VAl's POV

Huntington Beach Middle school, my kingdom! I only share the royal treatment with my twin sister, Michelle. We rule this place. You know why? Because we can! Daddy makes sure we have the best of everything. We wear the best designer clothes & shoes. We have perfect hair, perfect makeup, perfect teeth... well you get the picture... we are the shit!

I enjoy the praise of our minions as I walk the halls. Everywhere Michelle and I go in this school, someone sings our praise. Even the douche bags, unfortunately! Case in point, here comes Brian Haner, or Junior as I like to call him because it pisses him off. I also like to call him Loser, but I save that for special occasions.

He actually has the audacity to walk straight up to Michelle. What balls! And, he doesn't stop there, oh no, he actually speaks to her. "Hey Michelle, hey Michelle's sister. Michelle, I was wondering if you would like to go the the school dance with me on Friday night"? He actually asked HER that? Really? At least he showed the proper respect when he addressed her and he didn't make eye contact with her. Yeah, we are princesses, deal with it!

Michelle looked at me and giggled. Was she serious? "Oh hell no, Loser. She would rather be caught dead! And my name is Valary, by the way. " I answered for Michelle because she had obviously lost her mind. Haner shot me a hateful glance and then turned to Michelle with an expectant look in his eye. Wow, he was clueless! I slowly walked up to him and smiled at him. He gave me that little smirk that he had just realized made most girls melt. I put my hand on his arm and looked him in the eye as I said, "Haner, you are so far out of your league. Do you really think that she would go out with a loser like you?" AS IF! He stared at me for a few seconds before he spun around and walked off calling me a bitch over his shoulder. Wasn't the first time I've been called that, won't be the last. What can you do?

Michelle watched him walk away before she said, "You know, maybe we shouldn't be so mean to him. Daddy plays with his dad and he is getting kind of cute with that little smirk thing he does." "Oh My God, Michelle. Don't even think of slumming it. His dad makes less than half of what Daddy does. He can't even make a living playing music, he has to teach to pay the bills."

After last period, we were walking to our lockers when we passed Leana Silver. Yeah, that's her real name. It's actually kind of perfect for her because it sounds like a stripper name and that is probably exactly what her career will be. She was wearing the same clothes that she had on yesterday. How disgusting can you be? I guess I couldn't expect any better out of her, after all, her dad is dead due to a drug overdose and from what I hear, her mom is a crack whore and a dealer. Let's suffice it to say that Leana is NO where near our league!

Just then, Michelle peered through the window of the principal's office and said, "Look, Brian and Jimmy Sullivan are in trouble. I wonder what they did." I just rolled my eyes and replied, " With the Freak Jimmy, it's hard telling. He's so spastic HE doesn't even know what he's gonna do until he does it." "I bet whatever they did, it was good." I looked up to see Zack Baker leaning next to Leana's locker. "Oh look, the Emo kid speaks", I say nonchalantly. Michelle broke into a fit of giggles as Matt Sanders, another loser friend of Leana & Zack's, walks up to us. He is the tallest boy in middle school and he towers over me, but I won't back down... I'm royalty! " Why do you have to be such a bitch, Valary?" Matt asks me with a sneer on his face. If I didn't know any better, I would think that he hated me... Nah, no one could hate me. "Because I can, Sanders", I reply.

Matt and I were glaring at each other when Zack asked Leana if she knew what Brian and Jimmy were in trouble for. She shrugged and said, " I think they got into a fight in woodshop. I heard Brian screaming that Jimmy could have caused him to cut off his fingers on the saw." "That would be a shame." Zack said as he messed with his hair. "He's not a bad guitar player."

I had heard Brian play before. His dad lived next to us and our dad went over there sometimes to jam with Brian, Sr. Daddy said that Brian, Jr. had real talent. I looked at Zack for a second, (hum, he's really not too bad to look at), before I asked, "How do you know he can play Baker?" Leana spoke up before Zack got a chance, "Because Zack plays too, and he's awesome". "Awe, thanks Leana. You're pretty good yourself." Zack replied with a slight blush. Wow, were they flirting? Yuck! Wait, did Zack say that Leana played an instrument? "Leana, what do you play?" I asked. She dropped her head, a little embarrassed, and replied "drums". Ok, wasn't expecting that...

At just that moment, Jimmy and Brian came out of the principal's office laughing with one arm slung around each other. Didn't they just get in trouble for fighting? Now they act like they're best friends. "How bad was it, Jimbo?", Matt asked. Jimmy just laughed and said, "Easy peasy!" Then he looked at Leana and scowled. "What are you doing with her Baker?" , he asked. "Woah man, she's cool. She's a drummer too", Zack said as he moved a little closer to Leana. Matt and Brian both looked at her and said, "Wow, maybe you can jam with us sometime." Jimmy lost his mind at this statement and turned into the screaming, spastic freak we all knew he could be. "I'm not jamming with no girl Haner. Especially her!"

Leana's mouth fell open as she looked at Jimmy. "What the fuck did I ever do to you, Sullivan?" "You are a glory whore!" Jimmy screamed. Well, if that wasn't the whole pot/kettle thing! Brian laughed and slung his arm around Jimmy's shoulder. "Come on, Jimbo. Let's go jam like we talked about." Brian said as he turned to Matt and Zacky and asked it they were coming too. Zacky looked at the guys and then back at Leana before he answered. "No man, you guys go ahead today. I'll catch you later. I got something I need to do today".

As I watched Matt, Brian, and Jimmy walk down the hall all the color drained out of the scene. The walls of the school looked liked the color was running off of them. I looked at Zack and Leana and then at Michelle. They were all black and white. There was no color anywhere. Then the walls and floor started to shift and change. I closed my eyes for a second to regain my sanity. What the hell was happening. When I opened my eyes, I was standing in our foyer at home, but everything was still black and white.
I watched in horror as Mom opened the front door. The terror that I felt as her hand grabbed the doorknob was paralyzing. I couldn't move and I couldn't scream to make her stop before the door opened. At the door stood two police officers. They asked if Mom was Debbie Dibenedetto. I wanted to scream at her and tell her not to answer, but I couldn't make a sound. Mom replied that yes she was, in fact, Debbie. They then asked if Nick Dibenedetto was her husband. I tried to scream again when she said yes. I couldn't make a sound.

One officer put his hand on Mom's shoulder and said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry to have to inform you that your husband has been killed in an auto accident. Can you come with us to identify his body?" I fell to the floor and finally screamed.

"Valary. Val. Wake up you're having that nightmare again. Val, it's only a dream. WAKE UP!" As I slowly opened my tear streaked eyes, I saw my sister standing over my bed crying. She gave me a sad smile and sat on the edge of my bed. "Did you dream about Daddy again?" she asked as she wrapped me in her arms. All I could do was nod. The pain was still too great. I relived the moment almost every night. The only problem was that it was a real memory. Michelle hugged me tighter and said, " It will get better with time. You'll see. Your heart will eventually heal". I gave her a small smile and replied, "My heart won't ever heal. I don't have one. They buried it with Daddy." That was three years ago now and our lives have never been the same.

As I finally come out of the devastating effects of the nightmare, I looked at Michelle. She was wearing a barely there cut out dress and my Jimmy Choo 6" stilettos. "Wow bitch, you look good enough to eat." I say with a smirk. "Who are you planning on fucking tonight?" Michelle just laughs and tells me to get out of bed and get ready. "Wear something really Hot. There's a party at the old warehouse. There's a couple of new bands that are supposed to be playing tonight and I want to go check them out." I got up and headed into the bathroom to try to do something with my hair and face.

I hear her rummaging thru my closet. She comes out with a triumphant grin and my black leather leggings and my red leather halter top and matching red stilettos. I give her a suspicious look and ask, "So who is playing tonight? I swear to God, if I have to listen to another wannabe bunch of high school boys who think they can play, I'm gonna go off and shove someone's guitar up their ass."

Michelle looks down and mumbles something which I can't hear. "Michelle, who is playing?" I ask again. She finally looks at me and says that she thinks the Avenged Sevenfold guys are playing tonight. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I scream. Michelle slaps her hand over my mouth and tells me to shut it before Mommy Dearest and Captain Dickwad hear us.

Our mother wasted no time in finding a new man after we buried my dad. She also turned into an evil, sadistic bitch. Thus the loving nicknames Michelle and I have for her and her boyfriend, David. If she caught us, there would be a beating, but we didn't fucking care. We had taken beatings for less.

As I finished getting dressed, I look at Chelle. "Did you get all dolled up for the Avenged jackasses?" She turned so I couldn't see her face before she answers. "No, I got dolled up because I needed to feel good. And, I thought that we might be able to find a drummer for our band tonight. There's supposed to be a lot of people there."

Well, maybe she was telling the truth, and we were looking for a drummer. Michelle and I had learned to cope with our grief by playing music. Daddy had taught us both to play the guitar and Michelle had learned to play bass. I stuck to the guitar and I have to admit, I wasn't too bad. Mr. Haner, next door would teach me a few things sometimes if he heard me practicing out on the back deck. He really was a great teacher and he sort of looked after Michelle and I after Daddy died. That would have been great except that his son, Brian was over at his house all of the time, and Junior was a huge pain in my ass.

I'm not saying that he wasn't talented, he was. The problem was that he knew it. And, he had perfected that little smirk of his which he had discovered in middle school. He had a reputation of breaking high school girl hearts with that smirk. I have to admit, he had definitely grown into something nice to look at. I was, however, impervious to the smirk because, as everyone will tell you, I have no heart. Typically, we just gave each other wide berth and three hail Mary's. Although, I have to tell you, now that he had let his hair grow out and started wearing black eyeliner, he could make my lady parts moist.

I slipped my shoes on and opened my window as quietly as I could. We sneak out all of the time so we have the routine down pat. I slip out the window and Chelle tosses me our purses. I help her out the window. We're gonna have to take the bus because we can't risk Mommy Dearest hearing us take the car. "I fucking hate taking the bus", Michelle complains. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and whisper, "I know but it beats another beating." She only nods.

When we get to the warehouse, the parking lot is full. "Damn, if this place doesn't get busted by the cops tonight it will be a miracle. Stay with me and be ready to run if we need to. And, don't lose my fucking shoes." I say giving Michelle a glance. She knows what those shoes mean to me. They are the last thing Daddy bought for me before he died and I will never be able to afford another pair of Jimmy Choo's. She only gives me a small nod as her eyes scan the crowd. "Who are you looking for?" I ask. She blushes and tells me no one in particular. I'm not buying that bullshit for a second, but I let her be.

The next thing I know, two red solo cups appear before our eyes. I look up to see bulging biceps and tattoos. Oh, great... Matt Sanders and Brian Haner, Jr. have found us, but hey, at least they brought us drinks. "Thanks Junior", I say as I take my glass from Brian. He gives me a snarky smirk before he says,

"You're welcome Bitch 1". He then turns to Michelle and says, "Hey, Bitch 2, how are you?" Michelle flips him off and turns to Matt, who is waiting to hand her a drink. As she takes the drink, she looks up at Matt thru her lashes and says a quiet thank you.

Is she blushing. Oh, we are so having a chat after this.

Since Haner is still standing in front of me gawking, I ask him who all is playing tonight. He looks me up and down, gives me a smirk, and says that they are getting ready to go on stage. "Why don't you and Chelle come up closer to the stage so you can see how real musicians play", he says as he adjusts his fedora on his head. "Fuck you, Haner", is all I can get out. Damn he looks good tonight. Maybe I'm not impervious to his smirk after all. I mean, the total package is seriously something to look at.

He grabs me by the hand and leads me to the makeshift stage. I reach back to grab Michelle's hand, but her and Sanders are gone. Where the fuck did she go now? And, why with Matt? When I get up front, Brian kisses the back of my hand and winks at me as he jumps onstage and grabs his guitar. "What the fuck ever", I snarl at him. He smirks at me in response. Damn, that does have an affect on the moisture down south.

Michelle finally joins me as the guys start to play and Sanders starts to scream. "Where the hell have you been?" I ask her. She just blushes and says something which I can't understand. We stand by the stage watching the guys play, and I hate to admit that they are pretty good. "Is that Johnny Seward playing bass?" I ask Michelle. "Yeah, he's not half bad", she replies. "Who is playing drums?" I ask because I can't see from where I'm standing. Before Chelle can answer, Leana Silver yells at me, "That's Jimmy Sullivan". "The Freak?" I scream at her and she only nods. "Wow, Zack Baker can really play too". Leana just smiles and nods at me.

I lean over to Leana and yell that I'm going out for a smoke. "You want to come with? I want to talk to you about something." Michelle hears me and knows instantly what I want to talk to Leana about, she just gives me a smile and nods. Leana said "Sure". I turn to Chelle and ask if she coming too. "No, I'm gonna stay here and watch the show", she replies never looking at me. In fact, her eyes never left the stage.

Leana and I make our way outside and light up. "What's up?" she asks. "Well, Michelle and I have decided to start a band and we were wondering if you still played drums?" "Yeah", she replies. "Well, we need a drummer. Would you like to jam together sometime?" I ask her. She gets a huge smile on her face and replies, "Hell Yeah!" About that time, we hear sirens. Shit Michelle, I gotta go find my sister!

Notes

So, this is my first fanfiction story...But, with the help of my Amazing co-writer, KWally2, I think it's not too bad.

I am having a blast writing it with her and we hope you enjoy it. Please let us know what you think. :)