Infinite

Me

𝄆 ♫♪ 𝄇
I wanna be, I wanna be free
I gotta be, I gotta be me
There's no one else I can be
Stick me in a cage and I'll break out
There's no way you can lock me up
There's no one else I can be
No one else but me
𝄆 ♫♪ 𝄇

"Girl, guess who just booked you for the school dance tonight?" Flynn pointed at herself, proud of her work as Julie's self-appointed manager. Mari heard whispers about the plan, but nothing official to solidify Julie and her band as the group playing at the dance that night. "That's right. Your manager did. And look at this killer post." Flynn was proud of the work she had done to get Julie's band out there, using whatever means necessary.

"My manager? And who would be my manager?" Julie joked. Flynn was the only person outside of her father that she would ever trust to be her manager. And she loved that Flynn naturally wanted to do it.

"I am." Flynn confirmed, jokingly offended at Julie's comment.

After the display of... things Julie did not ever want to mention, she wanted to get back to normal, which was writing songs and having fun making music. That had happened three days ago, and it seemed as though everything had settled. Boys were capable of making more drama than girls was something Julie had learned.

"So, when is the dance?" Julie asked. She had no idea what to expect from Flynn, but she would never truly know what ran through her head.

"Tonight. You go on at nine."

Ay, Dios mio, was the first thought to run through the Hispanic teen's mind. Mari was almost as shocked as Julie, but there was a part of her that knew it was coming.

Julie gulped, having no idea what to tell the guys. They weren't going to be receptive to playing a school dance. After (almost) playing the Orpheum, a high school dance was not exactly their speed. Anything that wasn't a club wasn't their speed, but they'd have to deal. The only thing that might've been worse was a middle school dance, but even she was thankful they weren't doing that.

"Oh, tonight. You are awesome, Flynn. I, um— I need to go home. Tell the guys. Come up with a set list. There are so many things—" Julie's mind went off on a huge tangent as she thought about everything that needed to be done.

"Julie, you still have school," Mari reminded Julie to snap her out of her thoughts. "Just relax. If you need anything, you have both of us to bounce ideas and thoughts off of."

"Right. Thanks. Gah, this is crazy." Julie couldn't believe it, and neither could Mari. Unfortunately for the latter, she knew that she could never imagine attending the dance, not with everything that had gone down since she was kicked out of the house she grew up in for a few days. She'd been hurting, but there wasn't much she, or anyone else, could do. Music had been her savior, no matter how quiet it had to be.

"We're right here, Julie. Whatever you need." Flynn gave Julie a thumbs up before letting them know that they all had to go to class. Mari's class was with a dreadful woman who thought grammar was the key to saving their falling world. There were plenty of things wrong with the world, but grammar was closer to the bottom than the top.

"Hey, Mari? How's everything going at, you know, at home?" Flynn pulled Mari aside after Julie had left for class. They weren't close, but Flynn finally thought of her as a friend, and friends never left other friends behind.

"As good as it can be. I'll survive." Mari was counting down the days until she graduated high school and could get out of her step-mother's house. Laura had become a monster, so much so that her own daughter didn't recognize her. Sofia was terrified of her own mother, and tried her very best not to make her mad, lest she take it out on either one of them.

"Mari, seriously, you're welcome to crash at my place whenever. My door is always open. And there are plenty of extra bedrooms. For whatever reason." What Flynn's parents did for a living wasn't something she knew. All Flynn knew was that they made a lot of money and barely raised her. If it weren't for a great nanny and cook, she'd be dumb as a box of rocks and starved half to death.

"I hope it never needs to come to that." Mari gave a weak half-smile, which did not put Flynn at ease. But, she let it go anyway. The offer would still stand no matter whether Mari thought she needed it or not.

"My door is always open." Flynn reminded her, before going to her own class—physics with one of the few competent teachers in their high school. Mari knew that Flynn was genuine and they'd both forgotten about their tense history, too.

A few long and arduous hours of class later, Mari was not ready to leave. But, her step-mother did know she didn't have any after school activities, and coming up with one at the literal last minute would only raise questions. Not only would it demand answers, but also would require at least some grounding. She had to take the bus just to get home, but at least it was only a twenty minute trip. When she got home, it was as if she turned into Cinderella, but this Cinderella was more than willing to break the rules if she wanted to.

"Hello, Marietta. The main floor needs to be perfect before dinner. I trust that you'll make it spotless. And use the good cleaning soap. I have a fancy dinner tonight with some work friends, so you and Sofia will need to stay in your rooms all night." Mari was not happy, but she was planning to sneak away for a couple hours and hang out with the guys or Julie or Flynn. Maybe even Carrie.

"Understood." Mari took an hour to clean everything and leave it sparkling. Of course, it could pass the white glove test, but she didn't need to stick around to see it happen. "Laura, the main floor is clean."

"Dinner is upstairs with Sofia. Don't come down again." She nodded and walked upstairs. But, what she didn't expect was to see someone in her room. It wasn't any of the guys or her friends or anyone like that. Sofia was sitting in her room, eating dinner atop Mari's bed.

"Mari, I'm covering for you tonight. You go hang out with your friends. You deserve a little fun. Come on, I found the best way out." Mari was both shocked and happy to see that her half-sister was willing to be this nice, especially given Laura's actions.

"Really?" She'd seen enough movies to know that the person offering to cover wasn't always trustworthy, but she didn't see why not. Mari knew the worst case scenario, and was willing to accept it if her half-sister truly was that manipulative. If that was the case, she knew she'd want to get the hell out of there.

"Mari, what Laura's doing to you isn't right. I'm twelve and even I know there's something up. I'm hoping that I can figure it out, and I'll text you if I do." Mari gave Sofia a hug, feeling as though she was genuine. "Now, let's go before you turn into a pumpkin, Cinderella."

"Hey!" Mari was slightly insulted, but it was nice to know someone else thought the same thing about her life. "Okay, but seriously, how am I getting out? We're on the second floor."

"And that, my dear half-sister, is why fire escapes exist." Neither girl knew how it had gotten as far as it had—they weren't exactly quiet, but not speaking at a normal volume either. "Now, go. I'll distract Laura. Have fun."

"Thank you, Sof. I'll be back at ten. Text me if something goes wrong." Mari climbed down the ladder which hung down from the bathroom window and headed out through the backyard to the front of the neighborhood. She was happy to be away from her prison, and she got to see Luke... and the rest of the guys. And, of course, Julie.

She started to sing as she walked to Julie's, since it was only a short walk to her house, and felt happy. She had a great group of friends that were willing to do anything for her, and her music was growing more than it had in ages. The last shades of her grief had finally left her, and in its place a beautiful flower of love and inner beauty.

"Mari! Hey. Um, we're actually going out. But, Julie is sticking around. And there's the dance tonight." Mari had completely forgotten about that. Maybe that was why Sofia told her to have some fun while she could. "We'll be there, though. Promise." Mari took the promise from Luke as seriously as any promise from anyone else.

Author's Note: Flynn clearly likes Mari a lot more now. Who knew first impressions could be so wrong? Also, Sofia is the best for plotting a way to get Mari out to go to the dance. We love sisters (though they're not always that great, lol). And who's not ready to see Luke's promise break??? I'm not... Vote and let me know what you think in the comments. All the best, MistyRider921.