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Trine
The gig is just okay, but the band sounds great.
The crowd isn’t that into it tonight for some reason, but it doesn’t matter because the only person I’m really watching is Dr. Rei Woods. He doesn’t get up from his spot, and no one crowds around him, miraculously. I’m not sure why.
He's sitting there, saying nothing, while everyone avoids him. He taps his foot to the beat of the music, his arms out on the picnic table behind him. He looks incredibly comfortable, even though I’m pretty sure that has to hurt his back.
The crowd is moving back inside now that the music is over except for the people who are smoking, since everyone wants to go to the bar so they can get drinks. Bryony tilts her head toward Rei. "Are you going to keep him waiting?" She asks with a smirk.
"I need to tear this down," I say.
"Oh no, you don’t, babe," Sierra, our guitarist, flashes me a huge smile. "It's just a bass. How hard can it be? We got this. You barely play anything anyway."
I laugh. "I hate you," I say, looking into the crowd again. "Just because you guys would go home with the first guy that looks your way doesn't mean I would. I have standards."
"Slut shaming," Kelly says as she finishes unplugging her keyboard. I look up at her to protest and she’s pinning her hair up in a messy bun. "How retro."
"Why are you so nervous?" Alana says softly, standing up behind her drum kit. She’s taking her earplugs out as she speaks, and she always drops her voice right after a gig–which is annoying, since I can’t hear much after a show. "He’s cute."
"No, he is, it’s just…" I trail off. I don’t know if I want to get into it. I don’t know if I want to tell them that he was one of the exorcists. They’re already sort of weirded out by the whole thing. I sigh, rubbing my temple instead. "He’s one of them."
Sierra snickers. "You realize how that sounded, right?"
I feel my cheeks reddening again. "No, I meant, he’s one of the exorcists," I say.
The girls stop moving. They’re suddenly crowding around me, their voices overlapping. They’re concerned. I haven’t told them much about it, but they know it was traumatizing.
"Okay, well, I guess creep comes in all packaging," Bryony says. "Do you want me to get Dev to kick him out?"
I shake my head. "No, let’s not bother the bouncers," I say. "Look, I invited him. He’s not being a creep. He…"
They all quiet down, surrounding me. I can feel the warmth rolling off them as they encircle me, our own weird little version of a sports ritual. They’re just being protective. I know I should be grateful.
"I want to get as much information out of him as possible," I say. "And he’s the least scary one of the three of them."
"Do you want us to follow you?" Alana asks.
I shake my head. "No, but I appreciate the offer," I say. "How about this? Call me half an hour after I leave, and I’ll give you a code word if I need you to bail me out."
"What word?"
"Nerves," I say. "Wait, no. I might let that one slip. Hm…"
"Ska," Alana says. "Everyone’s intentional about ska."
We all laugh. Bryony grabs my hands in hers, her white-and-black clip-on nails chipped. "You don’t have to do this. There are other ways to get answers."
"Right, but are theysexierways to get answers?" Kelly says, dropping her voice. "I mean, I don’t think so."
Sierra shakes her head. "Just give her a second," she says.
I mouth a thank you at her, and they stop surrounding me. "Okay, go," Bryony says softly. "Before you change your mind. I’ll make sure to take your gear home. I’ll let Dev know you need to keep your car here overnight."
"We might not sleep together," I reply.
Bryony puts her hand on her chest. "Somehow, this night is getting more tragic by the minute," she says. "At least get some dick. Pretty sure he owes you."
Alana puts her hand on my shoulder. "Make sure to turn on location sharing before you go," she says. Alana is tiny—barely five feet tall—with a huge head of teased blonde hair and a slim face. Somehow, she’s also one of the scariest people I’ve ever met.
