Do you ever get the feeling that you’re being watched? Even when you turn around and make sure that you know who’s around you, you still get that sinking feeling that someone’s gonna jump out and take you away. That’s how I felt this entire week. After all the shit with Danielle I sorta felt off; like there was something going on that was gonna end badly.

I was currently feeling that way as I sat and watched PTV practice. They were in their zone. Vic was approached by a guy from a record company after the Back To School Bash. He liked their sound and said they should send a demo by the end of next month. I was kinda jealous that we didn’t get any offers but we hadn’t played as much as the Mexicore boys so we weren’t as known.

“Mike you’re rushing it again.”

“Well shit, maybe you can sing faster.”

Oh no. Ever since the boys got this offer they’d been at each other’s throats, especially the brothers. It was never too bad but ever since the Danielle shit they’d both been on edge. I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t a daily occurrence.

“Or maybe you can just go with the rest of the band.”

“I’m sorry but I thought I was the one who decided the tempo.”

“And I thought I was the reason you even have a fucking song to play.”

“Look little man, I don’t give a fuck if you wrote this shit or not. Tell me what to do again and I’ll bury you deeper than you are tall.”

“Okay guys, I think that’s enough,” Jaime stepped in. Vic and Mike didn’t hear him. Instead they went on with their intense face-off. I got up from my seat and stood between them.

“Move Kellin,” Vic growled at me through clenched teeth. I ignored him.

“You two need to stop this,” I said.

“I didn’t do shit,” Mike defended. “Tell the short shit to get off my back.”

“You’ve got one more time to make fun of my height.”

“Ooh what’re you gonna do, punch me in the face? I’m pretty sure you can’t reach that high.” Vic lost it; he charged for Mike. I caught him as he lunged forward and Jaime was there to pull Mike back. Tony stood between the two of them with outstretched arms.

“Okay seriously, you guys never fight this bad,” Tony said. “Whatever you guys are going through needs to be resolved quick.” The brothers huffed but didn’t say anything.

“Tony’s right, we can’t keep doing this,” Jaime said. “We haven’t gotten anything done in two days.”

“Can’t we all just get along?” Tony asked to break the tension. No one responded.

“I’m just gonna go home,” Vic mumbled. He struggled free from my grasp and walked off to his car. Mike sighed angrily before leaving in the same manner. Jaime, Tony, and I were left dumbfounded in the garage.

“Fuck,” Jaime said suddenly. He tugged at his hair in frustration.

“Calm down, man,” Tony said.

“How the fuck am I supposed to do that? We have a couple weeks to finish this demo and those two are fucking it all up.”

“They’re just stressed,” I said. He looked at me angrily.

“I don’t give a flying fuck, they need to get it together. We can’t keep going like this.”

“You’re right,” Tone said, “but all this anger isn’t gonna solve anything.”

“Well then it looks like nothing will.” Tony and I looked at him questioningly to which he just picked up his bass and walked out. Tony sighed once Jaime had sped down the street.

“I guess I’ll go check on Mike,” he said tiredly. I nodded.

“I’ll check on Vic.” He nodded at me before we went our separate ways. I entered the apartment and was greeted with loud curses coming from Vic’s room. I knocked on the door tentatively.

“What?” he shouted.

“It’s me.” He opened the door with a tired look on his face.

“I’m not in the mood to talk about what happened so if that’s the reason you’re here then I suggest you leave.”

Well shit.

“We don’t have to talk then,” I said as I stepped into his room. I sat on his bed and watched as he sighed and closed the door.

“Look Kell,” he started. I put a hand up to cut him off.

“We’re not talking, remember?”

“Kellin,” he said with a sigh.

“I’m not mad if that’s what you’re thinking. I know you’re stressed or whatever so we don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.” He looked at me with a blank expression before padding his way to me.

“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered as he moved a lock of my hair away from my eye.

“You’re right.” He smiled. He leaned in to kiss me. It started off soft at first, as if he was afraid that I’d pull away. I grabbed his hips and pulled him closer to me. He took it as a sign to deepen the kiss. Within seconds he was on top of me, his fingers running through my hair. I had to stop him once his hands started to roam my chest.

“Did I overstep?” he asked. I just shook my head and pulled him close so his head rested on my chest.

I knew Vic was stressed and wanted a release, but I didn’t want him to use me just so he could avoid his feelings. That’s the shit that broke us up; I wasn’t gonna go through that again.

I rubbed Vic’s back as I felt his breathing calm. My poor guy. The shit with his ex and the band was a lot on him. Add classwork and his need for a social life to that and you’d understand why he was so wound up. He would never tell me about it though, mostly because he didn’t want me to worry. It never mattered what I said, he kept it in so I wouldn’t stress out.

“I know what you’re thinking.” I looked down at him. His eyes were closed and his body was relaxed. He looked so peaceful. If he didn’t say anything I’d have thought that he fell asleep.

“What am I thinking?”

“I know you want me to open up,” he said matter-of-factly, “and I will. I promised you that I’d talk to you more so I’m gonna do it. Just don’t push me, okay?” I kissed the top of his head and held him closer. “Thank you,” he said with a small smile. I smiled back.

We laid like that for hours, not really talking but not silent either. I got him to call Mike and apologize. Of course they made up. The band and I all went out to dinner to bury the hatchet and try to get some shit settled. Throughout the meal though, I couldn’t help but feel a pair of eyes on me.

***



The whole week’s been eerie. I mean, it was October and all but things just weren’t sitting right. Aside from my blow up with Vic, Kay and I were getting tense. We weren’t fighting but shit felt too off to say that we were okay. Plus it just always felt like there was an evil presence lurking around. I felt it in some of my classes but mostly as I walked around campus.

Currently I was on my way back to my car. The boys and I were gonna go to Vic’s to play some games and just have a chill night. All this shit for the demo was stressing us out so Kay suggested that we all hang and unwind after a tough week. We even invited Gabi and her cousin so Tone and Jaime wouldn’t feel like third wheels.

I got in the car and just sat there, letting the tension of the last few days slip from my body. Thankfully all my homework was done so the hangs with the guys would be my only priority. Well, that and kicking those guys’ asses in whatever game we were gonna play.

You out of class? Your girlfriend went home to pick up her sister

I sent a “yes” to Vic and told him to get ready to get embarrassed in front of the guys.

HA! FUNNY! Btw SWS is coming over too

Cool I like those guys

I put my phone back in my pocket and stuck my key in the ignition. I pulled out of my space and went off to Vic’s place.

What the shit?

I looked up in my review mirror to see a car behind me that I’m sure wasn’t there when I left. The windows were tinted so I couldn’t see the driver but I got a bad feeling nonetheless. Matte black cars with damn near black windows that follow you out of nowhere are a trouble that no one needs to be involved with. I pushed down further on the gas pedal to try and lose the guy. Weird thing was when I looked back up at the mirror the car was gone.

I shuddered as I pulled to the front of Vic’s place. What was with that guy?

“Mike!” Jack, Justin, Gabe, and Jaime called out when I walked in. I laughed and ruffled Jack’s hair.

“Where’s my little blonde woman?” I asked as I scanned the room. There were bowls of chips and popcorn out along with boxes of pizza and bottles of beer and soda. The SWS boys were spread around the room on various pieces of furniture: Gabe and Jack were on the couch in front of the TV, Justin was sitting in an adjacent chair, Nick was on a stool near the counter of the kitchen, and Kellin was sitting on the floor. No sign of Kay though.

“She’s on her way back,” Kellin said. “Gabs took forever to get ready.” Kell and I shot a glance at Tony who had just stepped into the living room.

“What?” he asked with a slight blush.

“Nothing,” Kell answered, “just your girlfriend’s getting all pretty for you.” He made kissy faces to accompany his comment which caused Tony to blush more.

“Aww, the little turtle’s in love,” Justin joked.

“No I’m not. Shut up,” he said quickly. We all laughed while he flipped us off and went into the kitchen.

“Cheer up Tone,” Vic said as he put a hand on his shoulder, “they’re just messing with you.”

“But seriously, you love her,” Justin added.

“Stop Justin,” Kellin said, “he needs to feel it for himself. In his soul.”

Vic laughed. “From deep within.”

“Like balls deep?”

“Justin!” Ariel yelled.

“What?” he asked with a shrug. “I’m pretty sure that’s a valid question. Balls deep is pretty damn deep.”

“But whose dick are we using for these measurements? If it’s mine then yeah, I get it. Yours? We’d need to redefine what ‘deep’ is.” Justin shot Jack the deadliest look before punching him in the arm.

“You wish you had my balls, fucker.”

“How do you three put up with this?” I asked Kell, Gabe, and Nick.

“We do it for the music,” Gabe answered.

“Speak for yourself. I’m in it for the food and beer. Fuck you guys.”

“I’m hurt Nick, I’m really hurt,” Jack said with a hand over his heart.

“You’ll get over it,” Nick said with a smile. I shook my head at the guys. It was always like this with SWS. Usually I would join in on the fun but my mind was elsewhere.

I was missing Kay. Now, I knew she was on her way back but I missed her. The last few days had been filled with minimal conversations. She’d either be too upset or too busy to talk. That’s why tonight was so important to me, so I could actually spend some quality time with the woman I love.

I pulled out my phone and unlocked it. I scrolled through my call log until I found her name and tapped on it. The phone rang three times before there was an answer.

“What’s up, Mike?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to say that I miss you.”

“Awww,” I heard Gabi say.

“Sorry Mike,” Kay said with a chuckle, “you’re on speaker.” I blushed a little, thankful that neither she nor her sister could see me.

“It’s cool, it’s not like I was gonna keep you on the line for long. I just wanted to say that I can’t wait for you to get here. I’m missing you like crazy and I love you so much.” At that point all the guys were looking at me. Vic and Kell were smiling; Justin and Gabe were making faces at me, mocking me; Tony was mouthing “you love her”. I flipped them all off.

“I love you too babe. I’m about to pull up right now. I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Okay,” I said with a smile. We hung up and I put my phone back in my pocket. “Shut up fuckers,” I said when I looked up and saw all of the guys’ faces. They just laughed and shot some comments my way. Thankfully the front door opened before I said something that would’ve caused the taunting to go on forever. Gabi walked in with a huge smile on her face; her cousin following soon after.

“Man, I’ve missed you guys,” Gabs said. She waved to the SWS boys before hugging Kellin and Jaime. When her eyes met Tony she instantly blushed and walked over to him.

“Aw man, she loves you too!” Justin exclaimed.

“Dude, shut up, he hasn’t told her yet!” Kellin said in an unsubtle manner. Tony just shook his head and led Gabs to a chair in the living room.

“Where’s my woman?” I asked no one in particular.

“There were no spaces so she dropped us off to look for one,” Gabi’s cousin, Violet, said. “She should be on her way up now.” I nodded a bit too excitedly as I stood and waited for Kay to appear.

“Calm down bro,” Vic said with a laugh. “You look like you’re gonna pounce on her as soon as she opens the door.”

“I just might,” I said jokingly. The thing that happened next took all the happiness out of my body.

The door never opened; instead there was a loud noise.

No, a scream.

A woman’s scream.

Kay’s scream.

It was shrill and full of fright. We all looked at each other, none of us daring to breathe for fear that we wouldn’t hear it again. We didn’t. I got a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach so I did the only logical thing:

I ran outside to try to save my love.

***

-

They sat in wait. There wasn’t an absolute plan; basically it was just instill fear in their hearts and make them regret their wrongdoings. Somehow it turned into this.

Oh well, shit happens.

They had been watching each member of the little group for some time now. They knew their ways, their secrets. They could easily inflict so much harm if they wanted to, and they wanted to. It just wasn’t the right time.

So they sat and waited for the perfect moment. They just needed one, just one. One to be the stepping stone to the rest of their plan.

Then it came.

It was the perfect moment, the perfect target. It was all going to go so well. He looked at her and smiled. Yes, it was time.

They left their previous positions and stalked their prey. Granted there wasn’t anywhere to hide but somehow they managed to go unnoticed.

He looked at her again and nodded, a signal that she should do what they had talked about. She felt uneasy. Was she growing a conscious? Maybe. Or did she actually care about the target. No that couldn’t be it. She remembered their last encounter and her blood began to boil. No, she could give two fucks.

“Go,” he hissed softly to his partner. She nodded and ran out. Sounds of a struggle could be heard in the distance followed by a scream. Fuck, a scream. He ran out to accompany his accomplice and grabbed the target. He needed to shut her up; she couldn’t ruin this.

He pulled her by her hair and wrung her neck in his big hands. She wasn’t gonna ruin this. He pulled his prize to the car and shoved her in, ignoring the painful sobs that spilled from her mouth.

Shutting the door, he looked at his partner with a smile. Yes, this was going to work out nicely.

Notes