One Week Later

It was 2:00 in the morning and Mordecai couldn't sleep. The search for lyrical inspiration was killing him. What would he write about? Friendship? Love? Angst? Hatred? He couldn't put his finger on something. Deep down, he wanted to write a love song about Margaret, but he knew he couldn't do that. He'd just creep Margaret out immensely.

He thought about Jenny and all the jocks that bullied him, the same people that Margaret associated with. How could she? She's a so much better person than the rest of them! They were all just hateful cogs in the superficial machine that is high school.

"Hate..." Mordecai began to think.

"Haters... cogs in the system..."

"I got it!" he exclaimed aloud.

"Mordecai, go to sleep for Christ's sakes! It's 2 AM!" shouted his Mom from the other room.

"Sorry Mom!" replied Mordecai. He turned on his desk lamp and grabbed his notepad. He began to write.

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The Next Day

Mordecai ran into the cafeteria and rushed to the table where his bandmates were sitting.

"Guys! I had a lyrical breakthrough last night!" he said, excitedly.

"You? A lyrical breakthrough? I gotta see this." said Rigby.

"I was up late last night thinking what I could write about, and then it hit me! It was so obvious, I wrote a song about how much of a bitch Jenny is!" said Mordecai as he slammed his notepad on the table.

"Mordecai you do realize if you use her name in the song you'll probably get in trouble right..?" said Kieran.

"I didn't! Just read it!" he exclaimed as Kennedy began reading the lyrics aloud.

"Ahem, 'Get up, open your eyes, you're just like everyone. You waste all your time, faking your smiles. Wake up, look at your life, you don't need to stalk mine. Here is my advice, get the fuck out'. Say, these are pretty good!" said Kennedy, pleasantly surprised.

"This is only the chorus, I'm working on more." said Mordecai.

"Dude at this rate we can totally crush Chad and Jeremy! I'm so stoked!" exclaimed Rigby.

"Haha, yeah, me too- wait, where's my jacket?" said Mordecai realizing he didn't carry his jacket with him.

"You didn't have it when you walked in..." said Joey.

"Must've left it in my last class. Be right back." said Mordecai as he exited the lunchroom.

Mordecai was halfway down the hall when he passed the janitor's closet. The door creaked open slightly and a hand threw him his jacket.

"Hey, my jacket! What the hell?" said Mordecai, staring at the door. He heard a whisper.

"So I hear your band is squaring off with Tooth & Nail right?" said the voice.

"Yeah...?"

"I have some information you will find invaluable. Come inside." said the voice as the door creaked open more. Mordecai hesitantly stepped inside. The light turned on to reveal a blond pale dude with a white T-shirt and black jeans. He had an emo haircut.

"This guy looks like he just stepped out of 2006..." Mordecai thought to himself.

"Name's Zach. I play keyboards and do all the backing track stuff in Tooth & Nail. I also hate Tooth & Nail."

"Wait, what? You're in their band though? Aren't you friends with them?" asked Mordecai, confused.

"Here's the thing- when we started the band, Chad and Jeremy were super cool guys. Chad's a good guitarist and Jeremy's got this great voice. Even our bassist and drummer liked them. They were really nice and really talented. But that all changed when we started high school-"

"Wait, how long ago did you guys start this band? I thought you guys started in freshman year?" asked Mordecai.

"Nope. 4 years ago, in 7th grade. Anyway, when we started high school, Chad and Jeremy changed. All of the sudden they got really obsessed with their social status, which they hadn't cared about before. They got all really superficial and shit... not my crowd. But it didn't ruin the band, and it didn't really bother me until recently. I see the way they treat you. I see the way the jocks they hang out with treat you. I can't stand it anymore, so now I'm gonna help you win that contest and put Chad and Jeremy in their place." explained Zach.

"Wow... so what are you gonna tell me?" asked Mordecai.

"First of all, Tooth & Nail is actually the name of a heavy metal band that's actually famous and actually tours. Chad and Jeremy have no idea. I think it's funny. Second of all, they only do covers, so if you write something original that's actually good, it'll give you an advantage." explained Zach.

"Wow, that actually helps a lot. Thanks dude!" said Mordecai.

"There's one last thing," began Zach, "They cover a lot of electronic rock and metal songs. Without their member who supplies them with backing tracks typically used for said genre, they'll sound like shit. Especially if that member joins their rival band."

"Are you telling me you want into my band?" asked Mordecai.

"Yes! I can totally amplify your band's sound. I can put synthesizers and key board parts in any song you guys write. I have perfect pitch, I have extensive knowledge in music theory, and I can death metal scream. I heard Rigby bragging about how you want to incorporate screamo into your sound during gym class yesterday." said Zach.

"Well.. that is true. We're going for a pop-punk metal fusion type of genre. But aside from that-!" exclaimed Mordecai, realizing he was getting distracted, "Why should I trust you?" he asked.

"...Because if you don't, your head will be shaved?" replied Zach, not having an actual answer. Mordecai shrugged.

"Well. I've had worse reasons for trusting people. You're in." said Mordecai. The two shook hands.


Yooo, so I've given it thought, I'm gonna use Haters Gonna Hate instead of Pretense. I'll probably use Pretense in a future chapter though. Aside from that, what did you guys think of this chapter? What do you think of Zach?