Kings and Queens of Promise

I was hardly aware of my shivers as I followed Jack to the garage. I got Lily’s cat carrier from my truck before following Jack to the elevator. Yes, the elevator.

“We only use this if one of us is hurt or has a lot to carry upstairs,” Jack explained quietly, pressing the T button. The elevator made its ascent and it opened to a cozy little room. I had two large windows facing outward, but I couldn’t see anything past the rain pounding against it. Every now and then, lightning lit up the small glass pane. On the right was a door and the entrance to the stairs. “You have your own walk–in closet,” Jack said, opening the door to show a nice–sized closet, “and bathroom,” he added, crossing the room and opening the door to my own bathroom.

“Wow, this is so nice,” I said.

“Uh–huh,” Jack agreed. I noticed that he looked uncomfortable.

“You can, um, leave, if you don’t want to be up here,” I said awkwardly. He blushed and, putting my stuff down on my bare mattress, scurried down the stairs before I could even thank him. Slightly bewildered, I sat down on the edge of the bed. Syn hadn’t even told me when I would start working. After stripping off my wet clothes and picking out something dry, I quickly set up Lily’s litter box in the corner, pouring in some litter before letting her out of her carrier. Then, I began to unpack my clothes into a small dresser in the corner. I unpacked all my t–shirts, underwear, and pajamas before hanging up all my skinny jeans and dressy tops in the closet. Once that was done, I unpacked all my toiletries and made a list of things I would need to add to my room––sheets, a desk, an iPod player, etc. By that time, it was almost 7 and my stomach was growling. Still a little nervous about being here, I crept down the stairs and, upon opening the door, heard someone playing guitar. Forgetting all about my intentions of getting some food and the rest of my stuff from the truck I stepped out, seeing the spiral stairs in front of me, and turned right, walking past the elevator and a bar before I saw the source. The boys that were friends with Pierre were all gather in the room, sitting on stools or, in Chuck’s case, behind the gigantic drum set. I saw Jeff, Pierre, and Seb had acoustic guitars and David had an electric bass. All except Jeff and Chuck had microphones. As I watched, Pierre began to since softly.

“Tell me what’s wrong with society
When everywhere I look I see
Young girls dying to be on TV
They won’t stop ‘till they’ve reached their dream
With diet pills and surgery,
‘Cuz photo–shopped pictures in magazines
Are telling them how they should be
It doesn’t make sense to me

Is everybody going crazy
Is anybody gonna save me
Can anybody tell me what’s going on
Tell me what’s going on
If you open your eyes,
You’ll see that something is wrong

I guess things are not how they used to be
There’s no more normal families
Parents act like enemies,
Making kids feel like it’s World War III
No one cares, no one’s there,
I guess we’re all just too damn busy
And money’s our first priority
It doesn’t make sense to me

Is everybody going crazy
Is anybody gonna save me
Can anybody tell me what’s going on
Tell me what’s going on
If you open your eyes,
You’ll see that something is wrong

Is everybody going crazy
Is everybody going crazy

Tell me what’s wrong with society
When everywhere I look I see
Rich guys driving big SUVs
While kids are starving in the streets
No one cares, no one likes to share
I guess life’s unfair

Is everybody going crazy
Is anybody gonna save me
Can anybody tell me what’s going on
Tell me what’s going on
If you open your eyes,
You’ll see that something
Something is wrong

Is everybody crazy
Can anybody tell me what’s going on
Tell me what’s going on
If you open your eyes,
You’ll see that something is wrong”

“Oh, my God!” I exclaimed as they finished, catching their attention. “You’re Simple Plan!”

“Oh, no, she’s a fan. Run, boys!” a voice said just behind me. I jumped almost a foot in the air and turned, nearly falling. Standing behind me was a tall, muscular guy with gray–ish green eyes. He, like Syn, had a lot of tattoos on his arms. “Oh, shit, that’s totally an Avenged Sevenfold top,” he laughed. “I think Syn hired the perfect girl for this.”

“Th–th–they’re Simple Plan,” I managed to say, pointing at Pierre and the guys.

“Yes, I know,” he laughed. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Zacky, and you are…?”

“Oh, I’m Em,” I said, shaking his hand. Was this a house inhabited by all–hot guys?

“So, you’re the new help, I assume, or should I be throwing you out angrily?”

“I’m the new help,” I said.

“Prove it,” he challenged. My face went red and I started stuttering again.

“D–Does the n–name Gaskarth mean anyth–thing to you?” I squeaked.

“Oh, yeah. I thought your face looked familiar,” Zacky chuckled. I smiled nervously before looking back at the guys. They were looking at me expectantly and I racked my brain for something cool to say, but all that came out was another––

“You’re Simple Plan!”

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“You handled that well,” Pierre laughed as he and I sat at the bar in the kitchen.

“Shut up,” I said, blushing over my Sprite can. He laughed again before getting up and pouring noodles into a pot of boiling water. “I thought it was supposed to be my job to cook?”

“Only when one of us wants you to,” Pierre said. “But I want to make this. I like cooking.”

“So, then, what’s my job?” I asked.

“Well, really, you’re kind of a personal assistant to us. See, here’s what we figured,” Pierre said, sitting back down. “There are five of us and each of us are in a band…well, except Syn and Zacky––they’re in the same band, but anyway, we take turns using the Rec. Room for practicing. My days are Tuesdays, Jack’s are Thursdays, Jared’s are Monday, and Syn and Zacky get Fridays and Wednesdays.”

“Why do they get two?” I asked.

“Because, Syn owns the house, duh,” Pierre said obviously. “We stay here for free, so we just help him out in any way we can and give him the Rec. Room twice a week. Oh, since Jack’s band is Thursday, you’ll get to see Alex tomorrow!”

“Oh, really?” I asked excitedly. I hadn’t seen Alex in over ten months!

“Yeah, he’s coming over tomorrow to watch Zacky and Syn, plus he wants to see you.”

“That’s awesome, we can––” I was cut off by the stove beeping loudly. Pierre hurried to it, giving the noodles a stir before taking the pot to the sink and draining out the water. I watched him add the cheese sauce and stir before going over to a little intercom system by the door.

“Anyone who wants Mac ‘N Cheese needs to report to the kitchen immediately,” he said into the speaker. From upstairs, we heard a thump. “That’ll be Jack,” Pierre chuckled, pulling out two bowls.

“Aren’t any of the others coming down?” I asked.

“Probably not. Syn likes to eat in his room, Zacky’s working on another ‘big project’, and Jared…well, we never really know where Jared is. Sometimes you see him around, sometimes you don’t.” I found my curiosity perking up, wanting to know more about this house’s fifth and final inhabitant, but before I could probe, thunder footsteps could be heard from the stairs before another loud thump.

“P, I need ice!” a voice called from the foyer.

“Jack, did you fall down the stairs again?” Pierre sighed, grabbing an icepack from the freezer before heading into the foyer. I giggled.

“Sorry, but that last step’s a doozie.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t trip so much if you could just walk.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t trip so much if you could––shut up, Pierre.” As they walked in the kitchen, Jack instantly froze up as he saw me. We stared at each other for a few seconds before he vanished. I just blinked and then he was gone, the sound of retreating footsteps all that was left.

“Dammit, Jack,” Pierre muttered.

“Why’s he so scared of me?” I asked.

“I don’t know. He’s never been this bad,” Pierre sighed, sitting down and giving me my Mac ‘N Cheese. “So, about your job––we figured that we could share the days you worked for us.”

“Huh?” I asked dumbly, mouth full.

“Well, what Syn wanted you for was to be our personal assistant, like I said. Like, who ever has you for that day, you just do whatever random things they want you to do.”

“So, what, do I just follow them around all day, or do I just wait for them to call for me?”

“Depends on whose day it is,” Pierre said. “For me, I’ll probably let you just do your own thing, and if I need something, I’ll call you or text you or something. Jack…well, until he warms up to you, I don’t really know. Syn will probably want you to stay with him all day, and I’m not sure how Zacky or Jared will be. They’re both so secluded. Zacky will probably just get your number and text things like ‘bring me water’ and ‘do laundry’.”

“Sounds simple enough,” I nodded.

“Yeah, but the catch is, on weekends, Syn expects you to be the housekeeper. Grocery shopping, cleaning, major laundry, important stuff. You won‘t be told what to do, usually, you‘ll just do whatever you think needs to be done. On weekends, you‘re on your own watch.”

“I can do that,” I nodded. As I finished eating, I stood up and took my bowl to the dishwasher, putting it in before putting the dishwasher on a 2–hour delay. Then, I grabbed an ice cream sandwich from the freezer. “I probably need to get to bed.”

“Yeah. Hey, if you need anything, I’m in the first room on the left when you downstairs from your room,” he said.

“Thanks, P,” I smiled, my first genuine smile today.

“Oh, and take some cookies. You never know when you’ll get hungry in the middle of the night.”

“Thanks. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” As I left the kitchen, I grabbed a spoon and the other untouched bowl of Mac ‘N Cheese.

“Pierre, where’s Jack’s room?” I asked.

“Next to the elevator, first door to the left of it.”

“Okay, thanks,” I said before heading for the stairs. I carefully climbed the stairs, taking in the view out the front windows––the view of the pounding rain. Once I got to the loft, I turned left, passed the elevator, and came to a door with several kindergartener–looking drawings taped on it. I knocked on the door before hearing Jack’s voice shout, “Go away, Zacky!” His voice sounded rather strained and I gingerly twisted the doorknob. Jack was laying, face down, on his bed next to the window. “Um, Jack?” For a long moment, he didn’t move and I thought he hadn’t heard me. Then, he quickly rolled off the bed, into the tiny space between the bed and the wall, so I couldn’t see him. I decided to overlook this. “I’m very sorry to bother you, but, um, I thought you wanted this, so I brought it…and, if you could, would you go put the bowl in the dishwasher when you’re done? It’s on a 2–hour delay. Um, so, it’s here, if you want it,” I said, setting the bowl on his dresser before leaving the room and closing the door.

I stood outside his door for a minute before taking a deep breath. Had he been crying? Why had he been crying? I slowly crossed to the door to the stairs, opening it and going in. Just before I closed the door, I heard footsteps. I peeped out, not opening the door more than a crack. I saw someone in all black walking toward the door. His head was down, so that his silky black hair fell into his face, obstructing my view. He had some kind of large box in his hands. He didn’t even notice me, turning to the left just before he got to my door. I let out a breath that I didn’t realize I’d been holding. That must’ve been the fifth occupant, Jared. With a little sigh, I turned and trudged up the stairs to my room. Once there, I collapsed onto my bed and, without any sheets or blankets, fell asleep within seconds.