Knock Me Down - [COMPLETE]

16 - Then It Started

I should have known he wouldn't disagree.

"Relax, man, I can see you flooding your damn room with your sweat from down here" Holden whisper yells from my yard, tired of urging me to climb down. I don't remember it being this high up. Or maybe it's the fact I'm sneaking out to somewhere that ain't my neighborhood to go see my neighbor.

"Maybe if you were the one up here you'd understand. How would you like to break your leg, sneak back in and explain waking up with a broken leg to your family?!"

He sighs and stretches his arms out, "Just climb out and jump. I'll catch you"

"..." I grip the window sill, "That's fucking dumb"

"Trust fall, bro"

"I'm heavy!"

"Dude, you're fine" He tries comforting me, "Anyone is when jumping down a house"

"Thanks, Holden" It's all sarcasm.

I ease myself out, making sure Benicio or anyone else hasn't woken up to witness my miscreant behavior. After another minute I take a deep breath, turn and fall.

I land on top of Holden and our heads bonk together like a coconut out of a tree.

"You're supposed to warn me before you jump!" We hiss and groan and he murmurs under me in pain, "This is a terrible idea"

"We're outside and alive, I think so far it's brilliant"

We wait in Holden's car for about 30 minutes until we see Jasper eventually come out of his garage in his dad's van. There's a girl in the passenger seat but it's too dark to see anything significant. We follow at a distance for about thirty minutes.

"You know, now that we're here n' all, this is weird. This is really weird, Mateo. Is everything alright? You didn't manipulate me into helpin' you on a revenge scheme? Is this an assassination? Fuck, are you gonna JFK Jasper?" Holdens looking at me but I'm focused on the building and how we'll get in.

"I think there's people hanging around the back. We could slip in there" I say ignoring Holden.

He mutters an okay and we sneak around back like we're foreign spies. There's a few people but they're either smoking regular squares, drinking or on their phone. Holden, getting passed the oddness of the situation, makes a gun with both his hands and starts humming spy themed music, "Coast is cl— "

"What in the ever-loving-fuck are you two doing?"

We stumble around and Holden whips his finger gun at Connor who's leaning by the back door with what's probably pot.

"Don't shoot" He jokes and gets off the wall to face us better, "Oh, hey babe. Hey, Holden. You guys are just in time for the opening"

"Uh, hey" The fact Connor is here, outside this club, and even knows what's going on makes me a little envious, "I didn't expect you to be here"

He cocks his head and looks at both of us, "Well, Ive never seen you two here"

Holden nods, "Fair. We were trying to sneak in. This ones doing some investigating" He nudges me and Connor looks amused.

He beams, "Jasper related?"

"Hijo de la—" I feel heat climb up from the lower part of my face, "Yes. I was just curious about what he does at these ungodly hours"

He's smirking and takes a puff of his joint. I don't know how this guy's mind works but he's the Willy Wonka of all the weirdos I know. If Willy Wonka was gay and smoked Mary Jane.

"You guys wanna see then?"

Connor has access to the back door. It leads through a mostly clear hallway and he walks us to wide room. There's equipment lying around, some mirrors and make up vanity area on one wall, and a bathroom. In better lighting I see Connor has glitter in his hair and light, messy eye make up. He waltz over to a corner of laminated passes. He tosses one at each of us.

"As of today in the confines of this magical club, and the power invested in me as your fairy god mother, you're 21. Fuck shit up"

I want to ask how he can do all this and why he's here but he says, "Shows about to start. It gets pretty full so try to get a decent view without rubbing on too many bodies"

"I owe you one" I say meaning it.

Holden gives Connor a light touch on the arm following his gratitude, "Yeah, seriously, Con-man. And nice mug"

"I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to be friends, babe. Thanks, Holden" Connor smiles and looks at me, "Now get out"

We bask in the main floor and Holden has to raise his voice to tell me, "This is dope"

It's nothing like any club I've seen in the movies. There's nothing too crazy happening but the people are dressed oddly, aesthetically, or really eccentric. I agree with him, "Groovy"

I look on stage and three people are settling in with their instruments. The drummer has long platinum hair with the top half tied back. He has realistic looking elf ears, septum piercing, ghost make up on...and is in a black tuxedo?

One guitarist has a sugar skull painted on her face, short black hair, and a formal black pantsuit. The other electric guitarist was wearing a slutty wedding dress with revealing stockings and white pumps. Except, her whole outfit was covered in fake blood. She even had fangs, white eye contacts and bold dramatic, Gothic make up. A guy with long black dreadlocks holding a microphone in a pilot costume had a phantom of the opera like mask. I can assume that's probably the singer.

"They look fucking sick" Holden and I simultaneously praise.

A minute later another body comes walking out completely shirtless holding  a bass. Black trousers and sleek dress shoes but no shirt.

"Mierda."

"Is that-?" Holden starts but I answer for him.

"Yup." Jasper had on some fake wounds, blood and a skull painted on from the neck up.

And he looks very attractive. I suspected he had musical interests from what I've seen but i didn't know THIS is what he was hiding.

"Looks good, right?" Connor appears again.

"Yeah, he--" I stop myself and spin around. He has that look where he knows things I don't, "I mean, yeah. It's awesome here. Haha"

Holden puts an arm around Connor, "Why the fuck didn't I know about this place and how do you play a part in all this?"

The lights transition into black light, and any white, special effects make up and even parts of the instruments started glowing.

"No more questions, just take it in"

And then it started.