"Everyone's in the basement." Aiden said, leading me towards the kitchen.

The only door in and out of the basement was through there. As we got closer to the room, I could hear the muffled sounds of guitars and drums floating up through the cracked door. No one was singing, but that was what Aiden did in the band, so I wasn't surprised when no one else wanted to step in to take over.

I'm not sure if you could classify what Aiden did as actual singing. It was more of a mixture of singing, screaming, and rapping. He actually had a haunting singing voice. I had heard him singing songs with softer melodies and was floored by the control he had. He sounded like sugar with a tiny bit of gravel running through it. That was what started my elementary school crush in the first place. He didn't use any of that talent in the band. He just made sounds and grunts to the noise they called music.

As if he could sense me thinking about him, Aiden looked over at me and gave me one of his perfect grins. He pulled the door open and held it for me. His hand moved to the small of my back to shift me as I walked past him. His fingers lingered a little on my hips before I moved out of his reach.

We started to walk down the old concrete steps. You couldn't really see into the basement from the stairs. They were built in a slight spiral pattern. I think this was how these houses were built back in the day to maximize space.  I'm not sure why anyone in their right mind enjoyed feeling this claustrophobic heading down into a dark, creepy basement. I was waiting for an ax murderer to pop out around every turn.

Aiden placed his hands on my shoulders and he squeezed them as we walked down. He stayed close behind me, sensing my nervousness. He admitted to me once when he was drunk that he hated the basement here too. He swore up and down the basement was haunted and he had seen a ghost. I told him he had seen too many scary movies. He suggested that we perform a séance to cleanse the house of all the negative energy. I countered that he should lay off the booze.

The basement was dark and cool, and the sound grew louder as we went down. I could hear the whine of a guitar and the intricate rhythm swirling around me, inviting me down further. Whoever this new guitarist was, he had talent. The music actually sounded pretty good for a change.

We finally reached the bottom landing without getting murdered and I turned to see a crudely constructed "stage". The guys must have built it since I was here last. They probably were drinking late one night and decided every famous band needed a good rehearsal space. I hated to tell them they were not famous. I couldn't slash at their dreams like that. Someone had decided to create a logo for "Pantea's Garden" and drew it on a canvas, which they hung behind them as they played. I bet it was JD's idea. He thought he was going to be famous.

Speaking of my annoying older brother, I looked over and saw JD in the corner, jumping and spinning with his bass. Mark, the drummer, was in the back wailing away on the snare and cymbals. His long hair moved in every direction, all at once. I rounded the last corner and stopped in my tracks.

Standing on the opposite side of the stage was a guy I had never seen here before. He was tall, maybe 6'3' if I had to guess. He had a lean torso that led up to broad shoulders. His dark hair was tangled and messy and hung over his face while he played. I could see the sweat glistening on his skin. The hard muscles of his arms stiffened and relaxed as his hand slid up and down the neck of the guitar. The other hand picked out a sinful riff that drowned out the harsh beats of the bass drum. I couldn't see his face in the dim light, but I felt the urge to move closer to get a good look at him. So, this was the new guy.

Aiden brushed up behind me and pinched my side before heading to the stage. I smacked his hand away and pushed him. He waved down JD and pointed in my direction. JD looked up at me and smiled. He threw up a hand to signal for the band to wrap it up. When the music came to a dramatic halt, JD set his bass down and climbed down the makeshift stairs. He walked over to where I was standing with my arms crossed insecurely over my chest.

I chanced a sideways glance in the direction of the tall, dark-haired boy who was swiping his hair out of his face. He turned quickly from me before I could get a good look at him. He didn't even acknowledge I was there. That was rude.

"Hey Lil Bit, you made it." JD rubbed his hand on my head, messing up my hair again. Anna walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me tightly. I could smell the liquor on her breath already. Anna had started the party without me. I pulled away from her as quickly as I could. I would have gotten drunk just from the smell of her alone.

"Thanks for bailing me out. Brynn was too much tonight." I said, picking at the fabric on my clingy white lace dress while trying to straighten it over my body.

"No problem, that's my job." JD said, placing his sweaty arm on me. I tried to push it off, but he just squeezed it tighter around me. I could feel the gross boy odor from his armpit sweat seeping into me. JD needed to take a shower; he was so disgusting.

"RILEY!" Mark bellowed loudly from behind his drum set. He raised his arms in the air with his drumsticks still in his hands. Just like JD, I could see the sweat stains on his t-shirt. I was glad I couldn't smell him from over here.

"Hey, Mark!' I shouted back towards him. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the new guy had finally looked up at me. He was too far away to see his expression, but he quickly turned his head away. He returned to fiddling with his amp settings. He could have at least waved to me, strike two for the new guy.

Mark stood up and walked down from behind his drums to join us. I felt like a little bird being circled by a big cage when everyone began to surround me. I was much shorter than the rest of the group; it was hard always being the shortest one in the room. My neck was constantly craned up during conversations to read people's faces. I made a mental note to start carrying a step ladder with me at all times before my head would get permanently locked at that angle. Anna was the next shortest, but even she had me in height by about six inches. I was only 5'2" and it was a curse. I wish I was one of those tall leggy girls who turned heads as they walked by. Instead, I was described as fun-sized and cute. Even my childhood nicknames, Lil Bit and Peanut mocked my size.

"Rileyoli, ready to get sloppy tonight?" Mark asked eagerly. Mark didn't need a special occasion to find a reason to party. He was just happy being Mark. That was reason enough to celebrate.

"I think I am sitting this one out. I just came over because Brynn is drunk and I can't take her to my house. I'm the designated sober friend tonight."

"Aw, come on Riley," Aiden stood behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders again. "She's passed out in my room. She'll be fine."

"Yeah, we know nothing ever happens in there." JD almost fell over laughing from his terrible joke.

Aiden stepped over to shove JD playfully. JD turned and chased Aiden up the basement stairs back to the kitchen. There was a loud thud and it sounded like a few chairs were knocked over. I didn't even have to be up there to know JD had tackled Aiden and was trying to pin him on the floor.

"Boys," Anna slurred and shook her head in amusement. She followed it up with a little drunken snort.

"Watch your tongue. We are men." Mark said, puffing his chest out and putting his hands on his hips in a superman stance. "Manly men, who do manly things. Isn't that right, Ezra?"

"Only the manliest." The deep voice boomed from the back of the room, catching me off guard. It sounded sweet, sexy, and dangerous all at once. "Unless you count when Mark watches 'The Notebook'."

"I trusted you, man." Mark looked back, giving him the evil eye. "I feel so betrayed."

Ezra, the new guitarist's name was Ezra. I dug back into my brain to see if I could remember JD telling me anything about him. I would have remembered a name like Ezra if he had told me. I guess I could have tuned him out. It was possible. I had been so busy lately with school, work, and graduation that I barely had time for anything else.

"Ezra quit messing around with your shit and get over here." Mark yelled back at him.

The dark-haired boy looked up at me and stuck his guitar pick in his mouth. He swung the guitar over his neck, which exposed a small patch of skin on his stomach. I could see a hint of a tattoo peeking out from the band of his pants. I couldn't get a good enough look at it before he pulled his shirt back down. It looked like a bunch of delicate black lines. He walked over to the three of us and stood directly across from me.

Ezra's jawline was hard and angular and led up to the lightest blue eyes I had ever seen. They were so brilliant they looked like they were made of ice. On his right eyebrow, he had two piercings next to each other. His messy, almost black hair was parted on the side and hung down over his forehead. The contrast of the dark hair and light eyes was enthralling. He pushed back his hair from his face with his hand. Ezra was hot and he clearly knew it.

He had the guitar pick still in his mouth between his full pink lips. He was moving and twisting it around in a playful manner while staring at me. I couldn't take my eyes off the way he moved it skillfully with his tongue. He raised the eyebrow with the piercings and pulled up one corner of his mouth when he saw me watching him. His chest rose up with a little laugh. I had the feeling he was making fun of me for staring. My cheeks flushed, knowing he caught me looking. I hoped Anna and Mark hadn't noticed what had just happened.

I reminded myself to calm down. I had hit a bit of a dry spell in the relationship department. My whole life was a dry spell in reality. My only boyfriend was the ex I saw at the other party and he had broken up with me because he didn't want to date anyone in his senior year. We were together for a while year before he decided he didn't want to be with me. I found out later it just meant he wanted out of the relationship so he could sleep with someone else. He was in another relationship within a week of breaking up with me. I was heartbroken at the time. I thought it was something I did wrong. I secretly blamed myself, but I would never admit it to anyone. The new girlfriend was much prettier than I was, so it had to be me that was the problem.

JD threatened to kill him when he found out my ex had a new girlfriend. JD drove over to his house and my ex's parents threatened to call the cops if he didn't leave. JD had always been my protector, but that only meant he got himself in a lot of trouble from it. I swore off boys and relationships after that day. It didn't really help my situation; I still had hormones to contend with. Any guy would probably look good to me right now. I looked over at Mark and he smiled back at me. Nope not any guy, just Ezra.

"Mr. Ezra Miller, meet JD's bratty baby sister, Riley." Mark introduced us.

"Hi." I said in a stupid upbeat tone. I almost kicked myself for sounding like a preteen girl. It wasn't bad enough that I was small enough to look like I was but did I really have to sound like one too?

He nodded his head in my direction and the blue ice of his eyes met mine. I trembled from the frostbite. He continued to twist the guitar pick around, teasing my eyes with the smooth movements of his mouth. He didn't care if anyone was watching.

"Are you cold?" Anna asked me. She turned her head in confusion when she felt me shiver next to her.

I looked at Anna with my wide green eyes and shook my head slowly. When I turned back to Ezra, his light blue eyes were still staring at me. He had an amused look on his face and his shoulders shook a little under his quiet laughter. I bit my lip and looked away from him. He was definitely dangerous.

"You guys coming up?" Aiden called down from the kitchen.

"On our way." Ezra said while taking another second to glance down at my tight white dress and snickered to himself. He looked at me, not ashamed that I caught him laughing at me. Arrogant, rude, and cocky.

Strike three for Ezra Miller.

I was not going to survive this night.