647Okay you guys! Another new story! Just so you know, none of the songs at the beginning of each chapter are mine. All of the songs used by the (fictitious) band The Futurists belong to Billy Idol and still are not mine! I know the chapters seem short, but I do try to update rather frequently. I guess that's pretty much it. Reviews, as always, would be lovely. Please, please, please drop me a line!
001. Dark
Clever girl
Think you are but you think too much
Shut down turn around
Don't look that way anymore
Clever girl
Think you know but you don't know much
Try to make a move
Go to a different door
-Kylie Minogue
"Holly, you promised."
Holly winced at the word 'promise'. Goodness, it was such a strong word. Promise. It was almost as bad as the word commitment. There was no way Holly promised anything. It wasn't as though Holly Dunn was afraid of commitment or relationships or anything like that. Quite on the contrary. She always paid her student loans right on time, and she had never dropped one class (except a ridiculous math class she felt was wasting her time, of course. After taking the placement test once again, she was proven she was right.). And she always went out with her friends when she said she would. In fact, just last night, her roommate Tanya took her clubbing. So what if Holly left at ten thirty? She had gone, hadn't she? And that was the point. But the fact of the matter was, she never promised something unless, without a doubt, she would be able to see the promise through. There was no way Holly would promise to go out tonight, not when she had some very important finals to study for. She was hoping to attain her Masters degree in Family Counseling, and wanted to be a marriage counselor. So what if she had not yet personally experienced a long-term relationship with a guy. ?
Anyways…
"Don't give me that look like you don't remember," Tanya said, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her warm brown eyes at her friend, who was currently sprawled out on the living room floor with three open textbooks and multiple sheets of paper lying about. That girl studied way too much. "My favorite band from the eighties is coming to the Hollywood House of Blues and since I was too young to see them when they were in their heyday, I want to see them now, and when I asked you, you promised – you promised you would come - so I bought the tickets and it's tonight, and we need to leave right now." She quickly glanced at her feminine gold watch. "Actually, fifteen minutes."
Holly gave Tanya a long, level look at her friend. The thing about Tanya was whenever she's been expecting something or was looking forward to something, she got more and more nervous as the days passed by until the actual date. She was quite the perfectionist, and when things weren't going the way she planned, she sort of lost it. As she looked at her friend, she racked her brain for anything resembling Tanya's reminder, and while she felt as though she should remember, she didn't.
"Remind me of the name of the band," Holly said, her face contorting into another wince, preparing for Tanya to start shrilling.
But oddly enough, Tanya didn't immediately reply. Her body was shaky and there were beads of sweat on her brow, but she managed to control herself to breathe in and out deeply. "The Futurists," Tanya said firmly. "The Futurists."
The Futurists… The Futurists… No, it didn't ring any -
Shit.
Shit!
Oh yes. The Futurists. Now she remembered. It was nearly half a year ago when Tanya bought the tickets. In fact, she brought her laptop to class, despite the fact that she was taking a very important exam to buy the tickets. Holly had a feeling they weren't going to sell out immediately, but she hadn't said anything. She knew better. Instead, she pressed her lips together and ran her fingers through her hair. Could she possibly say that she couldn't make it on the grounds of her finals? She needed to pass these before starting her one thousand hours of gaining psychology experience, which she needed before she took her test to get a license and then finally be able to practice. So these tests were pretty important.
But Tanya wouldn't necessarily completely understand that.
Tanya was a philosophy major and wanted to become a professor at Berkley. She was nearly finished with everything, actually. In fact, Tanya's last final was tomorrow, scheduled around eight or so. Everything for Tanya came easy for her. Studying books, writing papers, and just plain knowing and remembering mindless facts were easy. Holly was actually quite jealous of this trait, but she never mentioned it, and it never caused any fights between the two. Holly just had to work harder while Tanya barely cracked a book. It only got frustrating on nights like these, when Holly had to study for something. Tanya would try to talk her into going out with her, and while it didn't work most of the time, Holly actually agreed at times.
Holly opened her mouth, but Tanya quickly cut her off. "Listen," she began, and Holly could see the stress she was causing herself at trying to remain calm. "I know you're about to say no. I've known you since we were ten, so I know you pretty well. But it would really mean a lot to me." Her warm brown eyes resembled a puppy's, and Holly felt her heartstrings being pulled. "Please?" she added meekly.
Shit.
"Fine," Holly said, sighing overdramatically. Tanya immediately began clapping. "Fine, I'll go. But I'm bringing my books."
"Of course!" Tanya exclaimed, and glanced at her watch again. "Okay, we have thirteen minutes to get ready! And thank you so much, Holl! Everybody studies at concerts." Holly arched a quizzical brow. "Well, not everybody, but who cares? You're going! I've got to get ready if I want Mitchell Sandburg to fall in love with me." With that, Tanya disappeared down the hallway, still mumbling to herself.
"Who's Mitchell Sandburg?" Holly whispered to herself, before shaking her head. She didn't quite believe she had agreed to come along. There was no way she would be able to study at a concert of all places. Although, the Hollywood House of Blues did provide a spacious venue. If they made it in early enough, she might be able to snag a second-story table that overlooked the concert than being up close and personal. And that way she could sit down, and she wouldn't have to continuously lug her books around. Yes, she could do this. Holly could definitely do this.
Holly could not do this. Her shoulder was aching, and she was absolutely sure she was going to develop lopsided shoulders or some other disfigurement due to the heaviness in her books. Three thick textbooks, four notebooks, a stack of index cards and an assortment of pens and pencils were all crammed into one of Holly's bags. It was actually the biggest one she had, and yet, it was bulging rather uncomfortably. The two ate dinner at the House of Blues, because apparently, if a ticketholder ate there before the concert, they got to jump ahead of the line. Holly had picked at her Cesar salad while she was studying, while Tanya was careful she didn't order anything that would bloat her up. Currently, the two were third in line, waiting for the doors to open. Holly would have been studying actually, if it wasn't for the darkness. She shifted her bag to the other shoulder with a frown, and glanced at her friend.
Tanya looked absolutely ecstatic. Every other minute, she would open her compact and managed to find something else on her face that could be improved upon. She had, in her own terms, 'sexed' herself up. She was wearing low cut, tight leather pants with knee-length boots and a white halter top that was one size too small, but definitely showcased cleavage (brought on by the magic of Wonderbras). Her rich, layered chestnut brown hair was sort of messy, and her make-up was quite dramatic. However, all-in-all, Tanya looked hot. She always worked best under stressful situations.
Holly, on the other hand, merely brushed her hair and threw it up into a loose bun. She was wearing an old soccer hoodie she got when she played for AYSO, probably when she was ten, maybe twelve, an old pair of jeans, and worn converse shoes. When Tanya had seen Holly's choice in outfit, she tried to persuade her friend to at least put on some make up, but Holly adamantly refused.
"I'm going," she had told Tanya firmly, "but I'm studying… and I don't plan on dressing up to study."
Tanya had nodded. She knew when to press Holly, and when to leave her be. So there was Holly, shifting her bag from one shoulder to the other every few moments, and Tanya, shifting her weight anxiously from one foot to another.
"You really should have brought a jacket," Holly said, looking at her friend. "It's freezing."
"It won't be once we step inside," Tanya told Holly knowingly. She threw her gaze over her shoulder and grinned. "Well, it's a good thing we got here when we did." Both Holly and Tanya held out their tickets as an employee came around and scanned the barcodes, verifying they were indeed authentic. "God, I cannot wait to see Mitch Sandburg. Drummers are so hot. I always told my mother I was going to marry a drummer -"
"Tanya -"
"And we'll probably have three kids," Tanya continued, as though she couldn't hear Holly. "You think he'd make a good dad, right? I mean, I think he would. Of course he would."
"Tanya!" Holly exclaimed with frustration.
"What?" she replied.
"Look," Holly said, pointing ahead of them. "We're going in."