"And I'm dying! And you're crying! But it's because you were lying! Yeah, yeah, yeah!!"
Loud music. Really, really, bad lyrics. And lots of people everywhere, brushing sweaty arms against each other and laughing and drinking cokes and eating snacks and chattering excitedly about the next band that was coming up.
The teachers who were chaperones-of-sorts were looking as if their pay was not worth enough for this. The guy beside me was whispering about spiking drinks. The girl on my other side was swooning over the lead singer of the current band, a guy who was shouting into the microphone while the drummer raged on behind him.
And then there was me, standing with my arms crossed and trying to look like I was having a good time. I was hovering by all the food, cringing as the singer's voice would break mid-scream. This was where Austin and I had agreed to meet each other.
I was nervous, and definitely on edge. Tonight was when everything would happen. Rachel and Tobias were around somewhere, probably inside, where another band was playing. I had caught a glimpse of Erek with some other members of The Sharing. He had been wearing the same thing as all the other Sharing kids, a red shirt with the words "I'm with the band" printed on it on the back and The Sharing's logo on the front.
"And I'm sighing! And you're still crying! But don't worry, baby, soon we'll be flying!" I winced when I heard the lyrics, and stared in astonishment at all the kids who were jumping up and down, screaming and waving their hands in the air. I didn't get it.
I reached out gingerly for a bottle of water (nothing could have happened to bottled water, right?) and widened my eyes when I caught glimpse of someone.
Marco. Standing a good deal of space away from me, talking with some girl. She actually didn't look like she was annoyed by him, so maybe Marco was actually having success with a girl. Still, I was shocked to see him there.
I thought back to that day—it felt so long ago—when we had all talked about the concert. Marco must have decided that he would go, just in case something happened. And if Marco had decided that he should go, than did that mean that Ax was here, too? Maybe not, but it almost certainly meant that Jake would be here.
Had he seen me? Had they seen Rachel or Tobias? There were lots of people here, so the chances were pretty good that he probably hadn't seen them.
The thing though, was that I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted him to see me. And more importantly, whether or not I wanted to see him. Why were things so complicated? Why couldn't things have been simple, like the stupid lyrics to the stupid song that was still playing?
I took a sip of my water and shrunk back away from the table. Even though it was reasonably dark outside, there were plenty of candle-lit lanterns littered all around and hanging from trees and sitting on tables. It wouldn't be that hard for Jake to see me. I decided that I would deal with that issue if the time came.
"Whoa, Cassie. Looking good." I nearly jumped a foot in the air when I heard the voice beside my ear. Austin looked alarmed. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No," I babbled. "I just, you know, the music, and…hey," I breathed, trying to calm myself down. "Uh, you look good, too."
He grinned. "No need to lie."
I opened my mouth to respond, but suddenly the lead singer of the band shouted, extra-loudly, into the microphone. "I'M STILL TRYING, AND YOU'RE STILL CRYING, BUT NOW I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!"
Austin and I both flinched simultaneously. He said something to me, but I couldn't hear it over the whining of the electric guitar.
"What?" I shouted.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the speakers, towards the middle of the area that we were outside of. "I said, those are really terrible lyrics."
"Yeah," I agreed, wondering why I was unable to get my mind off of the fact that he was touching my arm. Wait, what?
I reminded myself sternly that Austin was a controller. A disgusting grey slug was controlling his every movement. It wasn't Austin who was touching my arm, it was a Yeerk.
With that thought, I pulled my arm out of his grasp. "Think I'm going to go get some food," I told him, as the lead singer announced that this next song was "really personal, but I think you're gonna like it."
"Let me get it for you," Austin insisted.
"No, that's fi-" He was already gone. I sighed, frustrated, and wondered why Rachel and Tobias weren't in contact with me yet. Was it really so hard for Erek to figure out where the Yeerks were operating and then get in touch with Rachel and Tobias so that Tobias could thought-speak me and then we could all come together and enact the rest of the plan?
Okay. Maybe I needed to be more patient.
"I've been patient for so long! That's why I'm singing this song! And I wish that you would come along, and then I wouldn't feel so wrong!"
They were officially the worst band ever. And the fact that I was starting to tap my foot along was not supporting that proclamation at all.
"I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I brought back a few things." Austin suddenly appeared in front of me, and I willed myself not to jump in surprise.
I couldn't help but stare, though, when I saw his plate. He had loaded the plate with just about one of everything that was on the food table. At my expression, he hurriedly said, "I tried to put one of the brownies on there, but there wasn't any room. Sorry."
"Uh, that's okay." I told him. I reached out and very carefully took a carrot. I hadn't actually been hungry; I had just wanted an excuse.
(Cassie!) This time I did jump when I heard the voice in my head.
"Are you okay?" Austin asked, at the same time that Tobias said, (Erek says that he thinks he has an idea of where the Yeerks are planning…well, where they're planning whatever it is that they're planning. I'll keep you updated when he knows for sure.)
"What?" I asked Tobias, forgetting that he wasn't even near me and couldn't hear what I had said.
"I said, are you okay? Cassie, you look a little out of it today." Austin had such a worried expression on his face.
"I'm fine," I told him. "Uh, wanna dance?" It was the first thing that came to my mind.
I expected him to give me a strange look for asking him to dance to music that was of the screaming-rock variety. But instead, he nodded eagerly. "Sure!" He set the plate of food down on the ground without a thought and we headed off towards the massive group of kids huddled in front of the make-shift stage.
It turned out that "dancing" really meant "jumping up and down." Austin and I could at least jump to the beat of the song, so we were doing better than half of the kids there.
"Eight-Car Pileup is coming up!" The guy next to me shouted. "They're even better than these guys!"
"Great!" I shouted back, actually shocked to discover that this was kind of fun. I was jumping up and down with a mass of other kids, right beside the controller that I had a sort-of crush on, in the midst of an undercover operation in which I was supposed to be preventing parasitic aliens from coming that much closer to taking over the world. And I was having a good time.
(Cassie!)
"Yeah?" I screamed back, forgetting again that Tobias wasn't near me.
"What?" Austin shouted.
(Come meet us as soon as you can!)
"What?"
"Yeah?" Austin yelled as he jumped up.
(We're at the back of the school. We'll be waiting.)
"Okay!" I shouted back to him. By now, it didn't matter whether or not he could hear me; it wasn't like anyone else could hear me either.
"Cool!" Austin shouted at me. And I nodded and we hopped some more as I tried to figure out how I could nicely ditch Austin to meet up with Rachel and Tobias.
As the song started dying down, I grabbed Austin's hand and pulled him away from the crowd. "Hey, I'm going to go to the bathroom, okay?"
He nodded. "And you'll come back out here, right?"
"Yeah. Just wait for me. I'll be back before you know it." I gave him what I hoped was a trustworthy smile. It must have passed, because he squeezed my hand right before he let it go.
I headed back inside, wondering simultaneously what a hand-squeeze meant and how long I could take before Austin would start to get suspicious. I could probably use the excuse that the bathrooms had long lines, but I still didn't have too much time.
I made my way through the crowd that was inside of the school. If anything, there were more people inside than outside. And though these people weren't jumping up and down to the band that was inside, they were singing along loudly. I slipped through the crowd and had almost made it to the door when I felt someone touch my arm.
I whipped around and there he was. Jake.
"Hey, Cassie," He said. It felt strangely comforting to hear his voice again.
"Jake!" I felt so guilty, but there was really no time to talk. I had to get to Rachel and Tobias and back without Austin suspecting a thing. "I've gotta go!"
"Cassie, just-"
"Later!" I pushed the door open and nearly ran out. Only a few students were loitering out in the hallway. They took no notice of me as I walked by them casually. I made my way through the other hallways of the school until I was at my destination. I glanced around quickly before cautiously opening the back door to the school. Rachel and Tobias looked up at me.
"About time," Rachel hissed, but without malevolence. "Who was that guy you were jumping around with outside?"
"Not now," I told her. I was still feeling guilty about leaving Jake so quickly, but I pushed it out of my mind. "What did Erek tell you?"
"They're doing a "Meet the Band" thing," Tobias said. "After Eight-Car Pileup plays, they're going to let people meet them in the room back behind the stage. That's where they'll infest them."
"How are they going to choose who gets to meet them?" I asked.
Tobias shrugged. "We don't know. We just know that it can't be too many kids at a time. And that the kids who do go back to meet the band are coming back as controllers."
My thoughts was racing. "Wait, Eight-Car Pileup? I heard they were good."
Rachel gave me a look. "Yeah, and they're also controllers. We need to get to that room before the band does. We need that distraction."
A thought suddenly came to mind as I remembered jumping around outside. "Mash!"
Rachel and Tobias stared at me. "What?"
"Mash! One of those things that people do at concerts…you know, a mash pit!"
Rachel gave me her you're an idiot look. "Mosh pit, Cassie. A mosh pit."
"Whatever," I told her, ignoring how my cheeks were heating up with embarrassment. "Tobias, can you start a mosh pit?" He began to stutter, but I spoke over him. "And Rachel, you morph cat and scope out the room. We'll meet again somewhere." I glanced at my watch. "I need to get back to Austin." I started to run off, back into the school, and then I turned around again. "Rachel—just scope out the room, okay? Nothing crazy. Tobias, don't let her do anything."
"What, while I'm moshing?" Tobias asked hotly, while Rachel exclaimed indignantly at anyone stopping her from doing anything.
Back inside the building, I sprinted through the halls and past the band and back outside, to the front of the school, where Austin and the other band were.
"What took you so long?" Austin asked. But he actually sounded concerned.
"Lots of people in there," I lied. "Hey, it's a little humid out. Want to go inside?"
He shrugged. "Okay, sure. Anyway, I hear that a band that's actually good is going to be playing inside." Yeah, he would want to go inside. I reminded myself that he was a Yeerk. I needed to keep that in mind.
"Eight-Car Pileup?" I asked innocently.
Austin-the-Yeerk nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Oh, everyone's talking about it."
We walked into the building just in time to hear someone announcing the arrival of "The newest local sensations, who are on their way to becoming a national favorite: Eiiiiiight-Car Pileup!"
It seemed as though all the people who had been outside with us had flooded into the cafeteria to listen to Eight-Car Pileup, because all of a sudden kids were screaming and jumping and cheering. I clapped a few times and scanned the crowd for Rachel or Tobias.
A raucous drum beat began, so loud that I felt like my skin was vibrating. Next to me, Austin was nodding his head along, and the crowd was beginning to get hyped. Next came in a guitar, and I was surprised to find that this band was pretty good.
It figured that the Yeerks would infest the good ones.
Against all that I had learned about decibels in physics, the music seemed to be getting exponentially louder.
And then I saw it. A flash of movement, and suddenly people weren't jumping anymore. They were pushing each other, and shoving the people next to them, and slamming into one another. It was completely crazy mayhem, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud as I watched a teacher who dared to march up and stop the wildness get sucked into the mosh pit herself.
I couldn't see Rachel sneaking into the room, but I hoped that was a good thing and that she was being extra careful. It would be more than a little odd if someone saw a cat hanging out at the school, checking out one of the rooms.
(I'm in!) Rachel cried. (Whoa, it's really dark in here.)
(I'm getting stepped on by some kid who weighs like four-hundred pounds!) Tobias grumbled from the mosh pit. (Seriously, how is he in high school?)
"Cassie, wanna mosh?" Austin-the-Yeerk asked excitedly. It was one of the weirdest questions I had ever been asked. "This band's great! I heard that they might be talking to some people after they play through their set!"
How could Austin be a Controller? It didn't make sense. He was just too nice.
(Okay, I've got an idea of what the place looks like,) Rachel said grimly. (Not the best idea, but I think I get what they're trying to do.)
"No," I tried not to sound distracted as I replied to Austin's query about moshing. As I replied to Austin-the-Yeerk. "No, but you can go ahead without me."
He shook his head. "We're supposed to be here together, remember?" He grinned at me.
(I can't go much further in, anyway. I'd need a smaller morph. I was just lucky that they were all distracted so they didn't notice Fluffer hanging out in the room.) Rachel thought-spoke.
Of course! I'd forgotten that people would be in there. Cat had been a dumb choice of morph; we were lucky that Rachel hadn't gotten caught.
Austin-the-Yeerk seemed crestfallen at my lack of response. "Cassie? Look, I'm sorry if I've been forcing myself on you. If you're not interested, then-"
"Cassie!" Marco appeared on my other side out of nowhere. He lowered his voice so that I could just barely hear. "What's going on? I saw you, Tobias, and Rachel outside. What's happening?" He noticed Austin, who was eyeing Marco and I, trying to figure out what the…nature of our relationship was. "Who are you?"
(I'm coming out of the room,) Rachel told us. (I've seen enough.)
"I'm Austin," Austin-the-Yeerk replied.
"Cassie, what the hell?" Marco looked at me as though I had betrayed him personally when he noticed how closely Austin was standing to me. Only Marco could make me feel glad that he was speaking to me and then completely annoyed with how discerning he was.
"Don't even start," I said. "Are you with me or not?"
Marco just looked at me. "Yeah," He said finally.
"He's with you?" Austin asked, hurt and bewildered. "This whole time, Cassie, I thought-"
"No, Austin!" I exclaimed, frustrated by everything that was happening. "I-"
Marco was apparently still unable to resist any type of joke, regardless of the situation. "Oh yeah, Cassie and I are actually engaged," He told Austin-the-Yeerk, obviously enjoying how upset it made him.
"No, we're not!" I countered.
(Cassie, Tobias, meet me at the back. I've got stuff to tell you.)
(Aah! I don't think I'm ever getting out of this moshing!)
"Cassie…please, just be honest, are you with him?" Austin, no, Austin-the-Yeerk said. Marco was an idiot for confusing him.
"She is," Mark said with a straight face. "Marriage is in three months."
(A.S.A.P, guys.)
"Cassie…?"
"Just-" This was too much, and I needed to get away and meet with Rachel and Tobias and bring Marco along without making Austin suspicious. So I did the first thing I thought of, and I leaned forward and kissed Austin-the-Yeerk.
"Whoa," Marco said. "The engagement is definitely off."