Chapter Text
As I felt the sway of the music luring me closer to it, all I could think about was how far I have come. For as long as I could remember, I've always been a metal fan. My father raised me on bands like System of a Down, Korn, Seether, all because they were his favorites. I never could understand the lure of it fully until I fell down a rabbit hole of studying these bands and even learning some instruments of my own to deeply understand it, as my dad once had. I surrounded myself with like-minded people more and more each day, building our own small community that flourished into becoming a family. There was one friend in particular, Ivey. They had automatically become my best friend, ever since they moved into the same town as me. We shared classes and our lives together. Ivey and I even moved in together so we could go to the same college.
"Hey, Avian, would you possibly want to go to a concert with me tonight?" Ivey poked her head into my room, wearing a big goofy grin on her face.
I looked up at her, confused by the grin on her face. "Why are you just now asking me?" I put down my notes and closed my computer. "Wait. Did you already buy two tickets and get stood up again?"
Her smile dropped a bit, and I sighed. "Okay, I'll go with you. What's the band called and what genre are they?" I asked, standing up before going and walking to my closet to look for an outfit.
"The band is called Ghost and they're a metal band. I really think you'll like them, since their basic theme is a satanic church. The lead, Papa Emeritus the 3rd, is a satanic pope. Also, the people who play the instruments are called Nameless Ghouls and they look so cool!" They had a smile on her face, obviously passionate about this band.
I turned to look at Ivey as she explained the band. They sounded interesting enough. "Let's play some of their songs so I can get a feel for what they sound like." It would feel bittersweet going back to a concert since the accident happened. I rubbed my hands as they felt sore. Ivey turned around as she heard the plop of my clothes and hangers on the bed. I had grabbed a pair of ripped black jeans, a red button down and a grey and black stripped vest I left unbuttoned. I got dressed and put my black boots on, putting cushions in and wearing thick socks, knowing that my feet would be sore. Afterwards, I did my normal makeup and waited for Ivey to get dressed.
I smiled softly as I felt myself blush a bit as they stepped out, dressed in a gorgeous emerald green and black cocktail dress with complimenting accessories. She had matching black combat boots and was wearing a stunning green, black, and gold eye look with black lipstick. Ivey was always stunning to me, but even more so now with the outfit she was wearing.
"Oki doki, I'm ready, so let's head out." She smiled softly, grabbing my hand as she dragged me out the door and into her black 2015 Jeep Wrangler. We blared music as we went to the concert, multiple genres playing.
We were finally here, after 45 minutes of driving out to the rather small venue. I was nervous as Ivey began dragging me to go to our spots. She has gotten us a spot right at the front, close to the exit in case I needed to leave prematurely. I smiled softly, knowing she had just chosen this spot, thinking of me. Ivey excitedly slapped my arm as the band began their concert.
As the band continued on, I felt myself dissociate as I bit the inside of my mouth slightly and began tapping my fingers against my thigh slightly. I had only realized that my eyes had drifted to the stage when I heard a familiar song play. Looking up, me and the lead singer made eye contact as he continued to sing his song. Ivey was jumping up and down excitedly, saying words I could no longer hear as the man pointed to me before grabbing onto my hand gently. As he finished his song, the mysterious man left, and I felt a small card in my hand. I pocketed it, however; I felt the weight of it the rest of the night.
"Oh my god, Avi, you got chosen!" Ivey bounced on the balls of her feet and held onto my arm as we stood, waiting for the line to move after the concert. "I'm so jealous of you! That was legitimately so freaking cool!" She had a huge grin on her face.
We had finally made it back to the house. As exhausted as I was, I told Ivey I was going to bed and went off to get ready for bed. Taking off my clothes, I felt the corner of the card poke my side through my vest pocket. Pulling it out, that same wave of familiarity hit me once again as I read the card.
"Meet back at the venue on February 20th, at 2:30 AM, sharp, if you were chosen." Rolling my eyes, I laid the card down and finished getting ready for bed. I tried to drift off to sleep, but to no avail. My thoughts were soon consumed by the note as I checked the time. 1 AM, just one and a half hours left before the card expires. After a few minutes of contemplation, I put my clothes back on and snuck out though the fire escape. My nerves were on edge while I drove to the venue. Once I got there, I grabbed my switchblade and phone and left, walking up to the venue's doors.
2:30 rolls around and one of the members, Ivey called them ghouls, walks up to me and beckons me to follow them. I did as they wished, keeping a hand on my switchblade in my pants pocket. After we got inside, they lead me through some areas until we were backstage. Everyone was packing up and the lead singer was nowhere to be found until I heard a voice behind me.
"Thank you so much, Mountain. Please go finish packing, now." The tall ghoul left, as the lead singer leads me to a room off to the side. It was his dressing room, I thought, seeing as it had some of his stuff in it. "You must be wondering why we asked you to return here."
"Such an accurate guess." I crossed my arms, looking at the strange man. "Why am I here and why do you seem familiar?"
"I can not answer that last question, but I can answer the first one. My name's Terzo, and I am the face of this band, Ghost. It is a project that the Clergy we work for began decades ago. We wish for you to join us, seeing as our ghouls felt a pull towards you this evening." I tensed up, taking in all that he had just said.