Love Thy Neighbor

Disclaimer: The plot, characters, and settings of this story belong to me.

A/N: Sorry for the boring talkiness of the first half of this chapter. I just needed to clear some things up and provide some new information...

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I know what you\'re thinking. They had sex after only a month, and they were barely an official couple!, right? I thought so. I thought it was pretty weird, too, and I was the one that caused it to happen! I decided that maybe it would be best to tell Rachel what had happened - we\'ve been friends since we middle school, and we\'ve always told each other everything. Just because People magazine knows my business as well nowadays doesn\'t mean that should change.

Anyway, when I went down to the spacey kitchen, I was thankful to see that Rachel was there - well, on her way out, really, but no dif. \"There\'s something I have to tell you...\" I said.

And after I told her, she went crazy. \"What?! Er, I mean, he didn\'t force you, right? You didn\'t do anything that could cause an STD, right? Oh, God, it was in the middle of the day, too! That\'s odd...\"

\"No, no, and I already realized that.\"

\"You can\'t let any gossip magazines know. They\'ll eat your flesh. You can\'t let the rest of Bloody Moor know. They\'ll feast on your flesh AND your bones.\"

I laughed. \"I know,\" I said, \"But you know who\'ll feast on my flesh and bones and then throw up in order to feast on them again? My parents.\"

\"Aaagh, you\'re right!\" Rachel said, faking a scream, \"I almost forgot they exist. I mean, you\'ve practically lost contact, right?\"

\"Well, yeah,\" I said, \"And it got even worse after I actually wrote them a letter and told them about everything...including The Kiss of the Dirty Outdoor Bench. It was actually my first tongue kiss - I\'m SO pathetic - which they always thought would be with a guy that was kind and actually shared some of my interests. And, y\'know, they thought it would be someone I didn\'t previously despise...\"

\"You make it sound like you like each other because you kissed.\"

\"I know. In a way, that\'s why. Because the events shortly before it revealed to me that Rion isn\'t as bad as I\'d always thought, and reavealed to him that I\'m not as bad as he always thought.\"

\"So, anything else your parents bit your head off for?\"

\"Yes,\" I said, \"And by the way, I think they\'re hating on so hard now because they finally found an imperfection other than the fact that I didn\'t take them to Hollywood with me or something. So, anyway, they also thought that my first kiss would be with someone my age.

\"But...\"

\"And before you continue, Rion\'s 21.\"

\"Oh...?\"

~~

Two days later, Bloody Moor made an important announcement. \"It is our pleasure to inform you,\" Eithan said, \"That we\'re moving out!\"

\"Finally!\" I said, but I caught Rion\'s eye and he looked back knowlingly. Maybe we could be a proper couple now that we wouldn\'t be living in the same household. I continued, \"When?\"

\"Tomorrow, actually,\" Rion said, \"We haven\'t told you up until now, have we...?\"

Before I could say anything, Markus said, \"Since the both of you hate us so much, we made our own farewell poster.\" He opened up and closet, and, with help from the other four band members, pulled out a long white banner. In red letters, it said, \"Rion, Ian, Chris, Eithan, and Markus: GOODBYE!\"

~~

Just a few minutes later, the five of them began to pack up the supplies they had bought while living with Rachel and I (Everything they previously owned was destroyed in the fire) and Rachel began to pack up her things, too. Now that the threat of Bloody Moor would be gone soon, she no longer needed to be armed for war. Of course, she had much more to pack up, but it was easier for her...y\'know, she didn\'t have any drums or guitars.

~~

The next day, Rachel and I agreed that we should help Bloody Moor shove their things into the moving van (The employees were too lazy. Oh, gee, talk about service.). It was all for the better for me - I had an important idea.

In the process of loading the van, I pulled Rion aside and said, \"I thought of something. Solo roles can get stupid after a while, and your music needs to get better - and less metal-ish. I mean, people can barely hear the lyrics.\"

\"And...?\"

\"I\'ve been writing up a song for the past two days, and it\'s more of something you guys and me could perform together...and it is rock, if you must know. Just a bit lighter than what you normally do. I would sing the verses, and since you\'re good with the refrain verses, you could do those, and I\'ve already appointed Rachel for background lyrics. She\'s talented, too.\"

Rion took a deep breath. \"Okay,\" he said, \"But the media will be all over it. Their body waste will be writing up articles about it. You took that into consideration, right?\"

I nodded.

\"Okay, then. Rehearsal begins...I dunno. Tuesday?\"

\"Agreed.\"

\"Okay, it\'s a deal. See you then...or sooner, perhaps, because it is a week away.\"

Only a week away until Sickness Inside would be played for the first time.