My phone was on my dresser playing the same song over and over again while I looked at the two outfits I’d laid across my bed. Well, one and a half outfits, if you wanted to get technical. There was the leather skirt I picked up at the mall the day before. It was the same one I had asked Avery to buy when we went shopping. Then there was my favorite pair of skinny jeans next to it. I couldn’t decide which looked better with the shirt I was wearing.

“Tell me you’re not watching that again,” Avery said, barging into my room, catching me off guard. I hadn't heard the alarm system beep, but that wasn't surprising considering the volume on my phone was as high as it would go.

I quickly grabbed my phone and turned the screen off before turning to face her. “You’re early.”

“Barely.”

I looked at the time. “No, you’re an entire hour early.”

She sat down on my bed looking completely unapologetic. So comfortable, in fact, that she was leaning on the clothing I had thrown on top of it. “If I knew you were going to sit and watch that video of Rainier like a crazy stalker, I never would have shown it to you.”

I lifted my brow. “You don’t think I would have seen it without your help? It’s literally everywhere I look.”

“It’s been a week since that show, and most people have moved on.”

“Well, I haven’t.”

“Obviously.”

“Aves, that song is about me. He brought me flowers the day we stopped things between us. Of course, I haven’t moved on.”

The two of us started at each other for a few moments before Avery changed the subject.

“Are you sure about tonight?”

I took a deep breath. No, I wasn’t sure, but it was too late to back out. I nodded. “I just need to decide on what to wear. If you get your big butt off my bed, you can help me decide.”

Avery hopped up and looked down at the bed. “Wait, isn’t that–”

“Yes,” I interrupted. “It looks better on me anyway.”

She smiled. "Then do the skirt. You can wear jeans any day."

I put my jeans away while Avery sat back down on my bed. “Wait, is that what I think it is,” she asked, looking at the case in the corner of my room.

I nodded again, my smile forced.

“Then we need to start getting you ready. I’ll start on your hair, and then let you get to work on your makeup."

Within no time we were dressed up and ready to go.

Before I realized it, Avery and I were pulling up to The Imperial.

Chasing Sunsets was off in California doing who knew what with their new label. That meant Rainier and the Go-Aways were headlining that evening. I thought fewer people might show up considering their golden boys weren’t in town, but the college night crowd was as big as it was the last time I’d watched Rainier play.

Maybe bigger?

It was unexpected, but it didn’t matter. I’d spent a week preparing for this evening, and I couldn't back out even if I wanted to. My dad had gone out on a limb asking Norm to do this favor for me, and I didn't want to disappoint him. Especially not after all he'd been through this summer.

I quickly looked around the place for familiar faces. I saw Jenny and Matt sitting close on one end of the bar. Jenny was laughing at something Matt said, and her hand found his knee. She didn't pull it back, and he didn’t flinch away from the touch. That was new. Or, at least, it was to me.

They looked happy together.

Avery had walked over to Carter as soon as we got inside. She was easy to spot near the stage with her boyfriend. While Avery looked as glowing as ever, her other half looked about as nervous as I felt. I didn't think I'd ever seen him as anything but carefree, which made me even more anxious.

It was then I realized I hadn’t seen Rainier yet. The thought that he left River Valley already had my heart beating more quickly. It would certainly explain why Carter looked like he was going to puke.

No, Rainier needed to be here tonight.

Just one more show. Besides, wouldn’t the rest of the band look upset if something like that happened?

I couldn't worry about that right now. I had other things that were much more pressing.

I went off in search of Norm.