𝔯𝔬𝔠𝔨𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔰 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔡𝔦𝔢 [𝔥𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔶𝔩𝔳𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯]

𝔰𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔠𝔥 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔠𝔲𝔢

★★★

𝔚e casually stepped inside, glancing at one another. There was a lady sitting at the front desk, typing away at a computer. Kevin held a finger up to his lips, grabbing the pile of pamphlets and dropping them into the trashcan, thankfully unnoticed.

Kevin placed his hands on the counter, grabbing her attention. She jumped, turning to face us. A puzzled look took over her face as she swiveled towards us on her rolling office chair.

"Hey, can I help you?"

Her eyes darted between us. I stuffed my hands in my pockets, anticipating Kevin's opening line.

"Yeah, I uh... I hope so," he said, looking around the place. Planning. The lady's look intensified, nodding as he continued. "My best friend, uh, he has a problem. He's a, uh, sniffer." He whispered the last part. I bit my lip.

"Gasoline? Turpentine, butane, propane," the lady listed. I could read her name tag from where I was standing behind Kevin.

"Yeah, yup. All of those," Kevin said smoothly, "he, he mixes them. And... his parents don't know what to do, so I wanted to get them a brochure..."

Kevin turned around slowly, taking a look at me. I nodded subtly.

"You're a good friend," she said, pointing behind us. "They're right back there." She started to sit back down but noticed that there weren't any more. Kevin tapped his fingers on the counter.

"Wait, right there, I'll get some more," the woman instructed, turning around. She disappeared down some dimly lit hallway. Kevin and I shared a look and a nod. Once we were she she was gone, we slipped under the divider; Kevin pressed the green unlock button. The door before us clicked.

As calmly as we could, we walked down a wide hallway, scanning each room we passed. No dice. We came across a room with a lot of armchairs and a large TV. A group of kids was groaning; the screen flicked off.

Kevin looked at me and pointed into the room. I followed. Hunter was sitting in the center, slouched down, arms crossed across his stomach.

"Kevin? Y/n?" He was in disbelief. Kevin held out his hand, grabbing Hunter by the arm. "No, no, guys, you don't understand -"

"Tell me later. No, please. Come on," Kevin interrupted, pulling him along. I tried my best to ignore the confused looks that other people were shoving in our direction. The ever-high drummer of Mollycoddle stood before us.

"You know Ray, from Mollycoddle. He's a uh, he's a good guy," Hunter said, glancing around awkwardly. Ray nodded in approval.

"Bring him," Kevin said, releasing Hunter's arm. He looked at me, flashing a sad, guilty smile. I hung me head low.

"Okay, wait, so how are we getting out?" Hunter asked. He was rather loud. I nudged his foot as a sign for him to keep quiet. Kevin looked around him, spotting a fire alarm. He pulled it down. Sirens rang throughout the building.

The exit was slow. No one was in a rush. It was like the drills at school. The lady at the front desk (the one that was going to get us pamphlets) was scanning the crowd, making sure that everyone was there. I made a very brief, very nerve-wracking eye contact with her.

"You!" She yelled, pointing at us. A few kids gave us strange looks. All four of us took off running. The woman followed.

There was a skinny brick path behind the building. We followed it, staying close to the treeline. I was breathing heavily; I was full of adrenaline. The path had a lot more twists and turns than your average path. I guess they tried pretty hard to make walking fun, given that there didn't seem to be much in the way of activities.

We reached a small set of stairs and a fork in the path. I slipped down the last stair, falling forward. I hit my chin on the brick. Cursing loudly, Hunter swiveled around to help me off of the ground. We just barely missed the lady chasing us.

There was a man sitting on the hood of Kevin's car. As we got closer, I could see that the man was Troy Nix. What the hell was he doing here?

He stepped towards us, holding something between his fingers. It was one of the guitar picks Hunter had made.

"See this thing? It's fucking useless. You'll never get clean articulation at high speeds with a pick this thin," he said, flicking the pick out of his hand. It bounced off of Kevin's forehead. We all watched in temptation as he took out a small case from his pocket and pulled out a little purple pick, holding it out towards Hunter.

Hunter thanked him, trying to contain his what seemed to be excitement. The famous guitarist that stood before us began to walk away, walking sort of sideways as he spoke to Kevin.

"This your car?" He asked

"... yeah."

Troy let out a sarcastic laugh, "it's a piece of shit."

The car ride back was tense. I sat beside Ray in the back, who looked as out of is as ever. I kept my eyes on the back of Hunter's head, hoping to somehow will him to turn around.

"You deserve a better best friend," he told Kevin, turning his head slightly to see him. I saw Kevin's grip on the steering wheel tighten.

"Yeah, probably, but you're the one I got."

There was a long, tense pause. I could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

"I'm sorry, Kevin."

Hunter's voice was bitter, but I could tell he really meant it. Kevin sighed heavily.

"Don't say it to me."

Kevin pulled down into a cul-de-sac, where Ray got out. He thanked us before running to the front door of his house. We watched him go inside. Before pulling off, Kevin nudged Hunter's arm, jerking his thumb back towards me. I swallowed.

"Y/n, I'm sorry," Hunter mustered out, turning around in his seat. Part of me was angry at him. The other part just felt bad.

"You're a fucking idiot," I told him, crossing my arms. His expression turned to hurt. Kevin and I made quick eye contact in the rearview. I averted my gaze, looking out the window instead.

★

We were parked outside of Emily's house. Hunter leaned against the car, kicking up dirt. It spewed across the sidewalk. I ran a hand through my hair.

Kevin and Emily came outside, Emily, in a nice brown jacket. She waved hello to me but gave Hunter a less than welcoming look. He took a step forward.

"You nearly cracked my fucking skull, dude," he began, "and you put a really large dent in ny guitar. Your behavior has been violent and unpredictable."

Emily looked down at her shoes. Kevin looked at her sympathetically. Hunter took a deep breath.

"You are metal beyond reproach. So will you please, please please, please, accept my apology and crack some fucking skulls at the Battle of the Bands?"

Hunter held out his hand to her, in the form of our handshake. I began to feel guilty. Since we had that little argument last, I barely touched my guitar. But I still kept the Skullfucker pick in my pocket. It deserved that special place.

She sighed, glancing between all of us. She looked at Kevin as if asking him for help. He said her name, but Emily just shook her head.

"I - I can't," she said, "I'm not ready."

Hunter's arm fell back down to his side, and he looked down in defeat. Emily, embarrassed, went back inside. Now, alone, the three of us got back into the car. Hunter sat in the back with me this time. He reached over and grabbed my hand, circling over my knuckles with his thumb. I said nothing.

★★★