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Bobby flunks his history exam and so the band aren’t allowed to use the garage for practice that night. Luke is still grumbling about it while they’re eating McDonald’s at the local mall.
“I can’t believe Bobby did us in like this,” he scoffs around his mouthful of fries. “I can’t believe he did this to us.”
Alex snorts, knocking the straw of his large Fanta against his front teeth. He exchanges a side-eye look with Reggie.
“We’re only two weeks away from our fist gig, guys. We need to be practicing non-stop, alright?”
Alex reached across the table and stole a fry. “It’s two weeks, Luke. I think we’ll fit in the hours.”
Luke frowns, snatching the fry from his fingers and shoving it in his mouth, until Alex pouts and Luke pushes the tray towards him. Alex smirks and takes two for his troubles.
“Oh, we could go check out the Atari in Target?” Reggie suggests, looking hopefully between his two friends.
Luke frowns. “Reg, you have an Atari.”
Reggie scratches his temple. “I used to. Dad stepped on it last week. He was in one of his moods.”
Alex looks at his friend with wide eyes. “You didn’t tell us that.”
Reggie’s fingers twitch before he leans over to steal a fry from Luke’s tray. He shrugs. “It just never came up.”
Alex and Luke share a look as Reggie takes another and dips it in Luke’s BBQ sauce. Reggie adored his Atari, there was no way he would just leave it on the floor to get stepped on. Still, they both knew they couldn’t say anything without Reggie laughing it off or diverting, so they let it go.
“Alright, let’s hit up Target, then.” Luke stuffs the rest of his fries in his mouth and brushes off his greasy fingers. Through a mouthful of chewed up potatoes, he says, “Green Day just dropped a new album so I’m game.”
“Target it is,” Alex said, slurping his soda.
Reggie cheers.
~
Reggie’s nose is pressed to the glass which encases the sleek, black console.
“Look at the jaguar,” he breathes, then uses the sleeve of his flannel to wipe away the fog again. “It’s beautiful.”
Alex, who’s never had a single interest in video games, is bent over next to him. He raises an eyebrow at Reggie. “Uh-huh.”
“Man, I wish I could afford it.”
“When we’re touring,” Luke starts from the aisle over, flicking through the CDs. “You’ll be able to afford forty of those things. Of course, you’ll have no time to play them because we’ll be too busy doing press junkets and recording and stuff. Oh man, they have Blondie, still, sweet.”
Alex and Reggie smirk at each other.
When Luke selects his three CDs, the boys wander throughout the aisles, prodding and poking at products and finding their own entertainment.
Reggie and Alex are in the cosmetics aisle, testing out eyeshadow on the backs of their hands, when they realise they’ve lost Luke. Reggie looks over his shoulder and calls out for him.
Suddenly they hear a piano chord and they frown at one another. “Is that him?” Reggie asks.
“Only one way to find out.”
They follow the noise and find the source of the music. Luke is sitting on a raised dais, at a miniature piano in bright pink. He plays two more chords and grins when his friends appear.
“I’d like to thank everyone for coming out tonight,” he says and winks at Reggie who laughs. “I’d like to thank my band, for being so supportive of my many, many talents. My mom and dad, I’d like to thank them for buying me my first guitar. I mean, sure they regret it now, but you can’t undo what’s done, right?”
Alex rolls his eyes and leans his elbow on Reggie’s shoulder. Both are grinning as Luke continues to play.
“Rocket maaaan~” he sings into the pink and purple plastic mic.
“Wooh,” Reggie calls out, pumping a fist in the air.
Luke is grinning, but his face falls suddenly and he snatches his hands away from the keys.
“What do you think you’re doing up there?”
Alex and Reggie turn around. A middle aged man in a red polo shirt stands behind them. His hands are locked on his hips and his shoulders are rolled back. Alex feels Reggie tense at his side.
“Just messing around man,” Luke says, rubbing his hands on his legs. “No harm done.”
The man folds his arms. “Get down from there, right now.”
“We were just–”
“NOW.”
Luke scrambles from the dais and Alex feels Reggie’s fingers curl at the elbow of his hoodie.
“We were just having fun,” Alex says. “We’re sorry, we didn’t mean to–”
“What? Didn’t mean to mess with store display, huh?” He steps forward until he’s in Alex’s face, the greying hair around his mouth the only thing Alex can see.
“Hey, hey,” Luke says, ditching the CD cases on the dais and standing alongside his friend. “Chill out man, we were just messing around. We didn’t break anything.”
“You think you’re funny, son?” the employee asks Luke, which causes Luke to baulk. “You think it’s cute to play with some pretty pink girl’s toys to make your friends laugh?”
“I was just…” Luke wet his lips. “We didn’t do anything.”
“Did you think it was funny?” Suddenly the man is on Reggie. He scans Reggie up and down, from the polished shoes and the rips in his jeans, to the studded leather jacket. “Huh, you little ponce?”
Suddenly Alex feels the warmth drain out of him. Reggie drops his hand from Alex’s hoodie and gapes. “I’m… I’m not…”
And then Luke slugs the man across the jaw.
“Luke,” Alex gasps, but Luke is already dragging his friends along. “You punched him?”
“Run, just run.”
So the three run. They run out of the target, out of the mall, and into the night. By the time they stop in a poorly lit park, they’re all out of breath and drop to the grass.
“Shit, dude, you punched a target guy,” Alex says, panting.
Luke is holding his knees. “You heard what he said. Fuck that guy.” Luke spits in the grass.
“He was just throwing his weight around, trying to intimidate us,” Alex says, too familiar with the slurs thrown around at school to let them get too deep under his skin.
Not until he was alone, anyway.
“I don’t give a… Reg?” Luke stands up straight and stares at the boy on Alex’s left.
Reggie was taking shallow breaths, hand grasping at the material over his left breast.
“Reg, you okay?” Luke asks, hurrying over and dropping down besides him.
Reggie swallows and gasps. He shakes his head. “My chest hurts.”
Alex blinks. “Reggie,” he says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “What’s going on?”
“I–I don’t know, I just…” He groans and his knuckles turn white as he squeezes his t-shirt in his fist.
Panic sets over Luke’s face and he puts a hand over his mouth. “Alex, what’s happening?”
Suddenly, Reggie pushes them both out of his personal space and shrugs off his jacket. He flaps the collar of his shirt. Alex frowns.
“Reg?” Luke asks. “Reg, come on, tell us what’s going on.”
Alex waves him away. “Hold on, hold on.” He puts his hand back on Reggie’s shoulder. “Hey, Reggie, look at me.”
Reggie raises tearful eyes and searches Alex’s face. His mouth is set in a small circle and he can’t seem to control his breathing. Alex swallows, relaxing.
He knows this, now. He can see it.
“Okay, here,” Alex slides his hand down Reggie’s arm and takes his hand. He holds it between them. “Reg, follow me, okay? We’re going to take deep breaths. Okay, let’s take it in,” Alex inhales for four and Reggie’s in-breath trembles, but he attempts to copy.
They breath out in the same way. This happens a few more times, before Alex realises that a scared looking Luke is following, too. He reaches out his other hand and Luke is quick to take it.
“Alright, now, Reg, listen to me,” Alex instructs. “You’re okay, you’re just having a panic attack.”
Reggie’s brows knit together but Luke beats him to the question. “A what?”
“The nurse, Mrs Lee, taught me about it in school last year, after… you know.”
Luke blinks, then nods.
“It might feel like you’re dying, but it’s just a stress response. You’re okay.”
“My chest hurts,” Reggie complains. “Are you sure?”
Alex gives him a reassuring smile. “I’m sure.”
The three sit in the park breathing together for ten minutes, before Reggie falls back onto the grass. He exhales with control and looks up at the starry sky.
“That guy,” Reggie begins. “Alex, he said–”
Alex cuts him off. “Yeah, well, guess he’s just an asshole.”
Reggie lifts his head, his chin to his chest, and beckons his friends over. Luke and Alex fall into the grass either side of him, lying on his outstretched arms.
“Thanks,” Reggie says to Alex. “For helping me. It was really scary.”
Alex exhales a small laugh. “Well, couldn’t have you dying on us, could we?”
Reggie laughs.
Alex lifts his head from Reggie’s arm and says, “Hey, Luke.”
Luke turns his head. “Yeah?”
“I liked your set, by the way.”
Luke blinks at him for a moment before bursting out into laughter. “Thank you, I thought it was great performance.”
“I liked the part where you thanked your band,” Reggie says.
“I liked the part where you thanked your parents,” Alex says, grinning, which makes Reggie laugh, too.
The three of them lay together, under the stars, for another hour, wishing they could stay that way forever, but knowing they never could.