The urge to slam my head into the locker was unbearable as I waited for Chase to join me by the cafeteria doors. It's only been three classes, but I was bored and needed to talk to Chase about Yasmin yakking after watching a pig give birth.
I turned my head to see an unfamiliar face looking around in confusion. The boy was cute, oddly resembled Chase's thin frame and darkish-light hair. He had a guitar strapped to his back that caught my attention, as I used to play the guitar as a kid. I walked over to him as his eyes found mine.
"I want to assume by the look of confusion that you're new." I said with a kind smile as he pressed his lips together and nodded.
"Yeah. I'm- I'm Marcus." He stuttered as I shook his hand.
"Vanessa. Welcome to Mission Creek." I greeted as he became slightly less tense. "Just warning you, stay away from the much taller people. They tend to be more aggressive. Well- except for Adam. He's an airhead." I chuckled as he raised his brow... really high.
"Well I think I should find my class first. Could you help me?" He asked as I nodded, looking at his schedule as I smiled.
"Looks like we share a few classes. Mr. Olsen's class is upstairs to the left." I directed as Chase and Adam appeared.
"Hey Dottie, whose this?" Chase asked as I patted my thighs.
"This is Marcus. Marcus this is Adam. And this is Chase my bo- friends." I cut myself off with a forced smile. "Marcus just got here from— where did you say you were from?" I asked, knowing he hadn't said. A look of panic crossed his face before he chuckled nervously.
"I- uh... Wyoming?" He said, though he didn't sound so sure himself as Adam gasped with a chuckle.
"No way! I thought that place was a myth!" He laughed as Marcus, Chase and I all turned to give him a dumbfounded look. "What? You never hear anything happen in Wyoming!"
"Anyways..." I said, going to change the subject and gestures to Marcus' guitar. "Couldn't help but notice the guitar. How good do you play?" I asked as he smiled.
"I'm still learning, but I could show you guys if you don't mind?" He insisted as we all nodded. Marcus smiled and set up the guitar, his hands on the strings before he started playing a really nice tune.
"Oh, sweet! Look at your fingers go! It's like each one has a little brain of its own." Adam gawked as Marcus stopped to raise a brow.
"Impressive, Marcus." I said as he smiled again.
"Thanks. You know, you guys are the only people who have talked to me at this school. I hate being the new kid." Marcus complained as Chase scoffed in understanding.
"Yeah, we used to be the new kids that no one talked to. Now we're just the vaguely familiar kids that no one talks to." He said as I chuckled, patting Chase's shoulder as Leo walked up to us.
"Hey peeps. What's the deal-io?" He asked as Marcus smiled and went to shake Leo's hand.
"Hi! I'm Marcus." He greeted, Leo frowning.
"I know. We have gym together. And study hall. And also chemistry. We're lab partners." Leo said as Marcus turned to us and shrugged.
"Oh. I... did not know that. Vanessa, you ever play guitar?" Marcus asked as I nodded.
"As a kid. Haven't played since the LEMP accident." I muttered the second sentence as Marcus handed me the guitar.
"Well, I'm a jammer as well. My rocking is only eclipsed by my rolling." Leo bragged as Chase frowned.
"Leo, your mom said you played the clarinet for three weeks until you swallowed the reed." He reminded as Leo glared at him.
"I passed it." He snapped as I shrugged and looked at the guitar, placing my fingers on the strings. I tapped a few of them to try and relight my muscle memory before playing an old song my dad had taught me.
"Woah. I thought you said you haven't played in years!?" Marcus gawked as I shrugged and handed him the guitar back.
"Muscle memory, I'm assuming. I was always better with acoustic, though." I said as Marcus turned to Chase.
"What about you, Chase? Have you ever played?" He asked as Chase shook his head.
"No. But I've always wanted to." He said as Marcus handed him the guitar to try out. I noticed him scan it before he started playing at an expert level, jumping off the bench and getting to the floor. He stopped after a moment and shot yo in embarrassment, handing the guitar to an awe-struck Marcus.
"What do you know? ... beginners luck."
⁂
"So me and my dad moved around a lot. I was homeschooled for most of my life." Marcus explained as Adam smiled.
"No way! So we're we! We are so similar! Do you have a third nipple too?." Adam asked as Marcus raised a brow.
"Anyways... That's a pretty sweet guitar, Marcus." Chase complimented.
"Yeah, and you two are naturals! Guys! We should start a band!" Marcus suggested as I nodded in a delightful agreement.
"That's a great idea, Marcus! I've always wanted to be in a band." I beamed as Adam started tapping his sticks on the table.
"But what would I play? Oh, I got it! No, I don't got it." Adam said with a puzzled look, scratching his back with the stick.
"I think you're gonna be our drummer, Adam." Marcus said as Adam hummed.
"Hmm interesting choice. I had been pondering the French horn." Adam said, my eyes widening.
"Take it in, boys. This is the only time we will ever hear Adam use the word 'pondering.'" I joked as Marcus raised a brow, taking out a red marker.
"Anyways Dottie- okay stop drawing dots on my arm for the moment." Chase demanded as I pulled away from his arm, revealing the several dots and smiley faces I had draw in red marker.
"Ahhh that's why you call her Dottie. Makes sense now." Marcus said as I rolled my eyes playfully.
"Anyways, you can come up with a band name and design." Chase continued as I nodded.
"I can do that. I did ace my last art project." I joked. Leo walked over, sitting down next to Marcus.
"Hey, Leo, guess what? Vanessa, Marcus and Adam and I are forming a band." Chase grinned as Leo frowned.
"Well, you guys just met. Don't you think it's a little soon?" He asked, Chase and I scoffing.
"A little soon for what? Taking the deeply committed step of jamming together?" He questioned while I started making sketches of our band logo.
"Now if we could just find someplace to practice. I live in a pretty small place, so..." Marcus trailed off. I took a sip of my soda as Adam started to talk
"Oh, no. I know a place. The lab." He smiled as my eyes widened and did a spit-take. Adam choked up as he realized what he said, taking a moment to try and come up with a blatant lie. "Oh! L-Labrador Retriever Park. Yeah, the dog park. Nice acoustics. Plus, they have dogs. Saved it." He sang as I glared at him, remembering the threat I gave him a few days ago about those two words.
"Well, you know, Marcus, we have a pretty big place. We can all just jam there." Chase suggested as I looked at him and slightly shook my head no. Leo was right, we just met Marcus today and barely knew anything about him. Plus we couldn't risk him finding the lab.
"That's okay, guys. We don't have to jam. Not everyone needs a bright spot in their otherwise horrible life." Marcus choked up as I slowly turned to him and smiled.
"No Marcus it's fine! As long as we only stay in the living room, Mr. Davenport won't kill us!" I said as Marcus raised a brow.
"You call you dad... Mr. Davenport?" He asked as I shook my head.
"He's not my dad. My real dad is dead-" I cut myself off as my eyes widened, Marcus giving me a sad look.
"Oh- I Uh- I'm sorry I didn't mean to.."
"Nope! It's fine... it's actually going to be a year in a few months and I should shut up." I said and shut my mouth as Chase laughed awkwardly. Holy shit it's really about to be a year since I got my bionics. I thought to myself.
"Don't worry, Marcus. We'll practice at our place later. Come on over." Chase said as we all nodded. Except for Leo, at least. Marcus stood up and grinned.
"Great! I'll see you all after school." He said and walked out.
⁂
Marcus, Chase and I played our guitars as Adam, quite shockingly, played the drums very well. My guitar clicked as one of the strings snapped.
"Dammit! I knew I should have checked to see how old these strings were." I groaned as Marcus chuckled.
"It's fine, Vanessa. I have some extra in my ba-" Marcus cut himself off as he turned to Leo, who was dangerously close to him.
"Leo, what are you doing?" Chase asked as Leo shrugged.
"Just asking Marcus a few questions. Where were you born? What is your birthday? Who is the president of Venezuela?!" He asked aggressively as Marcus frowned.
"I don't know." He answered.
"A-ha! So he isn't from Venezuela." He muttered as Chase snapped.
"Alright. This practice just became band members only." Chase declared while Leo smirked.
"Well then I guess I'm joining the band." He mused as I scoffed.
"You don't even know how to play an instrument." I laughed, Leo pointing at me.
"That's where you're wrong." He ran off and came back a few moments later with several instruments, playing all of them terribly before doing the jazz hands.
"Like Vanessa said, you Don't even know how to play an instrument." Chase joked as Marcus smiled.
"You know what, guys? Let him in. He can play this." Marcus handed Leo a cowbell and stick, taking them hesitantly.
"Thank you. I've never played the cow bell before, but let's see what I got." Leo said, tapping it once before grinning. "Wow! I'm a natural!"
⁂
We all started to play our instruments again,along with Leo, who seemed to really be enjoying this until Mr. Davenport walked in and unplugged my guitar.
"Hey! I was about to have my moment!" I complained as Davenport rolled his eyes.
"You know, it's not enough to just play notes, you want to get them in the right order." He snapped as Marcus' mouth dropped open.
"O-M-G, you're... Donald Davenport!" He gawked, Mr. Davenport flipping his non-existent long hair and grinning.
"Guilty as charged." He laughed.
"The genius billionaire scientific entrepreneur!" Marcus continued.
"Don't forget multi-lingual mega-star."
"Oh, gracias."
"De nada."
"Wow, Mr. Davenport, I'd love to hear your theory of plasma gasification." Marcus beamed as I slowly turned to Chase and Adam, spinning my finger to my head. I did not think Marcus was going to even recognize Davenport.
"Who wouldn't? Hey, you know, Bree and I were gonna demo the holo-pet for Career Day. But since you guys have a band, maybe we can demo my concert-in-a-can instead! That'll be such a great surprise for her!" Davenport suggested as Marcus pointed and nodded.
"That is good! That is good! ... What is it?" He asked and pressed his lips together in a fine line.
"Uh, it's a can that creates a virtual holographic concert experience. It's something I designed for those of us who would be rock stars if we weren't busy being brilliant inventors." Davenport explained before running out as Adam laughed.
"Well, I'm gonna go get Mr. Davenport's gigantic mega-amp, because everybody knows louder is better." He said as my eyes widened, nudging Chase as he realized.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That amp is pretty heavy. Don't you think I should help you carry it? 'Cause, um, you know, you don't have the strength of ten men." Chase pointedly asked while Adam laughed.
"Yes I do... not." He said before speaking again. "I'm frail." He finished in a falsetto voice as Marcus raised a brow and turned to me. I shrugged.
"I'll be right back, I think I still have this really cool strap for one of my old electric guitars." I grinned and set my guitar down, running upstairs to one of the storage rooms Davenport gave me, searching through the old boxes.
Most of the stuff in here was my parents. Jewelry, neck ties, clothes. Their wedding outfits were hung up in the closet. I found the large box labeled "instrument accessories" and rummaged through it to find my old guitar strap, which was designed with hearts that had been stabbed with a knife.
I heard a loud crash, running back downstairs to see Marcus forcibly hand Leo a smashed guitar. He obviously didn't see me walk in at the wrong time, turning to me with the worst fake tears I'd ever seen.
Adam and Chase walked in as I walked back over to them, completely in shock at what I just saw. Do I play along and act like I didn't see Marcus hand Leo his guitar or rat him out?
"What is wrong with you?! Why would he break my guitar?!" Marcus cried as as backed up towards me, clearly hoping I would believe him.
"No! He—Not—Uh-- Ohhh." Leo said, realizing something I had realized as well.
Marcus was not a good guy.
"Leo!" I said in my best angry voice. "Why would you smash Marcus' guitar?!" I questioned as Leo gave me a look of betrayal. Yea, what I was doing was wrong, but I needed to know why Marcus was doing this even if it took all year.
"No. No, no, no. That's what he wants you to think. He broke it and gave it to me. He's the breaker and I'm the breakee. He's turning you guys against me!" Leo snapped as I shook my head.
"That is crazy! Why would I break my own guitar?" Marcus questioned as he turned to me. "He's lying!" He yelled as I sighed, turning back to Leo.
"Look, Leo. I want to believe you... I really would, but you do break things all the time." Chase said as his step-brother shook his head.
"But this time I didn't do it!" He said, trying to persuade us all to believe him. Leo turned to me. "C'mon, Nessie! I'm your best friend! And you're going to believe a guy you just met?!"
"I—" I turned to Marcus who was shaking his head at Leo, then to Adam and Chase, and I sighed. "I'm sorry Leo." I apologized.
"Fine. But this goes deeper than a broken guitar. I will prove my innocence and show you that he's up to no good. I'm gonna go all C.S.I. on this one!" Leo yelled and shoved the broken guitar into my chest, walking away.
⁂
I waved Marcus goodbye and shut the door as Chase crossed his arms. "Do you really think Marcus would smash his own guitar like Leo said?" He asked as I nodded quickly.
"Yep. I saw him hand Leo the broken guitar. But I'm going to find out why Marcus is out to get him. So just... act like Marcus is innocent for now." I said as Chase frowned, Adam and Leo walking in.
"I'm telling you, Marcus is playing some kind of twisted psychological game, and I can prove it. Exhibit A: I lifted a fingerprint from his guitar." Leo showed us a baggie of a piece of Marcus' guitar.
"Oh, that is fantastic, Leo. You proved that without a shadow of a doubt, Marcus's guitar is" Chase gasped. "his."
"True, but he then removed said guitar and deliberately—deliberately, mind you!-- smashed it. Exhibit B: Paint chips and a hair." Leo showed us yet another baggie with said paint chip and hair. "Which just happened to be my mom's. Nonetheless... we know she did not do this."
"Leo, are you afraid that by us befriending Marcus there won't be any room left for you?" Chase asked as Leo gasped dramatically.
"What? No, are you kidding? I'm awesome. That guy is bad news." He said as I rolled my eyes.
"Oh, don't worry, Leo. You're still our best friend. But you can't have a best friend unless you have a friend who's a not best friend. Okay? So he does fill a void." Adam said while placing a comforting hand on Leo's shoulder.
"That's not what this is all about!" Leo reprimanded and I chuckled.
"Leo, while I would love to watch you throw a tantrum about this, I can't. We have to go meet up with Marcus. Adam, Chase and I are going to be late for our first concert." I said and nudged the two boys next to me, indicating we had to go.
⁂
"Wait'll they get a load of this. My virtual concert in a can is gonna knock their socks off. Now, it will activate itself, so don't forget to stand back. Couple of guys in research and development found that out the hard way." Davenport said as he forced Adam, Chase, Marcus and I back. The three of us laughed while Adam looked concerned.
"Thanks for loaning me this awesome guitar, Mr. Davenport. It's almost as good as the one Leo so viciously destroyed." Marcus lied while Chase and I rolled our eyes.
"Well, hey, if I had a nickel for everything of mine that Leo destroyed, I'd, uh, still be down about two million and change." Davenport frowned as I chuckled.
"Yeah, and that's just the stuff you know about." I muttered as he held his frown, this time in confusion. Marcus sighed, wrapping a, what I hope was friendly, arm over my shoulder.
"Don't worry Mr. Davenport. We won't break your concert in a can." He smiled as Chase glared at Marcus, ducking and shimmying himself between the two of us.
"He's... right!" Chase grunted as he finally managed to separate Marcus from my side. "I promise you, nothing will go wrong." He swore as Mr. Davenport walked back over to Bree. Marcus gave Chase a weird look.
The four of us got into our places as the concert in a can activated, Adam, Chase, Marcus and I playing our instruments.
⁂
The four of us laughed as we congratulated each other on a great first "gig" as Leo walked up.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my old friend Marcus." He glared as Marcus smiled, our laughs fading.
"Sorry, Leo, you're too late. We've safely packed away all the guitars. Maybe now you can find something else to break." Marcus laughed before deadpanning. "'Cause you broke the guitar." He reminded as Chase and I shared a glance.
"Excuse me, I would like everyone's attention right here. I have proof from our home security system." Leo called out as Eddy appeared, greeting us all. "Now watch, as I—"
"I have a confession to make!" Marcus interrupted as Leo stepped in.
"Oh no you don't." Leo grumbled. I crossed my arms, tilting my head as I awaited whatever excuse Marcus was about to come up with.
"I did it. I broke the guitar." He admitted as Davenport walked over.
"What is going on here?" He asked as Marcus sighed.
"I broke my guitar and blamed it on Leo. I owe everyone an apology." Marcus answered as I frowned.
"Why didn't you just tell us, Marcus? Instead of lying and turning us against Leo?" I asked as he took a step back.
"Because I had already cracked the guitar, but if my dad knew that I broke it I'd be in so much trouble because my family is so poor and I just want everyone to like me because I'm always the new kid, so I made everyone think that Leo did it because I'm so scared and it's so hard to make friends and I'm just a dumb kid compared to all of you and my grandma just died!" He cried as my eyes widened. Okay maybe he isn't the bad guy I thought he was.
I turned to Chase as he gave me a concerned look before I hesitantly patted Marcus' shoulder.
"Are you crying- Is he crying?" Davenport muttered as I slowly nodded.
"There... there Marcus. It's okay." I said as I turned to Adam and Chase. "I don't know what to say." I mouthed as the two of them shrugged.
"Yeah, it's no big deal." Davenport reassured as Chase nodded.
"We don't think you're dumb." Chase continued as Adam sighed.
"Yeah and your grandma didn't die." He said as we all shot him a glare. "What? I don't know!" He mouthed.
"Marcus, why don't you come out and have dinner with us?" Davenport invited as Adam, Bree, Chase and I nodded in agreement.
Mm-kay. You guys go ahead. I wanna apologize to Leo." Marcus said as I patted his shoulder again, all of us leaving except for Leo.
⁂
I had my head rested on Chase's shoulder as I texted Caitlin, once again to stop worrying about Rodney as the entire house' electricity shut down.
I heard Chase sigh as I did as well. "Leo." We said in unison, slowly making our way upstairs without running into anything.