My Bestie’s Brother

Changes

*Wyatt’s POV*

I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. All I could think about was salvaging my relationship with Riley. I really messed up and I was hoping with all my might that she would forgive me.

I really dragged today. I loved marching but I was exhausted. I spent another night upset with myself. Even my bros couldn’t cheer me up. They still hung out with me and I put up a face around them, but nothing worked.

Then of course Riley had to approach me when I got to the band hall. Of course her sweet spirit had to bake her famous protein cookies and give me some just like old times. To top it off, she even spoke to me. I knew I definitely didn’t deserve her, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want her any less. Damn her cookies still hit the spot.

I gave her the space she needed. I sat with my bros and we did our traditional game routine. I snuck the rest of Riley’s cookies in my hat box and I would save them for after the performance. As we approached the field, Brody and I talked about how we couldn’t wait about the after party. He was a good friend. The kind that would do anything for me. He knew that Riley and I had a past, and he knew she broke my heart before I got here. He had my back on this.

We got to our spots and I wanted once glance at Riley. We used to give each other winks before marching and I wanted to continue that routine. Then I spotted it. Riley and John were holding hands and he kissed her on the cheek. He’s gonna pay for that. Brody looked in that direction and patted me on the back.

“Don’t worry man. Karma can be a real biotch.” Brody said.

“Whatever. Let’s just play.” I responded coldly.

I was numb. How could this dude just come in and sweep my girl off her feet? I was definitely going to win her back.

*Riley’s POV*

We got on the field and into our spots. I looked into the stands and saw so many people. There had to be at least 30,000 people in the stands. I had never performed in front of a crowd so big! I started to shake a little and looked to my right. There was John. He looked so calm. He glanced over at me, winked and then mouthed, “Darlin you got this.”

Before I knew it, adrenaline kicked in and I was going. There wouldn’t be anyone stopping me. I hit my spots, played my notes and got through it. After what seemed like only a few seconds, we marched off the field. I got off and instantly, felt arms wrap around me.

“Darlin you were awesome! I’m so proud of you!” John looked at me with a big smile and the brightest eyes. I could tell he was proud of me.

“You weren’t so bad yourself mister! We did it!” Smooth Riley. He probably thought I was an i***t. We were walking to our spots when Brody bumped into us. “Oops. Sorry I didn’t see you there. Glad to see your bum knee didn’t stop you.” What a jerk. He seemed off but I just brushed it off. I was so happy with John and with my performance.

The rest of the game flew by and we managed to win! I’m so proud of Abilene State’s first appearance as a Division 1 team. As we marched back to the building, I couldn’t help but smile. Things were starting to go my way. We made it back to the building and John and I met up. He was such a gentleman and had his arm wrapped around my shoulders as we went to get our stuff.

I thought this would be the end of the night, but apparently John thought differently. “Hey darlin. So I thought we should go and meet some more people. I enjoy having you around, but it would be good to expand our circle of friends.” What? He didn’t realize that I am super awkward and already have a hard time making friends? I was overthinking so much that I didn’t realize I answered him. “Okay.” Great job Riley.

We went back to my place and changed out of our uniforms. Both of us took quick showers and changed into some comfy clothes. I let John go first as I picked out clothes. He brought a backup outfit as if he knew that I would go out. He emerged from my bathroom. Holy cupcakes Batman. He was gorgeous with his towel dried hair, black polo and jeans. I couldn’t help but stare. He broke the silence, “Your turn hun.” I had to turn it on as cold as possible because that boy made me sweat. I was super red from the game since I was pale skinned and forgot sunscreen. I washed the grime off me and turned the shower off. I purposely picked a pink shirt that was a little too short so that John had to see my toned stomach. I quickly blow dried my curls with a diffuser and scrunched up my hair. I left the bathroom adjusting my shirt. I looked up and John’s jaw dropped. “Damn girl. You look amazing.” Heck yeah. I was closer to getting him to date me.

We knew Abilene would only have a few places open, but apparently John had everything ready for us. We got in my mustang to make an appearance and drove to a club we knew would be open for a while. Thankfully we knew that we could also grab some food there too. We pulled up and he quickly ran around the car and opened my door. Such a gentleman. Several others noticed and we heard a few “awwws” come from some girls nearby.

We walked in and John flagged down a group of people I had never met before. They had 2 open seats for us. John had this all planned out. We walked there and John pulled out the chair for me. I kept on swooning over this guy. I wanted him to be mine.

As I sat down, people started introducing themselves to me. There had to be at least 6 people there with us. I listened as close as I could to hear their names. Bryan. Scott. Trey. Michelle. Jessica and Sydney. They all seemed nice, but I was overwhelmed. I guess John noticed my anxiety and put his hand in my leg. I felt a little better by his touch. Listening into the conversations, I felt like these were good people, especially Scott and Sydney. Scott played tuba and Sydney played trumpet. I knew I could eventually get to know them better. None of them played trombone so it worked out well.

As the night progressed, more food and drinks were included. We spent time talking about the game and laughing about the latest YouTube videos. I noticed Michelle started to pay more attention to John. She would glance over at me and give me a glare like she wanted to take him. I knew John and I were besties, but we didn’t really define anything and I was liking that. However I still wanted to be with him.

Michelle broke the comedy and pointed at me and John. “So how long have you been dating?”

Uh oh. Here it goes.