Punk & Metal

Good Boys Are Bad Boys

For a good three days I decided that I didn't want to speak much. I simply went to work, did my job, came home, slept and repeat. I didn't even get into contact with Michael. But eventually he figured something was wrong, and I truly dreaded the call I got from him asking what the deal was.

"Michael, I just had an altercation with my ex, that's all."

"What did he want?"

"To get back together."

"What did you answer," he asked with a hint of hesitation.

"I said I'm taken." I heard a sigh of relief through the receiver and smiled to myself.

"Wanna go out tonight?" he asked.

"Uh sure what time you wanna pick me up?"

"I'm sorry but I can't, I'm out with Ash and he's taking years to pick a pair of shoes."

"Oh."

"Can Luke pick you up? He's back at the apartment and totally wouldn't mind."

"Alright sounds good."

"I'll meet you there." I said bye and hung up. Julia called a little after saying she had a birthday party to go to, and I simply wished her luck and she reminded me she loved me, as always. 

Now I had to tackle the task of getting dressed. Michael didn't tell me where we were going exactly. But I was hoping it wasn't something fancy. I mean, I do like romantic dinner dates and super fancy clothes but I do believe they should be a rare occurrence. I tried thinking of something that could double as something casual and something a little fancy just in case Michael had that kind of thing up his sleeve. As I roamed through my closet I found a pair of black jean short shorts. Then I found an old Kings of Leon shirt. 

It was a shirt my dad had gotten me. I remember the day he dragged me to their concert, and he kept saying, "Do it for me because I'll have to listen to the guys sing marching songs for a year!" I tried backing out of it but couldn't in the end. He threw me into this giant pit of people who were all chanting the band's name and hyped to see them. I began to cheer along as my dad pulled me up to his shoulders so I could see better. When the band finally began to play, I finally understood why he loved them so much. He knew every word to every song and I merely swayed to its beat. I could feel the lyrics and sound flow through me and it was the best feeling I've ever had. At the end they played their hit song "Use Somebody" and everyone began to scream the band's lyrics back at them. Like a tug-of-war between fans and musicians, but in a good way. When the show ended, and the lights faded and the crowd realized it was super late, my dad looked me in the eyes and asked, "Wasn't that awesome?"

Speechless in utter awe, I couldn't think to answer any other way but to nod. He smiled back at me and took me to the tent where they were selling all the band merchandise. He bought a shirt for himself, and shirt for me that was one or two sizes too big for me.

"You'll grow into it someday. And when that day comes, we'll wear it together to their next concert," he said. Sadly, that day never came.

I haven't even touched the clothing since. I could barely stand the sight of it. I felt my throat close up and quickly looked away from it. It was a sad kryptonite. I shook the memories and thoughts out of my head and searched for something else. I found a solid white shirt with no sleeves and decided that I'd tuck it in the shorts. 

Once I got the clothes on and slipped on some braided bracelets I blow dried my hair and put on a snapback hat with a black bill and a black and white tribal print all around. I saw myself in the mirror and felt content with the look, as I usually did when I dressed myself. 

A few minutes after I strapped on my grey Chuck Taylors and grabbed my phone I heard a honk from the parking lot. I hurried to a window and checked to see if it was him and sure enough Luke poked his head out the window and waved.

I left the apartment and double checked to make sure it was locked then jogged down the stairs and made my way to Luke's car. It was a modest little black car and seemed to be freshly cleaned. I opened the door and he smiled. 

"Hey Wes."

"Luke." I buckled my seat belt and he drove off.

"Where are we headed to?" I curiously asked him.

"Michael has a friend who's hosting a party. It's kinda like an underground thing."

"Hm, okay."

"Relax, no gangs or drugs."

"Haha, alright." I gazed ahead at the on-coming road then took a glanced at Luke. Then I took a double take.

He was wearing a black button up collar shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He wore dark grey jeans with the shirt tucked in and a black leather belt with a silver buckle. I didn't mean to but I guess I was checking him out. I mean, he looked nice. Really, really nice..

"Why you uh, all dressed up?"

"Oh, I had a thing to go to and I was just too lazy to change."

"Oh." I couldn't help but glance now and again. And I was just praying he didn't notice. 

We showed up at a small little club about 20 minutes later and we both got out of the car and walked up to the entrance. Calum greeted us and led us inside. The music was really loud and the air felt kinda humid and heavy. People were in a small crowd dancing in the middle. Along the sides people were talking and in the far left corner diagonal from the door was a small bar. Calum pulled us through the mob and met up with Ash and Michael.

"Hey!" I'm pretty sure I've lost about 90% of my hearing at this point so I just smile wide and go in for the hug. Michael drapes his arm around me and starts talking to the guys a bit more. The other three boys were more casually dressed. Michael wore a solid black tank top with black skinny jeans, and was drenched in sweat. 

I took in more of the scene and could see strobe lights and lasers hit the people dancing in unison. They weren't even really dancing but more like jumping to the beat. The bass resonated through my body and I felt in a haze until Michael kinda shook me.

"Hey, Blake, I gotta go grab something from the cab."

"Alright." He kissed my forehead and ran off. Calum and Ash seemed to either follow or completely disappeared into thin air. I sat on a stool next to the bar and put my head down, trying to block out the noise. I wasn't very fond of, loud music like this.

Luke, however, interrupted me.

"Follow me."

"What?"

"Just give me your hand." He held out his open palm and I set my small hand inside it. He quickly pulled me to the opposite side of the room and opened a hidden door and pulled us behind it. When it closed it was pitch black. I began thinking to myself, "This is how I die." Luke was probably just a good looking serial killer, and I was his next victim. 

"WHERE IS THE LIGHT PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

Almost instantly he turned on the light and my comment was labeled stupid. I face palmed myself and he laughed.

"Relax."

"What is this place?"

"My little secret, I guess."

I looked around, and it was probably about half the size of the previous room. I was just about to ask him another question when he extended his hand to me.

"What do you want?"

"Wanna dance?"