REJECTS\\M.C.

-3-

-mikey-

Mikey bops his head to Ashton's drum recording, smiling during the drum fill as he squints his eyes and mimics the arm movements before yelling out, "Fuck yeah!"

"You like that?" Ashton nods as he sticks his tongue between his teeth.

"What?" Mikey yells extremely loud and Ashton giggles, a very unique laugh only he can make.

"You like that?" Ashton yells but Mikey just shrugs, continuing to bop his head to the drum track.

"Dude, you fucking killed it," Mikey shakes his head in awe as he removes the headphones and high-fives Ashton.

"Thanks, man," Ashton smiles with humbled pride as they rejoin Luke and Calum.

"Then I go into G, then C," Calum tells Luke, both of them sitting on the worn and tattered sofa in Ashton's garage-turned rehearsal slash recording studio.

"No, no, I got that," Luke says playing the riff, "But you play something right after that before you go back to F major Seven."

"Oh yeah," Calum says, playing the melody on his guitar to show Luke.

"Oh, I gotcha," Luke nods his head.

"Then after that, the sick bridge," Mikey exclaims, grabbing his guitar and playing the bridge Calum created during lunch.

"When did you have time to practice that?" Luke looks at him shocked.

"I listened to it like ten times during detention," Mikey laughs, continuing to play the chords again.

"Ash, I wanted you to help with the bridge. I'm stuck on this line. I just can't get it right," Calum says moving over to Ash at the fold up table and opening his notebook.

"Did you guys work on the picking at the beginning?" Mikey asks Luke, picking a similar pattern but knowing it's not right.

"Yeah, I think I got something," Luke positions his fingers over the strings and begins picking a sound just slightly off of what Calum recorded earlier, only this fits better sonically.

"Oh, I like that," Mikey encourages, mimicking Luke's chord and watching him pick the eight measure pattern before examining his second chord and picking pattern for the next eight measures.

Mikey begins playing with Luke, Calum and Ashton looking up to nod their heads, liking the sound. Luke grins at Mikey and then writes it down in his notebook before his phone dings. He closes his book and unlocks his phone to read a text message while Mikey continues to play the picking pattern and then the full song.

"I've gotta go guys, Tannar needs me to pick her up," he stands frowning.

"Again?" Ashton asks him concerned. "Will Liz let her stay over? If not just bring her here again."

"Yeah, I told mum everything. I think she'll let her stay this time."

"Good," Calum nods.

"Let me know if not," Ash nods at him. "And we will record tomorrow."

"Will do, Mate, thanks, and yes!" Luke says as he closes his guitar case and heads out the door.

"I hope she didn't get hurt this time," Calum says quietly.

"What?" Mikey asks, looking at Calum disturbed.

"Yeah, her dad shoved her last time for getting in front of her mum and she fell down the stairs."

"Fuck," Mikey shakes his head, his stomach sinking.

He could never fathom how parents hurt their children. Sure his parents were stern when they needed to be, but they never laid their hands on him. I guess he never really gave them a reason to, but it still makes him sick to know people marry other people who hurt them. And then they watch them continue to hurt their own children. The world is fucked up.