Chasing Conspiracy [ON HOLD]

Chasing Conspiracy

Chastity Schitz. It was a name that haunted me from the beginning of time. It certainly did not help the awkward phase of my transition into high school. My lack of assets in the back and the front as well as my stubborn blond hair also made everything…awkward. But I’m not here to drown you with the insecurities of another angsty and melodramatic teenage girl. No, my friend, this is a tale of vengeance, triumph, friendship, love and a bunch of other cliché crap.

And no one intelligent called me Chastity. I went by Chase, back then and now. So, come hither and listen. It started about three years ago…

Have you ever had chocolate chip cookies shoved down your ears? In a normal non-hypothetical situation, it would suck eggs. But here, listening to Chasing Conspiracy, that’s how I would describe the effect, their sound had on me. And it did not suck eggs. Set aside their asinine name and they were pretty decent.

“Hell yeah, Ty! You can undress me anytime!” one of the screaming girls proclaimed to the band’s lead singer. He shot her a wink as fast as a petite brunette gave a venomous glare. Needless to say, desperate girl shrinked away.

 “Chase.” My best friend, Abby, glanced at me, with a grin that shined with her red hair.

Cue the synchronized laughter.

Girls. It’s a good thing Abby and I didn’t have that kind of drama. Nothing would ever get in between us.

At Melting Mango, teenagers could hang out, drink smoothies, and listen to some pretty sweet bands. Smoothie shop by day, teenage club by night. Local bands like Chasing Conspiracy could play gigs here. In fact, every year, Melting Mango holds a Battle of the Bands with a very attractive cash prize. You didn’t necessarily have to be in a band, you just needed to have a group of at least two people doing something musical.

“I don’t get why girls swoon so much over Ty when there’s a very yummy guitarist right next to him,” Abby practically purred, causing me to chuckle.

“Oh, please, you’re just being biased. Ty is your brother after all,” I pointed out.

“Even so…” Abby trailed off, continuing to drool over Mr. Yummy Guitarist.

I rolled my eyes. Ryder Haze, that’s his name. First of all, why parents would name their child with a name like that is beyond name. If a kid already has to grow up with a last name like Haze, why curse them with the name, Ryder. No, changing the “I” to a “Y” does not make a name cool.

He was only a freshman like Abby and I, yet Chasing Conspiracy let him in with open arms. It was pretty obvious why though. His fingers moved over the guitar swiftly and with ease, producing rough, yet pleasant chords.

“You don’t like him, but that’s because you’re biased. You have a hot singing guitar-playing man of your own,” Abby retorted. My face darkened immediately into a color that would have put a tomato to shame.

“Ugh, will you stop moaning over boys? It’s gross,” Christian, our male best friend, gagged. I flicked his eye in quick succession. “Ow! What the hell was that for?”

“Acting like a male.” Abby laughed at my remark and resumed dancing. She then glimpsed over my shoulder

“Speaking of boys, yours has arrived,” she giggled. Christian rolled his eyes, causing me to kick his shin and inflict pain once more.

Before I could hear what he muttered under his breath, I navigated my way through hyper hormonal teenage girls with my boyfriend in sight. Finally, we were at arms length. And then we started spontaneously making out and groping each other. Just kidding.

“Hey,” I greeted.

“Hey,” Drew Fletcher greeted back with a mischievous smile, his messy chocolate hair sweeping over eyes that matched his hair.

“Hey,” I said, dreamily. He laughed then slipped a piece of my wavy, blonde hair behind my ear. His arms suddenly enveloped me into an embrace.

“I missed you, Chase. It’s been so long, I can’t stop thinking about you.” He whispered into my ear.

I blinked. “We only saw each other a few hours ago at school today.”

Drew stuck his tongue out at me. “Alright, sassy pants, just trying to be romantic.” I smirked, before brushing my lips against his.

Backstage, my friends and I met up with the band. Ty was arguing with the petite brunette from before.  Looks like winking at girls who wanted you to rip their clothes off was a big no no.

“Girl drama,” Christian scoffed. I elbowed him in the gut, which then followed with an “oomph!”

“Not all of us are drama. Remember, your only friends are girls,” I said. Abby chuckled in agreement.

“That’s not true! You guys are my best friends, not my only friends,” he persisted.

“Riiiight.” Christian simply made a face. Suddenly, Abby grabbed both of our arms and shook them excitedly.

“Oh my God, Ryder’s right over there,” she squealed in delight. “Ryder!” she called him over.

Ryder was cleaning up his guitar and speakers when he heard Abby. His head slowly lifted up to show a complete poker face. Abby sighed when he casually wiped sweat off of his forehead and started towards us. Christian frowned deeply as Ryder approached.

“Um guys, I’ll catch up with you later. I think I’ll go talk to Wheeler,” Christian uttered under his breath. Before I could stop him, he scurried off.

“What’s up?” Ryder did one of those nod things that guys did when they thought they were cool. Well, I guess he had the look going for him. Atop his head laid wild dyed red hair that simultaneously seemed as if he took hours to gel it that way and as if he had just gotten out of bed. He possessed steel gray orbs that bored into you. Of course, since Chasing Conspiracy was a punk-esque band he had the appropriate ear piercings and chains, but I wouldn’t say he was extreme.

“YouweresoawesomeoutthereIlovewatchingyouinallofyourconcertsandomigodyouaresoawesome!” Abby practically vomited the words. Oh no, this girl was a disaster when she was nervous.

Ryder gave her a funny look. “Uh, I think I only caught ‘awesome.’”

Abby’s face darkened to a shade deeper than her hair. I squeezed her hand. “She said you were great out there. You’ll go far,” I added, and Abby nodded her head vigorously in agreement.

Initially, he appeared taken aback by the compliment then gave us a hint of a grin. “Thanks,” he replied and coolly strutted away in a Ryder-like manner. Which was actually rude because we weren’t done with the conversation. My eyes narrowed at his retreating back.

Abby squealed once more. “Do you think he likes me?” she questioned eagerly.

“He’d be dumb not to,” I answered honestly. She yelped in excitement and pulled me in a tight hug.

“It’s too bad, though, you and Drew are facing Chasing Conspiracy in the Battle of the Bands.”

I shrugged in indifference. “I don’t have a crush on any of them, so it doesn’t matter to me.”

“Yeah, but who will I cheer for?” Abby’s face contorted in puzzlement.

I grinned at her. “Me, obviously. Sisters before misters, right?”

Her expression matched mine. “Forever,” she agreed.

And if you know these kinds of stories by now, you should know that forever is a crappy promise to make.