My Little Decoy

♪ I Belong. That's What's Going On ♪ {26}

"And if you try to find me now
I'm in all the echoes that have faded out
So.. I'm moving on
Cause I just want to feel for once that I belong
That's what's going on." - Escape Route

It was the sound of banging cymbals and M. Shadow's screams that woke me the next morning. My eyes snapping open, I felt my pulse race as I quickly smacked my hand upon my ringing cell phone and pressed the accept button before its cries woke Marco up. I put my free hand to my heart, trying to calm its beating down a few notches. Marco preferred for me not to wake him up from his slumber and he's already proven his point the few times that I had tried.

"Rise and shine, gorgeous." Xander's voice chirped from the other line, sounding way too peppy for being awake at five in the morning. I rolled my eyes before stumbling out of bed, rubbing the back of my messy tangles.

"Why the hell are you calling me now?" I croaked out, my voice thick with sleep. Coughing, I figured that going back to sleep wasn't possible, so I started preparing for the oncoming school day.

"Two reasons." Xander started as I heard the muffled noises of shuffling on his side of the line. Seems like he was already getting ready for school as well. "One, I forgot to text you yesterday but Gabriel said we were meeting during lunch today and afterschool at Drake's house."

"Got it." I yawned, slipping out of my pajama shorts and struggling to pull up my skinny jeans with one hand. "Reason two?"

"I wanted to know if you were alright." His voice gained a protective tone to it and I frowned, even pulling the phone away from my ear and giving it a long, hard look before returning it to its former position. "I mean, I didn't want to leave you but the guys dragged me out. I just want to make sure you got home alright. Your old man didn't yell too much, did he?"

Frowning, I started feeling anxious until I remembered that Xander knew nothing about what went on at home. "Dad wasn't too upset." I replied, successfully not stumbling over the word 'dad.' "He was asleep by the time I came home." At least that part wasn't a lie.

"Wait, you were out? You didn't go straight home?" He asked, sounding curious and concerned.

Mouthing a curse to myself, I glanced around my room, as if the inanimate walls could conjure up a good enough lie. "I was uh- with... someone." I replied vaguely, yanking a Tonight Alive shirt out of my dresser drawer.

"Who?" Xander immediately asked.

"Well not just someone... some... people?"

"Who?" He asked again, this time much more insistent. I frowned at his tone but shook my head, until I realized he couldn't see me.

"Okay, don't freak out."

"Who, Lacey?"

I bit my lip before replying hesitantly, "...Tilted Reality?"

--

"Okay, so when did you suddenly get all buddy-buddy with Tilted Reality, Lacey? Huh?" Xander demanded as soon as I slammed my locker door shut. Throwing my backpack carelessly over one shoulder, I ignored his prescence leaning aginst the side of the locker next to me, his arms crossed across his chest.

"See, now if you hadn't hung up and let me explain..." I muttered under my breath, shouldering past him in order to get to my Chemistry class on time. The day had just barely started and I had already been woken up rudely and interrogated. Hearing footsteps behind me, I wasn't surprised as Xander easily caught up and matched my pace exactly.

"Well, will you explain now?"

"After Chem. I don't want to be late again and give the Grinch another reason to hate my guts." I gave him a look that practically screamed, "later" as we walked on. Xander pursed his lips but said nothing else as we made our way down the hallways of Weston. The large crowds created by the ringing of the warning bell were already beginning to disperse as students flooded into their assigned rooms.

Hurrying my pace so I could get to class on time, I led Xander through the remaining students milling around but managed to snag my backpack strap against someone's sweater. Muttering a rushed "sorry," I untangled the strap and started to move once more until I heard her voice.

"Oh, it's no problem, Lacey." Carter replied in a seemingly innocent tone. Freezing in my steps, I did a 180 and turned to face her, noting a small smirk on her face. Behind her were the Twins and Olivia, each staring at me with different expressions on their faces. So, they decided to stick with Carter, huh?

"Lacey, come on, we're going to be late." Xander breathed, popping up beside me, but once he caught sight of my former friends, he too paused in his place. "Oh... Hi guys."

"Hey, Xander." Carter switched her gaze to his, half-smiling. "Long time, no see. Why haven't you been talking to us lately?"

"I, uhm. I- Well you see."

"He's been busy." I answered for him, stepping forward until Xander was behind me.

Carter's gaze whipped back to meet mine. "I'm sorry; I didn't think I asked you."

"He and I have been busy practicing with our band." I continued, as if she hadn't spoken. Watching her eyes for a reaction, a small smirk slipped onto my face when her jaw dropped open.

"Xander? You too?" She gasped out incredulously, giving Xander an accusing stare. He shrugged back in response, eyes widening.

"Carter-"

She interrupted him before he could finish his statement, letting out a strangled snort. "I guess this competition is really showing us who your true friends are. Xander, I expected more of you."

The five of us were caught in a staredown as the tension became increasingly choking. Glares and unspoken threats were being exchanged as former friends began to tear apart. The shrill shrieking of the bells ahead managed to return our senses back to us, and I silently cursed when I remembered that I didn't want to be late for Chemistry class.

"Carter, let's go." Olivia pleaded, giving me a hurried expression mixed with guilt and conflict. She grabbed Carter's wrist and after a second of struggling, the former finally turned around to leave.

"One last thing, Carson. The official website's up. So are the list of current contestants." Wondering why she was even saying this, I opened my mouth to retort when she finished, "I hope you didn't make it." With one last dark look, Carter allowed Olivia to lead her away, as the Twins trailed behind silently. Amber gave me a sad smile over her shoulder before Caleb pulled her away too.

Finally, I released the breath I didn't realize I was holding. The tardy bell rang above my head, and I started to walk the remaining feet towards my class. The sound of footsteps behind me indicated Xander matching my pace again. Turning to glance at him, he gave me a small, reassuring smile.

This time, I couldn't help but half-smile back.

The rest of the day flew by in a blur, and soon, I found myself in Drake's basement, staring at the ceiling in anticipation. Throughout the entire day, the only thing eating at my thoughts were Carter's words. If the official website was up, it meant that it showed the list of all bands that had auditioned and the judges thought were well enought to continue in the Battle. If Chasing Avenues didn't make it...

"Oh, calm your tits, Lacey." Drake snorted, scooping up one of the plush pillows sitting on the couch and tossing it at my head. It hit my face lightly, and as it fell, I shot Drake a glare. Feeling a blush rise to my cheeks, I didn't realize that I had spoken out loud, and his reply didn't help. I tossed the pillow back at him, biting down the urge to stick my tongue out childishly.

Zac laughed at our antics, sitting comfortably on the recliner opposite from where the two of us were sitting, throwing pillows back and forth at each other. With a glass of lemonade in his hand, he took another sip as Drake continued attacking me with stuffed pieces of fabric.

"Guys, cut it out." Gabriel snapped, glancing over his shoulder to give us a frown. Behind him was Drake's laptop, the browser open to the what was supposed to be the contest page, but instead had the words, site currently unavailable, written in a large font. "Xander, is it letting you in yet?"

"Nope." Xander replied, popping the 'p.' He tapped away on his phone, pressing the refresh button over and over again. He was situated on the floor beside Gabriel, looking like the vocalist's puppy. "The servers are still down. A lot of people must be trying to get in."

"Well that's a lovely thought." I muttered, feeling anxious once more. Yet again, I recieved a pillow to my face. "Drake!" Chuckling, Drake gripped his stomach, falling over in his laughter.

Rolling his eyes, Zac set his now-empty glass on the table, clapping his hands together and standing up. "Stop being so pessimistic, Lacey. We'll get in. I'm sure of it."

"And because we're so confident, we should start picking our song for round two." Drake agreed, finally calming himself down and attempting to put on a serious face. He hugged his last piece of arsenal to his chest, nodding.

"You cocky bastards." Gabriel smirked at them, spinning around in his revolving chair until he was facing the four of us. "Say we do get in though. Which song should we play? Remember this round, we'll be getting streamed across the nation." Xander visibly paled at that fact.

"Breaking and Entering by Tonight Alive?" Drake asked.

"Do I look like girl to you?" Gabe snorted. Drake opened his mouth as Gabriel interjected, "Don't answer that."

"How about... Lonely Boy by The Black Keys?" pondered Zac, tapping his chin as he made his way to sit on the arm of my recliner.

"Too indie; we want to show them that we're consistent." Gabriel managed to conjure up another explanation, wrinkling his nose. "Do any of you have ideas?" He jutted his chin out towards Xander and I.

"Enter Sandman? Metallica?" Xander guessed, shrugging.

"Too metal..." Gabriel sighed, running a hand through his hair, mussing it up.

"Closer to the Edge by 30 Seconds to Mars." I said, raising my hand sarcastically as I mimicked a little school girl. "I mean, if you can hit the notes Jared Leto can." I arched an eyebrow tauntingly. Gabriel narrowed his eyes but contemplated the song, spinning around once in his chair.

"I don't know..." He murmured, but Drake shrugged and insisted, "I like the song; love the band. I think we can do it." Zac and Xander murmured words of agreement, smiling. "Are you up for it, Gabe?"

There was long silence as Gabriel contemplated his options. I waited as patiently as I could but after a while, my foot started tapping on the linolium carpet.

"Fine." Gabriel agreed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "If we make it in, we'll play Closer to the Edge."

"Calm your tits, we'll make it in." I mocked Drake, smirking at Gabriel. Beside me, Drake broke out into laughter, and I felt his body shaking next to me.

"Guys." Xander piped up from his spot, his voice sounding low and somber. He gripped his phone tightly, not meeting anyone's gaze.

"Mm?" Zac questioned, his eyes still twinkling as he watched me and Drake give each other looks.

"...The website's up." Immediately, the pillow threats and laughter faded as we all straightened in our seats, giving our full attention to the rhythm guitarist.

"And?" I asked, feeling the anxiety return for its revenge, gripping my heart in a tight lock. The look on Xander's face said it all and I felt as if someone had hit me upside the head with a metal baseball bat.

Suddenly, Xander's frown started to lift, as it morphed into his signature grin. "We're in."

There was a pause, then the room suddenly exploded into cheers and hollers. Taking a few breaths as my brain processed the fact, I didn't see Drake lift something over his head until the last second.

Falling over onto Zac as the final pillow in Drake's arsenal -undeniably the largest that the Mallone family owned- smacked me clear across the face, I barely heard Drake's cry of success over the shock from the impact. "Hell yeah, Lacey. I told you we would make it!"

For the second time that day, I found a smile slowly slipping onto my face. I let out a strangled laugh as Zac's face appeared in my vision, beaming. "You alright there, Lacey?"

"I'm fine." I replied, still half-smiling loopily. And this time, I meant it.

--

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this regular updating thing. Haha, woo. I'm finally starting to get inspired for this story, and it's awesome. So I hope you all like the new chapter. Please continue supporting me by commenting, voting, and promoting this story. You guys are my heroes. ;)

-Isa