Icarus

Outshine

Outshine

It was an awful day. A very awful day. Terrible. It was raining, and the drops of water on the window made him feel down. Tate couldn't find a poetic way to dismiss the depressing weather. He could say that the clouds were crying but that would be cliché. It was a bad day, for him and his thoughts.

Trapped in his own room with his little furry friend, Titan, at his side, Tate got up and called Mac with the house's phone.

Mac was a boy of few words, the kind of boy who started to sweat when asked a question by the teacher in class even if he knew the answer. However, he wasn't the same boy on stage playing the bass, he wasn't the same boy with his friends around, he wasn't the same since Tate started talking about Cassie.

"Come to my house, we have to talk," Tate said straight to the point. "Call Cheese and Lip also."

"Alright."

"Is everything good?" he asked so the conversation wouldn't end there. After a few seconds listening to each other's breathing Mac responded.

"I'm sorry."

"It's all good." Tate started walking around his room with the phone in his left hand. "I don't know why I said that about the girl--"

"Cassie," he corrected as he stopped in front of his desk and doodled something on his notepad.

"Cassie," Mac said under his breath.

"I don't know what the hell is happening to you... why are you are acting so weird lately... but hey, I don't care, you're my friend, right?" Tate was wandering aimlessly in his room again, Titan locked on to each step. Tate lowered and caressed the dog's chin. "I won't let you ruin this friendship over a girl... or whatever."

"You won't let me ruin this friendship? So now it's my fault?!" Tate stopped for a second, a serious look conquered his face as the canned voice of Mac sounded in his ear. "Tate Ryder Hayes, you don't understand do you? you are the only responsible!"

Tate had to pull the phone further from his ear as Mac was shouting, but he still didn't understand was Mac was implying

"Responsible for what?!"

"You lead the band, you write the songs we play, you get most of the attention, you get the girls, you, you and only you. Everything revolves around you!" Suddenly Tate understood.

"You are jealous." Tate let out a tired laugh. "I can't believe it... and it's not because of Cassie... we're getting more and more fans everyday and you are afraid that I -- I outshine you?"

"I made us get into S.U.N festival, I created the band with you and you are the only one getting recognized for it. How do you think that makes me feel?"

Tate didn't respond.

"Did you know that Lip sings too? Did you know he's taking singing classes? Did you have any idea Cheese is an amazing songwriter? Oh right you didn't, because all you talk about is yourself, and we have to do everything your way--"

Tate hung up. He couldn't bare the hard words Mac, supposedly his best friend, threw at him like stones meant to shatter the glass house his ego lived in. Tate was shielded from most of the bad things that happened to him throughout his life, but lately that shield was breaking down.

He let out a deep breath telling himself everything would be okay, that it was just a small skirmish that would pass quickly. Every band struggles like that once in a while, right? But he could't help but feel the water on his eyes blur his vision. He wasn't going to cry. He was stronger than that. It was a small setback, it was nothing. And Tate always cared for his band mates, he always asked if they were okay. He convinced himself he wasn't the problem, but the truth was that Mac, Lip and Cheese, guys he could trust were the only thing he could rely on (apart from Lily) and now they didn't trust him.