Ground Sound

Emily woke up to the deep resining sound of the rain pouring on the canvas tent. The chill of the morning caused her to roll over and squeeze her arms around Brian lying next to her. The brisk air filling her lungs told her it was time to get up. The day was waiting. She slid out of her sleeping bag and slid on her shoes from the corner of her tent. As she unzipped the door she was greeted by the sound of Thomas poking at the residual embers of the fire from the night before.

“Morning!” Yelled Thomas. Almost a little too loud for Emily, who was still trying to shake the haze of the nights festivities from her head.

“Ugh, good morning Thomas. How’d you sleep last night?” Asked Emily in a rasping voice. Making her way to the stump next to the fire pit that she claimed as her own personal throne.

“Other than the constant yelling from the neighbors all night, it was ok I guess.” Thomas made an insinuating gesture of annoyance while he pointed across the field.

Dozens of other tents dotted the field, designated for the campers who decided to stay the night. The weekend music festival known as Ground Sound was in full swing. The opening night was one to be remembered. Local artists and bigger names created a full line up of all day and all night entertainment. From blue grass to punk rock, there was something for everyone. And no teenager from fifty miles around would ever miss the chance to indulge in the tradition that is Ground Sound.

“Hopefully this morning rain burns off and we have another day of good weather. I can’t wait until Brian’s band plays tonight” Emily said to Thomas, with an all too eager look of excitement. Thomas nodded his head in agreement, pulling his hood from his sweatshirt back over himself to shield from the rain.

“Yea, he seems like a really cool guy. How long have you two been seeing each other?” Asked Thomas begrudgingly. He continued to poke at the fire pit, hoping that Emily didn’t notice the disdain in his voice.

“We met last semester in AP Bio. Got linked up as lab partners and just sort of hit it off. He’s not from around here so I thought it would be fun to bring him for the weekend. Plus I really wanted my best friend to meet him.” She said in a cheerful manner as she swung her arms around Thomas. “So tell me the truth, first impressions?”

“I don’t know.” Shrugged Thomas. “The guy hardly said a word to me last night. He couldn’t stop being all over you.” His demeanor was less than genuine. “But as long as you're happy that’s all that matters.”

Thomas walked over to his tent, reached in and pulled out two beers. “Hair of the dog?” He asked as he handed one to Emily. Emily gladly accepted. Anything to help get rid of the pounding in her head. The two friends sat next the smoldering fire when they heard the rustling of Emily’s tent. The fidgeting of the zipper and the moans and groans that were coming from within.

“Dear god I feel like crap.” Whined Brian as he shuffled his way to his feet. “How much did we drink last night?”

“We pretty much finished off the case we brought, but I managed to stash a few morning beers. You want one?” Thomas offered.

“Please.” Replied Brian. He slowly made his way over to the stump to sit next to Emily. Bending over to kiss her head, making eyes at Thomas while doing so.

Thomas handed Brian a bottle, feeling angst and a twinge of jealousy as Brian wrapped his other arm around Emily’s waist.

“So what time is your set again?” Asked Emily to Brian, swigging her morning beer.

“We play right after Dewey and the Danger on the second stage. We’re on at two o’clock but I gotta be there at noon to get set up.” Brian replied, staring at Thomas.

Thomas tried his best to avoid making eye contact with Brian. He didn’t know much about Brian but he did know that the girl he’s been in love with since the third grade brought this overly cocky jackass to their weekend, unexpectedly. This was the weekend that Thomas was finally going to make his move and protest to Emily his feelings. But to his surprise, these plans were scrapped when Brian showed up. Suddenly Thomas was the third wheel. A not too uncommon role for Thomas, especially with Emily, but this was supposed to be the weekend that all that time being stuck in the “friend zone” would pay off. Thomas did not think highly of Brian, not in the least bit.

Thomas sat down on the log next to the fire and reached into his pocket, pulling out a beautifully engraved buck knife with an emerald band wrapped around the handle. He unsheathed the blade and began carving on an old piece of wood he found the night before.

“Wow, that is quite the knife you have there.” Exclaimed Brian. “Where did you get that?”

“I got it for him a couple years ago.” Answered Emily. “I got it for him for his eighteenth birthday.” She perked up a bit and asked for Thomas to and the knife over so she could better show Brian. Thomas obliged and handed the knife over to Emily, smirking at Brian as he did so. Emily showed the Brian the knife. The ornate emerald band that wrapped the handle and the letters “E.W” engraved on the blade itself. “I had them laser engrave my initials on it so that Thomas had something to remember me by. Emily Wright.”

Brian handled the knife, tossing back and forth from one hand to the next. It was a finely made blade, artisan craftsmanship at its finest. “You two must be the best of friends to get such a gift. Surely a friend for a lifetime.” He stated as handed the knife back to Thomas. Overly hitting the “Friend” in his statement. Being sure that Thomas knew that they were only friends and that Emily was his girl. “Well, if we're gonna be ready to play this evening I’d better get over and start warming up with the guys.” Brian finished his beer, stood up and kissed Emily. “I’ll see you out there Thomas.” He said as he grabbed his guitar from the car and made his way from the camp grounds and headed down to the festival.

Thomas made sure that Brian was good and gone out of ear shot and then looked up at Emily with pitiful eyes. “I don’t know what you see in him if Im being perfectly honest.” Thomas said. “He’s an arrogant asshole and you should be with someone better suited to treat you the way you deserve.”

“Thomas!” Emily yelled back. “Where is this coming from? I thought you liked him. You said this morning as long as I was happy, and I am. He treats me great and we have a ton in common. I thought you two would really hit it off.”

“I know what I said but what else was I going to say, knowing that he was just lying there in the tent still?” Thomas hung his head down and began to shuffle his feet in the ground. “I thought it was going to just be the two of us this weekend. I was hoping to be able to talk to you.”

“Talk to me?” Asked Emily. “About what?”

“Well you know.” Thomas said. “We’ve been best friends forever now and I just was curious, have you ever thought about us? What it would be like if we were together? I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember Emily. Have you never even thought about it?”

“I’ve thought about it.” She answered. “Honestly, I’ve thought about it a lot. But why now? I’m with Brian, and I’m happy. Seriously Thomas you have the worst timing for these things.” She got up and sat down next to Thomas. Resting her head and his shoulder. “We’ve been friends since the third grade, why now?” She asked.

“I don’t know.” Replied Thomas. “I’ve been working up the courage to ask you out for a while now. Just seemed like this would be the perfect weekend to finally try. With it just being us out here for the weekend it all seemed just right. But then when you pulled up to the campsite and Brian was with you it completely ruined me.”

“Is that why you’ve been so reserved?”

“Just forget I said anything.” Thomas pleaded to Emily. “Forget we ever had this conversation. I’ll go back to being the “friend” and you can be with Brian if that’s what you want.”

Emily rolled her eyes and gave Thomas a hug. “Well we’ve got a couple of hours before they play so I think I will try to lay back down for a bit and get rid of this hang over.” She got up and made her way back to her tent. As she kneeled down to unzip the door she looked back at Thomas. “For what it's worth, it's just poor timing Thomas. I am with Brian and brought him here to meet my friends. Had things been different.” She said in an empathetic tone.

“I know.” Replied Thomas. “I understand, my bad. Sorry if I made things uncomfortable.” He got up and stretched his arms above his head. “Try to get some rest. I’ll probably do the same.”

Emily crawled into her bag and rolled over, trying to get some sleep and be ready for the next few hours coming her way.

Thomas stood there for a bit pondering what just happened. How could he be so naive? Of course she would say no. She had always been with someone. The catch of the town. Why would he ever think that she would be available in the first place? She was right after all. With Brian here, the timing could not have been worse.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Emily rolled over in her tent, her arms flailing in a distorted panic. Beep! Beep! Beep! Finally she found her phone and turned off the alarm she had set for herself. One P.M. She slowly slipped her shoes back on crawled out of her tent. The fire was long out now and Thomas was no longer outside. She made her way over to his tent and began rattling it. “Time to wake up!” She yelled. No response. She unzipped the door and looked inside. To her surprise Thomas was not inside.

“What an ass!” She thought to herself. “Pretty rude to just head down without me.” She mumbled. She began getting her bag ready for the concert. Making sure to pack some water and extra snacks and her blanket so she could claim a decent spot on the grass to watch Brian play. With everything ready she too began to head for the festival. Had they had any cell service out here she would have called Thomas. But with them being out in the middle of nowhere, she would have to find him the old fashioned way. So she made for the stage where Brian was setting up to play.

“There you are!” Yelled Thomas as he made his way back from behind the stage. “I’ve been looking for you.” Jogging up to meet Emily as she made her way down the hill to the amphitheater.

“Why did you leave without me?” She asked.

“I just wanted to talk with Brian before he went on stage. Wanted to make sure that we both understood each other.” Thomas told Emily

“Understood each other? What kind of macho bull shit did you say? I swear Thomas if you said anything to make Brian upset, I won’t forgive you. You had no right!” Emily said frustratingly.

“I just thought about what you said. If the timing was different. If Brian wasn’t here. Then we could be together.” Thomas said in a concerning voice. “So I decided to tell Brian that he needed to leave. For us! So that we could finally be together. Like you said.”

“Telling Brian to leave was not what I meant!” Shouted Emily. “Dear God! Now I’ve got to find him and tell him what an idiot you are.”

“I don’t understand.” Whispered Thomas. “You literally told me that you could see us together if Brian was not here. That I was an idiot for waiting. So I decided to stop waiting.” The monotone in his voice transformed into anger.

“What have you done?” Asked Emily. Her voice frightened and mad. She pushed Thomas away and ran behind the stage to find Brian. She needed to let him know that Thomas had no right and was undoubtedly mistaken.

Emily made her way behind the curtains and down the makeshift hallway to the back of the stage. As she pulled away the final curtain she was suddenly overwhelmed with paralysis. She just stood there shaking, unable to scream. Lying on the ground in front of her was the still body of Brian. The pool of blood forming from his chest. The emerald wrapped buck knife sticking out from his heart.

“I did it for us.” Thomas said making his way behind her. “Don’t worry Emily. No-one can get between us now.’

The End