When Melody took Jade to the moderately crowded, purple-walled cafeteria of the campus, they sat at a black table, as if there wasn't enough purple and black everywhere.
Jade ordered a croissant and coffee, and she had to admit they tasted amazing. Melody told her Mrs. Locter was an amazing cook, and she was not lying.
She also told her about the fashion design club and how amazing Professor Sawyer was when it came to fake leather outfits.
Jade couldn't care less about that, though.
"Okay, enough talking," Melody quickly pulled out a Teen Life magazine from her bag, but this one was different. It had a hard cover, black, and the Monster Mash logo on the top in golden letters. It was more a book than a magazine, "I brought you here for a reason and this is it. Come closer," Melody said, quickly flipping through the magazine. "Let me introduce you to..." Melody paused when she realised Jade was staring at everything except her. "Jade?"
"Oh, right! Sorry," Jade was so not sorry.
"Look," Melody slid the magazine closer to Jade.
There was a photo spanning two pages in front of her. Purple and black background, Monster Mash written in big orange letters at the top, and six guys all posing like it's a big deal.
Jade was fuming inside. She didn't care about some stupid boyband, and she was totally uninterested in their music.
"Is this an actual boyband?" Jade asked quietly. Her eyes scanned the photo before looking back up at Melody's face, "Aren't they too old and muscular to be a boyband? I mean, they look like strippers on Halloween night!"
"Amazing, right?" Melody didn't understand Jade just didn't like muscular men... Since yesterday, because of Zedrick, "But it's not just physical! No! Their personalities! Their voices! They are like gears in a clock that..."
"Just like every other boyband ever, before they split up to pursue a solo career," Jade grunted, rolling her eyes, "It must all be a lie. I don't think they even get along or are friends, it's just business."
"Just... Let me tell you who is who," Melody begged, "And if you don't like them after that, fine! But let me tell you, they're awesome!"
"I'm sure you already know that," Jade replied without enthusiasm, turning to look at the magazine, "Fine... This one caught my eye." Jade pointed at the second tallest of the group. His hair was black and white, and he was dressed in an army green stringer tank top, cargo shorts and black tactical boots. One of his pectorals, one of his arms and both of his legs were metallic silver, very shiny. He had his silver hand up in a waving gesture, but the rest of his body was stiff, with his other hand in his pocket.
"Oh! This is Frank Rubinstein. Six-foot-five, friendly and the most romantic member of the band," said Melody while Jade faked interest, pulling the magazine closer to take (or fake) a better look at him. His smile was nervous, his mismatching eyes however, one brown and the other electric green, were full of life.
"Why does he paint his body with silver paint? And why does his green eye look so... Artificial?" Jade asked.
"Frank had an accident years ago and lost his legs, left arm, hearing in one of his ears, and his right eye. The skin on his chest and back got severely burned too. Those are prosthetics." said Melody and Jade widened her eyes.
"And he's supposed to be the monster of Mary Shelley's novel because of his prosthetics? That's cruel."
"What? Oh! No, no, no, no, no!" Melody panicked, "No, that is not the case. But... I mean, his name is Frank."
"Oookay? Well, these don't look like normal prosthetics. They look like actual limbs that fit perfectly with the rest of his bodybuilder body."
"Frank explained in an interview that his prosthetics are made of some rare metal." Melody explained, "If he works out, they grow like real muscles."
"That sound way too sci-fi," Jade said with an eye roll.
"His voice is sci-fi! Very Zayn Malik-ish!" Melody exclaimed.
"I'm not really into pop music voices."
"Really? Oh well. Frank and Draco are the only pop voices in the group," Melody said.
"Draco?"
There were footsteps behind Jade, and she slowly turned around when she heard a voice.
"Melody? Is that Teen Life's Monster Mash magazine?" This black-haired girl was dressed in a blue dress and ridiculously high heels. Melody nodded and motioned for her to come closer. "Oh God! When you said you had one, I thought you were lying!"
"It was a gift from Aunt Carol," Melody said, jokingly checking her nails, "Best Masher Ever!"
"What are you doing, Raven?" A pompous blonde dressed all in pink asked. She was the girl who was next to Zedrick in the classroom. "I told you we have to talk about our routine for the nationals!"
"Hey! Brooke! Come here!" Said this 'Raven' girl, "Melody was telling the truth! She has the Monster Mash special edition!"
"Melody has it? Shut-Up! Really?" The pompous blonde sat next to Melody, while Raven sat next to Jade, invading her personal space with her tray. That hamburger smelled so good. Weren't cheerleaders supposed to eat salads and that's it?
And why did this university feel more like a high school than a university anyway?!
"Jade isn't Masher, but I was introducing her to Frank," Melody said.
"Oh my god! Frank is my all-time favourite! He is the heart of Monster Mash. I just love him." Raven said, blushing already.
"Frank is the reason Monster Mash exists in the first place," Melody explained to Jade.
"God! Draco looks so adorable in that picture!" Raven looked at the magazine and put her hands on her cheeks, kicking in her seat.
"Which one is he?" Jade asked.
"This is Draco, Draco Von Stroker," Melody said, pointing at the shortest of the band members.
Draco radiated sweetness and fun with his scarlet eyes, the same shade as his hair. He had a well-worked V-shaped body so he probably went to the gym often. He was wearing a red Brando style faux leather vest, black elbow-length fingerless gloves and platform goth boots with many buckles. He was standing on one foot with his hands outstretched as if trying to fly with a huge fanged smile upon his face. He was almost cartoonish.
"He is the funniest and most chaotic member of the group. And he is five-foot-three," said Melody, "He always wears Goth boots to look taller. So! Hear me out. The boots I'm wearing are the women's version of the ones he wears, same brand, same collection. If my platforms are three inches tall, his must be too, so he is probably five-feet-tall. I mean, isn't he adorable? He even has the cutest Romanian accent ever!"
"Is he from Romania?" Jade asked.
"No, he just likes the accent." Said Brooke.
"I think he's very cute." Said Jade, staring a bit longer at Draco. "And short."
"And very talented too," Melody said, "He's the best dancer in the group, and his voice is super sweet. I haven't heard a voice like his since Simon Curtis, just add about ten spoonfuls of sweetness."
"Ooookay? But why do you say Draco is chaotic?" Jade asked.
"You have no idea," Brooke laughed, "If something broke, believe me, it was Draco's fault."
"God! I've spent entire nights watching edits and reading Dralycandro fanfics!" Raven said romantically,
"Dralycandro?" Jade laughed, "What is that?"
"We all think Draco and Alex are secretly dating." Melody explained.
"Before you ask..." Raven said, pointing at the guy dressed in a purple camo sleeveless hoodie, cargo pants and golden yellow hiking boots. "This is Alycandro Alfaro. He's flirtatious, wild and way too sexy!"
"I can tell," Jade said. Alycandro had his hands behind his head as if to show off his big biceps, and his smile was flirtatious. He was the third tallest boy in the group. His skin was light brown, his eyes were a bright golden colour, and his hair was a sensual shade of brown. He had a wolf in sheepish clothing gaze. "He is handsome. And he looks like a gym rat like the other guys."
"And he is six-foot-two. But if you think Alex is irresistible just because of his looks, that's because you haven't heard him sing," Melody said. But when did Jade say he's irresistible?
"I love his voice! He sounds like Darren Criss got too confident with himself." Brooke said. "Oh! Let me show you my baby!"
"Here we go again, Brooke is going to start talking about Chichis."
"Who?" Jade asked.
"I adopted Chichis at one of the many adoption centres Alex founded around the world. Chichis was rescued from the streets, poor dog, she was very sick. Look! This is Chichis." Brooke said, showing Jade a photo of herself with her poodle. The photo had thousands of likes. "Alex always says he loves Chichis so that's what I named my dog," Brooke told her with a hand on her heart.
"Alex is from Mexico," Raven explained, "That's why he occasionally speaks bilingually, mostly when he's flirting or furious, which is pretty usual."
"And what does Chichis mean?" Jade asked.
"No idea. I don't speak Spanish." Brooke replied, "But Zedrick always laughs when I talk about Chichis. Zedrick is my boyfriend by the way."
Jade could already feel her cheeks turning red and hot.
"I didn't know the boys supported good causes," Jade tried to keep Zedrick out of the conversation.
"They all support different charities and organizations," Melody explained, "They're quite altruistic."
"They all have their own charity webpages." Said Brooke, "In fact, I made donations to Alex and Finn's charities."
"Finn?"
"This one," Melody showed her.
"This boy has a cute smile," Jade said, looking at the guy wearing a sleeveless black neoprene wetsuit under a turquoise hooded vest. His hair was blonde, but the tips were a sky blue colour.
"That's Finn Seamons, but he is not as popular as the others," said Raven.
"And he is six-feet-tall," Melody said.
"I like him," said Jade. Finn's eyes were noble in a lime green tone, and his good-natured expression was extremely attractive. He had the body of a swimmer or even a lifeguard. He didn't seem to know how to pose for pictures because he looked stiff with his hands behind his back.
"Unfortunately, he's the most 'average' of the group so..." Brooke pouted, "Poor Finn, it must be hard to live under the shadow of his bandmates."
"Maybe in public life but his voice?! It's almost always him and Zeth who steal the show!" Melody exclaimed, eyeing Jade, "If you like Fall Out Boy or Aerosmith, trust me, you will love Finn's voice. It's like Patrick Stump's voice and Steven Tyler's had a baby! He and Zeth are powerhouses in a band full of powerhouses!"
"I do like Aerosmith, and Fall Out Boy," Jade nodded. Finally! Some good music!
"And don't even mention Everett! He's like an opera singer! The first time I heard him sing I thought Karl Loxley was in the band!" Raven sounded ecstatic, "He gives me goosebumps."
"This is Everett Frostakov," Melody told Jade with a finger on the magazine. The boy was huge, the tallest and most muscular of the group, like a heavy weight lifter. His hair was white, with the tips dyed light blue and purple, and he had a hard, large, square face. His eyes were so ice-blue and cold it was frightening, and unlike the others, he was not smiling.
"He terrifies me," Jade said. Everett had his arms crossed, and looked down at the camera with a cold, almost menacing expression. He was dressed in white snowboard pants, huge winter hiking boots and a white faux fur vest with a hood.
"I know, he's seven-feet-tall." Melody replied, "Not much is known about him. He's not very talkative."
"You mentioned another guy... Some Set?" Jade asked. Melody, Brooke and Raven looked at each other, then started laughing, looking at Jade with suspicious eyes, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"His name is Zeth, with a Z," Raven said.
"I bet my spot as captain of the cheerleading squad that she becomes a Masher after meeting Zeth," Brooke said.
"I doubt it," Jade challenged them with her eyes only, "So, which one is he?"
"The only one we haven't talked about maybe?" Raven wiggled her eyebrows a little too mockingly.
"Zeth Rahman, five-foot-nine, absolutely perfect, absolutely stunning, and the leader of the band," Melody then pointed a finger to the centre of the picture.
Dressed in a black compression tank top and sweatpants, Zeth stood out from the rest.
He was different, his presence was powerful, like royalty. He had beige bandages around his hands and forearms simulating fingerless elbow-length gloves. He was also wearing an Egyptian-like collar around his neck.
He posed like a cover model, one arm across his chest and one hand on his chin, with piercing sapphire blue eyes, a cocky smile and a quite athletic body.
Wow! Just wow!
"Oh God," Brooke put her hands on her cheeks, deeply in love, "Just by looking at his photo I can hear his raspy voice in my ear."
"He sings like a rockstar," Raven was also captivated by him.
"He is such a powerhouse." Melody bit her lip. "His voice is like the evil, dark twin of Adam Lambert's voice."
"He is actually..." Jade swallowed hard. "Irresistible."
"Powerful voice, quite the entrepreneur, the most sought-after and most popular member of the band," Melody fanned herself, "No one can resist Zeth Rahman."
Jade spent too much time admiring his face, his athletic figure, his firm chest and shapely arms and every detail of his simple but fitted way of dressing.
His nose was perfect, his bushy eyebrows and sand-blonde hair were like gold, his tanned skin did not have a single imperfection.
She was paralyzed, mesmerized by Zeth.
He did something to her.
Was it his gaze? His obvious confidence? His perfection? She wanted more. She wanted him.
"Alright... Alright," Jade gritted her teeth, "I... I think you sold them well," she nodded way too effusively, closing the magazine, turning to face Melody, holding her hands in hers, "Tell me more. I need to know more about Zeth and the band."
"That's the Zeth Rahman effect," Raven laughed.
"If you wanna know more about him, fine." Melody began with a cocky smile, "There is only one thing that every Masher should know: Zeth is perfect, period. He has PhDs in Finance, Accounting & Management, Marketing, Music, History, Architecture and Archaeology. He has Bas in Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy. He is a black belt in many martial arts, has a net worth of $500 million and has been named the sexiest man alive of this year by People Magazine."
"He's a little intimidating," Jade swallowed hard.
"He is, but he has a heart of gold," Melody said, "It was so beautiful when Zeth gave one of his chains to a terminally ill girl, telling her it had healing powers."
"The girl miraculously recovered," said Brooke, "And the disease completely disappeared. Zeth also took care of all the medical expenses. Not to mention that, according to the very same girl, Zeth video-called her every night and after every surgery."
"He's such a nice person." Concluded Raven. "And he never refuses to take a photo or sign autographs for fans who happened to find him on the streets."
"It all sounds good but..." Jade grimaced, "I don't like any of their songs. Although of course, I have only heard one, against my will."
"You should give their music a chance," Brooke said, "Even Zedrick loves a song or two, although he'll never admit it in public. And he thinks I haven't noticed but he's obviously been copying some of the boys' style."
"Let me show you this..." Melody said, taking out her phone, "The music video for Monster Mash's debut single: Monster in Love."
"Sounds cheesy," Jade said.
"It's a power pop song, it is not that cheesy." Said Melody.
"Power Pop?" Jade asked.
"It is a genre that combines classic rock instrumentation with catchy pop hooks and energetic moods," Melody clarified, "Come closer. You must see this."
Jade thought she would watch a typical boyband music video on a beach, airport, party or something like that, but she definitely did not expect six oversexualized guys, all with unreal bodies dressed in cheap Halloween costumes.
An ode to classic black and white horror films, the music video had a dramatic and cinematic twist with only a couple details highlighted in each band member's signature colours.
The music was good, with spooky vibes and typical horror movie sounds like thunders, bats screeching and wolves howling. It sounded well-intentioned and amiable in general.
The video was not complex or elaborate, just six guys singing inside an old castle.
The short boy, Draco, was dressed as a vampire and woke up from his coffin to sing in some kind of dungeon with only his eyes, hair and some parts of his outfit highlighted in red. It was funny to see him running around like a child playing monsters, even hanging upside down from a chandelier. He was truly adorable.
The wolfish one, Alycandro, was on some sort of battlements with a moon apparently made of cardboard behind him. He sang while making dramatic gestures with his claws and flexing his biceps, with some purple highlights here and there on his clothes.
Frank woke up on a metal bed in some kind of mad scientist laboratory, throwing off a sheet to stand up and sing. His social awkwardness was evident in his way of looking at the camera, but also his very romantic and emotional nature. Green were the highlights of his clothes and eye.
The biggest and tallest of them, Everett, was singing in a room that looked more like a giant refrigerator with some ice sculptures behind him, among dry ice and bluish white highlights. He was terrifying, very serious and threatening when singing.
Finn came out of a gothic style fountain to sing in a rose garden, his highlighted colours were aqua green. Of all of them, he was the one who transmitted the most emotion with his way of performing, and his voice was simply phenomenal.
And the ever-perfect Zeth sang in a room full of antiques, emerging from a sarcophagus dressed in tight mummy bandages. His highlights were in the jewels he wore and his hair, golden in colour. Confident, flirtatious, powerful, dominant and perfect, that was him and it showed.
The video ended with a mini concert in the courtyard with maybe fifty people cheering them on.
They had no big budget back then, Jade could tell.
But the voices were simply amazing!
They were super shouty but they definitely had the talent to be!
Without warning, Melody hit the replay button, and then everything went to hell.
"I don't like the sunlight. Told myself that I should just hide from humankind." Melody began singing Draco's part, performing like an actual superstar, but Jade was already blushing, covering her face with one hand while the few people around looked at them weirdly. This was the cringest, moment of her life, "That they would fear my fa-ah-angs."
"I've been mocked and hunted." Now it was Brooke making a fool of herself singing Alycandro's part, "Survived bullets and wolfsbane, and even silver dimes. And then I saw your eyes-ah-eyes."
"'Cause even if I'm sparked to life!" Raven grabbed a fork from her tray and held it up as if it were a microphone to sing Frank's part. Why did she need a fork for a hamburger? Jade had no idea. "I still have a beating heart! I want to lo-ove! Oh-woah! So don't break my heart now! I'm not a freeeeeak!"
"Let me LOOOOOVE! You!" And now the three of them were shouting. "I'm a monster in love! I've been HOOOOOWLING for you! You're my thunderstorm!"
"I'm gonna take the risk and stay up till' dawn!" Melody sang alone, and she was kind of almost good, Jade had to admit. She was much less painful to the ears than the other two girls. "'Cause for you I'll face the sun! AND SURVIVE! YEAAAAAH!"
"I won't BUUUUURN, no!" The three of them sang. No. Shouted in unison! Jesus Christ the Redeemer! The boys in the boyband were excellent singers but these three girls were like a trio of wolves with laryngitis! "Let me LOOOOOVE! You! Like a mon-ster does. OH! OH-Woah-oh! OH-Woah-oh! OH-Woah-oh! Monster in LOVE! OH-Woah-oh! OH-Woah-oh! OH-Woah-oh!"
"Oh my god, someone shoot me please," Jade said with her face hidden behind her hands.
Thankfully, Raven, Brooke and Melody sat down quickly and began talking about how handsome, perfect, and talented these guys in cheap monster costumes were.
God! How could the three of them have the courage to make such a fool of themselves without fearing social repercussions?
"So, what do you think?" Melody eyed Jade.
"I think they sing well, I guess," Jade was getting embarrassed. Socializing was really hard!
"Just well?!" Melody shook her head, "No-oh! They sing awesome! Have you ever heard 'Hunter In Disguise' Jade? They are the kings of belting!"
"Belting?" Jade asked.
"The guys are good at shouting lyrics, that's belting, for beginners." Brooke clarified, "Melody is very square when it comes to music. The boys shout a lot and they do it in each and every one of their songs. Especially Finn and Zeth."
"Who was Finn?" Jade asked.
"The sea monster! My Gawd!" Melody shouted.
"You've seriously never heard 'Hunter In Disguise' Jade?" Raven asked. "It's the boys' most popular song. It peaked at number eight on Billboard."
"Never heard of it. But on my way here, I did listen to one of their songs, it went like: I have seen the... I have seen the... I have seen the flames." She said it instead of singing it.
"Of course! It is 'I've Seen The Darkness' and it is a-ma-zing!" said Melody. "Everyone loves that song! The video had eight million views in less than twenty-four hours!"
"Show me," Jade whispered, biting her lip.
The music video was quite shocking, she could not lie, and they now had a big budget.
The guys were all dressed in demonic leather pants with no shirts on because... Abs and biceps?
The concept was interesting, a visit to hell with lots of demon dancers and a throne made of skulls.
But was that worthy enough to bring Jade to her knees and scream their names?
Absolutely!
The video ended with the boys dancing in a ring of fire belting high note after high note and wow!
Those guys were all powerhouses!
"That video was scary and very hot at the same time," Jade said, fanning herself with one hand.
"I know, everyone loves that song," Melody said, pressing her thighs together, "Although a certain singer from a Christian rock band said the video was pure evil, irrefutable proof that the boys had sold their souls to the devil for fame and fortune."
"Bullshit," Raven grunted, "They are all super talented. They didn't need to sell their souls to anyone to become famous!"
"I know! They are A-MA-ZING!"
"Keep it down," Jade whispered when she felt too many eyes on her. "Everyone is watching us."
"Just relax and stop thinking about what other people think," Melody said, "That was the first lesson Monster Mash taught me, and that's how I became popular."
"You have no idea!" Brooke laughed, patting Melody on the shoulder, "She was a ghost in high school. And look at her now! Fashionista and popular!"
Jade wasn't sure if that was what she really wanted, because being popular was for shallow people. But had going against the norm ever done her any good?
Well, no, the answer was no.
Initially hesitant about what Jade assumed was a troupe of floppy-haired boys, she soon became strangely fascinated by not only the band but also the peculiarities of each individual member, the specific dynamics that existed between them, and the millions of fans who felt the same way as her.
Maybe she judged these boys too quickly.
The voices were good, the music was catchy, they were the nicest people ever and they were all handsome!
So, before Jade knew it, she saved a thousand photos of them on her phone, learned all the lyrics from their first three albums, counted the days for the fourth album's release, spent entire afternoons dancing in her room, looking for fun facts about the boys, and hell! She even looked up the boys' weight, height, birthdays and zodiac signs online!
And she definitely wasn't going to talk about the secret folder she had full of photos of them shirtless!
Oh! That was her dirty, dirty little secret!
Had she become a plastic or stupid girl?
To hell with acting superior! The unhappiest people are the ones who wear masks!
Jade would no longer judge anyone, not even herself, for being passionate!
And she even spent hours and hours on the phone talking about the band with her mother, who became a Masher Mum in a matter of two days.
Her mother's favourite ended up being Everett, much to Jade's surprise, Although her mother didn't like Zeth and Draco very much because whenever Jade mentioned them, she changed the subject.
Masher Mums always liked Everett anyway.
As time went by, Jade began to get more and more involved in Monster Mash, taking the time to meet the boys through interviews, laughing at their silliness, and even fantasizing about them.
Frank Rubinstein, Draco Von Stroker, Alycandro Alfaro, Finn Seamons, Zeth Rahman and Everett Frostakov were the names that became her mantra.
They became her life teachers, her friends, her family.
Experiencing Monster Mash was almost entirely reliant on feelings. It was emotional, not logical; instinctual and kind of accidental.
Her relationship with Monster Mash represented the purity of her love for something.
And for the first time, she felt like she belonged with someone...
With them...
And she hoped that, one day, she could meet them in person.
Of course, as if that could happen!