Monochrome Stories

After practice, we were told to go home and rest up. Teal said we need to make this performance the best so that we could be remembered well, but how can I give it my all? The excitement I once had turned into regret. I don't wanna perform knowing that this will be our last. I knew that one day our band would have to break up, but I didn't expect it to be this soon. We were all getting along so well, and everything's been going smoothly. I guess I can't really blame Teal. He just wants what's best for his brother. I know he wouldn't do this without thinking it through. He might be doing this for us too. That's how he's always been. Always looking out for us, and always made sure that everything we'd do would be things that we like. But still, I hate this...

"Crimson!" A voice from behind calls to me as an arm locks itself with mine. I look and see Rogue with her head resting in my arm. "Are you going home already? Do you wanna go somewhere for a bit?" She asks. 

"I-" She interrupts me. 

"Wait, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why?"

She places her hand on my cheek and wipes something off. "You're crying." She says.

"W-what? I am??" I reply. "Sorry."

She pulls me into a tight hug. "Will you tell me what's wrong?"

I don't say anything. At that moment, it was like there was nobody else in the world. Everything was quiet and peaceful as the wind blew a faint breeze. I could feel her hair brush through my back.

"Crimson?" She asks again.

It was just pure silence again. I don't think I can tell her anything now. Ever since Teal said that, doubts started to fill my mind. I guess there's a part of me that believes in him more than I believe in myself. 

She tugs on my shirt, but slowly lets go. "Is this something you can't tell me?" She asks. The sadness in her voice feels like needles poking my heart. Any more of this, and my heart will be stabbed. "It's okay if you can't... But Ivory is over by the vending machine."

"What?? Why are you telling me this?" I ask. 

"You know, it's not good to keep everything inside you. It scares me how you and Ivory are so alike." She replies. 

"What do you mean?"

"I talked to Ivory earlier, and both of you have the same expression on your face. It looked like he needed someone to talk to. I know that you can't tell me everything, and I won't force you to, but please remember that bottling up your emotions isn't good for you. If you can't talk to me, then talk to your best friend."

She kisses me light on the cheek. "There's nothing to be sorry about. See you later. Make sure you rest up." She says as she leaves and waves goodbye.

Again, my head was a big mess. The doubts that filled my mind vanished, and it was like I was blinded with love. There's no way that this girl is what Teal said she is. There's just no way. I'm sure she's changed. Nobody would be this kind if it were all just an act. 

I head towards the vending machine and spot Ivory sitting by a bench. I walk closer and hear humming a familiar melody. 

"Isn't that the song I was singing when we first met?" I ask. 

He turns to me and smiles. "Yeah." He replies while gesturing me to sit down next to him. "You still haven't thought of any lyrics for it yet?"

I sit down and relax. "Nope. I don't think I ever will." I reply. 

"What? Why?"

I look at him and take out a lollipop from my pocket. I open it and shove it inside of his mouth. "It's supposed to be a love song, but..."

He grabs the lollipop from my hand and takes it out from his mouth. "But what?" He asks. 

"Then how the hell did you even think of a tune for it?"

"I dunno. Shit happens."

"That's so reasonable."

"Yeah, I know." The both of us just stared in silence as a minimal number of cars pass by. The peace during moments like this really drive me to make songs, but sadly I don't have my song book with me. "Anyway, aren't you gonna go home yet? Teal told us to rest, remember?" I ask. 

He eats the lollipop again. "I just wanna stay here for a bit..." He replies. 

"I know there's something wrong. Dude, I'm your best friend. You can talk to me about anything." I offer. 

He looks at me shockingly at first, but then he returns to his normal look. "Did Rogue tell you I was here?"

"You could tell?"

"She talked to me earlier, and I guess she could tell there was something wrong too."

He looks at me and smiles again, but his smile this time is so forced. "I guess this is for the band, huh?" He says as he goes back to just staring at the streets. 

I do the same. "Yeah. I guess it is." I reply. 

"To tell you the truth, I lied about this band being the only place I belonged to. I'm okay with the band disbanding like this, but I'm more worried about you."

"Huh? About me? Why?"

"Well, it's been a really long time ever since I've seen you this happy. Ever since we joined the band, it was like you were back to your old self again. It's been refreshing... I really don't mind losing the band... But what I'm worried about is you losing the happiness you have right now..."

Well shit.

I inch closer to him and put my arm around his shoulder. "Stop worrying about me man. I'll be fine. I have you by my side." I tell him.

"Yeah. Sorry for worrying about it." He replies. He looks at me and smiles widely, revealing his teeth that look like fangs. It's been a long time since I've seen him smile like this too. 

Now that I think about it, he's right. This band has been the only place where I can actually feel like I belong. I haven't been noticing it, but I guess I do feel like I'm happier now than I was before...

Night came, and the performance was in 2 hours. Teal told us to come at least an hour before so that we could rehearse a bit before the actual thing.

I arrive at the venue and it's crowded as hell. The noise is deafening, and the amount of people is suffocating. I look around to see if anyone I know is already in here, and I spot Teal and Rogue walking away from the crowd. 

"Teal! Rogue!" I exclaim. They don't hear me and continue walking. 

I run towards them and make my way through the crowd. They turn towards a corner, and I follow. The noise gets lower and lower, until there was nothing I could hear anymore. They turn to another corner and I follow again. I arrive at the corner, and just as I was about to turn too...

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Teal asks Rogue with a serious voice. 

I back away and hide in the corner. 

"What? What did I do?" Rogue asks. 

"Come on Rogue. We've known each other for years. You can drop the act." He replies. 

"Oh." She replies with her demeanor totally changing. The sweet smile she usually has turns into a sour frown. The beautiful shine in her eyes fades and turns into a horrible expression of anger. "So what do you wanna know?"

"What? Are you seriously accusing me of stuff I didn't do? I'm not doing anything to them."

"You can't just be doing this without a reason."

"Don't you think that I actually just fell in love with Crimson?"

"No. I know you aren't the type to do that."

She smiles menacingly. "I hate that nothing can get past you. Fine. I'm just having a little bit of fun. You know I'm leaving the country next week. At least let me enjoy what little time I have left here."

"Rogue! I agreed with you joining the band, but I told you to leave them alone!" Teal exclaims. 

Rogue flinches. "S-so what!" She stutters. "It's not like their friendship is gonna last forever anyway."

He grabs Rogue's hands and holds them tightly in his. "Please. Just please leave them alone today. I want their last memory of the band to be nice. Please Rogue."

She clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes. "You know what I want in exchange."

"Oh really?" She inches closer to him. "We can't, or you just don't want to?" She asks, moving her face closer to his.

"We can't!" He pushes her away. "You're dating Crimson now. And even though I'm fully against it, I just want the kid to be happy."

"Tsk. Fine. But I can't promise that I won't do anything." She replies as she heads in my direction. 

I sprint back to the entrance, hoping I wasn't heard or seen by them. What the hell was that?! So Teal was actually telling the truth! He wasn't lying about any of it! But if that's the case, then what do I do now? 

"Crimson?" A voice from behind me asks. I turn and see Rogue, looking how she normally looks. "How long have you been here?" She inches closer to kiss me on the cheek, but I move away. 

"Not long." I reply. 

"Is something wrong? You seem out of it."

"It's just nothing." I smile. "Maybe I'm just really nervous for the performance."

"Oh. I guess." She replies. 

I see Teal behind her walking towards us, waving his hands. "Have you seen the others yet?" He asks.

"No. I'm the only one here." I reply. 

"Hey, about the performance. Are you sure you're okay with Ivory singing?"

"Yeah. I know that I can't do it anyway. Plus, since this is our last performance, then I want Ivory to enjoy it as much as he can."

He puts his hand on my head and ruffles my hair a bit. "You're a really good kid." He says, with a pained look on his face. 

"Uh thanks?" I reply. 

"Anyway, let's head inside and wait for the others. Each band has their own soundproof room so we can rehearse until it's our turn." He explains. 

"That sounds... Awfully convenient..." Rogue says. 

"It really. So let's go. We can't waste time."