A Band, Divided

Drip. Drip. Drip.

"Hey Dev-!" Lexie charged into his room carelessly, then abruptly stopped in her tracks when she locked eyes with a dead figure hanging from a noose and swinging slowly around the center of the room.  "...D-D-Dev...in?" After a few choked screams, Lexie dropped to her knees and cried for the first time in years.

~~~

Emerson sipped a coffee while laying stretched out over his bed, attempting to calm his jitters about Sistehcaps' upcoming show. No matter how many shows he performed, he wasn't sure if he'd ever be completely confident. Plus, this was their first show with a new guitarist. He wondered how his fans would receive her...though Emerson himself thought she was pretty great. He chuckled fondly to himself at the thought.

BAM! The door was slammed open and the girl in question ran towards him. Her cerulean blue eyes were hazy, and she had obviously been crying. She grabbed onto his jacked and pointed frantically across the hall, where a door with a bathroom sign was slightly ajar. She appeared like she was trying to speak, but every noise was dying in her throat. However, she persistently pulled on his jacket, and when Emerson sensed her urgency, he quickly followed her to the room down the hall.

~~~

Zane Pierce sighed as he pocketed his cellphone, then ran a hand through his thick black hair. He really didn't feel like doing this right now. It had been a while since Emerson last called a band meeting...not since that guy left, anyhow, and Zane frankly just wanted to spend the day at the park feeding some cute animals. Still, Emerson had sounded almost upset over the phone, a nagging thought that made Zane hurry on his way to Studio Rock.

~~~

Chad twiddled his thumbs dumbly when he walked into Studio Rock to see a very distraught Lexie and Emerson. "...uh?" He immediately rushed to their side. "Wh-what's wrong, guys?" He threw them a trademark smile experimentally.

Zane burst through the doors seconds later and raised his eyebrows at the sight. He gulped and straightened his back. "What's going on?" He asked curtly...there would be no dancing around the problem. Zane needed to know what was amiss NOW.

Emerson summoned a deep breath as he turned to face everyone in the room. "Devin...is dead."

~~~

A couple police cars surrounded Cobalt Apartments. Somehow fangirls caught wind of the incident too, because many of them were flooding the outside of the building, screaming and crying.

Lexie rounded up her three bandmates, inanimate and quiet for once in their lives. Her voice had returned to normal, and with gentle urging, she offered, "I know a place where we can stay tonight." No one spoke as Lexie led them up to the Summers Mansion.

~~~

Against Lexie's better advice, Emerson shut himself into his own room in the mansion. Zane, Chad, and Lexie sat on the couch in the living room while Ace hovered in the background like a worried parent, determined not to intrude but ready to provide support when needed.

Sitting was not the best word, as Zane was constantly standing up, pacing around the room, and sitting back down. Chad stood up too and placed a hand on Zane's shoulder, releasing another weak smile. "Maybe you should just sit down and relax, Zaney-"

"Shut up!" Zane threw Chad's hand off of him, looking angry and frustrated. "How are you so unaffected? He was your bandmate too...how can you always be so goddamn happy?" Chad jumped back as if he had been bitten, his big brown eyes wide. After a few seconds, Zane looked down at the ground. "...Sorry. I didn't mean that."

Lexie stood by watching the incident, feeling useless the entire time. With a quiet -sniff-, she rose and decided to see how Emerson was doing.

~~~

Lexie stood by Emerson's door. She could overhear him practicing one of their songs on the bass, but it sounded slow and sad instead of upbeat. Suddenly, as she was about to knock, the music turned loud and angry. Then Lexie could have sworn she heard Emerson throw his bass across the room. She decided to forego knocking for the third time that day.  

Creak.

"O-oh, Lexie!" Emerson turned around quickly at the sound of the door opening. "Why are you-?"

"You don't have to blame yourself, you know." She stared him in the eyes for a few moments, then buried her face in his chest in a gesture reminiscent of a hug. "It was Devin's decision, and there was nothing we could do about it."

Emerson weakly smirked. "You sound more confident than you look." But he rested his chin on her head and added, "Still...thank you."

Her voice was slightly muffled through the hug. "There's nothing to be grateful for...it just wasn't. Your. Fault."

He hugged her back tightly, grasping her slim waist and running his hand through her choppy brown locks as if it were his lifeline. "...I know."

~~~

When Lexie reemerged from Emerson's temporary room, Zane was listening to his headphones in the corner. Lexie gave a small smile to see that he had calmed down, but the smile fell off her face immediately. She rubbed her bare arms and looked down to the ground, suppressing a whimper.

She was stopped mid-cry by a hand ruffling her hair. "So you were affected as well..." Looking up, Lexie was greeted by Chad looking concerned and staring into her eyes. He shot a secretive look towards Zane, then continued in a whisper, "I didn't know Devin for very long. Of course I'm upset, but his death obviously hit you guys way harder." Lexie opened her mouth in protest, but Chad pressed a finger to his lips and a hand to her shoulder. "You don't have to pretend to be the strong one, alright?" He smiled lightly. "Devin was your friend, wasn't he? If you want to cry, go ahead and do it." Chad opened his arms, somewhat embarrassed. But Lexie gladly took the invitation and sobbed in his arms. She grabbed one of Chad's tanned arms and felt, just a little, that maybe the world wasn't ending.

~~~

Ace had enough rooms in the house for all of Sistehcaps' band members, but it was unspokenly accepted when they all congregated in Zane's room in the middle of the night. It took more effort for Zane to look exasperated than happy as he moved over and handed Lexie a pillow. The four crawled into the too-small bed, Chad singing some impromptu song about cats, Emerson propping his legs up on Zane's back, Zane rolling over intermittently to keep Emerson's legs off of him, and Lexie laying in the middle and thanking them all. In a tiny voice, she repeated like a broken record, "Thank you, Emerson...thank you, Cody...thank you, Zane..."

And when someone switched off the lights and slowly closed the door, Lexie responded, "Thank you, Ace..."

~~~

The band spent the next few days practicing in Studio Rock, wandering in West Park, or watching cheesy movies at Cigam Cinema. The concert was obviously postponed, but the members were learning their true smiles again. Healing was a slow but necessary process, one they would have to learn together.

~~~

EX-SISTEHCAP MEMBER KILLS HIMSELF IN CIGAM

Last Monday, Devin Vesey of Sistehcap fame, killed himself in his room at Cobalt Apartments. The 17-year-old used to play guitar for the popular band, Sistehcap, but he broke from the band a month ago, citing "artistic differences."

None of the other band members could be reached for comment (though they have postponed their concert), but Sistehcap fans are speaking out and swarming Cobalt Apartments. One local girl who wished to remain anonymous stated at the scene, "I used to date Devin...but I had no idea he had anything like this in him!" The girl stopped to sob into her handkerchief. "I wish I had gotten to speak to him again since our break-up...but I know me and the other Sistehcap fans will be devastated for a long time."

The police's investigation points towards suicide by hanging, but the police are still looking for a suicide note of any sort.

~~~

Dear Sistehcap,

I didn't really ever know how to face you guys again, or if you'd even care. I guess I just wanted to say...Emerson, you've got to choose a girl and stop leading your fangirls on. Skyler's not really my business anymore, but if you lead her on falsely, I'll haunt you. And Cody, spend more time practicing drums and less time annoying Zane. We all get it...you're mischievous. And Zane, dude, maybe we didn't really get along because we were both loners, I dunno? But maybe if you were more open, ///we/// the rest of the band would talk to you more.

Other than that...don't change. I don't actually expect anyone to find or even read this stupid thing, but I think I should add...you guys were my only friends.

And even though you replaced me, Lexie...

I liked you. Just a little.

Bye.

-Devin