Love and Conspiracy

As we drove up to the Gilman, people were lined up outside waiting to get in. Tre bolted out of the car before it could even come to stop; which he tended to do a lot. He immediately went up to a group of people that were smoking a joint, joining in along with them.

“He can never pass up drugs, can he?” I asked out loud.

“Nah, none of us can, really,” he answered, pulling into a parking spot in the back. I looked over at him as he turned off the ignition. “I, however, have some self control,” he continued with a smile. I giggled as he leaned in and kissed me before getting out of the car.

I didn’t even close the door before I heard someone scream my name. I looked around to see a brown-haired girl waving at me from the line of people. Jess, of course. I waved back at her.

“Looks like someone’s excited to see you,” Mike joked as we walked over to the group of people she was with.

“That makes one,” I teased, causing him to playfully gasp.

“Hey, Mike’s excited to see you, too! You gotta give him a little credit,” he played along.

“Eh, I don’t really know about that…” I replied. He mockingly laughed as he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

“I guess I’ll have to prove you wrong then,” he mumbled into my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

“Later, perhaps. You’ve got a show to play now,” I said, acting as if it didn’t faze me.

“Oh, is that why I’m here again?” he continued to tease. I lightly hit him on the chest.

“No need to be a smartass,” I said with a laugh. He chuckled with me as we reached the group. Jess stared at both of us with a big smile on her face.

“Uh, I’m gonna go help the guys set up,” Mike said, obviously awkward from Jess’ staring. He kissed the side of my head before disappearing inside the building with Tre. Jess continued to smile.

“Please tell me that you guys are going out now,” she begged. I began to blush, before nodding. She gave me a big hug, “Thank god! I don’t think I could’ve contained myself anymore.”

~~~

It only took a few more minutes before they opened the doors and allowed people to enter. It was exactly how I remembered it. A small, graffiti covered room; perfect for a punk show. Jess immediately tried pulling me to the front of the stage, but I resisted.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to be right in front?” she questioned. I slowly shook my head.

“I’ve never really been in a ‘pit’ before. I always try to avoid it, actually,” I told her truthfully. She started to laugh hysterically.

“Seriously, Luce? Oh my god, what the hell have you been doing in Arizona!?” she grabbed my hand again, “Come on, you’re gonna live tonight.”

She pushed her way through the small crowd as I followed behind her to the front of the stage. People quickly started to press against us once the room started to fill a little more. I began feeling a bit claustrophobic, but I knew that I had no other choice than staying put. However, Mike soon showed up on stage and spotted us out, jumping down to where I was. He must’ve sensed something was wrong because his smile dropped as it was replaced with a worried look.

“What’s up, babe?” he asked. I quickly shook my head.

“Nothing. I can’t wait to see you guys play again! I’m so excited!” I said with a big smile. I grabbed his face and gave him a kiss. “Good luck!” I yelled, causing him to grin.

“I’ve got all the luck I can get,” he said as he gave me another kiss before jumping back on stage. With that, Billie and Tre got on stage as Mike quickly got his bass. Billie stepped up to the microphone in front of me.

“How you guys doing tonight?” he yelled to the crowd. Everyone began to cheer. “Are you ready for a kick-ass time?” he growled once again, getting the crowd even more riled up. From the back, Tre started to hit his drumsticks together.

“1, 2, 3, 4,” Tre yelled, queuing Mike and Billie when to start. All at once, music burst throughout the place as people went crazy, jumping up and down while pushing into people. It didn’t take long for me to get into the music and join along with them.

Halfway through the show, I was completely lost within the music. Tre’s insane drum rhythms, Mike’s melodic bass solos, all along with Billie’s cracking voice, singing lyrics that could relate perfectly to any teenager. A loud voice momentarily ripped through my mind.

“Your turn!”

Arms firmly wrapped around me, lifting me above the heads of the crowd. I quietly let out a scream as I was slowly handed from person to person across the crowd. I could feel all sorts of hands on my body, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. However, it ended as soon as it started and I was thrown to the back, landing on my hands and knees. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to hurt too badly, but I knew that I’d have a few bruises. Before I even got up, Jess tumbled down next to me, gracefully landing on her feet. I looked up to see her laughing.

“Aw, Luce. You’ll get it after a bit of practice,” she said, lifting me up off the ground.

“Yeah, practice,” I scoffed along with her comment.

“Well, I’m gonna go back up there. You coming with me?” she yelled. I shook my head.

“No, go ahead. I’m just gonna stay back here for now,” I answered. She nodded and quickly made her way back through the wall of people. Luckily, they were almost finished.

“Alright fuckers, this is our last song of the night!” Billie yelled into the microphone, leading into the final song. He began to sing,

“I wonder down these streets all by myself
Think of my future now
I just don't know
I don't seem to care
I stop to notice that
I'm by your home
I wonder if you're sitting all alone
Or is your boyfriend there”

As he continued on, it became more obvious that the song was written for his ex. Although it wasn’t completely noticeable, I could tell that it pained him to sing the words that he had wrote specifically for her.

“Because I feel so right
Let my imagination go
Until you're in my sight
And through my veins temptation flows
Whoa hoa...
Out here...”

Before I knew it, the song was over. As the crowd cheered, Billie quickly jumped off stage. I couldn’t help, but feel bad for him. However, I knew that he’d get over it eventually… I hoped. As that thought went through my mind, Jess ran up to me out of breath.

“Wasn’t that amazing?” she asked breathlessly. I nodded.

“Yeah, it was awesome. Even better than I remember it!” I said truthfully.

Chris walked up to us and wrapped his arms around Jess from behind. Once she turned to look at him, they quickly began to make out, completely forgetting that I was standing there. I looked around the place, seeing that many people were leaving while Mike, Tre, and a few other guys were taking everything down. Billie caught my eye as I saw him exiting through the back. I lightly tapped Jess on the shoulder.

“I’ll see you guys around,” I said, walking towards the same door he had just left. Jess half waved, not breaking her kiss for a single moment.

When I walked out the door, a cool gust of wind hit my face. Dark, gloomy clouds hung in the sky all across the city. It was something that I was not used to seeing. Once I pushed the flying hair out of my face, I saw Billie just around the corner lighting up a cigarette.

“Great show,” I said, walking up to him. He blew out smoke before slightly chuckling.

“Thanks, I’m glad you liked it,” he said sincerely, but still sounded a little stressed. Before I could say anymore, a girl with blonde dreads came bursting out of the door. She frantically looked around until she spotted us. Without even looking over to see who it was, Billie spoke.

“What do you want Izz?” he yelled emotionlessly to the girl.

“Can we talk?” she asked, keeping her distance. He let out a long sigh before throwing his cigarette to the ground. He remained silent as he walked past her so that they could talk in privacy. Not knowing where else to go, I just stayed against the wall. Even though I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, it was sort of hard not to.

She seemed to be doing most of the talking at first, but after a minute or two, they started to yell at each other. However, I wasn’t close enough to hear all of what they were saying. It didn’t bother me, though, for it was none of my business in the first place.

“I am so much better off with Shawn rather than you,” the girl yelled, causing him to start walking away from her. She continued, “Might I mention that he’s a better fucker, too!” He stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at her.

“Get the fuck out of here, Izz. I don’t want to see your fucking face ever again,” he growled as he walked off again.

“Fuck you, Billie!” she screamed one last time, before storming away herself. He walked up to the nearest car and pounded his fists down on it. My eyes must have widened at his sudden outbreak.

“What the hell are you looking at?!” he yelled at me. Before I could answer, he kicked the car one last time and walked over to his own car. I was still standing there, speechless, as he quickly pulled out of the parking lot.