Rocket To The Moon.

I visited my parents in the hospital every day for the next week. Madison and Trevor had agreed to let Tom sleep on out couch, after an hour long interrogation with him about Rocket. They were also like me, and found it extremely difficult to believe that Rocket had any close friends. Gracie was staying at Sean’s house, but spent most of her time during the day either at my house or learning songs on the bass guitar with Christa. My parents were making a quick and healthy recovery. Things were looking up.

On Saturday, I was almost ready to leave to go to the battle of the bands competition that Christa and Sean had told me about last weekend. Even with my parents in the hospital, I wasn’t going to miss this. Gracie had worked so damn hard, and had learned every single song by the band. I couldn’t not go down there and support them, plus it sounded like fun.

“Where are you going?” Rocket asked, as he watched me put up my hair.

“A battle of the bands contest at the Corporation club that my friends are taking part in. It’s for charity. Wanna come?” I asked.

“No” he replied.

“Come on, Rocket! I don’t wanna go on my own. You know what those places are like! Pleeeeease!” I whined. He rolled his eyes.

“Fine, but I’m only going to look after you” he said “Not because I want to”

“Yes!” I punched the air “Bring Tom. The more the merrier”

“Alright” he replied with a sigh.

Fifteen minutes later, the three of us were sat in Rocket’s car.

“So, Hero, you say your friends are performing tonight?” Tom asked.

“Yep” I replied proudly “Their band is called The Movie, make sure not to miss them”

“Alright” Tom replied “Hey, Rocket, I didn’t think you were into this kind of thing?”

Rocket didn’t reply, he just frowned.

“So why are you going then?” Tom asked.

“To give you an opportunity to have some fun, of course” Rocket replied.

“You didn’t need to come though. I could have just gone with Hero” he said.

Again, Rocket didn’t reply.

“So what’s the real reason you came?” Tom asked.

“That IS the real reason” Rocket insisted.

“No it’s not. Come on, even though I haven’t seen you in four years, I still know you well enough to be able to tell when you’re lying. There’s something you’re not telling us, isn’t there?” Tom smirked. I saw Rocket’s grip tighten on the car steering wheel.

“You’re not coming because of me, are you, Rocket?” he asked.

“What are you getting at, Tom?” Rocket mumbled.

“You’re coming because of…someone else” his smirk widened.

“I don’t know what your talking about” Rocket said quietly. Very quietly. So that his voice was barely audible.

“Come on, admit it. You’re coming for another reason. A reason that’s currently sat in the backseat of this car” Tom whispered. Suddenly, Rocket’s foot slammed down on the accelerator and we sped up. I screamed as I was thrown back against my seat.

“Dude, calm the fuck down, I was only kidding!” Tom gasped. Rocket slowed down and glared wordlessly through the windshield.

“You never used to take things that seriously” Tom muttered “You always used to be up for a laugh”

“Well, I guess things have changed” Rocket said. I stared in awe at the two of them. Why had Rocket gotten so worked up when Tom teased him? I felt especially awkward, seeing as he had teased him about me. I prayed that the journey would be over quickly. The tension in the car was killing me. I turned on my iPod in an attempt to make the journey go by quicker, and when we reached the gig venue, Sean, Christa, Adam, Hunter and Gracie were all waiting outside. They smiled happily when they saw me and waved. This made me feel a whole lot better.

I ran up to them once I’d gotten out of the car.

“Oh my God! It’s The Movie! CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH!?” I screamed, in typical fan-girl fashion, receiving odd looks from the people surrounding me. My friends laughed and swallowed me up in a group hug.

“I’m so glad you made it” Sean said “I am absolutely shitting myself. I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous in my life”

“Chill out, dude, you’re going to be amazing. I know it” I gave him an extra hug. Rocket and Tom joined us seconds later.

“Oh, guys, this is Rocket, and this is Tom. Rocket and Tom, this is Sean, Adam, Christa, Hunter and Gracie” I said.

“Hi” Tom said, waving at each individual person. Rocket just stared into space, I don’t think he had even acknowledged what I had just said. I noticed that Hunter was frowning at him, and I remembered the time he had ignored me in the school corridor, and how Hunter had called him an asshole. I knew that this could result in quite an awkward situation, so I made a mental note to keep those two as far away from each other as possible. My friends smuggled Rocket, Tom and I backstage, where we then claimed one of the couches and sat chatting for a while.

I have to admit, I did not like the atmosphere in that place at all. Every person that passed who wasn’t in their band either hurled abuse at them or just scowled, with the intention of scaring them and, hopefully, throwing them off track so their own band would have a better chance of winning. I knew that the guys wouldn’t get thrown off, they were too good for that, but I could see Sean getting increasingly more nervous with every malicious comment. But we all did well at ignoring them. At one point, a girl approached us. She had a guitar case slung around her shoulder, so I could tell immediately that she was in a band. Her hair was brown, which faded to a bluey-green colour at the bottom, and she didn’t seem to be much taller than myself.

“You another band member coming to insult us?” Hunter asked nonchalantly. The girl looked taken aback for a moment, before shaking her head.

“No, I was just coming to wish you good luck, that’s all” she said “I’m Andy, lead guitarist in an all-girl punk band called Jinx. Who are you guys?”

“Wow…someone here who’s actually nice…” Christa muttered disbelievingly.

“We’re The Movie” Sean said “I’m Sean, and this is Adam, Hunter, Christa, Gracie, Hero, Tom…and Rocket” he said Rocket’s name almost cautiously, as if he feared the entire building would blow up if he said it too loud.

“Pleased to meet you guys” Andy smiled “I’d totally introduce you to the rest of my band if I knew where the hell they’d gone…” she glanced around the room “Aha!” she beckoned to two other girls standing by the door, who immediately walked over to us.

“This is Alexia, our lead vocalist rhythm guitarist, and Eve, our bassist” she said.

“Hi” Eve said.

“Are they gonna be mean like everyone else?” Alexia asked.

“Nah, don’t worry about it, these guys are cool” Andy replied.

“Awesome” Alexia smiled “Pleased to meet you” she shook each individual person’s hand, including mine, however when she got to Rocket, he didn’t respond.

“So, are you going to shake my hand or are you just going to keep staring into space?” she asked.

“Tough decision” Rocket replied.

“You’re strange” Alexia stated. Rocket simply nodded in agreement, and Alexia gave up on attempting to socialise with him.

“Hey, where’s Crystal?” Eve asked.

“She’ll be around somewhere…” Andy replied thoughtfully “Ah, there she is”

A final band member approached us.

“Who are these guys?” she asked.

“A band who haven’t told us that we suck, or to get out of here” Eve replied. Crystal smiled.

“That’s nice. Hi guys, I’m Crystal, the drummer” she turned to us and waved. We responded in the same way. Well, everyone except from Rocket that is.

“Sit with us” Sean said, and the band did so, taking seats on the adjacent couch.

“Okay, seriously, what IS that guy’s problem?” Hunter asked, pointing to Rocket.

“Nothing. Leave him alone” I replied.

“But WHY? He’s an asshole! Look at him there, just staring off and ignoring everyone with his annoyingly handsome face! I just wanna punch it right in!” Hunter growled angrily. Rocket casually flipped him off, not seeming the slightest bit fazed.

“Is it even possible to ignore someone with your face?” Adam whispered to me. I shrugged.

“Don’t you flip me off you fucking dickhead!” Hunter retorted heatedly.

“I didn’t” Rocket shrugged.

“Yes you did! I saw it clearly. With my EYES!” Hunter shrieked. I noticed that our new friends from Jinx were trying hard to conceal their laughter. I didn’t blame them. Hunter was pretty funny when he was angry.

“So what are you gonna do about it?” Rocket asked, still as casual and cool as ever.

“I’ll kick your ass, that’s what!” Hunter said, standing up and squaring his shoulders.

Rocket also stood up and walked towards Hunter. He was extremely tall, and Hunter was so small, therefore Rocket towered over him. Hunter’s eyes widened as they stared up at Rocket.

“Go on then” Rocket stated “Kick my ass”

Hunter hesitated “No…I…I think I’ll just sit back down” he shrank away from Rocket and sank into a seated position between Gracie and Sean, trying to hide as much of himself as possible. Rocket nodded approvingly and returned to his seat next to me. I gave him a small shove on the arm.

“Don’t bully my friends!” I joked.

“I didn’t” he shrugged.

“So, is this like a normal day for you guys?” Crystal asked.

“Normal is usually worse than this” Adam replied, chuckling a little.

We talked for a while after that, getting to know the other band and making random jokes. I tried to involve Rocket in the conversation as much as possible, but he just didn’t seem interested, and responded with either a simple one-word answer or a shrug. Eventually, The Movie were called up onstage. I wished them luck before they went on, and gave extra luck to Gracie. It would be her first time playing in front of anyone, and the turnout was more than good, so there was a hell of a lot of pressure on her. But she didn’t seem to nervous, and if she was, she was hiding it very well. I went with Rocket, Tom and all four members of Jinx out to the front of the stage where we would be able to watch the band.

“Anyone thirsty?” Alexia asked “Drinks are on me tonight”

We all told her what drinks we wanted. All except Rocket.

“Don’t you want anything, Rocket?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“Alright…” she hesitated “Could someone give me a hand, I can’t carry them all back by myself”

“I will” I said, before following her off towards the bar. I waited as she ordered them, scanning the room I was in. It was a typical music club, dark but in no way dingy, with band posters plastered all over the walls and a couple of tables around the side of the room. The stage was fairly small compared to most venues, but behind it was some very decorative graffiti style writing that I had been told read all the names of the founders of the club. It was quite a cosy place, with a nice atmosphere (Nicer than backstage anyway). Currently, as there wasn’t a band on yet, the large speakers suspended above the stage were quietly playing muffled 70s punk rock, that I couldn’t quite hear properly over the sound of people talking, and bands sound checking. Someone tapped my shoulder, and I turned round to face a man who did not look familiar. I could tell that he was a lot older than I was.

“Are you on your own?” he asked.

“Actually, no, I’m here with friends…a lot of friends” I replied nervously.

“You wanna go somewhere a little quieter?” he winked at me. I could detect a pungent odour of alcohol emanating from his breath.

“No, thanks, I’m fine where I am” I glanced around, hoping to catch sight of someone who could help me. Alexia had apparently disappeared from the bar and was out of sight, and everyone else was either setting up onstage or right at the front of the venue.

“You want me to buy you a drink?” he asked.

“No, I’m okay thanks” I tried to take a step away from him, but he grabbed my wrist firmly.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.

“Umm…if you don’t mind, I’d like to go back to my friends now…” my voice was becoming much more high pitched and nervous sounding as I spoke, no matter how hard I tried to hide it.

“What’s the rush?” he leaned in closer, and the stench of beer became stronger, intoxicating.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing!?” an angered voice from behind me said. And low and behold, the voice belonged to none other than…Santa Claus. Just kidding, it was Rocket.

“Who’s this then?” the man addressed me directly, but I allowed Rocket to answer him.

“Get your hands off my…umm…my girlfriend!” he ordered.

“WHAT!?”

“Oh, she’s yours?” the scary man smirked.

“Yeah…you heard me…” Rocket answered unsurely.

“You’re quite the lucky one, aren’t you?” Scary Man asked slyly, still clinging onto my wrist.

“Let her go!” Rocket demanded.

“Oooh, easy tiger” Scary Man taunted “You’ll get her back…once I’m through with her”

“You bastard! Let her go!” Rocket shouted, his fists clenched tightly.

“Don’t hurt yourself, kid” Scary Man laughed.

And then, Rocket snapped. He launched himself forwards and delivered a punch so hard, it made me cringe. Unfortunately, Scary Man was so tall (yes, taller than Rocket. Hard to believe, I know), that Rocket missed his face and ended up punching him in the chest. He then proceeded to try and wrestle me out of his grasp. His attempts, however, seemed futile. He looked like a small boy in comparison to this man, which made me dread to think what I must have looked like.

Scary Man laughed heartily “You didn’t think that would actually work, did you, kid?” he patted Rocket’s head, causing Rocket to cringe away from his touch. Rocket then glared up at him with so much hatred in his eyes, many people would have found it terrifying.

“Don’t cry kid, I’m sure you’ll find someone else, I mean, after all, when I’m through with her she won’t go back to anyone other than me” Scary Man winked. Rocket looked so angry, that I actually thought he was about to explode. And without warning, in a movement so quick that I barely even saw it, Rocket kneed Scary Man…right in the crotch. He immediately released my wrist before crumpling over in pain. Rocket gave him one last hard punch in the face, before grabbing my hand and dragging me as far away from him as possible.

“Don’t thank me” he muttered, once we had reached a safe distance from Scary Man.

“Girlfriend?” I asked, folding my arms and looking at him sternly.

“I had to think of SOMETHING” he rolled his eyes.

“Couldn’t you have at least said sister?” I questioned, frustrated.

“That didn’t cross my mind” he grumbled.

“I’m pretty sure friend would have sufficed” now it was my turn to roll my eyes.

“Well that’s fine, but I’ve said it now, I can’t un-say it. But believe me, Hero, the LAST thing I’d want you to be is my girlfriend!” he snapped.

“Likewise” I replied, aggravated.

“Come on, let’s go back” he muttered, storming off through the crowds of people waiting to hear some live music. I almost had to jog to keep up with him.

“Hero? Where did you disappear to?” Alexia asked once we returned.

“Don’t even bother asking” I sighed “Are they almost ready?” I asked, indicating to the stage to show that I was talking about the band.

“I think so” Eve replied “The sound check was over a couple of minutes ago, so they should be on any second now”

“Great, this should be fun, huh, Rocket?” Tom asked excitedly.

“Sure, whatever, Tom” Rocket replied, with the least enthusiasm I had ever heard in anyone’s voice before.

Tom sighed “You know, you could at least TRY to enjoy yourself, buddy…”