megatrash

In Bloom [HangYourSecrets x megatrash] [18+]

Maybe he doesn’t hate me after all Jane thought to herself after she saw the first real smile from Rob that day. She closed her eyes and listened to Life in a Jar by Superheaven playing loudly through her head phones, one of the few songs she listened before she got on stage. Something about the raw power and energy that came through the vocals and instruments moved her, got her in the mindset she needed to perform. Jane had the vocals and sex appeal down when it came from her stage presence – both came natural to her – but as she got older, it got harder and harder to find the energy she needed from their music.

But, Jane couldn’t think about that now. No. She had to sell the band to the crowd. She had to give them reasons to not forget what band they were watching when they left the festival.

When the band before them finished their last song on the adjacent stage, Jane chugged the rest of the beer she had grabbed back stage and removed her ear buds, taking a deep breath before lighting a cigarette. The booking agent told them there would only be a three minute pause between each band, which is why they had two stages and were able to book so many acts on one festival, but Jane took the stage with her cigarette and her beer bottle early, sitting on the front letting her dirty, bare feet dangle off as she drank. The stage itself was painted black, and it was much wider than it was deep, meaning that Jane would be able to fuck around with Rob during the set. She enjoyed this greatly, as Rob was most relaxed on stage and would be receptive to her teasing.

Jane returned a smirk from Jared as she sat across from him.
“You cold, Jane?” he laughed as he eyed the white tee shirt she was dawning.
Jane looked down and realized what Jared was talking about. “No, just excited,” she winked as she stood up gracefully and looked behind her, seeing that they were ready to begin. She wasn't lying; performing almost felt like sex itself. Almost. It was exhilarating. Powerful. Invigorating. Sweaty. All of Jane's senses were stimulated when she was on set.

She approached the mic stand again and gripped it with one hand, using the other to push back down her hat, before addressing the audience.

“Hey, everyone. Damn, you guys are some beautiful fuckers,” she chuckled as a few people let out a “Woo!” in response. The crowd had grown significantly since they set up, but between the sun setting and the bright spotlight shining on the stage, Jane couldn’t make out any faced. “Just kidding, I can’t see shit,” her raspy voice muttered into the microphone.

“Well, we are In Bloom from Long Beach, California. Thanks for checking us out.”

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The last song to be played was their new single that caused all the tension in the band and the one that every one loved.

That was when Sam’s guitar began to pump out notes over the speakers, playing by himself for a few moments before Austin joined in seamlessly into the song. And then Rob, on the drums came in soon after that. The vibration from the noise rang through her body as she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, her body beginning to move with the music. They were all in sync, like a little cogs in a machine, all working together to produce something bigger than all of them.

Before Jane was needed, she picked up her beer she had placed on the floor and took one more sip before grabbing the mic with her right hand and biting her lip for a moment as they formed into a smile. Her eyes scanned the featureless faces below her as she came in with her first line, the legato flow of her voice transitioning from note to note without hesitation. Her other hand gripped the stand and dipped it downward, and she belted out the second line as effortlessly as the last.

After finishing the first verse, she abandoned her post and backed up a few feet until she was in front of Rob’s drum set, and she stuck her tongue out at him and smiled as she danced to the music, throwing her hands up above her hand and twisting her body while they played the song leading up to the chorus. Jane assumed he wasn't enjoying himself during this song, but maybe she could convince him to by making him smile.

Jane made it back to the microphone at the exact moment she needed to begin the chorus, and she did - a deep, powerful tone ascending in to a high, soft one that broke nearly into moan at the end as the notes faded back into the verse again. She threw her hat to the floor and ran her fingers through her hair to remove the blonde strands from her face as she sunk into the second verse of the song.

Then finally, the bridge approached, and Jane once again grabbed the beer to coat her throat before beginning, building up in volume slowly as her voice bounced around until the end, where it turned into a sort of scream that rang out for a few moments. It was simply what her voice did when she pushed it too hard, and when she accidentally did it in recording, the guys liked it.

The crowd began to cheer loudly until she finished as sang the chorus one last time, her hips slowly and naturally oscillating until the song finished.

Her voice was raspier than before, and she thanked the crowd for watching as she exited the staged and immediately lit a cigarette to be greeted by Jared.
“Jane, that was so fucking sick. You killed it,” he smiled as he hugged her.
Jane was a bit sweaty and was still catching her breath, but she managed a “Thanks,” she smiled faintly with smoke flowing out of her mouth. She was satisfied with their performance and the crowd’s reaction. Jane wasn't one to critique herself.
"You're coming over, right?" Jared took a sip of his beer as he eyed her up and down.
She laughed. "Easy, tiger. I think I am," Jane said through a jokingly snobby look.

The rest of the band members began to make their way off stage when Jane high-fived and congratulated them. She was on a high, but it never satisfied her long enough.

"I'm ready to party."

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

Cameron’s eyes danced around Justin’s face as he spoke, enjoying the different expressions he would make at the things he said. One thing that stuck out to her were his green eyes. She couldn’t recall anyone in her village that had them but had heard of them before. They were fascinating to say the least, but when she caught herself staring, her cheeks grew red as she looked away.

Ah, the reason she never told people about her life. The questions.

“Well, I was always around boys growing up. The girls thought I was, well, a little abrasive,” she chuckled as she thought of herself as a child. “Back in the day, they didn’t ‘believe’ in guns,” she made air quotes with her fingers before continuing, “so most training was hand-to-hand combat. They wouldn’t let girls into the program, which was easy to enforce since none of the girls wanted to be in it. But after enough begging and pleading, they gave up and let me train with them. They started teaching with other weapons a few years later. Knives were always my favorite,” she smiled faintly.

“A lot of women were unhappy, wanting more freedom, so some began to leave the settlement in hopes to find somewhere better for themselves.” Cameron paused. The next part of the story, she knew, would be difficult to repeat.

“After a while, they recanted their beliefs on guns, they began training with them. Said it wasn’t right for a woman to be handling such machinery, although they still let me do combat training. It caused an uproar, though, when more and more girls began showing interest in learning to fight after rumors were being spread around. They were saying that the raiders were attacking and raping women, leaving them for dead. Their plan to scare the women in to submission backfired. So,” she cleared her throat, “they tried to stop me from training all together a few years later, saying I was a bad role model for the kids. But they knew I wasn’t going to take it sitting down.”

“Last year, a few days after my 24th birthday, I was invited out on a hunt with men that weren’t usually in my group. I didn’t think anything of it, but…” Her voice trailed off, and Cameron paused once more. “I was attacked by three of them while we camped for the night. Made sure I looked real bad and…” she figured he could use his imagination, so she didn’t go further into detail on the assault. “Any way, when we got back home, they blamed it on raiders so they could push their agenda for women not to be able to leave our walls. They instructed the healers to keep me heavily sedated, so no one believed me when I tried to explain what happened. They knew I had no family that would try to vouch for me. John was the only one who did, but he couldn’t do anything about it. It was planned out pretty well, I'll give them that.”

Cameron’s eyes shifted to Justin, trying to read him. She couldn’t. “So, after they released me, I killed one of my attackers in the middle of the night. That wasn’t my plan, but after I made my way into his house, all I could see was red.” She frowned for a moment. “The only reason I didn’t get executed for it was because they decided that, because of what happened to me, I couldn’t be fully held responsible for my actions. So, I’ve been on house arrest ever since. Explains why I can’t run anymore,” she chuckled nervously as she picked at the bottom of her boot.

Cameron didn’t want her to think any differently of her, but she was sure he did. She didn’t kill this man in combat. He was killed in cold blood, on his bed while he slept. But, she sure as hell didn’t regret it. Not at all.

Feeling Justin’s stare, she looked up to him slowly. “I, uh, sorry. Probably a little too much information, huh?” Cameron didn’t plan on telling him all the nitty-gritty details of her life, but he made it easy. He was kind and protective, and she felt like he’d keep her stories safe. And keep her safe. "Please, uh," she shook her head, "please don't tell any of your people about my past. They seem so... wholesome. I don't want them not to like me."

Cameron looked out through the front window of the convenience store and saw that the sun was making the sky a pink color, which inspired a soft smile to take over Cameron's face.

[shaitarn x megatrash] [18+]

Name: Nora Sinclair
Age: 23

Appearance

5'3" / 115 lbs.
Personality: She would consider herself to be chill and easygoing, maybe sometimes too easygoing to the point of not speaking up for herself when something bothers her. Most guys call her a prude because she won't sleep with them, but one of Nora's best kept secrets is that she is actually a virgin, something she is almost embarrassed about. She isn't even quite sure why she has still waited so long, but she convinces herself constantly that the right guy will come along.
Hobbies: Parties, concerts, local shows, hanging out with friends, getting tattoos.

[shaitarn x megatrash] [18+]

@shaitarn

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

Ah, good! Me too. We'll give the poor characters a break!

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

@freedomlivesonStill planning on adding to the story, just wanted them to have some dialogue :-) Hope all is well!

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

Justin’s apology took her by surprise, but not more than what he explained to her afterwards. Her face slowly faded into a frown as he spoke, as he spoke about his friend, his people, being attacked and getting killed. “I’m sorry,” her raspy voice quietly replied. “I didn’t know what the box meant. It took me too long to put all the pieces together, to realize what happened to my village. I shouldn’t have let you bring me to Omega.” Her eyes darted away from him and down to her boots, guilt and regret crashing over her in waves. Her mind flashed images of the bodies she had seen laying on the ground – still and lifeless with their eyes still open. The thoughts made her get the chills. “I’m sorry about your friend.”

Kneeling in front of her pack against the wall across from Justin, she released her hair from the braid, bending over shaking it out with her fingers to release the twigs and leaves that had made a home in it, and then she dug down to the bottom to pull out a small, gold case. Upon opening it, she plopped down to the floor and took out a single cigarette and a Zippo lighter. “I was saving it for a rainy day, but I think this counts,” she smirked as she pulled it out of the band that held it in place. Cigarettes had been extinct for a long time, but Cameron knew someone who had hoarded them and sold them village to village. It cost her a good amount more than the normal hand-rolled one, but she had always wanted to try one from the old days. Something about smoking the same kind that the old world used to was exciting.

She used her Zippo to ignite the cigarette, and after exhaling, she spoke quietly. “I didn’t really have anyone at Chesapeake. They found me on the bay when I was five. Alone. I don’t remember much before that, though. The settlement sort of collectively raised me.” She paused for a moment and closed her eyes as she took another drag from the cigarette and offered it to Justin. She wasn’t used to telling the details of her life to someone she barely knew. Everyone she had lived with already knew her. Thought of her as a lost soul. A charity case. “The only reason I survived the attack was because I was on house arrest. My door was bolted shut. They tried to get in, but they couldn’t. Someone slipped the keys through the bars on the window before they got killed in front of it.” Another pause before she lifted her eyes up to Justin. “After they left, I found John. That’s when he told me where to find the box and to head north. He, uh, he passed before he could tell me anything else.”

This was when her voice began to waver with emotion. Stop it, stop it, stop it she kept repeating to herself in her mind. “I-I’m so sorry for what happened, Justin. If I knew, I’d…” What was the point? A thousand apologies weren’t going to make up for what happened to his people. Her head found a resting place on her two bent knees in front of her as Cameron attempted to compose herself, but her tears were creating a spot on each knee. Without looking up, she spoke with a voice mumbled by her legs. “We’ve got to find all the pieces so no one will have died in vain.”

She finally lifted her head up and laughed at herself as she wiped her tears from her red-rimmed eyes. “I’m not usually this emotional, I swear,” she chuckled as she took a deep breath and grabbed the cigarette back. “This wasn’t as good as I thought it would be,” Cameron exhaled as she observed the filtered cigarette, rolling it in her fingers.

"How old are you, Justin? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

In Bloom [HangYourSecrets x megatrash] [18+]

A surprised yet satisfied look took over Jane’s face as she put a hand up to his forehead. “You feelin’ okay, bub?” she laughed as she sipped the cold beer again. Maybe the tour really would help him loosen up. She missed the old days when they were both insane – before Rob became the serious man he was now – when they would skip class, get fucked up, cruise the town together, and most importantly, play music together. Or maybe he just grew up, and she never did. One of Jane’s fondest memories of them began to replay in her head as her fingers slowly traced the drips of condensation that formed on her beer.

At the time, he was a senior and Jane a junior. They had snuck out of school during lunch and had made their way to a park nearby. It was sunny, warm, a slight breeze. They had begun to write music together recently, and they both sat under a tree as Jane kept trying to come up with a melody for the lyrics she had written. She had always been self-conscious of the words she wrote, but Rob had a way of making her feel like they weren’t half bad. They passed a joint back and forth as he sat up against the tree with his legs criss-crossed and Jane’s head resting on his knee as she laid on the grass with her notebook in her hand, singing out different arrangements repeatedly until they found one they liked.

On the outside, it wasn't different at all from the afternoons they spent together, but she remembered the energy that was in the air like it was yesterday. They were best friends, two souls linked together by their love of music.They used to be able to spend hours together. Days together. And they would never argue or grow tired of each other. But within the past year, Jane felt their relationship beginning to crumble. She wasn’t angry; it was human nature that people grew apart eventually. But Jane wasn’t going to let it happen that easily. He knew everything about her – her favorite foods, her likes and dislikes, her habits both strange and annoying, every man or woman that she had ever slept with – and she felt like she knew everything about him. Or what he would let her know. No matter how much she felt Rob would get annoyed of her, she never got annoyed of him, even when he was angry or being an asshole.

Jane shook her head to clear herself of her thoughts as she caught Rob’s eyes lingering over to the brunette with Jared. “Ah,” she said as she swallowed the last drop of the beer. “Jared’s sister. She’s a photographer. Adrienne? Something like that. Cute girl,” she said nonchalantly and she turned to him. “I guess we should start heading back.” She groaned as she stood up and stretched before retrieving Austin and Sam from a group of girls that had surrounded them. “Time to go, boys. Sorry, ladies,” she laughed as she dragged them away and headed for the door.

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After they returned to the site of the festival, Jane slipped into the back of the van while the guys unloaded their equipment from the trailer. She dug through her bag, found her outfit, and began lifting the black tank top up as her back faced them, tossing it over the back seat and sliding on a white Backtrack shirt that made her sun kissed skin look even darker in contrast. She quickly removed the denim shorts and replaced them with a short khaki pair. A backwards snapback found it's way over her blonde, messy hair, and her shoes were removed and tossed on the floor along with the rest of her stuff as she made her way back out of the van to help carry some of the equipment to the side of the stage they’d be playing on.

When they arrived, a man from the booth on the opposite side of the stage called Jane up to sound-check the microphone they had set up for her. She nodded and hopped up on the platform overlooking the darkening sky and never-ending green lawn.

“Alright, Jane, go ahead,” the voice boomed through the feedback amps in front of her.
“Check, check, heeeey, check-check,” she blurted as she listened to herself. “Check, check.”
The man worked on the knobs in front of her and asked her to go again.
“Check, check, check, hey, check. Can I get a little more feedback in this amp?” she asked and pointed her bare foot to the one on her right.
“Okay, try again. This time, sing something.”
This made Jane smirk. “Alright,” she said smoothly as she cleared her throat and began to belt Shame on You by Aerosmith, gripping the mic stand and slowly swaying with the beat in her head while her lazy, raspy voice glossed over the words, which caused a small audience begin to form in front of her. A whistle erupted from the group of people below her. Jared. Next to him, Adrianna with her camera in hand.

“Sounds good, dude. Thank you,” she called over with a thumbs up to the sound tech as she exited the stage back to her band. “Fuck, I’m so excited,” Jane grinned as a punch was thrown at Austin’s arm and winced at the realization of what she did.

“Jesus, you guys keep punching me today!” he chuckled as he rubbed his arm.

“Sorry,” she apologized as she held back a laugh. Her eyes turned to Rob, and she nodded at him calmly.

“Next, drums!” the sound guy spoke over the microphone, signaling for Rob to go get set up and do a sound check.

Jane smiled to him when she heard the tech call for him. Every ounce of her hoped he was just as excited as she was, even if they had to play the single he hated. They were doing what they had always dreamed of, how couldn’t he be?

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

Oh you responsible teacher, you. It's fine -- looking forward to it :)

In Bloom [HangYourSecrets x megatrash] [18+]

The shittier the bar, the more fun it was – at least to Jane anyway. As they weaved through the establishment to grab a drink, she observed this different groups of people lining the brick walls. From her guess, mostly festival attendees based on their outfit choices. It was funny: they all looked the same. The fact that she never tried to dress herself up or make her natural self more attractive was sort of Jane’s quiet rebellion to conforming to trends and expectations. That was the reason she rarely wore a bra – she didn’t care what people thought of her small chest. That’s why she didn’t wear make-up, do her hair, or even wear shoes half the time. Life was complex, layered, short, and wildly beautiful in her opinion, and Jane thought it was a complete waste to spend time on aesthetics.

She plopped down next to Rob and blurted “Two please,” after he ordered a Yuengling. After she clinked his bottle with hers, she took a large swig, placed the beer on the bar, and shifted her position to face him. “Rob,” she said quietly, a concerned look on her face. “Lighten up, huh? You left Long Beach! We’re on tour. We’re gonna have groupies,” Jane said jokingly as she took another sip. “I’m so sick of waiting tables and bartending for shit pay. I think this tour is gonna be good for us. You and me against the world, Rob, like always,” she nodded as she whipped out her phone and opened the app that was advertised on the jukebox’s screen so that she could choose the song she pleased.

Once Drop by Turnstile came on over the bar’s speakers, Jane looked around and giggled at a group that was obviously annoyed at the choice, but she did catch a few people singing along with her. One guy in the corner, though, looked familiar. Who was he? “Oh, shit!” Jane exclaimed as she tapped Rob’s arm. “I’ll be right back.” She grabbed her beer and approached the man standing with his group of friends, all of them goofily singing “I’m just a baaaaaad boy, la la la la” at the end of the song.

“Didn’t know you were a Turnstile fan, Jared,” she said as she made her way in front of him.
“No fuckin’ way, Jane Molloy. Long time no see,” he smiled and gave her hug before introducing him to the group of guys surrounding him. “You’re not playing the fest, are you?”
“Afraid so,” she joked. “I’m guessing you guys are, too?” She had met Jared a couple of years ago down in Phoenix when she tagged along to a punk show with some friends.
“Nah, not this time,” he chuckled. “Just watching. We are having an after party though. Off of Pine Street. You should come,” Jared offered as a smirk crept on his face.
“Gotta talk to the guys. We’re driving to El Paso tomorrow, but…” Jane smiled faintly, “I don’t see why not.”
Jared was pleased. “Awesome. Good luck tonight.”

Jane made her way back to her seat next to Rob and ordered another beer. “There’s an after party tonight. I think we should go. It’d do you good to cut loose a bit, yeah?” she smiled as she thanked the bartender for her beer. As she took the first sip, her eyes landed on Rob where they lingered for a moment.

She knew that, mentally, he was going through a lot at the time. Not that he ever would voluntarily tell her that, but his demeanor disclosed enough. She was used to being the crazy one, and him the serious one, but things were changing. Jane lately felt like Rob was annoyed by her, either by taking care of her or rescuing her when she got too fucked up, or just by her being, well, her. It really hurt that their dynamic had not been the same, but she tried her best to not let it eat away at her. Of course, the change in their sound has something to do with it, which worried Jane, because if she could, she would completely change the music they played. She was sick of being compared to the very few female vocalists in their genre. She was sick of the crowd. She was sick of the music. It was what she loved back when she was younger, but as she was growing older, her taste in music was changing. But she had never let Rob know that, not yet anyway. So what was it?

In reality, no one knew what was going on with Rob but Rob, but Jane's pride wasn't going to let him know her feelings were hurt, so she would have to grin and bear it. For now.