I arrived at the House of Blues about an hour early, easily evading the small crowd there currently. Even though it was a small-ish room, not even a quarter of it was filled, small groups of people scattered here and there, a group of Goths near the bar on second floor. They were staring at me, and talking in low voices as their eyes followed me to the stage. I raised an eyebrow, and they started whispering to one another. I think I’ve seen them at school sometime… Yeah, definitely. They hung out behind the school, next to the track field, smoking mostly. I shook my head.

They were probably staring at my choice of clothes. Torn passed the knees, but tight black jeans with a sparkly belt, a tight red tank top torn various times at the torso, with a black fishnet shirt beneath. I wore eyeliner, surprisingly, and purple lipstick. Oh, if any of my friends were to see me now…Well, except Z, he might like it.

Z… Yeah, I wondered if I should ask him about coming to the concert, but it was so sudden and a little too late. A day in advanced? No, I should’ve asked him in the bathroom before like I wanted to. Before… Yeah, before, when I considered him a friend. When I just got interested in him.

I noticed far more people had entered the room, and were descending the stairs to the middle floor. It was a group of five or six people, at first glance all girls, and all were brightly dressed. Like, Raver-style. One, a girl in the front, had a bright blue Mohawk, the sides neatly trimmed, and the wing standing straight up. Not a single hair was out of place. Around her eyes was bright green eye shadow, and her lips were doused in red lipstick. Her outfit was a black and white paneled short skirt thing one would find in the sixties or seventies. Her shoes were merely purple Converse.

The next chick wasn’t as extravagant, she wore tight jeans and an orange tank top. Her long sleeved green shirt beneath was tight, and showed off all of her curves. Her hair was short, red, in a spiked shape. And she wore only eyeliner.

But it was the girl in the back that really kept me staring. She wore a purple tank top, showing off her smooth pale arms, until a pair of striped rainbow arm warmers came to her elbows down to her fingers. Her skirt was short, leather, black, showing off shapely, pale legs. Her feet adorned big, black leather boots, with spikes along each side. I looked up into her face, and noticed short, dark purple hair hung to her shoulders. Green eye shadow circled her eyes, and her lips were neatly outlined with black lip liner.

The group came to stand next to me, facing the middle of the stage. They talked in low voices, laughing occasionally. I tore my eyes away from the girl in that was in the back, but was now two people down from me, leaning on the railing. I thought to myself, either she was really young, or she was really flat chested…

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and looked down slightly to the first girl, who was smiling kindly up at me.

“Excuse me, but, don’t you go to our school?” I thought back to her, placing her face, finally, with that of the freshman treasurer. I nodded.

“Yeah, you’re treasurer, right, um… Stacy?” She nodded, beaming.

“See, Xander?” She squealed turning to one of her friends, “It is that guy you keep talking about!” I looked to the person she was talking to, and saw the girl that had entranced me. Wait a minute… What did Stacy call her? Xan-…

I nearly fell over when Z’s friends pushed him into me, and I moved an arm around him to keep him from falling. He smiled shyly up at me. I laughed.

“I didn’t know you liked Dead Puppets,” I told him, slightly intrigued. So, we had more in common then I had thought.

“Yeah, I, uh… Yeah…” He said, moving out of my arms, but still standing closely.

“I-V is, like, so fucking hot!” One of the girls said, and I noticed her to be Fred, a girl that was said to be lesbian at our school. She was teased very much, and it got so bad, that at Gym days, she was to dress in the bathroom alone. Well, that shows she wasn’t lesbian, or at least fully, after all.

Z blushed darkly, and punched her lightly on the shoulder, before whispering in her ear. She giggled and turned away, with their other friends, and Z stood closer to me. We were silent for the next five minutes, but I could tell by the way he bit his bottom lip that he wanted to ask me something. I prodded slightly, but he just shook his head, smiling. “It can wait till later,” he told me.

Shortly after the show started, and the opening band was shown as the curtains opened. Some local band I haven’t heard. Z obviously had, because he immediately jumped up, giving the metal horns, shouting to someone named “Killy”. The lead singer, and guitarist, smiled down at him, his opening words dedicating the show to Z.

They began playing a fast paced metal tune, the lead singer saying something about “fucking a fag”. Z grabbed my arm, and had me start jumping up and down with him. The band, I son found to be named “Unidentified Bodies”, was very good, and I was screaming along with everyone else as they finished. The next song began, and a mish pit started. I thought, This early on in the show, I wonder what’ll happen with Dead Puppets.

After half an hour of playing, Unidentified Bodies told everyone to stay true, and to tell everyone that tries to change them to fuck off and die. I agreed wholeheartedly. When everything was quiet once more, and the lights were turned on for intermission, I noticed Z had a hold of my hand, and had the whole show. I grinned.

“We’ll see them after the show,” Z promised me, leaning against me for energy. Z’s friends were nearby, looking at us and whispering excitedly. My heartbeat quickened, and I was suddenly terrified they would tell Vivian of this encounter. That is, if any of them knew her… From what I can tell, Vivian doesn’t usually hang out with the school Lesbian, the leader of the Thespians, or the Freshmen treasurer. I was in the clear.

“Hey, aren’t you Vivian’s lover?”

Well, until now.

I looked down at the girl that had spoken to me, and suddenly felt sick. She was Catherine Turner, a new student that Vivian had been asked to show around the school for a few days, being class president. Thus, they became best friends, and star swimming members of the women’s team.

I looked down at her, in her mascara laden eyelashes, and decided, then and there, to ever deny any contact with Vivian that ever may have been made. I shook my head, swallowed my guilt, and said, “N-no…”

“Oh.” She looked away, thoughtful, before turning back. “Because, I thought I saw your picture in her locker…” I shrugged my shoulders as if I didn't care.

“Well, it could’ve been someone else,” I excused, regretting my words. But I look completely different from usual, right? I mean, she could say it was a mistake… I saw Catherine nod, and move away, back to her group that sat in the back at a table. They were all looking at me. I felt like a traitor.

I gently disentangled my fingers from Z, ignoring his questioning look, and the lights soon went out for the Dead Puppets.

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Robin's Note: Not sure if there is a House of Blues in Florida, so yeah. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I'll probably ignore it. But I will still be thankful, really. So, yeah...