Fang felt the beat pulsing from the drum more than he heard it. He waited for his cue and started strumming his guitar, the electric one. Gazzy backed him up witht hesecond guitar. He tried to ignore the throngs of people below them and thought of the first gig they had had.

Iggy, Nudge, and Angel were waiting backstage. Nudge and Angel were working on a duet piece for him to do with Max. They didn't seem to grasp that while they might be into duets and pop music, and that they might have become famous from it, but the band made up of Fang, Gazzy, and Max, didn't do love songs. They were a punk band. Duh. Iggy had been the drum player before, but he'd been more interested in being the agent. So Max had taken his place.

The place was a dump and no more than fifteen people were watching, but that was okay with him. They were just there for fun anyway. But the next week, more people were there. Soon it was packed. They were moving up.

And now a huge stage. The Zoo Amphitheatre- Oklahoma City, hundreds of people watching them, on television too. They were this generation's Bad Religion. They even said on live ttelevision once that Bad Religion was the inspiration. Because it was.

Fang had been listening to the band on the laptop. Iggy walked up to him and listened. After a while he said, "We can play that."

"What?"

"It's just a few guitars and stuff. Some drumming, a voice. We can play that."

"Yeah…" Fang said slowly. "We could. Want to?"

"Sure, fine by me."

And then there was when Max had become the drummer. Iggy had just told them he'd rather be the manager- and he was a great one, they didn't have to wait weeks and weeks to get hold of him. They'd been discussing finding a new drummer when Max ambled over to the drum set.

"What are you doing?" Fang sighed.

"I'm not going to hurt them," she glared at him. She sat down in front of them and started a beat. Mid-sentence, Fang cut off and started listening. Max stopped and blushed.

"Do that again."

"Okay…" Max played a different beat, more complex.

Fang nodded. "We found a drummer."

Now here they were, a year later, with tons of fans. Someone had tried to give Max a new look that "Fit the band's image" a while back. Not happening. Fang was glad she'd held her ground, he liked the way she dressed. The cargo pants, blue tank top, and combat boots looked good. Of course, she was one of the girls who looked good in almost anything. She'd been talked into streaks in her hair. They looked okay.

And now they were playing Fang's favorite song, one they'd gotten permission to play because it was the first song they'd ever played as a band- Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace. Other than Bad Religion, Three Days Grace and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were some of his favorite bands.

As they played he stole a glance at Max. He caught her eye and she smiled. He smiled back. She'd been jealous at first, because of all the girl attention the boys were getting. They'd figured out something that made her a little less freaked- they'd "accidentally" gotten caught by a reporter, mid-kiss. The next day their kiss was splattered on the front cover of every magazine possible.

As they ended the concert, Fang smiled again. "You guys rock, and we would never have gotten to where we are now. Before we take off, we're going to play one more song. It's not our usual, but it was written for us by two very special little girls, which means we're going to need a few stand ins. Iggy- come on out here!"

Iggy came onto the stage and smiled. He sat down in Max's place and she loped up to Fang gracefully. The song started. It was slow, but the crowd loved it. That may have just been because it ended with Max and Fang kissing.

Below in the crowd, during the encore, a girl was backed into the corner of the fence. Her eyes widened with terror. "Please, jus leave me alone. Stop, Eric, no!" she pushed the boy away. Fang saw her shove him. Saw the boy slap her, and stopped midsentence. He walked to the very edge of the stage, hopped down and walked through the V.I.P. area. He calmly went up to the boy.

"Leave her alone."

The boy glared. "This is none of your business. We're just fooling around. Right, Charla?"

"I said to leave her alone." Fang's eyes glinted like steel. The other boy's eyes widened and he tripped away. "Are you alright?" Fang asked the girl softly. She nodded and he offered her his hand. "Come on."

The girl went with him back stage. She stayed back there and called someone to come and get her. Max looped her arm through Fang's and leaned her head on his shoulder. "You did a good thing."

Fang looked at her intently. "It had to be done."

"I know it did. But that doesn't mean I can't be proud of you."

His mouth quirked into a half smile. "Thanks."

Max brushed her lips softly against his and headed to see if the girl was okay. She insisted she was. Her ride showed up and she thanked Fang again. After she left Max cornered Fang. "So, how'd you like that duet?"

"They liked it. I liked the kiss."

"I know." She kissed him and walked away. She loved this band.

SONG LYRICS-

Animal I Have Become-

I can't escape this hellSo many times I've triedBut I'm still caged insideSomebody get me through this nightmareI can't control myselfSo what if you can see the darkest side of meNo one will ever change this animal I have becomeHelp me believe it's not the real meSomebody help me tame this animal!This animal, this animalI can't escape myselfSo many times I've liedBut there's still rage insideSomebody get me through this nightmareI can't control myselfSo what if you can see the darkest side of meNo one will ever change this animal I have becomeHelp me believe it's not the real meSomebody help me tame this animal I have becomeHelp me believe it's not the real meSomebody help me tame this animalSomebody help me through this nightmareI can't control myselfSomebody wake me from this nightmareI can't escape this hellThis animal, this animalThis animal, this animalThis animal, this animalThis animalSo what if you can see the darkest side of meNo one will ever change this animal I have becomeHelp me believe it's not the real meSomebody help me tame this animal I have becomeHelp me believe it's not the real meSomebody help me tame this animal!This animal I have become

Duet- God Bless the Broken Road-

(italic- max bold- fang normal- both)

I set out on a narrow way many years agoHoping I would find true love along the broken roadBut I got lost a time or twoWiped my brow and kept pushing throughI couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you[Chorus:]Every long lost dream led me to where you areOthers who broke my heart they were like northern starsPointing me on my way into your loving armsThis much I know is trueThat God blessed the broken roadThat led me straight to youI think about the years I spent just passing throughI'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to youBut you just smile and take my handYou've been there you understandIt's all part of a grander plan that is coming true[Chorus:]Every long lost dream led me to where you areOthers who broke my heart they were like northern starsPointing me on my way into your loving armsThis much I know is trueThat God blessed the broken roadThat led me straight to youNow I'm just rollin' home into my lover's armsThis much I know is trueThat God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you