Social Norms (Synacky)

Chapter Forty-Four

Author's Note: If you are reading this on a computer, that YouTube video to the right is Shattered by Broken Dreams so you can give it a listen as it is introduced. I'm not sure if it shows up on the mobile app, but if it does, you can listen to it as well.

-foREVerADeathbat

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Three days later, Brian was at Justin's house. It was the last place he expected to be, Justin wasn't exactly the kinda guy Brian became good friends with. But he had written a song, and wanted Brian to go over it with him.

"I don't want Jimmy or Matt to do it, because they're so good at writing lyrics and I'm self conscious about this one." Justin told Brian as he unlocked the door to his apartment. Brian had never been to Justin's place, he didn't even know him that well, really. But he didn't mind running over his song, Justin was an okay guy, except for when he was trying to smash Brian's face in.

Justin was just a little... strange. The walls in his apartment were bare, with no pictures or art on the wall, not even a clock. In the small living room, there were a few empty frames hanging on the wall, which Brian thought was a little weird, and a sheet covered the window.

"C'mon." Justin opened a door which led to a bedroom. He had a couple bass guitars in the corner of the room, and on the wall above his bed, the words "Death is gently rapping, rapping" were painted in neat cursive. What the fuck? Justin went to a dresser and rummaged through a drawer before pulling out the notebook Brian had seen him writing in a few times before.

"Read this." Justin said, flipping through the pages and shoving the book in Brian's hands. Brian flicked his eyes over the top of the page, reading the title. Shattered by Broken Dreams.

What was wrong with this guy?

He read the song, and had to admit, it was actually pretty good. "Hey, I like this." He said, rereading over the parts of the song that stood out to him. "It's dark. It's deep. It'll go great on the album." He looked up and Justin smiled.

"Good. I don't really have a melody for it, but if you like it, I'll show it to everyone else and see what Jimmy and Matt can do with it."

"Yeah, yeah, they'll be able to bring it to its full potential." Brian couldn't help but glance around the room. Not even an alarm clock. "How do you tell what time it is?"

"Oh I've got a clock in the kitchen." Justin left the room and Brian trailed behind him. "Do you want some whiskey?"

"Um, probably not, I drove over here." They went into the kitchen, also very plain. There was a microwave, fridge, small stove. There was no clock in the room, but a gold chain was nailed to the wall, a pocket watch hanging on the end of it. Justin went to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of Jack Daniels and a "Welcome to Disneyworld!" shot glass.

"Yeah, okay." He poured some whiskey into his cup, then asked, "Hey, have you ever tried drugs?"

Brian had smoked pot a few times, but Justin was talking about something totally different as he pulled a small bag of something strange and white from a cabinet.

So, they got high. It was something different, Justin showed him how to break the powder and line it carefully, then they rolled a dollar bill so they could sniff it up. It hurt a little, making his nose sting, but the drug's effects were nearly instant. He didn't feel mellow and relaxed as he had getting high before. He felt elated, ecstatic, like he could reach up and touch the clouds.

It was amazing.

He never felt so much energy thrumming through his veins. Brian laughed and fell back on the floor, wanting to run, wanting to get out his energy, to shout to the world that he was absolutely happy. Instead he just lie still, feeling on top of the world, feeling the best he'd ever felt.

It was like he was kissing Zacky.

Just the same, really. Except he didn't even need Zacky here to experience this.

They did some very stupid things involving Justin's mattress and a flight of stairs, all of them exciting and exhilarating, and then...

Then it began to slow down. He all of the sudden stopped feeling so great. He had a headache, and he felt angry and distressed. He didn't understand.

So this is what it feels like to crash from heaven...

But it had been fun. He had to admit, it'd been great. Good enough that when Justin invited him to come back again on Thursday, he'd said "of course."

Like he'd ever miss out on that.

He went home, throbbing headache fueling his irritable mood, and headed straight upstairs to lie down.

~*~

"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present to you a true masterpiece; behold! The Art of Subconscious Illusion!"

Woah. Even the name had promise. Everyone gathered around Jimmy, trying to peer at the page over his shoulder as he explained, "This is the album's rape song."

Literally.

"Wait, why?" Brian asked, "I don't want a song about rape on this album."

"Look, it tells a story. It's from a psychopath's point of view. We get to look at it through his eyes. He hates what he's doing, he knows it's wrong, but he can't stop himself."

"He hates himself." Matt mused as he mulled over the lyrics. "He wishes he could stop but at the same time-"

"He never will. He's become addicted." Justin finished, "It's great."

"And this song, Val, is one that I think you should sing on." Jimmy pointed to a place on the page. "Right there. You'll be screaming of course, and it'll really add another element to the song."

"Alright," Brian said, "Let's get to work on the riffs."

In the back of the room, Zacky asked in his hushed voice, "Do you want to come to my house tomorrow?"

Tomorrow... what day was that? Thursday? Brian opened his mouth to say "Yes," but quickly stopped himself. He was going to go to Justin's tomorrow. As much as he hated to admit it, the thrill of a new high was more tempting than kissing under a homemade tent.

"Um, I've got plans." Brian replied, "I'm going down to the studio with my dad."

"Oh." Brian felt a little guilty at the disappointment that flashed briefly across Zacky's features. "Maybe some other time."

"Yeah, I'll make up for it. I'll take you out to dinner next week."

Zacky perked up at this, "Yeah, okay, that'll be good. How about next Monday?"

"Sure." Brian replied, before asking Zacky to play him an E.