In the alley behind the club, Finn took a deep breath.
Hallow Woods was a cold place at night, and Finn just couldn't get used to it.
It was quiet here too.
Sometimes he felt nostalgic when he remembered Pearl City and the aircraft noise from Honolulu International Airport a drive away from his house.
Finn smiled when he remembered his old home.
It was almost impossible not to miss spending time at Pearlridge Mall, or having chop steak and eggs for breakfast at Da Bald Guy in the Haleiwa food truck area, drinking a vanilla and blackberry smoothie, getting caught in rush hour traffic along with all the other commuters from the west side, going to Laniakea Beach just to watch giant green sea turtles basking under the glorious sun.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
"Finn!" He heard Evie's voice, who sounded worried and panted with her grapple gun in hand, "Finn! Have you seen a blonde who..."
A gunshot made them both look up, the sound of a metal cord retracting made Evie gasp.
"You mean her?" Finn pointed upwards. Evie turned only to see the blonde speeding up to the roof of the building next to the club.
"Oh no, you won't escape!" Evie fired her grapple gun, ascending quickly, landing in a crouch on the roof of the building.
The blonde was running, jumping from the roof of this building to the next.
"Fuck!" Evie ran at full speed, jumping and a flipping in the air, landing on the next building, rolling on the ground.
Where was Kasey?
There was a sound. A motorcycle.
Evie ran to the edge of the roof, seeing Kasey accelerating, rushing down the lonely street lit by streetlights.
"This must be a joke," Evie fired her grapple gun at the building across the street, crossing the wind quickly. She swung down, landing roughly on the street, barely able to get up and run as if her life depended on it, watching the blonde lift the yellow motorcycle on one wheel as she sped down the deserted street.
"I'm going to get you," Evie shot her grapple gun and the hook got stuck in a lamppost. She swung as she retracted the metal cord, flipping in the air only to shoot and swing again.
Draco would surely make a Spider-Man reference, and that kept her steady. The thought of her adorable vampire kept her focused.
Kasey crossed a street during a red light, and Evie flew through the air, firing her gun.
The hook got stuck on the motorcycle.
"Got you!" Evie pulled the trigger and the cord began to retract until...
HONK! HONK!
Evie turned her head and saw only the lights of a truck.
There was pain, Evie screamed, and she fell onto the asphalt, rolling on the ground, moaning and with no air in her lungs.
There was a metallic taste in her mouth, a hollow ringing in her ears, everything was spinning, and she crawled on the floor, coughing and trying to catch her breath.
"Oh my God!" The truck driver quickly got out of the vehicle, running towards her, "Miss! Are you okay?"
Evie still didn't have the strength to reply.
"What was that sound?" Finn asked himself, running out of the alley. All he could see was a numb truck driver looking up. Finn squinted, almost certain he saw Evie speeding up onto a roof using her grapple gun.
"Fuck, Evie!" Finn pulled out his phone quickly, dialling her number. The hold tone rang twice until...
"Finn?" She sounded breathless.
"Evie! What the hell?! Are you okay?!"
"I... Yeah, just fine... I ummm... I almost crashed into a truck but nothing happened."
"Evie, stop playing Wonder Woman and tell me if you need help!" Finn yelled, rubbing his forehead frantically, "Are you okay? Do you need me to call an ambulance?!"
"I'm fine, I swear." Evie said, though she didn't sound very convinced, "You do your job and I'll do mine. I'll call you later." Then she hung up.
"Oh Evie," Finn dropped his shoulders, "What did you get yourself into this time?" Finn then held his phone firmly in his hands, quickly sending a text, "Okay, Evie. If you don't want help, I won't give you a choice. If you need healing powers, I will give you healing powers."
"Everything okay?" a voice said, and the smell of a cigarette made Finn turn around as soon as he hit the send button. "I was trying to get in."
"What are you doing here, Paul?" Finn asked.
Paul was now wearing extremely tight sportswear in shades of grey and purple. Those abs were to die for. Great! More envy coursed through Finn's veins!
"A person I follow posted that they needed help to keep you from leaving the band," Paul said, stubbing out his cigarette on the brick wall. "But I didn't know if you would want me here." The last word was mumbled, and he shrugged. There was still something in his expression that Finn couldn't quite figure out. But there was also a glimmer of hope in those purplish irises. A spark of joy at having found a kindred soul.
"Yeah, no problem. Come in if you want," Finn pointed to the backstage door he had just come out of. "I really don't care anymore."
"Are you okay?" Paul asked, leaning a little closer. "You look kind of sad, buddy."
Finn didn't reply. Instead, he grabbed Paul by the wrist and dragged him towards the back door.
Soon, they were both backstage, surrounded by high-quality lights and clothes hanging from racks.
Finn's phone rang then. It was Zeth, who was already on his way to meet up with Evie. Finn took a deep breath.
"Why do you want to quit, Finn?" Paul asked.
"Sometimes it's better to tell your problems to a stranger, even if he's your rival," Finn whispered. "You see, there's something that..."
"I'm not your rival," Paul said with a laugh. "I'm a friend, so let me help you with whatever you're dealing with, okay?"
"I think I'm invisible," Finn looked him up and down. "Not like you, I mean, you're one of those monsters that can turn invisible and move things with their minds, Zeth has told me about House Gheist a lot... Not everything was good."
"I am a spectre," Paul clarified. "I've always been very social, and never really had a problem with being seen or heard but my band? They all ignore me or treat me like I'm a bad person, but I don't think I am. That sucks."
"You've always been sociable so... How do you get people to notice you?" Finn asked, taking a seat on a stool next to a row of shoes. Paul sat next to him on a second stool. "I mean, you're really handsome, I think almost as handsome as Zeth, so did your looks have anything to do with it?"
"Nah. Or at least I don't think so. I was already sociable when I was skinny and had braces and a lot of acne. But I changed everything, you know? Eating habits, started hitting the gym, homemade facials... That gave me a boost but it was more self-improvement than anything, I think."
"I see, I did the same thing. I became a gym rat and thought that a better body would bring better social results, and it did, but in the band, I think it doesn't help when there are better bodies and better faces than mine." Finn sighed.
"I get it." Paul said, "I think you and Alex share the story of the skinny guy who got bullied in high school."
"Yeah. I used to be the ugly duckling in my family, so frail and skinny that I easily fit into the lockers in high school too. A couple of bullies even put me in a place so small that the teachers had to pop a nine-one-one. The firefighters and paramedics were very kind to me, and that's when I knew that I wanted to do that, you know? Save lives." Finn smiled a bit, "And then I became a lifeguard. I never liked to feel like a hero because that meant being afraid of 'saving or losing' beforehand, but at least I felt like I had a purpose, that I was somebody, that people saw me and knew they could count on me. I was somebody for the first time. But it was never enough. I wanted to be more than just that, I wanted to sing and be on stage, to be the light for people who felt like me, to give them hope. Monster Mash gave me that, but it never really did. I'm not starving for attention, believe me, but I don't want to be ignored anymore. And now I just want to leave it all behind and go back home."
"Why?"
"I don't know you enough to tell you," Finn grunted, "I don't even know if I know to be honest."
"So let's get to know each other," Paul said, extending a hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm Paul Ter Gheist and I'm a big fan."
"Finn Seamons," he replied with a laugh, shaking Paul's hand, "Nice to meet you."
"I heard that you are very good at singing, and I would like to improve my vibrato." Paul said, winking, "Any advice you can give this amateur?"