Page 65 of Hard Rock Heat
"What are you doing here?" The words came out harsher than I'd meant them to. Damon's eyebrow twitched, an almost wince. "I mean, I didn't expect you to be here today. Are you working with Jessie onstuff?"
"Jessie said she had something to ask me." He turned to Jessie. "I actually wanted to talk about an idea I had. I was telling Morris about theevent."
I knew from previous conversations that he meant Morris Edwards, drummer of the rock band Feral Silence. They were the supposed rivals of Darkest Days, but if there was any rivalry to speak of, it was a friendlyone.
"He told me some of the kids here started their own rock band?" Damoncontinued.
Jessie nodded enthusiastically. "They're the reason I asked you to come. I was just telling Faith aboutthem."
"I was thinking it might be cool if we got the kids to play a song or two," Damon suggested. "They could be the opening act orsomething."
Jessie clapped her hand together with glee. "They would absolutely die if they got thatchance."
"But I wanted to listen to them first," he said. "I need to make sure they don'tsuck."
Jessie made a face at him. "Just cause they're kids doesn't mean they suck. They've been working reallyhard."
"I didn't say they sucked because they're kids," he said. "My brother and I could bring the house down when we were fifteen. I'm just saying, all indie bands kind of suck when they startout."
"You were in a band when you were fifteen?" I asked. I'd known he and his brother had been playing on a street corner when August found them, but I hadn't known they'd been in an officialband.
"We've been playing since we were twelve," he said. "Stupid little garage band shit, but we had a lot offun."
So Damon had been doing this for half his life. For someone who always played things off as a joke, he was surprisingly serious when it came to hismusic.
"That's the age range for these kids," Jessie says. "The youngest is not quite thirteen and the oldest is fifteen." She shook her head. "We've been calling them kids, but they think they're practically adultsalready."
"Sometimes kids have to grow up fast," Damonsaid.
He and Jessie went quiet,contemplative.
I thought back to what Damon had said at our first meeting. Mental health. Addiction. Neglect, abuse, exploitation,violence…
My heart ached for thesekids.
"I actually asked you guys both here for that reason." Jessie said after a moment. "The group get together after school on Thursdays. They're already practicing if you want to check themout."
Damon and I followed Faith to the music room. It was sound-proofed well enough that I didn't hear anything until we pushed through a set of double doors into a different hallway. The crash of symbols reverberated in my ears, and the heavy beat of a bass thrummed in mychest.
Jessie opened the door acrack.
"Sorry to interrupt, guys!" she called over the noise. The music halted abruptly. "I've got some visitors foryou."
Jessie waved us in to the room. There were a handful of teenagers with various instruments in their hands, looking for all the world like a real rock band, aside from their youthfulfaces.
"Holy shit," one of the boys exclaimed. His arms went limp, the guitar hanging off his shoulder, only kept up by its strap. "You're DamonDrake!"
"Zain, watch your language," Jessie chidedgently.
"But it's the guy fromDarkest Days!" the boy next to him with a bass guitar pressed on. "The twinone!"
"He's the cute one!" the girl behind the drums piped up. She was smaller than the others, almost tiny. This had to be Kaylee, the youngest. "Anya, aren't you always saying him and his brother are the cuteones?"
"Shut.Up." A girl with a microphone in her hand, Anya presumably, flushed bright red and ducked her head, hiding behind her long blackhair.
Kaylee took in a big breath and opened her mouth, lookingobstinate.
"Guys, I wanted to introduce you to Damon and his friend Faith," Jessie interrupted before they could startbickering.
