Page 2 of Disharmony

I shove my earbuds in and hit play. The raw vocals and pulsing beat of my favorite band send a wave of calmness crashing over me instantly. The Basilisks new album came out a few days ago, and I’ve already memorized the lyrics to every song. Those guys are heavy metal gods.

The Basilisks are true artists. There are three of them in the band: Ripper, Zed, and Venom. I’ve been obsessed with them for the past six years, and they’ve only gotten better. As much as it makes me sound like a crazy fangirl, I swear their songs were written just for me. There’s a brutal honesty to their lyrics, a true sincerity that tears my heart open and turns my knees to jelly. When I was stuck in a dark place, the Basilisks guided me through it. They understood when no one else did. Without them, I might not even be here now…

Storming out of the house is childish. But there’s only so long I can suffer through Dad’s clumsy attempts at talking to me about the F-word. Feelings. He’s only trying to help, but it’s as uncomfortable for him as it is for me. He’s never been good at dealing with emotions. That’s why he and Mom made such a great team. Where Dad and I have always been reserved, choosing to blend into the background, she was the life and soul of a party and could make anyone smile.

Up ahead, a group of young kids point and laugh in my direction. One of them mouthsmetal face. The goth girl is always easy to target, right? Having a septum and tongue piercing makes me stand out in this conservative town. I pull out one earbud to give them a piece of my mind. The little shits will think twice before ridiculing someone for looking different when I’m through with them…

I pause my music and open my mouth to yell but notice something else is amusing them. A beat-up old truck crawls along beside me, honking its horn incessantly.

“Hey!” Brick Langford, my oldest and best friend, leans casually out of the window. Despite being a death trap, the rust bucket he’s spent the last year restoring is his pride and joy. Thankfully, he only drives it around town. It wouldn’t survive a trip on the highway. “Your dad told me you went out.”

I narrow my eyes. “So, you’re stalking me now?”

“Come on, Ash.” The traffic is building, and other drivers are growing irate. In typical Brick-like fashion, it doesn’t faze him. Nothing does. He’s an easygoing, relaxed guy, who always has a lopsided grin after a bad day. How does he make everything look so damn easy? “Why don’t you let me give you a ride home?”

I keep walking at the same pace. “I don’t want to go home.”

“Let’s go to the diner then,” Brick suggests. “My treat.”

I roll my eyes. The diner is one of the only decent places left to go in town, but he’ll have to do better than that.

“Fine,” he says, reading my mind. He knows me too well. “What if I told you the Basilisks are livestreaming a concert tonight? We can watch it together.”

“Nice try,” I smirk. He may be talking shit, but it’s a nice gesture. Brick isn’t a metal fan, and sitting through a Basilisk gig would be like torture for him. I’ve tried to get him to listen to their albums, but he thinks their songs sound like people murdering each other. It’s a good thing we’ve known each other since we were in diapers; otherwise, his opinion would be a friendship-ending offense. “Do you really think I wouldn’t know if they were playing?”

“Get in the damn car, Cooper!” A driver from the car behind yells. I recognize him as one of the town’s deputies. Goddammit! That’s another thing I hate about living here. Being the sheriff’s daughter means I can’t even take a walk without my dad finding out I’ve caused a hold-up. “Some of us have places to be.”

“What’d you say, Ash?” Brick shoots me his famous smile, responsible for making half the girls in our high school swoon. He’s the guy they all wanted to date. “Please?”

“Fine.” I glower at him. “But only because you said please.”

* * *

“You know this is kidnapping, right?” I cross my arms and my black hair falls over my face like a thick, lifeless curtain as we fall into our favorite booth in the diner. I tried curling it this morning, but it never takes long for it to return to its usual poker-straight position.

Brick laughs and orders me my usual. Diet Coke, fries, and a bean burger. The diner is the only place that has vegan options, and their burgers are the bomb.

The waitress blushes as she writes our order on her notepad. I recognize her from school, but she’s a year younger. She struggles to meet Brick’s eyes. He has that effect on people a lot. He has the whole sandy-haired country boy look going on that makes girls crazy. She glares at me as she leaves, and I know what she’s thinking. Why is he with her? Up until a few weeks ago, Brick was the star quarterback, and me? Well, I’m the weird chick who once tried to pierce her nipple for fun… which is not something I recommend anyone try.

“Your dad’s worried about you, you know,” Brick says.

“When isn’t he worried about me?” I roll my eyes. Being part of law enforcement has made my dad overprotective. The guy taught me how to use pepper spray when I was in kindergarten for crying out loud. Luckily, the teacher wrestled it away from me before I had a chance to unleash it on the kid I’d been forced to share the sandbox with. “He needs to back off. When I’m in that house, I feel like I’m suffocating.”

Our waitress returns and almost trips over her feet, turning a deep shade of scarlet as she sets down our drinks. If Brick notices, he doesn’t let on.

“He cares about you, that’s all. He doesn’t want…” His voice trails off, and I shoot him a warning glare. We aren’t talking about that. “Look, if this camp doesn’t want you, then that’s their loss. They know nothing about music.”

“And you do? You remember I’ve seen your playlist, right?” I scoff. “Without Camp Harmony, there wouldn’t be a music business.”

“All I’m saying is that there are other options,” Brick says. “You always knew there’d be a chance you didn’t get in, right?”

“Of course, I did,” I snap. But knowing it was a possibility and having it confirmed are two different things. At least before, I still had hope. “You know as well as I do that this rejection means my future is over.”

“I’m sure my dad could help you out with a job if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Brick’s father owns the biggest construction firm in town, which Brick will inherit one day. His whole life has been planned out for him since before he could walk, and he’s happy to go along for the ride. Brick wants to stay in this town. Of all of our differences, that’s the one I’ll never be able to fully understand.

“This isn’t about a job.” I sigh, swirling the straw around my glass. It’s a kind offer, but working on the phone in his dad’s office isn’t exactly what I had in mind. Brick, like my dad, has never understood that music is literally what I am made to do. It’s my reason to get up in the morning. If I can’t do that, I’ll have no purpose. “This is about my life.”

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