My Little Decoy

♪ No One Ever Has to Know ♪ {3}

"We've learned to run from anything uncomfortable.
We've tied our pain below.
And no one ever has to know
That inside, we're broken." -Miracle

"So? What did you get called in for this time, Lace?" Olivia grabbed my arm and nearly shoved me into my seat at the lunch table. I winced a bit at the sudden contact, wrenching my arm away from her and setting my backpack down on the floor.

"Don't touch me." I hissed back, unconsciously rubbing my arm.

Olive looked at me with a hurt expression before it changed back into her usual peppy mood. "I know, sorry. But seriously, what happened?"

"Yeah, I wanna know. What was the delinquent up to this time?" My gaze switched over to the person who had spoken: Xander. With dirty blonde spiked up hair and light brown eyes, he plopped into the seat next to me and smirked, leaning back slightly. His muscles rippled as he moved, the contours of his tight Abercrombie shirt outlining them in detail. Basically, he resembled a British male model and some part of me was oddly cool with that.

"I'm not a delinquent!" I protested just as the last three missing members of our group joined the table, each carrying a tray with various 'healthy' lunches brought to them by the school.

Amber and Caden sat down first. Amber took the seat in front of me while Caden say beside her. The Twins were both exotic, having been born in Munich, Germany and moved here to Seattle when they were three. Both had bright golden, silky hair and striking aquamarine eyes that put my own to shame. Amber wore a light blue shirt matched with skinny jeans and Uggs while her twin brother dressed in a baggy Rancid t-shirt, jeans, and DCs.

The last addition of the group who took a seat next to Olivia was Carter. Being a skater girl, she was always the chill one, and also a true musician at heart. She had her own band named Within These Cages and was the lead guitarist for them. Her dyed bright red hair, amber eyes, pale face, and slim exterior may set her off as a prep, but she was practically anything but. Out of the five companions I surrounded myself with, she was the one I turned to when I wanted to talk about the only thing that interested me: music. Carter was always trying to convince me to join her band, but I always denied.

I forced down feelings of guilt, like I did every day, as I looked at these five individuals. It wasn't fair that I didn't consider them all actual friends even though I had known them all since junior high. Honestly, I was just using them all as distractions from my life. I just couldn't trust anyone; and never will. And because I'm such a selfish traitor, I only hung out with them because at least then I could soothe my feelings of acceptance and know that there are some people out there that cared for me.

"Sorry, Lacey, but you kind of are." Amber piped up, giggling a bit as she scooped up her apple.

"And you are a skinny little doll. God, eat some meat, will you?" I took a fry from my own tray and chucked it at her, receiving a frown from Amber in response.

"Lace, you know I'm on a diet."

I shrugged a bit and reached over Xander, scooping up the stray piece of potato from Amber's tray and popping into my mouth. "More for me then."

"Okay, now I think you're just avoiding the subject. Why are there rumors going around that you got suspended for a week? For let's see, vandalism?" Caden mused, placing his elbows on the table and leaning towards me with curiosity in his gaze. His sentence brought the others to attention and suddenly I was met with five pairs of eyes.

"It wasn't vandalism!" I protested once again, dropping my half-eaten burger and crossing my arms across my chest.

"Did it have something to do with Rev?" Carter asked, cocking her head one side curiously. A flash of sympathy shone in her eyes and I felt my stomach churn at the thought. But she was right. Only Carter understood how much music meant to me like no one else. As for who Rev was...

When I was twelve, I named my drum sticks Reverend, or Rev for short, after my favorite drummer who passed away: Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan of Avenged Sevenfold. The man was a drumming genius like no other.

I guess that something got through my usual stoic expression because next thing I knew, the worried expression in Carter's eyes grew in intensity. I was starting to drown in it. Even though Carter was the closest I had to a friend, she was the one I had to push away the most. I could tell she was trying the hardest to figure me out.

She spoke up when I broke contact, looking away. "Lacey, please tell us what happened. You keep getting into trouble and it almost always links back to your drum-"

"Don't. Even. Finish. That. Sentence." I spat out, standing up so abruptly that I knocked over my milk carton and now it was spilling its contents all over the floor. I barely even noticed.

Everyone was basically choking on the tension; no one wanted to make the first move. It was obvious neither Carter or I wanted to back down. Eventually, Caden stood up too, walking around the table to place a hand on my shoulder. I shook it off and forced myself not to flinch at the skin contact. Instead of meeting his gaze, I stared defiantly back at Carter and said, "Look Carter, you know better than anyone that drumming and music are the only passions I have, and that I fucking hate sympathy. I won't sit here while you give me pity and yell at me for doing what I love, got it?"

"Technically, you're stan-" Olivia started but I cut her off by holding a hand up in her direction, not taking my gaze off Carter.

"Shut up, Olivia."

Carter stared back for an unreasonably long time and I could see her calculating and trying to find cracks through my exterior. I could practically hear the cogs moving her in mind as she added my newest behavior to her records. She was the detective and I was the criminal. But when she found nothing, she replied hesitantly, "I know, Lace. And I'm sorry I said that. But can you please sit down and tell us what happened? We're starting to make a scene."

I clenched my fists, not wanting to end the matter but when my eyes caught the looks of almost everyone in the cafeteria staring at our table, I felt exposed again like in the classroom, so I immediately sat back down. Instantly, the chatters rose back up and I tried to calm myself, breathing through my nose deeply. People scared me. Pity scared me. Heck, even balloons scared me.

"I was late to school this morning-" I started when Olivia interjected, "Oh, so that's why you weren't in class!"

"Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry!"

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I closed my eyes and finished, "And so I took out Rev, started drumming on my legs," I felt my hard exterior deteriorating by the minute as I imagined the feeling of my sticks in my hands. "-got carried away, and then it just went from there."

"I knew it." Carter smiled, looking pleased.

"Are you just waiting for me to slap you?" I snapped but shut my mouth after she gave me a stern look.

"No, no. You took my words the wrong way. I just meant that I knew that you didn't mean to." Carter explained and I felt myself relax slightly.

Amber made a face and she took a bite out of her salad. "It sounds much more boring than what what's going around Weston."

Caden rolled his eyes at his sister as sat back down. "I'm just glad that it wasn't as serious as I thought."

"And I may or may not have called the principal an overweight chinchilla." I added sheepishly, rubbing my head.

The four of them facepalmed simultaneously while Xander held out his hand for a high-five, laughing hysterically. "Oh my God, that must've been awesome."

The tips of my lips twitched up and I weakly returned the gesture, replying, "It was. He looked like he was going to explode. But I bet if he keeps stuffing himself with cream puffs, that day's going to come quicker than before you even get a girlfriend."

"Oh, burn, man!" Caden laughed, slapping Xander on the back while the others chorused in with their own chuckles.

Xander found his shoes to be quite interesting, and blushed deeply, mumbling, "W-whatever."

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Olivia nearly shrieked, causing me to wince and rub at my ear.

"What's up, Olive?" The Twins chorused as the blonde sifted through her backpack, looking for something.

"Guess who's playing at Lakeside tonight?" Olivia beamed, yanking out a crumpled flyer and slamming it onto the table, trying to flatten it out. Everyone leaned onto the table, creating a circle around the piece of paper. And our reactions basically went like this:

Amber: Oh my God!

Caden: No way! But how?!

Xander: Yeah, man. I thought they were touring London right now?

Carter: I heard rumors that they ended the tour early but I didn't think they were true.

Me: ...

Truth was, I wasn't really that excited. On the paper in bright bolded letters was the headline "Tilted Reality hosts secret concert at Lakeside Park." I slapped a hand to my forehead and muttered, "Well, it's not so much a secret anymore, huh?" But my eyes quickly took in the rest of the flyer, reading the words boredly. The famous rock band Tilted Reality was going to be playing at a local park only a few blocks away from my neighborhood at around eight. Lakeside Park was the one place I went to so that I could relax and get lost in my music in peace. I even had a special bench in a secluded part of the park that I always sat on and spent most of my free time at. Just me, myself, and I. And of course Rev.

Tilted Reality though. Don't get me wrong, the band is extremely talented and their music is pretty good, but to me... something just seemed off. When I watched their live performances on the Tube of You, I could just see that there's something missing. I didn't know what it was at first, but when I finally noticed their nearly robotic movements and the dull fade in their eyes, I knew what they were lacking: Passion. Ever since then, I've viewed them differently; not in a bad way, but not in a good either.

"So, are you guys going?" Olivia asked so fast that her words slurred together in one big breath. The five of them were the biggest Tilted Reality fans you could find in Washington State and I was a living witness to that testimony.

"Pfft, are you kidding me! Of course!"

"Duh."

"It's Tilted Reality, hell yeah I'm going!"

"Eh, nah." And again for the fourth time that day, all eyes zeroed in on my face. "What?" I asked, frowning just the slightest.

"What do you mean you're not going? You like Tilted Reality too, Lacey! And they're not that pop mainstream crap that we make fun of! You have to come!" Olivia exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

I actually wanted to come, but curfew was at 8, and I didn't want to face Marco's consequences. And it wasn't as if Tilted Reality were Metallica or Avenged Sevenfold. They were more like a failed version of those bands, trying to be a successful metalcore/screamo group when they're not. But then again, what would it be like? Going to a live concert for free? Where I can just absorb myself into the music? It sounded really promising....

The group looked at me expectantly and when I opened my mouth to speak, they all leaned in with smiles on their faces.

"No."

—

Hey guys! New chapter. I'm like updating everyday. I hope that's not annoying. It's just that I have all these ideas in my head and if I don't write them down, I'll just forget them all. Anyway, this chapter may still seem boring but the actual plot starts next chapter when Tilted Reality is introduced. So many names to remember.

What do you think's going to happen? Will Lacey go see Tilted Reality or not?

Please comment and vote! And thanks for reading!

Chapter dedicated to natalie11nat. I am absolutely in love with her story, An Angel in the Dark. It's utterly fantastic so you should give it a try.

—Isabelle