CHAPTER TWO
PUBESCENT INCELS

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     As much as she hated school, Luna loved to be with her friends. They were their own little group and they didn't get mixed up with anybody. They didn't have a problem with anybody and nobody had a problem with them. Ever since they got together and started their band with Kai as the promoter and in charge of their website, many students from Southside High checked out their website and listened to the tracks that were posted. Most of the comments were positive with a handful of negative ones but it made Luna happy to know that there were people who enjoyed the music she made. It made her happy that she agreed to let the world hear her songs and know the stories she wanted to tell. The thought of releasing her music to the world brought a smile to her face as she sat in front of her bed with her legs crossed and the guitar in her lap. Luna heard a light knock and she looked up and saw her sister leaning against the wall at the top of the narrow stairway.

     When they moved into their house, there were only two bedrooms and an attic. Her sister and mother got the bedrooms while she ended up with the attic but she didn't mind. She was able to make it cozy enough to sleep in and it looked like a bedroom as much as the ones downstairs. On the second floor, there was a narrow door and a narrow stairway that led to the attic and that was where Luna slept.

     "I see your band is getting quite the attention," Rosalie said with her arms crossed.

     "We're thinking about performing some of the songs live soon. You know, to start off the year," Luna said as she crossed out some notes in her notebook and replaced them with different ones.

     "I still don't understand why you decided to call yourselves Bleeding Hearts," her older sister said.

     "Ever heard of the Asian bleeding-heart plant?" Luna asked and Rosalie shook her head. "The bleeding heart is a symbol of compassion and unconditional love towards someone but it can also be a symbol of rejection and unrequited love."

     Rosalie scoffed. "Is this still about Dad? You do realize that no matter what you want to believe, he's not coming back for us, right?" she asked but before Luna could say anything, she continued. "Even after all these years, you still can't let it go and just when we think that you finally found an outlet, you had to include him as well."

     And with that, Rosalie started to head back down the stairs but Luna stopped her.

     "This has nothing to do with Dad! I write these songs for me but they are also for other people to relate to," she said. "If you don't like it, then don't listen."

     She could hear her sister sigh heavily. "You better get some sleep. We start school tomorrow," she said before going back downstairs.

     Luna swallowed down the lump in her throat and went back to the new song she was working on before Rosalie interrupted. She didn't expect her sister to understand why she wrote those songs but she meant what she said about writing them for herself. She finally found a way to release everything after years of feeling like she had nothing and nobody to turn to and she wasn't about to let anybody ruin that for her, especially not her own sister.

     She could feel the fatigue wash over her like a tidal wave and she decided to wrap it up for the night. She put the guitar in its case and put the notebook and pen in her bag along with her school supplies. She changed into a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top and tied her raven hair into a bun. She grabbed her phone and checked her messages as she sat down on her bed and she saw a text from Kai and the girls in a group chat they started when the five of them started talking.

Kai : Meet up in the cafeteria @7:30 to discuss the band?
9:43pm

Naomi : Works for me
9:43pm

Maya : Sure
9:45pm

Peyton : No problem
9:46pm

     Luna quickly typed her response and sent it to the group chat before connecting her phone to the charger and putting it face down on the nightstand. She pulled the blanket back and laid down and pulled it over her body. She turned to lie down on her side and turned off the lamp so her room filled with darkness, with the exception of the moon shining through the thin curtains over the window. Luna sighed as she made herself comfortable and closed her eyes, hoping that she would be able to fall asleep soon so she wouldn't be too tired when she met up with her friends for the first day back to school. Although she wasn't excited to go back to school, she was excited to see the people who made her life a little bit more bearable.

     She did see them a couple of times during the summer where they found a place to play their music and discuss new ideas. They had a few performances during the summer break and a lot of students from Southside High showed up after seeing the updates on their website. Luna never knew it would be so thrilling to play her guitar and sing her songs in front of so many people for them to hear. Her friends loved the thrill too and Kai was always excited to see the turnout during their performances. Starting a band was probably one of the best things Luna had ever done and meeting the people she became friends with was just as amazing. She could finally say that she didn't feel so alone anymore. She finally had people and an outlet to turn to.

༻✧༺

     The first day back to school usually meant it was time for new beginnings. Students were usually excited to start a new year because it meant that they were one year closer to leaving. Not at Southside High. Nothing changed between freshman year and sophomore year. The textbooks were still in terrible condition, the washrooms still didn't have working toilets and the teachers still couldn't give a damn about teaching the students. One thing Luna definitely didn't miss was the metal detectors and security. She could see the look of suspicion on the man's face as she walked through and the metal detector started beeping loudly.

     "It's the chains and belt," Luna said.

     "Take them off and go through it again," the man said with his arms crossed and Luna sighed.

     She removed the chains from her pockets and the belt from her waist and placed them in the bin and walked through the metal detector again. There was no beeping this time so Luna put her chains and belt back on and grabbed her bag. She quickly headed towards the cafeteria and picked a table to sit at and waited for her friends to arrive. She was early by a few minutes but that was okay. She pulled out her pen and notebook and took the cap off and got back to working on her next song. As she was scratching out words and replacing some with something else, somebody cleared their throat which grabbed her attention. She looked up and saw three guys staring at her while smirking.

     "Can I help you?" she asked.

     "You're sitting on the Ghoulie side of the cafeteria," the boy in the middle said.

     "There are many other tables for you to sit at. I'm simply waiting for my friends," Luna said while narrowing her eyes at the Ghoulie boys.

     "I don't think you understand. The Ghoulies sit on this side and the Serpents stay on that side," the boy in the middle said slowly as if Luna was a two-year-old child.

     "Go sit somewhere else. Why do you insist on sitting where somebody else is sitting?" Luna questioned.

     "Aren't Japanese girls supposed to be submissive and subservient and do what they're told?" the boy on the left asked.

     "I'm surprised an ignorant pig like you even knows what subservient means with that tiny ass brain of yours," Luna said as she grabbed her stuff and stood up. "You can have your stupid table."

     She could hear the boys laughing as she left the cafeteria and pulled her phone out of her pocket to text her friends.

Luna : Change of plan. Meet me in Rm 112
7:25am

     Luna sent the text and went inside the empty classroom where nobody went. She leaned against the old teacher's desk stacked with old books and put her bag down by her feet. She passed the time by playing Cut the Rope on her phone while waiting for her friends to arrive. She heard the door open and she closed the game once she saw it was Kai who had walked in.

     "Why the last minute change?" he asked and Luna sighed heavily.

     "Pubescent incels with an Asian fetish," she said while looking down on the floor.

     The sad thing was that those comments weren't new to her. She had been getting jabs like that since she started going to Southside High and many of the boys were involved in gang activity. She noticed the way some of the boys looked at the girls when they weren't looking and she heard some of the things they would say about them behind their backs.

     "Ghoulies or Serpents?" Kai asked.

     "Ghoulies," Luna said with her lips pursed. "Three of them."

     "Maybe we should just have our meetings in here where no one can bother us."

     "I think that would be best."

     The door opened again and Naomi walked in, followed by Maya and Peyton.

     "Why did we switch location?" Naomi questioned.

     "Ghoulies," Luna and Kai said in unison and the other girls nodded in understanding.

     "There are rumours of cannibalism so I wouldn't put it past them," Peyton said as she sat on one of the desks. "Now that school has started again, what's the plan for Bleeding Hearts?"

     "Back-to-school performance!" Maya said with a wide smile.

     "Absolutely," Luna said.

     "Is it appropriate? A kid died this summer and they still haven't found the body," Naomi said.

     "He went to Riverdale High and as far as I know, they're still having their back-to-school semi-formal. If they still get to celebrate then so should we," Peyton said.

     "Besides, they haven't found a body so they can't say for certain if he is actually dead," Kai added.

     "Usually when someone disappears, they end up dead," Luna said. "Getting back on topic, our performance."

     "Definitely Alchemy. That one is a fan favourite," Maya said and everyone nodded. "And Crow Song."

     "Another fan favourite," Peyton said. "Why don't we do a poll or something on our website and ask the people what they want us to play?"

     "I think I have enough time to post an update," Kai said as he pulled out his phone.

     "We have fifteen minutes before class starts," Naomi said.

     "When should we do the performance and when?" Maya asked. "Southside High doesn't allow any activity on school grounds outside of school hours."

     "Friday night at the Whyte Wyrm," Luna said.

     "On Serpent grounds?" Peyton asked incredulously.

     "Would you prefer the Ghoulies?"

     "Point taken."

     As if dividing Riverdale into the Southside and Northside wasn't enough, the Southside was divided into Ghoulie territory and Serpent territory. The only time they mixed was when they were in class but even the cafeteria was divided between the two gangs. The Ghoulies didn't really care for their music anyway and most of the students who did listen were Serpents. Holding their performance on Serpent territory was better than Ghoulie territory and since Luna's sister was dating a Serpent, she could get them inside with no problem.

     "Why don't you just ask your sister's boyfriend directly instead of asking her to ask him?" Naomi asked.

     "Do you see the guy? He's about six foot four with broad shoulders and a resting bitch face. He also has some serious anger issues," Kai said while looking up from his phone. "How did they meet again?"

     "Do I look like I care? And yes, Kai has a point and while Rosalie can be impossible to deal with most times, asking her is better than asking a ticking time bomb waiting for a punching bag to come around," Luna said with her arms crossed.

     "Then shouldn't we wait until later to post the update? Ask Rosalie first so then we know that we have a location for sure," Maya said.

     "Another good point," Peyton said and Luna sighed.

     "Alright. I'll go talk to Rosalie and I'll ask her to talk to Sweet Pea about letting us perform at the Whyte Wyrm," Luna said.

     Despite a dead kid and going to a crappy school, Luna and her friends will be able to turn things around and make light of a dark turn of events.

since luna and her friends didn't know jason blossom, they aren't as affected by his death following his disappearance.