Not Another Rockstar—Maisie Peters
“I wanted to... actually, am I disturbing you? I can leave if it’s not a good time.” Rayne’s gray eyes dart nervously around the room before settling on me. There’s something in her gaze that worries me. She wouldn’t have just shown up here without telling me unless something was wrong.
I shake my head and put down my guitar. “No, of course you’re not disturbing us.”
“We’re done for today anyway,” Beck says, giving me a meaningful look. But I refuse to read anything into his expression.
“That’s right. Besides, we’re looking forward to finally getting to know Text Girl.” There’s a slightly cheeky grin on Colin’s face. I shoot him a dirty look. Can’t he just shut up for once? I know he’s only acting this way because for some reason, he feels obliged to look out for all of us, but I don’t need anyone to look out for me. Especially not when it comes to Rayne.
“What was your name again?” A crease forms between Rayne’seyebrows, and I don’t do a very good job of disguising the laughter that threatens to break out as a cough. Rayne knows Colin’s name. She knows all of us.
“Colin.”
“Oh right, I remember.” She taps her temple, the corners of her mouth twitching with a suppressed smile. Beck and Jax don’t bother trying to hide anything; they burst out laughing. And yes, Colin absolutely deserves it.
“I like her,” Beck whispers to me. I’m not sure why my stupid heart skips a beat when he says that.
“You like anyone who stands up to Colin,” Jax interjects. He’s standing close to us, and I really hope Rayne doesn’t hear what my friends are saying.
But when she looks at me with a knowing twinkle in her eyes, it’s clear that she heard every word. Willow stands with her arms crossed behind Rayne, watching the whole scene. She looks a little too amused for my comfort.
“What are you doing here, Sunshine?” Beck asks, adding the next silly nickname for Rayne.
Her eyebrows go up. “You two are very creative with nicknames.”
Beck shrugs, unconcerned. “And yet they’re both so fitting.” He winks at her, and that’s when I decide it would be a good idea to get out of here.
“I actually quite like my name,” Rayne retorts, her chin jutting forward a little.
I push past my friends and stop in front of her. “Everything okay, Birdy?” I ask quietly.
She lifts her head, and there’s something in her eyes: a mixture of anger and sadness that makes it pretty clear that nothing is okay.
“He can call her Birdy without her objecting, but we—” Beck stops again abruptly when I give him a warning glance over my shoulder.
“Well, he’s her friend. We’re just his friends, and let’s be honest, Text Girl and Sunshine are really bad nicknames,” Jax says. For once, I have to agree with him.
“Thanks,” Rayne says, and smiles.
“I’m going to get changed, and then we can go, okay?” I tug at my shirt, which is sticking to my skin from the rehearsal.
“Where to?” Rayne asks, taken aback. I can’t blame her. After all, we’ve spent most of our time together over the last few weeks in my room. But the guys weren’t home then. I can’t say why, but it’s easier to be here with her when they’re not around.
“It’s a surprise,” I say, even though I have no idea where I want to take her. All that matters is that we’re not going to stay here. Not with these nosy idiots. “I’ll be right back.”
I squeeze her hand and hear one of the idiots laughing as I step into the hallway to the stairs. As soon as I’m in my room, I pull my shirt over my head and toss it carelessly next to the bed. I go to the dresser and get a fresh T-shirt, a warm hoodie, and a knit hat. It’s cold outside.
Less than five minutes later, I’m back downstairs. Willow and Rayne are sitting on the sofa, my sister with her legs tucked up under her and Rayne perched on the armrest, one of her legs dangling in the air. She’s playing with her rings again, but otherwise she seems pretty relaxed, especially considering that my friends are undoubtedly talking crap again.
“Shall we?” I say, and Rayne looks up. She smiles as she gets to her feet.
“I’d say it was great to meet you, but that might be a bit of an exaggeration,” she says to the guys. But she’s still smiling, and I guess they all know she’s kidding. “See you later, Jax, Beck... Guitar Boy.” She winks at Colin, a gleam in her gray eyes.
He laughs. “Touché, Text Girl.”
“Okay, that’s it,” says Beck. “We’re definitely keeping her.”
Rayne wrinkles her nose indignantly, but the look of amusement on her face is impossible to miss.
