Pitch Perfect - 11. Chapter 11: A good mood

Jeremy was not in a good mood. Whipping his cereal bowl into the sink Monday morning should have been an early warning because things only got worse from there. At night Sam heard blaring music from his room- even all the way from his garage apartment he could hear lyrics perfectly.

There were other things too; car doors, bedroom doors, cabinets, books, basically anything that could be abused in the Singer household got harsh treatment. Including family members.

Kellie and Sam gave each other a look during breakfast as Jeremy frowned into his bowl refusing to make eye contact. Sam had tried to do the cousinly thing by pulling Jeremy aside to talk, though all he got out of it were a couple ornery comments. That had happened on Thursday, and it didn’t seem as though Jeremy’s mood had improved much since then. So when Kellie sent pleading eyes across the table, which translated to ‘do something,’ Sam shrugged. There wasn’t anything to do.

Sam sighed as he got up from the table. Despite there being no way to help, doing nothing felt equally aggravating. Being treated like crap was annoying, and especially when it came from his cousin. A customer at the shop, no big deal, but he and Jeremy were so close- it was painful to be pushed away. Part of him was curious, could it be another ex-boyfriend thing?

If the rest of his week had been running smoothly a little attitude might have rolled right off his back. As it was, though, Sam felt a little worn down. Lucca, who had promised to plan their next date, was strangely absent. And in his place on Sam’s answering machine he’d found a message from his Mother.

He couldn’t bring himself to listen to it. The second he’d heard her shrill voice he pressed the skip button. Thinking about it caused an overwhelming wave of tiredness. That message could not be good news. She wasn’t the type of person to call over happy occasions. After all, he’d been gone for a month and this was the first time she’d tried to reach him.

Finally making it back to his space after breakfast Sam flopped onto his couch. ‘What now?’ His shift at the café wasn’t until late in the afternoon, and the thought of having nowhere to be until then was depressing. After a few minutes of staring at his sand textured ceiling he considered going to see Lucca at the nursing home. He had said all of his weekends were spent there. It totally beat staring at the walls for hours…

‘I just can’t. Shit.’ Sam groaned, stuffing his head into a nearby pillow. Hard as it was for him to admit, Lucca not calling had shaken his confidence. The whole situation was hard to understand. Why hadn’t he called?

For one thing, Sam had never put this much effort into a guy before. It was almost comical in a way. His last boyfriend had pursued him to the point of annoyance. Now, it was Sam who had to worry about turning into that guy. The last thing Sam wanted was to scare him off by being too forward.

The other source of confusion was Lucca himself. Even though it was Sam who mentioned a second official date, Lucca had made it a point to say planning their next outing would be up to him. Was it weird to expect a call a few days later? A week went by and nothing. That obviously meant something. Sam reminded himself that Lucca was probably busy.

‘He’s definitely going to call.’

Closing his eyes, Sam reached absently to lift his guitar from its stand. The move was more automatic than anything, but once the instrument was in his arms a wave of calm overtook him. Maybe the problems this week were partly caused by this; life was frustrating him so he hadn’t been finding the time to practice, and not playing cut off his means of relaxation.

After half an hour of messing around Sam found he had subconsciously started playing chords that reminded him of Lucca. A song drifted out, filled with longing and a certain air of truth. Without really meaning to, he wrote a love song that showed quite transparently how he was feeling. ‘Ugh. Why did I do that? It’s not like I’ll ever be able to play this. How embarrassing.’

Without reason thoughts of Lucca spilled into his mind. He’d been trying to be rational about the situation- there was no helping it. Finally he let himself think openly about Lucca for the first time all week. Lucca and his beautiful, sharp green eyes. Lucca and his timid, adorable personality that practically made Sam himself blush. Or, Lucca and his tight dark jeans, that Sam had desperately wanted to help him out of.

He was love struck. But so what if he was a little happily infatuated with the guy? Part of the fun in dating was developing feelings for the other person. It had been awhile since he wanted to be involved at all.

If only his interest guaranteed Lucca’s.

***

He’d decided to forgo seeing Lucca, but Sam figured he could do the next best thing. Addie had given Sam her information during one of their numerous encounters. Though her best friend was now his main focus, Sam didn’t want to lose sight of the fact that his original goal had just been to make some buddies to hang out with. He was still hopeful that he and Addie could have a good friendship.

When he called her, Addie seemed a little surprised, but readily agreed to meet at a diner downtown. Now, Sam sat waiting at one of the plush booths looking out at the same green where he and Lucca had their stroll last week. Aimlessly, he stirred the chocolate shake he’d ordered with a straw until Addie sank into the opposite bench. Seeing such a friendly face was a welcome surprise, and Sam let her know it.

“Well, I knew you’d want a date with me eventually.” Addie said in a playful tone while batting her eyelashes.

Sam arched an eyebrow. “Not quite a date. Sorry, Addie. I can’t play for your team, you don’t have any balls… or a bat… and-”

“I get it.” Addie sighed dramatically and picked up a menu.

This was why they had to be more than passing acquaintances. Their banter made Sam grin; if the situation were different Lucca might actually have some competition. As it was, though, it felt like the guy was going to take over his thoughts.

He let out a smallest hint of a sigh, but Addie caught it anyway; her eyes flicked up to meet his. Thought it was one of the things he liked best about her, Sam half wished she weren’t quite so sharp. Maybe that way he wouldn’t have to talk about the reasons behind that sigh.

She seemed ready to say something when the waiter came to take her order. ‘Thank God,’ Sam thought, and he actually found himself looking up at the cheap linoleum ceiling. The waiter gave him time to regroup and a valid subject change.

“Think you ordered enough food? That was like, what, only half the menu?” Sam was only half teasing, though two burgers, fries, onion rings and large coke did seem like a lot for such a small person.

“Half is for you.” She looked at him like he was a hopeless cause. “Besides, you’re paying since it’s a date, right?”

Sam was about to shake his head but got cut off again, “Food buys silence on all things too personal.” Addie grinned; it was obvious she’d settled the matter with that.

Instead of going on about the things that were bothering him, Sam listened to Addie’s stories. He couldn’t help paying special attention when she mentioned how busy her and Lucca had been all week. Apparently AP exams were coming up, and they had been cramming for them every night. This information made Sam feel a lot better about not hearing from the boy- though to be fair there were still quite a few other things on his mind. Of course Addie picked up on that.

“Fine, I’ll pay for my own stupid burger.” She gave him a stern appraisal. “I give up, I have to know. What’s bothering you?”

‘Here we go…’ He knew it would come to this despite her earlier promise.

“I guess it’s a bit of everything,” Sam said honestly. Then he proceeded to tell her all about Jeremy, his mother and, reluctantly, Lucca.

“What an idiot!” Addie was talking to herself it seemed, and Sam could tell she was more than a little annoyed. “I’m sorry,” she said, finally turning her attention back to him. “That guy can be so dense sometimes. It’s hard to believe he’s as smart as he is.”

“Well…” Sam had to stifle a laugh. What she said was totally true, and it made him remember how Lucca had missed some of the obvious flirtations sent his way during their date. Yet another thing that made the boy oddly cute to him.

Addie nearly insisted on giving Lucca a talking to, but Sam made her promise not to. He didn’t want there to be any pressure or awkwardness there. Maybe it was naïve, but Sam wanted Lucca to want to see him. Being pushed into it wouldn’t mean anything. Their initial meeting had been set up, sure. Sam knew it was a little awkward. The feelings he’d developed were real, though, and he needed to be absolutely sure Lucca felt the same- not forced into this by Sam or his best friend. So that was why even though it was bothering him, and even though he was getting terribly impatient, he had to wait.

“About Jeremy…” Addie started while Sam handed his credit card over to the waiter.

“Yeah?”

“I think I know what his problem is.” She gave him an imploring look, and then continued, “He’s probably just upset over his own relationship issues.”

Sam mentally agreed, of course that was it. He’d kind of figured it had something to do with his relationship issues anyways. ‘But how does Addie…’ He shook the question away; it was probably better not to know.

“Like you, he shouldn’t let things become such a big deal- he should go talk to the person involved.” Addie frowned. She’d already told Sam how silly it was to wait around for Lucca when he could just go for it.

“I know, okay?” Sam put on his coat and stood to leave. They walked to their cars together but Addie stopped him before he could go.

“Your mom probably misses you.” Sam was skeptical, of all the possibilities that one seemed least likely. “Seriously, sometimes it’s hard to appreciate things that are right under your nose. Maybe with a little distance she has reevaluated.”

“Maybe, but I’m not counting on it.”

Sam closed his car door and started the engine, but he still caught Addie’s singsong voice as she walked away. “You won’t know until you stop being so avoidant.”

‘No way.’ It wasn’t possible. Sam wondered if anything could influence his parents toward such an abrupt shift. ‘Nah… Addie’s nuts.’

His intention was to keep thinking about it, but Sam realized he had to get to work soon. Even though it was a little early, he decided to head over to the café. That was a good decision, too, because parked he could see the line of customers was practically out the door. Mr. Ramone looked up gratefully as the door chimed announcing his arrival.

Saturdays were normally busy since it was an open mic night, but this week it was especially so. Mr. Ramone never got the chance to leave as planned. The number of customers was overwhelming, but when it finally calmed down a bit Sam had a chance to listen to the performances.

Jealousy wasn’t the right word, but he was definitely envious of the people who played. After working there for so long he’d yet to play an open mic night. Sam knew that if this was going to be his career he had to get more serious about performing and looking for opportunities. A career in music wouldn’t fall into his lap.

“You can play better than this guy.” Mr. Ramone nodded towards the man who had taken the stage.

Sam shook his head; the guy was pretty good- he was playing smoothly on an eight string classical guitar. “How do you know?”

His boss must have heard him one of the times he’d been fooling around on the piano. Mr. Ramone smiled saying, “Well, I won’t know for sure until you play for us.”

The old adage of ‘you don’t know until you try,’ seemed annoyingly appropriate then. Rolling his eyes was tempting; Sam had literally scolded himself for the same thing. He was starting to wonder if the people around him were psychic- first Addie, now Mr. Ramone- everyone seemed to be picking up on his thoughts lately. Maybe he was giving off a vibe or something. Or, maybe, his feelings were that apparent.

Sam thanked Mr. Ramone for the advice and finished his shift. When he got back to his apartment he was whacked. Who knew working at a coffee shop would be so tiring? He felt a little bit like an old man, but he couldn’t wait to collapse onto his couch and relax. It was only nine-fifteen and he was seriously considering calling it a night, when a knock came at the door.

Reluctantly standing, Sam stretched like a cat to relax his muscles. ‘If this is Jeremy, he definitely has to wait. I’ve been putting up with his attitude all week, so I think he can wait till I’m a bit more well rested—‘ He mentally grumbled all the way to the door. Whatever he was expecting, it certainly wasn’t this.

Suddenly sleeping was the last thing on his mind, and he stood dumbfounded with the door half open. The universe was definitely messing with him. How could so many people read his mind?

“Uh… hi.” Sam finally came back to his senses.

Lucca stood there looking slightly uncomfortable, which wasn’t all that unexpected considering Sam had been staring at him like he was a ghost. “Hi, I hope it’s okay that I stopped by…” Lucca shifted the weight on his feet, obviously nervous.

“Yeah.” More than okay, really. Sam was ecstatic. He grinned hoping to make Lucca feel comfortable. “Wanna come in?”

“Sure.” Lucca nodded stepping into the apartment. Sam couldn’t help noticing that he seemed different- fresh, almost. He’d obviously had his hair cut since the last time he’d seen him. The once unruly blond mop was now trimmed close at the sides, slightly longer on top with a wave still partially covering his forehead. He smelled fresh too, like he’d recently showered, but Sam had to quell the thought before it got him into any trouble.

Beyond appearances, he really did seem to have a sort of new resolve. Sam decided that he’d have to find the reasoning behind it while he was there. He directed Lucca to the living room, and ran off to make some coffee for them.

When he got back, Lucca was standing in front of the bookshelf staring intently at the titles. Sam could tell by the level of concentration on his face that he hadn’t noticed him yet. It was fascinating to watch the way he silently took in the books, analyzing them. Sam knew his tastes in reading were being evaluated somehow. When he was done looking at the books, he moved on to the photographs behind the couch, the acoustic guitar on it’s stand, his magazines on the coffee table, and then he finally noticed Sam’s presence.

He blushed furiously at being caught snooping. “How long have you been standing there?”

Sam thought about letting him off easy, but—“Pretty much the whole time.” He laughed when Lucca’s face got a shade redder.

“I don’t really mind your spying,” Sam said happily. He was honestly just glad to see some interest from Lucca. “As long as you tell me what you think of my taste in books.”

Lucca smiled. “It’s pretty good, actually. I was surprised, we like a lot of the same things.”

“You didn’t think we would?”

“No, I mean… yeah. I figured you read some. I didn’t expect to see so many books here though, since you haven’t lived here long.”

His reasoning made sense, Sam realized as he sat on the couch. Lucca followed him, sitting on the other end. Having Lucca there, in his space, was making Sam feel all tingly. They weren’t even doing anything- just sitting on opposite ends of a sofa but somehow just having him nearby made Sam giddy. The feeling bordered on embarrassing. Was he really almost twenty?

“What about the guitar? Will you play something for me?”

Sam sighed. Mr. Ramone had basically told him it would be a new part of his job to play at open mic nights. “Do you have any plans for Friday night?”

“No…” Lucca’s eyebrows were raised in confusion.

“I’m going to be playing at the café I work at… I’d love to have an adoring fan there for support.”

Lucca laughed, and the sound was comforting to Sam. He tried, but couldn’t remember Lucca having laughed during their first date. Something had changed- in a positive way.

“Well I don’t know about adoring,” Lucca grinned, “But I’ll be there.”

Sorry for the delay, my stupid life keeps getting in the way.  Thanks for reading, hope you liked the chapter