Chapter 22: "Somewhat Damaged" Nine Inch Nails

Just a small note. I don't know how to change fonts on here. (Shrugging emoji). Anyway after the triple line is a flashback. We're getting to plot and I am mean and love cliffhangers. Promise I have a real actual plan now. Anyway as a heads up. Lots of songs here. The title is background noise for Soul's experience. The others should give you insight into my high school experience. :o Lol enjoy!

Maka couldn't help but look back at the beach house as Tsu, BlackStar, and Kid quickly made their way down the street to the car.

"We shouldn't leave Crona." She said as Tsu ushered her into the car.

"Maka, we can't make them come with us." BlackStar said softly. "Trust me I wish we could help more, too."

Tsu sniffled as she buckled herself into the back seat on the other side of Maka.

"I know you think we can't help if people aren't ready. But this just seems wrong. He slapped her!" Maka's voice rose as she struggled with the seatbelt and tried to open the door.

"Maka, I'm not going to leave Crona." Kid said, "But I can't let you go back in there. If they don't come out with Soul in the next 5 minutes, I'll go in and get them."

"Kid, really?" Maka's eyes shone as she looked up into the front seat at Kid sitting and glaring resolutely at the beach house they had just left. She reached forward and hugged him through the small opening left from the back seat to the front seat. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear.

Soul's steps were heavy as he made his way to the music room. The heavy pounding sound in his head refusing to let up. He couldn't seem to focus. Everything had come so quickly. Suddenly he could remember everything, and he couldn't understand why he'd ignored it all from the beginning.

Music began to pour out from the room, as his steps grew even heavier. Each movement closer to the truth felt like struggling against the waves that pounded against the shore. The music was reminiscent of his work with Wes. Then suddenly the pounding in his head came full force with the heavy crashes of the bass.

"Soul, stop flirting with that girl and get your ass on stage. We have shit to do." Soul heard Wes call from what sounded like the stage. Soul kissed the girl one last time. A long slow kiss, leaving her no doubt as to what he wanted to do later. He saw a flash of light off to his right, but ignored it as he finished the kiss.

"I'll see you after this set, right?" He winked at her and shook his hair out of his face.

She giggled and swatted at him, "You better not be kissing any other girls, mister!"

"Soul!" He heard Wes call again with the usual undercurrent of anger and impatience.

Soul sauntered onto the stage and waved at the crowd. It was mostly comprised of a bunch of teenage girls that could convince their parents to let them out late on a school night or girls that didn't give a fuck what their parents thought and snuck out anyway. The majority were dressed in their imitation of witch gear or emo regalia. Far off in the corner he could make out the booth that he knew his brother set up at every show. He never really knew what the booth was for, but Wes had some timid pink-haired person manning it every show. Soul never paid much attention to it. He just loved to play, and Wes gave him that opportunity while he allowed him to travel around the area making money and living life.

Wes sighed heavily as Soul began the process of setting up his mic and testing his guitar. Though Soul noticed Wes was also putting his shit together.

"You can't give me shit, if you aren't ready either, bro." Soul chuckled as he took a sip of some water.

"Ready? One-Two-Three."

Wes began to pluck at the bass strings, and the girls all screamed and mobbed the stage. After a beat Soul began the song:

"I am heaven sent… don't you dare forget. I am all you ever wanted," he looked up through his hair and through the crowd to see girls already screaming the words along with him. "What all the other boys all promised, sorry I told." He could swear there were girls in the crowd who had started crying. He began playing the guitar and continued the song. When they finished, Wes spoke into his mic.

"Hello everyone, it's great to be here tonight. We love seeing you all come out. We are B.R.E.W. and we hope you enjoy tonight's show. We're going to pick it up a little so hang on tight." Then he looked down at his bass before he counted down again.

"One, two, three."

Soul sucked a breath into the microphone, and everyone in the band started playing as he sang:

"You've got this new head filled up with smoke, I've got my veins all tangled close...:"

The show continued on, with Wes talking in between songs and the fangirls screaming out all sorts of things as they finished song after song.

Finally, they got to the last song of the set.

"Alright ladies. This song is newly minted by our very own Wes!" Soul chuckled into the microphone as he threw his hand out towards his brother, hidden toward the back of the stage. "I know he's not as good looking," Soul could feel his brother's glare on the back of his neck, "but trust me you all are going to love this song…"

Wes started slowly plucking his strings, while Soul occasionally ran his fingers up his own strings in a half second dissonance. The audience seemed frozen, begging for Soul to start singing.

Instead there was an audible gasp as Wes started, "after one or two I get used to the room, we go slow when we first make our moves, by five or six I'll bring you out to the car, by number nine with my head on the bar, and it's sad but true. Out of cash and i-o-u's."

Soul could feel the energy shift as he was pulled into the music. Wes had mesmerized the entirety of the club with his voice seeming to whisper into the very fiber of Soul's being. He could only imagine how the audience felt as Wes continued, "I got desperate desires and unadmirable plans. My tongue will taste of gin and malicious intent…"

The song had enthralled them. Soul looked out over an audience that was barely breathing. He had never been able to command such rapt attention from the audience, and a large part of Soul felt the sting of jealousy as they moved into the third iteration of the chorus, and Soul joined in while his brother's voice took on an almost screaming element making the words seem like his own pain.

"And I will lie awake, and lie for fun, and fake the way I hold you, let you fall for every empty word I say…"

The last echoes of the song died away, and suddenly noise returned to the room. Girls were screaming and crying and throwing themselves at the stage. Several guys had pushed their way to the front of the mob and were looking up at the brothers with a mixture of naked hate and desire. Soul couldn't help it, took a bow and blew a kiss to the audience. He could see his brother roll his eyes, so he chuckled before giving the heart symbol with his pointer finger and thumb. When he turned back from the audience to begin packing away his instrument, he thought he saw a flash of hate almost akin to the guys standing in the audience. But the second he thought it was there it was replaced with Wes's usual sardonic grin.

"Alright Wes, I'm going to meet up with a chick. I'll be back at the hotel later. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, sure, sure." Wes turned away his voice almost toneless as he said, "Be careful."

Soul shrugged and left the stage.

*** A few days later ***

Soul was actually getting ready for the show marginally early for once. He'd taken an early night after the past several shows and felt marginally refreshed. Wes came in about half an hour after him, and Soul didn't immediately place his brother's obvious discomfort and displeasure. Suddenly, he felt Wes's hand on his shoulder. "Soul, something happened. You need to come with me. Trust me, and don't say anything."

Soul put his guitar down carefully and followed Wes toward the back of the stage.

Three uniformed officers waited for them. One held a file folder gingerly, as if worried it would suddenly dissolve. The other two looked bored, and one even crossed her arms and leaned against a post nearby before closing her eyes.

"This is Soul Evans." The other bored officer gruffly gestured at Soul, while speaking to Wes.

"I'm Soul, what about it?" Soul crossed his arms and pushed his chin up, his lip curling slightly. He felt Wes elbow him, and took a deep breath trying to relax the tension in his face.

"This is Soul. You can show him what you showed me." Wes said to the officer with the file.

The officer stayed in position and merely offered the folder a little further out, making Soul step closer to grab the file. He flipped it open to a picture of himself kissing the blond girl from a couple nights before.

"This picture was taken from a blog called Hot Indie Band Stans." Soul could hear the disdain in the cop's voice and could see it clearly in the rolled eyes and tightened lips.

"Yeah so wh-" Soul started to say before Wes once more elbowed him.

"You showed me the photo officer, and I did confirm that she was at the show. But after the show, Soul returned to the hotel and stayed there the entire night. You've already checked with the hotel staff, and they have no recollection or security footage of her being with Soul at the hotel. Now I allowed you to see this is in fact Soul, as you requested. But I still fail to see the connection between mein lieber Bruder and this girl's disappearance."

AN: Song Credits:

Brand New: Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't

Taking Back Sunday: MakeDamnSure

Brand New: Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis (AKA Wes's song now, bitches)