This Heart, It Beats, Beats for Only You

What’s up makeascene fans? The bells are dinging and it seems like a new year is now in session. Mayhem was fun, but we all know school is where the real drama happens. So be sure to keep your phones on because this student is on full alert of what’s going down.
Looks like Queen C is ready to roll. M and C are on the prowl, showing they are the best. Poor little Z seems to have missed the memo. And what’s this? S found a new carriage to the grand ball that is school. Tsk, tsk S. You know C won’t forgive you forever. Better quit while you’re ahead.

Xoxo,
Scene Baby

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Casey had to put her sunglasses on as soon as she got in the car. The sun was blinding her, even through the wind shield. She sighed, and ran her hands through her hair as she fixed her make-up in the rear view mirror. It was the first day of school and she needed to look perfect. Mayhem was over and Casey had definitely lived it up every night. She sighed and reached into her glove compartment, reaching for the bottle of aspirin she kept in there. She took two and sighed. She definitely did not look hung over, but make up did wonders to hide really bad hang overs.

There was a rap on her window and she quickly unlocked the door. Her mom had convinced her last night to let the boys drive with her to school. It fit better with their trying to be normal persona. Casey had grudgingly agreed, though she wanted to take it back as she saw Joe following his brother. Nick climbed into the front seat and Joe climbed in back. “Hey,” she said, putting on lip gloss quickly before pulling out her phone. “Ris needs a few minutes.” She fiddled with the radio settings until she found a song she liked.

“Ready for school?” Nick asked conversationally. It was slightly awkward in the car, she noticed. She hadn’t seen much of the boys since the first night of Mayhem. They hadn’t wanted to go again, leaving for a show and interview in California. She had heard them return only late last night. Not having them, or rather Joe there was fine with her. She had had enough of him the other night, the rejection and fight still fresh in her mind. Try as she had to forget about it, she couldn’t help but remember.

She rolled her eyes, though he couldn’t see through her glasses. “Another year,” she shrugged.

“You’re a senior right?” he asked.

She nodded as her phone beeped with a text. She quickly read it and started reversing out of her driveway. Marisa was ready. “Finally the last year in the hell hole. Thank God,” she said. “What grade are you in again?” Her question wasn’t meant for Joe.

“Sophomore,” Nick said. “Joe’s a senior too,” he continued when Joe remained quiet. Through the rear view mirror, she say he had his arms crossed as he stared out the window, pretending to not even pay attention, like it was some privilege of hers to be in his presence.. She rolled her eyes again. And she needed to get over herself?

Lucky me, she thought. “The school’s not so bad,” she said. “You guys should be pretty okay with not being bombarded with fans. They’ll all be over 12, you see.” She smirked at him to let him know she was joking as she stopping in front of Marisa’s house.

Nick laughed, though Joe merely rolled his eyes. “Our fans aren’t only 12.”

“She was joking,” Nick rolled her eyes. He turned to her. “Ignore him. Frankie broke him favorite tambourine last night.”

Marisa came out of her house; looking amazing in a short skirt similar to the one Casey was wearing. They had called each other last night to coordinate. “Hey,” she grinned as she got into the car. “God, I’m so psyched. I barely got any sleep last night.”

Casey smiled at her, though she doubted her words. Marisa looked well rested. She was a quick sleeper, and Marisa Gelman did not get nervous, at least when it came to anything but Drew. She pulled up to Zoey’s house, and honked. Zoey came out a few seconds later, in a plaid shirt and jeans. She grinned until she got in the car and saw what Casey and Marisa were wearing. “You guys coordinated?” she asked, her voice disappointed. Casey had considered texting Zoey with the 411 on what they were going to wear. But one look into the lighted room next door, where she knew Joe was, changed her mind. Like she needed another reason for him to judge her.

“We didn’t coordinate,” she assured her younger cousin. “It was coincidental and spur of the moment.”

Joe let out a snort.

“Problem?” she asked, her eyes narrowing in the rear view mirror as she stopped at the stop sign at the end of their development.

“Spur of the moment?” he asked, chuckling. “You wouldn’t know impulsivity if it hit you in the face.”

Everyone got quiet. They all knew something had happened between Joe and Casey from their respective reactions every time the other’s name was even brought up. But none of them knew what. And suddenly, they had the feeling they didn’t even want to.

Instead, Marisa, being the best friend she was, changed the subject. “Are you guys psyched about going back to school? You know, living the normal life?”

“Pumped,” Nick turned and grinned in the back, his gaze lingering on Zoey a second too long.

“You’re a sophomore, right?” she asked. Nick nodded. Marisa grinned and put her arm around Zoey’s shoulder. “What a coincidence, because our little Zoey here is too.”

“Maybe you could show me around then?” Nick asked, smiling at her.

She grinned, flushing slightly. “Definitely.”

The rest of the ride was quiet. Casey was sure Joe wouldn’t expect the same from her. No way in hell was she going to show the asshole around. She pulled into the parking lot, and parked her Benz into an empty spot. Everyone got out, and Marisa chatted merrily about gossip from makeascene.net and from mayhem.

“No fucking way,” Zoey stopped at the end of the parking lot. They all followed her gaze and saw Sam getting out of Alex’s car. “That lying bitch,” she grumbled.

Casey didn’t care, starting to walk. She sighed as no one else moved, and stopped again. “What?” she demanded, just wanting to get into the air conditioned school. It was hot, and she did not want to sweat on her outfit, especially before anyone saw her in it.

“She told us that her mom wanted to drive her,” Marisa explained quietly. “She said something about tradition and it being a drag. That sure as hell does not look like her mom.”

Casey rolled her eyes. “Can we just go in? I’m bored of her and her bullshit.”

She saw Zoey and Marisa definitely were not. They wanted to confront her, wanted to gossip and not let this go. But they dared not go against her. At the last days of Mayhem, Patricia and Graham had become social pariah. No one even went near either of them because Casey made it clear she hated both of them. They definitely did not want that to happen to them, and followed her silently, whispering about this new assessment. As far as Casey was concerned, she could care less. Sam had made her choice. She had abandoned her best friends, and their rules. She was no longer one of them.

She was immediately bombarded with people, greeting her and recalling Mayhem. She smiled and acted pleasantly. They also shrieked at Joe and Nick, practically throwing themselves at them. Nick looked at her pleadingly. Joe looked merely bored. “Hey girls,” she said. Immediately, they all stopped and looked at her in reverence. Casey Cartwright was about to speak and they would listen, or they would be destroyed. “I think I just heard the first bell.” They all looked at each other, confused. The bell would not ring for another 10 minutes. Casey sighed and crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently. Immediately, the girls got the hint and left, dashing for homeroom.

“Thanks,” Nick grinned, brushing himself off. Joe merely grunted.

“Don’t mention it. They won’t bother you anymore. Word spreads pretty quickly around here,” she said as she started heading towards her locker. “See you.”

---

“I can see what you’re doing,” Nick said quietly to Joe as they got to their respective lockers, which were lucky next to each other.

“Opening my locker?” Joe asked as he tried the combination that had been given to him.

“With Casey,” Nick elaborated, rolling his eyes.

“And what am I doing Nicholas?” Joe stopped and looked at his younger brother.

The look on his face was meant to make Nick sidetrack, to disarm him, and throw him off. But Nick had seen this face and attitude way too many times to fall for it. He merely rolled his eyes again. “You’re falling for her,” he said simply.

Joe looked stunned. “What? No I’m not. I hate her,” he insisted.

Nick just stared at him, waiting for him to admit the truth.

Joe sighed, and glared at his brother. “Can you stop being so damn observant? It’s annoying.”

Nick laughed. “It’s only because I know you so well.”

“Whatever,” Joe turned back to his locker.

“So what are you going to do?” Nick asked quietly.

“Nothing,” Joe shrugged. What was there to do? He couldn’t be with her. He already knew that. That was why he had stopped her room kissing him that night. There was no way.

Nick sighed. “Joe, you know you can be happy. You can fall in love. You deserve some happiness.”

Joe sighed as well and looked at his brother. “You know I can’t,” he said. “I could never put her in that position. I would never.”

Nick shook his head, and opened his mouth to say something.

But Joe cut him off. “Do you think I like putting even you guys through this? Suffering with me? You know as well as I do that she’ll be much happier far away from me. It’s the best for her.”

“It’s not your fault Joe. Not everything has to be on your shoulders. And maybe you should let her decide that,” Nick said. He shook his head slightly. “You really do like her, don’t you?”

Joe put his head in his locker or a second and groaned. “I can’t even get her out of my head. What am I going to do?” he looked at his brother pleadingly. He had no idea what to do. There was a new hole in him, a hole filled only when he was near her. But he couldn’t. He never would put her through what his family had to go through.

Nick closed his locker as the bell rang, indicating it was time for first period. “Maybe you should stop being a jerk and try being just her friend then,” he said. “At least then neither or you will be so miserable.”

Joe nodded, but didn’t say anything. He would have to think about that.