[her]

Let me explain my history with boys for you: there is none.

Okay, I'm lying. There sort of is a history, a very small one at that. It's more of a tiny speed bump in the fast lane of adolescence. Not like Anna Fetterman's history, which would need an abridged edition on Sparknotes.

There was Mark Patelli, an adorable senior who talked to me a lot when I was a sophomore, until I found out from someone else that he was just trying to prove a point to his friends that underclassmen were notoriously simple to crack. There was Dev, the hot bassist of the band The Men On the Moon, that Macey dared me to make out with on a particularly boring night. There have been a few other boys, of course, but they were all just there. Nothing special at all, except that they were all disappointing—whether they were too immature for their age or didn't know how to kiss properly without chewing my tongue off.

When you're friends with people like Macey or Bex, who can only be described as dynamic, you tend to get a little bit lost in the dating shuffle. Macey's the wild child who gets the guys immediately interested in her devil-may-care ways; Bex is the cool and collected mystery that some boys are dying to figure out. Hell, even Liz's genuine good girl self attracts the occasional rebel, who wants to see if he can corrupt the cutie (and he won't, if the rest of us have something to do with it.)

But me? I don't really have something notable about me, like them. I've got two good cards in my hand: my taste in music and my ability to blend in. Sometimes I think I'm a bit like the boys I have so much disdain for, I'm just there.

Or at least I was. Until that one guy, you know, decided to maul me with his mouth after asking if I would pretend to be his girlfriend. What ever happened to, "hey, you look very pretty, may I escort you to a movie and possibly hold your hand?" I'm like a magnet in the way that I can attract the crazies.

Here's the kicker, though: It takes me a minute to realize that Drummer Guy is kissing me, a second to decide how shocked I am on a scale of one to ten (15), and then three seconds to punch him in the stomach as hard as I possibly could.

I guess I have another card in my hand: the ability to go ape-shit angry within seconds.

"Fuck!" he cries out, doubling over and clutching his abdomen. A small crowd of people has surrounded us, all watching with a strange sort of glee.

"What?" I can't help but screech, ""what the hell was that?" The blood's pumping to my head so quickly it hurts, and I can feel my fists clenching to begin round two. Drummer Guy steadies himself once more, and just as I'm about to have a go at him, three sets of arms restrain me and drag me away.

"Cameron Ann Morgan," Macey scolds as she, Bex, and Liz try to get me to stand still. A few interested onlookers followed us, but Bex gave them her ice cold glare and they made the smart decision and walked away. My heart was beating in my ear, and I was literally beginning to see red around me. "Someone explain. Now."

"A boy kissed her," Liz says simply, "and then she sucker-punched him." Damn Liz and her highly observant self.

Bex and Macey are silent for a moment, just taking in the shocking information, until they look at each other and burst out in a fit laughs. Bex's grabbing on to the table because she's giggling too hard to stand properly; tears of laughter make mascara and eyeliner run down Macey's cheeks, only she's too hysterical to care.

Bex inhales deeply to calm herself down, but can't fight back a grin. "Hook-ups, Cam, you're doing it wrong."

"It wasn't like that!" I yell exasperatedly, still seething. "He just kissed me out of nowhere after propositioning me to be his fake girlfriend!"

"Sounds like a very mild form of prostitution," Macey says, in a mock-serious voice, "did he offer you any money?"

I couldn't believe it, my friends were actually amused with what just happened. They should've been up in arms, consoling me and promising to kick the guy's ass. Instead of repeating everything I was saying in rude voices that sound absolutely nothing like me, they should've been gathering guns and knives to defend my honor. That's the true meaning of friendship.

"Ass-hats," I grumble, "you're all ass-hats." Of course, they all chuckled heartily at my anguish, making over-exaggerated kissing noises like the mature high school seniors they were.

Once the three were done having a good laugh at my misfortune, Liz says, "Actually, the drummer guy isn't that hideous." For Liz, that was a pretty high compliment. Unless a boy happens to be a real-life Prince Eric from the Little Mermaid, she doesn't really have much interest.

"He's not hideous at all," Macey declares, turning around and openly staring at him. Drummer Guy is deep in conversation with the lead singer from his band, occasionally gesturing over to our corner of the room. Drummer Guy's expression is unreadable, but his friend's eyes are glued to Bex. I guess his friends are just as consoling as mine.

Macey makes up her decision on Drummer Guy quickly. "He's hot, in a chiller-than-thou sort of way. Like in a Dev way." I can't help but cringe as she mentions Dev, he's a very short chapter of my love life that I'd like to forget.

"Why did he ask you to be his girlfriend, anyway?" Bex queries. How can she not notice the guitarist blatantly checking her out? "Guys who look like that are never single."

"Because most girls don't like to be surprise-kissed by a complete stranger." I look back him across the club and try not roll my eyes. "And he looks like a douche."

"And you looked like you were pretty into it. At least until you, you know, decked him in the stomach," Liz quips with a tiny grin. The traitor. " Sorry, Cam," she says sheepishly as she hears my gasp.

Macey's eyes light up. "Ow ow, Cam," she whistles, "you're gonna give Anna Fetterman a run for her money."

"That's the insult of the century," I scoff, "you take that back, McHenry. And all of you—" I point at each one with a little too much gusto, "I'd like to leave this shitty club, go home and watch a movie, and forget this night ever—"

"Hey, ladies," a guy's voice cut into our conversation. The four of us are a little taken back, as it's the lead singer from Lost And Found. Up close, I can understand why so many girls were fawning over him. He was tall and good-looking, with unkempt sandy blond hair and dark eyes.

"Uh, hi?" I force myself to say. I hate him by association, it's just the way things work.

He takes my obvious disinterest it as a cue to go on. "Name's Grant, and I was just wondering if you guys enjoyed our set tonight?" He directs the question to Bex mostly, leaving Macey and Liz to exchange impressed glances. If Mace was jealous, she was brilliant at hiding it. Though I doubted it, given the fact that guys from a few other bands had been eyeing her all night.

Bex shrugs easily. " S'alright," is all she says.

The boy smiles widely, like she gave a detailed speech praising his band's musical talents instead of a bored, one word answer. "Great, thanks." He pulls his eyes away from her and says to all of us, "Are you guys heading to the show at Salvatore's tonight?" His voice is quiet and low, like he doesn't want anyone else to hear.

I don't blame him. The four of us gasp simultaneously. See, Salvatore's club is a really exclusive place. Legend says that it's owned by some anonymous music mogul who likes to play all of their new bands there as a test run. So many great underground bands have skyrocketed to the big leagues after playing there. What sucks is, Sal's is only open a few times a month and when it is, it's at an undisclosed date and it's madness to get in.

We had to go.

Liz's eyes widen in shock. "Who's playing?" she whispers.

He shakes his head. "Don't know, nobody knows yet for sure," he takes a sip of his drink, "but I do know it's going to be amazing."

I open my mouth to say something, but then out of effing nowhere, Drummer Guy appears by my side. Having realized who it was, my face scrunched up in anger and I could feel all of the anger rushing back to my blood stream. Unfortunately, Bex and Macey put two and two together and figured out that this is the guy I'm so pissed over and I guess their laughing fit came back in full force.

I repeat, ass-hats.

"Hey man," Drummer Guy does that weird nod of acknowledgment that all guys are wired to do. "Telling the masses about Sal's?"

"The music's got to be shared, Zach," Grant responds, in a tranquil sort of state.

"Don't ruin our chances of getting in," Zach (his name would be Zach, that just screams smug) advises, "you know bouncers always let the pretty girls in before anyone else."

"Which is why I'm not worried about getting in," Grant deadpans.

Zach simply smirks in response before turning back to me. "Can I talk to you?" he asks in a quiet voice, obviously trying not to attract any more attention like our last encounter.

"That depends," I huff as I cross my arms across my chest, "are you going to attack me with your lips again?"

"You attacked me with your fists," he pointed out, gesturing to his stomach, "I think we're even."

I snort. "Far from it, you asshole."

"Far from it, trust me," he replies with a slight spark in his eyes. Not that I'm looking into them or anything. "Look, can you let me explain, please? Away from all this madness?"

I look around to the so-called madness around me. People are chatting away, including my friends and Grant. Nothing around the club has changed: the air is still smoky, the crowd balances between the extremes of pretending to be too cool and getting into the music. A new band is wailing on the guitar, and the pulsating drum beat combined with the beat of my heart make for one strangely rhythmic combination.

Nothing's changed. I can fix that.

"Five minutes," I answer hoarsely to Zach, "five minutes to explain yourself." The lights suddenly dim, and I can't see anything anymore except for the extended arm of the boy who turned this night upside down.

I take it, and let him lead me out from underneath the madness.


an: sorry for putting off this update! life's been pretty hectic here, i've suddenly got to start caring about my grades and such. it's not very fun, let me tell you. but i made this chapter longer to make up for it :)

not much else to say, except be sure to check out my new story "the kids are all right" which is a next-gen written by me and my fab friend em. /shameless plug.

oh yeah and reviews? that would totally make my day. and i adore you all for the snazzy feedback i've gotten so far!

-asha (:

ps: FF is being a wanker and saying i updated chapter 3 twice and then chapter 4. that is clearly false. so, ignore the mails por favor!