Harbour Lights

Will was a rock star.

Sometimes he liked it, sometimes he didn't. There were some quirks about it here and there that made it seem less...dazzling. There were shit-show parties, there were fakes, and there were drugs. Those aspects made the whole Hollywood rock star image a bit darker.

But most of the time he liked being in a band. And those certain dark aspects made things a bit edgier, which made Will like it even more. Life's no fun without a little danger.

Besides, it's not like he could expect everything to be perfect.

He could expect everything to be going smoothly, though – at least for tonight. Tonight his band was playing at an outdoor concert, and this time they weren't the pathetic opening band; they were the band. Well, actually, they were the only band. But then again, they were playing right here in Ogunquit, so it's not like they were actually planning on some big show with a huge stadium and flashing lights.

No, this concert was much more…chill. Adam, as the lead singer and therefore the self-proclaimed leader of the band, managed to convince Jesse, Joe and Will to play here tonight. "You know, as like, a gift to our homies," Adam had joked, and Will threw the French fry he was eating at Adam's face for trying to talk like a black person again.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Adam had said. He explained that tonight was a freebie night – as in no one had to pay for their tickets. He wasn’t interested in making money; he just wanted everyone to hear the band for themselves and catch a glimpse at “our godly musical powers before we become too famous for our own damn good.”

Will rolled his eyes at Adam's choice of words, but he couldn't help but feel compelled to agree to do this. He could finally show that all of those years of playing guitar instead of doing well in school were finally going to pay off. He wanted to show the gossipers of Ogunquit that he wasn't a worthless trouble-maker that never went to college and that he was actually going somewhere in life. And doing the concert here would give him the opportunity to play a farewell song for everyone; this could act as his goodbye to Ogunquit and all its shitty inhabitants. Because he knew that as soon as the band made enough money to pay for plane tickets to California, he was out of here.

"All right, whatever," Will finally gave in and Adam grinned.

◊ ◊ ◊

Marilyn was a coward.

She knew it and so did everyone else. She could feel the glares upon her as she walked through the town center. She tried to ignore it but the stinging wouldn't stop. For the first time ever she wished that she lived in a different town – a bigger town – so that no one would know who she was and what she did. But this was Ogunquit, and everyone knew her, and everyone hated her.

Maybe she deserved it. Maybe she brought it upon herself; she's the one that ran away in the first place. And it's her fault she came back. When someone runs away from a place, especially in the way that Marilyn did, they’re not supposed to come back. They’re supposed to be gone for good.

When Marilyn left, everyone thought she had disappeared forever. It was like she was dead. So when she suddenly came back for supposedly no reason, it was as if she had returned from the grave. It was unsettling for the townspeople. But what did she expect? A welcome home party?

It's not like she could expect everything to be perfect.

Marilyn's old friends were more annoyed and angry than anyone else. When she left, she hurt them. They lost a friend – no, it was worse than that; their friend abandoned them. At first they were lost and confused as to how she could forget them so easily, and they finally came up with the conclusion that she was selfish and afraid. It took them weeks – even months – to heal the wounds she created, and by coming back she was cutting open old scars and then rubbing salt in them. And that's why her old friends were so pissed. They were dumbfounded as to why she was stupid enough to come back to a place that hated her, but at least they knew one thing for certain: they sure as hell weren't about to welcome her back with open arms. She was an undeserving bitch and she wasn't worthy of forgiveness.

She was really surprised, then, when Adam began talking to her.

"I heard you were back in town, but I couldn't really believe it until I saw it with my own eyes."

Marilyn stopped in her tracks and spun to see the familiar blue-haired lead singer. When she had left his hair was still a natural blond color, and the blue was a bit shocking at first, but it didn't take long for her to recognize an old friend.

"Adam?" she asked feebly. "I – what are you doing here?"

"Well, I sort of live here," he laughed. "The real question is, what are you doing here?"

At that she blushed and didn't say anything.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way," he apologized quickly.

"No, no, it's fine. I just thought that – I mean..." Her words trailed off and an awkward silence ensued. Adam waited for her to continue. "I thought you hated me," she finally finished. "The same way everyone else hates me."

"Nah," he shrugged. "You're still the same person, Mare, even though you look a bit different. Besides, we all mess up sometimes."

Marilyn didn't really know what to say to that, but she was suddenly aware of how grateful she was that Adam was such a forgiving person. He was carefree and always went with his own opinion; he didn't give a damn what others thought. Maybe that explained the blue hair.

"Listen, we used to be pretty good friends," he continued, "and I just thought I'd like to keep it that way."

"But why?" she blurted out. "I mean, we haven't seen each other for two years. And Will…"

"Forget about Billy." Adam shrugged. "He's a PMSing little girl."

"Won't he get mad if he knows you're talking to me?" she questioned.

"Ha. Probably," he said. "But he'll get over it. You and I were friends first – he only met you through me. Finders keepers." He winked. "Besides, I think it's better than to keep a friend than to make enemies, don't you?"

"Yeah," she sighed, "I just wish everyone else thought like that."

"Fuck everyone else. No one here has lives because all they do is talk about other people. You happen to be headline news right now, Mare."

"You don't need to tell me that," she laughed, starting to relax a little, "I already know." She felt comfortable around Adam and was beginning to loosen up a bit. Besides, it was refreshing to find someone to talk to besides her mom.

"So listen," Adam began, "the band's playing a concert tonight. I want you to come."

"Um," she said, and the fleeting smile on her face disappeared. "I don't know."

"Please?"

"I'm busy."

"Marilyn, shut up. I know you're not going to be busy. There's nothing to do in this old town, and besides, it's not like you have anyone – " He stopped short.

It's not like I have anyone else to hang out with, Marilyn finished the sentence in her thoughts. "Nobody will want me to be there," she said instead.

"Well, fuck them."

She sighed. "Do I have a choice?"

"Yeah, you do," he said with a grin. "You could say no if you really want to, but then I'll just go over to your house and kidnap you."

Marilyn had a really, really bad feeling about this. However, she couldn't say no to her friend – her only friend, for that matter.

"All right, whatever," she finally sighed and Adam grinned.