Treehouse

Chapter 8: Open Mic

It was Friday, which meant it was TJ's big night. Open Mic Night.

They were all getting ready to go to Red Rooster in support of their friend. Marty had climbed the tree beside Buffy's window and threw some pebbles that he had picked up from the ground. A few seconds later, Buffy opened her window and shot him a look. "Marty, what are you doing on that tree? Text me like a normal person."

"Well, you and I both know that I am not a normal person." He joked. "And what is normal anyway? If you really think about it, nobody is normal. We're all weird in our own way."

Buffy laughed. That sounded like some overused line from a cheesy movie. "Get down from there. You're going to get hurt."

"Fine." Marty swung his leg over the branch and jumped down. He threw his arms up, turning to look at Buffy. "Happy?"

"Very." She closed her window, a few minutes later coming out the front door. She made her way towards Marty and linked her hand around his out of habit.

"So, what's TJ playing?"

"Bohemian Rhapsody, I think. He's been hanging out with Cyrus lately, so he hasn't been practicing as much." He said. "Unless he's been practicing with Cyrus. You know how he's always trying to impress him."

Just when Buffy was about to say something, someone zoomed past them, riding full speed on their skateboard, almost knocking them down.

"Dude, watch out!" Buffy shouted.

"Hey, guys," Jonah said. "I am so sorry."

"Aren't you supposed to be at open mic before any of us?" Marty asked. On the occasions when Jonah doesn't perform, he helps to set everything up.

"Yeah, I had some family stuff I had to take care of." He took his skateboard in his hands and started walking with the couple. "There's still some time left until TJ and my performance, so I can walk with you guys."

Buffy looked at the ground, clearing her throat. "Hey, um, I actually wanted to talk about something, and since we're all here, I guess this is as good a time as any."

"What is it?" Jonah asked while Marty asked, "What's up?" at the same time. They had stopped walking and turned to face her.

Buffy took a deep breath, looking at Jonah. "When you came out the other night, I felt something. I felt weird. I didn't know what it was, so I decided to research asexuality more and, well, I think I'm biromantic ace."

She hadn't actually said those words out loud before, but uttering them out loud now was a breath of relief.

Marty and Jonah smiled at her. "Not to steal your thunder or anything, but same," Marty said.

Buffy smiled at him and went in to hug him. Jonah joined them in the group hug and said, "I'm so proud of you guys."

"We're proud of you too, Beck," Buffy said as they started walking again after breaking the hug. "And thank you. If you hadn't come out, I would still be lost."

"Yeah, I mean, I never thought I was ace before you came out to me and TJ that day. Then I started thinking about it, and it just made sense." Marty told him.

"Well, I'm glad I could help you guys," Jonah said. "And, seriously, I am so proud of you guys."

They smiled, feeling a weight off their shoulders.

"You know what this means, right?" Jonah asked, and when he was met by questioning faces, he said, "We're the Ace trio!"

Those questioning looks quickly became those of disagreement. "The asexual musketeers?" He tried again, and when they still disapproved, he said, "The Ace of Spades."

"How about the Ace Gang?" Buffy asked.

"That sounds way better." Marty said, and when he saw Jonah's frown, he patted his shoulder, "You tried, buddy."

He sighed. "Ace gang it is."

The moment only lasted a few seconds before Jonah realized they were late.

"We only have 5 minutes until TJ's performance!" he panicked.

Jonah set down his skateboard and started off while Buffy and Marty started running to get to the Red Rooster on time for TJ's performance.

"Hey, I hope we aren't late," Buffy told Andi, the gang taking a seat beside Andi and Amber.

"No, you're just on time. TJ's about to go on," Andi said.

"Where's Cyrus?" Marty asked.

"I don't know." She looked around but couldn't spot him. "He said he was coming back."

They watched a couple of performances before Bowie finally introduced who they were waiting to see.

"Now, give it up for TJ Kippen and Cyrus Goodman."

TJ went on stage where the keyboard was already set up, and Cyrus followed behind him.

They all looked at each other, mouths agape at Cyrus's sudden appearance onstage.

TJ played the piano while Cyrus sang the lyrics, and when their performance was finished, the gang went up to them, praising them.

"You two were awesome. Cyrus, why didn't you tell us?" Andi asked.

"Well, then it wouldn't be a surprise," he said matter-of-factly.

"Are you going to do more of these gigs?" Buffy asked

"Oh, no. This was just a one-time thing." Cyrus said. "I am a retired performer."

"Next time, the dumbass trio will be playing here with our original songs." TJ smiled.

Marty grimaced at the use of the nickname. "Dude, that's not something to be proud of."

"Sure it is." Amber ruffled TJ and Marty's hair. "All the chaos you've caused around the house is proof enough. You guys almost set the toaster on fire."

"Marty, you got stuck in a baby swing when you three were hanging out." Buffy laughed at the memory.

"The fire department had to get you out," Amber recalled. "See? When you three are together, chaos ensues. It's like you have half a brain cell between you three."

"All right, all right, that's enough. That's not going to be our band name," Marty said.

"What about DT?" Cyrus asked. "Or D3."

"No, we're still going to have to say that it stands for the dumbass trio, and I don't want us to be known as that," Marty said.

"Oh, so now you want to be a band?" TJ asked.

"Well, just as a hobby. I don't want it to be like Bowie's band, touring all over the world and everything."

"Ok, we'll keep it local. And as for the band name, we have time to take care of all this," Jonah said. "Besides, Bowie will be our manager. They'll help us."

"You bet I will." Bowie sounded behind them. "Hey, great performance, TJ, Cyrus. I hope we can see you on more of these nights."

"Nah, I'll leave that up to my boyfriend and our friends." Cyrus looked at said boyfriend and kissed his cheek, earning a blush from him.

"I'm happy to be working with you guys," Bowie said excitedly. "I've never managed anyone before. This is exciting. We'll meet on Monday, and you guys think of a band name. We're going to be working on that and what your sound is going to be, ok?"

They earned nods and 'ok's' from the trio, and they went to clean up in the back.

As for the group of friends, they all went their separate ways towards their own houses for the day to come.