Rocker Boy

by Wendy Knight

He had stalked her on the Forums about three million times a day, using Colin's account because she'd never remembered to unblock Levi.

  Now, he devoured her. Holy hell she was gorgeous when she played. She was gorgeous all the time — Harli looked more like a movie star than a high school student — but when she played, it was hot. Damn hot. He couldn't swallow, and his tie nearly strangled him.

  People were dancing, but they were dancing so that they could see the band, and the band was seducing them with the music.

  He'd never been more proud of her.

  She and Jace played well together — six years would do that. Jace had only played so he could spend time with Harli. He didn't practice when she wasn't there, didn't throw himself into the music the way Levi had, longing for a distraction from his life. He'd gotten good, but when Colin had come looking for band members, Jace wasn't willing to put in the time.

  He hadn't made the cut, and they'd had to go on without him.

  But he was good. Maybe not win-a-reality-show good, but he was good enough, especially when he and Harli played together, bouncing harmonies off each other like it was a tangible thing, Jace playing next to her stool, so they were back to back almost.

  Levi watched them, a pang of jealousy hitting him unexpectedly. Before last week, he hadn't played with her like that in years.

  "Damn. She's hotter than her pictures," Graham said, peering through the darkness with squinted eyes.

  Levi scowled. Graham slipped a flask out of his coat pocket and unscrewed the lid.

  "What the hell, dude?" Dorian growled. "That guy's gonna call the cops. He's watching us like a hawk."

  "He can't see anything." Graham snickered and wandered away.

  "Heads up. Your boy Jace is looking out here. I think we're almost on." Colin nudged Levi and pointed up toward the stage. Carefully, Levi raised a hand and made Harli's sign.

  Jace nodded and moved across the stage to stand next to Kim, which must have been some pre-arranged signal, because when she ended the song, she screwed the microphone in and stepped back. "You guys have been so awesome! We're gonna take a quick break and let our backup band play, and we'll be back for more in a bit." She waved excitedly and bounced back to Harli, who took her elbow, and they ran off the stage.

  "Your move, lover boy." Colin gave him a gentle shove toward the center of the room.

  Levi's palms were sweating and his knees were weak. Ducking his head, he made his way to directly under the streamers and balloons.

  And waited.

  Colin, Dorian, and Graham disappeared through the side door, making their way up to the stage.

  As they took their places behind the instruments, Colin settling behind the mic, he saw the curious stares, but no immediate recognition when they were in tuxes and without stage makeup. And without Levi.

  They started playing, Levi's song. They'd never played it in concert, and they hadn't recorded it. It was just for Harli.

  Fittingly, that's when he saw her come through the door, still hanging onto Kim's arm. Jace led them all through the crowd, smiling and thanking everyone who stopped them.

  And then he asked Kim to dance, leaving Harli standing awkwardly alone.

  Levi could see, out of the corner of his eye, four guys watching her like a piece of meat, practically panting. He had to move fast.

  "Wanna dance?" he asked, his voice low, next to her ear.

  She froze. "Levi?" she whispered, but he could hear her. She spun, dark eyes widening as her jaw dropped. "Levi!"

  He held out his arms and she threw herself into them. "You're such a jerk!" she squealed with a smile, which led him to believe that while she was insulting him, she didn't really mean it.

  At least, he hoped not.

  Still clutching his arms, she twisted so she could see Kim and Jace. "You planned this."

  Kim beamed. Jace smiled, but Levi wasn't blind. He could see that the smile made it nowhere near his eyes.

  And he understood. If he'd had to plan a romantic evening with some other guy to make Harli happy, he'd do it. Even if it killed him.

  He just thanked the heavens that he didn't have to do that. And he prayed like crazy that he never would.

  She turned back to him. "I can't believe you did this," she said, those eyes he loved so much sparkling.

  "I promised you I'd be here for prom, didn't I?"

  She ducked her head, smiling. "You did. But you never called me."

  "You didn't unblock me. I couldn't call you. Couldn't message you."

  "I know I forgot at first, but then Jace said—" Her hand covered her open mouth. "I thought—"

  "I know what Jace said. I talked to Jace. It was all part of the plan, Sunshine."

  Groaning, she dropped her head against his shoulder. "I can't believe I was so stupid. I—my heart—"

  His hand stroked up and down her back. "I told you I wouldn't give up on you, Harli."

  She raised her head and his eyes, as if of their own volition, moved to her lips. "You look amazing, Sunshine."

  "You don't look so bad yourself." Her lips quirked in a teasing smile. "This might be a good concert look for you."

  He shook his head, chuckling. "This is for you and you alone, Harli."

  She stood up on her tiptoes, leaning into him. "I missed you," she whispered against his mouth.

  "I missed you, too—" she cut him off, her tongue tasting his bottom lip. His hands tightened, pulling her closer and holding there, and suddenly they were alone in the world and there was nothing to pull them apart.

  Until the screaming.

  Blinking, Harli pulled away, looking for all the world like a lost kitten.

  Levi sighed. "Someone recognized them." He jerked his head toward the stage, where people were now mobbing his band.

  "And the fairy tale ends." Harli smirked.

  "Hey. Song's over. Time to get to work," Jace said, still dancing with Kim in his arms. "Ready?"

  Harli's brows clashed together in confusion, her fingers digging into his skin through the coat, like she was as loathe to let him go as he was her. "We're playing again?"

  "Yes ma'am. They're our backup band, Harli." Kim leaned her head against Jace's chest and winked.

  "Yeah." Harli shook her head. "They're not gonna let us take the stage again."

  "They don't have a choice." Levi shrugged. "We're just the backup."

  "Don't worry!" Jace had to yell now to be heard over the screaming. "We have a plan!"

  He grabbed Harli's hand and pulled her out of Levi's arms. She went reluctantly, her fingers tangled in Levi's.

  He followed her, Jace, and Kim through the side door and up to the stage. When he followed her out, she glanced at him questioningly but didn't have time to ask anything.

  They'd planned it that way.

  "Now Harli, I know you don't like to sing," Kim said, pulling the mic off Colin's jacket. When she turned to pin it on Harli, his Sunshine did what she did best.

  She tried to run.

  Levi grabbed her and held her against his chest. "You got this, baby."

  She twisted her head to stare up at him, panicked.

  Dorian brought up his keyboard. "Play," he said. "Singing comes second."

  "This song needs to come from you." Kim had to stand on her toes to reach Harli's necklace. She pinned the mic on while Harli stared at her in horror.

  "Harli. We've got your back." Jace tipped her chin so she would look at him, and motioned between himself and Levi. "And Kim will be right here if you have trouble."

  "But you won't." Kim grabbed her in a tight hug and pulled the other mic out of its stand.

  Levi finally let her go and reached for his guitar. Jace, on the other side of her, picked up his bass. Graham took his place on the stool behind her drums.

  Harli's fingers found the keyboard, and she looked up, eyes wide.

  "You got this, Sunshine."

  Sucking in a breath, she glanced to the side. Her lips moved, like she was having a priv
ate conversation with something he couldn't see, and then she raised her chin and nodded. Her fingers hit the keys, playing an ornate lead-in to the song he'd helped her write and kept folded in his pocket until he'd shared it with Jace and his band, so they could learn it.

  So she could play it tonight.

  "I say, say I can see the sun—" her voice was timid and soft, nearly drowned out by her keyboard. But it gained strength with each word, and by the time Levi joined in with his guitar, she was strong enough to be heard over the instruments. "I tell them I'm not cold. I tell them I'm fine. I tell them my heart still beats."

  Jace joined, and Graham in the background.

  "My heart's in shattered pieces in my chest, and I lie."

  As she started into the chorus, Dorian took over on the keyboard. Harli moved out of the way, looking lost.

  As if of one mind, Levi and Jace moved back to her so she stood between them, and she seemed to find strength in their closeness as she launched into the last line of the chorus. "I'm not over you. I'm still lost here, in the dark."

  They all joined her for the second verse, Kim singing backup, Dorian on the keyboard, and Graham still on the drums, but Harli had found her voice. She didn't falter, instead barreling through the verse and hitting the chorus like a wrecking ball.

  Levi hit his microphone and sang with her, harmonizing, adding words where she didn't. At first, she was startled and stuttered, but only for about ten seconds, and then she was back on, going full force. She turned toward him, he angled his body, so it was as if they were singing for each other and no one else. Again, he felt like they were alone in the world.

  She breathed the last word, eyes shining and proud of herself. "I did it!" she whispered.

  Kim bear-hugged her, and Jace lifted both of them in the air, laughing. Levi, for once, didn't stand by watching sadly. He threw himself into them, wrapping his arms around whatever he could fit.

  "Can I go pass out now?" Harli asked, her cheeks flushed and her hands starting to shake.

  Kim laughed. "Levi, go get your girl some punch. We can take it from here."

  Levi walked her backstage, sitting her down on the steps. "I'll be right back."

  He got mobbed, though, near the punch bowl and it took him two more songs to get back to her. As he came around the corner, he saw a blond blur fly past him and out of sight.

  Levi had to jerk backward to avoid being hit by the heavy metal emergency door. Swearing, his hand crunched around the cup and spilled punch on his shoes.

  He came around the corner to the stairs, but Harli was gone. Harli was gone and a phone sat on the steps, a strangely familiar voice still yelling through it. "Michael?" he asked, lifting the phone to his ear.

  "Levi? What the hell's going on? Where are you?"

  Levi lowered the phone, until it dangled from his fingers, forgotten.

  "Harli." He spun in a circle, spilling more red punch until the cup was empty and the floor looked like it was covered in blood.

  Harli was gone.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  "JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME!" HARLI screamed, facing Selecia because she was afraid to turn her back. "I'm out of your life. I'm staying away from you. What else do you want?"

  The parking lot behind the school was completely abandoned, especially this far out—they were almost in the red hills that surrounded the small town.

  "I want my music back!" Selicia shrieked. Her mascara ran in dark rivers down her cheeks as she sobbed, her blond, usually perfectly coifed hair was standing on-end. "You took everything! I'm trying to play and they say, 'There's your daughter on TV. There's your daughter on the Forums. There's your daughter playing with your mother!"

  She swung at Harli, but Harli was too far away. "You lied!" Harli yelled. Next to her, Angie stood, icy hand holding tight to Harli's. "I talked to JoAnn. Nothing you told me was true. You failed because you weren't good enough, and it had nothing to do with me!"

  Selicia dove at her, screaming like a banshee. "You stole her from me! You stole everything from me!"

  Harli jumped out of the way, cursing her six inch heels and the uneven ground as her ankle twisted painfully.

  Selicia pulled up abruptly. "It isn't just me though, is it? You saw the reviews. You talked to his manager. You're stealing Levi's music, too. You feed off others and take it for yourself, and you're ruining his career. Just like you ruined mine." She started to laugh, an evil, cruel laugh that ended in a sob. "You ruin everything."

  Harli kicked her shoes off and took off running. Drunk Selicia couldn't keep up — in fact, Harli was fairly positive that she fell after only a few steps.

  Harli ran until her lungs burned, and then she collapsed in a heap and sobbed. Selicia was right. She was ruining everything for everyone. Michael had told her — Michael, an impartial bystander who only cared about Levi's career and had no reason to lie — had told her about the awful reviews from Levi's shows this tour, and even the negative feedback JoAnn had received for the charity concert.

  Harli was poison. She ruined everything she touched.

  "LEVI, WAIT. I'M SURE — I'm sure she's around here somewhere." Kim had his arm and was physically trying to hold him there, but she was half his size and in heels.

  She didn't stand a chance.

  Jace was nearly as big, though, and blocked his way. The dance was over, everyone was gone. No one knew Harli had run. No one heard Levi punch the wall and crack his knuckles. No one could see his heart being blown to shattered pieces all over backstage.

  "Move, Jace."

  "Levi," Jace said through clenched teeth. "One, you need to get your hand looked at."

  Levi growled.

  "And two, Harli wouldn't have done this. She—"

  "Bull shit she wouldn't have done this, Jace. She does this every damn time. Does she — does she get some thrill out of this? Out of making me look like an idiot?" He ran his good hand through his hair, barely seeing Colin and Dorian gathering up their instruments. Getting ready to go. "She—she makes me think we have a future, that we're going to be okay, and then she does this. Every. Single. Time."

  "There has to be a reason, Levi," Kim said, still tugging on his arm. "She was happy. I saw it in her face. She was happy. She wouldn't have taken off."

  "Maybe a normal person wouldn't have taken off, Kim. But she's not normal. She gets some sick thrill out of hurting me." Jerking her hand off his arm, he shoved Jace out of the way.

  "I'm done."

  "HARLI." SOMEONE WAS SHAKING her shoulder, but it was so cold she could barely feel it through her own icy skin.

  She wasn't even sure when she'd fallen asleep. She could feel the sun trying to burn into her eyeballs, and she clenched her eyes shut again.

  "Harli, get up."

  Groaning, Harli pushed herself into a sitting position. "What, Angie?"

  Her eyes flew open. "Angie?"

  "You need to go home, Harli. Levi needs you."

  She couldn't see Angie, but she could feel her. And she could definitely hear her — and not in her head this time.

  "Levi doesn't need me," she whimpered. "He needs me out of his life."

  "Levi's in trouble, Harli. You saved him once. You need to do it again."

  She swallowed. Her tongue felt like cotton blocking her throat. Her shoes were gone, like Cinderella, but there was no prince coming after her, just a psychotic mother.

  On that happy thought, Harli shoved herself to her feet and started running back to the school.

  There was no sign of Selicia. No sign of the fight from the night before. No sign of her shoes, either. The only indication that anything had been amiss was Harli herself, with her wild hair and torn, dirty dress.

  By the time she limped into the school parking lot, her feet were bleeding and her legs were covered in bites and scratches. The school, of course, was locked, and the cars were all gone. She walked to the road and then to the gas station on the corner.

  She stumbled in, leaving trails of
blood now, and hobbled to the counter. "Mike?" she asked the boy. He went to her school. But his back was to her and she didn't have the strength to be any louder.

  The tip jar tipped over, raining coins all over the floor. Harli jumped as Mike screeched and spun around. "Harli? What the heck?"

  "I didn't—" she started, and then dropped her head in defeat. "I got lost in the mountains. Can I borrow your phone?"

  Mike stared at her, wide-eyed. "Did—did Levi do something? Should I call the cops?"

  She snorted. "No. Levi didn't do anything. Except run, hopefully. Far away from me."

  Mike, watching her like he wasn't sure if she was about to collapse or about to leap over the counter and strangle him, handed her his phone.

  She dialed Kim's number first, but hung up before it rang. "Actually, never mind. Thanks though, Mike." She turned away and shuffled out the door, trying not to let the tears pooling in her eyes escape down her cheeks.

  I'm poison. I'm poison.

  She wasn't sure how far she had walked before Jace's little car pulled up next to her. "Harli! What the hell are you doing? Where have you been? We looked everywhere!"

  She raised her head, exhausted, dirty, torn. Even her soul hurt.

  Her soul hurt the most.

  "I ran…" She didn't know what else to say, so she said nothing.

  "To where? Get in the car, Harli. I'm taking you to my house."

  She only blinked at him, so he flung his door open and came around the car, jerking the passenger door open. "Get. In."

  Obediently, she slid into the seat.

  "Where have you been all night?" he asked as he got back in, slamming his door. She winced.

  "The hills."

  "We looked everywhere. Why were you in the hills?" Jace was yelling. He never yelled.

  "I'm poison," she mumbled.

  "What?"

  "Did Levi—"

  "Don't even ask me about Levi, Harli. Do you know how hurt he was? You ran away from him again. After everything we did, you ran. I don't know what the hell your problem is, but you're out of line, Harli. That was low, even for you."

  If she felt like her soul was torn before, Jace had just poured gasoline on it and set it on fire. She curled away from him, against the window, and fought tears for all she was worth.