"I guess I got smacked around, thumped on the head
I'll be fine, the hospital said
Do I need medicine to heel this fragile thread?"

The music continued to blast as Mike made his way to the center of the abandoned classroom, and tentively took a seat near the back.

At the front, the band fought on. Hayley howled out the chorus as her fingers pumped her guitar's strings, her figure rocking in time with her friends. In the middle of their art, they seemed oblivious to Mike's presence.

He continued to sit, the sound from the amps pounding in his chest, feeling as if he could just stay and listen for a lifetime.

The tempo kicked up, and they broke into a rock and roll instrumental, notes flying past as they-'

There was a sprung, and Jess slowed to a stop, looking down at the frayed bass chord with frustration. "Sorry guys. I'll restring it."

"It's cool," Hayley agreed. "Let's take a five minute break, all right guys?"

Hayley strode towards him, Mike stood up with a start. "I'm sorry, I don't know if you wanted a private rehearsal or what, I just got lost-"

She stopped in front of him, picking up a massive bottle of water from a box of them on a desk. 'It's fine. We're used to people-"

"Hey, Hayley? I just wanted you to know that, I really liked the song you played this morning. I thought it was beautiful."

She put the bottle down from her lips, her cool manner slipping for a moment. "Uh, really? Oh, well that's…"

She glanced around. "Hey, want to go for a walk? There's a great view of the soccer fields from the windows out in the hall."

"Oh, uh, sure."

They made their way out. Mike noticed Hayley didn't really walk, she sort off flowed, even her step hinting of some form of rhythm, only a beat away. Funny, a leader of a band made to distract an Angel, and she was the closest to a real rock star he thought he'd ever met.

"So, you liked the ballad? It's called My Song, by the way. Creative, I know," she spoke, her tone once more completely balanced.

He nodded earnestly.

"But… you've totally lost your memory, right? So…"

He coughed awkwardly. "Oh, yeah. I have. I guess that means I'm not exactly the ideal music reviewer-"

"Your lucky," she interrupted quietly, turning to gaze out at the fields below them. "Most of us would love, absolutely love not to have our memories."

He hesitated. "Oh, yeah. So, I heard that all of you, everyone on the Battlefront, had really bad memories of back when they were alive. I talked to Winnie about it, heard hers…"

Hayley sipped her water. "Winnie's, huh? Yikes. Hers are pretty bad. Mine aren't anywhere near as bad."

Mike leaned down on the windowsill beside her. "Not as bad?"

"It's simple, really. I just…. I couldn't play my beloved music."

₪"My parents fought. Every night, they would attack each other, filthy drunk. They'd yell, and they'd scream, howl about the rent, how we had no money, how they hated each other. Most nights, I couldn't sleep. Most days, I wished I was asleep. I felt alone, totally alone.

"One day, my life was touched. It was raining on my way home from school, so I wandered into a music store to get out of the dark downpour. Your probably don't remember music stores, they're on their way out, along with Blockbuster… Wait, never mind, forget about it. Anyway, I found this band, Sad Machine, the album was Requiem for Innocence. I started listening, and in that store, I listened to the whole thing, and then started on it again until they asked me leave.

"The singer, I found out later, was from a bad home environment. Just like me. I could tell from his music, his words, they reached out to me, he was singing for me. I could feel him crying out to me in the songs, as he railed against cruelty, against pain, as he fought for me. Those who went about their perfect lives, saying everything was right, they were wrong. And me, who knew what this world was like, I wasn't alone."

"He, he saved me."

"That day, I found and old, musty acoustic guitar, that someone had thrown out. It just lay on the curb, calling to me.

"So, I fixed it up, checked out some books, and started my music. It was my salvation. No matter what was happening at home, I could disappear, hide from it in my music. I would perform on the street, just singing and strumming that guitar. I sucked at first, but I got better, because I loved it so much.

"I had decent grades, and could have made it into a good college. But I knew that wasn't what I wanted, you know? So, I took out a bunch of odd jobs. I planned on moving out as soon as I graduated high school. I could work while I auditioned and put my music out there, until I could live of what I loved. I wasn't sure yet what my dream was, but I knew it had to do with my music.

"It was a few weeks before graduation. I was working at a restaurant, cleaning kitchens." Hayley's voice chipped. Her shoulders began to shake. "I, I got this headache, a really bad one, like something was blowing up. I felt really nervous, because I had a gig that night, and didn't want to miss it, so I tried to ignore it, but, but, It only got worse, and then… I blacked out."

He saw her fists clench, as, her eyes still closed, her breath grew ragged, her chest rising heavily with each inhalation. "I woke up in a hospital. I couldn't speak, I couldn't say anything. But I could hear."

"A severe head trauma had caused a cerebral stroke, inducing ephasia. " She looked at him, eyes haunted. "The night before, I had been caught in one of my parents' fights. A bottle of beer had caught me in the temple."

"I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. My brain bled out, and so… my life ended."

"Hey, Hayley?" a voice called. Jess stuck her head out the door to the classroom. "You ready to start again?"

Hayley sprung up. "So, in a way, coming here was a blessing. I got a second chance, a chance to sing, to play, to find out what my dream is. And, of course… any chance I get to strike back at the God who would give someone a life like that, give them hope and a love, and then take it away… I'll take that opportunity."

She grinned back at him, but this time, Mike could start to see beyond the shield. "See ya, man. You'll be busy during our concert, I know. But… come some other time, all right?"

He nodded, gazing after her.