Lunacy (6 page)

And that one second was enough to be my undoing. I
had thought that maybe I'd be partially safe, since I was standing
next to Jynxx and the rest of Battousi, and none of them were
little guys by any stretch. But a girl a little bigger than me slid
in past them, flung by some friend of hers, and slammed into me
hard enough to do several things at once: it knocked the wind out
of me, caused me to slide several feet backwards, and knocked me
into more people in the process who shoved me back in the other
direction. I felt like a human pinball, and I wasn't digging it in
the slightest. A little shoving here and there is one thing, but
I'd gotten hit in the arm enough times now that my wound was
starting to ache from the stress I was putting on it. But it had
only been three days since I'd torn it open in gym class. My dumb
ass should've known better than to be abusing it already.

I got tossed into a guy who was definitely too old to
be in high school still, and built like a tank. He was probably a
family member of someone else in the crowd or one of the bands, and
he shoved me forwards so hard that it actually lifted me off the
ground. The next body I hit was a familiar one, and I clung on for
dear life. Jynxx probably could have caught and supported me
without any issues, but I wasn't taking any chances. I wrapped my
legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, clinging to him
like a koala and not giving a damn about the compromising position
it put me in.

It also put his face dangerously close to my
cleavage, and he couldn't resist a lewd grin up at me. "Shut it!" I
half yelled, knowing he probably couldn't hear me. Another minute
of psychosis later and the music faded out, my ears ringing loudly
to fill what now seemed like silence. People filled in closer
around us, closing the gap that had been the circle which nearly
ended my life. ...Alright, I'm exaggerating, but only a little.

I was ready to stand on my own two feet again, but
Jynxx seemed reluctant to set me down. "Aww, come on! At least
you'll be safe up here!"

"Ha! I'm not sure 'safe' is quite the word I'd use,
Jynxxie. It may be the lesser of two evils, for the moment,
buuuuut... There's something about that smarmy man grin you've got
going on that I don't trust." He pouted and I poked him in the
chest firmly with my finger, careful not to break myself in the
process. "You can put me down, now."

He sighed heavily, and I was painfully aware of the
frightening potential in all the muscle that rippled just under the
very thin fabric of his shirt as he let me down. "Fine, fine. But
don't be a stranger, alright?"

"Sure thing," I added with a chuckle. "Next time I
have some guy with arms as big around as my waist chuck me like a
spear, I'll be sure to jump into your arms, ok?"

"Well... That doesn't have to be your only reason."
He gave me that smile again, the one I still wasn't used to seeing
on his face. The genuine, happy smile. Being here with his friends
and surrounded by music, he seemed much more at home and
comfortable. I was envious, but I knew where he was coming from. I
guess everyone needed some sort of sanctuary from the day to day
bull shit.

Much to my chagrin and embarrassment, one of the
lights from the stage swung out to focus on Jynxx and I. Aya
whistled into the microphone and laughed, "Alright, Kacea! Whoo!
Get it, girl!"

I covered my face and felt my ears burning as my skin
flushed brighter than a cherry. "Oh, Jesus. Someone kill me,
please..." I murmured, ignoring the short chorus of catcalls and
cries of encouragement.

“Well, if little deaths count, I can probably
assist.” Jynxx said with a grin. I couldn’t turn any redder without
losing consciousness from the rush of blood to my face and chest,
so I bit my lower lip and bopped him on the forehead with my palm.
I tried to laugh it off, not wanting to project that I could
probably be alright with that sort of murder.

My public embarrassment was short lived, as the girls
started up another song and the attention was drawn away from me. I
was more prepared this time around and managed to keep my footing
through the entire rest of the set.

The crowd eased up and parted a bit once it was over,
everyone taking a moment to cool down and catch their breath. The
girls from Take My Revolution started packing up their gear and
clearing the stage. Jynxx, Teigan, Gavin, Kenshin, and Conner all
turned and started to walk off and I grabbed my classmate’s arm.
“Where are you all headed off to?” I asked, a tiny thread of panic
entering my voice at the prospect of being alone on the floor.

He smiled and patted my hand. “The girls will come
and watch your back. No worries, Kaysh. We’re on next.”

Chapter 7

Sherry was the first of the girls to meet back up
with me, and it gave me a moment to notice that her arms were in
absolutely amazing shape. It seemed odd for a girl so short and
otherwise curvy to have biceps and triceps so defined that I knew
guys who would drool with envy. The other three joined us and I
realized that they all put me to shame, and I spent at least an
hour at the gym every day. They must have been taking some super
awesome vitamins, or spending any and all of their free time when
they weren’t practicing lifting weights.

“So, you’re running with the manslayers?” Aya
asked.

It took me a second to realize she was talking about
Battousi. That was a really weird way to put it, so I shook my
head. “Jynxx and I just recently started talking and hanging out,
and I usually serve Teigan’s drinks at work. Other than that, the
rest of their crew is new to me.”

She nodded and the tall Asian girl, Juri, spoke up.
“What’s the deal with you and Jynxx, anyway? You seemed pretty cozy
out there in the pit.”

I scoffed, my cheeks lightly burning at the memory of
how solid the muscles of his abdomen had felt pressed against me.
“There’s nothing like that between us. I don’t know if you could
even call us friends yet.”

She nodded, seeming oddly pleased. “Be careful around
him. He may not be dangerous, but he has a bad tendency to surround
himself with people who are.”

People like Gavin… I thought to myself.

Juri peered down at me with striking honey-colored
eyes that seemed to glow a little in the dim lighting around us. It
made me wonder where the original settlers of this area came from.
That pretty amber color was fairly common over on this side of
town, and it definitely wasn’t from colored contacts, so it had to
be something in the genetic roots of this place.

There was a sudden noise like popcorn cooking that
emanated from one of the microphones on stage, drawing everyone’s
attention to Battousi. Somehow, I’d been so distracted by my
conversation with the girls that I didn’t even notice they were
done getting all their equipment in place.

Kenshin’s voice was silken as he leaned forward and
said with a purposely bad Transylvanian accent and an arched brow
that would have made Bela Lugosi proud: “Good evening…”

The resounding female squeals of “We love you,
Kenshin!” almost made my ears bleed. He flashed a smile towards the
crowd in the direction of the most noise and the intensity in his
gaze almost made me blush.

“There’s a face that could melt butter,” I said with
a little smirk.

“To hell with just his face! His voice alone could do
it. And don’t even get me started on that sweet ass of his…” Aya
grinned wolfishly.

We were fairly close to the stage, so apparently the
boys could hear us talking. It seemed odd to me that Gavin heard us
way back at the drum kit over all the background noises, though.
“But, Aya! Don’t you love me anymore?” he asked with a pouty
look.

“You know I do, but Ken’s got a nicer ass! Sorry,
luv!”

Anyone near enough to hear the exchange laughed. And
Jynxx’s next action only made the whole situation more awkward. For
me, at least.

“Damn straight he does!” My classmate laughed as he
smacked the rhythm guitarist on the backside hard enough to make
him wince.

Ken rubbed the pained spot to soothe the sting. “I
like it rough and all, but Jesus… Go easy, tiger!”

My ears were burning with embarrassment, but luckily
my hair covered them so no one else noticed. “Is homoeroticism a
normal part of the show?” I asked Aya, my voice unintentionally
squeaking.

She snickered. “They’re just playing. Those boys have
been close since they were in diapers. It does tend to feed the
rabid fan girls, though…”

I nodded, still having a squeeing fan girl moment of
my own on the inside. Then something hit me that had slipped right
past initially. “Aya, are you and Gavin..?”

“Together?” she laughed. “No. We… you know,
sometimes. But we’re not together. That boy’s way too wild to be
tamed.” Aya was trying to play it off, but there was a sorrow in
her eyes that I knew all too well. She wanted to be the one to tame
him, but he was too stupid and blind to see it.

God damned playboys…

Jynxx’s voice brought me from my thoughts of slow and
painful premeditated murder. “For all you cherries out in the
crowd, we’re Battousi. This is a fairly new song for us, so forgive
us if we screw it up. It’s about being pushed too far, and it’s
called The Limit.”

Unsurprisingly, the song started out with some heavy
guitar and a light piano melody on the keyboard in the background.
The drums and bass picked up, nothing but pure synchronization
between the five of them for a moment before all but the guitar and
keyboard faded away and Jynxx began to sing. “Chained and barred,
collared and fettered, I am a thing to be toyed with…”

I gasped. “I remember seeing him writing that at
school a few days ago!”

“I can believe it,” Aya agreed. “He’s got one hell of
a set of pipes…”

“You mean his arms, or his voice?” We both
chuckled.

“Used and abused, beaten and bruised… Soon you’ll
learn that my limits don’t go very far.” The drumbeat slowly began
to pick up the background and I found myself leaning forward
eagerly, feeling every note produced by both the instruments and
Jynxx’s voice reverberating somewhere deep within me.

“How far… will it go today? Just make…this pain… GO
AWAY!” Jynxx’s voice rose to a crescendo, not quite screaming, but
as close as you could get without actually yelling. His voice was
softer than before as he went on. “I’ve… got nothing left to say.
Since I can’t go… I guess I’ll stay.”

A few screams broke out in the crowd, shouts of
encouragement from the fans. Jynxx couldn’t fight the smile on his
lips as he went on, the other boys now playing again. The whole
tempo was slowly picking up, bringing the crowd’s energy with it,
like being carried away by the ramblings of a madman.

“And I know you won’t admit it… But I... just won’t
submit. My personality’s... been split.” Everything stopped other
than Kenshin’s guitar as Jynxx roared into the microphone, “Can you
push me to the LIMIT?!”

There was a short span of about fifteen seconds when
the music continued to play at the loud and heavy pace, none of
them singing. I was almost afraid to breathe watching the perfect
union between the boys and their instruments, frightened that a
heavy exhalation might break the spell they had wrapped around us.
Everyone was silent with awe until Jynxx took his place at the
microphone again and more lyrics he’d been writing only a few short
days ago spilled from his lips.

“I can only bleed so much before I am BROKEN. Before
the daemon is loosed and the beast is AWOKEN… Those who know try to
keep me apathetic.

“And then there are those who just whip me HARDER…”
His voice went from harsh and guttural to nigh-angelic in less than
two seconds flat. “Thinking that since they are free... They are
smarter… If released, I would rule them all…”

They hit the chorus again and no one spoke as they
went on, the whole atmosphere louder and full of rage unlike in any
of the previous verses. “They keep me locked up; feel like I’m in a
cage. They know my imprisonment strengthens my rage… as I sit here,
day after lone-someday…

“But one day I’ll break free. I’ll make them pay;
I’ll make them see that NO ONE can imprison ME!” Everything slowed
down and the beat became softer, Jynxx’s voice following suit. “But
until that day comes, I’ll keep sitting here… Chained and barred,
collared and fettered… Still a thing to be toyed with…” Everything
silenced but Jynxx’s guitar and Teigan on the keyboard. “Used and
abused, beaten and bruised… We’ll see if they push me to the limit…
Today…” He held that last note like a drowning man with his last
breath, his voice shaking as he finally let it go.

The entire crowd was so quiet that you could have
heard a pin drop, and then everyone burst into an uproar of
applause and cheers that could have shaken the building off its
foundation. “Thank you!” They all spoke into their microphones as
one before going into the next song.

I was stunned, but didn’t have much time to revel in
it as their next song was apparently a crowd favorite, and a
get-your-ass-kicked-in-the-pit tune. Although I had help from Take
My Revolution, I still took a few solid elbows to the ribs and
back, along with having to duck under a windmill kick. When their
set was done, they said their thanks again and started packing up
their gear.

“You alright, girly?” Aya asked, lightly nudging me
with her elbow.

I nodded, inhaling deeply to catch my breath now that
the crowd had spaced out a bit so I could try to return my core
temperature to normal. I was sweating like I’d been doing laps in
the river of fire, and I was fairly certain that my hair was frizzy
as fuck. I sighed and told the blonde girl that I was going to go
grab a drink before the next band, Blunt Trauma, played.

“Want me to go with you?” she asked. I just shook my
head, mouthing “I’ll be ok.”