"Why are we doing this again?" Layne asked, flicking her eerily dark nails against the bass guitar Danny Robbins—we call him Vader—was practicing on. "We know we're good. We don't have to tell the world we are." She rolled her green eyes, which matched the green hair streak that was behind her left ear.

"Because." I waited until our entire band was looking at me. "Because if they think we're good, then we'll feel better about ourselves?"

Chris Plovert, the drummer, snorted. "You just want Derrick to see you play." He twirled one of the two drumsticks in his right hand as he smirked at me.

"Oh, please. You're the one who was begging Claire Lyons to watch us play," I retorted. Layne—she's the keyboardist—high-fived me. None of us like Claire Lyons or that stupid group she calls the Pretty Committee. Claire with her obviously bleached blonde hair and blue eyes. The one with the acting contract.

I despise her.

"The House of Blues would like to welcome a new band. Give it up for Crack Dominoes!" I cringed at the sound of the name Layne and I had chosen for our band. We chose it three years ago, when we were dumb 8th graders.

Layne and I had been best friends all our lives. Her mom and my mom had met in college, and had been best friends ever since. You could say that we've been glommed together, but I don't mind. Layne doesn't either.

That's what best friends are for.

We used to be friends with Kristen Gregory, one of Claire's friends, back in the days when our moms signed us up for AYSO. Kristen was our best player, and she was the most supportive too. She wouldn't criticize anyone's skills.

Unlike now.

I met Vader in the fifth grade when I started going to guitar lessons. We both go to Westchester Guitar school—I play electric guitar, he plays bass. Vader then introduced Layne and I to Plovert, one of his friends.

Thus, Crack Dominoes was born.

I followed Layne, Plovert, and Vader onstage and stood in front of the microphone, taking my position as lead guitarist and vocals. "Hey, everyone," I greeted the cheering crowd. "We're gonna start the show with Yellowcard's song Light Up The Sky." I pulled my guitar pick out of the strings and began playing the opening chords.

"You're making a choice to live like this," I sang to the crowd, not caring if my voice cracked. Hopefully it wouldn't. "And all of the noise, I am silence. We already know how it ends tonight. You run in the dark through a firefight. And I would explode just to save your life. Yeah, I would explode." I grinned at Layne as the chorus came up.

"Let me light up the sky, light it up for you." The crowd started to clap to the music.

"Let me tell you why I would die for you." I began to pick out faces in the crowd—my mom's, my neighbor's, my guitar teacher's, and Claire. Derrick Harrington—yeah, that Derrick—had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Claire didn't seem to be paying attention to the music. In fact, she looked bored.

Unbelievable.

-:-

The green room is probably the greatest room in the world. Except for the fact that it's more of an orange, not a green. But that's just what I think.

"So." Plovert twirled his drumsticks—he's never without them—and sat on Layne's lap, who struggled to push him off. "That was a pretty good crowd tonight. The ladies loved me."

"Yeah, okay," I scoffed.

"Whatever, you're just jellin'," Plovert raspberry-ed me and I rolled my eyes.

"So, when do you think will be our next gig?" Layne flicked off a stray piece of dry black nail polish.

I shrugged. "Who knows?"

"I'm gonna try to get us a gig at Karma," Plovert said evenly, tapping his fingers on the rough upholstery of the green room couch.

I almost choked on my grape Bubbilicious. "You lie," I managed to choke out.

"Yellowcard couldn't get a gig there," Layne challenged.

"I have my connections," Plovert waved his finger mysteriously around his cell phone.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Vader came in out of nowhere.

"Where were you?" I poked his Volcom hoodie.

"Bathroom," Vader stated before sitting on me.

"Get off," I giggled. Sure, Vader's saliva capacity was of a whale, but he was cute. The hazel speckles in his brown eyes were squeal-worthy and he always smelled like Axe. "I mean it. Now."

Vader grinned at me and leaned toward me, as if he were about to kiss me. Instead, he whispered, "Is it your time of month, Mass?"

This time, I pushed him off. "It's not, you big perv!" I screamed from the top of my lungs. Layne cracked up and almost snorted out the Dr. Pepper she had been sloshing down for the past five minutes. "Gosh darn you, Danny Robbins."

Vader's left eye twitched as he mouthed the words, "You'll pay." He dived onto me and started to pull at the purple hair streak that started at my right ear, much like Layne's green streak. I giggled as he started to tickle-fight me.

Plovert was the first to stop staring at the two of us. He cleared his throat. "Let's keep this PG, alright kiddies?" He elbowed Layne, who just shoved him away.

I'm seriously waiting for those two to get together.

"Massie, sweetie?" My mom's blonde head popped into the green room, followed by my dad's bald patch and Brendon, my 9-year-old brother. I immediately jumped away from Vader, who tore himself away from me. "It's 10:03. We need to leave now, honey."

I scrunched my lips to the side and sighed. "Really?"

"Yes, so say bye to your friends. The car is in Parking Lot 2, around the middle. Be there in 10," she said before leaving.

"Can I have your autograph?" Brendon staggered towards Plovert.

"Brendon, go," I hissed.

"Pooface," he barked before scurrying out the door.

I crossed my arms. "Darn you, Layne. With your 11:30 curfew and your mom not having a care in the world."

Layne shrugged. "See you tomorrow. I need more hair paint. Plus if I go another day without buying that belt from Hot Topic, I'll rip my hair out," she joked.

"Mmkay. Peace out." I did a quick peace sign.

"Bye," Plovert waved before diving on Layne.

Vader threw a green eraser at my head and smirked. "Bye Massie."

(AN: Yes, I happen to be fascinated with Light Up The Sky xD But I like Panic at the Disco better than Yellowcard. Haha. And I only like Massie when she isn't PC-ish. Haha. I know, I'm weird :D

Yes, Vader is back from wherever the hell he disappeared to. Lol.

Thanks to Aly for helping me : I co-wrote LSAG :D WOOOT. Go read it. Now. Aly is like, the best writer ever :

Rate & Review, perty please)