Rockin' Romeo and Jammin' Juliet

Your Fetish Is My Attention

Chapter 18: Your Fetish Is My Attention

((Playlist: Nine In The Afternoon by Panic! At The Disco))

Jackson waited for her in the usual spot after school, flicking through a stack of CD's absent-mindedly.

He smiled when she got into the car. "Hey, Soph. How've you been?"

"Pretty good," she said, watching as he popped a CD in the player.

She listened to it for a moment. "Is this Pretty. Odd?"

"You learn fast," he said, glancing away from the road for a moment to smile at her. "I kind of like to pretend most of this album didn't happen though. I love Panic! At the Disco, but this album just isn't as good as the others."

Sophie clicked forward a few songs. "Yeah, but what about this one?"

As the opening riffs of 'Nine in the Afternoon' came on, Jackson shrugged amiably. "This one's an exception."

Sophie laughed. After a few lines, she couldn't help but sing along.

"Into a place where thoughts can bloom.
Into a room where it's nine in the afternoon."

Sophie sang the whole song through, word for word. She didn't realize the car was stopped until she looked over at him and noticed he was staring at her.

"What?" She asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You have a pretty voice," he said, his expression genuine. "You should sing more often."

Sophie blushed. "I'm not much of a singer."

"You should be."

Before she could find something to say, Jackson turned his attention back to the road.

"By the way," Jackson said a few moments later, "Now that you've done a concert, we're all taking you out for initiation after practice."

"Initiation?"

"Yeah, like initiation into the band."

"What, like hazing?" Sophie furrowed her brow.

"Oh no, nothing that extreme. It's just a little something we have every band member do. It's no big deal," he reassured her.

"What kind of initiation is it, then?"

"You'll see," Jackson smiled cryptically.

The band practice went by in a blur of banging (the drums), screaming (Lilith's signature singing style), fingering (the guitars) and blowing (Evan had a surprise recorder solo) and before Sophie knew it, it had already been over two hours.

Jackson put the microphone back on the stand. "That's enough for today. There's something we need to do."

"Like what?" Dave unplugged his guitar and crossed his arms.

Jackson snatched up Sophie's sheet music and drumsticks and gave the band a mischievous grin. "The initiation."

Lilith rolled her eyes. "She's being initiated? Seriously?"

"Yes," Jackson retorted, "because she's in the band now."

"But she's so... boring." Lilith eyed Sophie with an air of distaste. Sophie scowled.

"Shut your cakehole and get over it," Jackson rolled his eyes at his cousin. "She doesn't have to be Satan's lapdog like you to be considered 'cool.'"

"For the last time- I'm not a Satanist, I'm a Wiccan!" She glared at Jackson.

"Hey, guys. Chill out before Lilith puts a curse on our families, okay?" Dave implored. "Let's just go initiate this one here." He grabbed Sophie in a light headlock and rubbed her head with his fist. Sophie smirked and playfully shoved him off.