Title: The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case

Author: Kristen a/k/a TWBasketcase

Disclaimer: I do not own TBC, ACDC, Black Flag, or Van Halen

Summary: After hospital visits, psychiatric appointments, and a catastrophic wrestling meet, Allison and the rest of the gang unwind at a local punk/metal club for Bender's show.

A/N: First off, I always wanted to do a chapter like this because I have been involved in my local punk/metal scene for about 5 years now and I've played in a few bands…so this is just something I did to entertain myself and give the characters a break from harm! Second of all, I would like to thank Hannah and Moonjava for being wonderful and faithful reviewers! You guys keep me going…so here for you is Chapter 12, I hope you enjoy and feel free to review! Cheers!

Chapter 12 – Club Underground

"So what happened…did he win?" Claire asked as she applied the black mascara to her eyelashes. It was my turn to make her over, so she's sitting in my bedroom as we prepare for our night out.

"Well he won alright; he also destroyed the poor kid at the end of the match. You could tell everything his dad had said really gotten to him; he took it completely out on the other guy. It was pretty nuts." I replied going through my closet. I picked out a tight black tank-top with spaghetti straps, topped off with a scull and crossbones on the chest.

"So how did he hurt his knee then?" She asked in confusion. She let out a small giggle when I handed her the shirt, "I can't see myself wearing this…but what the hell!"

I smirked at her and shook my head, the girl was like a real-life Barbie doll sometimes, "The kid was so pissed after the match that he attacked him from behind. I think he knew about his knee because that was the first thing that he went for." I slid out of my skirt and grabbed my favorite red and black plaid pants and pulled them up swiftly.

Claire raised a brow and let out a low whistle, "takes a big man to jump someone from behind," she said irritably.

"Claire, you don't have to tell me," I said raising my brows. I picked up a pair of worn jeans - once blue but now a grayish-white – and handed them to her. She looked at them doubtfully but put them on anyways. I had already explained to her that it would be bad choice to be walking into that club dressed the way she normally does; especially with Brian not being much of a bodyguard and Andy and John both being indisposed of. Punk rockers are an angry group of people; you can never be too careful! Ha!

We finished up our make-up after about a half an hour (Claire is really bad for that), and started to head out. We had to pick up Brian and then Andy…but Andy was more a matter of making sure he could still go. Claire's dad had let her take out his Saab, so she was our driver for the night.

We approached the front foyer of my apartment and I pulled on my Taylor's easily. I watched Claire as she started pulling on her brown leather boots and I smirked, she's got to be kidding me! "Do you want a different pair of shoes to wear? I can see those being wrecked by the end of night…"

"Is this club going to be filled with Neanderthals or something?" she asked curiously, and I couldn't help but laugh at her.

"No Claire, but you might wanna take my word on this…you'll see what I mean when we get there."

"Alright, alright, but no combat boots or anything like that!" She hesitantly agreed.

I sighed over-dramatically and took off my Taylor's and gave them to her. She laughed in spite of herself – as did I – at Claire wearing the dirty things…you had to see her to believe it. I reached over to my shoe closet and shuffled some things around until I decided on my 14-hole Doc's. And with that we grabbed our jackets and headed on our way.

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We pulled up to Andy's drive way at about 7:20; we still had forty minutes to get to downtown Chicago in time for the show. I sat in the back of the car and watched out my window quietly, while Claire and Brian chirped away in the front, both visibly excited, yet nervous. When the car pulled to a stop, I told them to stay put and that I would go get Andrew.

I stepped out of the car and shut the door behind me; I couldn't stop biting my lip and raking my fingers through my hair…they're habits I have when I'm nervous. I've never met Andy's parents before, and something was telling me they aren't going to approve; I think I have a reason to be feeling this way. I stepped up to the front door; his house was like Brian's…not too big or small; basically nothing special. It was a red brick house with brown shutters, a little garden in the front and a small walk-way. I approached the heavy looking door and gave it a good knock. It was only a matter of seconds until a huge guy, and I mean huge, answered the door. He was about 6'5" and looked a lot like Andrew except he had brown hair and brown eyes. He looked down at me and gave me an awkward grin, "Can I help you?"

I hesitated for a second, for some stupid reason I felt intimidated, "uh…yeah I am looking for Andrew…" I said quietly. He let out a chuckle; he even sounded like Andrew…that same infectious laugh.

"Hold on a sec, I'll go get him," he closed the door half way behind him, and I heard his footsteps retreat back into the Clark home. I turned around and looked back to the car, and was met with two thumbs up signs from my friends. I smirked and turned back around; what a bunch of idiots! It was only a few moments later that I began to hear faint arguing going on in the house. I hope his dad isn't giving him shit again…to think parents would give an eighteen year old some freedom! Suddenly the door swung open and I was face to face with his father.

"Who…or…what the hell are you?" He asked with a scowl on his face.

I glared back at him, "My name is Allison, and I'm here to pick up Andrew…"

"WELL HE AIN'T GOIN' NO WHERE!" he hollered at me – interrupting my sentence as well – and slammed the door in my face. I stood frozen for a moment…did he really just do that? I pounded on the door again, and this time I was met with more arguing from inside the house, only a lot louder. I turned to look at Claire and Brian for support, but they were in a fit of giggles. I scoffed at them in mock anger and spun around at the sound of the door opening, luckily for me it was Andy.

He smiled briefly at me before leaning over to kiss me. "No crutches?" I asked apprehensively, there's no way he walking fine already!

"Nope just an insanely annoying brace is all," he replied with a shrug, "Sorry about that prick father of mine." He shook his head and jammed his fists in his pocket; he looked a little embarrassed, so I decided to change the subject, "Who was that monstrously tall man who opened the door?"

"Oh, that was Chuck…my older brother," he replied looking down at the ground momentarily.

I furrowed my brow lightly, "I never knew you had a brother,"

"Yeah…I have five."

I widened my eyes and raised a brow; that's a lot of brothers! I nodded my head ever so slightly and decided once again to change the subject, "So what did the doctors say to you?"

"They said it was twisted and the bone was badly bruised, and that I couldn't wrestle for 6-8 weeks," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry," I said…I didn't really know what else to say to him; I wasn't sure if that was what he wanted or not.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Ally," he replied, "Come on, let's get going."

We walked – or I walked and he limped – down the stairs and to the car. We both hopped in the back and looked at our friends in the front – who were awkwardly gawking at Andy.

"What's your problem?" Andy asked with a smirk on his face.

"Nothing, man…I just didn't expect you to be walking," Brian replied mockingly, smirking right back.

"Yeah well I'm fine so leave it," Andy finished.

Claire and I exchanged unsettled glances for a moment before I shrugged. She sighed heavily and turned back in her seat and placed her hands on the steering wheel; she hesitated for a few moments, her eyes focused directly ahead of her…she looked to be thinking deeply. Brian looked at her confused and cleared his throat, "Oh, right," Claire said shaking her head, "Sorry."

I smiled, "Ditz!" Brian and I accused simultaneously; she scoffed in mock anger before we all broke out in a fit of laughter…Andy didn't but at least we got a beautiful, bright smile out of him. We backed out of the driveway and started our trip to Chicago and its Club Underground.

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We arrived at the club about twenty minutes early, for the purpose of finding Bender before his set. I led the way through the front doors of the club excitedly – it was my first show in about three months – I felt as if I was having withdraws or something! The others followed slowly, I could tell they were anxious, but I kept reassuring them they would have loads of fun. We were all here to support our friend so that's what mattered.

The club was dimly lit with purple, red, and blue lights. In front of the stage there was a dance floor, about thirty feet by twenty feet; around the dance floor were tables with chairs around them…and behind the tables was a bar. It was your average club, it wasn't huge but it could fit probably 250 to 300 people. Andy and Brian took a seat at one of the tables in the front row, while Claire and I made our way to the right of the stage were the bands currently were hanging out in a back room.

I took a look inside from the doorway and looked around. It almost looked like a locker room, had benches with shelves over top; it was brightly lit and there was music equipment scattered everywhere. There was about 10 or 11 guys in the room, each creatively dressed in their own right. Finally I caught sight of Bender and I cleared my throat.

He spun around quickly, "Oh hey guys!" He chirped cheerily, as he started making his way over to us. I gave him a bright smile and we greeted him with a quick hug.

"So…are you nervous?" I asked him

"Huh…hell no!" He said shakily, totally giving himself away. Me and Claire laughed at him in spite of ourselves, "You have nothing to worry about you'll do great," she reassured him. He gave us a genuine smile and ran his hand through his hair, "Well it's about time we got a gig, we've been practicing for over a year now."

"Are you playing all originals?" I asked him.

"A few," he replied, "But I figured since it's our first show we'd play some covers to get on the crowd's good side."

I got excited, "What are you playing?"

"See that's a surprise," he said with his patented cocky smirk.

I pouted, he's gonna play the hard way, "Fine, but you better play something good for me!"

He grinned, "Of course, I wouldn't leave you in the cold, would I?" he said with a wink.

"Alright, well we'll let you finish getting ready then," Claire told him happily.

"Alright, see you girls out there," he replied giving Claire a kiss.

"Yeah, break a leg," I said jokingly.

He narrowed his eyes at me playfully and turned on his heel and walked back to join his band mates…I couldn't wait for the show to start. We retreated back to the table to join Andy and Brian; meanwhile, the place was filling up pretty quickly, and the show was set to start any minute.

"Did you find him?" Andy asked.

"Yeah we did, he's pretty pumped."

A group of kids walked past the table, all of them wearing leather jackets and two of them with very tall, colored mohawks. Brian watched them with an incredulous look and turned to us, "Are you sure I won't get my ass kicked?" I let out a chuckle as the first band made its way to the stage.

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The first three bands were great, I was having a blast so far…and now John's band was up next, and I couldn't wait to see him play. The others mainly have stuck to the table so far, but I have been dancing my life away. I couldn't help it, when it comes to music I just let my mind go and I get right into it. I returned to the table to join the others, who were all sitting there with smiles on their faces, "What?"

"You just look like your having a blast," Andy remarked.

"I am thank-you. I'm soaked though, dancing with big sweaty men all around you has its cons," I replied with a laugh. He gave me another big smile and nodded his head. I turned to Claire and Brian, "John's up next so you guys better get out there and dance with me!"

"Well I dunno…I don't want to get hurt…" Brian stammered, and I couldn't help but laugh at him again…that kid has that affect on me. Claire just nodded her head with a smile, "Sure, I will."

I gave them a huge grin and clapped my hands together, "Great!" I turned to the stage; John was up there tuning his guitar as the drummer was finishing his set up. He had four guys in his band: a drummer, a bass player/vocalist, a rhythm guitarist, and John, who played lead guitar and back-ups. He looked up at the crowd as he adjusted his mic to meet his requirements; he had a look of sheer terror in his eyes, but he was doing a pretty good job masking it. There were well over 200 people here and it was his first show so I didn't blame him.

The crowd started to flock towards the stage as the club owner took the mic, "Ladies and gentlemen please welcome Chicago's own, Countdown to Extinction!"

We all cheered as loudly as we could from our seats, as well as a few others from in front of the stage. I knew that since they were a new band people were gonna want to check them out first before they started dancing and reacting to them, so I decided that I would take it upon myself to start a mosh pit first thing to get Bender out of his stage fright.

The club owner walked off the stage and the band took its position, I waited impatiently for them to start. Finally, Bender started the guitar riff of "Running with the Devil" by Van Halen. Good choice John! I love this fucking song! Brian and Claire stood up to get a better view, so I decided to sneak around the table to start. I grabbed Brian by the shoulders and shouted in his ear, "Have ya ever started a pit before, Bry?" Before he could respond I shoved him into a large group of kids in front of the stage, and in no time they started pushing each other around and began to dance. Claire and Andy turned their heads to me with shocked expressions on their faces, "Ally, you're evil!" Andy yelled.

"I know and I love it!" I yelled back, as I ran onto the dance floor to go grab my friend. I found him in the middle of the floor jumping around with his arms over his head like an idiot. I laughed so hard at him; like I said he has that affect on me! I started to jump around idiotically with him and we both cheered loudly when Bender started ripping into the solo. His fingers were flying and I really had no idea how talented he really was. When the song was over the two of us threw our arms in the air and screamed just about as loudly as we could. I could see that all of the fear that was once in John's eyes was gone and replaced with a fire of adrenaline. Brian turned to me as they started into a new, original song and yelled, "I can't believe you did that!" I shoved him playfully and he shoved me back, "That was so much fun, Al! I wanna do it again!" I laughed and once again we went shoving through the crowd to start all over again.

We returned to the table momentarily to grab a drink, and after the first four songs Bender and his band looked totally comfortable on stage and were having a blast. I gotta say I loved the originals they had. I mean they weren't no AC/DC but their songs sure as hell fit right in. I turned to Andy pouting, "I wish you could dance with me."

"I'm no good anyways," he replied with a smirk, "but don't let me bring you down, I'm having fun just watching you." He had a mischievous twinkle and I couldn't help but bend down and give him a soft kiss.

"Alright everyone," Bender's voice came over the mic, "this next song is for a friend of mine…so Ally I want you to get your ass up here and sing it with me!"

I looked at the others with horror, and they just smirked and pointed to the stage. Bender was so dead.

"This song is by our favorite band so here goes nothin'" He finished.

I pushed my way through the crowd and climbed the steps up the stage. Bender started clapping his hands like a goof and I shook my fist at him. He started the riff for AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" and then instantly I felt better…it was my favorite song in the whole world and he knew it; besides I have sung this song a million times in my bedroom. He moved away from his mic and let me to it and after the verse began, I started to shout in the mic along with the bass player:

As Bender ripped into the guitar solo, I started dancing my heart out. I was having so much fun singing my favorite song by my favorite band, that I've never once had an adrenaline rush like this. People were dancing; even Claire got up and started to dance with Brian. My eyes looked back towards the tables to my boyfriend who sat back in his chair, eyes locked to mine. He's never looked more beautiful and as I began singing again my eyes never left his.

A smile formed over his lips, and he leaned over putting his arms on the table.

I smiled widely as we came to the end of the song…I don't think I've ever had this much fun.

We finished the song and I ran to Bender and squeezed him into a hug before running off the stage. I cheered loudly with the rest of the crowd and made my way back to the table to sit with Andy. He looked at me with adoration in his eyes and pulled me down to sit on his good knee. "You were pretty hot up there," he said with a cocky grin.

"It's my favorite song, what can I say!" I yelled over the music, they were playing "My War" by Black Flag.

He looked at me in the eye and gave me a gentle hug. This night turned out to be a total blast, I'm glad too because we deserved it after this week. I sat through the rest of the song to keep Andy company and waited for the others to come back to the table. They, like me, couldn't stop dancing and were blending in like they've done it a thousand times before. It was really cool we could all come to this place and not have to worry about reputations, and cliques; this was the type of place to come and escape all of that. Seconds later Claire returned to the table trying to catch her breathe. She took one look at me and started laughing her ass off.

"What the hell you laughing at?" I asked in mock anger.

"Nothing…it's just, I can't believe I'm having so much fun here!" She yelled over the music.

I nodded my head "I knew you would!" I said in between songs, they began playing another original.

"He's really good!" Andy yelled.

"I know! I can't believe it! It makes him look so hot!" Claire shrieked like a little school girl.

Andy and I laughed at her, and she pouted playfully. "Come on Claire, let's go out there!"

"Lead the way!" She said.

We made our way through the crowd and went towards the front of the stage. We passed Brian, he was literally laughing his ass off between two banger chicks; they had their arms around him and were dancing around the circle pit…it really was a sight. We got to the front of the stage right in front of John's mic as the song ended. We clapped and cheered loudly once again and he smiled down at us. He approached the mic, "Alright…um…thanks for coming out everyone, this is gonna be our last song of the night, and it goes out to Claire…"

I turned to her and grinned and her face went almost as red as her hair. They kicked into Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" and Bender was singing this one. I grabbed Claire's hands and we both danced like maniacs. They were performing it perfectly and Claire was getting really giddy; I don't blame her, it's an incredibly romantic gesture! The two of us danced at the front of stage, until the song was over and Claire jumped on to the stage and onto her man. The crowd roared with cheers and whistles and I just shook my head and laughed. Those two are quite the pair! The band cleared the stage and I made it my mission to find Brian and make sure he was still alive.

I pushed around the crowd for a few minutes and came up empty, so I returned to the table to see if I could find him. "Have you seen Bry?" I asked Andy.

He pointed over his shoulder and started laughing his ass off. I followed the direction and my jaw fell open; the two banger girls from earlier pretty much had their tongues and lips all over him. My eyes widened and for a few moments I was frozen, that was our Brian with two chicks…leather and chain clad I might add! What a sight! I fell into a fit of uncontrollable giggles and fell to my knees clutching my stomach; this was too much for me to handle! Claire and John approached the table a few minutes later, and Andy and I still haven't stopped for air, "What the hell is wrong with you guys?" John asked with a smile at our appearance; Andy had his face in his arms, and I was still on the floor laughing with tears falling down my face. I couldn't stop so I just pointed. Claire burst out with us while Bender just hollered, "GO BRIAN GO!" Brian looked up and noticed us laughing and his head turned a shade that resembled a cherry.

After a few moments he finally got the girls off of him and retreated back to us. Three of us were still chuckling like hyenas, while Bender started throwing him high fives and making remarks like, "Brian's not a cherry anymore!" Which only made us laugh harder, and him turn darker shades of red.

It turned out to be a wonderful night; lots of fun, dancing, singing, and lovin'. I really needed it and it definitely took that weight off of Andy's shoulders, which made me really happy. He needed to get his mind off his dad and wrestling for awhile. I truly loved the happy, carefree Andy. I smiled at the thought as we made our exit from the Club Underground. We need to do this more often…

To Be Continued.

A/N and Disclaimer: I borrowed the band name "Countdown to Extinction" from the band Megadeth's 1992 full length album "The Countdown to Extinction" So I'm just borrowing the name, don't sue me!

END NOTES: SONG LYRICS WERE TAKEN DOWN SO I WOULDN'T GET MY STORY DELETED. THANX