《Otherworld》 The Invite ¡®It¡¯s not even daylight, what woke me up? ¡¯ She thought groggily. Looking around her bedroom taking in each detail like it might answer her thoughts. The room itself was a vivid shade of violet, ¡®dark but not so gloomy¡¯. Just like her room back home, with her favorite Screaming Banshees band tapestry hanging on the opposite wall. A window on either side of it covered in sheer purple curtains, ¡®never did like having a lot of light in my room¡¯, she thought suddenly noticing the music playing. Looking aover at the alarm clock she realized it¡¯s been going off, playing her favorite radio station, it was a school day. After looking around one more time at the other trinkets in her room she heads to her wardrobe, I always thought it looked like a giant stand up coffin, I love it! Since the school has a uniform she pulls out the black and red plaid uniform skirt, ''tattered, chained, and be-skulled by yours truely.'' A white button up and a dark blazer with a matching tie. ¡®They never said the fabric had to stay perfect.¡¯ Kae thought to herself, ¡°Now to top it all off¡­¡± Kae¡¯s hair was the only big deal to her because of the natural vermilion highlights running through waves of raven black. She usually just pulls her waist-length hair into two spiky pigtails leaving massive bangs hanging in a curtain to frame her face. Make-up is the complement to her whole outfit so as she finishes putting on gobs of eyeliner she glaces at the clock. Grabbing her bag she races out of her room, down the stairs, and out the door practically taking her mother to the ground. ¡°Oh crap! I¡¯m gonna miss the bus! Sorry mom, see you after school. Love you, later.¡± ?¨®? Lunch bells ringing, ¡®The first half of the day went quick, now I just have to make it through lunch. Where did Sebastian say he would be?¡¯; ¡°Like I would know how to find him anyways.¡± She grumbles outloud making her way through the crowded room, she searches for her only friend in this hell-hole place known as a school. ¡°Hey, Kae over here!¡± A voice shouts from the back corner near the gymnasium doors. ¡°Sebastian!¡± Kae sqeals, glad she finally found him. Snickering, ¡°I¡¯m so glad ''I found you.''¡± ¡°Why? What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re never this excited at school.¡± Sebastian Corvus is the type of friend that seems to know you better than you do. With black, shoulder-length hair and a style that used a lot of dark clothing, he was just your typical misunderstood teen in the world. It didn¡¯t help that he only stood about the same height as her chin and wore baggy clothes. Most of the school body stayed away from him, they didn¡¯t think they could trust him. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Can¡¯t I be excited at least once without some big alarm going off!?¡± She practically shrieked in surprise. ¡°Sure you can but it¡¯s not you, so¡­ if nothing¡¯s wrong what''re you so happy about?¡± Sebastian sounded anxious. He was worried, she could tell, she didn¡¯t sound like herself right now. ¡°¡¯Sure you can¡­¡¯ anyways, I got invited somewhere, so . . . if you don¡¯t have any plans¡­ then you¡¯re going to a Rave with me!¡± She nearly shouted not remembering where they were, ¡°The Screaming Banshees are playing live!¡± ¡°Oh Damn! Are you kidding me?! This has got to be a dream!¡± Now he was nearly shouting, this being one of his fave bands. ¡°No, def not a dream. Maybe a dream come true, but definitely not a dream.¡± ¡°Sweet! Then I am abso-freaking-lutely free. When is it? And Where?¡± ¡°This Saturday, at that huge old building on Route 13. You know way out in the middle of nowhere, next to Griemsfield Cemetery. It¡¯s gonna be so much fun, but you¡¯re gonna want to stay close to me because it¡¯s a Supe-Rave. If any of the jerks from Other show up they¡¯ll enjoy using you for entertainment.¡± Kae told him as nonchalantly as she could. ¡°What do you mean ¡®use me for entertainment¡¯? I thought no one from Other was supposed to use anything against or on users. The first rule of Other is that no one talks about it!?¡± Sebastian asked almost hysterically. ¡°Hey, calm down. It¡¯s not like that. By entertainment, I mean they¡¯ll just make you do stuff you normally wouldn¡¯t do, just to show off to their friends. Outside of Other we aren''t even supposed to meet up en masse. Here the only thing they have to worry about is following the ¡®It harm none¡¯ Laws, so it can''t cause any sort of traumatization or they''ll lose their avatar. And I¡¯m sure you won''t draw enough attention to be kidnapped into the Green Room for the after party, I mean every party-freak in the area has got to know about this Rave but they have standards and you aren''t very popular for your looks here so why there. No offense just logic.¡± Kae told him. Smiling sheepishly but she wanted him o relax. She wasn¡¯t quite sure exactly how much was true about who was going to be there, but Sebastian didn¡¯t need to know that. He¡¯d have fun no matter what; she¡¯d make sure of it. One thing she did know was that Dredge would be there because he had been the one to invite her to the proper forum. Without him she might not have been in the right contact circle to have found the concerts secret guest forum thread. It wasn¡¯t clear what Dredge had planned but with Sebastian around it couldn¡¯t be too painful. Could it? The Problem ¡°So, we¡¯ve got 2 more days until the party and you still haven¡¯t told me anything about whether you know anyone that¡¯s going to be there?!¡± Sebastian whined for about the millionth time since being told about the party the other day. ¡°I told you I don¡¯t want to talk about whether I know anyone who¡¯s going,¡± Kae¡¯s exasperated reply came from the inside of her bathroom door, ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to get excited and then be let down when I get there.¡± Her enunciation trying again to prod his brain to give in. She¡¯d been hiding in there for about an hour taking a nice hot shower to calm her nerves, before she chose to beat the whine out of him. The kid just wouldn¡¯t let up and had been talking to her through the door the whole time. Now, out of water, with no skin care, or hygiene routines left for excuses she would have to remove the physical barrier that may have been keeping her friend safe from bodily harm. ¡°Yes. I know this but what does that have to do with telling me the people you might end up knowing at the party?! I know you don¡¯t want to get excited but I just want to know the names of the people that you know that might decide to show up. That¡¯s all I want to know¡­¡± Sebastian sounded like he¡¯d almost given up. It was his continued line of questioning though that made it clear he was dying to know who had been ¡®my way in.¡¯ Whether she liked it or not he was going to find out sooner or later and clearly the latter, wasn''t a choice today. ¡°Well, I can tell you that I know some of the band because of a really close old friend of mine, they¡¯re from the same clan. Does that work for you?¡± Kae asked tentatively hoping it would be but knowing Sebastian he heard the tone of her voice and much to her chagrin would most certainly not be enough for the gossip hungry geek in front of her. ¡°WHAT! You never told me Anything about knowing someone from the band or anything even like that!¡± Sebastian was nearly screaming by this point. It was probably only seconds until the flood gates were opened to let the full force of his resentment towards this fact drown me in guilt. ¡°How could you keep something like that from me? I¡¯m your best friend; you introduced me to and got me hooked on The Screaming Banshees amazing musical talent. I don¡¯t understand why you would hide something as awesome as this, from a friend like me¡­¡± ¡°Sebastian you know it¡¯s not like that, so just calm down¡­¡± She tried in vain as he steamrolled her attempt to assuage his ego. ¡°No! I have the right to be angry right now, the only thing that you could possibly have for a reason to¡­!¡± It was like someone had found the mute button awkwardly. ¡°Sebastian¡­? Kae waved her hand in front of his face. ¡°You just stopped mid-sentence what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Kae I¡¯m so sorry I totally forgot¡­ I didn¡¯t realize what could have made you keep something like¡­ I didn¡¯t think about it until I remembered you said ¡®because of a close friend, they¡¯re from the same clan¡¯¡­ I¡¯m sorry, what a great friend I am I can¡¯t even think about my friends feelings because I was over excited about a stupid party¡­¡± He sounded so solemn, Kae was almost moved to tears by just how much he suddenly cared for how she felt about it all. ¡°Sebastian, it¡¯s ok, I should have tried to tell you¡­ don¡¯t feel bad it¡¯s my fault that you didn¡¯t know. I should have told you the reason why I didn¡¯t feel comfortable getting my hopes up... plus I told you like forever ago when we first met, but I guess I understand why you forgot.¡± It was all Kae could do to not cry at the love she felt for her only friend. ?¨®? You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡®Last day of the week and you¡¯d think that things would start winding down, normally they would, but not if you¡¯re going to a Rave tomorrow night!¡¯ thought Kae as she made her way to her eighth period class. ¡®You can feel all the excited energy coming off the norm¡¯s like a cat who found prey. It almost feels like Valeria, except that it¡¯s all hyped up and unorganized. If they knew how to control it maybe we could all be equals and live without secrets.¡¯ ¡°Hey! You with the face! Kae! Stop zoning and pay attention already these are big decisions for me and you¡¯re off in La-la-Land.¡± Huffed Sebastian, sounding as though Kae had been spacing for a while. ¡°Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about tomorrow¡­¡± ¡°EXACTLY! I was just talking to you about that there space-zero, so are you gonna help me with this or not?!¡± He sounded a little irritated with her so she knew she had been gone for too long, now he¡¯d be pissy for the rest of the day. ¡°Remind me again what I¡¯m helping you with? I forgot.¡± Not the way to go about it, she knew this, but she really didn¡¯t know what she was supposed to be helping him with. ¡°Ugh, Kae!? I was trying to figure out what I should wear so that maybe I won¡¯t stand out as a norm and end up as their source of entertainment¡­¡± Sebastian was whining now, you could hear it in his voice, he must be more afraid than Kae had thought he would be. ¡°Ooh, I¡¯m so sorry Sebastian, I¡¯ll help you don¡¯t worry I¡¯m just not¡­ here right now. I won¡¯t let them turn you into a modern day dancing bear, ok, don¡¯t worry. I just need to think right now is all. How about this? While I think and try to focus for you, I¡¯ll rub your back, calm you down, like when I put you to sleep on test nights?¡± I asked in hopes it would be enough to get a few minutes for thinking, hell maybe he¡¯d fall asleep like usual she¡¯d have a few hours to think. ¡°Ok sure, maybe I¡¯ll be fine once I relax and think, maybe it won¡¯t be such a big deal after. But you better monitor my breathing and stop before I fall asleep, I want your help and I don¡¯t want it to be last minute help tomorrow before the party, ok?¡± He sounded like he knew her plan but there was no way he had a clue. ¡°Sure thing, I said I¡¯d help and I will so no worries.¡± It felt weird lying to a friend but it was true Kae would help him; he¡¯d just be asleep while she was helping him. ?¨®? Eventually his breathing evened out to the rhythm it took on when he was out cold and he began to snore. It took longer than usual putting Sebastian to sleep, but that was normal considering he was way more stressed than he would¡¯ve been if it was a history test. With Sebastian asleep she was free to think and put together her own plan on how to go to the party without getting excited for, probably, nothing. For keeping the pain away, if necessary, too. While she was organizing her plan, she managed to put together an outfit for Sebastian. Now he wouldn¡¯t have to worry so much about being pegged for a norm. I did not want that to happen to him just as much as him if not more. Ok Kae think¡­this isn¡¯t brain surgery, it¡¯s just in case you need to be ready. Can you even handle this right now? Are you sure it¡¯s even necessary? Of course you can¡¯t handle this right now! It¡¯s absolutely necessary and you know it! She thought for the hundredth, probably not the last either, time today. ¡°Ugh, this is so not FAIR!¡± Sebastian shifted in his sleep, she had been too loud and she knew it. She had to stay calm if she was going to get away with this. ¡°Get it together Rowan and start thinking this through.¡± It probably wasn¡¯t good that she talked to herself out-loud, but she just didn¡¯t care right now. So I need to plan on fighting the pain when I see him, that part I know well enough. But how am I going to ignore it all night, we¡¯re best friends; he¡¯s going to want to hang out with me most of the night. I can''t even decide if it would be easier or worse if he turned out not to want to hang out or see me. This is just so unfair, but whatever, I can do this, right? Kae seriously doubted that she¡¯d make it that long before it finally ate at her and she snapped. Ok I¡¯ve done this before, I have gone more than just a few hours acting normal and just being friends. I had to the last time, so I sure as hell should be able to go one whole night at a RAVE. Besides Sebastian will be there, I can distract myself by hanging out with him at the same time. Off on a roll she finally knew how she would overcome the next night¡¯s obstacles and with as little pain as possible. Until later on, when she was away from other people anyways. Bring on the pain Dredge; I¡¯m ready this time¡­ It even hurt just thinking his name, but Kae was getting herself ready for tomorrow. No way would she get away with not saying his name all night. Party Night ¡°Quit messing with your cloak! You keep adjusting the hood and people are going to know you¡¯re a weeb, Otherworlder¡¯s don¡¯t worry about their hoods being perfectly in place covering everything. Are you trying to look super suspicious or what?¡± Kae reprimanded Sebastian for the hundredth time. ¡°Sorry, I just don¡¯t want it to show my hair. I¡¯m not sure most people, even Other¡¯s, have neon green stripes in their hair like this!¡± There was a panicked edge in the undertone of his voice as she watched his fingers run along the edge of his hood again. For the party Kae had cut Sebastian¡¯s hair in an angled bob to make his thin face seem more elvish than usual, using gel to leave the back a spiky mess. Then to top it all, she had bleached his naturally black hair almost white. This helped the acid green dye show up as bright as natural streaks would, and she thought it would help him feel like he fit in better. Sebastian just wouldn¡¯t stop fussing over every little piece. It¡¯s like he thinks he has to be perfect to be like rest of the Otherworlder¡¯s. Maybe I should show him some more excitement, make it seem like it¡¯s not such a big deal? Maybe he just needs to learn what a rave was in order to calm down and have a good time, after all it couldn¡¯t be much different from a convention for him. ¡°So are you ready to party? We¡¯ve got to get there early if we don¡¯t want to be caught in the crush.¡± Kae was certain Sebastian knew what a crush was, but he must not have been partying much judging by the look on his face. ¡°You know all the people trying to get in at the same time because the party¡¯s already started? Oh never mind we¡¯ll get there in plenty of time. Are you ready or what!?¡± Sebastian wasn¡¯t feeling her excitement, that was obvious but he was warming up to it, his face less wrinkled with worry. Maybe it wasn¡¯t going to be so hard to get him to chill after all. ¡°Oh, hell yeah. Totally ready, this will be the party of a lifetime, why wouldn¡¯t I be ready.¡± It was a question formed in a statement, but Kae was willing to ignore it. Instead acting like she believed he was as confident as he wanted to sound, she¡¯d just help him fake it till he made it. ¡°Sweet! Then let¡¯s get movin¡¯ or you won¡¯t like the way we¡¯ll have to get there.¡± Her voice sing song as she giggled to the memory made emotions crossing over his face like an actual movie flashback. Sebastian did not like using Kae¡¯s method of getting places, it had frightened him so badly the first (and last) time he ever did. It was still priceless to remember the look on his face though. She didn¡¯t like to, it felt uncomfortable even for her, but she had used what was called ''The Veil'' in Otherworld. To use it you simply said the invocation to open the passage and you would step through to your destination. There was no poof you¡¯re here; you just walked through a black hole of some kind to wherever you were going. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°No! No, no, let¡¯s just get going I¡¯d rather drive. So come on, who¡¯s driving? You or me?¡± ?¨®? ¡°Ok, I give. What¡¯s wrong? You haven¡¯t talked to me the whole drive so far, is it what I said about getting here?¡± Concerned she had ruined the night¡¯s fun, Kae knew she had to ask the obvious, ¡°Are you just mad at me or are you totally pissed now?¡± Like someone had slapped him across the face Sebastian¡¯s head snapped towards her and he muttered, ¡°What¡­¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t talked at all the whole ride, your sulking over there like a kicked puppy, are you mad at me or what?¡± She didn¡¯t like it when he did this. He¡¯d slip into some kind of pissy, sulky demeanor and then act like he was pulled back from worlds away when spoken to or touched. It was so much like the psychics from Valeria it wasn¡¯t funny. ¡°¡­I¡¯m not mad¡­ I was just thinking¡­¡± He sounded so dreamy, like he¡¯d just woken up; she wasn¡¯t sure what his deal was. She would find out why he had these little moments but not right now. ¡°Well snap out of it! We¡¯re almost there ok, look, that¡¯s the road. Now we just drive out to the place, park in the trees and head for the doors.¡± She was excited, but the closer she got the sooner she would probably get let down. ¡®No! No thinking like that, this is why I didn¡¯t think about who might be here. I¡¯ll be fine and regardless of who is or isn¡¯t here I¡¯ll have the best time ever, no matter what¡­¡¯ ¡°Ok, I just didn¡¯t realize how far we had already driven.¡± Sebastian sounded more alert but still distant as she pointed out the road. ?¨®? They parked under a huge maple tree that was probably as ancient as the town building was, and headed round the back to find the ¡®bouncers¡¯ that would let them in. Easy enough to find, she could feel the music pounding out its bass line in the ground beneath her feet. It was hard to tell if Sebastian could feel it as well or if like most people he was desensitized to those things. The sight that met them at the door was almost breathe taking; if Kae hadn¡¯t seen it plenty of times before she might have gasped. Ivy leaves and vines had climbed up the molding of the doorway and created an intricate fall patterned archway. Having a brawny looking bouncer outside of the archway killed some of its beauty but not enough to keep Sebastian from gawking at it. Seeing the look on his face, she almost laughed, ¡®he looks like a kid in the world¡¯s largest candy store.¡¯ ¡°Are you gonna make it there, Sebastian?¡± she asked, hoping the guard wouldn¡¯t notice that he was staring so intensely. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine Kae, it¡¯s just so beautiful, it¡¯s just like it was grown this way¡­¡± He sighed with such artistic envy, just like him to wilt over trained ivy . ¡°Come on, you can stop and draw it some other time.¡± Kae whispered close to his ear teasing, ¡°If you keep gawking, I won¡¯t be able to stop anyone from thinking you might not be OW¡­¡± Suddenly stiffening he remembered where he was, I hoped beyond all hope that no one had noticed, maybe no one else heard my whisper but there was no telling with all the different clans that most likely showed up. Night To Remember Getting into the music wasn¡¯t hard for either of us, most of the favored bands in OW were actually some of the biggest bands in this dimension; it paid to have talent, some times. Dancing like fools and fitting in like it was normal felt so good, she had missed this kind of thing most days making tonight well worth the wait. Everything seemed to be going as well as it could possibly be, then suddenly the crowd started screaming and it was like a wave of overly excited howls traveling across the room. One-by- one we all noticed them, the Screaming Banshees. Live and in person, Kae had almost forgotten that they would be playing tonight and that that was why Sebastian had decided to take the risk of coming. Sebastian felt close to fainting at the mere sight of Wolf, live and sexy as hell in person, but then even the snootiest of girls melted in his presence. ¡°Do you see that?! He¡¯s at least ten times as gorgeous in person!¡± ¡°Calm down Juliet or you might faint before you can see your Romeo perform.¡± Kae managed through the giggling, it was always like this for her because wherever Wolf was, Freddie was sure to be close behind. Her best friend was just too caught up in Wolf¡¯s appearance to notice it was nervous laughter. It was at that exact moment that he came gliding into view, an almost imperceptible prowl to his gait, just as sullen as always but it didn¡¯t matter because to her he appeared like a smiling sun. Even after all the gaslighting, cheating, and hot then cold love bombing she had lived through, she still couldn¡¯t help feeling her heart melt for the man he would pretend to be with her. The people that are eloquent enough to tell you how it feels to be pulled back in time and simultaneously inside oneself have my empathy because to explain how she was doing right that moment felt impossible. No special effects, no quirky and emotionally relatable music played to help ease me into this sudden introspection. Crowd noises blurred together into a static white noise and there she was, a freshman in high school, riding the high of an I don¡¯t give a fuck day. ~~~ Dorchester high was inside one of the more creatively shaped ancient buildings that the town loved to call historic but never seemed capable of maintaining as historical monuments. The basement alone spoke volumes to how they might have updated it to be used as a school, the floor first and foremost since it was uneven anywhere that was within its original foundations. Why is that important because we are horribly uncoordinated but theatrically ¡°graceful¡± when falling is unavoidable. Just one of the more hectic days of I don¡¯t give a fuck mania and this ones been fueled by Kae¡¯s lack of time management skills and breakfast. Feeling like she could care less what anyone else fucking thought let alone had to say for today was a hard mood, but a mood none the less. Hangry felt like she needed everyone to know she was unhappy, but she couldn¡¯t care less if they acknowledged her or not; and if they did she¡¯d fuck around, and find out later. So she was overly animated and boisterous as she moved across the uneven, cement floors and not paying attention to her feet to avoid the dip in the hard surface that obviously, had not conveniently filled itself in. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. As if she wasn¡¯t already loud enough as she idly chatted with her best, best-friend Crystal, the sudden dip caught her unaware forcing a surprised squeal from her throat. ¡°Ah!¡± The teacher on line babysitting duty happened top be the best worst option, Puffin was the coolest English teacher she¡¯d ever dealt with but he had some obvious pet peeves. One of which seemed to be loud noises and particularly ones that were unnecessary or out of place a.k.a. my sudden ear-splitting shriek. Cornelius Puffin was great with his class curriculum but in this situation he was not, Mr. Puffin preferred spending his lunch hour in his silent classroom. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Kaeri Rowan! Back of the line.¡± Mr. Puffin spoke in a commanding tone, having come around the corner he didn¡¯t know anything about what happened but by then he had figured out that separating me from Crystal was a quick way to make me quiet down. Kae could still feel the heat around her ears when this part of the memory played, all the childish punishments she¡¯d endured. It was always the same, teachers and their ¡°solutions,¡± first they make you the center of attention and then they put you on blast so everyone else can laugh at you for getting in trouble. Crystal didn¡¯t care about eating lunch most days and would either give it to me or take it because she couldn¡¯t stand being dizzy all day, so once Puffin disappeared back towards the cafeteria, she joined me at the end of the line. It didn¡¯t take long though before there was more yelling from Mr. Puffin and a goofy, cute boy with a deep angry voice and adorable laugh was suddenly walking towards us and the end of the line. It was the first time meeting Jacob and soon she would stuck hanging on his every move, enthralled and in what she thought was love. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize you, are you a new freshman?¡± Kaeri asked the Adonis as he settled against the metal lockers lining this section of the hallway. ¡°You have to watch out for that one if you don¡¯t want to be made to wait until the end when there¡¯s not much left to choose from.¡± She¡¯d no sooner reached the part she wished over and over again hadn¡¯t happened when she was shaken back to her senses, the crowds of people, light show effects, and music came rushing back to her leaving the girl overwhelmed. As if it wasn¡¯t already too much for her to handle she realized where she was. In all the cacophony she had squatted down and curled around her legs, surrounded by bodies she didn¡¯t know and her one best friend here in Dorchester. A moment she had played over to herself so many times that she was convinced if she had just been quiet like everyone else she never would have been used and thrown away so many times. What mattered most was that she was now embarrassing herself and her friend in a huge crowd of people, just from the sight of the boy she thought was The One first. Down With a Sickness A roiling sick had started cramping her stomach up like soured milk, her hands felt hot and clammy at the same time, Kae thought she might puke but managed to breath through the strange sensations. Mentally still reeling from her flashback to the day they first met, she didn¡¯t know why she¡¯d thought of it but it had worked her up so badly her body chose flight mode. Sebastian was kneeling in front of her saying something, but she felt like her head was underwater muffling his voice, she stared hard at him and tried to hear the words he was saying. With one last whoosh inside her head the tide broke, and it was as if she had finally surfaced to hear his panicked voice. ¡°For fucks sake Kaeri are you there?¡± ¡°Wha-?¡± Her brain kicked in gear with the usual ¡®what?¡¯ before she could process what he was talking about but fell short as she wondered where he was talking about. A little hoarse from a suddenly dry throat she rerouted her own questioning response, ¡°Where¡¯s there? I didn¡¯t hear what you said.¡± Her brain wasn¡¯t moving at regular time just yet but he sounded angry worried and the music starting around them, it made more sense than her best friend did in that moment. Familiar lyrics filtered through her mind¡¯s hazy landscape and started to burn away the fog, one of her favorites as the lyrics told of a boy wanting to move on from his current girl but he just can¡¯t say no to her, and things never change. The best part of the music was just how relatable it could me, no matter what pronouns you used someone else can relate to it, so it soothed her flight response enough to focus on her best friend once again. ¡°¡­do you feel better now? You just made me think you collapsed and you wouldn¡¯t respond to anything I said¡­ when I did get an answer out of you, you sounded like the one that flew over the cuckoo¡¯s nest!..¡± Sebastian sounded a lot more worried than angry right now, but she couldn¡¯t help feeling like she wanted to cringe away from an angry male raising his voice. Kae couldn¡¯t remember ever having a meltdown like that before, but she¡¯d gone from 0 to 60 on a mental landscape she hadn¡¯t thought about in months, not since they made her see a therapist. The crowds energy was starting to pick up as the band moved on to another mainstream favorite, one I don¡¯t usually listen to anymore, it¡¯s his song. Our song. I hadn¡¯t thought of it like that in months since the last time he¡¯d iced me out and took off with Cambria again. This time was going to be different, and I wasn¡¯t going to go back to a relationship where the other person used my own emotions to manipulate me, but that wasn¡¯t the problem right now. ¡°He looked at me.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. If not for the active live music playing, she could have heard the sharp intake of breath as Sebastian knew exactly who she meant, if she was to guess she¡¯d say he¡¯d been planning for this kind of thing all night just not how it would happen. Wolf¡¯s voice growled on about a cold love growing colder as the narcissist partner pushed the emotionally damaged partner into a psychotic break, all to play the victim when they¡¯re finally hurt for all the pain they¡¯ve caused the emotionally damaged partner. Sebastian¡¯s eye¡¯s held hers as they stood up, Kae didn¡¯t want to stand too tall and catch anyone¡¯s eyes by mistake while feeling so exposed with bodies crushed around her. The bass player never lost his place, didn¡¯t stumble over any chords, he never did, and he never would trip over the lyrics that sang of what had happened between us. Creative as it was for Jacob to write the song together with Wolf just made sure that Kaeri wouldn¡¯t be trying to get it off the radio any time soon. There was no reason to take it out on Wolf when he was just venting his own relationship woes in tandem with his bandmate, it only really hurt enough to matter because she¡¯d just been triggered. The song in question continued on, lilting into the second chorus where they would harmonize and also leads into Jake¡¯s small bass solo. All it did was make my gaze travel up to the stage but before I could look any higher than the bands feet someone slammed into me and sent me into Sebastian¡¯s arms, where I snuggled in with a sad squeak and a strange thud in my chest. It wasn¡¯t the first time she¡¯d felt this feeling echo through her chest but it had never happened when her friend hugged her. Then he spoke first chastising the person who was angrily wading through the crowd. Rude as the gesture was, they must be a groupie fan trying to reach the front row where they might be lucky enough to get noticed by the band, there was always that one person. ¡°What the hell, if you¡¯re gonna be an asshole you could at least not be a fucking problematic one.¡± This time his angry voice almost made me too excited instead of scared, his hands were holding me tightly and protectively, clearly not wanting to let me fall this time. She could tell by the tone of his voice it was some stranger, but he seemed more aggressive than he usually was, Sebastian was like a natural teddy bear. All fluff and no claws. Pressing my hands on his chest to give a little space, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s okay Seb I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°No. They could have said something even if it wasn¡¯t an ¡®excuse me.¡¯¡± Sebastian¡¯s voice was just too icy compared to her friend¡¯s normal sunny but doormat like demeanor. He wasn¡¯t making eye contact with me so I twisted away from him as I turned myself around to speak to them myself. It was clear whoever it was had him on edge but she couldn¡¯t have expected it to be the exact same person she¡¯d been planning on introducing him to tonight. ¡°Freddie!?¡± Violent Fetishes The surprise of meeting Freddy was enough to send us to the water station. Between the trauma of the memory and Freddy showing up right at that moment, it still felt hard to breathe but the water was cool enough to keep me grounded. I couldn¡¯t shake the emotions as easily as I could slap a smile on my face and Sebastian almost seemed mad at me for what happened, more so than it felt like he cared about what had happened to me. With everything she¡¯d been talking to Laburne about, maybe it was still happening, maybe she was still projecting the trauma onto him and not living in the present the way she was supposed to. ¡°¡­aye, you feel better? You haven¡¯t talked much since that little episode.¡± Seb¡¯s voice was kind of far off like my head was under water or inside an empty fishbowl. ¡°You know calling it that isn¡¯t going to help anything, do you even know how to take care of her when she gets triggered like that? Or do people like you only know how to traumatize others in this type of matter.¡± An old familiar voice spoke gruffly over Sebastian¡¯s as she tuned back in upon realizing she was too focused on the inner dialogue, she¡¯d been hyper-focused on her emotions every time she had a ¡°bad moment¡± lately and it was all that owl-eared, librarian of a therapist. Freddie Mack had been ¡®friends¡¯ with her for a couple of years now since she¡¯d met Wolf and the rest of The Clan, but she hadn¡¯t expected to see him here or anywhere else close to Dorchester. If you asked him he¡¯d tell you his attitude was justified by the stupidity of the recipient¡¯s offense, not that anyone else saw it the same way that he did. Since even the teachers refused to acknowledge his choice of spelling for his first name, she had always figured it was some sort of self-pride complex causing him to want to rage against the machine that is the The Man. Kaeri was also completely convinced he had some napoleon syndrome and daddy issues to figure out, again that was all thanks to spilling her life to the handsome Dr. LaBurne, and born in the wrong era with his interests and beliefs. ¡°Come on Freddie, you¡¯re being a Fred right now and it¡¯s not his fault, he knew there was a possibility we would run into Him.¡± Her tone coming out irritated, she wanted to cry but she wasn¡¯t going to let anyone see her being weak or useless again. So instead she got mad and shook herself free of the damned sick feeling and all the memories, she didn¡¯t care to remember how many times he¡¯d thrown her away and came back to rope her in. It was easy to tell him he was being too big of a dick and had bothered her, use his dad¡¯s name, his name as he was a junior, but he hated it. ¡°I thought you said you¡¯d never come back to the middle of the boonies after vacation ended, that there was nothing important enough up here. Right?¡± It was a bit more scathing than she wanted it to be but even if he didn¡¯t like her romantically he could have been nicer about answering her. Kae was the type to hold a grudge and she would admit it because it didn¡¯t matter if you ever apologized sincerely, it had hurt, and she wouldn¡¯t let it go. At least, again that was what the ¡®loving¡¯ Doctor would tell her about it, didn¡¯t matter it had made a lasting impression on her so it would stick around and haunt her for the rest of time. The worst of the worst was any time she¡¯d stay friendly with them, and then acted like they¡¯d never hurt her before, exactly the reason she felt so hostile towards him now. Gesturing to the venue, ¡°Last thing you texted me was the link to this forum and you haven¡¯t texted me since, so you don¡¯t get to yell at him for not knowing what to do for me when he was at least here the whole time.¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Kaeri! I also told you I was an asshole and not interested in getting to know anyone or dating so I didn¡¯t care what anyone thought of me. But you don¡¯t need to be that big of a cunt to me.¡± Freddie had a naturally sharp tongue and it only served to remind me that I Did care what others thought of me and didn¡¯t need anymore attention brought to us, especially tonight. I still wouldn¡¯t let him get away with giving Sebastian shit for something he used to cause and then never truly apologize for it, only ever saying the infuriating ¡°I¡¯m sorry but you just make me crazy sometimes.¡± ¡°Practice what you preach roadie. But You don¡¯t get to say anything about handling my triggers to anyone, especially not Sebastian.¡± Kaeri narrowed her eyes in a scathing look before she stepped up to refill her water bottle again and they made their way back to the main stage, feeling the music almost resonating with her skeletal system as comfortingly as a massage the closer they got. Seemed the boys had stopped bickering for the time being not wanting to make her attitude turn even more sour than it already was. The opening band was still setting a pleasant vibe for the warehouse space they were in and almost seemed to have been built to be used for this exact purpose, though it was probably just the metal walls giving the added reverberation. It happened to be a favorite and she did her best to use festival etiquette as she made her way to her favorite place in any live music event. Just behind center front stage, no crushing bodies to worry about because they were all in front of you but it was the best place to feel the music from every direction. Grinning from ear to ear she was long over moments past and began melting into the crowd following her own dopamine high from the energy pulsing through the crowd of fans. Raising her voice, she acknowledged the awkward quiet between the boys and chose to ignore it. ¡°This is my favorite song right now! I¡¯m gonna get closer, come on Sebastian!¡± Kaeri had no clue what her friend said as she grabbed his hand and moved forward, gently swaying onlookers and the casual listener gave way to more energetic bodies as they made their way. His hand never left hers and it felt warmer than usual against her palm, but she held Seb¡¯s hand fast. She pushed until just before the crowd became a manic jumble of bodies thrashing to a song that lamented the horrors of hiding your true self for society¡¯s sake when they¡¯re no different, inhibitions be damned and let your violence out to the heart pounding song. It was her favorite song to play when she had had a bad day and needed nothing more than a few rounds of pure unadulterated grinding away in one of Otherworld¡¯s many rifle frolics. A big reason the band was here performing for this special crowd, after all you had to have league status with a top guild to even know about the forum that held the invite information. Letting that thought fade into the background she turned to Sebastian still grinning widely and held their hands up with a come here motion from her free, it was very near impossible to hear each other from this position in the concert venue and she knew it. When he didn¡¯t seem to get her meaning right away Kaeri pulled him closer by their held hands and spoke in a solid tone next to his ear. ¡°Dance with me? Just don¡¯t let go, okay.¡± There was a sharp intake of breath from him as she squeezed his hand and she pulled away enough to see his face looking odd, not funny but off like he might feel sick to his stomach, embarrassed maybe. Sebastian¡¯s eye¡¯s changed so quickly though it was hard to tell the two emotions apart in that moment. In a mere blink it seemed he had changed it back up to just a surprised expression and gave me a nod before I could even convince myself I had actually seen the first expression. Before I could follow the thought to ask we were swaying with the rollercoaster melody that could insight the occasional mini head bang or fist pump and finished off with a mild ego lifting air drum. Kaeri¡¯s heart felt light and her chest felt a little tight as she realized how much she had been moving, it had worked up a little bit of heavy breathing for her but it felt amazing and freeing to let her body move with the music. Your Guardian Angels Lunch By the end of the first bands set Sebastian was practically holding onto me for support. Dragging him towards the water station ended when they got close enough to some of the food vendors for Kaeri to smell something mouthwatering. Stopping in front of the vendor after depositing her friend in an open chair she found the delicious smell was actually MexiCali style fish tacos and the birria this food truck was apparently highly reviewed for, she tried to remember to scan its QR code or snap a picture of their Facebook page info. ¡°One fish taco and a double birria please.¡± All the wonderful smells weren¡¯t friendly to her stomach since she¡¯d had a longish drive and several sets since she had eaten, and coffee and a donut didn¡¯t count for much. Now that she thought about it she caught the truck attendants attention and asked for 2 colas for a sugar boost while they ate. Whatever the bird of a boy didn¡¯t eat she¡¯d eat happily. ¡°Thanks.¡± Paying the vendor and headed to her still breathless friend with the food and drinks balanced like a waitress, ¡°thanks mom¡± flitted across her mind at the act. That one summer was what lead her to love cooking and taking up home economics as an elective instead of extra physical education classes. ¡°Are you gonna make it lover boy? You need my inhaler or did you learn to listen when I say take it easy? Cola.¡± Kaeri wiggled the soda can between her thumb and two fingers around eye level for the recovering twiggy boy, he really needed to figure out how to gain weight with all the growth spurts. ¡°You keep getting taller and your skins gonna be painted over your bones. I grabbed fish tacos and birria, what are you up for today? Chicken of the sea or beef, the age old question.¡± Sebastian finally laughed, a huff like guffaw that almost left him like he¡¯d lost his breath, ¡°I¡¯m just not used to this kind of thing Kae-bug.¡± If he wasn¡¯t her best friend she¡¯d have whipped around and slapped him as she ruffled through her signature, a.k.a. favorite, shoulder bag she realized it had been a long time since he¡¯d used that nickname but she still didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°Ew, you remember that? Why bring that one up again all of a sudden, I don¡¯t run from spider¡¯s anymore uh as much. Seb-Seb¡± She mocked him back assuming he was trying to give a jab at her for being a mother hen as usual, but for once she was just trying to making sure he was going to get the most out of his first music festival and rave scene. Once upon a time she¡¯d made the mistake of going all out from the minute she got to the venue and well she went home early. With sun poisoning. Dehydration and sunshine go together to make a horrible vacation hooked up to an IV drip, covered in silver sulfadiazine cream. Kaeri wouldn¡¯t wish that pain on her worst enemy. But his face looked serious, still smiling but serious, as if he just wanted to use his nickname for me. ¡°What¡± She asked with a nervous giggle, it was impossible to stop once she was aware that she might be missing something important. Or worse when she embarrassed herself for any reason, and oh the anger it stirred in her to be mocked for it. ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with me calling you your old nickname. Is That what you thought made me give you that nickname? Because you used to run to me and hide screaming about spiders?¡± Sebastian¡¯s face darkened a little and she didn¡¯t know what to make of it, did she upset him for thinking that? All she could think was ¡°great I¡¯ve pissed him off for real this time, and better not flinch if he swings. But this is Sebastian we¡¯re talking about; he¡¯d never hit us.¡± ¡°Well what else was it supposed to be about?¡± She didn¡¯t understand and the song playing at a stage closest to them happened to be yet another favorite of hers. Lamenting vocals in a pun k rock melody floating to my ears with memories. Such a good song, Ronnie Winter¡¯s really had a way of expressing his feelings and I had always vibed with it because I too had lost people that I should have been there to protect. Wanting to be someone¡¯s guardian angel wasn¡¯t so wrong, especially with so many school shootings around the country. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it There probably wasn¡¯t a single live event ever that had gone off without a hitch and this one was no different, as right then in the second chorus of that beautiful melody she loved, a speaker caught fire as it sparked and ceased working. It was then that she knew they rest of the concerts until the rave, and even the rave really, might not be happening now. Kaeri hoped like hell that they would contain the small fire, it was just a matter of having the fire marshal clear them for safe operation which wouldn¡¯t happen if the fire spread from the one speaker or managed to set off the sprinkler system. She never meant to ignore her best friend or prevent him from answering her query, but their conversation never finished. Nor did she forget the sad look on his face when she asked what else it could have been about, it had looked hurt, more like the look of a sad animal that had been offended. It was now going to haunt her for life knowing she had angered and offended her best friend without so much as a clue to how. Roadies were rushing around the stage by the time they had gotten close enough to try and see the damage themselves. Body guards kept us far away from the stage in comparison to their usual line of defense but since it was a dangerous situation and they still needed to keep the celebrity¡¯s safe it tracked logically. She could make out the speaker that had been toppled onto its face assumably to help smother the electrical fire men who brought along the CO2 extinguishers were also suffocating the flames and it looked like emergency exits had been propped open to allow more air flow for everyone else. All I did was stare into the extinguishers plumes and hope while mindlessly eating my birria, it was much more delicious than the fish taco Sebastian had said no to and she knew it was because there was less fresh cilantro to consume. Much to her chagrin she¡¯d been cursed, to taste soap whenever she ate or smelled fresh cilantro, by her own DNA. ¡°I don¡¯t know if we are going to get to the rest of the bands today, they might cut some sets to keep the rave or cut the rave to save money from having to cut professional bands out of the event.¡± Kaeri groaned inwardly to herself, turning to look at Sebastian in the process, his face was hard and flat. I can¡¯t read what he¡¯s feeling or tell what he¡¯s thinking as if I don¡¯t know the person standing in front of me like the back of my hand anymore. ¡°Yeah? Does that mean we¡¯ll have to leave or like get a refund or some shit like that.¡± Sebastian¡¯s voice sounded flat and hollow, like he wasn¡¯t putting any kind of emotion behind it at all. ¡°Are you okay? Did the birria mess up your stomach or something? Oh maybe I should have given you water to cool down before you ate.¡± She knew she wasn¡¯t batting 1000 and he should have been having way more fun, but something had changed between them since they took a break for food and drinks. It was almost as palpable as a touch, a pulling feeling in her stomach telling her something felt unsafe or bad now and it was clearly affecting her friend. ¡°Sebastian?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± He startled a little bit as she changed her tone to say his name. ¡°Nah I¡¯m not sick, um I guess you could say I¡¯m just a little drained from dancing still.¡± She wanted to call him out on his bullshit and remind him this was supposed to be fun when a familiar voice called her name and his eyes seemed to harden into an angry expression aimed just over her shoulder. Looking to her 10 o¡¯clock she didn¡¯t see anyone and turned back to face him, ¡°What¡¯s. Wrong?¡± ¡°Kaeri! I¡¯ve been looking for you since the speaker shorted out.¡± Freddie¡¯s voice was just behind her now. ¡°Hm?¡± His face changed again, looking innocent as he made eye contact with her, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m just low on energy right now. Sounds like you¡¯re needed though so maybe we can swing by a stall to grab an energy drink while we wait for the damage report.¡± Sebastian tried to maintain a happy neutral expression as Freddie put a hand on her shoulder and swung around her left to stand beside them, explaining why she hadn¡¯t seen him even when she could hear his voice. It was too late to switch back to her best friend¡¯s interrogation as Freddie started explaining how the speaker was the bands oldest one and was put out successfully. That the bands all chose to cut their least popular set song so the event wouldn¡¯t suffer too much and the Rave would just be starting a little later than it was scheduled for the event. And of course, since the sprinkler system wasn¡¯t set off the fire marshal wouldn¡¯t have to shut us down entirely. Freddie finished with some of the best news she could have heard after something kind of tragic, especially if you were the band that owned the speaker. ¡°Everybody realized that most of the Hail Mary¡¯s Iron Maiden¡¯s equipment wasn¡¯t much newer than the speaker that fried so there¡¯s also going to be donation boxes to help get them more. They¡¯ve been unsigned thus far and they deserve a major label deal, so everyone decided that an impromptu Get Funds would help them to improve their equipment.¡± Drop the Boss Act 1 Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Boss Room Stolen story; please report.