"And here we go again
With all the things we said
And not a minute spent
To think that we'd regret." -  Here We Go Again

When I was little, I had a motto; it was a simple phrase that haunted my footsteps like a phantom, hanging over my shoulders and whispering seductively into my innocent ears.

It will all be worth it in the end.

I would often muse that to myself whenever my mother hooked up with another man on the streets and brought him home. I would murmur that short phrase whenever I sat alone in solitude in my room, thinking about how things were going wrong. I would whisper it to myself whenever I was hiding from Marco on his drunken nights. And even now, those nine simple words pressed into my mind, urging me to believe my deal with Mark was necessary. It will all be worth it in the end.

But how long will it take for the end to come?

Pushing past the glass doors of the label company, I squinted at the sudden brightness of the sun and shielded my eyes with my hand, looking for any sign of the boys and their van. When no familiar vehicle caught my sight, I smoothed out my black skinny jeans and took a seat on the staircase leading up to the building. There was a slight breeze that made my hair billow around, making me push it back in annoyance.

"Did they just ditch me?" I muttered but my musings were interrupted by a slight vibration in the back of my jeans. Pulling out my phone, I read the new text message before scoffing and tossing it onto the stairs beside me carelessly.

How long does it take for you to piss, haha? Anyway, the new episode of Vampire Diaries is on and we just couldn't miss it. Sorry, Lacey! We'll see you in school tomorrow! -D

"Are you fucking kidding me? Vampire Diaries? I swear, they're more female than I am. They probably just want to eye-rape Nina Dobrev, or something." I sighed, rubbing the back of my head and scooping up my fallen device. Taking the steps two at a time, I jumped to the ground and headed left, veering towards the direction my house was in.

"Sturm!" I heard a familiar voice shout out and I felt my conversation with Mike pound into my skull, reminding me of his game, and how I was a simple pawn in it.

It will all be worth it in the end. I chanted silently to myself again and again, finding those words to be a comfort as it pushed away the guilt for a little while. But I knew in the end, it would always come back. With a small sigh, I plastered a happy (well, as happy as I could get) expression on my lips.

"Harnage?" I smirked, spinning around to meet his gaze. My brown locks spun around with my one fluid motion, momentarily blocking my vision. Blowing away a strand, I cocked my head to one side as he bounded up to my side.

"I'm glad I caught you. I just wanted to say that you guys did great." He grinned, giving me two thumbs up. I mockingly punched his shoulder in response.

"I know we rocked. You guys were alright too, I guess."

"So modest." Blake rolled his eyes before glancing over my shoulder. "Ah, where's the rest of your band? Are you here alone?"

I released a sigh, running a hand through my hair. "They ditched me for Nina Dobrev."

"What-? Oh, you mean the Vampire Diaries? Shit, I think I forgot to pre-record the new episode." Blake immediately flushed as I raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him. "Never mind. Do you need a ride home?"

I thought of Marco and my rundown house, and quickly shook my head. Blake didn't need to see that. "No, no. I was just... just heading off to find a place to eat. I'm starving..." I lied, keeping my expression blank. Big mistake.

Blake grinned. "Really? Me too! I was just about to head home for some lunch. Want to come? I make a mean mac 'n' cheese." He winked playfully.

I felt a small tug on my lips but I supressed it, shrugging instead. I didn't want to be a disturbance to him; especially since I was a stick in the mud, and he was some rich-ass prodigy musician. "I'll pass."

"Aww, why not?"

"Err, I'm not hungry anymore." I lied again. There was a loud grumble and I blinked in shock as I realized that it was my own stomach. Biting back a curse and trying not to blush, I watched Blake fix a smug smirk on his face.

"Come on." He laughed, grabbing my hand. I flinched. I didn't mean to, it was an automatic defense but Blake caught it. He pulled his hand away, trying to hide the small hint of hurt in his eyes. "My car's right around the corner. Now, what do you think would be tastier: cheddar or four cheese?"

I rubbed my shoulder uncomfortably, looking over my shoulder. There was a lone figure walking down the steps of the buulding, adjusting his tie. The man glanced up, as if caught by the strange sensation of feeling watched. His heard turned in my direction. His eyes caught mine, and I caught the hidden meaning in Mike's gaze: Go.

I forced a small smile onto my lips and clapped my hands together, turning back to Blake. "Four cheese, definitely."

The smile on Blake's face was painful to look at.

"So what made you changed your mind?" He and I walked the rest of the length of the sidewalk to his car. It was a black cadillac, and gorgeous, might I add.

Like a gentlemen, Blake unlocked the vehicle and opened the passenger seat first, gesturing for me to take a seat. He didn't close the door right away, making me glance up at him. There was a curious gleam in the depths of emerald, and I realized he was still waiting for my answer. I placed a smirk on my lips.

"Everyone knows cheddar is too mainstream."

Flicking on the ignition, Blake's Cadillac purred to life, and instantly music poured through the surround sound speakers. The deep bass rumbled through my bones, making it hard to decipher whether it was the stereo or my heart pounding.

"You listen to The Ramones?" I yelled over the hey hos of their song Blitzkrieg Bop. Blake turned down the volume by a few decibals before giving me a sheepish smile.

"They're like my idols." He admitted, setting the gear to drive. "Blink-182, Green Day, and The Smiths too."

"Never would have guessed that was what you were into." Another lie. I gathered evidence from their performance at the park, and it seemed pretty obvious that the punk life is what Blake was really in to. This just proved my hunch.

"Yeah, I guess." Blake murmured half-heartedly, not as enthusiastic as before. It disappeared as soon as the Ramones faded out and was replaced with Foo Fighters.

"I love this song," I murmured softly to myself, as the sound of The Pretender softly drifted through the speakers. Blake turned his head to glance at me, a small smile on his lips. He reached out, turning up the volume.

The fingerpicking in the beginning of the song faded as the drums began to play, interrupting the quiet atmosphere, and shifting the song. Slowly, the verses began to filter in and Dave Grohl's rough voice entered, bringing shivers down my spine. By the time the refrain came around, I was tapping my foot and Blake was tapping the edge of the steering wheel. Drummer's instinct. He smiled at me and I couldn't help but twitch my lips back in return.

We spent the rest of the ride listening to the Foo Fighters in comfortable silence.

My mouth forming a small 'o' of shock, I bit down on my lips and fought to keep an impassive expression on. The building in front of me resembled a palace, bathed in pure white with the sunlight gleaming off the arches of the roof.

The sound of a car door being slammed, and the sound of footsteps on gravel signalled Blake's approach. He stood beside me, hands in his pockets with a sheepish expression. "Er, welcome to my humble abode."

"You live here?" I asked incredulously.

"Yep."

"Alone?"

"Uh... not really." He answered hesitantly, cocking his head to one side and examining his own house with me. "Come on, let's head in." Placing his hand on the small of my back, Blake gently guided my past the large fence and up the pathway leading to the mansion's entrance. As we walked, I glanced around at the garden area covering the front yard. Green was littered with dashes of pink, yellow, and orange. A small, marble fountain was even gurgling softly, blending in with the sound of a lawn mower in the distance.

Eventually, we climbed up the flight of stairs leading to the porch area where Blake stopped us to take out his keys. Fishing around his pockets, he managed to dig out a silver key and shove into the doorknob, pushing the door open with ease.

Walking past the doorway, I realized that his home was even more spacious on the inside than out. But before I could even look around, something caught the corner of my eye, making me glance towards the hallway near the spiral staircase.

"Blake, is that you? I think we're out of Lucky Charms-" Kat's voice wafted through the corridor, and soon the gothic bassist appeared in the foyer... clad in her tank top and short pajama pants. "Oh. Hi, Lacey!" She chirped, widening her gaze as soon as she saw me. Not even blushing or hiding herself from sight, she beamed and waved enthusiastically. I just stared back with a blank expression.

"Kat, get back here. I told you that Frosted Flakes-" Another voice, this one distinctly male, called from the hallway. Around the corner came Zeke... in just his boxers? "Holy shit." He cursed when he caught sight of my eyes on him. I caught the tinge of a blush spreading on his cheeks, making me smirk in amusement. He exchanged a glance with Kat before the two looked down at themselves and realized that they were both nearly naked.

"It's not what you think!" The two members screamed, but all I could do was twitch my eyebrow and point a shaky finger at them.

"...What the fuck?!"

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-Isabelle