“What the actual fuck?” the drummer of the headlining band shouted angrily while zipping his jeans. His hair was disheveled, lips glistening and red. “Okay, that’s it.”
After that, between insults and other profanities, the bullies were finally kicked out and threatened that if they ever came near this house, Lukas, or any of his friends again, they wouldn’t walk away in one piece. Slowly, everyone else had also left, and now it was just the basketball team, eight musicians, and a bunch of trash to clean.
Noah hadn’t registered much of the fight or how it actually ended. He’d been in a corner of the room, curled up with his knees to his chest, hyperventilating and trying not to pass out. He never thought his mind was this scarred. It wasn’t like he’d gone through major trauma. Or had he? How could a handful of bad memories collapse his system like that?
“Hey…” Kaj’s soothing voice whispered as he rubbed Noah’s leg lovingly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m not the one who got punched.” He grimaced, looking at Kaj’s face all battered. Then he glanced at the other boys in the room, none close enough to hear their conversation. They were groaning, wincing, and patting each other’s backs for their small victory. What even? “I’m sorry. I am so fucking useless.” Noah wanted to touch him, to kiss his pain away. It hurt seeing him like this.
“You are not useless. Stop it, please.”
“I could have helped, or at least tried to.”
Kaj shook his head, smiling. “I’m glad no one has touched a hair on your pretty head.”
“But—”
“You’ve never been one to get into stupid fights. And I don’t want you to change.”
At that moment, Lukas’s brother walked over to them and handed Kaj an ice pack. “Press this to your cheek so it doesn’t get swollen.”
“Thanks.”
“And, from one drummer to another, next time have someone else beat those assholes for you. Your hands are too precious for that.”
“He was defending his man’s honor,” Lukas said as one of his brother’s bandmates plucked a piece of glass from his palm. “Ouch, fucker!”
“Yourman?” Theo asked, raising his eyebrows and causing the cut on the left one to bleed again.
“You’re worse at reading situations than I thought.” Lukas laughed.
“What are you talking about?”
“You seriously didn’t see who he was shielding?”
“And you’re also awful at reading the atmosphere. Let’s leave them alone.” Lukas’s brother motioned for the vocalist and six basketball players in the room to go to the kitchen.
Noah’s lips curled into a weak smile.
Cliques didn’t exist within their school. This was evidence of that. Of course, brainless people were everywhere, but it wasn’t the norm there. You could see nerds, metalheads, and popular kids in the same group getting along just fine. They weren’t besties, but they didn’t look down on each other. It was a beautiful mix of colors.
For example, most of the basketball team wasn’t into heavy metal at all, yet still enjoyed a good show and an even better after-party. Lukas was actually the reason My Lost Chance had opened that night for his brother’s band.
“Okay, so what’s he talking about?” Theo asked, pressing gauze to his eyebrow.
Kaj sighed, ripping the Band-Aid off in one go, like Trine had said. “Noah and I are dating.”
“Who?”
Val snorted.
“Each other,” Kaj clarified.
Theo blinked fast several times, looking back and forth between him and Noah.
“Are you for real?”
“Yeah,” Noah said.
