Bailey waived off the question from Nathan, one of the kids who was more passionate about the music aspect of their program. “Let’s not get into that right now. Let’s catch up, guys. How was the last week?”
Bailey grabbed his guitar and motioned for Travis to follow him as he walked forward and joined the circle of moody teenagers, taking one of the two chairs that had been left empty.
“How was your birthday?” Asia asked softly. Like usual, she was dressed in black from head to toe, the fuchsia streak in her fringe the most colorful thing about her—besides her personality.
“Thanks for asking,” Bailey started, and then paused because he wasn’t quite sure how to answer. “It was… interesting,” he replied with a side glance at Travis.
“Did you get drunk?” Nathan questioned, leaning back in his chair.
“Not really. That’s not my thing.” He shrugged.
“So what did you do, if not drinking on your twenty-first birthday?” Asia pressed.
Bailey brushed a hand through his dirty blond hair and sighed. “I went to the den and hung out for a bit. Helped a friend get home.”
Bailey was viscerally aware of the way Travis jerked his head around to stare at him, but only for a second before composing himself and donning that indifferent expression he seemed to love.
Turning twenty-one hadn’t been a big deal to him. He’d spent an hour or so at the Noon to Night Den, talking to Jefferson and drinking a single drink. All while desperately trying to ignore the trashed rock star at the other end of the bar. Through the grapevine, aka his mother, he’d heard that none other than Travis Cherry would be staying in Holdengate, and he’d be lying if he said the news hadn’t been exciting.
Nothing interesting ever happened in their neck of the woods. But when he’d seen Travis stumble into the back hallway and crash into the women’s restroom, he’d shaken his head and decided he’d given the town enough to talk about for one evening. What he’d told Travis hadn’t been a lie. He’d been rescuing the bar from Travis as much as he’d been rescuing Travis from the bar. But even more importantly, he’d been rescuing Travis from himself, because the rock star that Bailey had always looked up to wouldn’t have been proud of his actions that night.
“Sounds boring,” Tom interjected. “When I turn twenty-one, I want to have a party. Like, a rager, ones you see in all the movies.”
“Why? So your boyfriend can hold your hair back when you’re sick the next morning?” Elsie teased.
Tom rolled his eyes at her. “Be nice or I’m not inviting you.”
Travis’s gaze darted back and forth between each teenager, and Bailey shook his head.
“Okay, okay. Let’s do introductions. We’ll start with Eddie.” Bailey knocked an elbow into the teen at his side and smiled.
“Uh, okay. I’m Eddie,” he offered simply, and waved in Travis’s direction. Eddie was a quiet one, more of an observer than a participant. He was still shy, even after four years, but Bailey had finally accepted that it was just who Eddie was, not because he was uncomfortable.
Travis offered a nod and a soft smile in response. Bailey leaned over and mumbled to Travis that the kid was fifteen and had been in the program for four years.
“I’m Forest. I’m seventeen and I’ve been in this program for two years and I’m still not any better at guitar than when I started.” The deep voice belonged to the teenager on the other side of Eddie, the seventeen-year-old was much younger than he looked or sounded.
“That’s a lie and you know it,” Bailey told him.
Forest waved him off and glanced at Eddie before shrugging. “Whatever you say, boss.”
Continuing in order, the tiny redhead spoke. “My name’s Elsie, and I’m sixteen. I’ve been in the program for less than a year.” She was fond of sweaters and pastels, but she could shred a guitar with the best.
Next was Sonia, an angsty teenager at the age of seventeen, with a chip on her shoulder and a bone to pick with… anyone who would stand still long enough to listen. Not that she didn’t have a good reason.
Ashley, Sonia’s girlfriend, was the polar opposite of the first, but somehow they balanced each other out.
Nathan, with the untrimmed hair and the love of music, followed the couple. Then Joe, who was a bit mysterious, and also the newest. He hadn’t quite gotten to know the others yet, but his parents knew he needed somewhere to go on the weekends to keep him out of trouble, so there he was.
“And you already know Tom, Frankie, and Asia.”
“Well, not really, Bailey!” Frankie interjected. “Don’t try to skim over me.” He turned directly to Travis as he said, “I’m Frankie, I’m fifteen, and I’m a huge fan. I think it’s so shitty what the label did. Bunch of homophobes.”
Bailey put a hand over his eyes and shook his head. Did the child have no filter?
The soft chuckle beside him made him lower his hand, and he glanced over to find Travis with a grin on his face. “Well, for legal reasons, I can’t agree or disagree with that statement, but off the record I say trust your gut.”
Choking on a laugh, Bailey turned his head to the side to hide the sound in his shoulder and grinned.
“So what is Travis Cherry doing over in Holdengate?” Nathan inquired.
The room grew quiet as everyone waited for an answer from the popular rock star. He brushed a hand through his hair before shrugging his jacket off and leaning back in the chair.
“Well… to be honest, I needed a break.”
“A break from what?” Frankie pressed.
When Travis hesitated yet again, Frankie glanced around the circle and held his hands up. “Don’t be shy. We talk about everything here. It’s what makes Saturday my favorite day of the week.”
Travis arched a brow at that, and Frankie shrugged again, glancing around. “Well, don’t make him feel shy. Let’s go over the code of conduct.”
“Code of conduct?” Bailey echoed. He hadn’t heard of this development.
Everyone looked away, Nathan even going so far as to twiddle his thumbs and whistle.
“Way to blab, Frankie,” Elsie snapped, and Bailey gave her a stern glance. Most of the teasing was lighthearted and meaningless, but he always tried to keep a healthy balance of respect. The program wasn’t only for music, but also to give LGBTQ+ teens in the area a safe, kind space to come and let loose. He prided himself on keeping the first rule of the club: kindness first, always.
“What’s this new code of conduct I haven’t heard about?”
“It’s basically your rules, but better,” Frankie explained.
“Better, huh?” Bailey leaned back in his chair and crossed one ankle over the other knee. “Do tell.”
Travis snorted beside him before thumbing his nose and glancing toward the teenager that held everyone’s attention.
“There’s only one rule: anything goes.”
“What does that mean?” Bailey was only the slightest bit apprehensive.
“Well, nothing’s off limits in discussion here. Not at Andrews. We can talk about anything and everything. Family life, relationships, whatever. As long as it doesn’t leave this room, right?”