Phoenix | hs au

3 - Platinum Foxes

The drive to Scottsdale wasn't as bad as usual. The roads here are far better to drive at rush hour compared to Chicago. There's always five or six lanes on major roadways, and people are far less aggressive here.

We pull up to a brick building in the middle of Downtown Scottsdale.Harry slips his hand into mine as we walk inside together. The sun has fallen further towards the horizon. It will be completely dark out by the time we leave tonight.

We enter through the side door, where we have entered many times before.

The club is certainly not one of the places I would have been comfortable performing at. It's usually pretty dark inside and full of people. Lots of pretty women and handsome men dancing together. Not my kind of vibe. I'm more of an acoustic set in a coffee shop kind of vibe, to be honest.

"Hey dude, where were you today? We totally renamed the band again." Finn tells Harry once he sees us approaching.

Harry lets his hand fall away from mine as we approach his two band mates. They're both wearing black tees and jeans, almost as if they planned it. Harry, wearing another white shirt, looks like an angel between the two of them.

"Oh you did? And what is it now then?" Harry inquires, seeming mildly annoyed he wasn't included in that conversation. However, the band's name changes more frequently than the months change. Last week it was Death Panda, and before that it was Clockwork Turtle.

"Platinum Foxes." Finn responds, smirking slightly. I catch Ash roll his eyes.

"Hi Katie." Ash says to me, which I return with a small wave while Harry and Finn talk more about band names. The four of us are standing in a tight hallway next to where the acts come out on stage. I can faintly hear music playing right now and the steady sound of feet on concrete.

"Well, it's too late to change it now. I told them to announce us as that. Maybe you should come to our meetings if you want to have an opinion." He crosses his arms coldly.

I shuffle to stand directly behind Harry as more people scoot past me. A few of them bump into me and force me closer to Harry's back.

I know Harry doesn't really care about the name of the band, as long as they can sing.

"We're on in two minutes. Can you two ladies stop your bickering?" Ash butts in finally, looking playfully annoyed. His sideways smile disappears as Finn smacks him on the arm.

"It doesn't matter." Harry finally says, spreading his hands wide, "Are we starting with Kiwi?"

"Yes." Ash says at the same time that Finn says, "No."

The three boys exchange expressions.

"What are we doing then?" Harry snapped.

"Thought we'd open with a cover of Go. You know, the Black Keys. We'd practiced it a bunch last week, why not use it?" Finn says. Ash makes a face behind him. Harry pushes some hair off his forehead in agitation. I pretend to be invisible.

"Fine, okay."

All four of our heads turn when the music onstage stops and a voice announces the next act, Platinum Foxes. Harry turns around and I give him a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing into the swirling mess of bodies in the hallway.

I find a table near the back of the room to sit at. A woman in a black dress comes by to ask if I'd like a drink but I turn it down. The three boys lumber up on stage, and of course my eyes are drawn to Harry. He's gotten more lean and muscular since we moved. We enjoy hiking and doing things outside now, which explains that.

Ash sits down behind the drum set, already twirling the drumsticks between his fingers. His light brown curly hair is kept off his forehead with a bandana. His eyes are alight with pleasure, scanning the room full of people. His biceps flex with each hit to the drums.

Finn throws his guitar strap over his shoulders and looks across the expanse of the room with empty eyes. His black hair hangs over his forehead in thick clumps. He's almost as tall as Harry, but not nearly as muscular. His shirt's top buttons are undone, showing his hairless chest.

Finn introduces the band and they begin to play. I watch Ash as he starts the beat, absolutely losing himself in the music. Finn plays it cool, as if he's above the whole thing. And Harry, my Harry, he jumps around the stage and sways with the music like he was born to do so.

"In the summer time, when it's hot outside, the streets are bare, there's no one there, and the valley is wide. There comes a time, two hearts of gold, leave together, run forever on the open road." Harry sings the first stanza with Finn adding some background vocals, mainly focusing on his guitar strings.

The songs picks up, and the choruses come and go, but my attention is fully focused on a tall blond man a few feet in front of me. The arc of his shoulder blades and the mole at the nape of his neck send me back five years ago, to the height of Brandon's abuse of me.

Suddenly I'm back in that house in Kalamazoo, with my long blond hair and fingernails dirty from blood.

Brandon, sober now, comes up behind me at the kitchen sink while I try to scrub the red off my cuticles. His arms fold across my abdomen, where a fresh bruise from the night before was starting to form.

"Hey babe." He coos into my ear. I try not to shiver; I focus on my nails underneath the hot running water.

"What're you doing?" He inquires in the same sweet voice.

I respond, "Just washing my hands."

"You've been washing them a while."

"They were dirty from working outside." I lie.

"Playing in the garden again? When are you going to give that up? Nothing good has ever grown." He unwinds his arms from around my waist and I can immediately breathe better.

"I don't know. It's fun." I say shortly. I turn the faucet off and turn around the dry my hands on the towel hanging over the stove. He steps in front of the stove and I raise my eyes to his for the first time that day.

"I'm going out tonight with David and some other guys from work. You'll be okay here, right?" He asks sweetly, almost batting his blond eyelashes at me. As if I had a say in whether or not he goes out.

"Of course. Have fun."

"I'll be back home later tonight to spend some time with my baby." He looks down at me with lust in his eyes, and I finally reach around him to grab the towel and dry my hands.

I know exactly what will happen tonight when he gets home, and I don't look forward to it one bit.