Fix You by Mari Carr

adjusted, finding other ways to occupy her time, other friends to hang out with. It wasn’t that she and Robbie weren’t still the best of friends. It was just they’d begun to pursue other interests away from each other.
    “Please tell me one of the songs you’re learning is ‘Dream On’.”
    Robbie laughed. “We’ve almost perfected that one. Come by the garage tomorrow afternoon and I’ll play it for you.”
    “Deal. Hey, are you okay?” She wasn’t sure when she’d be able to get him alone again to ask about his recent moodiness.
    “Yeah. Why?”
    “I don’t know. You’ve been quiet lately. I was wondering if something was bothering you.”
    Robbie glanced around the gym, then focused his attention back on her. “It’s just my dad.”
    “What about him?”
    “He’s been giving me a hard time about all the hours I spend practicing with the band. He’s still super pissed off at me for not going out for football.”
    Robbie and his dad had waged a mini world war at the end of the summer when Robbie informed his dad he was quitting the sport. His father had been the star quarterback at Harrisburg way back when, attending college on a football scholarship. He’d expected Robbie to follow in his footsteps and had blown a major fuse when his younger son balked at the idea.
    “I didn’t know he was still mad about that. I thought he’d gotten over it.”
    Robbie shrugged. “He keeps harping on how I’m flushing my future away. Says I had a real shot at a scholarship and that music is a one-way street to nowhere. I’m starting to wonder if he’s right.”
    “Do you want to play football again?”
    Robbie shook his head. “Hell no. I played that sport from the time I was old enough to toss a ball. Hated every minute of it, but I did it because it was what my dad expected. This has been the best fall of my life because I’m not out there on the field. I haven’t missed the game a bit.”
    Zoey’s temper piqued. “You’re an amazing musician. Maybe if your dad took the time to stop being an ass and actually listened to you, he’d realize that. Have you played him any of the songs you’ve been writing?”
    Robbie shook his head. “He’s not interested.”
    “You’re old enough to make up your own mind about this. Do you think you could give up playing the guitar and writing songs as easily as you did football?”
    “God no. It would kill me.”
    She smiled. “Then there’s your answer. You were born to make music. You’re going to be famous one day. You can’t let your dad convince you otherwise.”
    He fell silent for a moment. “You really believe that?”
    “With my whole heart.”
    “Thanks.”
    The music changed and Robbie brightened. “Oh hell yeah. Clapton.”
    Excited to hear a song by one of his music idols, Robbie failed to realize it was also a slow song. Zoey glanced toward the dance floor and noticed all their friends had quickly partnered up. She stood there awkwardly wondering if Robbie would remember his promise.
    “I guess you wanna dance, right?”
    She looked up at his face and laughed. “Of course I do.”
    He took her hand and led her to the floor as “Tears in Heaven” played. They found an open spot in the middle of the gym and turned to face each other. Robbie put his hands on her waist and she placed her hands on his shoulders.
    “I’ve never slow danced with a girl before,” he admitted after a few moments.
    “So I’m your first dance?”
    He rolled his eyes with fake annoyance. “You always end up being my first. Guess I need to get out there and start playing the field more.”
    “You act like I’m not a girl.”
    “I know you’re a girl, but you’re Zoey. You’re like my sister.”
    For some reason, his words pissed her off. While she understood the sentiment, she was tired of Robbie looking at her like he looked at the guys in his band. She’d fixed her hair in a fancy style and even put on make-up for tonight’s dance and he hadn’t