Cacophony (PAUSED FOR EDITING AND UPDATES)

23: t e m p l e o f t h e d o g

***

  A few days later they were in the little cabin in Des Moines where Chris's brother Peter lived on their grandparent's property. Matt, Stone, Jeff and Mike were all there practicing the handful of songs that they had pulled together so far, along with Sydney and Peter of course. There was a new face as well, a man that sat quietly in a corner with a drum that he seemed to be fiddling with. He had been introduced as the new lead vocalist for Stone and Jeff's new band, Mookie Blaylock.
"Should I go say hi?" Sydney asked Peter after she returned from her truck with her toolbox, nodding toward the newcomer.
"Maybe. He seems kind of shy though... think you can be nice?" Peter joked with her.
"I'm nice." She objected.
"Sometimes. Other times you're kind of scary."
"If you're talking about that one time I bit you, it wasn't even that bad."
"You made me bleed."
"I think you're being very immature about the whole situation."
He laughed out loud, shaking his head. There were no bad feelings between the two of them about that day. She had acted out of fear, and had apologized to him since then. Peter was just glad that she was okay and that his brother was happy. Sydney was a lot of fun to be around, and she genuinely cared about all of them. As the rest of the guys jammed, the little blonde grabbed Mike's broken guitar stand and sat next to the quiet, long haired singer.
"Hello." She smiled when he looked at her.
"Hi." He replied, watching her interestedly.
Fiddling with the loose plastic piece that held the two pieces of the stand together, she eventually grabbed her drill and got to work. After prying the plastic off of the stand entirely, she could still feel his eyes on her.
"I'm Sydney." She said, holding her hand out.
"Eddie." He replied, unable to keep himself from returning her bright smile.
"Hi Eddie."
He let his hand fall as she returned to work, watching her test screw after screw against the adjustable stand holes.
"Where are you from?" She asked him after a moment.
"San Diego."
"Cool. Like it here?"
"Not sure yet. I think so."
"Yes." She muttered under heard breath, finally finding a screw that fit.
Eddie smirked a little, watching her tighten a washer to the other end of the screw and test out her quick fix with a guitar that was propped up on a speaker nearby.
"I get a feeling that you're handy to have around."
"I like to stay busy." She smiled again before looking over at Chris.
He wasn't paying attention to anything, his eyes closed and his mouth open wide. Eddie watched him too, following Sydney's gaze.
"That guy sure has a set of pipes."
"Yeah. He sure does." She smiled.
  Once the song ended, almost everyone took a break, aside from Chris. He stood at the mic, singing the same song she'd heard him singing a few nights ago.
"I'm going hungry- going hungry, yeah."
  He looked a little frustrated, cutting off his lower register in order to let his vocals soar into the atmosphere. Eddie rose from his spot after a few minutes, joining Chris on the makeshift stage.
"I'm going hungry..." his baritone filled the room, and Sydney could see the happiness bloom over Chris's face as he echoed,
"Going hungry."
  The whole room stopped to stare as the two vocalists harmonized, their voices complimenting each other in a way that left them all in awe. There was something magical brewing, and it felt exciting.

***

October 22, 1990

  Sydney and Eddie were both staring at Chris in amusement. He didn't realize that he was standing under a black light, making his eyes and teeth glow and making him look like some sort of demon. They were all backstage at the Off-Ramp, and the guys of Mookie Blaylock had just played their first show. Chris was wishing him well after Sydney had pulled him in for a hug and it was all she could do to keep from laughing as Chris genuinely told Eddie that he was glad that he was here and that he seemed like a really cool guy. It didn't help that she'd had at least four drinks throughout the night, and was having a great time. The guys really had sounded great and Chris enjoyed watching her let loose. He was happy that she finally felt safe enough to do so.
  Stone talked Eddie into one last drink before they all headed their separate ways and they were all standing beside the bar, laughing and conversing easily. Sydney was in the middle of telling Eddie about a hike that he should join her and Chris on the next day, when some guy tapped Ed on the shoulder.
"Think you guys could get the hell out of the way? The rest of us want to get an order in before last call too, pal." He said.
"Sure, pal. Sorry about that." Eddie said, nodding in the man's direction.
  The stranger must have thought that Ed was being a dick or something, because he started swearing at Ed's back even after he started walking away. When he challenged Eddie to meet him in the parking lot Ed turned. Sydney, being the closest to Ed, stepped between them.
"Cool it, dude. Nobody's in your way now. Go order your drink and have a nice night." She told him.
  The man scoffed, looking over her shoulder at Ed, Chris, and Stone. Matt and Jeff had begun a conversation with Gunny, Eric and Sue, who were also getting ready to leave.
"You gonna let this little bitch fight your battles for you?"
"Excuse me?!" Sydney erupted as their friends all stopped at the commotion.
  She had spent too long being disrespected by a man to let this asshole talk to her that way. She took a step forward to tell the guy off but Chris was there in an instant, wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her close to him.
"Nobody's fighting tonight, man. Listen to the lady and calm down." Ed told the guy.
"Lady? All I see is a loud mouthed little bitch that doesn't know when to shut the fuck up."
Everyone nearest them went silent, except for Sydney. She stepped right up to the rude stranger without fear. Nobody could scare her after what she had been through. Chris had ahold of her arm, ready to protect her if need be but still trying to convince her to walk away.
"You know dude, I feel bad for your mother. Imagine waiting nine months for a kid, and that kid being you. Some soggy ass, white bread, misogynistic piece of shit who can't just say excuse me like a normal human."
"Sydney!" She heard Chris's voice in her ear, amusement in his tone as their friends erupted with laughter.
"Control your bitch, man." The guy yelled angrily as security approached him and pulled him toward the front doors.
"Control yourself, bitch! You fucking nonessential vitamin! I hope they never let you back in here, you unseasoned sack of boiled potatoes!" She spouted off, not really caring if she made any sense in her tipsy state.
Chris had lifted her off her feet by this time and was carrying her down the hallway that led to the dressing rooms. She stopped struggling once the asshole was out of view, and Chris set her down once they were inside.
"Man, fuck that guy. What the hell is his problem?"
She turned to the rest of them angrily, surprised when she saw that most of them were doubled over laughing. Susan even had a smile on her face.
"What?" She demanded, hands on her hips.
"Did you just call that guy a nonessential vitamin?" Stone gasped, clutching at his stomach.
Sydney didn't reply. Honestly she couldn't quite remember what she'd said to him. She was buzzed and it had all happened so quickly.
"Misogynistic white bread is what I think I heard." Ed added, rubbing tears from his eyes.
Chris was laughing too, shaking his head as he smiled down at her. He planted a kiss on the top of her head and she blushed, realizing she had gotten carried away again. Nobody seemed to be upset with her though, and eventually she relaxed and joined them. She loved these guys so much, and she was forever grateful that they accepted her for who she was. Her flaws hadn't scared them away yet.
After they said their goodbyes Eddie went home with Chris and Sydney, crashing in the tiny spare bedroom on the top floor for the night. The three of them planned on hiking the following morning. Sitting around the living room, Syd rested her head on Chris's shoulder as he and Eddie talked. They talked about the show, about Eddie's girlfriend Beth who was moving up here soon, about his plans with the new band. They talked about Soundgarden, and funny things that had happened on tour. When Chris noticed that Sydney had fallen asleep on him he carried her upstairs, kissed her goodnight, and returned to talk with Eddie a little longer.
"She seems like a great girl." Ed told Chris.
"Sydney? She's... she is." He agreed breathlessly, not knowing how to accurately describe how much he felt for her.
"How long have you two been together?"
"Shit, uh... she came back in, in April. The end of April... so... damn, six months I guess."
"That's it? You guys seem real comfortable together."
"She's been our guitar tech for two years."
"Really?"
"Yeah, we've put her through a lot." He laughed lightly, fidgeting with his boots. "She's awesome."
  A few moments of silence floated by before Eddie asked,
"Where did she go?"
"What do you mean?" Chris's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"You said she came back in April... where did she come back from?"
"Oh... California."
  Eddie looked surprised, and a shadow fell across Chris's face. Thinking about her time in California made him sick, even now.
"That's where I'm from. San Diego." Eddie said.
"That's what Syd told me. Her memories of California aren't the best."
"Not all sunshine and sandy beaches for her either?"
"No... long story short, she was with this guy here for a while. He was a piece of shit... sold her truck while we were on tour and dragged her down there as soon as we got back. It was right after Andy died. It got pretty ugly when she left him... yeah. But she's here now, and that asshole is in jail."
"Jesus, man. That's terrible. I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's fine. I mean, she gets better and better all the time. You know. She runs a few miles almost every morning with Matt. Sydney is actually the reason Matt even got into running at all. They're really competitive, and it bugs the shit out of him when Sydney outruns him."
"I can see that, actually." Ed chuckled. "Well I can't tell you how thankful I am to have met you both."
"We feel the same." Chris smiled. "I'm going to head to bed. Six o'clock comes early."
"See you in the morning." Ed nodded, watching him stand to check the locks and climb the stairs.
  With a sigh he stretched and made his way into the kitchen. He smiled at the pictures of the couple that were hung on the fridge with magnets as he poured himself a glass of water, then he climbed the stairs as well and slept soundly.