April 24, 2011

Forecast… Sunny

"You feeling any better…" I gave Chie an evil grin as walked to Junes after a day after all of my friends being sick. It was Sunday after all, so me and Chie had decided to go to Junes, Yu was hanging out in a place called Okina station. "I forgot to tell you guys not to eat the chips."

Chie just glared at me for a moment, I threw my hands up in defense as if to say, I didn't mean to! She just sighed at me. "So what are we going to do here anyway?"

"Don't ya know!?" I stopped walking with mock shock on my face; I acted scared for a moment later. "Oh no! She's discovered the plan! All agents… ABORT! ABORT!"

Chie just started to laugh at me, she knew I was joking. I was glad about that though, even after getting her sick, she was fine with me making stupid little jokes that I always do. "Joking aside, I'm going for two things! One: hang out with a friend! Two: to see what CDs they got in stock."

"That's it?" Chie actually seemed confused at this, yes; she gave one of the biggest music maniacs she very could have known if all he wanted to do was look at CDs. I almost faced palmed at her; she was joking right? "Not going into the TV right?"

"Why?" I turned and just gave her a look that basically screamed: You're joking right? "I have no reason to, hey, though you did just give me an idea!"

"Oh no…"

"We should go to Aiya's after this!" I smiled as we walked up to the doors of Junes. "Only this time, let's hope it's a little less awkward."

"Y-yeah," Chie kinda rubbed the back of her neck. We walked around the store for a while, I pointed out some stuff that looked cool. Hell, I saw an anime store! I thought they only had those in America, because, well anime here was like regular TV programming. I promised myself I would go there before the year was up. Finally after about a half hour, we finally found a music store. Not the last one, no this one was basically just CDs. I noticed the song playing as we walked in and instantly start to laugh a little. Then after a few seconds I started singing along.

"Don't keep putting us down, no messing around! We're standing out ground, we'll keep on making this noise, the girls and the boys! We're changing this town!" Chie and the clerk on duty just stared at me as I made an ass of myself, singing perfectly in English, to a song not many people had heard. "Fashion. Style. Black. White. Shades of Grey. Straight. Tight. Loose. Baggy. Belt braces. Angry. Happy. Shiny faces. Thick. Thin. Hairy. Tall. Smiley. Pretty. Ugly. Small. Old. Young. Miss. Hit. Lazy crazy MISFIT! I love this song! One of the only good songs that came out of this band too!"

"So," The clerk looked at me with a weird smile on his face as he looked back to a catalog of some sorts that he was reading. "You're a fan of Thebandwithnoname then I take it?"

"Only cause of that song," I started to search the first alley, all of the music was categorized by genre, which didn't really help me trying to find what I liked, but helped me avoid all the crappy music. Chie was just staring at me still as my head started to bob with the current song, it was a song I didn't recognize, hell I can't even remember the words to it. "What?"

"How did you not have friends back where you lived?" I knew that question was coming on of these days; I was just hoping to avoid it by bugging Yosuke about his Shadow… not this time. Chie had me cornered. I sighed as I shuffled threw CD after CD , then I took a quick brake to listen to the song. Which turned out to be the last few minutes of it, the Victim by Avenged Sevenfold came on, great fucking timing!

"And some say this can't be real. And I've lost my power to feel tonight." I thought about the best way to explain this to her. I trusted her with my life, might as well give her my past as well. "We're all just victims of a crime. Look, I'm only gonna ever explain this once. So, please, just listen carefully."

Chie just nodded as I started to search threw the thousands of CDs that the store had again. I took a deep breath. "Just before I was born, my mom got a large inheritance from her parents. She's a smart woman, wanted what would have been best for her kids. She also guessed which stocks would do the best. So she invested, and did better than a lot of people could have hoped. Took every last sent she had out of the stocks and put into savings for me and created a savings for my sis who was two, I was three at the time. My dad… he thought that he should have gotten the money, so, he left, pissed off and wanting nothing to do with my mom. He was smart enough to know who would have won any legal battle. When I started school, I talked to everybody, everybody talked back. Nothing really bad happened, yeah there were bullies. But I had friends, until everybody learned what money was."

Chie seemed confused, hell I'd be surprised if you followed what the hell was going on. I said my mom was smart, not sane. "Everyone was always happy when they got ten bucks, I ask my mom about an allowance. That's when she told me about my savings, she had also started a business that was small, but very successful. So we also had a hell of a lot of extra money."

Chie's eyes showed that while she was still confused a little, again, smart mom, not sane. She was also sad. I continued to search for the right CD, not in country, go fucking figure. "I told all my friends, and as it goes, kids tell their parents everything until high school, their parents turned them against me. That and I was starting to develop… um, unique ways of acting. People made jokes, but I learned by then not to let bother me. Then middle school hit, that's when it truly got bad, when everyone split into their groups of everything. No one thought I fitted in, so they acted like I was an outsider. The jocks… sorry jokes, became real douches and started to physically abuse me. It got to the point that I came home one day with a broken arm and a cut on the back of my head, the cut was deep enough that I needed stitches. It didn't stop there though." Tears started to form in my eyes at this point; I wiped my eyes for a moment. I was prepared to continue until a felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked over and Chie actually had started to cry a little, I smiled. "It wasn't all bad, after all the shit that happened; I actually made a friend in my fourth school. And without all of that, I never would have met the three greatest friends I have ever had, here in foggy little Inaba."

Chie smiled sadly up at me, she knew most of the story after that. That was all she needed to hear to know that she didn't want the rest other than the end. The part where I came to Inaba "You helped us as well, you know…"

"Yeah," I looked down at the CD that was currently in my hand. I eyes widened as I noticed the band and title of the CD. "FOUND IT!"

I shot my hands with the CD up into the air like I had found a gift from god! The band that had produced my favorite song at that time. I found the CD, Drunken Lullabies. Chie just looked at the CD like I was crazy, I ran up to the counter and slapped the CD gently onto the counter. "I would love to take this CD strait out of the store, but sense that is against the law! I would love to purchase this CD right the hell now!"

The clerk looked at the CD and shrugged; he scanned it and looked at me. "Nine ninety-nine." I quickly as possible pulled out a debit card and swiped it threw the machine. "Do you want a b-"

"NOPE!" I grabbed the CD off the counter smiling like a mad man. "I don't need the reset!" With that, I grabbed Chie gently by the wrist and dashed for the door. Chie seemed like she was actually scared at the moment that I was dragging her away… until we stopped by the first place that I had told her about my past.

"What are you doing?" Chie asked as I gently made her sit down on the bench.

That's when, once again I started to sing. "Must it take a life for hateful eyes to glisten once again. Five hundred years like Gelignite, have blown us all to hell!"

Chie was confused, at first, so where other who were just passing by, but they stayed to watch. Chie suddenly blushed, she figured out that I was actually singing for her… in a very public area. I started to move my arms with the lyrics to get my point across. "What savior rests while on his cross we die. Forgotten freedom burns, has the Shepard led his lambs astray, to the bigot and the gun!? Must it take a life for hateful eyes to glisten once again?" Now I was smiling like an idiot, some people who recognized the song started to tap the beat of the song, which was like, what? Three people, but that was enough for more people to start keeping the beat of the song. "Cause we find ourselves in the same old mess! Singin' drunken lullabies! I watch and stare as Rosin's eyes. Turn a darker shade of red, and the bullet with this sniper lie in their bloody, gutless cell!"

Chie started to notice that no one had figured out what I was doing, so she thought… what the hell, she started to clap along with the beat. "Must we starve on crumbs from long ago? Through these bars of men made steel. Is it a great or little thing we fought? Knelt the conscience blessed to kill! Must it take a life for hateful eyes to glisten once again? Cause we find ourselves in the same old mess! Singin' drunken lullabies! Ah, but maybe it's the way you were taught. Or maybe it's the way we fought. But may these shadows rise to walk again, with lessons truly learnt. When the blossom flowers in each our hearts. Shall beat a new found flame!"

As I neared the end, I had managed to gather a small crowd that I had just now noticed. Chie smiled at me, her cheeks still a little red with embarrassment. I didn't think I was all that great a singer. Still I just shrugged and finished strong! "Must it take a life for hateful eyes to glisten once again? Cause we find ourselves in the same old mess! Singin' drunken lullabies! Cause we find ourselves in the same old mess! Singin' drunken lullabies! Singin' druuunken luuuuulaaaabies!"

With that, people started to clap and actually cheer at me, again, I didn't think it was that great. I hardly did the song justice. I looked at Chie and smiled as I waved at the, what about fifteen people who actually decided to even try and listen… HEY, for me that is a sizeable crowd! Anyway, I sat next to Chie with a smile, suddenly exhausted. "What was that for?"

"What?" I turned my head to look at Chie, she was smiling though. I was an idiot to not understand what she meant at that moment. She meant the song. When I realized that, I of course facepalmed. "Oh! That is the song that helped me make to Inaba my last week in the states. It's my favorite song too!"

"What is it even about?"

"Hell if I know…"

Yep, I'm ending it here today, and I know what you're thinking "TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY… WHAAA?" Don't worry, I just had a hell of a lot of free time today, and this is to make it up for the weekend. By the incase you were wondering.

SONGS

Misfit by Thebandwithnoname

Victim by Avenged Sevenfold

Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly