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“Emmmmmmmmaaaaaa,” Erik groaned, falling face first onto his bed. “I don’t know what shirt to wear.”
“You have too many black shirts with illegible logos, sugar. I don’t know what to tell you…” She replied, examining the display of shirts on the comforter.
“You said they’re a punk band, right?”
“That’s what they sound like to me, but you know that I know nothing about this kind of music.”
“Uncultured,” Erik clucked goodnaturedly. “We’re seeing Genetic Corruption tonight, right?”
“Yup.”
He pulled out his phone, typed it in, and read, “Bandcamp says they’re sludge/thrash/glam. That’s NOT punk!”
“Sorry I can’t tell! I just like watching.”
“Ugh… I’m so nervous… What if people make fun of me because I’m wearing the wrong shirt? Is there gonna be a mosh pit? What if I actually hit someone and they get mad? What if I get beat up again, Em?”
“Erik, sugar, darling, love of my life, you need to calm down,” Emma said, pressing calm against her friend’s whirling mind. “No one is gonna be judging you, okay? And if they try, I’ll make sure they never speak again.”
“You’re the best.”
“I know. Now we gotta get going. Pick a shirt, and I’ll help you pull the rest of the outfit together.”
“Oh gosh, okay…” Erik was practically vibrating with nervousness, and Emma could tell he was getting close to being completely overwhelmed.
“How about this one, hun?” She picked up a shirt with a fairly unintelligible design that could be a cow or dragon of some kind. “Looks pretty badass.”
“Yeah, that could work,” Erik nodded, cocking his head. “Lair of the Minotaur could maybe have a similar sound. Might as well.”
He pulled off the light grey pajama shirt he was wearing, and Emma immediately began rifling through his drawers, scouring for something that could assist Erik in looking a little more put together and comfortable. She loved him, but he was such a ball of nerves sometimes. He was shy and pretty closed off, and she was hoping that getting to see an all-mutant band and meeting others like him would help Erik come out of his shell. Being a bisexual Jewish mutant wasn’t necessary an asset in a fairly conservative, WASPy area. Especially since he’d just moved to town with his parents and was trying to integrate mid-year at the community college. But she knew he’d warm up. She was best friends with the bassist’s girlfriend whose brother was the band’s vocalist, and she thought Erik would like them both. Fingers crossed.
Emma finally settled on a frayed blue and grey flannel and olive cargo shorts, and Erik went into the bathroom to change, looking a little nervous. She wished he would be able to settle down and enjoy himself, but she wasn’t holding her breath. He usually got pretty riled up.
“Does it look okay?” Erik asked quietly, coming out and looking much better.
“You look great!” She exclaimed, grinning broadly. “Just let me fix your hair real quick.” She patted down some cowlicks, and he looked downright handsome. Not that he wasn’t everyday, it was just in a more organized way.
“Mama doesn’t want me going out in this,” Erik said, flapping his arms slightly in the sleeves. “She claims it’s decayed into a ‘house-only’ shirt.”
“She’ll understand. Besides, she wouldn’t want you to get any nice clothes dirty.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“We’re gonna find you so many friends, honey. You’ll be the new kid no more after tonight!”
“I hope so…”
They headed downstairs and just as they were going out the door, Erik’s mom pulled into the driveway.
“Hello liebling, hi Emma,” she called, smiling at the two of them.
“Hi Mama,” Erik replied, going over to hug her.
“Are you two heading out for this concert Emma told us about?”
“Mhm. We’re gonna go in her car.”
“Wonderful! Are you staying over?”
“I’m not sure.” He looked over to Emma who nodded.
“Sure! I’d love the company,” she said. Plus it’ll give us time to debrief she added into Erik’s head. Emma’s parents were rarely home, so he went over a lot to make sure she wasn’t lonely.
“Okay, loves, have lots of fun. Be safe and keep in touch, alright?”
“Yes, Mama, of course,” Erik nodded, kissing her on the cheek.
They walked down to Emma’s white Corolla that was parked at the end of the street and headed out. Erik was so nervous that his hands were shaking, and Emma reached over and grabbed one.
“Hey, talk to me. Whatcha thinking?” She asked, hoping he’d let her help him. She never looked into his mind without permission, but his moods always drifted out into the perceivable sphere.
“I don’t know… I’m just nervous, I guess,” he replied, pulling at the worn cuffs of his flannel.
“About what?”
“Shit, everything. I don’t know the songs the band’s gonna play or how to talk with people or what the room’s going to be like or who’s gonna be there. Plus if there’s someone I find interesting, I’m probably going to be too anxious to actually talk with them.”
“You can do this. I believe in you, okay? Plus I’m gonna be with you, and I know a lot of the people who’ll be there. My friend Raven is super excited to meet you, and all of our mutual friends are gonna love you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! She says you look super cute by the way. I sent her a picture.”
“I just really hope people like me…”
“They will. What’s not to like?”
“Oh boy…”
“Shush, it’s a rhetorical question, Erik. You’re amazing, and people here are gonna appreciate you.”
“Promise?”
“Swear,” she nodded, squeezing his hand as she pulled into the bar’s parking lot.
Darwin’s was one of the only mutant bars in the area, and it had a reputation as a safe place for everyone with powers. It had a biker aesthetic and much of its clientele fit right in. Sometimes it had open evenings for high schoolers to meet up, play pool, and hang out, and then the crowd was even more of a patchwork than ever.
“You have your ID, right?” Emma asked as she parked.
“Yeah,” Erik nodded, pulling it out of his wallet.
“Alright, let’s do this! Show starts in 25 minutes, so we’ll have time to mingle.”
The air was cool, but Erik was glad he had a flannel. The strings dangling from the sleeves gave him something to fidget with and help hide his nerves. He loved seeing live music, especially heavy bands, but it just got kind of wild sometimes, and he was afraid of getting overstimulated and maybe having an anxiety attack. But Emma would be there to protect him. He knew that some of his anxiety was just misinterpreted excitement, but it was hard to switch the way he was feeling. He wanted to meet other mutants so badly, and this seemed like a place to do it. Maybe his mutation and love of metal would give him something to talk about. He hopped the band had a bite; they were mutants after all - life wasn’t sunshine and rainbows.
Emma lead him into the bar, and they showed their IDs, which earned them each two Sharpie Xs on their hands. She grumbled about only having 3 months to go, and Erik shook his head. She’d get drinks if she wanted them, there was no doubt. Telepathy has its perks.They headed into the bar’s back room where about 25 people had gathered.
“Emma!” A girl with beautiful dark blue skin shrieked, running over. “Hi, oh my gosh! Is this Erik?”
“Hey gorgeous,” Emma laughed, kissing her friend’s cheek. “Yup, the one and only. Erik, this is Raven.”
“Hi, “ he said, smiling despite the moths racing around his stomach. They’d be butterflies if he wasn’t afraid the fluttering would kill him. “Nice to meet you.”
“Right back at you, omg! Are you excited?”
“Absolutely.”
“Word! Come hang out with my friends! Everyone wants to meet the newest member of the group.”
“Sure,” Emma nodded with a grin. “We want Erik to meet all the nicest people.”
Is that okay? You doing alright? She asked, and he nodded, Raven waltzing over to a group sitting around a small table.
“Guys, this is Erik, he’s Emma’s friend from school who doesn’t know many people. Erik, this is Hank.” A tall, blue-furred man with glasses and kind eyes waved. “And Kurt,” another blue-skinned mutant with piercing yellow eyes smiled, “Azazel,” a guy who looked like an actual demon, “And Ororo, but we call her Storm.” The young woman with snow-white dreads grinned and waved.
Emma and Erik pulled chairs over and joined a conversation about an afterparty at the house that Hank, Kurt, and Storm rented together.
“Would you two be interested in coming?” Hank asked. “We’d love to have new friends come around.” Erik really liked his voice, it was very calm and even, and when Emma glanced over at him, he nodded without a second thought.
“We’d love to,” Emma answered, right before Kurt exclaimed,
“Guys! It’s about to start, they’re done setting up!”
Erik hadn’t even noticed anyone setting up, but to his left was a small stage crowded with instruments and speakers. People were starting to group up in front of the stage, and his new acquaintances followed suit. He was starting to get nervous again, and his heart leapt into his throat when the band came on stage. The guy he assumed was the vocalist was… gorgeous, and Emma said he’d get to meet him later. Oh fuck.
“What’s up, Darwin’s?” He yelled in the mic, and everyone cheered. “We’re Genetic Corruption, and we’re fucking proud to be mutants!” They didn’t waste time with any more introduction, going straight into the music, and it was LOUD. Erik stood close to the front, almost frozen in place, eyes and ears locked on the band. This definitely wasn’t punk, but it was exactly what he needed.
As the band played on, the mosh pit started up. Normally, Erik would be too afraid to join in, but he was surrounded by other mutants. He braced himself, and then jumped into the fray of bodies. Though there couldn’t be more than 40 people in the bar, it felt massive and alive. Emma laughed as she and Erik collided. I love you! The pit was had a life and energy of its own, and Erik enjoyed the rough yet protective feeling. He banged his head to the rhythm of the drums and let the music seep into his soul. There wasn’t anything to be afraid of. He was one with everyone and everything.
“Alright, folks, this is our last song. Are you ready?” The vocalist called, and cries of affirmation filled the air. He grinned, then the opening of Tool’s “Swamp Song” broke through the noise. Fuck yeah! Erik thought as visions of every mutantphobe and homophobe and anti-Semite he’d ever encountered appeared and exploded in his mind. Good riddance, assholes. It was almost like a weight was lifted off his shoulders, and he had finally found a pause button for his anxiety. He was free among the chaos.
Emma grabbed him by the arm right as the song ended, grinning.
“You look so happy, oh my god,” she exclaimed.
“I am,” he replied, smiling back. “These guys are incredible.”
“I knew you’d like them.”
“Thank you all so much for coming out tonight,” the vocalist said, wiping sweat off his forehead. “It means the world to us to have you on this journey with us. I’m Charles, and we have Kitty on bass, El, drummer extraordinaire, and Zeke, our favorite green guitarist. Have a great night, and we’ll see you soon!” The band all threw up horns before disappearing behind a curtain.
“Emmmmmmma, he’s so cute,” Erik sighed, allowing the adrenaline to flow through him. “But I know if I try to talk to him, I’ll throw up…”
“He’s super nice, sugar,” Emma said, patting his back. “Why don’t we head out to the party, and he’ll be along, okay?”
“Okay,” he nodded, blushing when he saw Charles coming out to help carry a particularly heavy speaker. He and the drummer were struggling with it, so Erik used his powers to take some of the load off.
“I saw that,” Emma smirked, taking his hand and leading him off to the party.
*****
As soon as he and Emma pulled up to the house, Erik felt anxiety building up in his stomach. He hadn’t expected his calm to last, but he’d hoped for a little longer than the 47 minutes it had taken them to get food from Taco Bell, get lost despite Emma’s certainty in her sense of direction, pull into a hardware store’s parking lot to figure it out, and then finally get on the right track, thanks to Google Maps. Things seemed to be getting into swing, and they could hear music as they approached the back door. Erik was fiddling with his sleeve strings again…
When he and Emma came in, Raven greeted them and passed them drinks before bringing them to the rest of the group she’d introduced at the bar. But then Erik recognized the bassist among them, and his heart jumped.
“Erik!” Raven called, motioning him over. “This is Kitty, the bass goddess and my beautiful girlfriend.”
“H-hi,” he nodded, shaking her hand.
“And this is El and Zeke!”
Taking a deep breath and smiling, Erik replied, “It’s really nice to meet you all. I had such a great time tonight.” They all seemed so friendly and kind; everyone was relaxed and smiling.
“I’m so glad,” El said, their dimple piercings twinkling in the light.
“I really like your outfit by the way,” Kitty added, pointing to the Lair of the Minotaur shirt he was wearing.
“Oh thanks! My friend Emma picked it out for me!” He gestured to her, and she waved back.
Then Raven popped up again, this time with Charles on her arm. Erik immediately downed more of his drink, pulse skyrocketing.
“Charles, this is Erik,” she said. “He went to the show tonight.”
“Hi! Lovely to meet you,” he replied with a smile. “I saw you up at the front.”
Oh God, he actually recognizes me… Fuck.
“Pleasure,” Erik managed, shaking Charles’ hand.
“Do you wanna go get a drink with me? It’s fucking hot.”
“Y-yeah! Sure.”
So Erik waved to the band, who were all chattering and glancing over, and headed through the throng of mutants after his new friend. Charles was so attractive, and it wasn’t just looks - he had a lot of actual metal in his body. Erik could see the piercings on his ears, and he gently extended his power, feeling the metal on Charles’ chest and face.
They reached the tub of jungle juice, and Charles handed him a full cup with a sly grin.
“Metallokinetic, eh?” He asked as he filled his own, and Erik almost choked on his drink.
“W-what?”
“You moved my eyebrow piercing. I felt it.”
“I… did? Fuck, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Heat rose up his face, and he locked his eyes on the ground.
“No, no! It’s fine! It’s super cool.”
“You really think so?”
“Absolutely,” Charles nodded, gesturing to an empty table, and they both sat, Erik’s heart beating nervously.
They talked about college and music and mutation, and Erik got more comfortable with each topic and conversation. He was enthralled by Charles, the pierced, makeup-wearing vocalist of an all-mutant metal band who wanted to be a psychologist or a college professor. It was so bizarre but beautiful.
“Erik!” Emma called, making her way over to him. “We gotta go home. My sister forgot her fucking key.”
“Shit, okay,” Erik said, pushing away the table and looking apologetically at Charles. “I’m sorry! I really wish I could stay…”
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied gently. “Text me!” He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and scrawled his number on it.
“Oh! Okay, definitely!”
“Bye Erik! Talk soon.”
“See ya!”
And Erik ran off after Emma with the number securely in his pocket, heart pounding with fear and joy. Maybe socializing every once in awhile wasn’t so bad.