The gymnasium was filled to the brink. Serena didn't expect the school gym to be so small, or at least didn't expect there to be so many people in the room. It wasn't as big of a deal to her as it was to many of the other people in the room. It was her video, but a high majority of the people was unknown to her. This wasn't the first time she shot a video in the school gym, but it was clearly going to be the last time. If this video became a success, there would be even more people involved in the shoot, and there would be no way to fit them all.

There was no question about it. Serena was with a record label now, and they would ensure by any means necessary that the video became just as popular as the song was when it was released the week prior. They were going to make sure that they were going to get what they paid for, and they were certainly paying a lot.

Serena was sitting on the bleachers while everyone else, most of which she couldn't even keep track of, set up for the video shoot. Serena just watched them, trying to give them nicknames to help pass the time. It worked for a while, and it kept her entertained for a few minutes, but after about half an hour, she found it hard to distinguish between "too much make-up girl" and " blonde girl with the headset" and suddenly "dude with 'Panic at the Disco' T-shirt" began to look a lot like "guy with ripped jeans and industrial in his ear". They were all the same on the inside: worker ants hired by a corporation as a means to an end. Serena was one of them, too.

When Serena began her career, she had a circle of six good friends that helped her through thick and thin. They were her real crew. Ryan Smith had an argument with Serena about signing with the record label and refused to continue working with her. Serena could see that Ryan was right, but it was too late. Ryan had already found a new group of friends. Angela Whittle was a confident for everything aesthetic, but when the record company provided their own make-up team, Angela found herself without a job. Serena still talked to her, but Angela increasingly ignored her calls and texts as the days went on. Bastion Martin had connections, and he was able to find the right equipment and prefect locations for shooting, even if his means were a tad illicit. The record company didn't find his actions appealing. Serena told him to stay away from her for his own good, and it was the hardest thing she ever had to do.

Only three of her original crew was actually in the room at the time. Aaron Self was there, but he wasn't the Aaron Self she once knew. He was the smart guy who actually did all the calculations and paperwork to record the videos by themselves. He soon began to hang out with the record company people, and Serena found it hard to distinguish him from the other workers. Now that she looked carefully, he might have actually been "dude with 'Panic at the Disco' T-shirt". Lorenza Pinamotti was also there. She was the foreign exchange student that latched on to her when she first arrive and was always one to come up with cool and original ideas. With the disappearance of her other friends, Serena considered Lorenza to be her best, but not her favorite. Lorenza always considered her ideas to be the best, and ever since she began working with the company, she refused to negotiate her terms. The only difference between her and Aaron Self was that Lorenza would at least occasionally hang out with Serena on her down times, not that it was very often.

Then there was Kyle. He didn't have a last name because Serena never asked him what it was. She met him exactly a week before she signed the record contract, and he didn't have a say in it. Sitting there on the bleachers, she thought about what his decision would have been because she would have listened to it without question. Kyle was her only true friend, because Kyle was the only person acknowledging her existence while everyone else was setting up the equipment.

"What anything to eat?" he ask as the slid down the railing. "I'm going really fast to the Wendy's across the street. You want a burger or something?"

"I don't think I'm supposed to," Serena replied, not wanting to look Kyle in the eyes. She wouldn't be able to tell him it if she looked him in the eye. "I don't think I'm even allowed to leave."

"It's not like anyone is paying attention to you."

You are. She wanted to say it. She wanted to let him know how much his attention meant to her, but she was afraid that the company fed on her needs. If they new anything, they would try and steal Kyle away from her too.

"Come on. Real fast. We'll be in and out before anyone even notices. How about—oh no. Scott is talking to Rachael. Actually, it looks like Rachael is talking to Scott. I need to put an end to that immediately. I'll be right back." With a deep breath, he stood up and began to walk over to the other side of the gym.

Rachael McFadden was a name that Serena was familiar with. It was Kyle's girlfriend. Serena knew he had a girlfriend. It didn't change how much she appreciated—rather, needed—his attention. She was nice, but she was getting friendly with the company, specifically Scott. She wasn't sure if that was his first or last name. She called him Scott, but some of the ants called him Mr. Scott. Some people call him Ryder—or Rider. His name was either Scott Rider or Ryder Scott. Either way, he was the director of the video and middle management at the company.

Then there was Dozen. Her name was Madison Twelve—her actual birth name—and she was a fellow singer on the same label. The company insisted that she appear in the video as well as sing a verse to be added to the song on the re-release. Serena had nothing against her, but she was part of the company, and that made her the enemy. Serena and Dozen were complete opposites in appearance. Dozen was a beautiful blonde whose hair was pulled back in a pretty ponytail. Serena was a redhead (dyed on the request of the company) and she wore a suit, a motif that carried over from when she and her friends ran the show. The piercings she had on her body were a part of her she would never let go.

"Let's go," Kyle said. Serena didn't even notice that Kyle was back at her side. She looked across the gym to see that Rachael was now talking to an ant and that Scott appeared to be arguing with another poor, defenseless ant. Kyle extended his hand and Serena eagerly took grasp of it. He led them out the side door with no one noticing, or at least no one acknowledging. A few ants permeated the outside, but they too did not acknowledge either of them. They traversed through the school hallway and Serena was enjoying her new sudden invisibility. Her bliss was so much that she didn't even realize that they were heading in the wrong direction, and it wasn't until her invisibility was shattered that she realized why.

Dozen turned around the corner and waved both of them over. With a smile, Kyle led Serena over to where she stood. What are you doing? We're escaping. The point of an escape is to avoid operatives of the company. Suddenly, Serena wanted Dozen to go away and never come back, despite the fact that she had never done anything against her.

"You got away. Cool," Kyle said. His calm demeanor shattered Serena.

You invited her?! Actually, I should say that one out loud. "You invited her?"

"Yeah," he said with his delightful grin. "She looked a lot like you. Lost in a sea of confusion. I figured she needed an escape as well."

Then she should find her own Kyle. You're mine! "Okay." The enchanting bliss Serena once felt no longer existed, replaced by dread and suspicion as they arrived at Wendy's. Kyle took his place in line and asked both girls; "What do you guys want."

That's not how it's supposed to be. It's always, 'What do you what?' Now there's someone else intruding. I was wrong. She's not an ant. She's something much worse.

Serena looked at Dozen, who didn't notice she was being started at. Serena held the urge to attack her, but her imagination ran wild with different ways she could take Dozen out of the picture. As random as they were, they had the same motif: it was slow and painful and it left Dozen beaten, battered, and begging for mercy, that which Serena would never give. It was perfect, and if she didn't fear that it would drive Kyle away, she would have done it right there.

"Just some fries," Dozen replied.

"Medium soda," Serena said without any hesitation.

Kyle nodded, and turned to the cashier. In a few minutes he was juggling the orders, which he skillfully dispensed. "Alright. We should totally get back before were spotted. The last thing I need is Scott breathing down my neck."

"Just a minute," Dozen said. "I have to use the bathroom. Wait for me, alright?"

"Sure," Kyle said sublimely.

She skipped off melodiously, leaving Kyle and Serena to wait by the door until she finished. "Are we still on for the movie tonight?" she asked instinctively

"Of course. We've been planning to see that Orlando Bloom movie for over a week."

"Just us, right?"

"Right, unless you want someone else to join."

"No. Just the two of us is perfect."

Dozen came out of the bathroom with a smile, and Kyle gave her a quick hug before they left the building. Serena let it go. Dozen wasn't an ant, but she wasn't anything worse. Serena still had Kyle in her corner, and even if he didn't realize it, subconsciously he knew how much his friendship really meant to her. At that point, she realized whom she had actually written Obligate Parasite for in the first place.