A Coloring Storybook and Long-Playing Record

Jezebel arrived at The Fillmore in Detroit around nine with a very unenthusiastic Henderson and a vivacious Gavin at both her sides. Gavin was 'ready to rock' as he so eloquently put it in the car ride over here whereas Henderson was only interested in downing mass amounts of alcohol at the bar in order to make the evening out tolerable. Jezebel wasn't exactly happy to be there but tried her best to keep an open mind so Gavin wouldn't complain. She just wanted to get this night over with so she could go home and try to sleep.

The show was already underway with the second to last band on stage. Gavin pulled Jezebel along through the crowd as Henderson quickly veered off in the direction of the bar. She was worried about letting him wander off by himself but didn't have much choice in objecting to Gavin's demand to follow him since he had firm grip on her wrist so he wouldn't lose her in the crowd.

The room was rather large with a large mass of people pushing from side to side as they made their way further into the crowd. She had no idea why Gavin felt the need to go all the way to the front of the crowd to watch the show but she had a feeling that because of the violence of the crowd, she'd be sore and bruised tomorrow. She didn't feeling like being squished in the front of the crowd but she had little choice now. There was no way out other than being lifted out and she didn't really want people groping her as she made her way to the front of the stage.

Gavin eventually stopped dragging her along when they reached the second row to the barrier in the dead center of the arena. Jezebel was squashed closely to the person in front of her, small girl like her that was thankfully shorter than her so she could still see. She found herself growing warm rather quickly and was glad that she opted to keep her jacket in the car so it wouldn't get ruined or sweaty. Gavin owed her big time for this. She was at a concert the day before her ballet rehearsals and had no idea what band she was seeing. It wasn't really her idea of fun at the moment.

Gavin noticed his friend's solemn face and sighed, turning his attention back to the unknown opening band. He wanted to take Jezebel out in hopes that she would forget everything that happened in the last month. She was always the type of girl to take on other people's issues before her own. The only person that seemed to make her act jealously every once in a while was now gone. He didn't know what to do in order to help her though. She never showed any emotions that dealt with the loss. For all he knew, she could be handling it well but he had a feeling that she just bottled it all up and shoved it far away so she wouldn't have to deal with it. She hated feeling like a burden to others, even though she wasn't. He just had her best interest at heart.

Fifteen minutes after they arrived, the second to last band ended their set, which Jezebel was thankful for because all they did was scream the entire time. She was normally a fan of singers that scream but not for ninety-five percent of their set. She preferred a balance and she enjoyed actually hearing the lyrics. She was not a big fan of the last band. In fact, she thought that she felt a headache coming on from the way they carried on with their vocals.

She watched as the stage crew started swapping out band equipment to prepare for the main band's performance. She looked around the stage and noticed banners being placed in front of the amps with a decorated 'C' in blue font plastered on the front of them, making her wonder who these people were. The crowd seemed very eager to see the next band because from what she caught on from pieces of conversations, they were locals.

"Hey Gavin!" she yelled in his ear so he would hear her.

"Yeah babe?" he asked back in the same manner.

"Who's the band that we're seeing tonight?" she asked.

"They're called Chiodos. They're really good," he replied.

"They're not anything like the last band, are they?" she wondered, hoping that they wouldn't cause her headaches.

"Not really. They're hardcore so they scream but their singer's really good. I think you'll like them," he grinned.

She nodded, satisfied with Gavin's judgment. He normally knew what she liked, with the exception of the time that he tried to introduce her to Underoath, once band that she just couldn't accept musically. Something about them really bothered her so she never tried to listen to them again after that night Gavin burned his mixed CD for her. Normally he was a good judge of her taste but that single time, he was horribly wrong.

Jezebel looked around, trying to see behind her in attempt to spot Henderson to make sure he was alright. She worried about him. He was a little unstable with his emotions at the moment so if alcohol was added to the mix, she wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to him. She didn't need to bail him out of jail for getting into a drunken fist fight tonight. She didn't have money that would cover bail.

"Stop looking for him. He'll be alright," Gavin said reassuringly.

"I can't help it. I'm worried about him Gavin. He's not in his right mind," she replied.

"I know that but he's there and we're stuck here. Just try and have a good time tonight," he said, wrapping an arm protectively around her shoulders.

Jezebel sighed, knowing Gavin was right. There was nothing she could do for him at the moment. She was stuck in the front of the crowd with her roommate and there was no way that she could leave easily. She just hoped that this band, Chiodos, would hurry up and hit the stage so the show would be over with. She just wanted to leave.

Less than twenty yards away, Craig Owens nervously sat on the black leather couch in a room backstage with the rest of his band. He continuously drummed his fingers along his thigh, unable to take his mind off the girl from the café. He felt like a fool for obsessing so much over someone he barely knew but when they spoke for the brief ten minutes today, he felt something with her, a type of connection that was completely indescribable to anything else he'd ever felt before. The feelings that arose from brief encounter were some of the strongest feeling that the twenty four year old had experienced.

His band mates seemed to notice a change in his behavior from this morning, especially his lead guitarist, Jason Hale. Jason had kept his eye on Craig most of the day and noticed that he was a lot more anxious tonight than before, prompting him to wonder if he was off his medication again. Jason didn't want to suspect something like that because it would only cause worry amongst the other band mates if it was brought up but it was a plausible explanation. He didn't want to see his friend in the hospital once again. The one time was all he needed to know how much it would hurt if they had actually lost him.

Craig sprang to his feet, walking into he bathroom that his keyboardist, Bradley Bell, was current in, styling his messy hair around the white headband he had on his head. Craig turned on the faucet, letting the cold water run through his trembling fingers and pool in his palms. He leaned over the sink bowl, splashing some of the water on his face in order to snap himself out of the nervousness he felt.

Bradley cast a sideways glance at the lead singer, wondering what had him so nervous when he noticed the vacant expression behind his eyes. He knew that look all too well. It meant that a certain member of the opposite sex was occupying his thoughts. It was obvious to him because it was the same look he got when he started thinking about his wife who happened to be in the next room waiting for them to hit the stage. Bradley only hoped that he wasn't thinking about his recent ex-girlfriend, Brea Rowley. She was a destructive force of nature that none of his friends and family wanted to see again.

"So," Bradley began, gaining Craig's attention away from thoughts of the beautiful girl from six hours ago, "who's the girl?"

Craig looked Bradley in confusion, furrowing his eyebrows together as the keyboardist continued messing with his curly locks in the mirror. Craig wiped the water dripping down from his face off with a paper towel, trying to think of an answer. He didn't want to mention her yet, knowing it would jinx his chances of seeing her tonight so he just shook his head and decided to play dumb.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied fluidly.

"Sure Craigery," he scoffed. "Just please tell me that it's not Brea you're thinking about so you can put my worried mind to rest," Bradley requested genuinely, turning to face Craig.

"Brea? Are you kidding?" Craig laughed at the outrageous assumption. Any thoughts concerning Brea Rowley, his ex-girlfriend of a year, would be negative and his thoughts were definitely not negative. He shook his head, unable to stop smiling at the ludicrous suggestion, "its ok Brad. I promise Brea had nothing to do with it."

"Why are you talking about that bitch?" the scruffy-bearded drummer asked walking into the bathroom to look over his 'mountain man' do.

"It's nothing Derrick. Brad's just lost his damn mind," Craig explained, running a hand through his blonde locks.

"Good because I really hated that bitch," he grumbled before walking out of the bathroom.

"I swear, Derrick just grows more absent-minded with time," Brad said aloud, focusing his attention to his reflection in the mirror once again.

Craig walked out of the bathroom just in time to hear Matt inform everyone of the stage call. Everyone started filing out of the room and towards the direction of the stage, hearing the crowd screaming once the lights dimmed. Along the way, roadies handed off instruments to the correct men, Jason and Pat receiving their guitars and Matt grabbing his bass. Derrick had his sticks in his back pocket the whole time while Bradley and Craig's instruments awaited them on the stage.

Bradley's wife, Emily, gave all the guys hugs, wishing them luck before her husband whisked her away for a few pre-show kisses. Andrea, Matt's wife, stood in between Craig and Matt as they anxiously waited to take the stage. Matt's long, lanky arm was wrapped around the smaller woman, pulling her closer to him as Craig stood there, sneaking glances out at the crowd in hopes of seeing the girl in the crowd. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't really make anyone out clearly due to the dimed house lights.

"Chiodos on stage!" a stage tech called over the top of the screaming fans.

Everyone nodded and waited for their cue, Bradley heading out on stage first to begin the piano introduction. Everyone else soon followed, leaving Craig behind who wouldn't appear on stage until "All Nereids Beware". Craig started jumping in place to get his heart rate up a bit before hitting the stage, hoping that it would make him less nervous than he already felt. There was added pressure to this performance because not only was it in his home state but he also needed to connect with the girl today. He needed to impress her.

The opening for the first song started, sending the crowd into a frenzy as Craig wandered out on the stage, smiling a bit before he grabbed the microphone and growled the opening lyrics into it. Craig put everything he could into the performance, taking the mic off its stand and wandering around the stage, singing with all his might. He scanned the sea of kids in the front rows, wondering if he'd spot her at all. He didn't know if she would actually show up tonight or not but he hoped she was there. He didn't want to wait until some other time to talk to her.

It was nearing the end of the first song and Craig still hadn't been able to find her. He was beginning to lose hope until he noticed the familiar looking shaggy haired guy from earlier. He figured that she would be there with him because he was a familiar friendly face. He looked to the sides of the familiar man and finally, his eyes lay upon her beautiful face that seemed to be scrunched up in agonizing pain from the harsh shoves of the crowd. Though he knew she was utterly miserable, he was happy that she was here tonight. This meant he would be able to speak to her again.

Jezebel hadn't been at a show in so long that she forgot how rough the crowd could get. Once the band started up, she felt her ribcage breaking into pieces from being smashed against someone else's back. There was little room to breathe and everyone around her seemed to be fighting for the same spot against the barrier. She couldn't believe how violent everyone was getting but she understood why. This band was the main event; everyone had paid their money to see them tonight and now that they were finally on stage, they were ready to have a good time.

Gavin was part of the group that was jumping around and screaming out the lyrics along with the singer. She hadn't been able to get a good look at the lead singer yet because she had been trying to protect her face from the crowd surfers flying overhead and the towering giants behind her that felt the need to shove their arms over her so she couldn't breathe. She heard him singing and screaming into the microphone though, his growls ferocious and not as unbearable as the last band's guttural vocalist was.

The singing, though, was the thing that caught her attention most of all. His voice was light and airy against the harsh guitar riffs and pounding drums in the background. She hadn't really heard high range vocals like that before, aside from a few select bands in the past but nothing like this singer. His screaming seemed to compliment the fragility his singing voice brought to the music, something she was enjoying more than she thought she would. All she wanted now was a chance to see the person that was spouting such emotional genius from his lips.

The first song ended and the crowd began to roar with excitement. Jezebel remained silent though, trying her best to make some space so she could breathe once again. When she finally got some room, however, she was smashed against the person in front of her once again, causing more pain in her ribs. It was pointless. She wouldn't be able to get any breathing room no matter how hard she tried. She'd just have to tough it out and wait.

"Thanks for coming out tonight. We're Chiodos and we're happy to be back here tonight in Detroit!" the lead singer said into the microphone, causing more screams from the sea of people in the crowd.

The band didn't say another word. They just launched right into the next song as Jezebel heard the familiar phrase from earlier in her day that caught her attention.

"If I live to see you again, I'd take out my eyes," the singer growled into the microphone, gazing out into the front of the crowd.

Jezebel fought the annoying man behind her that kept trying to blind and suffocate her so she could catch a glimpse of the singer who was on stage. Her heart sped up at the thought of seeing the mystery lyricist once again, especially since she wound up being near the front row at his concert. She thought that the last time she'd see him was this afternoon at the café. She didn't know that he was the one performing tonight. If she knew that, she would've been more than willing to be dragged with Gavin rather than trying to put up a fight the moment he arrived at the café after her shift to pick her up.

Finally, she was able to see the stage clearly and when she looked, her eyes fell upon the familiar blonde from earlier she thought she'd never see again. Their eyes seemed to connect in that moment and she felt herself smiling, finally able to hear his art rather than just read it. Craig realized that she was watching him now with full recognition and he thought he would send her a gesture of acknowledgement meant only for her. He winked in her direction, unable to stop himself from grinning as he growled into the microphone.

Jezebel watched in amazement as the man from earlier paraded around on the stage, singing and screaming his heart out but still managing to keep up enough energy to interact with the crowd. At one point during the show, she watched as he hopped down from the stage and crawled out into the sea of people, being held up by the many eager fans willing to touch their idol and continuing to sing along to the music. Craig tried to make his way towards her but was pulled back by security before he got lost in the crowd of fans. Jezebel had never seen someone so exuberant outside of her dance class before until today. He seemed genuinely happy to be on stage, singing to a room full of people and it made Jezebel smile to know that there was someone else out there that loved their job.

The rest of the show went on without a hitch. Jezebel fought the rest of the crowd in order to keep her eyes on the charismatic man from earlier in the day. Craig tried his best to look at everyone else in the audience but failed miserably, his gaze always falling back onto the beautiful waitress that overpowered his thoughts. Jason and Matt, his band mates, seemed to notice that he was favorably focusing on one section of the crowd but couldn't make out who it was with all the screaming fans.

The only one that seemed to get anything out of the longing stares of their front man was Bradley, who followed his eyes to a pretty, petite girl near the front who seemed just as swept up in staring as Craig was. He just grinned in approval of such a pretty girl for Craig while he formulated his plan for them to speak after the show. If this was the girl that seemed to brighten his friend's day then he was more than willing to arrange a way for them to continue their mild flirtation.

The show ended with the song containing Jezebel's favorite line of his. What made the line even better was the way it spilled out of his lips as he sang it. Hearing that line come out of his mouth, Jezebel felt a shiver run down her spine. It was absolutely perfect. She didn't think there was anything else that would make her love the line more than she did but she was wrong because his voice seemed to add to how amazing the song really was.

The band quickly wrapped up their performance, all the sweaty band mates making their way off stage to change out of their smelly clothes as Bradley wandered over to security momentarily, whispering in their ears and pointing in the direction Craig had been looking all night long. Once he got the nod of approval from security, he walked off with the rest of his band, jogging a bit to catch up with the rest of the group. Craig looked at him with a raised eyebrow, confused as to what kept him on stage.

"What was that about?" Craig asked.

"My foot got tangled up in the equipment again. No biggie," the keyboardist lied with a suspicious grin on his face.

"Sure," Craig said in disbelief, letting the subject drop as they reached the backstage room they occupied before.

Jezebel and Gavin were standing in their same spots near the front of the stage, waiting for the crowd to clear out so they could make their way out of the venue and attempt to find their friend. Jezebel felt a tap on her left shoulder, making her turn back towards the stage to see a tall, burly security guard with red hair and a few freckles sprinkled along his cheeks standing before her.

"Ma'm, could you come with me for a moment?" he asked with a deep voice.

Jezebel looked at Gavin, confused as to why a security guard was asking her to follow him. Had she broken some kind of rule she didn't know of when she was watching the performance? Was she in some kind of trouble? Did they somehow know she walked in with Henderson, who was now in trouble somewhere? She had no idea what was going on and neither did Gavin, which prompted him to speak up.

"Why?" Gavin asked harshly, wrapping a protective arm over her shoulders.

"I was asked to bring her backstage to see the band," he replied, not very intimidated by Gavin's tone.

"She's not going alone," Gavin told the redhead.

"Alright then," he shrugged, unfazed by the insistence of Gavin to tag along. "Walk over to the gate and I'll let you in," he instructed, walking towards the far right hand side of the stage.

Jezebel and Gavin followed the security guard, walking over to the gate that would allow them into the security pit. Jezebel noticed a few girls glaring at her as she walked past, unsure of why they seemed to be staring at her with hate. She assumed it had to do with going backstage to see the band but she didn't give it much thought. In all honesty, her stomach was in knots at the thought of another conversation with the man from the café.

"Why are you being asked to see the band now?" Gavin asked quietly as they trailed behind the security guard.

"Well, I met the singer earlier today. He was at the café when I was on shift," she explained, nervously wringing her hands together.

"He was there?" he asked in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, he was sitting near the window and writing in some notebooks," she told him.

"Oh! Man, I didn't recognize him then!" Gavin said in realization.

"And here I thought you would recognize him since he is the front man of one of your favorite bands," she laughed.

"Sorry. I'm not so star struck. Beyoncé could walk into our café and I wouldn't notice," he replied.

"I don't know how you wouldn't notice someone as beautiful as Beyoncé but whatever," she shrugged, feeling nervous butterflies in her stomach flapping away at full speed.

"How could I notice her when you're right there in front of me?" he said smoothly. "Besides, I have a feeling you're a lot more flexible than she is and I like a girl that can bend and twist like a pretzel," he added with a wink.

Jezebel shook her head, letting out a small laugh at her ridiculous friend but not saying another word. She, suddenly, became very aware that she was standing outside of the band dressing room where the beautiful stranger was most likely unwinding from the show. Something about him really made her nervous; this was weird for her since she was usually very outgoing and fearless. Since tragedy struck, she hadn't been the same girl.

The redheaded security guard opened the door for Gavin and Jezebel, allowing both of them to enter the room. Taking in a deep breath, Jezebel built up the courage to nod in affirmation to her friend, signaling she was ready to walk into the room with him. They stepped through the doorway and into the smaller space, noticing eight people milling around in post-show euphoria. They all paused in their actions, staring at the two intruders questioningly.

Craig couldn't help the smile that was slowly forming upon his lips as he caught sight of her beautiful blue eyes. She stood there nervously in the doorway, her shaggy-haired friend standing close beside her and his arm draped protectively around her shoulders, as Craig felt his own nerves eating away at him. He wasn't sure how she got backstage or why but he was sure glad he had another opportunity to speak to this girl again. He glanced over at Bradley, who was smirking at the lead singer conspicuously as Craig finally pieced it together. Somehow, Bradley was the one that put the pieces together and for that, Craig was completely grateful.

Jezebel shifted her weight from side-to-side nervously under everyone's questioning gaze. She wasn't sure what everyone's thoughts were in the room but she found herself feeling extremely uncomfortable being the center of all the attention in the room. Gavin seemed to notice her uneasiness and started rubbing the side her upper arm in order to provide some kind of comfort for her. She noticed a pair of feet shuffling forward, stopping directly in front of her and forcing her gaze away from the ratty Vans to the owner's face.

"Fancy seeing you again," Craig smiled shyly at the girl, moving some of the hair from his eyes.

"I didn't know you were performing tonight," she replied honestly, tucking stray hair that fell from her messy bun behind her ear. "But you guys were really good."

"Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves," Craig replied, directing the statement to both the girl and the guy that was still holding onto her. "I'm Craig by the way. I know that I forgot to mention my name before when we had a discussion in the café."

"Jezebel," she replied with a genuine smile. "And this is Gavin," she added, gesturing to the shaggy black haired man beside her.

"Nice to meet you both officially," Craig laughed.

"No, it's really an honor. I'm a big fan of your band," Gavin beamed, shaking Craig's hand enthusiastically.

"I appreciate that," Craig replied, glancing to the other members of his band that were still looking at the three of them questioningly. "Let me introduce you to everyone else in the band," he offered, gesturing to the different people.

Jezebel watched as Craig pointed out the different individuals of the band, trying to keep track of all their names. The guy with the weird brown hair and septum piercing was Jason and he played guitar. The tall skinny guy with the friendly smile was Matt, who played bass, and the short brunette beside him was Andrea, his wife. The guy sitting on the black couch with the long, scraggily brown hair and scruffy beard was Derrick, who played drums and the skinny 'normal' looking guy beside him was named Pat and he also played guitar. The last guy with the white headband and arms wrapped around his wife with the long, brown hair, Emily, was named Bradley and he played keyboard. Jezebel wasn't sure how she was going to keep track of the names of such a large group but she politely shook everyone's hands, Gavin following suit behind her.

"So," Andrea began, taking a seat on her husband's lap, "how did you all meet?" she asked, directing her question at Gavin and Jezebel.

"Well, Craig came into the café where we work before his show today," Jezebel answered.

"I didn't recognize him cuz normally my head's not all together when I'm working," Gavin chuckled. "But I guess Craig and Jezebel struck up a conversation during that time," he said teasingly toward Jezebel.

"Must have been some interesting conversation then," Emily said with a smirk.

"I thought it was," Craig smiled, glancing to Jezebel, who was blushing uncontrollably.

Jason noticed Craig's relaxed, upbeat presence in front of this new girl and felt relieved that he wasn't as disconnected as he was before the performance. He had a feeling that she was the reason that Craig was so anxious, which only made him wonder what kind of feelings he held for her. All he knew this far was that she was just some waitress that he had a brief conversation with at a café. What was so special about their exchange that made such an impact on the singer? What was so special about this girl?

The groups broke up into different conversations: Gavin chatting with Pat and Derrick on the couch comfortably, talking about music they like and dislike while Jezebel started a quick conversation with Matt and Andrea about the show. Craig watched her from the corner of his eye as he spoke with Emily and Bradley, not really paying attention to their words as much as he was paying attention to the movement of Jezebel's lips while she spoke.

There was something about the way this girl was put together that made him feel different. It was an emotion that he was familiar with but hadn't felt with such intensity. She made him curious, anxious, interested, comfortable, and most of all, inspired. Looking at her now, he could tell that she was extremely nervous around a room full of strangers but she tried her best to hide her discomfort. There was more to her than what was on the surface and he was dying to find it out.

"Looks like someone's in love," Bradley cooed in Craig's ear teasingly.

Craig snapped out of his thoughts and looked to the couple in front of him, both of them laughing at his dazed expression. Craig couldn't help the tiny smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he shook his head at his friend's suggestion. He knew that Emily and Bradley were kidding around with him but he couldn't help but shake the feeling that maybe a friendship with Jezebel could lead him down that road one day.

"She's quite the catch Craig," Emily complimented. "You should stop wasting time talking to us, people you can speak to any time you wish, and ask her to join you for a walk so you can get to know her better," she suggested.

"That's a good idea," Craig nodded. "Thanks Emily."

"Yeah, yeah, I know now quit stalling!" she said dismissively, pushing Craig away from her. "Go!"

Craig laughed but did what he was told, walking slowly towards Jezebel, who was currently laughing at something Matt had said about the tour that had just ended. He noticed that when she laughed, it didn't reach up to her eyes. She still held pain and sadness behind her amazingly blue eyes, which only intrigued him more. She was the mystery he had been waiting for. He felt compelled to make her happy, even if it was for a moment.

"Hey," he said, joining the conversation.

"Oh hey Craig," Andrea smiled. "We were just talking about the time Derrick wound up locked out of the bus at three in the morning with nothing but a pair of socks on," she explained.

"Oh yeah, that was pretty funny," he recalled, chuckling a bit at the memory. "He was pretty drunk that night."

"Sounds like touring has some pretty crazy moments," Jezebel said.

"Yeah, it can. Most of the time it's just us trying to sleep during the day while we drive to the next city for a show that night," Matt explained. "It's not as glamorous as it sounds. Living with five other dudes that smell isn't all it's cracked up to be."

She laughed, "I can imagine."

"So Jezebel, I was wondering if we could continue our conversation from earlier?" Craig said nervously, scratching the back of his neck with his hand.

"Sure," she nodded. "I wouldn't mind that."

"Shall we walk?" he asked, gesturing towards the door leading to the arena hallway.

"Ok," she replied quietly, tucking more stray hair behind her ear.

She walked past Craig to the door, glancing at Gavin as she walked. He was smiling at her when he noticed Craig following closely behind her. He was glad that there was someone that Jezebel was comfortable speaking with aside from Henderson and himself. He just hoped that Craig wasn't going to try anything that would require him to kick his ass later.

Craig fell into step with Jezebel as they walked down the long corridor towards the back of the arena. They were silent, both of them trying to find some way of starting the conversation off without sounding completely ridiculous. Jezebel wasn't sure what there was to say to Craig since she didn't talk to strangers all that often and Craig was trying to find some sort of way to say anything at all without sounding like a complete dork. Instead of speaking, they remained silent, hoping the other would speak up first.

Jezebel glanced over at Craig briefly, wondering what he was thinking at the moment when her foot caught the front of a small staircase leading up to the backdoor, sending her falling forward. Craig quickly intervened and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her back up as she held her arms out in front of her to brace her fall. Once she was righted against, she felt her cheeks tingeing pink in embarrassment as Craig smiled.

"You ok?" he asked after a moment.

"I'm fine," she nodded in reply. "Just a little embarrassed about my clumsiness."

"It's ok. We all have our moments from time to time," he said.

"I'm just glad you were there to help me up. That was very gentlemanly of you," she complimented.

"I try my best," he replied with a slight bow.

"So you knew I was coming tonight, didn't you?" she asked with amusement in her voice.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Once you admitted that you were tagging along with your friend to a show, I had a feeling this was the show you were talking about."

"Well, I must say, as someone that's not so familiar with your music, you guys were terrific," she beamed.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," he smiled.

"At first, I couldn't see a thing because there was someone behind me that was determined to squash me but I knew it was you the moment I head the 'King Lear' line in one of your songs. I must say, your vocal range is astounding," she said.

"You think so?" he mused.

She nodded, "Oh yes. Before I figured out it was you, I was thinking that I hadn't heard someone with such a high range before that mixed it with guttural growling like that before. It was a brilliant contrast with the heavy guitars in the background. I really enjoyed it."

"Thank you," Craig said graciously, feeling slightly embarrassed with the compliment of his singing.

"Are you blushing?" she asked, noticing his discomfort with accepting the compliment.

"Maybe. I have a hard time accepting praise from others sometimes," he admitted.

"It's ok. I'm the same way when it comes to my dancing," she replied.

"So you're a dancer?" he asked with intrigue. "What kind of dance do you do?"

"Mostly ballet. I dabble a bit in Broadway dancing and maybe a little bit of jazz but my true love is ballet," she said with a small smile. "It's something I've loved to do since I was a little girl."

"That's impressive," he told her. "The thought of pushing all your weight up on the tips of your toes just makes me cringe."

"Why's that?" she laughed.

"It would hurt, wouldn't it?" he asked.

"It did at first but I've built up a tolerance for it now," she shrugged.

"Can you do it right now?" he questioned with a glance towards her feet.

"I could but I would probably injury myself in these shoes," she said, holding her foot up to display her beat up black Chuck Taylors.

"Ok then I don't want you to do that. I don't want to be the one responsible for you hurting yourself," he said quickly.

"I'd be happy to show you one day when I have the proper shoes, if you'd like," she shrugged.

"I would like that," he smiled.

"Well, we'll have to arrange that sometime soon," she smiled, looking down at her ratty shoes.

Suddenly, Jezebel could feel her phone vibrating from her front pocket, the muffled tune of her ringtone slightly audible as she glanced up at Craig apologetically. Craig just shook his head a bit with a reassuring smile as she dug her phone out of the pocket of her dark skinny jeans. She had a feeling that it was either Gavin or the Detroit Police Department, though she hoped it wasn't the latter. She really didn't have the bail money to bust Henderson out of jail, not with rent due within the week.

'I'm not your boyfriend baby. I'm not you cute little sex toy. I'm not your lion or your tiger; won't be you nasty little boy,' the ringtone blared loudly as Jezebel held her vibrating flip phone in her hand, recognizing the ringtone to belong to Gavin's Caller ID.

She blushed a bit at the lyrical content of the ringtone and flipped it open, holding the receiver to her ear, "Hello?"

"Jezebel, you need to wrap up the conversation with your stud muffin so we can get Henderson home. He's fucking wasted and was about two steps away from getting his ass thrown into jail after a bar fight," Gavin explained as she heard shuffling in the background as well as incoherent slurring.

"Oh, ok. I'll be right there," she answered, flipping her phone closed.

"I take it that was your friend Gavin on the phone," Craig said, pushing his hair out of his eyes once the call ended.

"Yeah," she sighed disappointingly."We need to get our other roommate home to sleep off his drunken stupor so I should get going."

"Well before you do…" he said, catching her attention before she turned away.

He snatched the phone out of her hand quickly, flipping it open and programming his number into it. Jezebel looked as if she were going to protest, slightly glaring at the blonde man until she realized what he was doing, letting her glare fall from her face. He held the phone momentarily until he heard the familiar electronic chirping coming from his back pocket. He flipped her phone closed and handed it back to her before pulling out his Sidekick to program her number.

"Now, I have a way of reaching you to reschedule that rain check you promised me earlier," he said slyly.

She smiled at him, feeling the butterflies in her stomach flying around rapidly as she stared into his grayish blue eyes of his. A jittery feeling of elation washed over her at the thought of hearing from Craig again, which she couldn't really understand. She never really felt that way about anyone else before until he strolled into her life this afternoon but she knew that now that she was experiencing it, it was a wonderful feeling she didn't want to let go of. There was something about Craig that made her want to see him again just so they could waste time talking about nothing.

"I'll speak to you soon then," she said finally once she realized she'd been staring at him for a few moments.

Craig watched her as she turned back around and started walking down the empty white hallway towards the arena. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face thinking about their brief conversation together. Something about this girl made him into a stuttering, blubbering fool and he actually liked it. He liked that their conversations were awkward and unimportant. He enjoyed just being in her presence in general.

He knew that after a little more conversation and time spent alone with her, they would be good friends. He was sure of it.