Zack looked at his message requests, "Hi handsome <3" He chuckled and kept his phone back into his pocket, "You done?" He asked Zalia. 
"Yes, it's tuned now," She kept her guitar on her lap, "Okay, so, where do we start," She looked at his guitar, "I have... no idea in my head,"
"Well, you don't have to force yourself to make music,"

"Yeah, but I haven't written a new song in so long. I need to learn something from Mitchelle. He's a very good songwriter,"
"Really? Do you have some of his songs with you?"
"Oh yeah, I have it on our message history. He usually sends me some stuff. It is always impressive," She forwarded the message to Zack's phone. He looked at it, 

"This is what he is working on with Louise right now. They have a show coming up at your school,"
"Oh, Tulare Mariana High?" To the east of Kern County, Tulare county was an agricultural county, hoisting rich farmers and agricultural scientists, like Zack's father.
"Yeah, you guys are holding a show on this Halloween, right?"
"Yes, but... They have limited slots. I don't think they'll let amateurs play for the show. To get in...It will be quite competitive,"

"He's MJ. He'll be fine,"

. . . 

MJ lay on his bed,

"He took nobody there with, Zack
and he'll never have anybody to take
He drinks green tea to tuck his stomach flat
And look at his half eaten cake

The dream girl rolls her dice on his lips
He wanders with his hands across his thinning hair
But all his songs are spilling out of his disc 
And all his music is haunting him out of air

Yeah, he can't differentiate hooch from liquor 
He can never walk all alone 
His shoes are wet, his flowers withered
He'll always be a bridesmaid
but he'll never take one home"

"Hmm..." He paused writing and looked at his phone. Louise was calling him, "Hiiii"
"What are you doing?"
"Writing a song. I was feeling creative," He smiled as he twirled the pen across his fingers, "Why?"
"Have you registered for that show?"
"Which one?"

"The one on Halloween...at Tulare Mariana High,"
"Yeah, about that," MJ lay on his bed, pressing his back on the warm sheets, "I will register but I'll just do it for shits and giggles. We won't get in,"
"How do you know?"
"Gut feeling,"

"It's worth trying,"
"It's not though," MJ opened his MacBook, "They have 1,500 registrations. Only 25 bands will perform. We don't stand a chance. We're too young. People having years of experience will be competing against us for a spot. There's no chance,"

Louise was quiet for a while, then, he spoke, "I think we should go. It would be a new experience nonetheless. We'll meet other Musicians,"
MJ smiled, "You are really hyped about it, aren't you?"
"We've been practicing for a while, I am hyped to show that off,"
MJ laughed as he clicked on the register button on the website, "Fine. I'll register. I'll come to your place this evening. Tell the boys too. We'll practice,"

"Your new song?"
"Oh no, this one," He looked at the piece of paper beside him and crushed it, "It's not complete yet. Besides, its a stupid song,"
"What is it about?"
"Pettiness," MJ hung up. Louise looked at his phone, "Pettiness? This dude makes the weirdst stuff ever," He shook his head. 

. . . 

Clarence looked at his, Zack did not reply. He messaged him again with a selfie, "What are doing :)?" He asked. 
But he just won't reply! Ugh!
'There's no way for a guy who looks like that and be loyal to a girl,' He looked at his pictures on his profile, he had more pictures of Zalia and his cat, than he had pictures of himself. Clarence was a little jealous, they were an adorable couple. 

But if he won't get him to flirt with him, he won't get that party invitation! 

He texted him again, "Busy? :("

. . .

It was a long form. It took MJ a total one hour to register. He hated this stuff. After MJ was done registering, he got down from his bed, stretched himself, 

"He'll always be a bridesmaid
but he'll never take one home"

He hummed a tune in his head; different tunes in fact, as he tried to make something unique out of it. A piano, a gentle strumming guitar, a weird contrast to a parody of a man he hated. But Zack was so nice, he was hard to hate. MJ wished he was an asshole, a pathetic loser, a Casanova, an-an ugly guy, a con man... 

"Michelle Jibber 
What you're gonna do?
The teams are playing
The game has started
And nobody picked you~"

As he got ready to leave for Louise's, he jumped through the terraces, playing that music in his head. Gosh, it was such a calming melody, almost as if he squeezed all the bitterness out of it. MJ jumped on a plank and it cracked into two, "SHIT!" He fell from about 20 feet, landing on a pile of cardboards kept beside the trashcans. That was a clean one. He got up, brushed his pants and looked ahead. Well, that was Louise in his front yard. He was shirtless and lifting some weights. MJ looked at body, he had been working out, all right. His biceps were pumped up, his shoulders looked big, his pecks were toned, his abdomen was shredded. MJ looked at himself, skinny legend in a red T-shirt and blue denim, he could look like Louise...

He could, but he would never do that. So, he could never look like Louise. MJ crossed his hands and pressed his back on the pole behind him. Louise was doing barbell back squats and MJ was staring at him from a distance. MJ took his camera out of his pocket and focused on Louise,

"He's a moth drawn to a flame,
Going in, he's going all or nothing,"

And snap. MJ looked at his camera, Louise squatting shirtless, this stuff looks illegal to possess. 
"What are you doing, you pervert?" MJ heard and looked aside. It was Jerome with his keyboard strabbed behind his back. 
MJ clicked his picture too, "Did you click my picture?"
MJ showed him the picture. It was so ugly, Jerome got a little insecure, "There's no way I look so ugly. Why is your lighting so ass!"
"Oh gimme a break, I'm not a photographer! Not yet," He smirked, "He clicked another picture of Louise, but this time he saw him,"

"MJ! Jerome! Come in!" 
Louise grabbed his weights and dumbbells, he kept them inside his garage, and wiped himself with a towel, "Ryan should be here soon too,"
"GUYS!" Ryan yelled as he ran towards Louise's house, "I'M HERE! I HOPE I DIN'T MAKE YOU WAIT LONG!"
"There he is,"

He stopped right in front of Louise, "Sorry, I was helping Chelsea distribute her invitations," He was out of breath.
"Invites?"
"She wanted only selective people to have an invite, considering the last time we threw a party, a lot of unnecessary people showed up and created a fuss," 

"Oh Ralf, could you give me an extra invite for your Halloween party?" MJ asked.
"I don't have extras. She has written the names on the invitations,"
"Well then, tell Chelsea to send me an extra one. You can do that for me,"

"You don't need an invite, you are my best friends. You guys can just butt in, like it's chill,"
"Drop in, you mean,"
"Sorry, bad English,"
"Can I bring someone along with me?" MJ asked and Louise and Jerome gave each other a side eye.
"Sure" Ryan smiled.
"WHO ARE YOU BRINGING?" Jerome and Louise yelled together.
"A friend,"

"Oh yeah? I bet it's a girl," Jerome said. 
"It better NOT be Zalia," Louise emphasized. 
"No, it's a guy," Though MJ wished it was a girl. Their reactions were funny. He knew they would just explode if MJ got a girlfriend before them. 
"Oh...Nevermind then," They lost all interest, "Let's practice,"

Clarence was eating his lunch on the terrace. He usually got his own lunch, but he did not like eating it in class since he felt as if everyone was staring at him when he ate. The sky was blue, with big white clouds making the sun look hazy, but it was perfectly warm. Neither too hot, nor too cold. He wondered what Mitchell might be up to, maybe he should visit his class...sometime... What if people stare at him? He knew nobody there except MJ. What if he goes there and MJ is not around, then it would be so awkward. 

Clarence looked into his phone. Zack still did not reply. Guess no party invite for him. He looked at the sky again. He was always too shy to go door-to-door, asking for treats. If he had more friends, maybe he could go with them to make it less nerve wrecking. Now, he thought he was too old for Halloween trick or treats. But old enough for Halloween parties. He wished he could go there with MJ. 

Suddenly, the door slammed opened and Clarence flinched, "What the hell-eh-"
It was MJ. Clarence got up, "Hi Mitchell!" He smiled brightly.
"What are you doing here all alone during the recess? I looked for you everywhere!"
"You did?" Clarence had a little pink tinge on face from the cold, "You missed me?"

"Fuck no. In case you forgot, I had given you a job. Did Zack text you?"
"No," Clarence said, "He did not,"
MJ looked disappointed, but not surprised. He had a gut feeling that he would not text. So, he really was serious about Zalia? Oh no, what if they never separate? What if they get married? He would rather die than see their children. Okay, calm down MJ. That's like so far away, it probably would never happen. High school couples never last...Just some of them do. A very teeny-tiny percentage. 

Clarence looked at MJ, "You probably won't give me my invite now?"
MJ turned back, "We had a deal. No invites for you since clearly it didn't work," MJ closed the terrace door, "See ya,"

Clarence looked down as teardrops fell on the floor, he covered his eyes with his arm, digging his tears into his jacket's arm,

I can't believe it. I had one chance, and I missed it. 
It hurts me so much. 

-To be continued