It had been nearly a day since I had spoke to Leah, her invitation still vivid in my mind. As dusk began to approach, I felt my excitement begin to grow, tingling in the tips of my hands and fingers. Anxiety tried to get the best of me, but I stomached it and pulled my phone up.

I swiped my finger across the screen, the familiar click of it unlocking ringing out. I hesitated a moment before I thumbed down the contacts icon and scrolled down. With one small flick, I reached her entry. It wasn't that hard to find anyways. My phone barely held anything in the contacts menu. You may have forgotten, but I'm a bit of a loner.

I giggled at the picture I was presented with. It was the same look on her face that I had remembered from that night. A gentle and warm smile, radiating a happiness that was seldom acquired. I brushed down to the dial out menu, pushing the call button. I panicked for a moment, realizing that a text may have been a much better alternative. Would she hear the nervousness in my voice?

As I was trying to make a last minute decision, I saw the screen flash that the call was connected. Too late now to back out. I held the phone up to my ear and managed to mutter a greeting through my shackled breathing, "Hello?"

"Hello? M is that you?" Yep, it was her. I quickly regained my nerves before there was a long enough pause that it would be creepy.

"Yeah, it's me. You mentioned before that your band puts on shows during the weekend. I know it's kind of quick to respond that kind of invitation, but I found out that I won't be going in for work until Monday so I figured I'd take you up on the offer." Despite my best attempts, I still sounded rattled.

"Oh. Oh!" It was as if she had forgotten about what I was talking about. Either that or she was just surprised by the fact that I had responded so quick. "Um, we're actually playing a show tommorow night if you're interested."

Tommorow night huh? While it would be the following morning that I would have to go to work, I didn't think it would be too much of an issue. I had always been a night owl anyways.

"Yeah, I don't see any issue. Er, where is it anyways?"

"We're playing at a place called Metronome. It's near the downtown area. If you want I can probably send for a cab to come get you or something. You'll get in for free that way."

A cab? Was she serious? I had never heard of the place but I didn't want her to go to all that trouble. It couldn't be that hard to find anyways.

"Um, no that's alright. I'm sure I can find it myself."

"I wasn't asking. Besides, you're a friend remember?"

My request was rejected. So much for trying to be accomodating to her routine. The tone of her voice told me I was taking a cab whether I wanted to or not. I wasn't used to being bossed around like that, but at least it was out of a pure intent.

"O...okay. You'll need my address won't you?"

"Nope. Went ahead and got that stuff too when I added myself as a contact." I didn't know if I felt violated or creeped out. When did she even have the time to do that? I had watched her flick her fingers across the screen when she took my phone before, but was she really fast enought to get all that information?

"Leah. That's kind of creepy you know."

"That's ironic coming from a guy who calls a girl to come to her concert after only a day." Ouch, right in the ego. I couldn't tell if she was kidding or not, but I heard the giggling come forth shortly after. She was definitely a teaser. I simply laughed it off. At least I had a friend with a good sense of humor.

"You don't have to be so direct about it you know. You were the one buried under a pile of books." I began to laugh myself. I thought back to the image of her being buried under the books, legs flailing in a feeble attempt to escape. I only made myself laugh harder.

"Hey, it wasn't that funny mister. Anyways, I'll send a cab out around 7. We don't go on until 9 but I figured it will give you time to meet everyone that way."

"Wait, I have to meet the others?"

"You sure do." Before I could respond, she had hung up the phone. I felt my nerves come back to me. I wonder what her bandmates would think of her bringing in some outsider like a close friend? Would they shun me or be as outgoing as she was? I pushed the worries from my mind and put my phone away.

I flopped down onto my couch, the material gasping as it was compressed under my weight. Outside my apartment window, I could see it getting dark. Dusk was slowly turning into night and I was left with nothing to do. I tapped my foot momentarily and eyeballed my 3DS that was sitting on the table.

While I had gotten out of gaming for the most part, there were still some things I kept with me. A handheld system was perfect for me considering I was always out and about. There were also some nice series on handhelds that I could let myself become immersed in.

I flipped the 3DS open and gazed at the screen. Before me was a game I had left suspended beforehand, Monster Hunter. It was a game I had become intrested in out of curiosity and once I had dove into it, often invested my free time in. I'll spare the details however. After a few hunts, the night was growing late and I felt myself beginning to become groggy.

I laid the 3DS back down on the table and made my way to the bedroom. After briefly changing into pajamas, I faceplanted into my bed. I glanced at the clock to my side. 4:30 a.m. How soon that my sleeping habits would change. I sat the alarm for 11 a.m. and dozed off into a deep sleep.

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The day had passed more quickly than I thought it would have. I had done some grocery shopping throughout the day, trying my best to kill time until later tonight. As I made my way back home, it felt as if time was crawling to a standstill. Traffic was clear all the way back, and the taxi driver even gave me a discount for some odd reason. The day was feeling too happy.

As I put the groceries up, I glanced down at my watch. 6 p.m. Time to go get changed and freshen up. After all, I didn't need to show up at a nightclub wearing a suit. It would just feel odd. Something more casual would be suitable.

I pushed through what few outfits I had in my closet. From what I had, I placed a loose fitting dress shirt together with a pair of black dress pants. Ok, so maybe not fully casual but close enough. The clothes framed my body well enough anyways.

I looked in the mirror at my hair. I had let it grown down to my shoulders over the past year, and the wave it developed let a sleek shine bloom across its dark strands. At the risk of sounding like a narcissist, I actually didn't look too bad. I gave it a quick brush and left it be.

I rubbed my hand across my chin and felt the rough edge of stubble. While I had once sported a beard, I found it was alot less of a hassle to deal with if I kept a smooth face. I broke out the razor and quickly cut it down. After spritzing on some cologne, I headed out the door and waited for my cab.

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About 10 minutes after 7, I saw a taxi roll up to the sidewalk in front of my apartment. I walked over to the car and the driver rolled the window down. 

"I assume you're Martin?"

"Yes sir, that would be me."

"Alright, hop in. Ride's going to be about 30 minutes."

I gave the driver a nod of acceptance and hopped in the back. The cab was nothing special, just your typical yellow exterior, black interior design. As I buckled up, we rolled away from the apartment and towards my destination.

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As the cab driver stated, we arrived in 30 minutes, give or take. He pulled around to the back of the night club and pointed to a man standing by the rear entrance, "He'll take you where you need to go. Don't worry about payment. Your friend already took care of it."

I felt my pride be injured somewhere inside. I didn't like the idea of others paying for things for me. I quickly let it go though and bid farewell to the driver. 

As I walked up to the man by the door, he put a hand out, "Guessing you're Martin?"

"Yeah, just call me M though."

The man gave a nod and opened the door behind him, "First door on your left when you go in. They're still getting ready for their show so try not to interrupt them too long."

I gave the man an uneasy nod and proceeded through. Inside, it was a long dark hallway with various musical related posters decorating its walls. The floor was black marble, similar to the walls. As I kept walking, I noticed a set of golden double doors on my left. This must've been the room he was talking about.

I hesitated for a moment, not sure if I should knock on the door or enter right away. Before I could make a choice, the doors swung open, sending me flying backwards and crashing to the floor.

"Oh god, are you alright?" I recognized the voice right away. It was Leah's. At least I was in the right place.

"Yeah, I'm fine. This floor is softer than it looks." It really wasn't. It hurt.

"Good. I was just coming out to see if you had arrived. Here, let me help." She reached down a hand and helped pull me to my feet. I quickly dusted the back of my pants off.

"Yeah, the cab showed up just like you said. It's still weird that you know where I live."

"Forget about that. Why don't you come in and meet everyone?"

I felt that familiar sensation return to me. I wasn't exactly anti-social, groups just tended to put me on edge if I wasn't familiar with them. Leah being present should've made me feel better, but they were her friends so that point was mute.

As I stepped through the door, I was greeted by a bright light. It was coming from an overhead light that was just a little too bright in contrast to the hallway outside. As my vision came back, I looked around the room. Leaning up against the wall was a younger man with white hair. It was tucked up under a blue beanie, giving him a rough look. His tan skin was hidden under an olive t-shirt with japanese romanjii characters, a blue hoodie covering that. Following up his outfit were a pair of cargo pants with white sneakers to boot.

He was tinkering with a black bass guitar, its shine like that of a midnight sky. The neck was adorned with a grafitti like writeout of the word Lonely. It was actually pretty cool looking despite its plain design. 

"That over there is Weston. He's our bassist." Leah pointed over to another person that was working on a rather large drumset.

"The girl over there is Penny, our drummer if you couldn't tell."

I looked at the girl Leah had pointed out. She was lean, her arms toned from her drumwork. Her pale skin hurt my eyes as it shined from the glare of the light overhead. She had shoulder length black hair with purple streaks throughout it. She was wearing a plain black tank top with a large letter L scrawled across the front. Completing her look, she wore a pair of black skinny jeans, clinging to her as if she had jumped into water with them on.

"Oh, there's one more but she's outside somewhere. She's our keyboard player, Macey." My thoughts spiraled as to what appearance she would take. They hardly looked like they belonged in a band honestly. You know what they say about looks though.

"Um, Leah. Who's your guitarist?" I had assumed she was their singer from the way she had spoken, but I hadn't heard her mention anything about a guitarist. 

"Oh silly, that would be me. Did I not tell you before?" 

"Wait...you sing and play guitar at the same time?" It wasn't unusual to see artists who had this talent, but I was kind of shocked after the incident at the bookstore. Was she actually coordinated enough to do that?

"Sure do. We used to have two guitarists, lead and rhythm, but our rhythm guitarist quit awhile back. Said it was a pointless dream to chase and it was time for her to find a real job."

"Oh. Wait, is Weston the only guy in your band?" I hadn't really thought of it, but with Leah included, that made it 3 girls and 1 guy. It just seemed unusual for some reason.

"Yeah. He's actually Macey's little brother. He's been with us since the beginning. The rest of us have been childhood friends so it was only naturally that this came out of it."

Childhood friends. It must be nice to be able to talk about that. I wasn't ever going to be able to relate to it. I felt a little glum at the thought until I was brought back to reality by Leah's decision to shake me by my shoulders.

"You should go talk to Weston. I bet you two would be good friends!"

Nope, not how I was going to approach it. Before I could counter her statement I felt somebody punch me on the shoulder from behind.

"So you're the fellow that our little Leah befriended." 

I turned and faced the puncher. She was tall. Really tall. I looked up to her face, her green eyes staring down at me. Her hair was shaved on one side, the black stubble poking through the pores. On the other side of her head, her hair was laid over and had one bright, neon pink stripe running through it. She wore a denim vest with various patches, a black tank top worn underneath. No way she was with them.

"Oh, Macey. You're back earlier than I thought."

"Yeah, I got a good look at the crowd out there. They seem pretty excited. Shouldn't be anything new we haven't done."

Turning her attention back to me, Leah quickly grabbed me by the hand. "Follow me, I'll show you the floor."

As I was pulled away from the new faces I had been introduced to, Leah pulled me further down the hallway and around a bend. At a split in the hallway, I was forced to go down the right path and emerged out from behind a set of red curtains. We seemed to have startled the bouncer standing on guard.

"Don't worry Carlos, I'm just showing my friend here the club."

The man offered no response and Leah carried on. What lay before me was something I was unfamiliar with. The stage was set up above the dance floor but still to the point where you could watch the show. The floor itself was lit up with differing LED panels, creating a swirling array patterns. It was like watching an acid trip be played out.

Behind the floor were an array of booths, menus stacked on each table. The nightclub also doubled as a restaurant apparently. It was a nice convenience, although I felt as if the dining idea was probably less favorable to those who came here. If you were here, you didn't come to eat.

People were already populating the club itself, the floor lined with anxious concert goers. The bar itself was busy as well. I chuckled at the thought of how many people would actually remember tonight. At least I wasn't going to be like them.

"So, what do you think?" Leah had been anxious to hear my thoughts on the setup itself.

"It's...overwhelming. I think, at least."

"It's really a sight to see when a group's up on stage pouring everything out to the crowd. Don't worry though, you'll get to enjoy that in a bit."

I glanced down at my watch. It was already 8 p.m., one hour until Leah and her band would take the stage.

"I hate to leave you here, but with everyone back now we need to get ready for the show. If you want you can take a seat at one of the booths. I'll be looking for you when we come out."

At the end of her statement, Leah took a brief turn and departed. I wanted to beg for her to take me with her, but I knew it was important that they properly prepare. After all, I didn't want to be the reason that they might fail in setting everything up.

I wandered over to a nearby booth and took a seat. Within a few seconds, I had grown bored of the radio stream that was being played overheard for the club goers and whisked out my cell phone. As I began flipping across the various news readings, I caught the vision of someone sitting down at the booth with me out of the corner of my eye.

"Fancy seeing you in a place like this. You said your name was M right?"

I glanced up to see who had decided to invade my space by sitting down at the booth. The blonde hair immediately stuck out to me and I recognized them right away. It was my soon to be coworker, Abigail. Why was she here?