Page 5 of Spark

“We’re not looking for a second guitarist,” Kai interjects. “Savage plays guitar.”

“Like I said, I was just fooling around till you got back,” Titus says evenly as he heads to the couch, his stiff body language a mixture of “fuck this guy” and “I’m not gonna say what I’m thinking so I don’t blow this for my sister.”

For a longish moment, a thick silence hangs in the air. To fill it, I stride toward my drumkit, which prompts everyone else to start getting settled with their instruments, too. Finally, when it seems like we’re all set and ready to roll, I shoot an encouraging smile at Ruby. “Are you ready?”

“Sure,” she chirps. “Which of your songs would you like to start with?”

My eyebrows ride up. “You learned more than one of them?”

“I learned all of them.”

“Allfour?” When I sent Ruby our rough demos—the onlyfour Fugitive Summer songs currently in existence—I only meant for her to learn one. And I’m positive I told her that.

“Take your pick,” I manage to say. “Whichever one you’re most excited to play.”

“Okay, can we start with ‘Little Demons,’ then? I love that one. I mean, I love all your songs. But that one really spoke to me.”

I shoot Savage a pointed grin.Damn, she’s good. “Little Demons” is Kai’s favorite of our four songs. Not surprisingly, since he’s the one who wrote the lion’s share of it.

“Sounds good,” Savage says smoothly. “Count us off, KC.”

I pause and clear my mind, getting the tempo in my head, and when I’ve got it, I click my sticks together at the right pace, counting us off. A moment later, we launch into the song … for the very first time, with four musicians instead of three.

“That was as good as sex,” Savage declares as he leans back onto the tattered, discarded couch we dragged into the basement a few months ago. Ruby and Titus, our band’s two newest members, just left, following a three-hour jam session that blew all our minds and quite possibly changed all our lives forever.

Right out of the gate on “Little Demons,” Ruby was a star. Everything she added to the tune was perfect—stuff that immediately made the song so much better. Fuller. Catchier. In particular, the subtle counter-melody lick she played to complement Kai’s bassline in the first verse was out of this world. Pure gold. And it only got better from there.

For instance, when we reached the first chorus and Ruby switched to a meandering synth riff that made the song feel kind of celestial and other-worldly—a touch demonic,you might even say—and all while singing pitch-perfect backingharmonies behind Savage’s kickass lead vocals, that was it. We all knew. We’d found our keyboardist. Even Kai started exchanging nods and electrified expressions with Savage and me at that point.

At Savage’s insistence, Titus got up to play Savage’s guitar on our second song, which then gave Savage the freedom to move around while singing, like the future rockstar he is. And I’ll be damned, by the end of that second song with all five of us playing, and Titus and Ruby supplying some perfect backing harmonies, a five-member band was born.

“That wasbetterthan most sex,” Kai retorts, one-upping Savage’s prior comment. “If I had to choose making music like that every day of my life but at the cost of only ever getting myself off with my hand, I’d do it. It was just that good.”

“Well, let’s not get too crazy,” Savage mutters. “That was awesome, but betterthan sex? Nothing is better than sex.”

“Making great music is better than sex.”

“No.”

“And sex is amazing. That’s my whole point.” Kai whacks my leg. “Would you hurry up and fuck somebody already, so you can weigh in on this argument?”

“I’m saving myself for marriage.” It’s my usual joke—the thing I say to deflect attention whenever the subject of my virginity comes up. Of course, they know I’m not actually waiting for marriage or anything else in particular to do the deed for the first time. So far, I just haven’t had the opportunity to take things past kissing and making out. It certainly doesn’t help that I’ve switched schools midway through my high school career, and that I’m now attending a school that’s a long train ride away, making hanging out difficult. But, hey, I’m only sixteen. Almost every guy I know, other than Savage, is still a virgin, too. Hell, Kai didn’t lose his virginity till he got to college and met Courtney.

“Speaking of sex,” Kai says. “Let’s talk about the elephantin the room. Ruby’s off-limits, guys. We all agree to that, right?”

“I don’t think we need to make an actual rule about that,” Savage says. “Let’s just play it by ear.”

My heart stops. I haven’t told Savage about my crush on Ruby, but he knows me well, so I’m guessing he’s at least wondering. Did Savage leave the door open about Ruby for my sake . . .or for his?

“You can’t mess with Ruby, Savage,” Kai says sternly.

“Why are you saying that to me, when Kendrick’s sitting there looking like a golden god?”

“Because she’s not his type. But you? You don’t have a type. As long as a girl’s hot, she’s an option.”

Fuck. Shit.Did Kai just imply Ruby is hot?

“That’s fair,” Savage concedes.

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