a/n: Quick retcon: Jake is now named Zach. ) Not a biggie, as he only has one mention in the last story… but there you have it. On with the tale!

Alex grimaced as they strolled down Seaport Boulevard, still politely babbling about nothing, without any real conversation going on between the three of them; although Birdy would, once in a while, look at him quizzically, then chuckle – a very manly chuckle, he thought – and look back to Courtney, who seemed oblivious to these odd going-ons. But he wasn't grimacing over this rather avian specimen of a female; he was preparing himself for the inevitable. Any second now, Trevor was going to jump up from the ever-oft crowd, waving his arm in the air to get his friends' attention, like the hundreds of other goons bounding about in similar fashion – Trevor wasn't a goon, of course; why would he make that comparison? – well, maybe a bit of a goon, but not really – and then Courtney was going to catch his eye, be a silly teenage girl and overreact.

She didn't disappoint. As soon as she saw him, her ear-piercing squeal shattered Alex's right eardrum, then took off in an effeminate sprint, palms down, arms rigid by her side, and the soles of her shoes nearly kicking the remarkably tight seat of her pants.

Are you even aware of the term 'self-control'? his conscience ventured.

Shove it, Alex barked in response. Coarse and uncouth, but ultimately effective.

Same to you, his conscience replied. Alex reminded himself for the second time that day that he had to be easier on himself.

Refusing to gallop ahead, Alex dug his hands into his pockets and strolled forward, gathering where his friends were from the ripple of activity caused by Courtney's zealous assault on Trevor and Birdy's (manly) jog tailing behind. For a minute he considered her rather like a puppy, then dismissed it and decided he didn't know enough about Birdy to determine how much she depended on Courtney just yet.

Alex pulled up alongside Trevor, quietly, not seeing any reason to interrupt his awkward dance around Courtney. Sure, they hugged, and she jumped up in the air so his back bent backwards, even causing his longish brown hair and emo-esque bangs to flip backwards, effectively making it like one of those terribly lame scenes where the two lovers run across the field and one jumps into the other's arm, before being swung around by the other. Only, in this case, the two lovers were two immature teenagers, the one gorgeous, ditzy and persistent, the other tall, scrawny, awkward and unable to say no.

That, of course, was as much as Alex could perceive: Trevor didn't seem all that interested. Furthermore, Alex was privy to the information he was secretly pining for another girl, a good and mutual friend of theirs, one Tessa Schrego. He was also aware that Trevor was quite the ladies' man, incapable of saying "no", and terrible at breaking up. Hence, his passive-aggressive, indecisive stance towards Courtney.

She would rest her head on the shoulder of his vintage red sweater; he would look at Zach and gesticulate while talking, making Courtney's head bob uncomfortably up and down until she moved it. She fumbled for his hand; his smile became forced, and he continued his over-exuberant emphasis with the other hand, letting her keep the other. She talked to him, and he'd reply in monosyllables, before trying to go back to another's conversation.

Birdy was doubled over laughing at her own secret joke. Alex had meanwhile engaged Cameron in asking where the band was, which they had ostensibly ditched him to go meet with (not that he actually accused them of anything, just, that, you know, he was… curious.)

"Eh, they didn't show," he said, to Alex's utter lack of surprise. It made sense; he had been sure such ridiculous logistics were impossible.

"Shame," he said, cocking an eyebrow, as was his habit when anything quizzical came his way, even though this wasn't really quizzical and he wanted Cameron to believe he hadn't seen this coming from a mile away. And then he realized his new physiognomy made it look an awful lot like he didn't believe Cameron, and dropped the eyebrow. Why did no one understand him?

Suddenly, he was being accosted by Trevor. "Sorry about leaving you back there, dude," he said, face twisted into a grimace that was apparently supposed to pass for an apologetic smile, but as Courtney crushed herself against his left arm, he was finding it difficult to hold his composure. Birdy was hovering right behind Trevor on his other side. "And I mean, like, the band didn't even show? What the hell?" He shrugged.

"Yeah, really," said Alex, thinking he sounded far too… vulgar. "Well, what can you do?" He felt bad for Trevor, he really did, but he had nothing to distract Courtney with and would have to wait for an excuse to pull him away. He waited for Trevor's reply.

"Hey, Court, can I ask you something?"

Damn her! Alex's head snapped around to face Birdy, who had just upstaged him. He had wanted to help distract Courtney from his friend. Now all Trevor's thanks and relief would be directed at Beak-Face. You're a jerk, you know that? his conscience said, pointedly, before adding: Are you really that mad at her for that? How needy are you?

Very, he replied, not seeing any reason to lie. God, how he hated that girl.

Courtney pouted, looked at Trevor, who was still nodding to Alex's "What can you do?", then followed Birdy away, who was making violent motions with her head and quick jerks of the hand to indicate this question was private. Alex frowned at their backs, and Trevor exhaled, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow, watching them walk away as well.

"She's pushy, you know that?" he said, looking back to Alex. "I mean, she's cute and all, but… I dunno, man."

Alex resisted the urge to tell him she had come only to see him. Even if he hadn't already figured that out, he had no reason to let him know that. He wasn't a completely devious ass. But something was nagging him. "Well, why'd you invite her?" Blunt worked for him, he thought. Beating around the bush was just so… tiring.

Trevor sighed again, frowned, and shot a glance downward before looking at Alex with an exhausted look on his face. "I didn't," he began. "Me and Cameron were talking about the concert at lunch" – he jabbed his thumb towards Cameron, who was talking with Zach about the respective prices of their new boards and whether they should buy more Sexy Ride Glue – a horrible example of marketing relying on 'clever' word play and sex to sell flippin' board wax, Alex thought – "and then Courtney and her friend came over. Courtney got super-excited and stuff, and said how much she loved Malibu Trainwreck and how she was going to the concert too, and then asked how we were getting there. Well, I told her, and she asked if she could come along with us, and I figured why not? But I didn't invite her."

The first thing that came to Alex's mind was the absurdity of no one seeming to call this Birdy woman by her given name. The second thing was the appallingly simple way Courtney had lied to Trevor, so pathetically cliché and boring, but so effective at the same time. Of course Trevor wouldn't say no. Not that there would have been a nice way to do that, but this Courtney girl knew how to exploit her men. She dropped another rung from "Stupid Teenage Girl" to "Evil Teenage Girl".

"Well, she seems nice," Alex said. It wasn't a complete lie – she seemed very friendly and effervescent, like any other girl in the lot who wanted some action – but at the same time, he decided he wanted this drama to unfold. No reason for him to complicate it.

"Yeah, I know she is," he said, sounding hurt at the thought Alex had somehow obliquely denied he should've been so adamant about how he did not encourage her to join them. But 'nice'? Quite the perceptive one, wasn't he? "I mean, I actually think I'd like to hook up with her tonight, but I dunno."

Alex had his first non-Birdy related unpleasant surprise of the night. What the hell was he talking about? "Tessa no longer on your to-do list?" It came to him a second too late that that was a double entendre. Damn.

Trevor balked and flung his head over his shoulder to make sure neither Cameron nor Zach had heard him. They hadn't, as they were both engrossed in trying to elicit the attention a well-endowed blonde member of the fairer sex, while a large, backwards-hat wearing, uber-jock in a red shirt approached them from behind. Alex had a trill of joy at the thought he was the girl's boyfriend and he was about to see something funny. But Trevor managed to arrest his attention with a violent hiss. "Don't talk about her!" he said as loudly as whispers allow. "Besides, I'm over her."

Dirty liar, Alex thought. The very fact he was so nervous was proof of that. But he let it slide. "I'm sorry; I just didn't know you were over her." 'Cause you aren't. "But you don't seem to be all that into Courtney? I mean, what's the deal?"

Unfortunately, her same self came back at the moment, making a reply impossible. Thankfully, she seemed like she hadn't heard Alex's comment. She took her place on Trevor's arm, exacerbating the worry Alex had just put there. Alex, meanwhile, felt an overwhelming sense of evil wash over him as something pulled alongside him. Birdy had seen fit to stand next to him, and was now bouncing on the balls of her feet, looking up at him with upturned beak and black eyes. Black like dolls' eyes; as in the shark from Jaws' eyes. What a terrifying little creature.

He exaggerated, of course, but comparing her to a shark seemed apt, and her brown eyes were an awful dark shade of brown. He pulled his face away from hers and turned to face Zach and Cameron, who were walking back, looking awful shaken up. The red-shirted jock was now macking it with his girl. "So, would you guys like to go on in now? I'm sure the concert has to start soon."

"Actually," said Zach, addressing Alex for the first time since he walked over, "we can't go in yet. They're not opening the doors for another ten minutes."

"Then… why did we get here so early?" he asked, eyes widening in terror. Ten more minutes? It sounded horrifying, with all this estrogen nearby.

"To board in with the no-show band," Zach grumbled. He, like Alex, appeared horribly crestfallen, though for an entirely different reason.

Alex gulped. Terribly melo-dramatic, he thought, but warranted. He really didn't want this girl on his shoulder. He really didn't want this girl anywhere near him. In fact, given the choice, he would prefer to have never made the acquaintance of this terrifyingly off-putting girl and simply remained unawares of her for something close to eternity. Then she spoke.

"Well, Alex, do you remember my name?"

And so it began.

a/n – DUN DUN DUNNNN! That last line came to me in a stroke of pure genius. Also, I am now extending this story to four parts; this long-in-the-coming installment is really Chapter 1 extended, as this next part was very short, I haven't even got into the concert venue, and I wasn't happy with where I cut out of the first chapter. As abrupt as before, but a much better cliffhanger. Do enjoy; the next part will be up in a… weekish, I hope.

-Durak