Disclaimer: I own nothing except New Wawanakwa, the Robin and the Maiden, and Sunday's. If you're wondering what those are, read on.
This is a Secret Santa fic for the TDWF Secret Santa pinch hitter, kamikaze2007. Thanks for giving me a lot of freedom to do with what you asked for, and I hope you like what I've written. Also, thank you for being our group's pinch hitter, not everyone would have a present if it weren't for you. Have a Merry Christmas!
Dates
Everybody has more in common than they think they do. Some things in common can be as basic as a favorite color to things as complex as what someone did last weekend. We're all so focused on our own individual lives that we never really notice other people doing the same thing we are; when we see each other after our last encounter, we hardly ever realize the other might have experienced the same thing in the same time frame. The world offers a lot of possibilities, and one of those possibilities is someone you might hate is doing the same thing at the same time on the same day as you. Whether you discover that fact is up to you.
6:30 AM, Saturday
Gwen finished brushing her black and dark blue hair, doing one final check in the mirror to be sure her hair was alright. Once she approved of her work, she exited the bathroom, and glanced into her mother's room.
Her mother slept sprawled out across her bed, her hair in a frenzy as usual. She worked so hard; she deserved that sleep every night.
Returning to her own room, Gwen picked up everything she would need for her little trip. Picking up her sketchpad, her case of drawing pencils, and her case of colored pencils, she carried them downstairs to the front door. Setting them down next to the entryway, she walked over to the kitchen, peering at the note she left on the counter so her family would know where she went so early in the day. Walking away from the kitchen, and past the dining room, she peered into the living room.
Just as she thought, her brother still hadn't woken up yet. He was stretched out across the couch, emitting a slight snore, and a video game controller sat on the floor right in front of the couch.
Returning to the front door, she smiled to herself as she heard a rumbling sound outside. Right on time. Picking up her stuff, she opened the front door, and walked outside. She smiled more when she saw Trent dismounting his motorcycle, which he turned off so as not to wake Gwen's family.
"Morning, beautiful?" He greeted her, striding over to peck her on the cheek. "You ready?"
"Morning yourself, handsome." She replied with a grin. "Yeah, I've got everything I need." She held up her art supplies.
Trent gathered the supplies in his arms. "I'll take those then." He strode over to his motorcycle, and kneeled down next to the back of it. Gwen stood back watching as he opened up one of the saddlebags on the back of the motorcycle, and put her supplies inside. Once he closed up the saddlebag and made sure it was secure, he stood back up, and circled around to the other one on the other side. "Alright, we're all set," He reached inside, and pulled out a helmet like his, tossing it to Gwen, "you're going to want this."
The Goth girl put on the helmet, and buckled it while Trent mounted the vehicle to start it up. The engine rumbled upon ignition, and Gwen wordlessly climbed on behind Trent, looping her arms around his waist.
"Okay, here we go." He said to her over the motorcycle's noise, pulling out of the driveway, and driving down the street.
As they began their ride, Gwen scooted up closer to Trent, a content smile on her face.
8:30 AM
A couple hours later after the sun had risen higher in the sky, Duncan got out the last of his morning grogginess as he ascended the basement stairs up to the main floor of his house. Sauntering into the kitchen, he pulled a box of cereal from the pantry, snagged a bowl from the cupboard, whipped a spoon out from the utensil drawer, and plucked the milk carton from the refrigerator in a series of fluid motions. Carrying them into the dining room, he noticed his mother already at the table eating her breakfast.
She looked up from her phone she had next to her breakfast plate when she heard him enter. "Morning, Duncan."
"Morning, Mom." He responded bluntly. Setting out his stuff on the table, he slid into his usual chair. After preparing a bowl of cereal, he picked up his spoon, and began eating. "So," he said as he took his first bite, "how's dear, old Dad this morning?" He asked semi-sarcastically.
"Oh, he's fine. I almost think his flu is starting to let up. He should be back on his feet by Monday." His mother said, taking a bite out of her toast with jelly.
Duncan stuck another spoonful into his mouth as he mumbled, "Great."
"You're going out with Courtney today, right? That's what you said earlier this week, didn't you?" She inquired.
He nodded. "Yep. With third quarter tests over, I thought it was time to get all that stress out of her butt, and get her to enjoy herself. It's been irritating hearing her spaz out about tests the last three or four weeks, and this seems like the perfect time to get her to shut up about tests until she starts freaking out again near finals."
"You could say that a little nicer, couldn't you?"
"I could, but you know I have no real 'rudeness filter' in the morning."
"Of course, of course." Half-heartedly, she nodded, and finished her toast. Pocketing her phone, she picked up her plate and cup, and took them to rinse in the kitchen.
Soon after his mother left the dining room, Duncan finished off his cereal, slurping the remaining milk in his cereal bowl, and took the bowl into the kitchen, where he unceremoniously dumped it into the sink.
After a quick wash-up in the bathroom on the house's main floor, he passed through the living room, and was going to head out when something caught his interest.
On top of a cabinet in the living room sat a dish. The dish was where the keys to the family's vehicles were kept. Along with the keys, a dark gray billfold sat in the dish. Usually, Duncan's father would leave his wallet on his nightstand, but once an occasion, he left it in the dish when he was too tired out.
Duncan smirked. Sliding over to the staircase leading up to the second floor of the house, he could hear his mother in the master bathroom. He also remembered that his father was in the middle of a flu bug. Still smirking, he meandered back over to the cabinet, and snatched the billfold from the dish. Opening it, he glanced inside to see how much cash it currently held. Compared to Duncan's, it held a lot more. He folded it shut, and slid it into his back pocket, which also contained his own wallet. Whistling nonchalantly, he grabbed his car keys, and left the house.
8:50 AM
"Can I see it now?"
Gwen giggled. "No, it's not done yet."
"Come on, we rode out here, watched the sun finish rising, and now I've been waiting for like an hour while you drew the sun. I want to see the drawing." Trent pleaded, cracking up as he did so.
"Alright," Gwen rolled her eyes good naturedly, "fine. You can see it pre-finished. Happy?" Handing her sketchbook over, she took another glance at the view in front of them both.
Trent took the sketchbook, and examined Gwen's work. He blinked in surprise. The drawing did not look as he expected it to.
Earlier that week, Gwen had asked him to drive her to the Thousand-Foot-High Cliff on an early morning that weekend. He agreed, under the only condition that he could drive her on his motorcycle.
So they had watched the sun rise as Gwen wanted to, and he patiently hung around waiting for her to complete her piece. He was patient after all, he knew what it was like spending hours on end making a piece of art, even if his and Gwen's versions of art were slightly different.
To his surprise, Gwen had not only drawn the sun rising over New Wawanakwa's skyline, but she had also drawn him on his motorcycle, viewing the sunrise. No wonder she had glanced at his motorcycle every few minutes or so when she drew.
"This," he began to say, "this is awesome. I didn't think you'd draw me in this." He handed back the sketchpad.
"It was a spur of the moment idea." She explained. "We were up here together, and I just thought instead of only doing the sunrise, I would also draw someone watching the sun rise. Having someone in the picture just adds a little something." Looking up from her drawing, she gazed at the view again. "It's not quite finished yet. I have to fine tune a few details, and color it all in, but I think it's good for now. I can always take a picture, and finish it at home." She reached for her cellphone, only to realize she didn't have it with her. "Aw man, I forgot to bring my phone."
Trent held up a reassuring hand. "It's okay. I've got it." Reaching into his pants pocket, he retrieved his phone, and held it up to snap a picture of the scene. He then typed on the screen, and finished with a click of his thumb. "There, I sent a picture to your phone." He glanced at his motorcycle. "Want me to send a picture of my bike too?"
Gwen shook her head. "Nah, I already have a picture of you and your motorcycle I can use. I just needed the picture of the sun rising. Thanks, though."
He checked the time on his phone. "Hm, almost nine o' clock. Did you have breakfast already? I had some before I picked you up."
"Yeah, I had breakfast, but I am a little hungry." She answered. Humming in thought, she snapped her fingers. "How about we hit a café for a little bit? I could use a bite to eat and some coffee. Waking up early for this means I would need a caffeine boost."
"Alright," Trent agreed, putting his phone back in his pocket, "but since it looks like you forgot to bring money along, it's all on me." He joked.
"Okay, let's go." She chuckled.
They packed up Gwen's stuff back in Trent's saddlebag, and left the Thousand-Foot-High Cliff.
12:00 PM
Heather answered the doorbell after getting ready for her afternoon. She opened the front door, and she saw Alejandro standing on her porch.
"Hello, mi amour. Ready for our afternoon date?" He asked suavely.
"Do I look like I'm not ready?" She retorted, posing to show off how ready she appeared.
"Right, stupid question." Alejandro nodded with a smile. "First things first. I could not appear to find my wallet this morning. Since I was over here last night, I believe it might still be here. Mind if I take a look?"
She stepped aside, rolling her eyes. "Be my guest."
Alejandro stepped inside the household, and went straight to the den. He remembered that last night, he and Heather were curled up on the sofa, watching a movie. If his suspicion was correct, his billfold should still be there.
Entering the den, he walked over to the sofa, and to his dismay, his billfold was not on the couch. "Not here… hm, perhaps it fell between the couch cushions." Lifting up the couch cushions one by one, he found nothing but loose change until he pulled up the last cushion. His eyes lit up as he did so. "Aha." His dark red wallet, though slightly dusty, was sitting tucked away in a corner of the sofa. "There it is. I knew that's where it was." Picking it up, he replaced the cushion on the couch. After a quick check that nothing was missing from his billfold, he wiped away the dust it had gathered overnight, and slipped it into his back pocket. Turning around, he walked back to the front door where Heather was waiting.
"You ready to leave now?" Heather questioned impatiently.
"Yes, let's head to the mall now."
"Great," Heather grabbed her purse, "because there's some stuff I know is on sale today, and I have to get it all before someone- agh!" She explained before some sort of liquid fell on her from above, and caused her to shriek, dropping her purse to the floor in the process.
Up on the second floor right above the foyer, Heather's little brother stood with a blender pitcher containing the remains of whatever liquid he had just poured on her. "Why dear sister, it looks like you've got some pureed shrimp in your hair. How did that happen? Hope it doesn't mess with your date." He pondered in a sarcastically sweet tone.
"Damien, you little piece of crap! I am going to kill you!" Heather shouted as she shook the chunky liquid off her arms, examining her ruined outfit.
Blowing a raspberry down at her, Damien cackled as he retreated off to somewhere else in the house.
Heather jabbed a finger up at where he had just been. "You better watch yourself, brat! I'll get you back for this, just you wait!" With an irritated growl, she scowled at Alejandro. "Wait down here and give me an hour, I'll be back. Watch my purse, I don't want that little pest getting it in his filthy hands."
Nodding his head, Alejandro answered, "Of course, mi amour."
Flipping her shrimp-soaked hair, Heather ascended up the stairs.
As his girlfriend went upstairs, the Latin lover bent down to pick up the dropped purse. Tucking it under his arm, he observed the little bits of blended shrimp that Heather had shaken off, or had missed Heather entirely. He hummed thoughtfully. "Perhaps I should clean this up in the meantime. I'm sure her family does not appreciate messes simply lying around their luxurious household." Standing upright, he stepped around the mess, and went in search of cleaning supplies.
12:30 PM
"Duncan, put me down!" Courtney commanded shrilly.
Duncan chuckled. "Come on, Princess! We're almost to the car, might as well go all the way."
"If the neighbors see this, they'll think you're kidnapping me and call the authorities!"
"No they won't, they know our relationship too well."
To people that didn't live in New Wawanakwa, the display currently going on would raise some eyebrows, and possibly concern them. People that lived in New Wawanakwa, however, wouldn't bat an eyelid. The sight of New Wawanakwa's top delinquent, Duncan, carrying New Wawanakwa's student council president, Courtney, out of her house over his shoulder was one the community was very familiar with. Whenever Courtney was being too particularly stubborn to go with the flow, Duncan often resorted to this method so she would eventually have a bit of much-needed fun and relaxation. It wasn't needed all the time, but it happened often enough for people to speculate if Courtney had a problem with going out and having fun that she needed help with, or she was being so stubborn on purpose because she actually enjoyed Duncan carrying her around like that. It was definitely clear Duncan liked it though.
Soon enough, Duncan reached the car, and pulled open the passenger side door. Pulling Courtney off his shoulder, Duncan slid her in the passenger seat, and shut the door. He swiftly slid over the hood, and got in the driver's side, locking the doors with the press of a button before Courtney could get out.
Pulling on the door handle a few times, Courtney scowled, and shifted in her seat to turn to her boyfriend. "Let me out."
"We just got in the car," Duncan smirked, "lighten up, Princess."
"Duncan, I'm serious." She responded, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'm serious too." She rolled her eyes at him. "Look, we just did third quarter exams, and you did well like you always do. You need to de-stress. There's nothing to worry about now."
"We have finals coming up."
"Finals aren't for another six weeks! You shouldn't even be worrying about them until two weeks before, at least." He pointed out.
"They're a big factor in our final grades for the year!"
"And you shouldn't be worrying about that now. It's the weekend for crying out loud. Weekends are for fun, and putting off homework for two days."
"You and other people might enjoy putting off homework you can fudge at the last minute, but those of us that care about our education do it right away."
Duncan raised half of his unibrow. "So you're telling me that you already did all your homework for this weekend?"
"Of course, I finished it last night before Geoff's party was supposed to start. Seven, I think it was?" Courtney answered, pausing to try and remember when Geoff had started his latest party.
"You finished all your homework before seven on a Friday night?! Geez, Princess!" He snorted.
"It wasn't that hard to do! I did half of it during my Study Hall period, a quarter of it before my Student Council meeting after school, and did the last quarter at home."
"You really do have a pole up your butt." Duncan snorted again. "Okay, so you have all your homework done. No need to stay inside like a shut-in anymore."
"I am not a shut-in… and I do not have a pole up my butt!"
"Sure, keep telling yourself that." Turning in his seat, Duncan faced the front of the car. "Just buckle up. I'm taking you out for some fun."
Courtney raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Just what are we doing that you call fun? It better not be sneaking over to McLean's house to TP his house again because we got caught last time, and I narrowly avoided having a mark on my record."
"That wouldn't even work right now. It's broad daylight." He answered before peering at her out of the corner of his right eye. "We're going to see that flick amazingly you and I both want to see, and then I'm taking you out to an early dinner."
"What and where?"
"The Robin and the Maiden, and Sunday's."
"The Robin and the Maiden?!" Courtney repeated, her eyes practically twinkling in awe before she snapped back to her senses, and rolled her eyes. "I mean, The Robin and the Maiden. Great…" She sighed, and buckled her seat belt. "Fine, we can go, but I'll still feel guilty that I didn't stay home and study."
Duncan smirked. "Good to hear." He turned the key in the ignition, and put the car in reverse when it turned on.
As they backed out of the driveway, Courtney gasped. "Wait! I should grab my purse!"
"Don't worry, I have all the money we'll need." He informed her knowingly.
1:30 PM
"…And that's how our entire group got banned from the zoo." Gwen concluded as she and Trent walked around the mall. "Joke's on them though, all we have to do is take off our makeup and change our hair colors back to normal, and then we'll be able to get right back in. Except for me though, it wouldn't work since my skin is naturally this pale. Eh, never really liked the zoo all that much so it's no big loss."
"I can't believe that you, Marilyn, Pixie Corpse, Reaper, Crimson, and Ennui all got in trouble for that. They can't really help it if the animals like Ennui. Still don't get what the animals see in him, though." Trent replied amusingly.
Gwen shrugged. "Me neither, but when it comes to stuff like animals acting not that natural, I usually don't question it. I still remember that duck that waddled extremely fast. Whose bright idea was it to let animals into the school again?"
"I think it was Chris that did that, but I have my doubts. Guy is one of the big men on school grounds, if he was responsible for that, he should've been fired by now." Trent pondered.
"I swear our school, heck, our town has such crazy crap that happens daily it's like we live in a cartoon, or worse, a sitcom."
Trent chuckled. "Yeah, seems that way doesn't it? But hey, at least New Wawanakwa isn't the most boring town in the country."
"Point taken."
They arrived at the food court, and Trent hit up the food court's MgRonald's for some fries and soda while Gwen found a place for them to sit. Once he got the food, the musician sought out Gwen, and found her at a table nestled in the corner.
"Okay, one soda for you, one soda for me, and one big box of fries for both of us with ketchup on the side." Trent said as he set the food on the table, and sat down next to his girlfriend.
Gwen took a fry and her drink. "Thanks."
After Trent ate a couple fries, he spoke up again. "Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, go for it."
"You know how the café had its stage set up? Well, a band is playing tonight, and when they got booked, they came to me and asked if I wanted to open for them."
"They did?" Gwen asked as Trent took a sip of his drink.
"Yeah, I've played my own gigs there before, and they're a relatively new band, so they thought if I opened for them, more people would want to come see them perform. Their music is really good, so I thought I should help them out."
"Okay, so what are you asking me about? Need me to help with their band logo or something?"
Trent shook his head. "Nah, nothing like that. I was just wondering if you would want to come to the café tonight to watch? They're not Icelandic like you and the others prefer, or heavy metal, but they're a cool band."
Humming in thought, Gwen bobbed her head. "I don't know. Who are they?"
"Devil Frog, they go to school with us. I've seen them around school, but I'm not sure if you have."
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Devil Frog, doesn't that band's lead guitar and drummer both live in their parents' basements?"
"Yeah, why?"
"No reason, just wondering." Taking a moment to think, the Goth girl popped a few more fries into her mouth. "You say they're not Icelandic, or heavy metal, but the idea of a devil frog is kind of cool." She thought it over as she took a sip from her soda. "Alright, I guess I'll go. That way, I can support you, and check out these guys' music."
The musician smiled. "Cool, after we're done here, I can take you home so you can finish your drawing, and I can tune my guitar and practice the song I'm going to play. The show starts at 6:30, so maybe I swing by your place, and pick you up at like 5:30?"
She nodded back. "Sounds good."
They continued to eat their fries and drink their sodas happily, looking forward to the evening.
3:00 PM
"Ugh, I hate Damien!" Heather huffed as she strode through the mall, gripping the handles of her purse tightly.
Alejandro trailed behind her, his arms practically coat racks of shopping bags. "So you keep saying." He quipped while debating whether or not to make a trip out to the car to unload all the bags he had on him.
Stopping in front of a store, Heather whirled around to scowl at her boyfriend. "I have a reason to. That little turdball made me take another shower, brush that gunk out of my hair, and put on a different set of clothes. That all together took longer than the hour I would've liked to spend fixing everything. He's lucky that everything I wanted wasn't gone yet by the time we got here, or the revenge I have planned for him would have been way worse."
"Am I correct to assume that the revenge you have planned is already terrible?" Alejandro prodded while shifting some bags on his left arm.
"Oh yeah," Heather smirked, "he won't even see this payback coming this time."
"Fantastico." He said absently as the shifting of the shopping bags on his left arm made the bags on his right arm start to shift and become unbalanced. "Um, do you mind if I run these out to the car? I believe I have reached the maximum capacity of which I am able to carry thus far."
"I am going to need you to carry more bags. Go on, I'll meet you at Albatross & Finch." Heather thought before waving him off.
"Okay then. See you soon, mi amour." Having finally gotten the bags back in balance, Alejandro walked back the way they came.
As Heather watched him walk away, she glanced up at the sign above the store she was in front of. The store was called Babiez 4 You. Smirking to herself, she walked inside.
5:00 PM
"That was such a great movie; it was probably the best two hours and twenty minutes of movie I ever sat and watched." Courtney told Duncan as they sat a table in Sunday's. Their food had already come, and they were halfway through the meal.
"It was a pretty good movie, I'll admit. I just wish it had more action, that's more my kind of thing." Duncan shrugged as he stuck a forkful of food in his mouth.
Courtney batted her eyes at him knowingly. "You totally enjoyed how Robin was flirting with Marian, admit it. I saw you crack a smile every now and then."
Duncan grinned lightly. "What can I say? The Robin guy reminds me of me when I'm flirting with you. The way he was teasing her all the time, I swear the writers of that movie must've followed me around, and used me as a base for the character."
"Then the writers must've followed me around too because I could relate a lot to Marian. Though if the writers were following me around, they could've made her more bold and perfect." The type-A followed up, taking a drink from her iced tea. "So, what was your favorite part of the movie?"
Swallowing another bite of food, Duncan answered, "My favorite part had to be when the Robin guy tied the Marian chick up and stuffed her into a sack. The way he snuck in, and then back out with the girl in the sack without getting caught was epic."
Courtney snorted in amusement. "You would like that part, wouldn't you? That was such a criminal thing to do, and you pretty much are a criminal." Holding up a hand to gesture to herself, she smugly declared, "My favorite part happens to be the wedding at the end, where Marian proves Robin is a good guy and marries him in front of the kingdom."
Duncan scoffed jokingly. "Of course that would be your favorite part. You always like those scenes the best." He blinked in realization, and groaned. "Great, I owe Geoff and Bridgette thirty bucks."
"What? Why?" She asked in confusion.
"Remember how Geoff and Bridgette saw that one a couple weeks ago before exams?" Courtney nodded, remembering the conversation. "Well, just last night I was talking to them about that movie last night at the party. They said that scene would be your favorite, and I thought your favorite scene would be something else. We ended up betting on that, and if they won, I had to give them fifteen bucks each."
"What if you won?"
"Then they each would've had to give me fifteen bucks." Taking one last bite of his food, he set the fork on the plate, and pushed the plate away. "I'm done, with the food anyway, might sip some more of my drink though." He reached for his soda, and took a sip.
The type-A nodded as she took one last bite of her salad. "Yeah, I think I'm just about done too."
The waiter came by, and picked up the abandoned dishes, leaving the pair with their bill and their remaining drinks. Duncan glanced at the total, and reached into his pocket. He took out the few dollars he had left in his wallet after the movie and snacks, and then put it away. As he put it back in his pocket, his fingers exchanged the billfold for the other, withdrawing the gray one.
Courtney's eyes widened while she took another sip of her iced tea. Setting down her glass, she gawked at him. "Duncan, that's not your wallet. You just had yours out seconds ago!"
The delinquent held up a reassuring hand casually. "Relax, Princess, this is my dad's wallet. It's fine."
"What are you doing with that?!" She hissed at him, not wanting to draw attention.
"Hey, it's the weekend and he's at home, sick with the flu. He's not going anywhere today, so it's not like he will miss it. Besides, I was going to sneak money from it anyway. My dad sleeps in on the weekends so I have plenty of time to get whatever amount I need before he wakes up." Duncan grinned as he laid out the money needed to cover their meal. "Since he wasn't going anywhere, I thought, why not have extra just in case. Speaking of which," He took out thirty dollars from the billfold, "that should cover my bet with the happy surfer couple." He looked up at Courtney, who looked upset. "What are you freaking out about? Most of the money I always have on me comes from him and my mom. Besides, we need to pay for this, right?" He asked, gesturing to the remaining drinks and the bill.
"That's why I should've brought my purse! I could've covered whatever you couldn't." She quietly shot back.
"I was treating you to day out so you would stop stressing over finals." He responded. The type-A continued to glare at him disapprovingly. After a moment of silent staring at each other, Duncan closed his eyes, and sighed. "Look, how about this? Once we get out of here, we can head back to your place, and you can get your money to replace what we used here. That sound okay?"
Courtney continued to stare at him before she sighed. "Fine." She then held up a finger. "Under one condition."
"What?"
"You make thirty dollars on your own to cover your bet with Bridgette and Geoff."
"I repeat, what?"
"You get thirty dollars from somewhere that's not your dad's wallet, or my purse for that matter."
"You can't be serious. I have this thirty right here. Why can't I just give them this?"
"Duncan." Courtney said with a tone of finality.
Duncan stared into his girlfriend's eyes. They held a look that told him that she meant business, and he better do as she says. He had no idea what Courtney would do if he said no, and they needed to pay for their meal and leave. On one hand, he loved how tough she could get, and on the other hand, her being difficult never made anything easy.
He sighed in defeat. "Alright, deal."
Courtney's scowl became a pleasant smile. "Good, glad we got that sorted out."
Once he put the thirty dollars back, Duncan slipped the billfold into his pocket, and the couple stood up from the table. They left the restaurant, and headed out to the car. While they walked to the car, Courtney posed a question, "Hey Duncan?"
"Yeah?" He replied warily.
"Do you know about the concert that's happening down at the café tonight?"
"The Devil Frog concert? Yeah, I know about that. Why?"
"Bridgette said that she was going with Geoff, and he said that the band is pretty good. Want to go?"
The delinquent grinned at his girlfriend. "Look at you," he nudged her playfully, "asking me to go to a concert, and not a choir concert I might add."
"Stop it." Courtney blushed as she nudged him back.
They arrived at the car, and got in. "Like I was saying, sure I'll go with you. Whatever keeps you out of the house longer and having fun." He continued to say, starting up the car.
"Very funny. Let's just head back to my house so I can get my purse. The show doesn't start for a little while so we have some time."
5:30 PM
Trent knocked on the door nine times in a row, and Gwen answered the door, ready for a night out with her purse in hand.
"Ready?" He asked her.
Gwen looked him from down and up. For someone who was playing a show that evening, Trent looked very casual. Aside from wearing his clothes he was wearing earlier in the day, Trent's guitar case was slung on his back and his motorcycle helmet was still clasped around his head. In the driveway, his motorcycle was still running.
Giving him a smile, Gwen nodded, "Yeah, let's go." She closed the door, and followed him back to the motorcycle.
6:25 PM
The café was buzzing with activity. People, mostly teenagers around high school age, entered the café to get a seat for the performance that was set to take place in a few minutes. Noah and Emma sat in a booth with books in front of them and headphones over their ears, sitting next to each other with their hands intertwined. Every few moments or so, one or both would flip a page of their books. Across the booth, Owen and Izzy gushed about the two being on a date. Emma's sister Kitty, would've been squealing along with them if she wasn't so busy making sure the Adversity Twins were having a good time; poor boys never got out that much. Possibly the youngest visitor at the café was Junior, who luckily avoided attending the show with his father when Brody offered to take him instead.
Zoey had been sitting in the back of the crowd with Mike and Cameron near the entryway, and eagerly awaited the show up until she noticed someone enter the building.
"Heather? What are you and Alejandro doing here? I thought you guys weren't into garage bands like Devil Frog." Zoey questioned as the couple entered.
"We aren't." Heather retorted, flipping her hair and adjusting her purse on her shoulder. "We only came because we heard that everyone cool we knew, and you geeks, were going to be here so we came for the sake of our reputations."
Zoey frowned. "Oh, okay. I was just wondering." She turned away from Heather, and returned her attention to her friends.
"Must you be so cruel to our classmates?" Alejandro questioned as the couple found some open seats near Jo and Brick. Out of fear towards the high school alpha couple, Brick shifted to the edge of the couch while Jo slid down his way out of annoyance towards them instead.
Heather rolled her eyes. "Why should I be nice to them? They're losers, and they're not even the biggest of losers. The biggest losers around here are those nerds dressed in costumes at the park we drove past."
"You mean like those two?" Alejandro gestured to Leonard and Tammy, who happily sat in a booth in-costume with Sugar, the latter eating as many scones as she could stuff in her mouth at once.
"What the crap?" Heather asked incredulously.
The lights dimmed, and the café became quiet. Everyone paid attention to the stage, and watched Topher stride up front and center to a microphone.
"Hey everyone, glad you could join us. We definitely have something with new flavor performing tonight." Topher addressed the audience. "First, I'd like to thank you all for coming, and giving this such a big turnout. You guys rock," the audience clapped, "and I'd also like to thank the manager of this establishment for letting me do the introductions instead of one of the café's employees. What can I say? I love hosting. Thanks for that, sir." Topher shot a finger pistol at someone offstage. "Now, let's get down to the reason we're all here, a show. Opening for tonight's main act, we have a popular hit that performs regularly here, and if you haven't heard his music yet, then you too are about to become a fan of his. Give it up for Trent, everyone!" The audience clapped once more as Topher got offstage, and Trent came on.
Carrying his guitar and a stool, Trent took the place where Topher had just stood. He set the stool down, and then sat on it, preparing to play. "Hey guys, thanks for welcoming me back. I know I've played as the main performance here before, but this time is a little different. I'm the opener, and I'm glad I could do this for some fellow musicians. I hope you like them like I do, and I hope you enjoy my song." Trent said, turning his attention to his guitar to start up. The audience gave a brief clap as he started his song; Gwen clapped from her seat up close to the stage, and Crimson and Ennui sat next to her, Ennui having snuck his bunny Loki into the café as well.
Trent strummed his guitar, singing as he played. The audience bobbed their heads to the music. When Trent got to his first chorus, Bridgette rested her head on Geoff's shoulder, and both Emma and Noah paused in their reading, taking off their headphones to listen as well. As the song went on, more and more people got swayed; Tom and Jen were even filming the event to post on their blog. Once Trent reached his third and final chorus rendition, cheers arose along with squeals from none other than Katie and Sadie. Soon after that, the song came to an end, and Trent stopped strumming, looking to the audience for their reaction with a smile. More cheers rang out, and people clapped. Standing up, Trent bowed, and departed from the stage, taking the stool with him.
At the countertop, Courtney nodded with approval. "He was great as always, I'm surprised he hasn't been approached by a record deal yet."
"Meh, he was alright. If you ask me, he sings pretty for a guy." Duncan commented.
"Oh," Courtney laughed, "like you could sing better?"
"I could, but Duncans don't sing. Let's move on from that, and focus on something else. Aren't you missing something?" Duncan teased.
"No, I am not missing something. I- where's my purse?" Courtney paused mid-response when she felt air where her purse was supposed to be in her lap.
Duncan got off his stool, and stood at full height, flaunting Courtney's purse above his head. "Looking for this?"
"Give me that! You're such an ogre!" Courtney stood from her stool, and attempted to snatch her purse from Duncan's raised arm.
"Give me a kiss, and maybe I will."
"Fine, I will!" Taking hold of her boyfriend's head, the type-A squished her lips against the delinquent's.
Gwen greeted Trent as he came to take the open seat she and the Goths left for him. "Nice playing up there, handsome."
"Thanks, beautiful. I do my best." Trent quipped with a smile, and Gwen pecked him on the cheek as he had done for her that morning.
Topher retook the stage. "Thank you Trent for that awesome song. It was a great opener for tonight's performance." The boy shot a finger pistol towards Trent, who acknowledged it. "Okay, it's time for the main event. They're a garage band that's just wading into the world of musical stardom. Ready to wow the crowd and get more gigs in the near future, please welcome Devil Frog!" Topher made his exit as the audience clapped for the main event.
Rock took his place as lead guitarist, Spud sat behind the drums with his drumsticks ready, Chet wore a Devil Frog t-shirt as he took a spot on Rock's right as bass guitarist, and Lorenzo was on Rock's left with an electric piano, and a Devil Frog t-shirt on as well.
"Hey guys, thanks for coming to see us perform. It's wicked cool to be here, and we hope you like our first ever gig! We are Devil Frog!" Rock introduced the band. "Okay guys, one! Two! Three! One, two, three, four!"
Everybody has more in common than they think they do. We're all so focused on our individual lives that we don't really notice that other people are doing the same thing we are. Who knew that we were going over to our boyfriend or girlfriend's house at the same time, or going to the mall at the same hour, or having a meal together in the same place? When we do notice, we're all part of something bigger, like a band's first real performance. The possibilities of doing the same thing at the same time are endless. Whether you like it or not, you're probably doing the same thing as someone you hate.
So, I left the ending pretty open-ended. Hope that's okay. I wanted to leave the ending to interpretation, as well as what Heather had in plan for revenge against her little brother. I'd also like to note that MgRonald's is a reference to the fast food restaurant used in Heroi Oscura's Max-centric story. Since Heroi came up with it, I wanted to acknowledge their creation of that.
Anyway, once again, I hope kamikaze2007 enjoyed this. It was a blast having him for Secret Santa, and I wish him a happy holidays!