said.

 

"Well, if she didn't, your mother would have come home early, and you would be spending Saturday night in your room playing music," Aunt Dani said, shrugging.

 

"You know I do other things than play music," I said, sinking in my seat.

 

"Sure you do, sweetie. So what is Caleb like?" Aunt Dain said, glancing over at me. I started to blush, thinking about Saturday night. My mind started drifting to the movie, and we had a heart-to-heart when we were at his secret spot. Then Caleb kissed me, and I began to feel upset the other time he kissed me in the car outside the diner. He left in a hurry because something was happening, and he ghosted me for the rest of the weekend. As I started at the dashboard, I guess Aunt Dani thought I was taking too long, and she poked me in the shoulder.

 

"Uh, sorry," I said.

 

"You okay, kiddo? You looked distressed," Aunt Dani said.

 

"What would you do if you saw someone that is troubled?" I asked.

 

"Well, there are two ways you can go about that," Aunt Dani said.

 

"Well," I asked. Sometimes I hate when Aunt Dani is vague.

 

"Well, we are here, and I don't think you want to be late anymore," Aunt Dani said. I looked back and saw that we were in front of the school. I sighed, unbuckling my seat belt and getting out of the car. I was about to head into the building, but Aunt Dani was calling me.

 

"Hey, if he is like what your sister described to him, then just let me know that you are here for him no matter what," Aunt Dani said. I smiled, and with that, Dani left. So I bit my lip and started making my way into the building with a new goal.

 

So much for my new goal. I barely saw the man all day. I went to look for him at lunch, and he was there for a moment before leaving. I never had the chance to get up and say something to him. I was about to give up until I saw him standing at his locker before I headed toward the music room. I took a deep breath, walked up to him, and lightly tapped his shoulder.

 

"I don't have time to talk," Caleb said with his back facing me.

 

"Not even for me," I said, making Caleb turn to face me.

 

"Sorry, I thought that you were Gina," Caleb said, running a hair through his messy hair. It looks like he didn't get any sleep at all. His clothes look disheveled, and he has dark circles under his eyes, and that smile that he always had was replaced with a frown.

 

"Is this a bad time?" I asked.

 

"No, Steven, what going on?" Steven asked.

 

"Well, I just wanted to see if you were okay," I said.

 

"Yeah, I am fine. Why would you ask?" Caleb said.

 

"Well, you left the restaurant Saturday like you were on fire, and you didn't answer any of my messages, and you look like you got hit by a bus twice," I said.

 

"Sorry, Steven, it was just a hectic couple of days," Caleb said.

 

"Well, do you want to talk about it? We have a free period?" I asked, and Steven's frown deepened.

 

"Sorry, Steven, I have to go. I have practice, and I need to practice before everyone else comes," Caleb said.

 

"Oh, okay, what about after practice? We can talk then or," I suggested, and Caleb slammed his locker, making me jump slightly.

 

"No, Steven," Caleb face, a hand down his face looking frustrated. "Listen, I gotta go," Caleb said, walking down the hall. I watched him walk down the hall, losing him in the crowd of people. I bit my lower lip feeling this uncomfortable feeling rising in my chest. I pushed it down and started to walk down to the music room.

 

I walked into my practice room and was met with a loud bang and confetti in my face. I blinked, staring at Tia, Mason, and Mr. Evans with big smiles on their faces.

 

"Uh, what is going on here?" I asked.

 

"You didn't check the website? I assumed you did since you weren't here this morning," Mr. Evans said.

 

"Huh," I said, and then it clicked. The competition. "I made it," I asked.

 

"Steven, you didn't just make it. You ranked in the top five," Mr. Evans said.

 

"Are you serious?" I asked.

 

"Yea, here," Tia said, handing me her phone. I stared at the screen, and they were not lying. I wasn't just in the top five; I was first on the list. I felt my knees go weak for a second, and I grabbed Mason to steady myself.

 

"I- I can't believe this," I said.

 

"Well, believe it, man, you will win this competition," Mason said.

 

"So what happens now?" I asked, and Mr. Evans walked over to the piano, stopping at the scattered papers.

 

"Okay, now, they will fly you and ten of the other kids you are competing in two months. It will be a two-day thing. Then, on the first day, you will perform the submitted song. Then they will select the top three, and then the next day, you three will need to perform a new piece, and then the judges will declare a winner," Mr. Evans said, looking at me and giving me a bright smile.

 

"Okay, so when does Steven go?" Tia asked.

 

"He will be leaving on January 2," Mr. Evans said.

 

"And where is this again?" Mason asked.

 

"Florida," Mr. Evans said.

 

"That is not too bad. Oh, what if we got to see Mickey?" Tia said, bouncing.

 

"We?" I asked.

 

"Oh yeah, did you think you would go alone?" Tia asked, crossing her arms. I smiled and hugged Tia because she was the best friend a guy could ever ask for.

 

"Oh hey, Caleb's cousin also made the top ten, and she said we must go to the tower of terror in Hollywood studios. Maybe you can tell Caleb to convince her not to drag us on that ride?" Tia asked.

 

"I asked him when he gets out of practice today," I said.

 

"Caleb doesn't have practice today," Mason said.

 

"What do you mean he said he did today," I said.

 

"Well, unless the practice is elsewhere, it didn't seem like he was going to practice. I saw him rushing out the door when I came back with the party poppers," Mason said. That uncomfortable feeling started to come back, and my mind began to race because why would Caleb lie to me?

 

"Hey, are you okay?" Tia asked, and I nodded, giving her a smile, and walked to the piano.

 

"Okay, since we have two months, then I should perfect the song and start working on a new one," I said, sitting at the piano.

 

"Okay, Steven," Mr. Evans said.

 

I sat at the piano, feeling that pang in my chest again because I was starting to feel like Caleb didn't trust me enough to tell me about what was happening. You know what? Screw him. I am going to get him to trust me. Like the man literary stuck his tongue down my throat, I will not let him kiss me and push me to the side. That is my job as a boyfriend. Right?