AN: My costumes are coming along at least. I have my Mrs. Furley one done except the necklace because I have to make the beads. Apparently they just don't sell huge tacky matching beads any more? It should be a riot. I'm also working on Princess Leia. And a random Space princess. I love Halloween.

Chapter 1

The corner burger joint wasn't packed with kids but it was Monday.

"So, we're still kind of stuck." Sammy said to Jon, her voice a combination of frustration and exasperation.

"Yah." Jon agreed with a sigh. Jason had no rhythm whatsoever. His reason, or so he claimed, was that he'd blamed it on his ancestors marrying first cousins for five hundred and twelve years. It was such an oddly specific number that Jon had been afraid to ask for more details.

Sammy sat with her chin in her hand and frowned. "Crap." She finally said of their predicament.

Added was Ms. Nora had told them flat out nothing they picked to play could be sexualized or violent. Romantic was fine but overt or coded messages about sex were out. Apparently, the neighborhood grade schools and junior highs had issued free tickets to the students.

According to Ms. Nora, a surprising number of songs they suggested, songs neither had thought anything of that way, vividly describe sexual situations apparently.

"Good thing we didn't have our hearts set on Frankie Valli." Jon grumbled which made Sammy laugh.

Jon flashed her a leer.

"What are you two nerds laughing about now?" Heather said as she walked up behind them.

"Trying to figure out what to play for the school talent show." Sammy sighed in annoyance. "And possibly sucker someone into being our drummer."

"Seriously?" Heather asked, her expression slightly incredulous.

"Yah." Jon grumbled.

"Ugh. You idiots." Heather grumbled as she plopped down next to Sammy and stole some fries from Jon's tray.

"Hey!"

"Payment, nerd." She informed him.

"For what?" he yelped.

"Ugh," Heather rolled her eyes. "You have literally partied at my house. What do you think?"

"We don't need to pay you for hanging out at your house." Jon argued.

"Not that." She said, still clearly exasperated. "Are you always this dumb? What's in my basement?"

"Wait! I know! The bones of the girls that didn't let you bully them in grade school." Lynn quipped as she walked up with Brian in tow.

"Very funny." Heather said and stuck her tongue out good-naturedly. "No, what I was trying to remind king and queen dorktastic was that they don't need a drummer. They just need to ask nicely."

"What?" Brian asked in confusion.

Heather flashed him a grin. "You're adorable." She told him, earning a suspicious frown from Lynn. "What's. In. My. Basement?" She said very slowly, enunciating each word to Jon.

Jon looked perplexed. "Your dad's drum set?"

Heather sighed in exasperation and exchanged a look with Sammy who had at last caught on. "No, nerd." She told him.

"Wait... that's your drum set?" Brian asked her, somewhat surprised. He motioned for Lynn to sit and he sandwiched her between himself and Jon.

"How did you think I dealt with having to be friends with the neighborhood bitches?" she asked him archly.

"I just figured no one else liked you guys so you hung out together." Brian said innocently.

Heather looked down and only Sammy caught the sad look that crossed her face. "It was some of that." She admitted softly.

Sammy patted her hand reassuringly. Heather still used her mean girl persona as a defense mechanism and all of them were trying to be understanding but Brian didn't have much of a filter.

"Anyway." She huffed. "Dad bought me a drum set to bang on a bit when I was a kid but it turns out I was pretty good so they got me private lessons."

"Why didn't you try out for band?"

"And be called a geek? No thanks." Heather grumbled.

"Some of my favorite people are geeks." Jon mumbled.

Sammy chuckled.

"Anyway," Heather huffed again. "You have a drummer if you guys really need one."

"Really?" Jon asked, his eyes lighting up. "Sweet."

Heather sighed. "Is he always this weird?" She asked Sammy.

Sammy shrugged. "It grows on you."

"Like mold." Heather said dismissively.

"Hey!" Jon objected but Brian chuckled. Even he got it that Jon had been being dumb on purpose. He had to have noticed the drum set. Jon noticed everything.

Jon frowned and it suspiciously looked like a pout so Sammy tapped his foot under the table with her own. When he looked up, she gave him an inquiring look. She softened her eyes and smiled a little, reminding him that Heather was genuinely trying to connect with them. Jon gave her a miniscule nod and wiped the annoyance off his face. He wished Heather would either commit to being Sammy's friend or cut bait. The last thing Sam needed was a fair weather friend at this stage in her life. But she could still, on occasion, be a bit vapid and annoying.

"So anyways…" Heather gave Jon a hopeful half smile.

Jon chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Gah. Fine. Fine. You're in. You can't be worse than Jason was." He admitted of his best friend.

"Great. Practice is at my house. Obviously. I'm not moving that thing." She said of the set.

"What about Sammy's piano?" Lynn asked.

Heather frowned and thought for a moment. "I don't know. Let me work on it."

Sammy frowned and shrugged. She could play off a Yamaha just as easily as Mary's or her mom's upright.

"My mom is probably going to complain." Lynn said sadly, wondering how to get to practice.

Sammy smiled wolfishly. "Tell her you got detention."

"Sammy!" Lynn objected.

"No, that's actually a good idea. She'll be so mad she won't ask any questions." Heather suggested.

Lynn gave her an odd look.

Heather frowned apologetically. "I remember how she was when we were kids - for field trips and stuff." She reminded her.

Lynn sighed.

"Oh yah, and how she'd be a room mother just so she could spy on you and make sure you had no friends."

Lynn looked away in shame.

Jon and Sammy exchanged a look. Jon bumped Lynn's shoulder. "Did I ever tell you what a piece of work my dad was?" He asked her.

"Huh? No. You never talk about him… or your mom either." She said cautiously.

"Yah, well, my mom died of cancer when I was little so dear old dad decided instead of being a parent he should give drinking himself to death a shot." Jon frowned as he thought of his father. "He succeeded. That's how I ended up with my grandparents then Uncle Jack." Jon told them honestly. "And I'm not sorry he's gone either. He was a mean drunk and it's the only memory I have of him, even though my grandparents swore he loved me before mom died."

Lynn looked at him a little horrified.

"I didn't tell you that so you would feel sorry for me or so you feel like you lost the shit parent competition, Lynn. I told you so you'd get it that Brian's parents are kind of the exception. Jason has a shit dad. Sammy's dad emotionally abandoned her long before he died and while he did eventually make it up to her some., that doesn't excuse what he did for years. Zulfi's dad is making him go into a profession I'm not sure Zulfi even wants.

"My parents buy me stuff instead of being involved in me as a person." Heather offered.

Lynn looked around at her friends. Sammy nodded, confirming what Jon had said of her dad.

"It's not that bad…" Lynn tried to tell them.

"Bullshit." Jon told her. "If anything I think it's worse, and you, for good reason, don't want to talk about it. I bet she threatened you as a kid that if you talked about what went on in your house, you would get it worse." Jon said matter-of-factly.

"How did you know?" Lynn asked in a small, horrified voice.

Jon gave her a long steady look. "How do you think?" It wasn't a question.

"I didn't know." Lynn whispered.

"You weren't supposed to. Carter and I have been dealing with this for years. It's part of what we bonded over when we met." He told the dark haired girl.

"Is that why you guys have conversations with your eyes and don't talk?"

Jon nodded slowly. "Can't get busted for saying stuff if all you did was look at each other." He confirmed.

"That makes a lot of sense."

"So… don't sweat it if people know your mom is the way she is." Sammy suggested. "We all get it."

Brian nodded. "My grandma is like your mom, Lynn. I never told you before but that's why I never see her. Mom went no contact. Has been for years."

"That's why you hate mean people." Lynn deduced.

"Yah. Watch your grandma go off on your mom as a little kid and you would be super prickly about it too." He admitted.

"I know this sounds really weird but I feel better knowing even though it was horrible for you guys."

Sammy smiled softly in amusement. "Why do you think Jon and I didn't let you pull away?"

Lynn chuckled. "Let me guess. Both of you have tried that."

Jon flashed a grin. "Sammy can't escape me even if she wanted to."

"Oh yah, that doesn't sound creepy or stalkerish at all." Heather said dryly.

Jon's ears turned pink and Sammy laughed. "Serves you right." She told him in amusement and stole his last fry.