The song in this chapter is The Devil Within by Digital Daggers. If you haven't heard it, you really should.
The atmosphere had changed, Trent realized as they emerged from his Jeep. People were excited, and just about everyone was gathered around the stage. There had to be close to fifty or sixty people now.
"Hey, uh, your brother isn't coming here tonight, is he?" he asked as they walked towards the stage. He saw Bea up on it, adjusting the mic stand.
"I honestly don't know," she replied. "If he does, he's getting a fucking earful."
"God, I hope he doesn't show up."
"Why? You can take him, right?" Claire replied.
"What? Fuck no, I can't. He's like four inches taller than me and actually works out. I just got lucky. He comes at me again I'm using fucking mace. I'd pull out a knife but I'm afraid he'd actually make me gut him."
"Damn, you have mace and a knife?" she asked.
"We're paranoid," Trent replied.
"We put up with some shit," Ann added.
"I guess I'd be too if someone came at me with a boxcutter."
"Yeah, and after getting shot."
She shot him a startled look. "You got shot? Is that why you're limping a little?"
"Am I?" he asked.
"I was gonna ask if your leg is bothering you," Ann said.
"When and why did you get shot?" Claire asked.
"Uh, like a month and a half ago. We were in the woods, hunter accidentally shot me," he replied.
She frowned, staring at him. "I'm pretty sure you're lying."
"No, he's just stoned," Ann said.
"And I think you're covering for him," Claire said. "Which begs the question who the hell shot you and why?"
Trent considered how to handle this for a moment, then sighed. "Just accept what I told you because it's all you're going to hear." She raised her eyebrows. "Sorry, I'm just being honest, not trying to be rude."
"I mean that's fair, it's your gunshot wound...can I see it?" she asked.
"Maybe later," he replied.
They got to the edge of the crowd and began making their way through it, until they came to stand among Mae, Gregg, Angus, and Jen. When she saw him, Jen grinned and winked. He shifted and smiled awkwardly. She was really attractive, and the way he felt about her...wasn't all that far off from how he'd felt immediately upon seeing Bea for the first time. There was a kind of wild sexual energy to her and she was focusing it on him and he didn't know how to feel about that. Mae saw him and grinned like a maniac and came to stand next to him.
"Where'd you disappear off to?" she asked.
"My Jeep, remember? Uh, we need to talk later. It looks like you tried to surprise me the exact same night Ann had hoped to, uh, surprise me."
"What?" She frowned, looked at Ann, then at Claire, who wasn't looking at any of them, and stared pointedly at the stage. "Wait...you and Donna?"
"She's going by Claire now."
"And Selmers wants you to-oh. Crap. Crap, crap, crap. I fucked up, didn't I? But Jen's only in town for a few days and-"
"Mae, don't worry, we'll get it sorted out. Later. Privately," he replied, glad that a lot of people were talking loudly around them and not paying attention.
"I...ugh. All right. Yeah. Later. I want to hear Bea sing."
"Same."
"Also, I love you."
He laughed and took her hand. "I also love you also," he replied, making her giggle.
"Too many alsos, you're stoned, huh?" she asked.
"Just a little toasty," he replied.
"Aren't you worried about driving?" she asked.
"It'll be long worn off by the time I have to drive," he replied.
"Okay, everyone, listen up!" Bea said, then winced. "Sorry, too loud. I'm not used to doing this. Uh...thanks everyone for coming. I'm not really, like, a pro singer or anything, I just took classes in school."
"We had choir together and you were really good, Bea!" someone called out.
She laughed awkwardly. "Thanks. So I got two songs. The first one is called The Lighthouse and it's dedicated to and kind of about Mae Borowski, who's like my best friend in the world. She plays bass and is dating the horror writer you guys were freaking out over."
"Whoa, they're together?" someone asked.
"Yes he's my boyfriend and we have awesome sex like all the time!" Mae shouted, making almost everyone laugh.
"So let's do this!" Bea cried. A general cheer went up, and then when everyone fell silent, she reached over and started the music playing. "From a tender age, I was cursed with rage, came swinging like a fist inside a batting cage…"
Trent immediately became enraptured. Staring up at her on that stage in the moonlight, he knew he wasn't exaggerating about how amazed he was by her when she sang. She was obviously nervous, but she had that same raw energy, that same power, that same presence as the first time she'd performed this song for them.
When she was finished singing, it was dead silent.
For a moment, she just looked at the crowd, seeming uncertain, and then Mae let out a cheer and everyone else did immediately after she did. Bea smiled and blushed, looking at once both uncomfortable and happy. After a bit, she cleared her throat and stepped back up to the mic. "Thanks, everyone. Um, wow, it's so wild being up here and actually doing this. Uh, okay, okay. I should do this while I've still got the adrenaline going." She reached over and messed with her laptop for a moment. "All right, this one is brand new, no one's ever heard it live before except for the person who helped me write it. I made the instrumental side of it, and Selma Ann Forrester provided me with the lyrics. This song is called The Devil Within and it's dedicated to all the fucking shitty boyfriends who cheat on their awesome girlfriends! They can fuck themselves!"
Several women in the crowd shouted in agreement, and Trent saw a couple of guys look around and shift self-consciously.
"Yeah!" Claire yelled. "Fucking losers!"
Bea waited for everyone to settle down, and once they did, it was dead silent in the clearing. Trent looked around, feeling a kind of charge on the air. She looked excited as she stared out over them, her eyes wandering across the crowd. They paused on him, her eyes locking with his own, and her smile widened. Trent smiled back at her, loving how much she was enjoying herself. She cleared her throat, hit something on her laptop, then stepped up to the mic.
A rhythmic thumping sound began to emit from the speakers, something that began to resolve into a beat. The beginning of the song.
Just as a second, deeper thumping joined the first, Bea began to sing.
And it was like hearing a goddess.
"I will keep quiet, you won't even know I'm here…
"...you won't suspect a thing, you won't see me in the mirror…"
Her voice, unlike the first time, had a slight echo to it, and the effect was haunting and entrancing beyond anything Trent had heard before.
"I made myself at home in the cobwebs and the lies…
"...I'm learning all your tricks, I can hurt you from inside…
"...I made myself a promise, you would never see me cry, til I make you..."
The song began increasing in intensity, growing more complex, and Bea was fucking on it. And then the chorus hit.
Bea gripped the mic stand more tightly and leaned forward.
"You'll never know what hit you! Won't see me closing in…
"I'm gonna make you suffer. This hell you put me in, I'm underneath your skin…
"The devil within...you'll never know what hit you."
Trent found himself utterly entranced. The rest of the world seemed to be completely inconsequential. All he could see was her, gripping the mic stand, eyes closed, singing with a passion he rarely saw from her.
"...I will be here, when you think you're all alone…
"...seeping through the cracks, I'm the poison in your bones…
"My love is your disease, I won't let it set you free, til I break you…"
Her voice was like a drug.
He listened to the whole thing. They all did. Just staring. The music washed over them. Trent thought it might be the best song he'd ever heard in his life, and he genuinely couldn't tell if it was because he was in love with Bea or if it was just that good.
When it was over, and she had finished singing, she opened her eyes and again got that startled reaction. She seemed to lose a bit of her self-possession, reaching over and tapping something on the laptop. She cleared her throat. "So, uh, that's it. That's The Devil Within. Instruments by me, lyrics and emotional content entirely by Selma, because I've never been cheated on, thank God. And I'm really sorry for everyone who has been...uh, what'd you think?"
The crowd responded by going into wild cheering and clapping.
"Bea, go out with me!" someone shouted.
Bea let out an awkward laugh. "Uh...let's just nip this in the bud here and now: I'm off the market. Like, sorry guys, but I'm just off the market."
"Who's your boyfriend?!" someone else shouted.
That seemed to throw her a little. "Uh...I'm not dating anyone," she said finally, "I'm just off the market."
"I heard you was dating Chris Whitmore!" another voice shouted.
"Ew, oh my fucking God no!" Bea replied immediately. "I am single and I would never date him! Christ."
The silence that began to fall struck Trent as distinctly uncomfortable, but thankfully, before it could get any more awkward, Mae shouted "Sing it again!"
And a collective cheer of agreement went up.
"Well okay then," Bea replied, and began firing the song back up.
"Okay, so like...people can see you, and Gregg is like, right over there," Trent muttered as Jen shifted around in his lap.
"I don't give a fuck if people see me. The college I'm going to is liberal as fuck and I can flirt with cute boys and get stoned if I fucking want to, and Gregg has embarrassed the shit out of me so many times, you have no idea, so he can just deal. And I have had the most stressful month trying to deal with so many fucking classes. But if you really don't want a girl like me sitting all up in your lap, smoking weed with you, then I will get up," Jen replied.
"I didn't say that," Trent replied.
She laughed and took another puff on his pipe. "Yeah I thought so. Can't fucking get laid at school cuz I'm way too goddamned busy and everyone back here is, like...ew, no. But you on the other hand...you're cute. And fun. And safe. Mae says you're safe and so does Angus, and I believe them." She paused. "I believe Angus." She paused again. "Okay, okay, I believe Mae, just…"
"I get it," Trent replied. He shifted and wondered just how obvious his hard-on was pressing against her tight, fit ass.
It had been about two hours since Bea's performance. He'd felt in a daze ever since. Her voice, that beat, the lyrics...all of it was just so hauntingly effective. It really did feel like being high. After Bea had performed, people had asked her a bunch of questions, until finally Jackie kind of made everyone disperse and fuck off, because it was clear Bea was getting kind of overwhelmed. She took a break with him and Mae and Selma in his Jeep, just chilling and talking about it. He and Mae had nothing but immense praise for both women.
After that, they'd dispersed again, moving through the party, talking with people. After awhile, he'd bumped into Jen, who wanted weed and apparently some attention. She'd dragged him over to a chair off near one of the treelines and plopped right into his lap after he fished out the weed pipe for her.
"You sure you don't want any?" she asked.
"No, I probably gotta drive at some point in the near future," he replied.
"Smart, responsible man. Sexy," she whispered, then giggled. They both looked up as someone approached. It was, he assumed, a couple, a pair of finches, the girl wearing glasses and a hoodie, the guy wearing a leather jacket and bluejeans.
"Wow, Jen, you're getting awful familiar with someone else's boyfriend," the woman said.
"Oh fuck off, Janie, stop tryin' to spoil my fun," Jen replied, rolling her eyes.
"But he-" She looked at Trent directly now, "-you are dating that short cat, right? You're the horror writer Bea talked about..."
"Yeah," he replied.
"Ain't you ever heard of an open relationship?" Jen asked.
"I-really?" she replied.
"Yes, God! Trent, this is my friend Janie, by the way. My dorm-mate. And her boyfriend Henry."
"Pleased to meet you," Trent said awkwardly.
"Are you, like...part of the relationship?" Janie asked.
"No. I don't do long-distance shit. I just thought his lap looked comfy and he has weed he's willing to share with me," Jen replied, rolling her eyes. She took another puff.
"Can I have some?" Henry asked. He looked at once both irritated and kind of sad and Trent suddenly wondered how often he'd thought about hooking up with his girlfriend's dorm-mate, and how disheartening it must be to see her all up on some other guy who was already hooked up with another girl.
"I dunno, can he? It's your weed, dude," Jen replied.
"Yeah sure," Trent said.
"Thanks."
He just nodded as Jen passed it. Janie sighed heavily.
"What?" Henry asked. "We've done it before."
"Ha ha, you toked!?" Jen asked.
"You weren't supposed to tell anyone!" Janie complained as Henry took a puff.
"After all the times you gave me shit fer it?! Knew I smelled fucking weed on you that one night," Jen said, though she sounded more amused than annoyed.
"Ugh, yes. Fine. We've done it a few times. It's just...not responsible."
"Look, I trust you, you trust Jen, Jen trusts him, right?" he asked.
"I mean, yeah, just...Jen's a little drunk, and stoned right now."
"I'm not even drunk anymore, that's long gone, and I'm just a little stoned. I'm relaxed Janie, you should fuckin' try it sometime."
Janie let out a huff of irritation. "Uh-huh. Well, we have other people to see, give his pipe back and let's go, Henry."
"Fine, fine," he said with a sigh, passing the pipe back. "Thanks again."
"Yep," Trent replied, still feeling awkward about the whole situation.
"They ain't gonna last the semester," Jen said in a low voice when they were gone. "I like 'em both, and Henry's a good guy, mostly, and Janie's good too, just...she's got a stick up her ass. And he's not enough of a pushover to take it. Once the good warm feeling sex produces wears off, he won't be able to tolerate her overbearing nature."
"You should've gone into sociology," Trent replied.
Jen laughed. "Fuck that, man. I just wanna design clothes. Oh! Just remembered," she hopped up and turned to face him, "Mae mentioned you got shot. I wanna see it!"
"Uh, I can show you later…"
"I wanna see it now!"
"It's, like, on my leg. Like under my boxers?"
She dropped to her knees and stuck the pipe in her mouth. "Well," she murmured, undoing his pants, "I mean I can just pull your pants down and lift your boxers up, right?"
"I mean technically yes but this is like pretty rude, Jen," he replied.
"You really want me to stop? I will," she said, looking up at him.
"I...whatever, just make it quick," he replied.
She giggled and kept going. He had to admit, there was a certain appeal to a really attractive woman on her knees, in front of him, undoing his pants.
In public.
No one was really around or seemed to be paying attention, everyone was sort of just hanging out, talking, about a third of the people had left at this point, as it was starting to get cold. He felt a certain thrill as Jen got his pants unbuttoned and unzipped, then started pulling them down.
"Whoops," she murmured with a giggle as his boxers came down with it and his erection sprang out. He felt another thrill that was an intense burst of fear at being so exposed as he pulled his boxers hastily back into place.
"Jen, wow, fuck!" he hissed.
"Sorry, dude," she replied. "Uh, which leg?"
"Left."
"Hmm." She pushed his boxers up and looked at his outer thigh. "Oh, wow, yeah. I see it. Fur still hasn't grown back in yet...did it hurt?"
"Yeah, like a lot, but I honestly don't remember the worst of it. I blacked out."
"Who the hell shot ya?" she asked, looking up at him curiously.
"A hunter, on accident," he replied.
"Huh, really?" She scrutinized the wound for a bit longer, then shrugged. "Sorry, dude. Been known to happen round these parts."
"Whoa, Mae, I think someone's trying to give your boyfriend a blowjob!"
"Ah great," Trent muttered.
"Whoa, really!? Cool! Who is it?" Mae shouted.
"Ah great," Trent repeated, rolling his eyes.
"Did she really just say 'cool'?" someone asked.
"It's-Jen! What the hell!?" Gregg shouted.
Without looking, Jen raised one hand back behind her and flipped him off. "Not giving him a blowjob, Gregg. Just looking at his gunshot wound. Don't be so fuckin' weird about it."
"Wait, you got shot?" someone asked.
"Can I see?" another person asked. Now basically everyone left at the party was coming up.
"You want me to put it back?" she asked.
He sighed heavily. "No, might as well show people, everyone wants to fucking see," he muttered, standing up.
"Hey, scars are cool, this'll just make you more popular," Jen replied, getting up.
Everyone gathered around him in a semicircle, several people shining flashlights on his leg. It was a bizarre feeling, but he had to admit that there was a part of him that did like being the center of attention like this. Several people asked how it had happened, and he told them the same thing he'd just told Jen.
"Damn, you ever figure out who did it?" one of them asked.
"Nope, never even saw them," he replied. He wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that he was getting better at lying. "Can I pull my pants up now?"
Several people said 'yeah', backing off a little, the awkwardness of the situation reasserting itself now that curiosity had been sated. He pulled his pants back up and got them fixed. He looked around for the people in his life. Bea was off talking with Angus. Ann was off talking with Claire. Mae was approaching him with Gregg, a big tired smile on her face. He could tell she was staring to drift and it abruptly occurred to him how late it was.
"We should get going," he said.
"Yeah...I'm tired," Mae replied.
"Same," Jen said, smirking.
As the people dispersed again, Bea and Angus approached, as did Ann and Claire.
"What's happening? We going home?" Ann asked.
"Yeah," Trent replied.
"Angus is gonna drive my car to your guys' apartment, Gregg," Bea said. "I'm too tired to drive and just want to go home."
"I'm crashing at Mae's place," Jen said.
Gregg yawned. "Okay, but we're going crossbowing tomorrow. You said you would," he replied.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be there," Jen replied. "Night dork."
"Night loser," Gregg said.
"What about you, Claire?" Ann asked.
"I'm going home for the night. I...still want to...what we talked about. But later. After you guys get everything, uh, sorted out. It was nice meeting you. See you later," she said, and quickly began walking away.
"Uh...so what was that about exactly?" Bea asked. "I'm getting the impression I've missed a lot. Also I'm cranky because I had tell three guys to fuck off without actually telling them that. Like...jeez I'm attractive all of a sudden apparently."
"You've always been attractive, Bea, you were just scary before," Mae said.
"But I'm not scary now?"
"No, you're still scary, but your hotness now overrides your scariness."
Bea laughed. "I see."
"Goodnight everyone, we're heading home," Angus said.
They all told him and Gregg goodnight and watched them walk away. Trent took stock of who all was with him. His three girlfriends, and Jen, and no one else. Good. Too many people tonight. He'd enjoyed it, but it had certainly taken its toll.
"We good to go?" he asked.
"Almost," Bea said, "Jackie!"
"What?!"
"Come here!"
"Fine!" She walked over from where she'd been standing. "Don't see why you couldn't've come to me."
"Because I'm really tired, Jackie. I'm leaving for the night. Thank you so much for your help," Bea replied.
"It's no problem, Bea. You were amazing out there. You've got to sing more," Jackie replied.
"She's right, you have a gift, your voice is pure fucking aphrodisiac," Trent agreed.
"Gross," Jackie muttered, rolling her eyes.
"I mean fucking apparently, so many guys hitting on me. Ugh."
"You could just say you're ace," Jackie said.
"You know, I for real thought about that while I was up there, but like, why should I have to lie? They can just fuck off," Bea replied.
"I respect you a lot for that," Jackie said.
"Same," Trent agreed.
"You're biased...but thanks," Bea replied.
Mae giggled. "He's super biased."
"Okay...it's been fun, and nice seeing everyone, but I still have a few things I need to do, and you all look exhausted, so go home and sleep," Jackie said.
"Bye Jackie," Trent said.
"Goodbye Trent...Mae. Bea. Jen. Selma."
They all told her goodbye, and then began heading for his jeep.