How To Save Rock And Roll

Chapter 13 - I think I know you from somewhere

You walked next to Martin down the silent streets of Chicago, the sky still a dark blue color speckled with white.
The walls of the buildings were almost completely covered with posters from the Syndicate, their symbol - a music note in a circle that's been crossed out - and the sentence "Silence the noise" posted on the walls too. Some were scribbled out or almost erased.
"My place is right there," He said as he pointed to an apartment just a few blocks away.
You kept walking until you arrived in front of the door. He walked up the few steps in front of the door and reached into the pocket of his jacket for his keys.

He was about to put the key in the lock when someone emerged from the shadows, calling his name. He jumped of surprise and put his hand on his chest.
"Oh fucking shit! You scared the shit out of me, Tyler," Martin said as he turned to the man just a few feet away from you two.
The man walked over to you. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He had a cut on his nose and bags under his eyes.
"Why are you here? It's late, you should go somewhere safe," Martin advised as he slipped the key in the lock.
"Actually, that's why I'm here. Josh told me you were out but I stayed here waiting for you to come back." Tyler retorted as he looked up at Martin.
"I'm sorry, Tyler, but I can't tonight. And...you need to stop with that Josh guy. He doesn't exist, we've already talked about that."
"Of course he exists!" Tyler said, "Tyler, tell him." He muttered under his breath as he looked next to him and kept mumbling things. You and Martin followed his gaze and saw nothing next to him.
Martin put a hand on your back and tilt his head to the side, motioning for you to enter the apartment. He followed after you but when he was about to close the door, Tyler spoke again, "Can you just...give us something to eat?"
Martin sighed and thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll give you something." He then entered the hall of the apartment and closed the door behind him.

"Sorry for that. He's just a bit..."
"Schizophrenic?" You cut Martin off as you were walking up the stairs of the small building.
"Yeah, you could say that." He stopped in front a door of the first story. He put his key in the lock and unlocked the door. He opened it and stepped to the side, allowing you to enter the apartment first. "So, this is my place." He walked in after you and went into the kitchen -which was next to the front door- "I'm going to give him something to eat, make yourself at home." You heard his voice sound from the kitchen as you stepped in the living room. You sat on the couch and heard something coming from the front door. "I'll be back soon."
He left the apartment and closed the door behind him.

Just a few minutes later, Martin reentered the apartment and joined you in the living room.
He looked at you, sitting on the couch with a confused look.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" You laughed.
"Hmm, I'm trying to remember why I brought you here."
"You're supposed to have music." You reminded him, meeting his gaze.
"Oh yeah that's right!" He exclaimed, jumping to his feet, "Follow me."
You stood up and followed him in front of a door, it was kind of a closet but bigger, maybe an office.

He opened the door and there were shelves full of books and vinyls, accompanied by boxes and papers that were scattered on the ground and a desk. In the corner of the room was what looked like a drum set and, next to it, a silver and black guitar. This guitar made you think about something, you've already seen it before.
"Come on, take this," Martin invited you to do as he handed you a box full of vinyls.
He picked up a record player that was sitting on a shelf and left the room with you.

You put the box on the coffee table in front of the couch and he did the same thing with the record player, then plugged it in.
"So what would you like to listen to?" He asked you.
You looked through all the vinyls and stopped at a Michael Jackson one, Thriller. Again, it made you think about something, someone, but you didn't know who or what it was. You picked it up and said, "I...I'd like to play this one."
"Good choice." He smiled as he took the record out of your hands and put the vinyl on the record player. As the music started to play, you could see a little circle of yellow appear around Martin's pupils.

He stood up and went into the kitchen, asking, "Want some wine?"
"Yeah, that'd be great," You answered.
He came back with a bottle of wine and two glasses. He filled the glasses with the red liquid and gave one to you.
"Have you known Tyler for a long time?" You inquired, taking a sip of your drink.
"Yeah, I actually met him before he became...like this."
"What happened to him?" You questioned.
"Five years ago, when the Syndicate got hold of Illinois, his friend Josh was shot dead by them as he was protesting against them. Since that day, Tyler's never been the same."
"Oh..." was all you could say.
He chuckled. "Yeah, it was pretty horrible. But let's talk about something else."
You agreed and changed the subject, talking a little longer and emptying the bottle of wine.

At a moment, you two were just staring at each other.
"Your eyes are gorgeous," You complimented him.
"Oh, thank you." He blushed.
"Why aren't you taking off that beanie? You're inside your house."
"I don't know," He mumbled, "You're right, I should probably take it off." He reached for the beanie on top of his head but you stopped him.
"No, let me do it for you." You leaned closer to him and took the beanie off his head. You looked at him in the eyes, you were just a few inches from him, "You know, from here, your eyes are even more beautiful."
He blushed even more, but this time looked down at his lap.
You leaned even closer from him and lifted his head up with your fingers.
He met your gaze and asked, "Do we know each other from somewhere already?"
You shook your head no. "I don't think so."

You put a hand on his shoulder and started to play with the hair on his neck, you were looking at your hand.
He smiled and put a hand on your thigh. "I think we drank a little bit too much tonight."
Your breathing started to pick up. "You think?" You leaned even closer to him and kissed him. He kissed you back, this time taking advantage.
He pushed you on the couch so that he was over you. His hands wandered all over your body, kissing and sucking at your neck for a little while before going back to your lips. He broke the kiss for a moment. "I think I know you from somewhere."
Just like him, you felt the same way. You've already seen him, heard this voice, seen those eyes, but where? You kissed him again. He put his hands behind your thighs and stood up, still kissing you.

He walked farther into the apartment and pushed the door to his bedroom open. He set you on the bed, not breaking the kiss.
You took him by the collar of his t-shirt and shoved him on the mattress.
You sat on his lap and took off your top, leaving you in your bra.
You started tugging at the hem of his t-shirt but he put his hands over yours, stopping you.
He moaned in the kiss and spoke against your lips. "I'm not really comfortable with this."
"Oh come on, you're beautiful," You said against his lips.
He let you take off his t-shirt and when done, you broke the kiss to look at his body. And that's when you saw a scar on his chest and everything came back in your mind. You gasp. "Patrick?"