//------------------------------// // Track 11: Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t // Story: Heavy Rock // by CoffeeMinion //------------------------------// ~ \m/ ~ Hey Hi How bad was it after I left? Spent half the night talking my family down off a ledge Sorry. I’m a dope. Good thing you're cute :-) Thought you were gonna call Stuck helping with a study group. Haven’t been able to get away. OK to plan over txt? I guess You like spicy food? Yeah Got us a table at a burrito place next to a club we can jam at. Owner’s going to let us in off-hours. Fancy place? Sorry, no Good Pick you up at 7? No ill meet you there You sure? It’s no trouble You can drive me next time Charlie ~ \m/ ~ Limestone clutched the open car door in the fading light. She studied the exterior of the burrito place; it was run-down, at least as much as the streets surrounding it were. It didn’t look nearly as well-kept-up as the club next door. It did smell pretty good, though. She looked down at her clothes, and grimaced. Each of her sisters had had an opinion about what she should wear, and they’d each offered part of the ensemble she’d ended up in, partially because she didn’t own any clothes that seemed presentable. The bright periwinkle pants were Pinkie’s; Maud had given her a thick grey belt; and most mysterious of all, somehow Marble had produced a really comfy and snug long-sleeved brown cashmere shirt. The only downer was Limestone’s own work boots underneath the whole thing, because she had the biggest feet of all of them. “You okay?” Pinkie asked from behind her. “Yeah. Just thinking.” She glanced back at the burrito place. “Why here?” Pinkie scrunched up her face into a thinking look. “Well, it’s pretty close to CHS, so it’s popular and Flash might’ve been here before. And it’s cheap enough to fit a student budget. And it’s an easy walk to that club where you’re going to play.” Limestone frowned. “None of that sounds terribly… romantic.” Pinkie gave Limestone a wide-eyed look. “You care about romantic?!” “What? Romantic could be nice.” “You’re silly. Are you so worried about what it might not be that you’re afraid to find out what it is?” Limestone slammed the car door. “Are all of you taking relationship advice classes behind my back? Because you sound like it.” Pinkie giggled, put the car into gear, and drove off. Limestone shook her head before walking to the burrito place and pushing through the door. A small bell jingled overhead, and soon the smell of spicy meat and hot tortillas washed over her. She closed her eyes momentarily to savor it. When she opened them again, she saw a row of scratched wooden tables lining a room painted a dingy, fading yellow. People filled the tables—likely students, judging by their youthful, acne-filled faces. As she stood there, she attracted several curious looks from the patrons. “Oh, hey Limestone!” Flash called from a table near the back, standing and waving at her. A brief hush rippled through the conversations at the various tables, and for an uncomfortably long moment all eyes turned to study Limestone. She felt naked standing there under their gazes. Soon enough they looked away, returning to their fellows with quieter but more intense whispers. Limestone felt heat rising in her cheeks, then in her chest as well. They were talking about her. Some still looked at her. It wasn’t like it had been at the open mic night, when she had been riled-up and on the attack; that had given her all the advantage she needed to face a room full of strangers. No, this time she was caught off-guard. All the anger in the world couldn’t save her from their looks and whispers. So she did the only other thing she knew would release that pressure: she turned and bolted out the door. Crisp evening air filled her lungs as she set off down the sidewalk. She struggled to keep her mind from playing-back what had just happened and instead focused on listening for the one sound she knew might help to make it better. It finally came: the telltale metallic push of a door, followed by the jingling of a small bell overhead. “Limestone, wait!” Flash called after her. Her retreat faltered. She looked to the side, seeing an alley that ran between buildings. She ducked into it and stopped, feeling her arms and legs shake as she waited near the mouth of it. Limestone tried to steady her breathing as she waited. She listened as she heard the sounds of Flash breathing and his shoes on the concrete. He came around the corner and stopped. “Hey, what was…” He paused, watching as Limestone fought to keep from shaking. “Limestone?” “They were looking at me,” she said through gritted teeth. “Talking about me. Making fun of me.” “No, it’s not like that,” Flash said, taking a step toward her. Limestone drew back a step. “Don't you get it? I’m this really old basket case who doesn’t know the first thing about dating, and I get mad all the time, and I…” She paused, took several deep breaths, and loaded another proverbial round into the chamber. “What do you want out of life?” Flash furrowed his brow. “What?” “You want something. Everybody wants something. I want to know what it is.” He put a hand on the back of his neck. “I suppose, but if I tell you, will you tell me too?” “Maybe.” Flash sighed. “I don’t know. I guess I’m sort of doing what I love right now: going to school, hanging out, maybe jamming with you?” She gave him a low growl. “No, not school stuff; I want to know something real!” He shrugged. “I mean, honestly, this is what I like doing. What’s wrong with liking what you do?” Limestone pressed her eyes shut. “Believe me, I know how that feels.” She opened them again. “But that’s not good enough, right? Especially not for you. I mean, I like what I do at the quarry, but then I’ve got a real job. You’re just a high school kid.” He frowned. “‘Just’ a high school kid?” She rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, you know that you’re living in a bubble right now and it’s going to pop someday. What’s your plan for when it does?” Flash frowned at her. “To be honest, I don’t know if I should share if that’s how you’re going to play things.” “What do you mean?” “You… basically stand me up at the burrito place and fly off the handle at me with all these questions when I’m just trying to find out how you’re doing and if everything’s okay…” “Well, maybe things aren’t okay!” She scowled and pointed at him. “Don’t try to change the subject!” “No, I think I want to know what’s going on here. At least if you’d come out and tell me, I would know what I’m up against.” Limestone fumed. “I’m not against you.” He pointed at her. “Well, you’re the one who’s leading a merry chase on what’s supposed to be a dinner out together. What am I supposed to think?” “I don’t know, but hopefully you’ll think more than you did last night when you embarrassed me in front of my whole family.” Flash huffed. “I told you, I apologized! Was it really that bad, though? I mean, are you embarrassed about the surprise or embarrassed about me?” Limestone threw up her hands. “Pick one!” “Limestone…” Flash stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I can’t do this. I think there’s something actually bugging you, but we’re not going to get anywhere if all you do is attack me.” She took a few breaths, and felt some of the anger begin to subside. “I just… I don’t do crowds. Well, maybe I do. Sometimes. But only on my terms.” He nodded. “Okay, look, I’m sorry about the burrito place. Doubly sorry ‘cuz it’s actually pretty good and I’m hungry. I had no idea that it was going to be a problem for you.” Limestone looked down at her heavy work boots. “I’m not embarrassed about you. Well, maybe I am. But it’s not you. I mean, it’s not who you are.” She met his eyes. “So far, I think I actually like who you are.” Flash gave her a small smile. She leaned back against the wall, then looked at him. “I feel old, Flash. And I don’t know what I’m doing, either at dating or at life. I missed all this stuff when I was your age.” She paused. “Harmony above, I’m saying things like when I was your age.” “Limestone, I don’t care about that. In some ways you’re kind of where I am right now; you’re trying to figure out what comes next. Besides, I mean, it’s not like you’re thirty or something.” She gave him a half-smile. “So that’s your weirdness threshold?” He shrugged. “I think it’s more like a case-by-case basis thing. And you’re not old, Limestone. You’ve got time to figure out whatever you need to.” Limestone frowned. “Do I?” She slid down onto her bottom, holding her head in her hands. “Flash, people I trust, people I love, are telling me that I need to figure out more, and I… I think they’re right.” Flash took a step toward her, but then paused. “Is that what’s really bothering you? Well, I mean, other than the burrito place thing.” She nodded. “I think, honestly, I really like you. But I’m not going anywhere in life! I just get up, go to work, come home, go to bed…” He smiled as he squatted down before her. “That kind of sounds like the way I’ve heard people describe adult life.” Limestone raised her head and gave him a flat look. “Come on, you know what I mean. Flash, what are you going to do after high school?” He blinked a few times, and furrowed his brow. “I don’t know. I guess I was going to try to figure that out sometime this year?” “But you don’t just know?” “Do you?” She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again, and buried her face back in her knees. After a moment, she felt the warmth of his hands close around hers. She looked up, finding his smiling face very close to hers indeed. “They say that you should do what you love,” he said quietly. She raised a hand and touched the back of his head, at first gently, but then fully enveloping her fingers in his hair. “But what if I’m not sure if what I love is good enough?” He gave her a smile that filled her world with the light of his blue eyes. “Would I sound totally lame if I asked whether you get to choose what’s good enough for you?” “What if I’m afraid of what everyone else is going to think about me?” She paused. “What if I’m afraid of what I’m going to think about me? What if I’ve never really thought about it before, and now I can’t stop thinking about it?” Flash gently reached up and took her hand in his. “Look, this is where I’m probably supposed to tell you to be true to yourself, or some kind of happy crap like that. But I don’t know, Limestone. Sometimes you don’t see the whole picture all at once, and that has to be okay, right? Because what else are you going to do?” “What if that’s not very satisfying?” He sighed, settling into a long-suffering half-smile. “I’ll tell you what, how ‘bout if we deal with hunger for the moment.” She squeezed his hand tighter. “I don’t wanna go back in there.” “Okay, I can go get us something.” Limestone squirmed slightly, giving him a plaintive frown. “It’s all right, I don’t really want to leave you either,” he said. “Why don’t we hit the club, start rocking out, and just order in from the burrito place? I think they can deliver a couple hundred feet.” She smiled. “Now you’re talking.” Flash helped Limestone up to her feet, and they walked back out to the street, then down a couple doors. They stopped at a plain tan door that didn’t have a knob on the outside. Flash pounded on it a few times. “You know the owner?” Limestone asked. Flash smiled. “I know he lets people in sometimes if you slip him some cash and promise not to wreck things.” The door pushed open and out poked the head of a heavyset man with bright white skin and whose hair and thick mustache were blue-and-white-striped. “Ah, is you. Come,” he said in a thick accent. “Thanks, Mr. Stripes.” The man let them into the club’s dark backroom, let his gaze linger on Limestone for a few moments longer than seemed appropriate, then shrugged and headed off down a hallway. “Nice guy,” Limestone said, gritting her teeth. “Come on, you can beat some manners into him later. I already dropped off my stuff. Let’s get you set up with your bass so I can call in our order.” They walked out from the backroom into the main floor. Limestone shivered as she looked around at the darkened rows full of tables with chairs stacked on them. The stage at the far end of the room provided the only source of illumination: a single canister light from up above. Flash looked at her and seemed to sense her trepidation. “What is it?” She slowly looked all around the place before settling back on him. “It’s not like it was at the cafe, you know?” He nodded. “Yeah, the crowd gives you a certain energy.” She sighed. “No, I mean, what am I doing here? I had a really good time, but am I just trying to recapture that feeling? Shouldn’t I be…” “I thought we were taking this one step at a time,” Flash said. Limestone turned from him and walked down the long row of tables, stopping at the foot of the stage. She saw Flash’s guitar and the black bass set neatly on stands, with the vague outline of a drum kit at the edges of the pool of light from above. With a deep breath she stepped up to the stage and took the bass in her hand. “I’ve always liked using my jackhammer,” she said, apropos of nothing. Flash moved up next to her, looking alternately at her and at the bass. “That isn’t a jackhammer.” She frowned at him. “I know it isn’t a jackhammer. I just… do you know why I like my jackhammer?” He smiled. “Because you’re the kind of buff chick who could break me in half without even trying?” Limestone snorted. “No. It’s the vibration.” “Whoa, now.” Flash threw his hands up and took a few steps backward. “This is starting to sound like more than I need to know.” She gave him a look that was half-smile and half-stink eye. “Maybe I should break you in half.” “You better watch yourself.” He winked at her. “It might turn out that I’m into that sort of thing.” Limestone cracked up laughing. “You know… I was going to be all deep and meaningful about how playing bass has given me a connection back to something I know and love, but also forward to something new and interesting. But thank you, because it’s much better if we keep this at the level of innuendo.” His smile faded a bit. “I’m sorry. You just seemed like you could take it.” “Don’t be. I can.” They stood smiling at each other for a moment. “Well?” Limestone said. “Aren’t you going to… plug me in?” Flash laughed, then reached down to the floor and picked up a cable. He plugged it into her bass and walked over to a small soundboard at the side of the stage. “There. You should be live.” “Good. Now go make that call. I’m hungry, too.” “Know what you want?” “You said they had spicy. Get me big and spicy.” Flash pulled out his phone to call in their order. Meanwhile, Limestone plucked the strings of her bass, sending a low note echoing throughout the room. She frowned, turned up her volume knob, and strummed again. This time the depth and magnitude of sound made even the windows rattle. Limestone closed her eyes and played the handful of notes that she knew, savoring the rumbling intensity of each. She felt them, almost as much as she heard them. And as she lost herself among them, she couldn't believe how amazing they felt. Eventually she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she stopped, opening her eyes to see Flash standing before her, holding up a white paper bag. “Sorry to butt in, but food’s here.” “...Sorry.” Limestone blushed, turned down the volume knob, and set the bass back on its stand. “Kinda got into it.” He grinned. “I noticed. You know it gets better if you actually learn how to play.” She looked down at the bass, then back at Flash, and finally she set her jaw. “All right, then. How do I learn?” “Well, there’s lots of ways. You could get a book from a library or watch videos online, but of course at some point you’re gonna have to sit down and practice for a bunch of hours. Maybe a few every day if you’re serious. And it helps to have a goal.” Limestone grinned. “Hey, I’ve got a goal. How’s this: I want to play a show again. With you.” Flash’s eyebrows climbed. “You… mean like a real show?” Limestone nodded. “Yes. A real show. Real songs, real audience. Kinda like the first time, only planned. And with me playing.” He lowered the burrito bag. “I don't know, Limestone. It takes a lot of practice to get ready for a proper show; probably a couple weeks’ worth minimum to learn a few songs well. Plus, we’re just guitar, bass, and vocals; we’d need to pull in a drummer and maybe write some original music if we really wanted to get real. But then we’d have a band, and that's kind of a commitment on its own…” Limestone shook her head, smiling. “Well if you’re scared of commitment, why don't we just play a couple easy cover songs? You can pick whatever you think would sound good for us.” He looked around the stage pensively. “If I could get one of my friends to drum with us, it might be fun to play some classic metal songs as a three-piece. We could substitute Maud’s lyrics, too. I bet nobody under forty would know the difference. It might get kind of awkward having the third wheel, though.” “You know what, let me handle the drummer.” He looked at her askance. “You can get us a drummer?” She gave him a huge grin. “Well, she’s definitely the well-meaning, moderately annoying third-wheel type, but I bet she would jump at the chance to back us up.” Flash gave her a serious look. “All right, but I don’t want this to be all we do. I still want to go to dinner with you, Limestone. I want to take walks with you and talk about… the future, or whatever.” She put a hand on his arm. “All right, let’s just make this our side thing. Pick us out a couple songs where I don’t have to play anything too complex, and me and Pinkie can just work on them together at home.” “Cool.” He opened the bag and handed her a big, wrapped burrito. “No, this could be fun. I really do like playing with you. I just want us to keep talking. As much as some of the questions you’ve asked are uncomfortable to think about, the truth is that you’ve got a point.” They sat down together on the edge of the stage and started unwrapping their food. Limestone studied her burrito’s red-tinted flour tortilla before looking back at Flash. “I do, huh?” The question caught him in mid-bite. He hastily chewed, swallowed, and gave a quick cough. “Well, yeah. I mean, I really haven’t got things figured out for after high school. And I can say I’m planning to work on that, but the truth is that I’ve been saying that for a year or two now, and I’m not a whole lot closer to figuring it out.” Limestone took a big bite of her burrito. She ended up sucking in a deep breath as her mouth felt a fiery explosion of spicy beans, rice, cilantro, and peppers. “‘S’gud,” she managed. “Told ya,” he said, smiling. After working her way through the bite, Limestone set the burrito down and put a hand on his shoulder. “Well, okay, post-school life. Do you have any ideas?” He hunched his head a bit. “I’ve got plenty of ideas, but nothing solid. I mean, I like music a lot, but it’s hard to make a career out of that. I like studying, helping with stuff, hanging out with people… but that’s no kind of career either, right?” Limestone shrugged. “Sounds like you could be a teacher, or a counselor, or something. Maybe a cop?” Flash paused, then frowned. “I don’t know. That’s not really a job, right? You’re pretty much committing yourself to being that.” “Depends on what you do with it, I guess.” Limestone eyed her burrito again. “What’s more important: finding some ‘real job,’ or finding something that you actually like doing?” He looked at her. “Well, what about you? Still just want to work the quarry?” “I don’t know. Maybe I could buy it off my dad someday, let him retire, hire on a bigger crew…” “Sounds like you’d need to know some business stuff to do that.” She nodded. “Well, it’s like you said: you gotta figure it out one thing at a time sometimes, right?” He smiled. “I did say that, didn’t I?” Limestone took a deep breath. “Flash, there’s still one other thing I haven’t told you. About Maud, and the lyrics… and me.” “Hold on. Let me get a couple more bites in on this thing before you blow my doors off.” She rolled her eyes as he wolfed down half of his burrito, then gave her a thumbs-up. “Look Flash, the thing is, I wasn’t really sure about this at first. It was Maud who had a really big crush on you, and she put me up to doing this whole thing.” Flash smiled. “Yeah, I know.” “You… what?! How?” He shrugged. “Like I said, I remember when Maud was an upperclassman at CHS. She keeps pretty quiet, but she’s got some ‘tells’ that you can read if you look closely. Kinda like with you, where right below the pissed-off surface layer you’re pretty much an open book, and a lot more anxious than angry.” Limestone shook her head slowly. “You know, Charlie, it’s a shame that you and Maud didn’t hit it off. Sounds like you’re one of the few guys out there who would get her.” He smiled. “Maybe, but I like the fact that you speak up and come right at me; I don’t think I could handle the silent treatment. Now are you gonna finish that burrito so we can get on with jamming?” “I thought you’d never ask.”