Chapter 4: Sex Pots and Sox Spots

Emery avoided Nyx at every chance that occurred for an entire week, and Nyx did likewise. The group noticed considerably the distance Emery now put around herself with the others as well. Bravery, who could usually get out of her whatever was bothering her, had no luck. Only Emily knew, and she wasn’t talking to any of the boys either. The only explanation lay within Nyx, and the kid had taken to hanging out with a group of girls who had…very little morals in the way of sexuality. He spoke little about Emery.

“They had a fight.” Dave guessed the next Thursday morning at the usual gathering around Bravery’s locker. “Layne says girls do that when they’re mad.”

Hayden rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”

Bravery said nothing, but he worried about Em’. She looked miserable. He noticed she’d been wearing the stupid mood ring Nyx had given her, though. Something terribly interesting and strange had gone on.

“Ah, my fellow bandmates.” Nyx greeted, appearing from nowhere. He grinned a lazy smile; it didn’t reach his eyes. “How is life these days?”

Bravery’s eyebrow rose. “I should be asking you that.”

Nyx ignored the comment. “So, show tomorrow? Yeah?” No one had a chance to reply because the outgoing boy suddenly grew very uncomfortable and swore. “Brave, you have to let me inside your locker.” He blurted.

Bravery gave him an odd look. “No, it’s a mess. You wouldn’t fit.”

Nyx shifted around as if he needed to pee. “Please?” his brown eyes pleaded. “She’s –” suddenly his voice dropped to a hiss. “Emery’s coming and I… I’m begging you Bravery. Please. You guys have to cover for me.”

The girl with pink hair came striding towards the group minutes later looking like a woman on a mission, though slightly frustrated. She’d decided she needed to confront her issues, needed to talk to Nyx and apologize. “Have you guys seen Nicho – uh, Nyx?” The fact that she was calling Nyx by his improper name was nothing short of a miracle.

Bravery stood leaning against his locker with his arms folded in the typical lazy countenance everyone was used to. He didn’t like lying to Emery so he merely shrugged and shook his head.

Hayden played along with a blank gaze. “Haven’t seen him yet.”

Dave shrugged. “I think I saw him this morning. He looked pretty downtrodden.”

The group looked at him as if he’d just spoken another language. Emery blinked.

“Downtrodden?” she blinked again quizzically.

Dave nodded with a proud smile. “Layne’s been teaching me new words from Shakespeare. He was one messed up dude. Like, who writes about guys and donkeys and fairies? I think Shakespeare did psychedelic drugs.”

The girl simply blinked again. “Well, if you see him, tell him that I’m looking for him. I really need to talk to him.”

Bravery nodded for the rest of them and watched her disappear down the hallway with slumped shoulders. He waited until she’d rounded the corner before he moved away from his locker quickly, letting Nyx spill out onto the floor unceremoniously.

“Your locker smells like…ugh….” The drummer continued to complain through incoherent mutterings.

Bravery knelt down in front of the boy on the floor with a hard look. “What did you do to Emery?”

Nyx blinked, then his face turned uncharacteristically full of regret. “Nothing, it’s just… We just had a fight and I was an idiot. Em’ just…said some things, that’s all.”

“Said what things?”

Nyx glared. “She brought my parents into it, alright? She was hurt and angry and she gave a low blow, even for her.”

The bell rang and Dave disappeared with a ‘See you later’. He was determined to pull his grades up and that included getting to class on time. Hayden and Bravery stayed behind.

“I made out with Samantha Blake after school.” He muttered. “She saw and…finally freaked out. I mean, she acts like she hates me all the time, then when I get with another girl she makes it out like a big deal. Can’t girls ever just make sense?”

Hayden snorted. “Girls will never make sense. They hate predictability or something.”

Bravery opened his mouth but stopped suddenly. His green eyes glimpsed stripes, and not just any stripes. These ones were bright neon colors, disappearing around the hall just as the second bell rang. “I’ll…uh, see you at lunch.” Quickly he jumped up and left Nyx sitting on the floor in confusion.

Bravery would have told the boy that he was blind. Couldn’t he tell that the only thing holding Emery back from showing her feelings was the fact that Nyx couldn’t keep his eyes, hands, or lips off of every girl in the school? If he’d talked to Clever she would have said the same thing – or at least, he thought she would.

He rounded the corner of the hallway and found it deserted and barren. A disappointed sigh whistled through his lips as he sauntered off towards Chemistry. He should have expected this outcome, but he couldn’t help but wonder.

Lily was setting up an experiment as he strolled into class, receiving a glare from Fletcher. She smiled as he dropped his bag by his seat and plopped down with a sigh. “So, what kind of torture are we doing today?”

She smiled sarcastically. “Testing properties, and there’s colors!” she held up the bottles of chemicals and faked some enthusiasm.

He smirked and went to go grab an apron and goggles as per procedure rules. “Are you going tomorrow?” he asked when he came back, referring to the concert that night.

“What’s tomorrow?” she asked innocently, her angel face wiped of understanding.

“Uh…” he blinked and opened his mouth to remind her, but closed it again. “Nothing.” He said instead, feigning a smile and concentrating on the experiment at hand. It had been too much to hope that she would have remembered. After all, Clever had said she was supposed to go to another party.

About halfway through the class they were finished.

“Hey,” Lily suddenly broke the silence between them as Bravery attempted to read Shakespeare for his English class. “Don’t you have a concert thing tomorrow?”

He nodded.

“Why didn’t you remind me? I’m so coming, you know. I just have so much on my plate right now, I completely forgot.” She chuckled to herself and tucked some hair behind her ear.

Bravery felt a little relief, and hope, in not being forgotten. “Good, I, uh, I put you on the guest list so you can get in for free.”

“Really? Aw, thanks so much!” she touched his hand briefly with her finger tips. They were soft and smooth, just like they looked. “So, you get a lot of groupies?” she wiggled her eyebrows mischievously and grinned.

Bravery smirked. “The fourteen year olds? Sure, but I don’t really pay attention. The other guys think it’s the next best thing to being famous.” Because they were under-age, he and his band played all ages shows for the most part. Some of the time, as was the case with Elevator’s, they were able to get a more mixed crowd.

“I’ve never been to a local concert before so I’m kind of excited. Is there like a dress code I should know about or is it just whatever?” she waited inquisitively.

Being a boy, the question was about as foreign as if spoken in a different language. “Uh…” he trailed, trying to think, trying to recall what most of the kids wore at shows. All he could remember was black; lots of black. “You’d have to ask Emery.”

“Emery?” her brow puckered. “Do I know her?”

“She has pink hair – walks around like she’s angry all the time?” It was really the only way to describe the girl. A blank stare answered him. “How about you meet me at lunch and you can meet everyone – and Emery?” The instant he’d suggested it he wondered if it was such a good idea. She would definitely raise some eyebrows around the lunch table. No one knew about his crush, and therefore introducing her would only confirm that he had one. What a mess.

A grin spread over her features. “That’d be cool.”

“Yeah.” He didn’t feel as enthusiastic and went back to Shakespeare in order to pass the time in comfortable silence.

The bell rang and he bolted out of the room before Lily could get a word out. He didn’t know why he was feeling so jumpy about it; it was just a simple introduction, one he would have had to make eventually. Perhaps it was because he knew what all of them would think and say.

“Have you seen him?” Emery’s voice sounded so suddenly small. He looked down to see her fallen face and slumped shoulders. Her green eyes pleaded for him to give her an answer.

He sighed. “No, I’m sorry. No luck for you?”

She shook her head and sighed. “I need to tell him I’m sorry, Brave. There was no reason for me to act like such a bitch…but I was just so frustrated! He drives me crazy!”

“Emery, he drives us all crazy,” he put a comforting arm around her slim shoulders and squeezed, “but we all see that he’s crazy about you.”

She nodded and smiled a little thanks to him as she turned for her own class. Just as she did so he saw them. The neon coloured stripes, the Converse shoes…it had to be – the door closed to the classroom just as his eyes were about to look further upwards. He blinked, wondering if it had just been another coincidence. Perhaps he was just becoming paranoid.

Lunch came all too soon. Bravery determined during the course of English that introducing Lily the rest of the crew wasn’t a big deal, it shouldn’t have been a big deal. Yet every step closer to the cafeteria made his heart pick up a bit more speed.

“Who do you think invented pie? I mean, who wakes up one morning and thinks: hm, I think I’ll stuff some pastry dough with sugar and berries? Seriously.” Dave glanced around the table with earnest curiosity.

Layne smiled. “I think it was a mutual agreement.”

“A mutual agreement to make pie?”

“Can we shut up about pie, already?” Emery growled, stirring a pudding cup into foam. Apparently she was still no closer to finding the elusive Nyx than she had been that morning.

Hayden agreed. “It’s making me hungry.”

“You’re eating.” Bravery pointed out, setting down his own lunch.

The blond boy shrugged. “I’m not eating pie.”

Emery banged her fist on the table. “Enough with the pie!”

The group fell into humorous silence for a brief moment. It was at that particular moment that a light tap hit Bravery’s right shoulder. He knew who it was already without turning. Her scent invaded his senses.

“Hey! I’ve been looking for you.” Her smile radiated genuine warmth.

“Hi.” He could feel the weird looks being tossed his way as well. Quickly he turned to see all eyes on him. “Uh, guys – ladies – this is my…Lily.” He’d hesitated, wondering what she was exactly to him: friend, lab partner, platonic acquaintance?

“We know who you are.” Emery said with little expression. She was in no mood to be conversing with Miss Popular, no matter how normal, outgoing, or perky she was.

“Uh, Lily, this is Hayden, Dave, Layne, and Emery. Normally Nyx would be here too, but he…isn’t.” Emery glared.

“It’s nice to finally meet you guys. Dave and…Hayden? Are you guys in the band too?”

The two boys nodded the affirmative. “You should come to Elevator’s tomorrow – the show’s going to be great.” Dave smiled innocently.

Lily smiled right back. She seemed to have mastered the art of looking photo-ready. “I hope so because I’m coming, which is why I wanted to meet you all, especially you, Emery. Bravery’s talked so much about you.”

This was a lie, but Bravery thought she was simply trying to boost Emery’s obviously brooding disposition.

Emery quirked an eyebrow, her face bearing a cynical expression. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

Lily didn’t bat a perfectly mascaraed eyelash. “How you two are such good friends, how you’re always helping him…Plus, you have a wicked fashion sense, whereas I’m totally hopeless.”

“Huh,” Emery was unconvinced. “Well, I can’t say Gucci has ever done anything for me.”

“Emery.” Bravery warned.

“Actually I was hoping to get some advice on what to wear for tomorrow’s show.”

“Probably a good thing too. We wouldn’t want you gang-beaten by emo children because Heaven forbid you’re dressed differently. They tend to want to be different like everyone else if you know what I mean.” Emery’s sarcastic edge was not to be missed. “In fact, it’s probably best if you don’t come at all – there’s no telling what could happen if you were recognized.”

“Emery, knock it off.” Hayden interjected before Bravery could open his mouth.

Lily looked lost, not knowing whether to agree or disagree with the angry girl’s statements. “Well, I…guess I should be going. It was nice to meet all of you. Maybe I’ll see you at the show – you too, Emery.” His angel skittered away like a frightened cat.

Bravery glared. “Just because you can’t solve your own problems doesn’t mean that you need to ruin everyone else’s moods.”

“She was ready to wear all black and smear her eyes in eyeliner in order ‘fit in’ with a crowd. Does that sound like the kind of girl you want to be with? Huh?” Emery stood and glared. “If she was truly genuine, she wouldn’t have asked.”

“You would have asked the same question.” Bravery shot back, but knew it wasn’t true.

“Look, it’s obvious you like her so quit defending her and get it over with.” She stalked away, leaving those left at the table quiet and thoughtful.

Bravery sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

The day dragged on until the last bell rang and he was able to skateboard his way to Karny’s Laundromat. He hadn’t encountered anymore sightings of striped socks, which disappointed him. Perhaps it had been his imagination to begin with.

“We really need to work on fixing your facial expression when you come in here.” Clever’s voice echoed out as soon as he’d sat down in his usual seat.

He shrugged. “I have a lot of things on my mind, but you probably know that.”

Her socks today were not neon, they were thick pink and white alternating stripes with pink converse shoes. It was a rather girly ensemble. Her right shoe dipped up and down in agreement. “I feel bad for Emery. Lily walked right into her bad mood, although she should have spotted it with that ring she’s been wearing.”

“How do you keep up with it all?” He didn’t even feel like asking her how she knew anymore, he just accepted that she did, which made it easier to pour out his frustrations.

Her left foot twitched. “I don’t know.”

He stared at her shoes for a second. “I thought I saw you today.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah…” he trailed and shrugged. “Neon striped socks and Converse shoes – I thought maybe…”

“You thought I would wear striped socks and Converse shoes everywhere?” she laughed a little. “I like to think I’m a little more clever than that.”

He nodded. Perhaps it had only been wishful thinking on his part.

“So, aside from the Lily introduction fiasco, are you the least bit nervous for tomorrow?”

Shows didn’t scare him all that bad anymore – they used to. “A little, but it’s one of those things that I can’t take seriously.”

Her left shoe bounced around. “Does it matter to you whether or not Lily shows up or not?”

He’d contemplated that several times throughout the day. “If she doesn’t…I don’t know. I guess I can’t really expect too much.”

“She does have a boyfriend.”

There was a hesitant pause before he put his plan into action. “I put you on the guest list.”

Her foot stopped moving. “You did?”

“Yeah. I mean, I know you won’t make yourself known or whatever, but…I just thought you might want to be there.” He fiddled with the hem of his shirt and kept his eyes fixated on the linoleum.

He could hear the smile in her voice. “What did you put me down as? The Laundromat Queen?”

A smile quirked his lips. “No. I didn’t think it was your style. Just tell them that you’re Clever.”

She laughed. “I’ll think about it.”

Bravery glanced at his watch and winced. He was going to be late for his shift at the restaurant if he didn’t leave soon.

“You don’t want to be late.” She spoke his thoughts aloud.

He blinked and shook his head at her feet with a smirk. “You read people too well.”

Her feet spread outwards as if in a sort of shrug. “It’s what I do.”

“See you tomorrow, Clever.”

He didn’t wait for her response, for if he had, he might have heard the whisper of “See you.” As it was, he couldn’t be late for his shift.

A/N: I updated...finally. Aren't you proud? Sorry this has taken so long. It’ll probably undergo some revision again because it's rather sloppy. The next chapter will be better…at least, I hope so as I have most of it penned down on paper (though that could very well mean nothing).