Song of the Chapter: Melodymania - Pegboard Nerds (Electro) 

I know this seems like a pointless chapter, but I figured you guys wanted something happy because the next part is really rough ... like the rest of the book. I am a horrible human ...

(Monstercat's POV)

Today is a good day, I think. We're all happy again ... mostly, and currently, no one's trying to murder us. That's a nice change.

Earlier, after explaining my slight changes and confusions, I had taken a nap in the front room where the sun spills in through the window, finally understanding why Earth cats love it so much. After waking up totally refreshed, I realized that everyone was getting along. Even Noisestorm and Rogue. Well ... they're still not really talking to each other, but it's better than them screaming and getting in physical fights.

Rogue left before I fell asleep, and returned during my nap with his helmet and sword, which are now sitting on an unoccupied chair. Noisestorm is drawing something at the table, Au5 is resting upstairs, reportedly doing better than he was last night, and I think Phantom is downstairs, still playing the piano. He loves that thing. Rogue and Eveelyn are sitting in the living room, near the kitchen, and Rogue is playing a guitar he found downstairs. He's coming up with crazy lyrics, though, none of which make sense. Eveelyn and Nitro think he's hilarious. If I'm honest, I think it's kind of annoying.

"Okay, so how 'bout this - " Tristam says, leaning back on the chair he's sitting in at the table. Noisestorm glances up and returns to his art, ignoring him. He goes on anyway. "What if I went blond again?"

"Again?" I ask, studying him. I try to picture him with blond hair instead of black, but it's too hard.

"Yeah. I did it once before. I liked it. Then I was lazy and didn't redo it."

"Maybe you could get it done after you get arrested," Noisestorm mutters.

"Oh, shut up. Don't ruin my good mood."

"I'm in a great mood. You're breaking my concentration."

"I wasn't talking about you; I was talking about my amazing self."

"You're not that amazing."

Tristam smirks and folds his arms. "I don't see an army of fangirls coming after you, my friend."

"They should. I'm fabulous."

"Yeah, right."

Noisestorm throws his pencil at him, but Tristam just laughs. "Your army is terrifying," Noisestorm says. "Maybe I should be afraid of fangirls."

"They are the evilest humans on the planet," Rogue sings from the other room. "Be very afraid."

I laugh, even though I honestly don't know what a fangirl is. A girl who's a fan ... but it sounds worse than that. And Tristam's got a whole army of them.

Noisestorm starts singing softly, and I watch Tristam's reaction and chuckle again. "I'm left to nowhere," Noisestorm sings. "No place to hide. Out in the open - "

"Like ashes in the sky," Tristam interrupts. "I quit the illusion ... I'm moving on ... "

And then it splits into two different songs and I burst out laughing.

"I let the flames light up the future," Noise squeals in an unnaturally high voice. "Making empires of sound - "

"Build our empire of sound," Tristam yell-sings at the same time. "As the bridges were falling down. In the midst of endless time - "

Gradually, their voices get louder until they're screaming lyrics instead of singing. I start choking on my laughter and collapse against the table, trying to catch my breath.

"AND SEE WHEN TEARS BECOME LAUGHTER."

"BUILD OUR EMPIRE OF SOUND, AS THE SUN WAS CALLING DOWN - "

"WE BURNT THE BRIDGES TO BUILD THE CITIES - "

"FALLING DEEPER IN THIS DREAM - "

"I LET THE FLAMES LIGHT UP THE CITIES - WAIT. THAT'S WRONG."

"THAT'S MY SONG!" another girl screams in glee, practically flying down the stairs.

"There's Karma," Tristam mutters.

"DROP," Nitro yells, jumping from that living room into the kitchen with a bang.

All four of us stare at him.

"What? That's what the song says."

Later, after that mess, I'm roaming the house and I notice it's raining, even though it was pretty sunny before. "Aww, it's raining," I say.

"I hate when it rains ... " Rogue sings, dramatically touching the window.

"Isn't that from some vine video?" Nitro asks.

"My vine video, yeah."

"Right. Fifteen minutes of you being an idiot."

"I am an idiot."

Noisestorm pops up between them. "He's right, you know," he says in a funny accent, and then 'subtly' backs away.

Rogue raises an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

"What? I've seen it, too," Noisestorm mutters, returning to the table.

"Everyone should see it!" Nitro determines, throwing his hands out like he's on stage. "Ooh, Tristam, you should make one."

"Nah, I'm too cool to do that," he calls from the couch.

"Harsh," Rogue mutters, faking betrayal.

"What are you talking about?" Eveelyn asks.

"Just a crazy video I made a couple years ago ... " Rogue glances at Nitro. "No big deal, really."

"He made a lot of those," Nitro adds helpfully. "Remember when you were jamming out on your ukulele and singing the live-stream comments to Tristam?"

"How did you find that?"

"The internet knows everything," Nitro whispers, smiling darkly.

"Everything." Rogue gives him a skeptical look.

"It found out Braken's American and they know his birthday."

"That's creepy." Rogue shivers. "Even I didn't know that, and he's Tristam's best friend, and Tristam and I are good friends, too."

"Is the internet like the outernet?" I ask.

They all give a strange look, like they don't know what I'm talking about. Who doesn't know about the outernet?

"Me," Nitro says, and I realize I spoke out loud.

"You know, the interplanetary communication method ... the outernet?" I look for any sort of recognition, but they stare blankly at me. "Never mind. I guess it's not an Earth thing."

"Hey, where is Braken?" Eveelyn suddenly asks.

We all turn to Tristam, and he drops his eyes to the floor, his good mood dampened. He's thinking, debating with himself. "Well ... " he starts hesitantly. "He's upstairs, by himself. Today is Braken's mom's birthday, and so we went to her grave so he could talk to her, the same thing he's done for ... " He pauses to count. "Almost eight years."

"When did his mom die?" Eveelyn asks quietly.

"When he was about eleven, I think. I'm not sure. He doesn't talk about it." Tristam takes a deep breath before continuing. "While we were there, we met his father, who he hasn't seen for four years. Something happened between them ... he doesn't want me to tell any of you, so I won't, but it was pretty bad."

I notice Noisestorm shift uncomfortably, smoothing his hoodie over his back. Again, I wonder what's back there that he's so determined to keep hidden. I decide to ask him about it later.

"They stared at each other," Tristam says, "and I could see Braken's anger, radiating off him in waves. Nothing happened, but when we walked back here, he was silent, kind of numb, and he hid upstairs to cool off." He adjusts his position and sighs. "I can't help him anymore than I already have. I guess everything is up to him, now." He looks up, out the window, and sighs once again. "He loves the rain."

I quietly leave them and go upstairs to find Braken. Maybe telling him about the rain will make him feel a little better. I want him to know we're here for him.

I find him talking to someone else - to Au5. I can hear them through the closed door. Surprised, I press my ear against the wood and listen in. It sounds like they're debating; not arguing, but discussing different topics and taking sides. I never expected either of them to debate, especially with each other.

"What about this?" Braken asks, bringing up a different scenario. Au5 confidently counters him, even though his voice is small and pained.

Danyka comes up behind me. "What are they doing?" I ask.

"Debating," she answers, confirming my thoughts. "They've been doing it for almost an hour. I didn't think either of them could hold a conversation, yet here they are."

I knock on the door and they both go quiet. "Yeah?" Braken eventually calls.

"Can I come in?"

"I guess."

I open the door and smile at the two artists sitting on the bed. "Hey guys. How are you?"

Braken glances at Au5, who shrugs with a wince. "As well I can be," he  says softly. I notice that he's shirtless, a clean white bandage wrapped tightly around his torso. There's a garbage bag off to the side of the room, filled with bloody bandages from earlier. I'm glad to see the bleeding has finally stopped. But at the same time ... he should have died. He's like a superhuman for being able to survive that.

"I've been better," Braken mumbles. "But I'm not dying, so I shouldn't complain."

I remember Noisestorm saying something a while ago about pain being relative. I wonder if I should tell him that it's okay to admit he's feeling bad, but decide against it. "Guess what? It's raining."

His face lights up. "Really?" He gets off the bed and almost runs out of the room, pausing by the door. "Um ... I'll be right back, Austin."

"Hurry up, then," he says, grinning, even though he winces in pain every time he moves. "I still have a point to make."

Braken gives him a half-smile and leaves the room, running down the stairs two at a time. His scarf flies out behind him like two twin tails, the tails of a tropical bird from my home planet. I watch him, feeling a pang of nostalgia and even a little homesickness, and yet still smiling as he spins around the corner. I follow him downstairs as he throws open the back door and almost explodes into the small backyard.

"Hey, close the door before you let all the cold air in," Nitro complains, taking another drink of his soda.

I close the back door, still watching Braken. He spins around outside, almost tripping over himself. He has the brightest smile I've ever seen, and he tips his face up to the sky, laughing as the rain splashes on his cheeks and forehead. I've never seen someone so at home in the rain. It's almost like he's a different person.

"Hey, what's that?" Aero demands, breaking me out of my thoughts and grabbing the drink away from Nitro.

I turn and see the younger artist smile not-so-innocently.

"NITRO FUN, THIS HAS 160 MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE. THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN DRINK THIS."

"Too late," Nitro giggles.

Aero tips the can upside down and single drop falls on the counter. He sighs loudly and tosses the can into the garbage. "Nitro, I'm going to kill you."

Noisestorm and Phantom come upstairs together, Noise grumbling under his breath. He goes straight to the cabinet, pushing Aero's wings out of the way, and grabs a pill bottle.

"What are you doing?" I ask him.

"I have a headache," he answers, opening the bottle and pouring some pills into his hand.

"Told you you shouldn't've banged your head on the wall," Phantom says, and I laugh. I've laughed a lot today. Today's a good day.

I look around at my friends and smile. Nitro Fun is practically bouncing out of his chair, Tristam and Rogue are singing quietly in the living room to the guitar, Braken is outside, still playing around in the rain, and Eveelyn, Laura, Danyka, Au5, Mr FijiWiji, and Hellberg are upstairs talking. Aero Chord is failing to hold Nitro in his seat and Phantom is laughing at Noisestorm as he complains about walls being too hard. We're all united. Even so, I want to try something.

"Hey guys?" I ask as Braken comes back in, soaking wet.

"Yeah?" most of the others reply.

"Let's go upstairs with Au5. I want to try something."

Braken shakes his head wildly as they go upstairs, and Tristam groans as water droplets fly everywhere. "You're getting me wet," he complains, leaning on him for support.

In response, Braken takes his scarf and wrings it out on top of his friend's head.

Once we get up, I tell everyone to sit in a circle, and then change my mind and rearrange them myself. Me, Phantom, Eveelyn, Noisestorm, Rogue, Braken, Danyka, Au5, Tristam, Aero, Nitro, Mr FijiWiji, Stephen, Laura, Karma, and Hellberg. Some of them *cough* Noisestorm and Rogue *cough* complain half-heartedly, but obey without any problem.

"Okay, here's what I want to do," I say, standing in my place. "I know now that we're not fighting for our lives - except you, Austin, sorry - we're getting along much better, since we're not nearly as stressed. Still, I want to try a little unity activity. Everyone will have a turn to say something heartfelt and kind about the person to their left, and then we'll switch. I'll start."

"This is dumb," Noisestorm mutters under his breath.

"I've been in plenty of situations like this, and trust me, these activities will strengthen bonds and friendships," I say, sitting down and turning to Phantom. "You're probably one of the bravest people I know. You willingly throw yourself into danger to help and protect others, and you're willing to face your fears, too. I know I wouldn't be able to be so open about my feelings, and yet you were, and that was impressive."

"Does everyone know, then?" he mumbles, his face red.

"Know what?" Hellberg asks.

"He has a crush on Noisestorm," Nitro blurts out.

"Really?" Stephen raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah ... " Phantom mutters. "And it's weird since it's so new and I thought I had a crush on Danyka - " He slaps his hand over his mouth as he says it, as if it was an accident.

"What? You had a crush on Danyka?" Noisestorm gasps dramatically. "How come I didn't know?"

"Noise ... "

"We could have set you two up! That would've been awesome!"

"Noisestorm, I love you, but I will not hesitate to rip your arm off and slap you with it."

"Well." I laugh. "That escalated quickly. Your turn."

Phantom turns to Eveelyn and smiles shyly. "Evee helped me relearn the piano. She's quiet and thoughtful and almost always knows what to say. Thanks for your help with everything."

She blushes and continues the circle. "Noisestorm, you're so caring and always thinking of others, even if you're not conscious of it. You're a reliable friend who's actively working through everything and staying strong at the same time."

Noisestorm's smile falters a little, but he quickly covers it up. "Rogue, I'm sorry I was a jerk to you. You're actually a great guy who's crazy in so many awesome ways. You and Evee have a bright future, and anyone who's fortunate enough to meet you is a very lucky person. I'm sorry I couldn't see that."

"Braken ... " Rogue's voice trails off as he tries desperately to come up with something. "You're quiet and collected. You know things that most of us overlook. Lots of people forget about you, and that's a huge mistake. You're unique and we're all so lucky to know you."

From across the room, Tristam smiles in relief. I know what he's thinking. He was worried Rogue wouldn't be able to think of anything.

"Danyka is always happy," Braken says simply. "I've never seen her sad. That's a hard thing to do in a world like this."

"Au5 - Austin, you're the strongest of us all. I don't know anyone else who can get shot in the stomach and be so determined to not die."

"Tristam, you're a loyal and trustworthy friend. No one deserves someone like you. You're one of a kind and impossible to find."

"Aero - you got wings, for crying out loud. How many of us could deal with that? You're always willing to help out and you're very protective."

"Nitro Fun - Nitro, sit down. Hold still - really?" Aero sighs as Nitro holds his breath and turns purple. I remember that he drank something with 160 milligrams of caffeine. "Okay, Nitro Fun, for a kid, your music is amazing. You'll do anything for us, and you have lots of talents, even though you're really scatterbrained and have the attention span of a squirrel."

"Even squirrels know when to shut up," Phantom whispers, and I laugh.

"Hey, I know when to shut up," Nitro protests, and then goes off on a rant about it.

"You're even worse than Noise," Phantom says louder.

"Ouch," his friend says.

"Okay, okay ... " Nitro says. "Okay, so ... okay ... okay, um ... "

"I swear, if you say 'okay' one more time, I'll shove Braken's scarf down your throat and see if you're still okay," Phantom threatens.

"The sass is strong with this one," Noisestorm mutters. "He threatened to punch my arm hard enough that future generations would feel it. My arm. That's not how it goes, and yet he did! And it still hurts! I'm sure at least my kids will be born with bruises there."

"If you ever find someone crazy enough to marry you," Phantom adds.

"Hey ... "

"I think he's officially becoming the sassy gay friend," Danyka determines.

Phantom smiles innocently, but it melts into a smirk and the whole group starts laughing.

Today is a good day, I think.