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Besides the Suncoast chain store the locally owned Independent was the best place to find new CDs and movies; Will once lived across the street from the mall and I had spent significant amounts of time and money there. It was a little strange walking in with Holly; recalling the memory of the time when Megan and I had come here to buy her copy of Deftones’ White Pony; the very copy that I kept playing constantly.

“Tool fan?” Holly asked, pointing to my shirt. “The new CD’s coming out pretty soon, right?” I nodded; a little surprised she knew that.

“Yeah, I think it’ll be out next month,” I blinked at her question. “Do you have any of their albums?”

“Julie gave me a tape she made with a few of their songs,” she explained, waving at the racks full of cassette tapes and CDs. “That was a little before Halloween, when I started to get burnt out on what Katie insisted we all listen to.”

I gave her a wry grin. “Let me guess. Backstreet Boys, Britney, J-Lo, and maybe some R&B for a hint of variety? Perhaps some Phatboy Slim if she is in a daring mood?”

Holly’s voice took on a mocking, sarcastic tone. “How’d you guess? Did Vance’s boombox give it away every lunch period?” She laughed and shook her head. “I mean, some of those songs I like but hearing the same stuff over and over drives me nuts. I talked to Julie about it and she made me those tapes.”

I knew what tapes she was talking about; she was really into making mixtapes for friends. Whether it was waiting for a specific song on the radio or going through her somewhat copious CD collection, it was a hobby of hers. “So, what are your real tastes?” I asked as we looked through the selection they had to offer.

“Julie really got me into Kittie and System of a Down. Some people think it’s a bit too hard, but it really helps me get some energy and frustration out when I need to. I also like some of the slower stuff; even some of the sadder stuff at times.” She paused for a moment, looking closer at an album cover of a stylized, almost comic book-like drawing of those Little People figures I played with as a little kid. The scene depicted a family gathered in the kitchen with a toaster spewing smoke in the background. It was an interesting find.

“Sunny Day Real Estate?” I asked, spotting the band’s name on the cover’s spine. “I haven’t heard of them before.”

“The cover looks interesting enough for me to take a chance on it; considering it’s in the alternative section it’s gotta be better than what Katie forces us to listen to,” Holly grinned as she freed it from its brethren. “Have you found anything you like, yet?”

“Not yet, but I’ve got obscure tastes,” I shrugged, though right after I said that I spotted something. “Wait, I’ve been looking for this!” I reached down and spotted something that should have been on the new releases rack, had it not been sold out. This cover was significantly more macabre; the pale visage of an infant’s face with a black background. “The new Rammstein album, Mutter,” Holly’s perplexed look invited me to expound. “They’re a German band; they’re a bit of a mix of hard rock and industrial. The subject matter is, well… dark.”

“The only German rock band I’ve heard is the one that does that Du Hast song on the radio,” Holly remarked. “Is it anything like that?”

I nodded. “This is the same band. I’ve got their first two albums; Herzeleid and Sehnsucht. I got into them a fair bit after, well, you know.”

“Do you speak German?” she asked. “Your pronunciation and talking about the subject matter says yes.”

I nodded. “Ja, ein bisschen. Vier Jahren mit Frau Mueller’s Deutsche Klasse,” a confused look caused me to translate. “Yes, a little. Four years with Mrs. Mueller’s German class. I’m not an expert and I missed out on the exchange trip last year, but I know enough to be dangerous.”

“I forgot the little I learned. It’s been a while since I’ve heard it,” now it was my turn to give her a confused look. “My dad was stationed there in the military when I was a kid. I don’t remember much from back then, other than he was gone a lot. He got moved to Japan when I was ten, which I remember a lot more.”

“That explains the kendo and anime,” I mused. “Did you learn any Japanese while you were there?”

Holly smiled and nodded. “Hai. Watashi wa Doitsu ni i tayori mo nagaku soko ni imishita. Ima demo onrain de renraku o toriatte iru nihonjin no tomodachi ga nan’ninka imasu,” I couldn’t even begin to pronounce what she said, but it sounded like she spoke better Japanese than my one semester per year German. “I lived in Japan longer than I did Germany and had Japanese friends that helped me learn; I also keep in touch with them so that helps. Like you, enough to be dangerous.”

I arched an eyebrow. “That’s quite impressive. You’re definitely well traveled.”

“I’m a little worldlier than what hanging out with Katie’s group suggests,” she giggled as we moved over to another section. “So, what’s your story? Did you grow up here?”

I shook my head. “Arkansas, originally. My dad liked to move around, chasing engineering jobs; pulling my mom, sister, and I all around the country. We lived in Philly, Chicago, Dallas, and then Albuquerque. Eventually my mom got sick of the instability and they split; my mom got a job up here,” I shrugged, noticing a softening in Holly’s expression as I continued. “I bounced back and forth between my mom and dad for a couple of years until he remarried; I couldn’t stand my stepmom so I came back here. While I was away my mom met my stepdad and started a business; I pretty much started working for them as soon as we opened our doors.”

“That sounds… chaotic,” Holly frowned. “But, I’m glad things got stable for you. Your family owns Blooms of Imagination, right? The flower shop that does all the deals for homecoming and prom?”

“Yeah, that’s us,” I confirmed. “If you want something to go with your dress just tell our designer, Marie, that I sent you. My friends get their corsages and boutonnieres for free. I’ll make sure you get included.”

A blush lit up her face. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know you very well, but you seem pretty cool so far. It’s the least I can do after turning you down by not going to the prom.”

“Are you sure that I can’t make you change your mind?” Holly asked as we pawed through some of the last remaining sections. “Even if it’s not strictly a date, I’d like to go with you as a friend.”

“I’ll give it some actual, serious thought. I promise,” I answered before coming across an album that somehow caught my eye; giving it a curious glance. “Are you okay with keeping things strictly as friends, considering the whole crush thing?”

She nodded again. “Absolutely. I want to have new friends and new memories; you know as well as I that Katie is going to self-destruct once school is over and she starts to realize that she isn’t going to be queen bee anymore,” she paused for a moment, looking over to the other CD I had pulled from the rack. “What’s that one?”

“I’m not sure. It’s called Empires, from a band called VNV Nation,” I shrugged; a little intrigued by the minimalist artwork and simple song titles such as Rubicon and Standing. “Just like your Sunny Day album, I think I’ll take a chance with this one.” I smirked.

“If I didn’t have Katie and Matt bugging me every free moment during school, I’d suggest sneaking off somewhere to listen to these during lunch periods next week,” Holly smiled. “Perhaps I’ll still suggest that.”

“You know, there are a couple of places where they can’t particularly go that I can get into.” I shrugged.

“Okay, you have me curious, Mr. Mysterious. Between Katie and Matt they have the full run of Harrison High.” Holly gave me an expectant look, a hint of a smile on her lips.

“Mr. Mysterious isn’t going to give up his secrets that easily,” I grinned. “Let’s just say I have keys to a couple of kingdoms they don’t know about and leave it at that. Meet me in the vocational hallway Monday, during lunch. Bring that CD with you.” That darker, more venomous part of my mind practically hissed at me; I was bringing an interloper into my world that had no right to be there. At the same time, even if I wasn’t ready for anything beyond a friendship, I was starting to realize that I sorely needed that friendship. It did chase some of these shadows away.

“I’ll hold you to that, Mr. Mysterious,” Holly grinned back before turning to look at another section of the store. “Are you done with the CDs? I needed to get my contribution to movie night.” I followed her over there, a little confused as she seemed to know exactly what she was looking for.

“I’m still not sure if I’ll be able to go with everyone,” I looked at my watch; it was about twenty minutes before we needed to meet Julie, Seth, and Will at the entrance. “What are you looking for?”

“Something I think everyone will like,” Holly plucked a DVD jewel case from the rack; obviously an anime by the looks of it. “Have you seen this before?”

I shook my head. “Doesn’t ring a bell. Cowboy Bebop? That’s a strange name. What’s it about?”

“It’s hard to explain, but I think you’ll like it. This is the latest release; I left the first three sets of episodes at Julie’s. It’s about bounty hunters in space, and that’s all you’ll get out of me,” she winked before turning to look at the bored clerk sitting behind the cash register. “C’mon, let’s get checked out.”

I glanced at my watch again as we exited with our purchases in tow. “I need to call my folks and see if they need me to work tomorrow; could we stop by a payphone?”

Holly nodded. “Yeah, we’ve got time. The nearest ones are between here and the food court.” I found myself expertly led to the small bank of payphones; tucked in a short hallway between shops. She definitely knew her way around the place.

With a nod of thanks I picked up the receiver and put a couple of quarters into the chassis; once the dial tone came up I punched in my home number. After a couple of rings Ben’s voice answered. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Adam,” I responded. “How does the schedule look for tomorrow?”

“Kelly hasn’t called in, so you don’t have to be on standby unless you want an out and need me to pick you up.” Ben responded; he was usually willing to run interference in social situations if I needed an excuse to leave.

I can’t say I wasn’t tempted to call it an early day; social activities took a lot out of me and this had been a pretty long day so far, but a movie night seemed like a good way to wind things down. “My friends wanted to watch some movies at Julie’s place; it might be an all-nighter so is it cool if I come home tomorrow?”

“You’re not on the schedule so that’s fine with me. I’ll let your mom know. If plans change, give us a call but remember if it’s after ten you’re on your own.” That was a general rule; unless it was an absolute emergency late night calls were discouraged.

“Got it,” I responded. “I’ll be home tomorrow.” We said our goodbyes and I hung up; Holly had been leaning against the wall a few feet away.

“Ready to get your mind blown by some quality anime?” She grinned as she pushed away from the wall. “Let’s meet up with the others before we’re late.”

“Lead the way.” I answered; checking my watch as we made our way to where we had met a couple of hours before. We were about at our time limit but I wasn’t too concerned. Holly was quite adept at threading us through the crowds that had started to fill the bustling corridors. Even then we reached the exit behind the others; Julie, Seth, and Will sitting on one of the benches outside. I noticed they were carrying small Suncoast bags; they were definitely serious about having an all-nighter tonight.

“Fashionably late, I see,” Will greeted. “Nice to see you could join us.”

“Not so late that our ride hasn’t arrived yet,” I remarked. “How was Luminous Wok?”

“You definitely missed out,” Seth replied. “The orange chicken was absolutely amazing and the eggrolls were the best we’ve had in years.” While it did sound good, I figured that what Holly wanted to discuss was a little more important.

“We’ll have to go there next time,” Holly chimed in. “Did you find some movies for tonight?”

Julie grinned. “I hope you’re ready for a real all-nighter, because we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Hopefully we’ve got something for everyone, including Mr. Last Minute over there.” I smirked and rolled my eyes at her; I knew my general social reticence was fodder for a little light ribbing sometimes.

The sharp, brief honk of a horn distracted us from our discussion; the five of us looking up to see the car that belonged to Terri, Julie’s mother. Her old Ford Taurus station wagon once was a deep red, now faded to a dusty pink after years of exposure to the Colorado sun. She was short and rotund, light brown hair framing a face that was always jovial and easygoing; surprising considered she worked graveyards at one of the local hospitals. “Your chariot has arrived. Hop in!”

We knew the drill, especially after the past few years of getting toted around in Terri’s late ‘80s ‘Old Reliable’. Seth and Julie invoked their rights as a couple and invariably sat together in the back seat, leaving Will and I to swap back and forth between the passenger seat and the fold-out, rear-facing bench in the cargo area.

This time it was different as there were six people in a car that was ostensibly designed to seat seven, as long as there were three small children in the back seat. Seth’s six-foot-four frame almost looked comical wedged behind Will, but he was used to it. “So, who gets the rear bench this time?” I asked.

Julie turned around and gave me a silly grin. “Hey, it sounds like you’re hitting it off with Holly just fine. You two can share the back, where it’s nice and private.” I rolled my eyes, only then noticing a hint of a flush on Holly’s cheeks.

“You’re incorrigible.” I retorted before walking to the rear hatch of the station wagon. I knew how to fold out the bench seat which was a bit tricky to master; while I was preparing the seating arrangement the others were busy piling in.

I glanced up to see Holly standing next to the taillight, a perplexed expression on her face. “Those are seats?” She pointed to the diminutive bench I had revealed; it was meant for children and would be a tight fit.

“Yep,” I responded, loud enough to direct it at the couple sharing the space behind us. “I guess some people want us to share the cozy spot.” Laughter echoed from Seth and Julie as I motioned Holly into the seat.

“We expect you to be holding hands by the time we get home.” Seth commented as I took my seat. I was practically sandwiched next to Holly, despite my lanky, thin frame.

“Again, you two are incorrigible.” I shot back.

“They’re just jealous that we escaped their chaperone service today,” Holly shot back. “We skipped the handholding and went straight to the lunch date.” I gave her a confused look and she responded with a nod and a smile.

Will interrupted the banter before it got too serious. “Speaking of lunch, I hope you two are okay with more pizza for dinner as I’ve brought some coupons for Leon’s.”

The car pulled away from the curb, small talk and discussion of what we bought from our respective music and movie hunts filled the car. I tried to maintain a polite distance from Holly but it wasn’t much use; that or she was purposefully leaning against me. It wasn’t a bad day, but the events were definitely unexpected.