Celebrity Skin

Brian sat in his Huntington Beach home alone, like every night, listening to Connor Oberst’s soothing voice, simple melodies, and letting the depressing lyrics take over his senses. The music Bright Eyes played wasn’t exactly his thing, but he had to admit that the man was a lyrical genius. Plus, he could easily relate to the songs after his recent experiences in heart break. Connor felt his pain.

He strummed along on his guitar to the chords being played over his stereo when his phone went off.

“Yo.” He answered, not bothering to check the caller ID.
“Dude, get dressed.” Jimmy’s lisp came through the speaker.
He frowned. “What for? We don’t have practice tonight.”
“We’re crashing The Outlaw premier tonight!” Zack’s over enthusiastic voice stated. He must have been on speaker. “I never saw the original, but it looks pretty good.”
“Nah, its okay guys. Go without me.”
“Nope!” Jimmy yelled.
“Get dressed, we’ll be at you’re house in an hour.” Zack stated.
“And wear somethin’ purty!” Jimmy’s maniacal laughter was the last thing he heard before the phone call was ended.

Brian sighed, and ran a hand through his greasy hair. There was no getting out of this. Once the guys had their minds set on something, it was going to happen regardless of anything else. That’s the main reason the band blew up so big.

He rummaged through his closets to find a decent looking outfit. After 10 minutes of searching, he settled on black slacks, a white dress shirt and his signature fedora. He tossed the outfit onto his bed and stripped of his cloths. He made sure the shower water was scolding hot, the way he liked it, before stepping in. The water burnt his tanned skin, but the pain was a nice reminder for Brian that he was, in fact, still living.

He finished his shower quickly and wrapped a fluffy purple towel around his waist, while trying to wipe some of the steam from his bathroom mirror. He succeeded and took a long look at himself. His eyes were lifeless, and accompanied by big black bags underneath from lack of a good nights sleep. His chiseled face was much thinner than normal from lack of decent food; his cheek bones protruded out farther than he’d ever seen. He stared down at a body he was once happy with, but no longer. He had always been very built, with a narrow waist. Since the breakup he estimated a weight loss of at least 15 pounds. Most of his ribcage was exposed, and his muscular arms were loosing there mass. Overall, he looked as much of a mess as he felt.

Sighing, he dressed in the cloths he laid out for himself, and began to style his hair and makeup. He spiked his hair, and drew around his eyes with the charcoal color, attempting at summoning Synyster Gates; his alter ego, so to speak. Brian would have rather been anyone but himself at this point.

By the time he finished, the doorbell was being rang incessantly. He finished tying up his black sneakers, grabbed his wallet and phone, and made his way down the stairs. He was greeted by Jimmy and Zack, who brought him in for the ‘guy hug’.

“What’s goin’ on, man?” Zack smiled.
Brian shrugged. “Nothin, dude; let’s head out.”
“Oh man, wait ‘til you see the girl in this movie. She’s fucking hot!” Jimmy cheered.
Brian chuckled; a real one. “Cool, Jim.”

He didn’t really care how hot the girl was, he knew he wouldn’t be able to get his mind off of Michelle during the movie. Although it’s a remake of an old time western classic, the plot is basically two guys fighting over a girl they both love.

Talk about throwing salt into an open wound.