At Dare's House

[Lace Kellan]

Lace was late for the jamming session she knew that but after the date with Max the night before, Lace was tired and happy and had to give herself a few extra hours to sleep. Those few extra hours of sleep made her forget her whole schedule and when she did remember about the jamming session it was well past lunch and she couldn't even get her phone to work to text Takumi or Dare. She wanted to invite Max but she didn't want to seem over eager with him so she decided to go alone.

Henley graciously offered to drive her over to Dare's place and once she arrived, she raced to the elevator and asked for the Madison's apartment and was sent straight to the top where she heard a bit of talking and laughing and she wondered who could be behind the elevator doors. With a soft ping, the doors swished open and she saw two boys she recognised and another she vaguely remembered to have seen at a party. He talked a lot. He was very bouncy too.

With a smile, she walked in and greeted Dare with a big hug and Takumi as well. "Hi! I am so sorry I'm late. I lost track of time and well...anyway hi!" she turned to the dark haired boy with the infectious smile. "I'm Lace. I think we met at Sarah Hayes' party the other time...um...over spilled M&Ms I think?" She recalled the event and laughed a little. It had been slightly awkward at that party but the other boy had helped break the ice so it hadn't been that bad.

"So...who else is coming?" Lace asked, turning her attention to Dare.

[Dare Madison]

Dare could see that Taki was thinking hard about something, probably trying to figure out what they were talking about. "The instruments are set up in the studio," he said softly, standing up again to show Taki the rest of the apartment. "Here I will show you." He led the way to the other apartment where the living room had been turned into a recording studio. There were instruments of all types in there even some traditional Japanese instruments. such as Koto, Jushichi-gen, Biwa, Sangen and Shakuhachi. There was recording equipment as well which meant lots and lots of cables. "Be careful walking, there is no real help for the cords. Dad wants to get the place rewired, but the landlord hasn't approved it yet. Dare turned the lights on and the room seemed to spring to life with mirrored walls and lights on the speakers and amps. He went to where a golden guitar was set in a stand. It was his Gigliotti GT Mad Professor which he loved. The gold on the box seemed molten and to move in the light. He reached down to caress it lovingly, his fingers moving over the frets lovingly.

[fryn]

Takumi smiled happily as he hugged Lace in return and he watched as she went on to talk with Evan. She seemed less shy than the last time they'd spoken and for that he was glad. "Kian and Connor are coming. Do you know them? And... Mike...?" He glanced at Evan to make sure he'd remembered the name correctly, earning a nod of approval for his efforts. "Mike. Yes. Lia can't come, though," he added with a lift of his shoulders. "She has a date!"

Dare showed them the studio and Takumi wandered around it, trailing his fingers lightly across the amazing display of instruments. A lot were from his homeland and it brought back memories with a sharp tug at his heart. He brushed that swiftly aside with a bright smile. "I will get my bass," he said, darting from the room - carefully avoiding the leads as Dare had warned.

He was back seconds later and placed the case down in the far corner. He drew out his treasures Zon bass and began to re-tune it. He always stored it with the strings loose to make sure they duidn't wear or - worse still - break completely.

"Ginger is well," he told Dare and Lace. "We found a kitten," Takumi added for Evan's benefit. "I have her at my home. She's getting fat," he finished with a laugh.

[Dare Madison]

www.modernguitars.com/imagefiles/sterling/gigi1.gif Dares Gigliotti GT

"Hi Lace," Dare said warmly and hugged the girl. How is the dog walking going?" Dare asked. Rosco ran in hearing Lace's voice and yipped for attention. He knew the girl from walks in the park which is where Dare and Lace had met in the first place. The puppy pawed at her shoe when she didn't notice him immediately. "Would you like something to drink? There is soda and juice in all the fridges. There was about a total of eight refrigerators in the entire complex and they kept them full specifically for this kind of event. Dare was wearing a purple toxic religion tee and his favorite shredded jeans.

[Isaac]

“Hi Lace! Of course I remember you! I wasn’t drunk, like everyone thought I was.” Evan chuckled, waving at Lace. “Don’t think it was M&Ms though, I wouldn’t have let candy go to waste. What was it....sure I ate some. Popcorn, I think. No, it was corn chips! I think it was corn chips! I ate some. It was all good, 10 second rule after all.” Evan explained, having no problem eating food that may have been on the floor if he obeyed that rule. “I’m Evan. In case you can’t remember me shouting my name at you at the party. I probably did. I shout a lot at parties.”

He made his way into the other room, not so much carefully avoiding the leads as jumping over them as he made his way over to the drum kit, awe on his face. “This is even better than candy.” he sighed, for the second time very carefully sitting behind it. “It’s like Christmas!” he enthused, pulling out his drumsticks and twirling them in his hands. “We’re all set! And with a groupie too, awesome!” he joked, sticking his tongue out at Mike.

“Kitty at my foot and I wanna touch it!” Evan grinned. “That’s cool! And cool name for it too. I don’t have a cat. But I’ve got a co-ownership in two snakes. That’s even cooler. No offence.” He teased. Hearing a familiar beep, he pulled out his phone, checking it. “That’s Connor. They’re going to be here very soon. And then leaving. He said they have to drop Mike off and go elsewhere. Or he’ll be in big trouble. Haha, funny.” Evan laughed. “Wanna start then?”

[Mike Spruill]

"Man this place is like ten times the size of that boat...i wonder how many boats could fit in here." Mike said joking around. "Good think Kian. I might need a ton of the advil if Evan is playing. Is there any way to make him think he is playing but in reality we are listening to a tape..." Mike suggested, "No...not gonna happen..no fair...you guys are not leaving me right...I will not suffer alone." He siad joking.

Mike was in a semi good mood. Moving out was never easy, butit was a good move. Sure he was a sophomore , but he did research on on emmancipation. Although it would take a while and the process was long, he could do it. He needed to. But first things first and Mike needed to heal and see if he could ge off the drugs. He doubted he could, but he needed to, but still not sure he could. God he was a mess.

Mike walked into the place after being let in. He looked around. "Man this place is nice." He said as he looked at different things until he heard Evan's voice. "Man could he get any louder." Mike loved making fun of Evan, he was a good sport about the whole thing. Mike followed the voice and smirked as he walked in. "Man do you have a microphone or something. I don't think they can hear you down the street." He said joking around. "So this it the famous Dare's house. Nice to meet everyone. I am Mike." He said as he looked at Taki, Lace and then....

he spotted a kid with long hair, who looked very different in the day light, "Wait...aren't you the guy from the beach."

[Dare Madison]

Dare turned as a voice made his heart leap and he recognized his rescuer from the night before. "Hey," he said softly three letters fraught with meaning for he had thought he would never see him again despite making Anthony write his address down for him. "I'm Dare Madison. I'm glad you're here. I was kicking myself for forgetting to introduce myself last night. This is like amazing, like God is finally answering a prayer. Would you like a drink or something. There are full fridges throughout the place. The closest is over there." Dare was totally shocked and pleased to see Mike. He really had been angry with himself over not introducing himself for he had really liked Mike. He had taken it as a sign that he wasn't ready for a relationship if he couldn't even remember to tell a cute guy his name. He held his hand out to Mike though he wanted to hug him in thanks for rescuing him. "So are you like a musician too?" he asked hoping so as it would mean they would spend a lot more time in each other's company. He waved to Kian who waved back cheerfully and to Connor who seemed rather stunned.

[Evan Hughes]

“They can’t? Ah damn, you mean I gotta be louder? Okay, there’s gotta be a mic here somewhere.” Evan suggested, looking around. “I should carry one around with me, a portable mic or something. That way anyone near me can enjoy my with and humour. ‘Specially you Mike, I’ll follow you around, so you don’t feel left out.” When it quickly became apparent that Mike and Dare had met each other before, Evan grinned even more, seeming pretty chuffed with himself. And unless he was really wrong, it seemed like the pair already had a thing for each other. He made a mad Cupid.

He couldn’t wait to fill Takumi and Lace in with his brilliant plan, when the other two were out of earshot. Maybe he should suggest Dare show Mike around later. Yeah, that sounded good. He looked up at Kian and Connor, a knowing grin on all of their faces. “Hi guys. Would love to stay, and have Evan give us a headache. But we’ve gotta go.” Connor apologised to the group. “Enjoy.” He pulled Kian away, all but rushing out. “We have to make a stop for presents along the way. Julia is going to kill me.” he murmured in his boyfriend’s ear.

“Nah, he’s not a musician. He only wishes he could be as cool as me.” Evan answered for Mike, chuckling. “He’s a groupie now too. Prepare to revel in my awesomeness. Though Dare and Takumi are probably pretty good too. Though, you can sing if you want. We’re short a singer now.” he teased. “Why don’t you show Mike around while we get set up Dare?”

[fryn]

The conversation was coming thick and fast, making it tricky for Takumi to keep pace. Still, he managed for the most part, nodding at Mike, Kian and Connor when they arrived. It seemed the last two had to leave again and while that was a great pity Takumi had a feeling Evan's personality would make up for the loss. He threw the boy in question a broad grin as he sorted a microphone and boasted - good naturedly, of course - about his skills.

This promised to be a fun session and one, Taki hoped, of many to come. And maybe one time Izzy would be able to come with him as he'd love to be able to show her how he played his bass guitar.

Dare and Mike disappeared and Takumi put Lace to work, asking her to move as much cabling as she could out of the way. He then turned to assist Evan with arranging the drums to his liking. "So what is so funny?" he asked. "You looked pleased with yourself about something... and that only really started once Mike arrived. Are you going to tell me or do I have to beat you over the head with your own drumsticks?"

[Dare Madison]

Dare felt as if he were in the middle of something that no one had told him about. Once again he felt like he was under scrutiny, but only Evan knew about his suicide attempt so that wasn't the reason. It had to be something different. "Lace, I was thinking about getting a kitten, but I know they like to climb a lot. Do you think it would be safe here? I wouldn't want to endanger one. Rosco seems to be okay, but he only goes to the human areas. I think I would freak out if I came home and found it clinging to the ceiling.

Like Taki, Dare thought the odd feelings centered around Evan and Mike. He found himself watching Mike a lot though it wasn't necessarily because of those feelings. He just liked looking at Mike, which was odd as he was not the kind of guy Dare usually found attractive. Actually Taki was the closest to that present, though Taki really didn't look much like Phil except for being Asian. "Do we want to eat first or play first? he asked, thinking it was probably up to him to direct things." He reached down to pick up Rosco who was yipping at Lace again.