Being twenty, living at home with my single Mom that does pills every night and sleeps for cash, no girlfriend (never had one), and basically no money, there's nothing to do. All I have is my computer, video games, and my community college that sucks. I don't have the grades to go somewhere nice, and I'm too poor to run away.

Being a pretty boring person, I need something. Anything. I finally decided that I would do the one thing that makes every person cool, even if that person sucks at it: creating a rock band.

Having no friends, I would have to start my band from scratch at community. Having a second hand electric guitar that my older brother gave me years ago and barely played, I set off to find my new friends and band mates.

I put up signs all around my school, asking anyone with music ability to come and find me so that they could try out. On the day they were supposed to find me, only six people showed up.

The first was some hipster kid with a fedora on. I asked him what he played, and he said he plays a keytar. I ask what the fuck that is, and he pulls out a keyboard that looks like a guitar out of his case. He starts playing, and he's good, but I still can't shake the feeling that he's a gigantic faggot.

Second and third were too girls who liked to sing. One was some black chick who just liked singing the same way Beyonce did and added in horrible dance moves. The other girl was some country chick from Oklahoma that sung like shit, but she was hot, so I picked her over the other chick.

Fourth was Lucas. Lucas is probably 400 pounds, black, and rides around in a wheelchair. He plays the drums, and he is fucking amazing. With his wheelchair, I don't even have to get a seat for him to sit down on while playing.

Next was some emo chick who played bass. She was bad as well, but she wasn't wearing a bra, so I told her that she was in.

Finally, a Korean kid, Lee Won, showed up. Wearing a South Korea soccer jersey, he took out a guitar and started to play Canon Rock. He wasn't even fucking trying, but he was fucking amazing. He can't speak English that well at all, and he looked more like a girl than the chick trying to be Beyonce, but the guy knew how to play guitar.

So at the end of the day, I had my band. Tony, the hipster keytar player. Chelsea, the Spears wannabe singer. Lucas, the wheelchair bound African drums player. Lauren, the depressing chick who doesn't wear a bra. And finally, Lee Won, the Korean who can play guitar like a God.

We call ourselves KOREAN POP ROBOTS 9000.

Sleeping around, etc. My Mother is a slut. She's not a terrible Mom, and she's not mean, but she's been really flaky since my Dad left her for some Swedish transfer teacher.

Anyways, after that day, we started practicing every day. The Spears wannabe didn't show up for the first two practices, so we had the others try and sing. Lucas couldn't sing at all, Tony and Lauren sounded like they were trying to do a cover of My Chemical Romance, but Lee Won, again, was pretty good. You couldn't really understand the fuck he was saying because he was mixing in Korean and English, but he had a nice voice.

Chelsea showed up for our forth practice, and she said that she had an important date with her boyfriend all those days. This put me off because I wanted to bang her, so I became jealous and told her that Lee Won would be our lead singer and guitar player while she sung back up to him.

We got into a fight, she wanted to quit, but Lucas stepped in (...rolled in) and told us all to stop acting like faggots. Tony was off to the side smoking some weed, and Lee Won was reading manga on my couch. Lauren was sitting by herself on a chair I brought from my room and was staring at everyone back and forth like she was about to explode from anxiety.

We kept practicing for a few weeks, and we became closer as a band. We started thinking of songs, mostly me, and we were finally hitting a groove. Chelsea was fine with being the back up singer to our Korean superstar, and the others were having fun with it all.

First gig we had came when Lucas came up to me and said that his little brother was having a party. I agreed to play it, and we were all pumped to be getting paid $10 each to play for an hour at a party.

We show up at the party and it turns out his little brother is sixteen-years-old, a gangster in training, and everyone at his party was black. We all stuck out like a sore thumb, and the music playing before we came on was all 50 Cent and Lil' Wayne.

I confronted Lucas and asked why the fuck didn't he tell me that his brother didn't like rock/alternative music, and he told me that if he said anything that I would have declined. Being stuck in the situation, we started to playing and it went terrible.

It wasn't like we weren't playing well on our first song known as 'Fit', but the kids weren't paying attention to us. They were all of, drinking alcohol and talking to each other while we looked like idiots playing to two black kids who were staring at Chelsea the whole time.

We finish the gig early, about forty minutes early, and prepare to get the fuck out of there. Lucas' parents thank us and tell us we did a great job; even if they didn't hear us play at all while they were in the house.

We start packing up, and Lauren comes up to me and thanks me for helping her get out of the house. She tells me that her brother killed himself and all that jazz, and she didn't do anything all day but play World of Warcraft before the band sign-ups came up.

She hugged me, and fuck, she smelled good. Like strawberries and sweat mixed together into a totally sweet combo. She then walks off and gets in Lee Won's van that he took from his parents restaurant.

Our first gig was a failure, but luckily, that wasn't the end.

Alright, so we finished our first gig, and we all went back to college that week and took a week off of practicing because of mid-terms. I was studying like crazy to get good grades, and since I suck at anything school related, Lauren told me that she would help me. Seeing as she was getting straight A's in everything, she helped me out while we worked on music at our house.

I tried to make a move on her one night, but she didn't notice it and went to go get food when I tried to put my hand on her knee. The next day, again, I tried to talk about if she had a boyfriend, but everything got interrupted when the whole band came over for a study session.

Chelsea brought her boyfriend, a guy who looked like he was a forty, and he had the balding hair to prove it. They just went off in the corner and made out while we were all working, and Lee Won went around and helped everyone with our math. He would come over to whoever was having trouble, take our pen, make a few swipes, and he would show us how to do it. Lauren helped everyone with our Literature course, and Lucas brought us food.

We all had a fun time, and we were ready for the tests in the upcoming days. Since the weekend was coming up, I asked Lauren if she wanted to go to Six Flags. She said that she would love to, and then she asked Lucas because he was right by us. Lucas then asked Lee Won, and Lee Won asked Tony who asked Chelsea who asked her boyfriend who brought some old people with him for some damn reason.

We get to Six Flags in the Won Mobile (except Chelsea, her boyfriend, and his posse) and all start to go around and do all the shit we can find. Seeing as Lucas can't ride on the roller coasters, him and Tony went off to go play games. Me, seeing that as the most fun, first went to go out try X2 with Lee Won and Lauren.

Things then got kinda got awkward. Seeing as there is only two people per seat on the ride, and there was three of us, one of us had to get left out. We all looked at each other, and Lee Won said he would go with some random person and let us two go together. I gave him a high five behind Lauren's back, and he gave me a thumbs up.

The ride was awesome, and she didn't scream as much as I did. The coaster came to a stop, we got off, and went on other rides like Superman and Riddler while Lee Won continued to stay in the background with me and Lauren in the front.

All of us finally got back together around 4:00 PM for some food, and Chelsea and her boyfriend were hanging out with these old guys in suits. They were discussing politics and crap while she looked like she was only interested in making out with her balding love.

We ate our food and then went to go play games with Tony and Lucas. We all played that game where you have to shoot the target until the thing goes into the air and hits the top, so we all went at it at once. Lucas somehow won, gave the gigantic teddy bear to Lauren, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

I raged on the inside, but I let it slide seeing as I didn't think of Lucas as a competitor for her heart. The rest of the day was a bunch of rides and games. The most memorable thing could probably be the 3-Point Challenge thing the park was running.

It was a basketball court, and they were saying if you could hit 10 three pointers in sixty seconds, you could win a basketball jersey or a mini electric guitar. Lee Won told us that he would try, gave $7 to the guy running it, and hit 12 three pointers with five seconds to spare.

A crowd submerged onto all of us, and he got cheers from all the girls and got high fives from all the guys. He took one of the mini guitars and gave it to me, saying we were best friends.

We all had a great time that day, and we left in the Won Mobile back to my house for a late night cramming session.

Alright, OP here, I think I'm going to bed. Let me talk about the mid-terms really quickly. After the Six Flags weekend, we all did pretty well on the mid-terms. Lauren aced everything, Lucas got average grades, Tony got above average, Lee Won did well, Chelsea didn't fail, and I got above average.

Since we all did well (Chelsea's standards are different from the rest of us), we all got back to practicing and looking for our next gig.

Then one day, while practicing, Lucas came rolling in and said that he got us a gig. We asked if it was for his sister's birthday, and he told us that it was a real deal. The near by high school needed a band for its Valentines Dance, and the band they had totally flaked out on them. Lucas' Dad works there, so he told Lucas and got us the gig.

We were set to perform for about three hundred kids in a cramped gym, and we had no idea how fucked up this school was before we could change anything.

The night comes and everything is hectic. We're all supposed to show up at my house, but my Mom has two gentlemen over, and they're drinking alcohol and partying in the living room.

I have to intercept everyone, bring them to the garage, and get ready there. I'm no going to say I'm ashamed of my Mother, but...never mind, I am very ashamed of her. We all get ready, throw our shit in the Won Mobile, and we're on our way to the high school.

We show up and there is a gigantic group of people around most of our ages in front of the school. Mixed in with college students and high school students, a lot of them are holding bottles with brown bags covering them and cowering into corners where no one can see them.

We get ready and start heading inside when a few girls come over to van and start chatting up Tony. Tony, wearing some horrible looking black and white striped tuxedo with a hat to match, starts to chat with them and then bails for a few minutes to go wherever they wanted him to go. Lucas says he'll go roll after him, but I tell him that I'll go.

Lee Won tags along, and we leave the heavy lifting to the two girls and the guy who is in the wheelchair. We head over to where there are some kids hanging out near the lunch tables of the school, at night, and see that Tony is with them with his unique attire.

I question Tony what the hell he is doing, and he's doing coke lines on the table while some other kids cover him. One of the girl has her hand on his ass, and I take his hat and throw it on the ground, saying that we need to take this seriously.

Tony gets in my face, pissed off that I threw his hat, and Lee steps in to calm everyone down. Tony and the random underage jailbait make out for a few minutes, and then all three of us run towards the school to get prepped for the show.

We get inside and almost no one is there. The teacher supervisors are all inside and not giving a shit about the party outside. The only kids inside seem to be the preppy kids and the nerds that wouldn't ever do drugs or drink alcohol.

All of us get our instruments on stage, check the sound system, play a little to get going, and we have to start. We begin playing, and we're not bad except for the awful country singing by Chelsea and the off tune keyboard playing by Tony.

The set is finished, and a few kids clap. A few kids danced, some told us that we did a good job, and that was it. We had finished our second gig, and it was a big improvement over the last one, I guess.

Tony explains to us since we're done playing, he's going to go outside and find a girl named Sara. Lucas tells me to fuck off and to carry all the shit I made him carry before, and he follows after Tony. Chelsea gets on her cellphone right away and calls up her boyfriend, ignoring all of us.

That leaves me, Lauren, and Lee Won to clear the stage and put everything back. Me and Lee start getting the drum set to take back and Lauren takes the smaller things, all three of us sticking close together.

Some random guy walks out from the back entrance where the van was, and he asks Lauren if she wants to go have fun with him. Since me and Lee are putting the instruments away, we don't see what's going on, and when we look back she's getting harassed by some guy doped up on drugs.

Before I can yell for help, Lee rushes over to her and headbutts the guy in the chest and then punches him in the face. I then yell for help, and people rush over to check out what happened. We explain the situation, and we say that the guy has drugs on him.

A few hours later after all three of us are hanging out in the van, the other three people in our band show up and we're ready to go home. While Lee drove us back to my house to rest, I couldn't shake the feeling that Lauren was looking at me.

Okay, friends went home already, so I can continue. Let's see, after the Valentines Night Dance, we all said we would take a few days to settle our heads before practicing again. Me and Lee Won were at my house, doing some homework when my cell began to ring. It was Lauren.

I pick up, trying not to sound surprised and excited, wanting to pick out the perfect words. When I started to stutter and sound idiotic, Lee Won picked up his pen, wrote some lines on a paper and held them up to me so that I could sound like I knew what I was doing.

Lauren wanted to thank me for being a great help, and she says that her family is proud of her for doing something productive instead of sitting around the house all day. She questioned me to see if me and her could meet later on that night at a local book store, and I couldn't contain my happiness. I told her I would be there in an hour, and I hung up.

Lee Won gave me a pounding of the fist and asked if I had ever been on a date before. Seeing as I was twenty, it was weird telling him that I had actually never been out with a girl alone before. He told me that he hadn't either, and he was 19-years-old. I was shocked, knowing how great the guy was, but he then added in that his Mom thought women in America were demons and would rape him.

I laughed, and Lee said that he didn't like it. He felt like an outsider when most of his friends talked about trying to get girls back in high school, and he knew that if he asked out a girl that his Mom would beat his head in. His Dad, on the other hand, wanted Lee to fuck every girl he saw, but his Mom wore the pants in his family, so Lee Won was out of luck.

I told Lee that he could sleep here tonight with my Mother not caring who stayed. She was out for the night, anyway, probably having sex with her new Italian boyfriend named Rodrigo or some shit like that.

I tried to find the nicest clothes I had that didn't smell terrible, but the only things I could find were a plain black shirt that said 'HAPPY DOG' with a brown cartoon dog smiling on the front and jeans that were to small for me. I had no time, so I forced myself into the jeans and put on the stupid shirt.

Lee told me to have a great time and to get Lauren. He added that I was a good guy, and he knew that Lauren liked me the same way I liked her. I don't know why, but I gave him a hug, and while the silence broke in, I ran out of the room without looking back.

She was at the book store when I got her, and she was sitting down at the counter where they served coffee. I asked her what she was reading, and she told me it was just the newspaper from the school we performed at. They called us the 'College Dropout Robots 9000' for some fucking reason, probably Lucas, but it also said that we were an upcoming band, so that felt nice; even though that piece of writing was probably from some 14-year-old kid that didn't even listen to us.

We started talking about how much fun it has been to have so many people around, and she thanked me again for being always there for me. She looked me in the eye, smiled, and gave me a gigantic hug. I melted in my seat, and if I died right there, it would have been fucking awesome. My first intimate hug from a girl that wasn't part of my family, and it was soft, warm, and her body smelled like strawberries without the sweat this time. The last time she hugged me was different. This time it meant something.

"You're like a big brother to me."

...What?

WHAT?

WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?

"You're always there for me, Leon..."

I sat there, sipping on my cold cup of shit beans grounded up, and put on the most fake smile since the Presidential election.

"So, I wanted to tell you first before even Chelsea."

I nodded.

"I like someone in the band."

My stomach curled into a knot, and my heart exploded like a bomb had just been dropped on it. I didn't care who the fuck it was anymore.

"Lee Won...right?"

Of course, my best friend. It had to be the guy who I actually liked, but at least he was a good guy. At least it was Lee Won.

"No, I think I love Tony."

Tony? Hipster Tony? The guy who makes out with under age girls Tony? Guy who ruined our performance almost by snorting coke at the lunch tables with loser high school rejects?

"...That's great."

"I'm going to ask him out. Do you think he'll say yes?"

"...Yeah."

Everything after that was a blur of her talking about how hot and perfect he was. How she LOVED his style. How she LOVED his fucking keytar playing. When she came to give me a hug to leave, I hugged her and felt nothing but my heart breaking even more.

Luckily, though, for me, I had one person that could move mountains if need be. I had the one person that had the power to change the balance of love in one go.

I had Lee Won.

Ah fuck it, I'll tell more tonight. The last part was weird, so I want to clear some things up. First off, Lee Won and me aren't the same person. I want to kill that before everyone theories that. Just really similar names (well, his first name is Lee and last name is Won).

I go back to my house a few hours later and see that Lee is on the computer doing some homework before heading off to sleep on the sleeping bag that I had in my garage. He asked me how the date went, and I said that it wasn't any date.

He asked me if he found out about Lauren liking Tony, and I flipped out. He fucking knew? Then why the hell didn't he tell me this before? He told me that he wanted me to have confidence and not feel like shit going, and Lee Won thought she would like me the same if I had some confidence. His confidence busting failed, and I felt like shit.

He told me that Lauren told him the night of the Valentines Day Dance, and how she was really jealous of him going after those young teenage girls. She asked him what she should do to get Tony, and Lee Won told her that Tony seemed kinda of a free spirit and probably couldn't be tied down by one girl. He then said she responded by saying that it was her goal to tame him or some dominatrix shit like that.

We spent the rest of the night trying to think of a way for her to fall for me and not him, and he suggested to take his van, go to her house, stand atop the van, and play guitar outside her window. I told him that her parents would flip out and kill me, and he agreed.

On Monday we had class, and me and Lee Won hung out during free period to become strategical and find a way to make myself appealing to her. We thought maybe that I should change my style to what Tony wore, but we agreed that becoming like him would be too much money and be a waste of time. Lucas came over in his chair forty minutes later and asked what was up, saying he heard about Tony and Lauren.

We ask him how the hell he found that out, and he told us that Lauren came to him last night on the phone, asking how to get Tony. I raged inside, Lee tried not to laugh at all of her attempts, and Lucas said to go up to Tony, show her breasts, and ask him for sex. I was about to hit the fucking 500 pound wheelchair bastard, but Lee stopped me and said that he was just joking. He wasn't, but I was calmed down by that point.

I call a band meeting after school at my place and everyone shows up, including Tony and Lauren. I tell them that we'll probably be booking our new gig soon, so we should start practicing. We all agree to do an instant practice session, and we begin. An hour or two later, Tony says he has to leave and bolts, Lauren following behind him.

Me and Lee Won stop for a few seconds, look at each other, and go closely behind her to see what transpires. Mom wasn't home again, so the two of them were in the kitchen we caught up to them out of the garage.

Lauren had her hands on his trashy suit that he was wearing, and I could hear the words, 'I like you' over the silence that overcame me. My heart dropped, again, and I felt like shit...again. Tony took her arms, pressed his hands around her waist, grabbing her ass in the process, and started to make out with her in my kitchen.

I sigh, tell Lee Won let's go back, and we do. We go back to the garage and hang out with Chelsea and Lucas who are talking about some shitty new television show on VH1 or some stupid crap . I sit down on the rundown couch I have in the corner and put my heads in my face. I felt like crying, but I couldn't feel any water come out of my eyes.

Chelsea asked me what was wrong, but I just told her that I hit my head when walking to the bathroom. She sat next to me and apologized randomly for always bringing her outside friends to practices and outings we have. I told her it was fine, and we shared...a moment...somewhat.

The night ended with Tony and Lauren coming back to the garage, hand in hand, Tony saying that he had the energy to practice some more.

We practiced all night long, and even if the rest of the band was having fun, I was not.

Done with school paper, so I can update. Let's see, I left off where Lauren and Tony became a couple. This sent a little ripple through our group when Lauren called everyone in the group and started to explode about how happy she was.

She called me the night after the practice, saying that she couldn't believe that he liked her the same way she did him. I didn't believe any shit that came from Tony's lips, even if he was apart of my group, and I wish he would burn in hell for putting his lips on the girl I really, really liked.

The next few days of practicing was awkward, having the two of them playing right next to each other with Tony grinding the top of his instrument into the backside of Lauren while playing. If it wasn't for Lucas and Lee Won stopping me after that practice, I was going to follow Tony and Lauren, killing Tony when I caught up to them.

The two of them left practice right away and went to some cheap cafe that Tony raved about, Lauren wanting to try the coffee that he adored. The rest of the night was spent with me, Lucas, Lee, and Chelsea playing scrabble with my Mom and Rodrigo.

We wanted to go out and do something as a group, but my Mom saw us all come out from the garage and insisted we spent the night meeting her new man. The game lasted until 12:00 AM when Rodrigo finally got drunk enough to start groping my mother in front of my friends. She said that she should get him to bed, and the two of them went upstairs with his hand up her shirt.

Lucas said he should get home and had Lee Won help him down my front steps to get to his expensive car. Chelsea trailed behind the two and stayed with me while Lee gave his best shot at making Lucas get off his chair and take a few steps down.

She implored to why I looked like I was about to throw up during practice and wondered if I had a crush on Lauren. I told her that I didn't and just thought Tony was ruining our practice, but she didn't believe me and saw through my simple disguise of not caring.

Chelsea told me that if I wanted, me and her could go out on a date and see if I liked her as much as she liked me, but I declined. Told her that she was just joking with me, and I walked away before she could say anything else to me. I went down to push Lucas off his chair and force him to walk to his car while Chelsea's eyes burned in the back of my skull.

Next gig was lined up for February 27th at Lucas' Mom's best friend's daughter's party that she was holding because she got back together with her old boyfriend. A stupid reason for a party, but Lucas got us another gig, so we took it right away.

Tony and Lauren wouldn't get away from each other. Every time I looked at one of them, the other was there. I asked Lee if he could ask Tony to see if he really liked Lauren and wasn't just doing it for sex, and Lee Won complied by getting Tony alone after practice before he went off with his new girlfriend.

Lee came back, telling me that Tony said that he really loved Lauren, and I wanted to punch something. The guy was such a douche, and if Lauren wouldn't quit from it, I would have kicked him out of my band. He didn't add anything to the band, anymore.

Then it hit me on the head. He never signed up for my band because he wanted to play music. He signed up so that he could get high, get paid, and have sex with women...Dammit, it was really like he was a rock star.

Two days before the performance, Lee Won came to me with an idea. He told me that he had an idea to get Lauren and Tony to break up and leave her to me. I didn't know why he was so mad at Tony, but then he added that he found Tony and Lauren in his van...doing stuff, and he had to explain to his parents why his van smelled the way it did.

With that said, we made a pact. In two days, we were going to take down the hipster and get myself the girl I love.

Sadly, Lee Won would never get to forget the images that he saw that night in the van.

I promised I would continue, so I will. I'm tired, so forgive me if it isn't that great or anything.

When I last posted, Lee Won and me were talking about how to get back that asshole Tony for stealing my love and for destroying Lee's eyesight with what he was doing with Lauren inside his family's working van.

We had a day before our third gig at some annoying little bitch's party, so me and him tried to brainstorm ideas to make Lauren see how big of a douche he really was. I suggested getting a local dealer at our school to show up at the gig, get him to talk to Tony, and call the police while Tony was doing lines on the asphalt. Lee said it was too risky, and we didn't really want him to go to jail.

Lee said that we should give him wrong directions to the gig and have him show up at a gay bar, but he might have liked that. We talked all day, and we had no idea what to do, but then Lucas called us up and told us that he could help.

With all three of us in a room, we asked why he wanted Tony out of the group. He said Tony never paid him back the $20 that he owed him, and he wanted him dead. Lucas then brought up the idea that we should get Lauren to see how he really is when he isn't acting so perfectly cool and deep.

The next night rolled by, and we were a few hours away of going on. We got to the party early and there wasn't a lot of people there. The girl that was throwing the party didn't even talk to us, making out with her boyfriend on her couch while Fresh Prince of Bel-Air played in the background.

Tony and Lauren showed up a little after all of us showed up in the van, and their hands were stuck together like they were glued on. The plan started when we got Chelsea to take Lauren away for a few minutes by getting them to go do their girl gossip thing, and all four of guys were just hanging out.

Tony didn't really talk to us, like he never really did, and just smoked cigarettes outside while a few kids danced to the rap music coming out of the stereos.

Lee asked Tony if him and Lauren were really close, and he said they were. This went on for a little while until Lucas got the second phase of the plan going. We asked Chelsea to take Lauren to the market to get some stuff while this was going on so it wouldn't be interrupted.

Melissa Kite from one of mine and Tony's class was brought in by Lucas, and me, Lucas, and Lee paid her $50 to go along with all of this shit. The three of us backed off, knowing that Melissa would tell Tony how much she liked him, and as we knew Tony was a hipster player and saw Lauren leave for a while, he would make his move.

We watched as she seduced him, move away from the crowd and take out some joints for the two of them to share, and we then reached the third part of the phase. When Melissa said that they should make out in the 'cool rock band van', the last part came. Lee was already hiding in the front seat, camera phone in hand, silently taking pictures while the two wrestled their tongues.

To not make it so long, Lee forwarded them to Lauren, Lauren came back from the market and confronted Tony, and she slapped him about five times in the face before calling him a shallow dick that didn't know anything about love.

She then yelled at him to get the fuck away, and I told him that it would be best if he left. With Lauren now hating the guy, I wouldn't feel bad about deleting his number and forgetting what a keytar was. When I went to console Lauren, though, she was already hugging and crying into Lee's shoulder, so I sulked off and got ready to play. I guess I would talk to her later.

Without our keyboard player, we got ready to play our third gig that could possibly be our worst and last. The party was getting into full swing when we started to play, but we were more shitty than usual. Lauren didn't even try; Lee didn't play like he usually does; the main mic levels were too high, so Chelsea's screeching voice was awful as hell; Lucas was fine, like always, but even he couldn't help my paranoid mind while playing the guitar.

When we were done, no one clapped, and everyone went back to what we were doing. I didn't want to lug all the shit back to the van so soon, so I looked for a place where I could get a drink. Before I could do that, though, the girl throwing the party came up to me and told me that I have to hurry my shit. Asked her why, and she said another band was coming to play. The real band.

I shot her a nasty look, and me and the rest of the band started lugging all the instruments and equipment to the van as fast as we could. Finally we were done, and the second band arrived a little after that.

There was only three of them. They showed up in a better looking van than theirs, and they had a few friends who weren't in the band to help them set up. There were two guys; one of them had long blond bangs in his eyes and the hipster thing going on like Tony did. The other guy was Asian, like Lee, but was Japanese and had some of those stylish glasses that everyone has these days with the thick rims. Finally, the singer, was someone I recognized even if she was wearing a ton of makeup, glasses, and one of those Gothic Lolita dresses, Charlotte Daniels.

She went to my high school, and we were in the same classes for throughout all four years. Me and her were never really friends, but we always got partnered because we were the quiet nerdy kids and no one wanted to be partners with us. Even with her new look, she had those braces that I remembered.

I didn't say hi, thinking she wouldn't remember me, but she did and we hit it off while her friends were getting ready for her set. Asked her what she was doing her, and she said that the blond hipster knew the girl throwing the party, and she begged for them to play.

We talked about how it was weird seeing each other after two years, and I promised I would watch her set. She got taken away finally by their Japanese singer, and Lee glared at him while the Japanese guy glared back. They wouldn't get along.

Lee questioned who she was, and I told him some girl from my high school. He asked if I was lying about never having a girlfriend, and I confirmed that no girl had ever been interested in me.

Chelsea and Lauren got a ride home early by Chelsea's friend because of Lauren not wanting to be around any longer, so me, Lee, and Lucas stayed for the show.

Her band's name was Lucky Thirteen Clover, and her band mates names were Aaron and Takeshi. They played a few songs, and she was playing guitar. Lee commented every few minutes on how Takeshi's voice was shitty, and Lucas commented every few minutes on how he was trying to see and guess what color panties Charlotte was wearing.

After their show, the three of us talked to the three of them, and that's when the six of us decided to all go to the place where all young people go at 3:00 AM in the morning: Denny's.

All six of us went to Denny's. Me, Lucas, Lee, Charlotte, Aaron, and Takeshi talked before going, them putting their stuff away, and Lee Won tugging at my arm and asking for us to bail before he got into a fight with Takeshi.

Charlotte continued talking to me, though, and Lee couldn't leave without me, and I couldn't leave her when she wanted to talk to me, so we got trapped at the party that was just ready to clear out. Takeshi and Lee were giving each other death looks from across the yard while the Japanese singer was putting some sound equipment away.

Charlotte asked if we wanted to go get something to eat with her band and talk more, and before Lee Won could pull me and throw me into the Won Mobile, I said that we would love to.

I told her we would meet her at the Denny's near the highway, and they bolted off before we did. Lucas didn't mind, talking about how tight Charlotte's ass looked in the outfit and undergarments she was wearing. I asked Lee Won if he knew the Takeshi guy, and he told me he did. The two of them used to be on a soccer team together in middle school.

It all started when the two of them both wanted to be the forward on the team. They were both, by far, the best on the team, he said, and they both wanted to be the star who scored the most goals. The coach finally picked Takeshi to be the forward, making Lee Won the goalie, and the two got into a fight in their first game after two minutes into the game. He also added that he thinks Japan is an evil country that deserves to be destroyed.

I apologized, said that we could cancel, but he told me that it would be rude and that we should at least go for a little while. We showed up at Denny's, and we walked in with there only being maybe seven or so people in there. A few were alone, looking high out of there mind, and one or two couples that were making out in booths.

Charlotte called us over, and we all sat down at the back booth that had the most space. On one side was my band, and the other side was their band. It was like a battle was about to start between Lee and Takeshi even before someone said anything.

Takeshi excused himself to the bathroom a minute or two after we sat down, and we all started to open and talk. Aaron seemed like a nice enough guy, saying that he heard of our band from our high school gig and said that he heard good things. I was happy that he wasn't as big as a douche and a faggot than Tony was.

Lucas focused on Charlotte, asking her question, diving into the deep questions after only knowing her for ten minutes. He asked if she had a boyfriend, and Aaron started to laugh his ass off. I asked him what was funny, and he said that Charlotte was the biggest lesbian he knew. She then hit him, said that she just hasn't found the right guy, and then told Lucas that she never had the opportunity to have one.

Back in school, she got picked on a lot. While I was the kid that sat in the corner and was ignored by everyone, she got cornered by the popular girls and picked on for her braces, looks, and clothes. She looked different now, and her fashion was much different, but she still seemed as nice as ever. When we worked on projects, she was always friendly and good to work with. We got along well.

Lee didn't say anything, arms crossed his chest, looking down the line of tables to see when Takeshi would come out. When he did, he told everyone he needed to be excused, and he went to the bathroom.

Lucas then delved deeper with Charlotte, asking if she liked what kind of chocolate she liked. She didn't really get what he was getting at, so she said dark chocolate. As she fell into his trap, Lucas pressed his hands against his body and told her that he was enough dark chocolate to fill her forever. Me, Aaron, and even the brooding Takeshi all laughed, and Charlotte had a look on her face like she didn't get the joke.

She told Lucas that he was cute and that spurred him on more. For the next hour, during pancakes, soda, and watching Takeshi and Lee take turns going to the bathroom, he continued to ask her sexual questions and flirt with her. Finally, we were done, and it was around 5:00 AM in the morning. We all had a good time except for our two Asians, and we split the bill.

While Takeshi and Lee both ran away from the table and to the vans, Lucas and Aaron started to chat about music and girls. Charlotte pulled me back as the others started to get out of the place, and she thanked me for a great night out. She then asked if I could have my cell phone number, and I told her that she could call me any time.

She stood there for a few seconds after I gave my phone number, but I didn't know what to do. We stood there awkwardly for twenty seconds before I gave her a high five on the shoulder and turned away. I said goodbye and ran off before I killed myself with a salt shaker.

And that was the night I met Lucky Thirteen Clover. One of the most important nights of my life.

Charlotte is taller than Lauren or Chelsea, long black hair, lots of make up, glasses, braces, and likes to wear that Gothic Lolita dress.

Aaron is super tall (6'3), blond, isn't as hipster as Tony, but he always wears the same brown jacket.

Takeshi is 5'5', dyed red hair, glasses, and wears regular clothes.

That's about it. Not really descriptive. I'm probably going to bed now.

The morning after meeting up with Charlotte and her band, me, Lucas, and Lee Won spent the whole night in my room talking, not getting any sleep at all. All Lucas wanted to talk about was how Charlotte was supposedly fucking him in his black ass with her piercing eyes. Lee Won only talked about Takeshi, saying how he was a better soccer player than him and that Takeshi only got the forward spot because the coach was Japanese. He said that if the two of them ever got locked in a room together, Lee Won would take his guitar and bash it over Takeshi's head repeatedly.

I didn't really talk about anything, but my mind was focused on Lauren and Charlotte. For one, neither probably liked me. Lauren thought of me as a brother, and I couldn't imagine how she would change her thoughts from brother to boyfriend so quickly after leaving Tony. Charlotte, on the other hand, at least to him, saw him as at least a friend. At least she didn't randomly tell him after asking for his number that she thought of him as her long lost brother or some shit.

After the day of lounging about, my Mom made us breakfast for dinner, and we got ready for classes in the morning. My Mom hit it off with Lucas, and the two of them went on and on about some kind of breakfast meal that I never heard of, and how Lucas would bring the recipe over the next time we had a band meeting.

School on Monday was weird. I walked into my first class, and as usual, I was alone in the corner with no one really to talk to. Then, out of nowhere, Tony sat down beside me and slammed his hand on my desk. He told me what the fuck was with those pictures going to Lauren and how she wouldn't take any of his calls.

I told him that it wasn't my fault, and I put my head on the desk to get a few minutes of sleep before the professor came in. Tony kept on complaining, saying how he would get me back, and that I better watch my back, or he would get me back.

I wasn't really afraid of Tony. He looked like he spent all of his days picking out his clothes and trying to look like he was deep. I would be surprised if he could throw a single punch correctly. Not to say that I was a good fighter, but I did take karate for a few years and did know a thing or two. I just didn't like to fgiht.

The rest of the day was basically free period after free period, and me and Lee Won met in the library to talk about Lauren. She hadn't called me since the gig, but Lee Won told me that she called him five times yesterday and three times during his class. I asked him why she was calling him and not me, and he shrugged and said that maybe she didn't want to bother me with her crying.

Fuck, what a lost cause. If she considers me her brother at least, she could give me a ring and cry about how big of an asshole Tony is; we could of bonded over that fact. Instead she goes to Lee Won, and she'll probably ignore me until band practice when she has to be nice.

We tried to talk more about her, but Lee Won was still raging over Takeshi. 'He is such a faggot. He always hugged our teammates after he scored a goal. He must be gay', he told me, putting on an angry face that I had only seen twice in the time I knew him.

I said to forget all the shit about the Japanese guy, but he wouldn't get off it. This transitioned into talking about Charlotte, and how Lee Won knew she liked me. I asked him how the hell he would know that, but all he did was lean back in his chair, give me a confident look, and say, 'I know she wants you.'

Lucas showed up during lunch, and we all ate together. He told me that I had a hot as fuck Mom, and I told him thank you like it was a compliment. I told him that she was like twenty years older than him and dating someone, but Lucas made me throw away my lunch after saying that her tits were the perfect size. Lee Won laughed at his descriptions of my Mom, happy to not be talking about Takeshi.

When it was time to go, Lee Won was going to give a lift to his house to hang out. We've never been to his house, so I was excited to see how his family was like. While walking to the Won Mobile, we saw Aaron also walking to his car in the parking lot. Not knowing he went to our school, we said hey and he said hey back. He told me that Charlotte wouldn't shut up about us yesterday and that we should hang out on the free day we had coming up on Wednesday. Lee Won asked if Takeshi would be coming, and Aaron said that Takeshi couldn't stop talking about Lee Won either.

Lucas laughed at Lee Won, patted him on the back, and I told Aaron I would call to make plans with everyone. Lee Won had a pissed off look all the way to his gigantic house that his parents owned. He grunted about how much of a jackass Takeshi was and how big of a faggot that he was supposedly.

His parents were super nice. They both were around the same age my Mom was, and they asked if we wanted food or a drink right when we walked through the door. Of course Lucas wanted something, asking if he could have the biggest thing they had to eat. Lee's Mom laughed, gave him a hug, and said that he was a charming young boy. This then resulted in Lucas going off with Lee's Mom with me and Lee going up to his room.

His room was covered in South Korea soccer posters, soccer trophies, and a flag of South Korea on his wall. He had two beds in his room, and I asked if that was a guest bed or something. He said no, that his twin sister sleeps with him in this room.

Twin sister? Yeah, he told me that his twin sister went to a private girl academy about ten miles from his house and that she slept in his room on weekends and holidays. I asked what her name was, and he said her name was Bae Won Lee or some crazy mixed up name like that. He said that she was a lot like him, played music and all that, but was more into the piano and trumpet. Lee pointed over to her wall of trophies that was beside Lee Won's, and how she had bunch of trophies for music and softball.

Said the parents preferred her over him with her getting better grades than him and getting into a better school than he did. While she was at some great academy that taught girls how to be great business women, he was stuck at a community college because of how much he slacked off in high school.

Lucas finally came up hours later with Lee's Mom, holding a bunch of fucking food. She had tables transported from the kitchen to Lee's room, so we could all eat up here and not have to go down.

Throughout eating, Lucas said how nice Lee's Mom ass was and how he wouldn't mind sticking something in it. Lee laughed it off and didn't take any offense, telling him that his father would slice his head off if even tried touching her. This made Lucas shut up a little, focusing back on his food.

The rest of the night was us playing with Lee Won's Wii and having fun playing Smash Brothers Brawl. Lucas fell out of his chair three times while playing, and it was always funnier than the last time he fell out.

We all slept at Lee Won's household for the night, and he drove us to school the next day.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!NOT OP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lee took us to school about half an hour early, and gave me a high five before we went our separate ways from the Won Mobile.

I didn't get much sleep the night before, but I figured that I could just sleep a little between classes to make up for it. We were early, so I went into my first class and laid my head down to get a bit of rest.

We were having practice after school, so as I drifted off I was thinking of ways to get Lauren. I was planning on either asking her out this practice, of if things went badly; the next one.

Needless to say, I had a bit of trouble actually sleeping. I only had a half hour anyways, so why fall asleep? It wasn't like I had friends in this class to wake me up, and I'm sure that Tony McCool would make sure no one did. I glanced at the clock, class would start in about 7 minutes but the professor wasn't here yet.

I heard the door open, and some asshole was talking so loud I thought he might have been yodeling. I thought it might have been some asshat talking to the professor as they often did and being loud about it, I was wrong. It was Tony and his hipster crew.

I kept my head down and tried not to start any kind of confrontation. I could see him through the crack of my elbows, he was wearing a lime green tie, his fedora, a suit, and drinking a Starbucks drink. it still had the insulation paper crap around it, so I imagined that it was still scalding hot. I lost sight of him eventually, and was half asleep.

Piping hot fucking magma raced down my hair, face, head, and down my shirt. At least that's what it felt like. I immediately SCREAMED a manly roar, it was almost load enough to squelch the classroom's laughter. I looked up and saw just was I was half expecting, Tony looking down with his fucking hipster smirk and an open coffee cup.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!END OF NOT OP!!!!!!!!!!!

Saved not OP because why the hell not

Wednesday rolled by and it was time for the group date...thing. I don't know what really to call it. It was my band and Charlotte's band meeting at a bowling alley for a night of fun. I called Aaron and asked if he wanted to practice together, but he said that we should forget about music for one night and go bowling.

So me, Lauren, Lee Won, Lucas, and Chelsea all get into the van to go the bowling alley, and we're again, all gossiping about the other band. Lauren and Chelsea never met them, so they ask Lucas how they are. He says they're nice and the Charlotte is a hot piece of work, and Chelsea responds by asking if any of the guys are hot. Lee Won adds in after that by saying that he doesn't know if they're hot, but he surely knows one of them is gay.

This leads to Lucas explaining how him and Takeshi don't get along because of their past, and Lauren tells Lee Won that she'll take his mind off of him tonight. I was trying to ignore her obvious flirting with my best friend, but it still hurt.

We get to the bowling alley, and Charlotte, Aaron, and Takeshi are already there with a few other people. We ask who they are, and Charlotte says they're friends of Takeshi and Aaron. Aaron is with some guy friends of his, and Takeshi is in a school uniform, looking like he just got out, with an Asian girl with him.

Before I can ask where to pay for our shoes, Lee Won pushes me out of the way and gets into Takeshi's face. The girl that Takeshi is with is wearing a school outfit as well, and I purely guessed from his reaction that must be Lee Won's twin sister. After looking at her, it did make sense, except her hair had red highlights in them, and she wore orange glasses.

Lee Won had hold of Takeshi's short, Bae Lee had a hold of Lee Won's shirt, and Takeshi had his hands in the air like he didn't do anything wrong. I commented to everyone that the girl Takeshi with was Lee Won's twin sister, and Aaron said that was why Takeshi was talking about someone called Lee all the time. It made sense.

Finally, Lauren and Bae pulled Lee Won off of Takeshi before he punched him in the face and moved him as far away as Takeshi as possible. I wanted to go talk to him, but Lauren took his hand and took him outside before I could. Takeshi was laughing at the interaction he just had, probably knowing that he was with Lee Won's sister.

This pissed me off, making myself confront him. I asked if he knew that he was with Lee Won's sister, away from the whole group, and he said he did know. He apparently went to the boys academy right by school Bae Lee went to, and they met during a school concert they had at the start of the year. He told me that he wasn't with her to piss off Lee Won and didn't even remember who he was until the gig at the party a few days back.

Bae Lee introduced herself to me, and I said hello back to her. She asked if I was Leon, and I told her I was. The girl then told me on how her brother always raved about me and how I was such a good friend. She thanked me because Lee Won used not to be as cheery as he is now, and she thinks that starting the band made him open up more. I told her that it was no problem, and I left her to Takeshi.

Aaron and Chelsea were already at one of the duo seats situated by the bowling lanes, and Lucas was chatting it up with Charlotte. I never understood the term group date until that moment. There were nine of us there, and they had all split into doubles except me.

Seeing as no one was bowling, I went up to the food place that was connected to the alley and got some french fries. I would have went outside, but Lauren and Lee Won were both probably talking about how big of dicks and faggots Tony and Takeshi were.

I continued eating my fries until someone plopped down next to me, Charlotte. She told me that Lucas was trying to teach her how to bowl in his wheelchair, but one of the workers there saw him and started yelling. Lucas was now preoccupied by having an argument about how he couldn't walk, but the worker there was trying to tell him he couldn't just bowl in a wheelchair and how it was against the bowling alley rules.

She apologized for the whole Takeshi and Lee Won thing, but I said it wasn't her fault. It was just a coincidence that Takeshi was possibly having sex with the twin of someone he hates.

We talked about the old days and how we were the biggest losers in class. I asked her why she changed her look, and she said she was sick of always being whiny and complaining on why no one liked her. She changed her look, her habits, and tried to change for the better. I told her that she looked great, and I think she blushed, but the dimming in the alley was too dark to actually tell.

I asked her how her band got together, and she explained. She went to the same girl academy that Lee Won's sister went to, and her and Takeshi met during the same concert that they met Bae Lee. They started talking afterward, Charlotte and Takeshi wanted to start a band, but Bae was too shy to actually be in it.

This led to the two of them looking for a third member, and Takeshi called up his old friend, Aaron, and that is how it all began. They tried to get Lee Won's sister in the band forever, but she said that being in a band wasn't for her. She was much more comfortable when there were fifty people with her instead of her being in the spotlight.

She asked why I started my band, and I said I wanted to change just like her. She asked if I've changed, and I replied that I don't know really if I changed at all. Charlotte added that I was always a great guy in high school and that I was great now, putting her hand on my knee while I chomped onto a french fry.

Things were going great until Lucas showed up. Lucas just didn't show up, he broke through everyone in the food place like they were ants. He must have knocked down three people with his wheelchair while getting to me and Charlotte. He was screaming something, but I couldn't hear him until he got closer.

He told me that something was going on outside, and we followed. When we got outside, everyone was trying to stop what was going on. Lee Won was atop of Takeshi, screaming at the top of his lungs, and punching him in the face. His sister tried to pull him off, but he wouldn't stop. I ran over to where he was, got him off of him with Lauren, Charlotte, and Bae behind me, and told him to stop it before someone called the police.

When I pulled him off, this gave a chance for Takeshi to compose himself and get away from Aaron who was holding him back. He punched Lee Won in the face as hard as he could, probably breaking his nose in the process, and stormed off into the night while pulling Bae Lee's hand with him. Aaron stalked after them to see if they were alright, and Charlotte apologized again and again hurriedly.

That was it. The four of them left the alley at that second, not looking back or coming back once. Lee's nose was bleeding like a fountain, and Lauren was trying to stop the bleeding by using her shirt as pressure.

Lucas decided to follow Takeshi in his wheelchair right when he left, but he was too slow to catch him and came back a few minutes later. He said that they all jumped into their van and sped off before he could even get into a fight with their Japanese singer.

Lee Won's eyes were cold. He honestly didn't look like Lee Won at all. He was sitting on the ground, knees to his chest, and his hands clinched into a fighting position. Lauren continued to help him, and Chelsea was talking to Lucas about what we should do.

After a while, Lee Won's nose stopped bleeding and was ready to go. He didn't say anything to me when he got into the van, and he started the car and drove us all to my house without another word.

When me, Lucas, and Chelsea got out of the car to spend another night at my house, he told me that he couldn't hang out tonight and was going home. Lauren said that he was going to stay with him so that he isn't alone, and the two of them left together out of my driveway.

I sighed, knowing that this wasn't going to end nicely.

Sorry, I hate using a tripcode, so I'm just posting under it now so you know it's me.

That night was spent with me, Lucas, and Chelsea along with my Mom and some 30-something-year-old guy that I never met before. He was nice, but the rest of us got into my room before my Mom made us play scrabble with them. The only good thing about my Mother sleeping around and usually being drunk was that she didn't care if I had a girl sleep in my room...or in my bed...Really, I could be having sex in front of my Mom, and she would probably pat my head and say I was doing a good job.

Chelsea told me how much of a gentleman Aaron was and how cute he looked in his clothes. I asked her what about her 60-year-old boyfriend, and she told me they broke up ages ago. Said that he was too old for her, and he wasn't fun after the first few trips on his boat.

Lucas was afraid for Lee Won, thinking he might do something stupid after what happened. I asked how the fight started, and Chelsea said that his sister and Takeshi were making out in the parking lot. Lauren and Lee Won were talking on the steps, and Lee Won saw what was going on. He went crazy, attacked Takeshi, and the two started fighting. That's when Lucas got me and everything else happened.

Lucas added he might not want Lauren there, but Chelsea started laughing like crazy. I didn't know why she was laughing so much, but she explained that Lee Won was in love with Lauren. Lucas asked how she knew this, and she said that Lee Won told her ages ago. The only reason he never did anything was because of his parents and knowing that I also liked her.

>> Anonymous 03/30/09(Mon)01:37:31 No.3692285

I didn't know how to respond to this as I always kinda guessed that Lee Won liked her as well. I kept quiet throughout most of the discussion until Lucas started to bring up how he wanted to bang Charlotte. He didn't just stop at her, but he started rating and ranting about every girl he has met since the band started.

He started with Lauren, who he gave a B+. He said she had nice tits and a great face, but her ass lacked. Gave my Mom and Lee's Mom a B, Bae Lee an A -, and finally gave Charlotte an A+. Chelsea commented on how he thought me and her already had a thing, but Lucas interrupted and already asked Charlotte that. She said that me and her had nothing going on at the moment, and we were just old friends.

He asked me if it would be okay if he asked her out, and I told him he could do whatever he wanted. He did a pumping fist and swore to the heavens that if she said yes, that he would fuck her at the mightiest speed he could dream of. This was the cue for Chelsea to flip him off and take my bed for the night. Lucas slept in his chair, and I slept on the floor with an extra pillow and blanket.

My phone rang an hour or two after I fell asleep, and it was Lee Won. When we started talking, he didn't sound the usual carefree self that he usually was when we talked. He was serious, to the point, and didn't have any real pep in his tone. I asked what was wrong, and he told me that he needed my permission.

>> Anonymous 03/30/09(Mon)01:38:11 No.3692294

He told me Lauren was in the back of the van and that the two of them were in the middle of nowhere. He told me that he really liked her, and he wanted to know if he could have my permission to do stuff with her.

For the few first seconds, I wanted to scream into the phone, tell him to fuck off, get away from her, and then die, but I couldn't do that. It was obvious now that he liked her the same way I did. He didn't want Tony gone because of the things he saw in the van. He wanted him gone the same reason I wanted him gone. It all made sense.

"Sure," I said, whispering into the phone. "I'm really okay with it."

"Thanks, Leon. You really are my best friend. I love you."

Then he hung up. It was really weird, but I guess that is what happens after you hang out with a guy nonstop for almost two to three months straight. Still, I couldn't shake the image of Lee Won and Lauren having sex, so I went to the kitchen to get some cereal.

I flipped through my phone, looking at the numbers I had, and I decided to call Charlotte. I was wondering what happened to her group after they left, so I was hoping she was up.

>> Anonymous 03/30/09(Mon)01:38:48 No.3692303

She answered, sounding happy that was me, and told me that everyone was fine. She was in her dorm at the girl academy, and Takeshi was steaming mad at being attacked by Lee Won. I wanted to know how Lee Won's sister felt, and Charlotte said that she was fine and sided with Takeshi on the issue. It was her decision to who she wanted to be with, so her brother could stay out of it.

Getting fed up with all of the shit that I went through tonight, I asked if she wanted to come to my house tomorrow and jam a little with our guitars. She agreed to meet me at 4:00 PM, gave her address to my house, and we were all set. She told me she had to get to bed before the floor advisers caught her, and she wished me a good night.

I went back into my room, wanting to catch a few hours before school, and I walked in on a wide awake Lucas who was, uh, having fun in my absence while looking at the sleeping Chelsea.

He freaked out, falling out of his chair with his pants half down, and Chelsea woke up from all the commotion. She asked what the hell was going on, and Lucas said that he was sleep walking. She sighed, turned her back to us, and went back to sleep.

I looked at Lucas on the floor, shaking my head, and told him I would be sleeping downstairs tonight. I walked out of the room, him begging for help to get back on his wheelchair, but I ignored him, needing dire sleep and the images of my best friend having sex with Lauren, Lee Won's sister making out with Takeshi, and now Lucas masturbating to a sleeping Chelsea.

Fuck, I have weird friends.

//Then the thread 404'd. I do not know if this is the complete text.

I woke up after that hectic Wednesday with the biggest headache you could imagine. I was laying in the kitchen, my legs atop my dinner table and my head across a seat pillow. I was awoken by my Mom, plying her hands to my body and telling me that my friends had already left, and I would be late for my class at 9:45 if I slept in any longer.

I got ready for school, took a quick shower (freezing cold), and threw on the cleanest clothes that I could find. I took a long walk to class, most of the time usually driven by Lee Won, but I didn't want to bother him after what transpired last night. I was pretty sure he wouldn't be at school today.

While walking to my only class of the day, I get stopped by Tony, his red and white fedora highlighting the halls. I tried to get past him by simply moving to another direction, but he pushed his hand across my chest and took me against a wall.

Tony demanded to know why the fuck Lauren still wouldn't pick up his calls, and why he wasn't asked to be at practices anymore. I told him that it was simple: he was a douchebag, we didn't want him, and Lauren thought he was a jerk. Pissing him off even more, the hipster clinched his hand into a fist, but was too pussy to actually throw it.

For the 567th time, he yelled at me that he would have his revenge and shook his fist angrily while I walked away. The rest of the day was uneventful with Lee Won not showing up at school, and Lauren was also nowhere to be found. The two of them must be driving in Nebraska at the moment, trying to run away from everything like a bad romance novel, and have wild sex during the night.

The only person I saw all day besides Tony that I knew was Lucas. Lucas, still shaken up from having to crawl around and actually walk after I ignored him last night, was pissed at me for forgetting him. I said that I didn't hear him, but he had to explain to me how he had to get Chelsea to help him up and how awkward it was.

He inquired if I was doing anything tonight, wanting to know if he could hang out at my house. I had the thing with Charlotte in the afternoon, and I didn't really know how to lie to Lucas and get away from him, so I told him he could come if he wanted.

We got to my house, and Lucas started chatting it up with my Mom like usual. Asking her if she had any food to eat or if she would make him anything, and I could only wonder how Lucas' Mom could handle him all these years. My Mom, not being a bitch, was nice to him, told him she would make him a sandwich, and would bring it up to my room when done.

Twenty minutes after helping him get up my stairs, we started to talk about his favorite topic: women. He told me about this hot new girl that came into his class today and how she sat next to him. Zoning out, I only heard bits and pieces of the story after that. I did catch the part where he said her tits were like gigantic magical orbs, though.

Next was a few hours of Lucas eating many sandwiches, talking about more girls, and how hot my Mom's rack was. Finally, my Mom came up to my room and said that I had a girl visitor. I told her I would be down in a second, and Lucas demanded to know what girl visitor this was. I said I would tell him later, started to leave, and his wheelchair perused me. Knowing that he would never actually come down the stairs because of how much work that would be, I closed the door behind me and locked him in. He would be too lazy after a while to care and start looking around my room for porn magazines.

Charlotte was waiting for me downstairs, my Mom giving me a thumbs up from the kitchen and winking at me. She wasn't all dolled up today like she was usually. She wore regular clothes; dark blue jeans, a red shirt with some writing on it, and red rimmed glasses.

I took her to the garage where she had her guitar in hand, and we started to play. She asked what the loud yelling sound from upstairs was, and I told her it was just one of my Mom's boyfriends looking for drugs. She laughed, not really concentrating on what she was playing.

She was obviously better at playing guitar than me. I tried to keep up, but next to her, I was a beginner. I could see why her band was semi-professional and why ours was a gigantic orgy of sound and yelling.

After jamming a little, I quit because I couldn't even keep up with her anymore and told her that I would get some drinks. When I went out to get the drinks, though, I saw Lucas crawling down the stairs with his gigantic hands pulling him. I yelled what the fuck he was doing, and he demanded to know what girl was in my house.

The obese African American wouldn't stop his rampage down my stairs, and I asked him if he could please stop. He stuck out his tongue and told me that if we were friends, he would share the girl that I was hiding. I shook my head, took the two orange sodas I got from the fridge, and walked back to the garage.

Charlotte had put her guitar away, and she was sitting on our couch that I had found outside of someone's house a few months ago. I questioned why she put her guitar away, and she told me she was bored of playing music.

I took a seat next to her, gave her a soda, and we spent the next few minutes drinking orange soda. We didn't really talk, and every time one of us was about to talk, the other would take a sip of their soda.

The quiet was broken when a shrieking sound came from behind the door and it opened to a flailing Lucas. He had gotten down the stairs somehow, walked across the hallway, and somehow had enough energy to get to the garage without his wheelchair. He pointed at me and screamed 'AHA!' and then flopped down on the floor with no more adrenaline.

Charlotte stared at Lucas, asking if he was okay, and I told her that he would be fine after a while. We helped him onto the couch, and he was glaring daggers at me. To him, it must seem like I was trying to move on the girl that he wanted date.

Lucas took my orange soda, drained it, and then started a lengthy conversation with Charlotte. Leaving me out of the whole thing, I propped my hand to my chin and listened on what they were talking about.

I closed my eyes for a few minutes, trying to get his voice out of my head, and when I opened them again, he was asking her out on a date. Couldn't he wait until I was out of the room to ask her out? Oh well, I listened on what her answer would be.

"No."

Lucas acted like he got shot, falling off the couch, and hitting the floor again. She said that she was flattered, but she saw Lucas like a friend. He started to whine, saying how he was sick of being seen as a friend, and asked if I could go get his wheelchair so he could go home.

He left, depressed as hell, and my Mom waved him off after giving him some food to take home that cheered him up slightly. Curious, I asked Charlotte why she rejected Lucas, and she told me that she would rather of had me ask her.

...I then took a sip of my newly opened orange soda and nodded.

Me and Charlotte held hands together on my bed for two hours straight, or it felt like two hours straight, and then she said that her ride was here to take her back to the academy. I told her it was a nice time, and she said it was nice as well.

Being socially weird with girls wasn't great. For the last few hours, me and her had done anything but talk about our feelings. We played video games and talked about music, and then we finally settled on sitting on the bed and holding hands. Very, very strange.

When she left, my Mom came up and said that she seemed like a very kind girl. I told her thanks for her approval and asked if she was going out on another date tonight. She said she was, and it was one of my professors. I cringed, not wanting to know who it was, and closed my door. I fell to sleep that night better than the night before. Possibly because I didn't have nasty images like Lucas masturbating in my head. Ugh.

Woke up, took a shower, and was off to school. My cellphone rang when I got out the house and it was Lee Won. Surprising, I didn't think I would hear from him for a while. I picked it up and asked where he was. He told me that him and Lauren were at the river down near the huge department store and wanted to know if I wanted to hang out. I said we had school, but he told me to skip it and come down there.

Nothing better to do for the day, I told him I would be there and walked towards my destination. When I got there, the van was parked next to a tree and the two of them were sprawled out on the ground. I went up to them, asking what the fuck they were doing there, and Lee Won said that they wanted to get away.

I asked where the hell were they yesterday, and Lee told me that the two of them were just driving around and looking at things. I didn't know what was going on, but he really didn't seem himself. I sat down next to him, and Lauren gave me a friendly wave. I waved back, but she looked totally out of it and tired.

All three of us sat there for a little while, taking in the blue sky that was above us and the clouds that crawled by. Lauren said that she wished that I was there yesterday for their adventure, but I could tell the two of them had enough fun without me.

Lee exclaimed that him and Lauren were thinking about heading out of town and traveling throughout the state for a little while. Maybe they could hit up Los Angeles, see how the city was. I wondered where this sudden change of heart came in, and I asked him how the band would go if the two of them weren't there.

"Do we even have a band, Leon?" he asked, resting his head atop of Lauren's stomach now. He honestly looked like he hadn't slept for weeks. His nose had tape over, probably keeping it together since they didn't go to a hospital.

Did we really have a band? We had three gigs, so I guess that would count as a band, but were we really that good? No, we weren't, but I thought we were having fun.

"Yeah, we do have a band, and you two can't go." I said, picking up the confidence to tell him that their idea was stupid. I knew they wanted to run away, but the whole idea had no point to it.

Lee Won went on about how there was no reason to stay here. His family was crazy, and they would never approve of anything he did. His sister was off being a whore with a guy he hated, and he said that he couldn't stand looking at her anymore. He wanted to get away.

"And you?" I directed towards Lauren.

She said that she would follow Lee Won everywhere. Ever since her family broke apart, she had nowhere to go. Her Dad is always out drinking, and she said her Step Mom hated her and wanted her dead. She even added in that her Step Mom once tried to cut her with a knife because she wouldn't get out of the living room.

I didn't know what to do. They were dead set on leaving this place, and I couldn't really argue. What the hell were we doing? We were fucking losers. We all failed high school, and we were now stuck at some second-rate community college while everyone else is going on and doing something with there life.

The only reason I made the stupid band in the first place was to meet new friends. I did that. The mission was accomplished. Too bad that the best friend friend I made out of the whole deal was now wanting to go away forever and live his life as some town hopper.

I had no argument on why shouldn't go except to what Lee's family would think of him stealing their van. He said that they had a few, and they wouldn't care if he took one. He said that he had money in his college fund that he was never going to use now, and he and Lauren were going to see where the road took them.

The two of them got up, telling me they were going to leave right this second and only came back so he could say goodbye. Lauren gave me a hug before departing into the van, wishing me all the happiness in the world. This left me and Lee Won, near the river, the depressing water hitting against the rocks.

"So you're going to leave now?"

"Yeah, I am." Lee Won said, looking around the hometown that he never wanted to see again.

"I hope you have a good time with her. I guess you two like each other, right?" I knew they wanted to be together, but I really wanted to hear it from his mouth.

"Yeah, I always liked her. Sorry for being such a terrible friend, Leon."

"No, it's totally fine. I want you happy. You're more important than she'll ever be." I said to him. It was true. Without Lee Won, I wouldn't have survived any of this. He was a great friend through and through.

"...Why don't you come with us?"

"I can't. My Mom would freak. If I wasn't there to look over her, she would die from taking too much sleeping pills. You two do what you like. I'll always be here."

"I promise to call, man."

With that, he basically tackled me and gave me the most heartfelt hug that someone has ever given me. Even my Mom never gave that much care into hugging me before. When he was done, he wiped a few tears from his eyes, and gave one last high five to me.

"Now don't stay a virgin, okay?" he laughed, and that was when he got into the van and left through the concrete that led up to the department store parking lot. The both of them waved at me as they sped out of the town as fast as they could.

Humans go off their impulses. One second a person can be happy with their life, and the other second they want to be anywhere else but at the place they're at. Because of the impulse that the two of them had, my band looked to be dead.

It looked to be all over, and dammit, I couldn't stop the tears that fell from my eyes when the two of them left. They just wouldn't stop.

It had been a week and not one call from either of them. The closest thing I got a call from Lee Won and Lauren was from Lee Won's Mom, wanting to know if I knew where he was. I told her that I hadn't seen her, trusting he would tell her where he went when they contacted again, and wished her luck in finding him.

The last week was the most boring week in the last few months of fun and playing music. With those two gone, it was down to me, Lucas, and Chelsea. One of them, Chelsea, was now hanging out with Aaron most of the time and becoming the groupie of Charlotte's group. Lucas still came over, but he was still mad over the day where he found me and Charlotte together. Since that day, me and her hadn't really talked that much.

She would call me one day, and I would call her the next. I would ask how she was, and she said she was gone. I would wish her luck on her band, and she wished me luck on mine. I'm guessing she knew that my band was dead now, but I don't think she wanted to make me feel even worse.

School moved slow as ever now. With no one to talk to, I missed most of my scheduled classes and spent my days on the computer playing useless games and typing to people on message boards. This continued until something actually happened on a Friday afternoon.

I was sitting in class, minding my own business, spaced out to the world, when someone sat next to me in the middle of a lecture. Of course I knew it was Tony, his highlighted lime green fedora tipping him off even before I fully turned around. He whispered to meet him after class near the stairs by the library, and I told him that I would.

Not caring what he wanted, depressed as hell from my mundane and simple living, I met where he wanted at the long steps that led into our gigantic reading structure. He met me about ten minutes after I got there, and I was surprised he didn't bring some people that he paid to beat me up.

I asked what he wanted, and he told me that he would get me back. I didn't know what he was getting at, so I continued pushing on what he was getting at. He told me who the hell made all those coincidental happenings occur? Takeshi just coincidentally being together with Lee Won's sister at the exact moment the two of them met up after years of not seeing each other?

He explained that him, Takeshi, and Aaron were all friends from middle school. Aaron and him had a falling out over a girl at the end of their 8th year, but him and Takeshi kept close. When I screwed up his relationship with Lauren, he didn't leave like everyone wanted and just blended into the background with all the other messes going on.

He was going to wait until I was alone and jump me, wanting to kill me, but then he saw Takeshi and talked about what just happened. He explained that he knew Lee Won from his old days and how Takeshi used to date his sister before they broke up.

The two of them formed a plan. Takeshi would knock on Bae Lee's door, apologize for cheating on her, get her back, and then bring her to the group hangout that he and Aaron created to have a good night out. Aaron didn't know what the purpose of the whole night was, but Takeshi and Tony had it all planned out. Lee Won would see Takeshi with his sister, snap, and couldn't handle that his perfect sister was getting felt up by a guy he hated.

He snickered, saying that it all worked out in the end, and now the Korean immigrant would go back to his shitty country with his new slut wife. The only reason Tony liked Lauren, he said, was because she put out, and I messed it up for him.

Continuing with his annoying laughter, I couldn't contain my anger anymore. So his whole plan consisted of fucking up Lee Won's whole family in the process and more than likely screwing up Lauren and Lee's life forever?

I grabbed him by the neck of his shitty checkerboard collar and pushed him against the gray wall of the stairs. His laughter was gone, and he said I was too big of a puss to actually throw a punch, so I caught him in the nose with a right hand. Tony's head whipped back against the hard concrete wall and then flipped forever, dazed out of his mind.

I didn't stop, though. I could have, but I let out all my frustration and anger out on Tony. I continued punching and punching until my fists felt like they were raw meet after tenderizing them. Finally, a stray student from one of my classes came over and pulled me off of him. His face was covered in blood, and I still couldn't contain my massive frustration.

I told Tony to never talk to me again, or I would kill him. I walked away without another word, and I went towards the direction of my house to get some rest and alone time.

Life was so useless. I was stuck in a cycle of useless tasks. Every day I would go to class, and I would continue to work until I got enough good grades to get into a four year college. After I got into the four year college, I would work hard until I got enough good grades to graduate with honors. Next, I would go into the work world and have to bust my pass until I got the promotion I wanted.

It was all a gigantic mountain that I didn't want to bother with. The band, even if it wasn't the greatest, at least kept my mind off everything. I didn't think of these things when I was playing my terrible chords with Lee Won. I didn't have to think about my Mom having sex with a new random guy from Europe every time I was playing my music.

When I got home, I sat down on my bed and stared at the wall blankly; even though Tony was the biggest prick I ever met, he was right. I was a pussy. I only punched him because I had a week of anger filled up inside me. If Lee Won and Lauren were still around, I would have called the librarian down from the building to call the police on Tony. That was how big of a loser I was.

Sick of myself, I picked up my cellphone and knew what to do. If I was going to stay in this cycle of mundane living for the rest of my life, I might as well get laid, right?

So I called.

It was now or never, really. I showed up at Charlotte's front door step, the night sky creeping over the blue sky, and she was wondering I called her randomly. She was back from her academy for the next few days because of the three day weekend, and this was my best chance of doing anything with her. If I let the opportunity go away, there would be none after this point. The reason I never got with Lauren was because I didn't have the guts to stand up and tell her I liked her. Even at that moment, I never really told her I really felt.

Charlotte wanted to know why I got her out of the shower, and I questioned if her parents were home. She said that they were out of town like usual on a trip, and I kissed her on the lips. Weirdly, when I got my first kiss, it wasn't as spectacular as I thought it would be. It was great, sure, her lips tasted like blueberry, and her body motion told me that she liked it, but there wasn't any fireworks. The whole myth about your first kiss being amazing and life changing was a load of bull, but I didn't have enough time for that.

I didn't ask if I could take off her shirt, but I did. Going through the motions, we landed in her kitchen where she had her dinner running in the oven. I quietly asked if she wanted to stop and eat first, but she told me I sounded like an idiot and forced my pants off.

Having sex in her kitchen was...good? I don't know how it was supposed to feel, but I could that neither of us had never tried this before. I was atop of her, pushing my hands down on her marble floor, and thrusting my hips back and forth like I had no idea what to do.

This went on for a while, both of us not knowing what to do, but I think it finally worked. The worst part of it all was trying to force on the condom that I brought with me that I found in my Mom's room, but I really, really don't want to get into it.

When we were done, we were both gasping on air on the floor. The oven timer had been ringing behind us for the twenty minutes, and we didn't give a damn enough to care about if her food was burning or not.

She said that it was incredible and amazing. That she always liked me in school. That she always wished that I asked her out on a date, but she was too shy to ever do anything with me. It all ran through my head, and I understood what she was saying, but it really didn't connect.

I liked Charlotte. I really, really did. I thought she was a great girl. I just had my first kiss, make out session, and sexual encounter with her in the matter of two hours. Thing was, everything felt empty. My first time doing all those things were useless. In the end, I really didn't have strong romantic feelings for her. She was a friend. A good friend, but the only thing I had in my mind when I orgasmed was the picture of Lauren.

She hugged me, telling me that it was great she had her first boyfriend, and I agreed. I thought having sex would make everything better, and it should have, but it changed nothing.

Me and Charlotte talked the whole night about our past and future. We talked about how my band ended and wanted to know if I wanted to join hers. She said that Takeshi wasn't as bad as a guy I thought he was, and he was just misunderstand. She said that her and Takeshi had become great friends, and all I could think of was how I missed Lee Won and where he was at that moment with the girl I loved.

I slept in the same bed as her that night, but I knew it was over. My time here was all over. For the last twenty years of my life, all I ever wanted to do was have a girlfriend and get sex. I got both. I had a girl who seemed to actually enjoy my company, and I didn't have the same feelings back.

What the fuck was wrong with me? That night, around 4:00 AM, I got out of her bed and threw my clothes back on. I sneaked out before she could catch me, and I walked home with the morning sun rising above me.

I don't believe in fate or destiny all that often, but the sun going up the mountains and in the air while I was walking made me think that I didn't have to waste my life here after all.

I went home, looked at my Mom sprawled on the couch with her old boyfriend Rodrigo, and I could only help but smile. I sat down in my Dad's old chair that my Mom didn't let anyone sit in since he died in a drinking accident years back, and I watched the two of them sleeping peacefully together. This might sound strange, but it was a pleasant sight for me. I liked to see my Mom happy. She might have changed after what happened to my Dad, but she never lost her smile and did what made her happy.

I kissed her on the cheek, not wanting to wake her up, and I went into my room to get some well deserved slumber. When I awoke, I call Lucas and Chelsea over on the day off to tell them something that I was going to tell them first.

Lucas came rumbling in on his wheelchair, a gigantic bag of food in his hand. He looked happier than the last time I saw him, and I apologized about the Charlotte thing. He said it was alright, and he knew that him and Charlotte would have never worked.

Chelsea was accompanied by Aaron. Apparently the two of them were now together, and Aaron apologized for the whole mess up with Takeshi. I said it was fine, and Chelsea wanted to know why he called the two of them here today.

I told the three of them that I was going to get a place of my own and get away from the town. Lucas flipped out, throwing his food in the air, and demanding why the hell I would do something like that.

I knew my Mom wouldn't probably like it, and I know she would probably need my help, but I couldn't anymore. I had spent my whole life trying to make her happy that I never tried to find happiness myself.

Chelsea asked if I was going to go find where Lee Won and Lauren were and stay with them, but I said I wouldn't do that. I needed to start anew. I thanked Lucas and Chelsea for the best months of my life, and I wouldn't have realized how much my life needed changing if they never showed me.

When it was all done, Lucas started to cry and gave me a gigantic bear hug that made me feel like I was going to throw up. Chelsea gave me a kiss on the cheek, and Aaron wished me the best of luck.

I told my Mother a few hours after they left, and she cried even more than Lucas did. She threatened to kill herself if I went, but I told her that I had to do this for my own good. I was going to go to a bigger community college about three hours from where I lived now, and I had enough money that my Dad left me to support myself for a few months until I found a suitable job. When I said that I had to go, she asked where I was going to stay. I told her I had no idea and that it didn't really matter. I would have to survive in the real world and that was the whole matter. I left her crying in the big muscular arms of her Spanish ex-boyfriend, and I headed towards the bus stop that would take me where I wanted to go.

The community college I was going to probably wouldn't let me transfer in that semester, but I would start after the summer. My grades were shit at my old school, so I didn't really care if they carried over or not.

Charlotte called me when I was close to the bus stop, hearing from Aaron that I was leaving. She called me every curse word in the book, and I deserved it. I apologized, said that it was my fault, and hung up. I had to accept that I couldn't always make people happy, and I wouldn't have done any good with Charlotte.

Me and her would have dated for a few years. I would never truly be into her, and we would finally fall apart when we went to different colleges. She might hate me now, but it was better to hate me now than in a few years when we could have had something that could have never lasted.

The bus came and went, and that was how my life in my hometown ended.

Not a very exciting ending, but that is how everything came to a close. My band was a failure. The friends that I had come close to were now gone from my life. The one girl I loved was now somewhere probably in Korea having sex with my best friend. The one girl that did want me now hated me for being the biggest jerk on the face of the planet.

While sitting in the bus, looking at the people beside me and just blending into the surroundings, I felt good. I felt like I was safe. With my two bags of clothes in one hand, and a bag of random crap like my laptop in the other, I felt like I was making the right decision. Maybe I could really change.

Maybe, if you open your eyes, you can really change your shitty and predictable life into something you're proud of living.

Just maybe.

A year has passed since then, and I am now working at a local karaoke bar by my apartment. It's a horrible place that smells constantly like beer, sweat, and piss rolled into one, but I get paid good money for cleaning it up. My apartment is a one room apartment that can only fit the essentials, but I was happy living in my contained space.

I went to college after the summer, and I knew no one there. For the first time in my life, I had no idea who any of the people were, and they didn't know who I was. I didn't walk in and become the most popular person, but I began to get more and more friends.

I talked to people now. From my experiences with Lucas, Lee Won, Chelsea, Lauren, Charlotte, and even Tony, I learned how to actually start conversations and not feel afraid of putting myself out there.

I talk to my old friends from time to time. Lucas is still at my old community college, and he is still rolling along with horrible grades. The good thing is that he finally got a girlfriend. Bae Lee, Lee Won's sister, had a huge fight with Takeshi, it seems, and Lucas was hanging out with them, Aaron and Chelsea when it happened. Takeshi tried to actually punch his own girlfriend, Lucas stepped in, and jumped out of his chair. Chelsea said that he showed the most energy that he had ever seen Lucas give, and Takeshi was begging for Aaron to pull Lucas off when it was all over.

Bae Lee was wooed by his strongman capabilities, and they started dating shortly after. From time to time, he'll send me a picture of her in the shower, or her in bra and panties, texting me that she was all his. He would never change.

Chelsea and Aaron continued to have a strong relationship, and after Takeshi was kicked out of the group for his actions against Bae Lee, she took over as the new lead singer.

Tony, from what I last heard, was still a douchebag who wore tuxedos, still did coke, and was having sex with girls he didn't even know the names of.

Takeshi, after getting kicked out of the band and losing his girlfriend, vanished. He left the academy he was going to, and no one had heard from him since.

Charlotte, still mad at me a year later, was starting to give up on being pissed. We talked often, me still saying sorry for what I did, and she would respond by calling me the worst one night stand ever. She wasn't dating anymore from what I heard, and I hope that one day me and her could become good friends.

Finally, Lee Won and Lauren. The last time I got any information from them was a few months ago in a text message that Lee Won sent me. They had gone farther than the Los Angeles trip, and he said that they were now in New York. Lee Won was actually sporting a beard, and he and Lauren were giving a peace sign in the picture. He told me that we would see each other soon, and he was happy to hear that I decided to move out on my own.

And that's about it. That covers the whole end of my story. All the puzzle pieces were put together, and everything sorta worked out in the end.

Walking down the halls with the mini guitar that I got so long ago from Lee Won, I stapled up a flier on the school's bulliten board.

On it, it said:

'Want to have some fun? Why not join a band! Tryouts on Thursday in Room A156.'

And so ends everything.

That was lots of fun. Again, sorry if my writing didn't seem perfect. I basically wrote down every part and then posted. I didn't edit or proofread anything I wrote. I thought it would be more spontaneous that way.

Thanks for reading.