_____HOMECOMING_____



When Mathew first arrived at Emily's house to audition for a spot in her group, she and the other band members were waiting in the garage. As he rode up to them, he realized with displeasure that he recognized one of them: Benjamin Lawrence.

Ben was a sophomore on the baseball team at school. He was a bit taller than Mathew, with a slightly athletic build. His black hair was always spiked up with an overdose of Axe hair-gel, and there was rarely a time when he didn't have a stupid cocky smirk on his face, and wasn't wearing his Catalina Foothills High baseball jersey. He was one of the more popular kids at school, and as such, he was a girl magnet.

All the girls in school doted over him like the guys did with Alana. Mathew didn't get what they saw in him, but he had heard enough about him to know that it was apparently something about his eyes; the girls just loved them. They were green, but unlike Alana's, they were dark and misty, giving him a highly mysterious look. Maybe that was what the girls went crazy over him. Whatever it was, Mathew didn't really care; he just disliked people like Ben.

"Well if it isn't new kid!" he said as Mathew dismounted his bike.

"Hey, Ben," Mathew said blankly. Obviously, Ben was one of the only people who weren't totally impressed with his fight with Andrew.

"So, what's the deal, squirt? We're about to practice for the dance here," Ben said with that stupid smirk of his.

"You didn't tell them?" Mathew asked Emily, raising an eyebrow.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," she said with a shrug.

"Wait, you mean to tell me he's our brilliant guitarist?" Ben asked.

"Surprise!" Emily said with a grin.

"We're screwed," Benjamin said with a face-palm.

"No, he can play!" Emily assured him.

"You better be sure about that, Emily," Said the girl at the keyboard. Mathew recognized her as Nicole Mills, one of the girls Mathew had seen hanging out with Emily. Her long dark hair fell over her face on one side, and her light brown eyes were squinted in the sunlight.

"Don't worry, I got this!" Emily said.

"Ha, like you had it all day with all those sucky kids thinking they had talent?" Benjamin asked. "What makes you think this little twerp can do any better?"

Mathew scowled, but didn't say anything. Benjamin was older and bigger than him, so he didn't want to start any trouble and risk getting beaten up right there in Emily's garage. Benjamin sighed and shook his head.

"Alright then, let's see what you got, Reynolds," he said. Mathew went over and grabbed a guitar that was leaning against an amplifier, tuned it, and made sure everything was set up right. Then he struck a chord with a quick slash of a pick and the garage reverberated with the sound.

"Better be worth our time, kid!" Benjamin said.

Mathew took a breath, and started playing the intro to the song A little faster by There For Tomorrow. When he finished, Emily was grinning from ear to ear and Nicole looked highly interested.

"This one's got talent," she said.

"Eh he'll do," Benjamin said. "But how does he perform when the whole band joins in?"

"How bout you start playing and find out?" Mathew said. Benjamin raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"What's the song, Matt?" Emily asked. Mathew considered that for a moment.

"You guys know The Feel Good Drag by Anberlin?" he asked.

"We can play it, yeah," Nicole said.

"Well alright then," Mathew said. He walked to the middle of the garage where the mic stood and nodded to the rest of the group, then began playing the song. He wanted to show Ben he was good enough, that he was capable of more than he knew.

"I'm here for you she said, and we can stay for a while, my boyfriend's gone, we can just pretend…"

They got about two minutes into the song, and it was time for the guitar solo. Mathew took his cue and started the solo. This was his chance to really rub it in Ben's face, to show him he was good enough for Emily's band.

That's when things went wrong.

As he was playing, he started to feel a weird sensation in his fingertips. It was similar to the feeling of having the circulation cut off from your hand or foot, only just in the tips of his fingers.
He looked down and for a split second, though he saw something really strange.
Was it just him, or...were the guitar strings electrified? Before he could figure out what he was seeing, the amp shorted out, and everybody stopped playing.

“Ugh stupid old amp, guess it finally reached the end of its rope,” Emily said, scowling. Mathew wasn't paying attention, he was looking at his fingers, expecting them to start .creating electricity.

“Oh well, guess that's it for your audition, Matt,” Emily continued.

“Yeah, guess so,” he said slowly, still not looking away from his fingers. He couldn't shake the feeling he had somehow caused the amp to short out. He couldn't believe the others hadn't seen what he had.
“So, what do you guys think?” Emily asked the others.

"Emily, you can stop looking for a guitarist now," Nicole said.

"Told you he could play," Emily reminded them.

"That you did," Benjamin agreed. "Alright, kid, you're not bad," he added to Mathew.

"Wow, you just got appraisal from Ben," Nicole said.

"I did not "appraise" him," Benjamin said. "I merely told him he didn't totally suck,"

"Ben, for you, that is appraisal," Emily said. "Well Matt, that settles it: Welcome to the group!"

She hugged him tight, and he wanted to be happy, but the image of the sparking strings of the guitar was still on his mind. He thought about telling them, but he was already the odd one here, he didn't want to be labeled a genuine freak. So he decided to keep it to himself, just like when that guy had chased him on the road.

"Alright guys, we've got about a week before the dance, so let's get started!" she said. And so they did.

For the next week, Mathew's schedule was filled with practice sessions with Emily and the rest of the group. Fortunately Emily had a replacement amp, so every day after school he would ride over to Emily's house on his bike and practice all the songs he knew. It was tiring, but it was starting to grow on him. He didn't perform any more unwanted magic tricks with electricity, so things ran pretty smoothly from then on. A sweet deal he got out of it was that Emily gave him the guitar to take home. He used this to his full advantage and practiced a little as he lay in bed. With his luck finally turning around, Mathew was starting to like school a little more. There was just one thing still missing.

"Robert…"

Mathew hadn't seen him at all since he went absent from school. He was really starting to wonder what happened to him. If he was gone much longer, Mathew was going to find out what was going on himself. He figured there wasn't much he could do about it at the moment, so he went back to practicing guitar.

"I'll probably see him before the dance anyway…"

Though a small part of him knew this was probably a fool's hope.

The last few days before the dance passed slowly, and with his fingers feeling like they had been pressed down on a hot oven-rack, he finally got a bit of a break from playing guitar the very last day before the dance. Of course, Robert was still nowhere to be found, and Mathew was beginning to really worry.
He asked all the teachers he could if they'd heard anything about his return, but they all gave him the same answer: They didn't have a clue.

Mathew was starting to get desperate for any kind of information on Robert he could find. He thought maybe if he could figure out where Robert lived he could end this mystery once and for all. So, he asked all around the school, now that the students were no longer afraid to talk to him. But it was futile, for none of the students knew where Robert lived. This was getting ridiculous; he had to have told someone. It was then he remembered what Robert had told him when he first arrived.

"Nobody wants to be friends with the blind bully-magnet"

If he rarely fraternized with the other students, then it truly was hopeless. With a tired sigh Mathew left on his bike for the last time before the dance. When he got home, his sister was sprawled on the couch watching a movie on Starz

"Hey, Matt how was school?" she asked, though she seemed to be paying more attention to Leonardo Dicaprio.

"It was great…I'm performing with Emily at the dance," he said.

"Who's Emily?" Mathew just shook his head and went upstairs.

Plopping down on his bed, he stared up at the ceiling in the dark, just wanting to know what happened to his friend. Was he okay? Was he going to come back? He had said he had things he had to do while the dance was going on, but Mathew didn't think he'd have left beforehand. And just what were those things he had mentioned? Mathew wished he would have asked him then and there, because not knowing was driving him insane. Eventually he was too tired to think about it anymore, and he gradually dozed off, the last thing on his mind before he fell into slumber being the large crowd he was going to have to play in front of the next night, and Robert not being part of it.

***

"Oh, stop fidgeting!" Mathew's mother scolded as she tried to help him with his tie. The dance was about a half hour away, and he was just finishing preparations. He was dressed in the brand new tuxedo his mother had gotten him, and was undergoing a last minute observation from her in the hall.

"Now, you know the deal, right?" she asked as she finished with the tie.

"Perform our songs, stick around and hang out a bit, be home by 10:30," Mathew recited.

"Good boy," His mother said, nodding in satisfaction. "You know, I really wish you'd comb that mop," she added, eying his hair like she wanted nothing more than to hack it off with a weed-whacker. The two of them burst out laughing. But something made Mathew stop short, and his mother frowned. Then as if she could read his mind, she said

"I'm sure he's fine. Don't fret,"

"He's been gone for days," Mathew said. "I've been trying to find out anything I can, but nobody knows anything at school,"

"Someone must know something about it, just keep trying," his mother replied. "Well that's about all I can do. Let's have a look then," She stepped back and looked at their results.

"Hmm, looks pretty good," she said. "You got your guitar?"

"It's in the garage with my bike," Mathew said. Katherine checked her watch.

"Alright then, off with you, and remember, home by 10:30," she said, giving him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, mom," Mathew said with a smile. Katherine suddenly whipped out her cell phone and snapped a picture of Mathew.

"Mom!" Mathew groaned.

"Sorry, I'm a mom, it was a reflex!" his mother joked with a giggle. "Have fun tonight!"

Mathew headed out to the garage and strapped the guitar over his shoulder, then mounted his bike and began his trip to the school.

When Mathew reached the school, he saw the results of the students' tireless efforts to decorate the entire premises. There were lights strung all around the hedges, white balloons scattered all around, and small banners here and there painted with the words "C.F HIGH HOMECOMING". The students were all looking their best in tuxedos and dresses. As he was scanning the crowd for someone he knew, he eventually walked right into the one person he was hoping to avoid until the last moment.

"Hey, watch it, squirt!" Benjamin said, looking down at his tux as if Mathew bumping into him had somehow contaminated him.

"Sorry…where are Emily and Nicole?" Mathew asked.

"They're inside waiting for us," Benjamin replied, gesturing up to the school. For some reason his smirk was extra cocky tonight. Mathew figured he was just confident about their show.

"So, you think we got a shot in there?" he asked.

"Don't know, maybe. But I know I've got a shot if you know what I mean," he said, his smirk widening into a grin. Oh so that was it: Drummer boy was going to get himself a girl. For some reason Mathew wasn't surprised.

"Right…thanks, see you inside I guess," he said, marching past Benjamin and climbing the steps to enter the school.

The inside of the school was just as breathtaking as the outside, with even more lights and balloons covering the banisters and the tops of classroom doors. Mathew followed clusters of other students making their way to the gym.

When he reached his destination, he wasn't disappointed. The gym had been given a complete overhaul for the occasion. Hundreds of balloons were floating up near the ceiling, while spinning lights of varying colors cascaded all around the room. More banners covered the walls, and the biggest one of all hung above a stage. It read

PLAYING TONIGHT AT 9:00
The IJunkies!

Mathew realized he had never asked about the name of the band he was now a part of. He raised an eyebrow at the idea of being one of the "IJunkies". Yet, he actually felt a little happy. He was a part of a group, and not just any group, but a band. He had always been the one left out of pretty much everything.

And though going up on stage in front of the whole school scared the hell out of him, he remembered he had made a promise to Emily, and he was going to stick by it.

Mathew took a closer look and noticed Nicole was up on stage playing music on a laptop hooked up to the speakers. She was dancing to the song Life of the party by forever the sickest kids.

"Ha, guess Emily isn't the only music addict around here," But he found he couldn't say much. The music was making him tap his foot, though he wasn't the best dancer, so he just leaned up against the wall and watched everyone else. Though he wished he hadn't, because what he saw made his heart sink.
Mathew's assumption about Benjamin getting a girl had been correct. He had gotten a girl alright: He and Emily were dancing close together, smiling and laughing. Emily looked even more pretty than usual. She wore a light blue knee length dress, and a star berette twinkled in her hair. Mathew watched as Benjamin put his arm around Emily's waist from behind, and felt a huge surge of jealousy.

He thought there had finally been something happening between he and Emily, but as he watched her and Benjamin clearly having a good time together, he realized that must have been his imagination playing tricks on him. When he saw her put an arm around Ben's neck, he couldn't take any more and had to look away, a pain in his chest. How could he possibly compete with Ben? Benjamin Lawrence, the star player on the school's baseball team. Benjamin Lawrence, the girl magnet. Competing with him for a girl was like competing with superman in a weight lifting contest: The odds were kind of in Ben's favor.

Wanting something to do just to occupy his mind, he walked over to the snack table to find Andrew and Alana standing away from the rest of the crowd. Mathew was surprised Alana would be caught with him, seeing as he was now an outsider. Andrew's reputation had plummeted to rock bottom since Mathew had decked him. Now not even the nerdy kids were afraid of him. Mathew got in a little closer and saw that he and Alana seemed to be arguing about something. Eventually Andrew made a distressed gesture with his hands and stormed off out the exit. Alana rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"What was that all about?" he thought. And then another thought came to his mind that made him feel even worse than he already did.

"Robert would know...he knows everything..." Not having Robert and his super-human hearing there to keep him company wasn't the way he would have chose to spend his night.

If only Robert were there, he could crack some wise-ass joke that would make Mathew bust out laughing and help make everything better. Without Robert beside him, things just weren't the same.

Whatever Andrew and Alana had been going on about, one thing was obvious: Andrew was having just as good a night as he was. Mathew made a mental note not to feel sorry for him and grabbed some Mountain Dew.

As nine o'clock grew nearer, he began to dread playing beside Emily and Ben. It would just be awkward. He kept reminding himself Emily was still his friend, and he still had a promise to be kept. So a few minutes from show-time, he joined Nicole up on stage and plugged his guitar into the amp and made sure it was tuned right for their opening song.

"Why so glum?" Nicole asked loudly over the blasting music.

"Don't worry about it…you ready?" Mathew replied. She shrugged and nodded. Mathew looked around for Emily and Ben, and saw them fighting their way through the crowd to get to the stage. Benjamin hopped right up and sat at his drums, looking eager to get started. Emily smiled at Mathew and he returned it, though he felt like tackling Ben and beating him to a pulp. Emily signaled to Nicole to cut the music, and the room went silent.

"Alright guys, this is our first real show, so please, don't form an angry mob if we suck," Emily said into the mic, making some of the students snicker.

"Ah shut up and rock it already, Emily!" one person in the crowd yelled. The rest of the crowd shouted their agreement.

"Well then, you asked for it!" Emily said. The crowd cheered as Emily turned to the band.

"So, everyone ready?" Mathew nodded, and she suddenly got right up in his face.

"Okay, what's the matter?" she asked.

"Nothing, just nervous," he lied. He had a feeling she knew he wasn't being truthful, because she gave him a look that clearly said "We're talking later." She then turned back to the mic and signaled to the band to start the show. Mathew and Benjamin began their first song, Fences by Paramore, and Nicole joined in on her keyboard. After a moment, Emily took her cue and sang into the mic.

"You're sitting in a room…made up of only big white walls, and in the halls there's people looking through the window in the door, they know exactly what we're here for. Don't look up just let them think there's no place else you'd rather be…"

After a couple of songs the band decided to take a quick break, and Mathew was glad to have a chance to not be in front of the whole school. He took this chance to use the restroom, and when he walked back into the gym, he came upon an odd sight. The entire room was deathly quiet, and the crowd was unnaturally still. They were stiff as boards, almost like they were…frozen?

"What the hell…?" Mathew made his way up to the stage, and saw that they were missing a band member; Benjamin was gone. Worse than that, Emily and Nicole were just as statue-like as the audience.

"Emily!" he yelled. "Is this some kind of joke? Hello?" he was starting to feel extremely creeped out.

"Okay, you got me!" he said. "Now can we get back to the show, please?" Nothing; nobody moved an inch.

"Guys, come on!" he shouted. "Cut it out!"

"I'm afraid they can't do that," Mathew nearly jumped so bad he almost fell right off the stage. The voice had come from somewhere near the center of the crowd.

"What? What are you talking about? Where are you?" Mathew asked shakily.

"I'm sorry to have to say your little show has been canceled," said the voice. It was a male's voice, and from his accent Mathew would have guessed he was brittish. For a second he was reminded of Ben, because the voice sounded cocky. But it also sounded cold, dark, and threatening.

"Look, I don't know who you are, man, but you're starting to freak me out!" Mathew yelled. The voice laughed softly, and Mathew's heart began to thump.

"Oh, but you do know me, boy. You put up quite a chase on the road." Mathew knit his eyebrows. What the hell was this guy saying? Then in an instant, something clicked in Mathew's mind, and he realized who was speaking to him.

"You…you were that guy on the motorcycle!" Mathew stuttered. Another soft laugh.

"Correct."

Mathew saw movement in the crowd. The man walked to the front, and stood before the stage.

"Now, be a good boy and stand still," the man said. Mathew started to back up, and the man shook his head disapprovingly.

"I wouldn't do that," he said. "Unlike the last time we met, I've got some of my brethren helping me. They're blockheads really, but they get the job done," to prove his point, he snapped his fingers, and two other men walked out of the crowd in separate directions and blocked both exits. They both looked like they had more business being on a motorcycle than the other guy. They both looked big, strong, and stupid. One of the men had a blonde military style haircut and icy blue eyes, the other had long dark brown hair and eyes so dark they were almost black. Both of them looked like they could cause him a world of pain if they needed to.

Mathew knew he had to get out of there, and fast

"Who are you, what do you want from me?" Mathew asked, backing up more.

"Aw, how cute, playing dumb, are we?" the man said. His two cohorts laughed. Mathew started to feel sick. The whole audience was completely frozen for no reason, and there were 3 strange men who apparently to capture him. It was only common sense that told him the men had something to do with the state of the crowd.

"What did you do to these people?" Mathew asked. For some reason, the man looked dumbfounded.

"Psh, what did I do? What did I do? What does it look like I did to them, you snot nosed little brat?" he asked in disbelief. "Are you telling me they haven't taught you the simplest trick in the bloody book?"

"What trick? What book?" Mathew asked loudly. "I'm trying to tell you, I don't have any idea what you're talking about!"suddenly, the lbonde guy spoke up.

"Xavier, I think the kid might be telling the truth," he said timidly. Apparently Xavier was the leader of the trio, because though the other two looked like they could tie him in a knot, they seemed to fear him.

"Oh, you think he might be telling the truth, do you?" the leader, Xavier, asked mockingly. "I think you better shut your trap before I break it, Alden! Do you think it matters if he doesn't know what he is? We've still got orders to nab the little runt!" Alden quickly lowered his gaze. Xavier looked back to Mathew with a scowl.

"Oh no kid, I think we've got just the right guy," he said in barely more than a whisper. He came even closer. "Did you honestly think you could escape us that easily? We're the dark brethren, boy!"

"Dark what? Seriously, I don't know who you are!" the dark eyed cohort snorted.

"For Pete's sake, kid, you never even heard of the brethren? You know, dedicated to finding followers to serve our master?" he said.

"Look, I'm not following anyone, okay! So, sorry, you're going to have to find someone else to serve you!" Xavier laughed again, this time like he had heard something genuinely funny.

"You hear that, Gillian? Follow me? Ha! I wish! " Wait…all of them answered to an even higher authority? If Xavier was this bad, Mathew hated to think what his boss would be like.

"Now, I'm through talking, so come on, don't make my job any harder than it has to be," Xavier said.

"Yeah, you're coming with us," said Alden,

"Whether ya like it or not," added the dark eyed man, Gillian. Mathew tried to think of a way out of this, but it looked like he was trapped…or was he? If the two cohorts were the only backup Xavier had, then that meant he didn't know about the door behind the stage that led up through interior of the school. Maybe, just maybe, he could find a way to escape if he outsmarted them. It was his only chance.

"Come on, guys, what could you possibly want with me?" he said, backing up a little more.

"Enough games, boy!" Xavier growled. He charged, and Mathew turned tail and jumped off the stage. Then he ran to the door, yanked it open, and dashed inside. He hated to leave Emily and Nicole there, but if what Xavier was saying were true, then they were after him and him alone, so he was sure his friends were going to be okay.

The sight of many staircases all leading up to the top of the school came into view as Mathew ran down a hall. He heard Xavier's heavy footfalls as he followed close behind, and quickly began his ascent, running up staircase after metal, rickety staircase. It was only when he started getting winded that he realized he had no plan. The only thing he could do was keep running. Soon he came to an intersection: One path leading off to his left, another continuing upwards. His legs were already sore and shaky, so he opted for the path without stairs. Xavier seemed to be just as good at pursuing on foot as he was on his bike, because he was still right on Mathew's tail. The dress shoes Mathew was wearing weren't helping much; they weren't made for running. He found himself slipping and sliding a lot, which was dangerous considering he was on a catwalk with large gaps in the railing he could easily fall through if he wasn't careful.

Eventually he came to a door, and went on through. After a few steps inside however, he stopped dead as he found himself standing before a huge crisscrossing catwalk high above the gym. He was about to keep going, when he saw something that just might be his savior.

A mop and a bucket of water left behind by the school janitor. He grabbed the mop and walked backwards across one of the many walkways, taking the bucket in one hand and dragging the mop on the floor with the other. He had to act fast. Once he was safely across the walkway, he hid the mop and bucket behind some railing and waited in a pose that suggested he had just reached the end of the walkway. In a matter of seconds, Xavier appeared in the doorway, gasping for breath.

"You're awful persistent, aren't you?" Mathew called. Xavier scowled and came running. Mathew crossed his fingers. That's when Xavier did a reverse moonwalk and sailed right over the railing. Mathew thought he was safe, but Xavier managed to get a grip on the rail, and began to pull himself up. Mathew saw the mop, and knew what he had to do. He didn't want to kill anyone, and he hoped at the very least Alden and Gillian would catch Xavier. But just to make sure, he yelled

"Hey, retards, heads up!" They both looked up at the same time, and let out very unmanly shrieks at the sight of their beloved leader about to fall. With their attention gained, Mathew quickly grabbed the mop, spun around twirling it in his hands, and whacked Xavier in the face. This was enough to make Xavier lose his hold and send him falling towards the gym floor.

Luckily Alden and Gillian were loyal, and caught Xavier in true dumb body-guard fashion. But even though Mathew was momentarily safe, he was still stuck. If he didn't find a quick way down, his efforts to escape would be futile. Fortunately luck was still on his side, for as he looked down at the room below, he saw his way down: The gigantic banner advertising The Ijunkies! An idea came to his mind. It was crazy, and would most likely end up getting him killed, but if he didn't try something while Xavier and his men were distracted, he would miss his chance. The class had practiced what he was about to attempt right here in gym class, but in class the students had the added comfort of a safety net. There was no safety net here, just a rock hard floor.

If Mathew failed, he would break like a cheap toy.

He braced himself, prayed to God for a safe landing, took a deep breath, and did the craziest thing he had ever done in his short life. He ran and jumped over the railing.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" Mathew fell through the air and grabbed an end of the IJunkies banner. It ripped and he swung, jumping off and coming to a rough landing on the gym floor. He steadied himself, amazed his insane action-hero stunt actually worked. Alden and Gillian must have been impressed, because they were staring at him in open-mouthed awe while Xavier was still struggling to his feet.

"You idiots! Get him!" he growled. Mathew snapped out of it and ran for the exit.

"Fools, you let him escape!" he heard Xavier yell as he burst through the doors. He ran out to the road, and fell to his knees, panting for breath. He looked up to see cars passing and people walking around the town like everything was fine. They weren't frozen. He tried to call for help, but loud music was drowning out his cries. When he tried to pinpoint where it was coming from, he realized it was the gym. He weakly got to his feet and hobbled over to the doors, peering inside. It was once again bustling with activity. Everybody was back to normal.

"But…how?" He went inside, and made his way back up to the stage to see Nicole and Emily looking down at the torn banner. As he walked up to them Emily looked upon him with raised eyebrows.

""Hey, what's the matter with you? You just took off out the door for no reason!" she said.

"What… are you talking… about? You're the one… who was frozen on the spot!" he gasped between breaths.

"Matt, we've been waiting here barely five minutes," Emily replied.

"What? But you were…" He knew the strangers had something to do with the people freezing, he just didn't know how.

"But…what about a guy in a blue uniform? You remember him, don't you?" Mathew asked hastily.

"I've seen dozens of people here, I wasn't paying much attention to the crowd," she said, sounding a little scared now. Mathew couldn't believe what he was hearing. He sighed, and gave up, since he knew she wouldn't believe him even if he told her what happened.

"Forget it….let's just finish our show," he said. She was looking at him like she thought he was insane, which wouldn't surprise him if she did, but she shrugged and went back to her spot on stage.

"Wait a minute…where's Ben?" she asked. Mathew face-palmed; He had forgotten all about Benjamin going missing. But he didn't have to feel stupid long, because drummer-boy himself came running up to them from the doors leading to the rest of the school.

"Hey, sorry folks, I kind of got caught up with this one girl," he said,

"That's it? You've been with a girl this whole time?" Mathew asked, unable to believe this ridiculous explanation. For one thing, he thought Emily had been the girl he had mentioned when he bumped into him.

"Yeah, you know, she was telling me how she liked drummers, one thing led to another and-"

"Okay we get it," Mathew interrupted.

"Whoa, Reynolds, easy, man," Benjamin said.

"Sorry…just having a rough night I guess," Mathew replied.

"Well then, let's finish up," Emily said. "You look exhausted, Matt," she added.

"I'm fine," Mathew lied. She still looked concerned, but nodded.

"Okay…Benjamin, take your place. Matt, grab your guitar," she said. They did as they were told, and soon they were once again rocking the gym.

"What just happened? Am I going crazy? Did I imagine the whole thing?" Mathew wondered. No…..That wasn't it. Something strange had happened. But as for what that was, he had no answer.

At 10:00, the band made their last bow to the audience, and Mathew decided to head home early. He didn't want to talk to Emily about what had transpired, he just wanted to go home and sleep. So, stretching and yawning, he went out to the bike racks, only to find that his bike was gone, and there was a message in black spray paint over where he had parked it.

HEY REYNOLDS, HOPE YOU WEREN'T TOO FOND OF THAT PIECE OF CRUD YOU CALL A BIKE!

Mathew clenched his fists in rage.

"Ugh, damn you, Carson!" he shouted, kicking the bike racks. Unfortunately, all that got him was a stubbed toe. He groaned and leaned against the wall. After a moment, he sighed and figured he'd better get walking. As he made his way down the road, he noticed the old back-road he had taken to escape Xavier on his first day of school. He decided a short-cut couldn't hurt, and started down the road. It started to get darker as he walked, and he could feel a slight chill in the air. He was halfway down the road, when a female voice spoke from behind him, making him jump a foot in the air.

"Hello, light bearer, nice night for a walk," Mathew wheeled around, and saw one of his least favorite people. Alana. But there were two things that just seemed weird about her. One was the way she was dressed. She was wearing all black. A small sleeveless leather top that showed her rather toned abs, black pants, and knee high boots. The other weird thing: What in the world was she doing here? Plus, Mathew didn't see her anywhere when he started down the road, but yet she somehow popped up right behind him. It was as if she had just appeared out of nowhere.

"What did you just call me?" Mathew asked.

"Oh come on, you're not playing dumb, are you?" she asked. Mathew gasped, because he had heard similar words from someone else.

"Aw, how cute, playing dumb, are we?"

"Why did you call me light bearer?" he asked nervously. She stepped forward, and said

"Doesn't matter, because I'm going to kill you,"