Story: Possible Combustible

Summary: All Zack sees around him are masks and lights. Fake people, fake relationships, love, and eyeliner are starting to bog him, and his thoughts, down. It's all possible combustible, but is there a way to reverse it?

Chapter: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No, I don't own anything.

Claimer: I do own this story, though.

Feedback: I'd love it. Flames, criticism, praise, and anything else you can think of will be greatly appreciated. They all help me become a better writer.

Anything Else: Yes… If you like this story, I will continue the chapters. I need reviews to know if you like it!

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He walked into the dressing room and sighed heavily. It was another gig, another night, and more alcohol and make-up then he could handle. Yes, he wore make-up- eyeliner to be exact. He was often told eyeliner accented his eyes well.

"Isn't that what it's supposed to do?" He spoke into the mirror wearily, looking hard into his deep brown eyes. He liked his eyes. They were probably his best feature. Well, that and his hair. Shaggy- it was always shaggy, but clean cut in a sense.

He walked into the bathroom section of the back stage area and started running the water. It was nice, feeling it run all over his hands as he tried to manipulate it to just the right temperature. Hot, yet cold, but not warm. He ran his wet fingers under his eyes, trying to get the eyeliner off, but instead smudging it to the corners of his eyes in excessive amounts.

Cupping the water in his hands, he splashed it all over his face to revive the tiredness that seemed to all of the sudden wash over him. He sighed, heavy and heartedly and looked into the mirror at his clean face, which was now red from the washing. The red wasn't a great look for him and as the water dried, the paleness of his face contrasted greatly with the dark circles under his eyes.

He walked back into the back stage area and looked around. It was free of screaming fan girls for once- a nice relief. But it was odd, not seeing the whole entire band and crew out there, waiting to go off to some diner, or after party. The band wasn't the same though, but at 21 years old, how could he expect any differently? Their lead vocalist had left, and him and Katie had taken over. Lawrence had left too, along with Alicia. That left them with their lead guitar player, bassist, drummer, and two back up singers. They were still going strong though.

"Why had Lawrence left…?" He wondered out loud to the air. It was rhetorical, of course. He knew why the pianist turned keyboarder had left. Why answer the obvious though?

"Because, rock just wasn't his thing. Classical was and you know that just as well as I do, Zack." The words were harsh, and made the boy turn around to face the tall blonde behind him.

"Yeah, I know you're right. Without a keyboarder though, what's a band?" He inquired weakly and already knew there were a lot of great bands without a keyboarder.

"Queen never had a keyboarder, and they were amazing!" Freddy looked at the boy with an excited air about him and smiled.

Zack rolled his eyes and sighed. He leaned against the wall and prepared his answer for the other boy. "Queen had a pianist. The late Freddy Mercury." He raised an eyebrow and looked at the other boy with a lazy grin draped on his face.

"Right! A pianist! Not a keyboarder!"

He let out a sigh and realized he didn't want to be there any longer. The lights, sounds, and blankness of everything and everyone around his were driving him insane.

The people around him were quite fake. All of them were, except for maybe Freddy. Freddy was the only one there for him, in a sense. Best friends- that's what they were. Through thick and thick, they were the best. And at one time even more, but that was so long ago. They were nothing more than friends now, but did he regret it? No… No regrets. Did he want the rough drummer back? Sometimes, late at night, while running his fingers through his girlfriends long, silky, black hair, he wished it was short, gelled, blonde hair.

"Freddy, I'm going home." The brunette turned and grabbed his coat off the nearby rack. He sighed and grabbed hold of the doorknob that was beckoning him. He didn't get that far though, for a pale hand was placed on his shoulder. Can a touch make someone remember everything? No… Not exactly, but when Freddy laid his hand on his shoulder, he swore he felt electricity. He bit his lip and sighed. No… This isn't right. It's Freddy. Freddy, the blond, womanizing drummer.

"Does she know?" Freddy was inquiring to the other boy who didn't want to answer. "Zack… Does she know yet?" The hand turned the boy around to face him. "Answer, Zack! Does she know that you don't want her anymore?"

He bit his lip and looked into the taller boys eyes. Three years with a girl that he worked very closely with, how could he just decide out of the blue that he didn't love her anymore? "No… But I think she might." He knew exactly how, he probably knew from the beginning of the relationship but didn't want to admit it. He knew he never loved her, but he told himself he did. Was he looking for a relationship all those years ago? He remembered why he started dating the petite girl. It was directly after Freddy and him had broken it off.

If he didn't tell her soon though, they would be approaching their fourth anniversary. He couldn't handle leading her on anymore. "I'll tell her tonight."

"Good… Be decent about it, though. You know that Summer is fragile." The other boy brought this to the other boy's attention as if he didn't already know. Giving a weak smile, he lifted his hand off his shoulder and heat and electric sparks went with that one hand.

"Yeah… I'll see you, though." And with that, he took hold of the doorknob once again. With a twist of it, the door became open and the cool night air filled the room with ease. He took a deep breath in, taking in the sweet scents of the night. He set out to do the one thing he didn't want to, break up with his long-term girlfriend who was now probably waiting for him at their flat.

"All right. Be on your way, huh?" Freddy watched as the other boy took his steps into the dark streets and cold night air, and with that he shut the door to stop the cold from flowing into the warm back stage area.

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A/N: Well, that's it for this chapter. What do you think so far? Is it all right? Remember; review, because if you don't, I won't continue. Also, I know this chapter was short, but I thought I should leave it from there. Yes… It hints Slash, but that's okay… Because, memories are most likely what's all that's going to be included in here.