Unholy Confessions

"Don't touch my goddamn guitars!" Brian yelled as Kayla skipped down the steps. I was in the studio with Hollie after the car shopping went better than expected.

"Whose sexy car is that?" Kayla asked, sitting on me.

"It's mine," I said, coughing jokingly and laughing. I pushed her off and she picked one of Brian's guitars off its stand. She knew which ones she was allowed to play with, even if he always said not to.

"How much was it?" she asked, already only half listening. She was basically the Jimmy of our group; she was always energetic and happy and crazy, but when she was playing, she was dead to the world. Brian has gone on the record to say he'd rather her play his guitars than me because she at least knows what she's doing. I agreed with him.

"Too much," I muttered.

"Oh, Court, come on," Hollie said. "You've had your other one since you got your license anyway."

"I liked it, though," I pouted.

"Play with me, Hollie!" Kayla exclaimed, getting frustrated by the eerie background silence.

"I'm too lazy," Hollie whined.

"Remember the band?" I asked suddenly, smiling with the memory. They returned it, remembering also.

The three of us along with our two other musical friends, Cheyenne and Ava, formed a little cover band. It was just for fun and for one club in town, but we developed a bit of a following. Eventually school got the better of the group and we called it quits.

"That was so fun," Kayla said, tapping her feet excitedly.

"How much coffee have you had?" Hollie asked, grinning at her.

"Not enough! Because we're gonna play!"

"Excuse me?" I asked, scrunching my eyebrows together.

But Hollie and I already knew her mind was going a million miles a minute with a plan forming.

"Yes!" she said, standing up and rushing to put the guitar back. "You still have our masquerade masks, right?"

"Yeah..." I said slowly.

"So we're gonna go! Shrutty's is always open for Many A Masquerade to play!"

"Hold on," Hollie said, instantly stopping Kayla in her tracks. She had that way about her, always the reasonable one a step ahead. "When's the last time we talked to Ava and CC?"

"Like last week," I said, thinking.

"It's Saturday! So CC doesn't have class tomorrow and Ava is probably free," Kayla concluded. "I'm gonna call them!"

Before anyone could say anything else, Kayla was running up the stairs and outside. I looked at Hollie, knowing what she was going to say.

"What are you going to tell Brian?" she asked quietly, noting the open door.

"I'm not sure yet," I said, sighing and looking around. Neither of us said anything until we heard Kayla freaking out all the way back to her chair.

Brian had no idea the band existed in the first place.

"So we have to get the masks and our stuff and Shrutty's will be ready in about a half hour and-"

"Kayla," Hollie said assertively. "Breathe."

Kayla shut up and took some deep breaths, but she had that smile plastered on her face.

I stood up, averting my eyes from Hollie. "I'm gonna go look for the masks, then."

Kayla started up again, talking about how excited Ava and CC were when she called. I listened as I made my way upstairs to find Brian. I knew exactly where the masks were, they weren't my main concern right now.

I found him in the living room, watching an alien documentary. "Bored much?"

He muted it, giving me a warm smile. "I don't know what to do when you're busy."

I looked around, unsure how to say it.

"What's going on?" he asked, picking up on my hesitance.

"We're gonna go have a girls' night," I said.

His eyebrows scrunched together. "What's wrong with hanging out here?"

I shrugged. "They wanna go out clubbing or whatever, I guess."

"Are you going to be drinking?"

"I don't know yet, maybe."

"Who's the DD?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn't like me drinking away from him, so I knew what he was getting at.

"You can't go, Brian," I said. "It's called a girls' night for a reason."

"Where will you be?"

"I don't know, but I'll tell you as soon as I find out."

His eyes went to the screen as I stood there. "Okay. Have fun." I could tell he wasn't happy. After he ignored me for a minute, I rolled my eyes and went upstairs to my room. I pulled the masks out of my desk and took them back to the studio, ignoring Brian as I walked past him.

Kayla was babbling and Hollie gave me a concerned look. I just shook my head at her and put the masks in my bag.

"So I'm going to run back home to get my guitar and I'll meet you guys there," Kayla said.

"Can I just use one of yours tonight?" Hollie asks. "I don't feel like going back home for mine."

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Fine," she huffed. We all walked out of the house and Kayla got in her car while I got into Hollie's with her. It was easier to just drive together, plus it would give us a chance to talk.

Once Kayla had pulled out on to the road and started driving, Hollie did the same.

"So what did he say?" she asked.

"He wasn't happy," I said. "Because he can't go? But he's gone out with the guys before without me. How is that fair?"

"It's not."

"Exactly," I said. Neither of us said anything before I noticed the worried expression she had. "What?"

"Most of what he does isn't fair," she stated, "so honestly, I'm not totally surprised that's the reason. And I'm glad you don't care and that you want to do your own thing, but I'm still scared for you."

"He'll get over it-"

"Will he, Courtney?" she said, slightly louder. I could hear the anger in her voice. She took a deep breath as she pulled in to the bar's parking lot. "Just don't let Ava know. She already hates him."

"She does not hate Brian," I said, undoing my seatbelt as Hollie cut the engine. "She just heavily dislikes him."

She chuckled as we walked into the club and saw a crowd already forming.

"Please tell me this isn't for us," I said, looking around.

Hollie was already on her phone. "Looks like Shrutty's posted about us playing tonight."

"Fantastic," I muttered. We made our way to the backstage area where a worker stood a the door, preventing anyone from going back there.

"And who are you?" he asked. He didn't seem too intimidating and he couldn't have been much older than myself. He had that fauxhawk fade haircut and light blue eyes.

"Many A Masquerade," I said as he looked us over. He spent more time on me and cocked his eyebrow.

"Anybody could say that. Names?"

I hated giving my name, so Hollie stepped up.

"Hollie Levesque," she said. "Rhythm guitar."

"Great, you're in," he said, stepping aside. I went to walk in after her but he stepped back over. "Not you."

"All right!" I exclaimed. "My name is Courtney Haner, vocals."

He smirked. "That's all I wanted." He stepped to the side and I walked pas him, slightly annoyed. I shook it off and found Hollie getting ready along with Ava and CC.

"So I took the liberty of bringing some of our old clothes," CC was saying, pulling fabric out of a huge duffel bag. She looked over and smiled at me.

"Court!" Ava exclaimed excitedly, rushing over to hug me. "I'm so glad we're doing this!" After hugging, she stepped back and gave me a serious look. "Brian isn't coming, right?"

"He's not, but please stop hating him," I murmured.

"One day," she said and skipped away. I walked over and CC shoved clothes at me.

"And your best stage outfit," she said proudly. I held it in front of me and let out a breath. A tight black shirt with rips all over, short denim shorts, black fishnet tights and rainbow combat boots.

"You're lucky I wore a camisole under my shirt, Cheyenne," I said, smiling lightly.

"Who cares if you're not?" she said. "I'm sure no one would mind seeing you in a hot pink bra!"

I rolled my eyes as Kayla walked in.

"Did that guy give you a hard time, too?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not at all. Maybe it's because he though you were cute."

I shuddered internally. Last thing I needed right now was a guy coming onto me.

We got dressed and threw on some extra makeup that wouldn't be covered by our masks and donned them once we were done. We looked awesome; so good I was worried.

All of our equipment was set up, now we were just waiting for 8 PM to hit.

*** BRIAN'S POV ***

My phone rang about ten minutes after Courtney left with her friends.

"Yo dude," I said to Matt.

"Hey, what are you guys doing tonight?" he asked.

"Court's out with her friends, so I'm not doing anything," I chuckled. "Kinda waiting for her to call and say they're too drunk to bring her home."

"Do you wanna go out, too? Just until that happens, I guess?"

"Like the guys?" I asked, thinking. Maybe we could find which bar they went to... "Where did you have in mind?"

"Anywhere," he said, "as long as there's alcohol."

"I'm in," I said. "Meet you at your house?"

"Sounds good, man."

We hung up and I left, heading to his place. Luckily I had a car big enough to fit all of us.

He was sitting on his porch steps when I pulled up. He climbed in and started rattling off directions.

"Where is this place?" I asked.

"A little bit out, but there's live music and apparently there's some good cover band playing tonight that everyone is going crazy over," Matt explained.

I pursed my lips, thinking. "Courtney said she was going to a club, I doubt they went to the same place."

"Dude, is that the only reason you wanted to come out?" he asked. I felt his eyes on me. "You can't be like that."

"Be like what?"

"If she wants to have a night out with her friends, you can't shadow her. Just let her have fun."

I shrugged. "I just don't know if I trust them, let alone any guys there."

"I'm sure she's fine, man."

Neither of us said anything else for the rest of the drive, but once we did get there we saw the others had beaten us there. There was a huge line coming out the doors, but I guess a major perk to being in Avenged Sevenfold meant guaranteed access anywhere.

Zack, Johnny, and Brooks had already gotten us a table on the side, and it actually seemed like we weren't the big focus.

"So who are they?" Matt asked as we sat down and were instantly met with someone to get us drinks.

"From what I've gathered," Zacky started, "it's an all girl band with scene names and masquerade masks, hence the name Many A Masquerade."

"But they play everything from Avenged to Green Day to Hollywood Undead," Johnny said.

As soon as he finished talking, the lights dimmed and the crowd went crazy. Whoever these chicks were, they made a name for themselves.

They all walked out, decked in the masks, ripped clothes, and teased hair. They all had different colored masks, the lead singer's being half glittery purple, half matte purple. Something in my heart tugged at me, but I thought it had something to do with being guests at a show like this instead of the main attraction.

The guitarist started "BYOB" by System of a Down, and I knew we were all interested to see how these teenage girls would pull this off. Their energy was insane, with them all running around and the singer was everywhere. Her screaming was on point and she sounded like the song was meant for her. The more I watched her, the more confused I felt. Something was off.

When they finished the song, she flashed a huge smile that I knew I'd recognize anywhere.

"Oh my god," I said as she giggled into the microphone.

"I'm Courtney Catastrophe," she introduced, "and we are Many A Masquerade."

The guys whipped their heads to look at me, but I couldn't move. How was I supposed to feel right now? Proud? Angry?

As I looked, I knew who everyone was. I knew Hollie and Kayla were the guitarists, I knew Ava was the bassist, and I knew Cheyenne was on drums. I knew the whole band and had no idea.

They started playing a song I hadn't known, but it was great, of course. Anything she did was great. She had unbelievable energy that I didn't know was there, along with emotion so raw I couldn't understand how I didn't know.

During the solo of that song, she had disappeared to the side where a worker had talked to her. I wish I knew what about.

When she came back to sing, her energy had deflated the tiniest bit but I didn't know if anyone else could tell.

Once that song ended, she kept the mic at her lips.

"So not to blow up their spot or anything," she said, "but I've just gotten word that Avenged Sevenfold is here tonight."

The crowd screamed but no one turned to us like I thought they would. Her eyes were on us, though. On me.

"Have fun guys," she said with a small smile. The intro to "Hatefuck" by Motionless In White started and Matt nudged me as he leaned in to say something in my ear.

"At least you know where she is."

Notes

I'm so sorry for not updating for so long. I got so stuck but I had a great idea the other day so hopefully I'll be able to post more especially since my classes are done until January 2.
Introducing lots of new people, I hope you like them.
Why do you think the guy gave her such a hard time?
Thank you so much for sticking with me and merry Christmas!