Chapter Text
The second concert is better than the first. Last night Michael was experiencing the exhaustion of moving, fury and stress of Sam having to run out of a comic store because the two losers running it thought intimidation and threats were the best sales tactic, and no previous knowledge of just how much he wants to belong in the singers crew.
“You’re so beautiful, baby” David sings and Michael can’t blink. Can’t breathe.
Sam stands beside him, unimpressed and sullen. After last night, convincing Sam to come back to the boardwalk was… difficult.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
“I don’t want to go back Mike! I just want to stay here and read- or, watch the…” a defeated sigh, or perhaps a sob, collapses his lungs, “I just want to stay home, okay?”
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
“I have to have you.” David’s voice is quiet but Marko and Dawyne quickly change that.
“Wanna get you alone, caress your collar bone, no preacher would condone…” David gets close to Star, hands on her shoulders, neck, down to her back. He leans in but Michael can’t even guess what David is whispering in Star’s ear over the rest of the band. But for a moment, David and Star's eyes meet his, Michael almost thinks he can hear David talking to him
“You’re here, Michael.”
Michael nods to the two musicians and the moment is broken. David and Star sing together.
“I’ll make you work for it! You’re gonna sweat a bit! The crimes we could commit, when we come together baby!” Star has her surreal trick of the light halo, and David looks just as angelic beside her.
The song ends. Michael is once again frozen in place. Sam tries to walk away, Michael grabs his hand.
“Where are you going? Sam, you can’t just mope in the truck, there’s more to the boardwalk then…” Michael feels Sam tense in preparation for the words ‘comic book store’. He sighs and lets go of his brother's hand. “I told you they said you were just as welcome to join them after their show as I was.” Sam glares.
“No, you asked if your little, loser, brother could tag along, and they pity accepted. And besides, a bunch of 18 year old rock musicians aren’t going to want to hang out with a 15 year old, who wears whatever the mall throws up, and who’s only other friend is his queer boyfriend!” Sam whisper-shouts his final point. The comic book store boys exploited insecurities Sam wasn't even aware of. Sam in Phoenix would never insult his “epic finds”.
“And besides, they’re leaving the stage. I figured you’d want to blush at the pretty girl up close.”
Sam turns to walk away again, this time Michael goes with him. The Lost Boys are in a same shadowy clearing packing up their instruments, just like the night before. Only this time, the brothers are greeted when they approach.
“Sam! Mikey!” Marko yells, waving both his hands above his head, as if he was stranded and they were rescue.
“Michael, good to see you again. Especially now that you’re close enough to actually look at.” David looks Michael over, an appreciative grin at his leather jacket. Michael definitely doesn’t blush.
“That makes it sound like you either watched me through my window at home or could actually see me when you were on stage. So what do you want to be, David, a stalker or a liar?" Michael taunts. He decided last night that he would contribute more to the group’s conversations than family trauma or weird questions, so far Michael thinks he’s doing pretty good.
“Why not both?” David shrugs and picks up Marko’s abandoned guitar from a perch of boxes and plastic crates. The short blond left it in favour of scurrying off again to help Paul with his drums. Michael looks over to where the chaotic duo are packing up, only to find a slightly stressed, slightly curious Sam playing Paul’s drums. Well, kinda playing. Paul’s hands are over Sam’s directing his movements, and Marko is hitting symbols at random with an even more random stick he found on the ground. Michael’s surprised he didn’t hear the noise, but is happy he can now hear Sam laughing. It’s been too long.
Dwayne eventually forces the trio to pack up the kit, though they quickly move on to hitting garbage cans with sticks as a replacement. Unlike the previous night Laddie didn’t trail behind the tall man. Michael thinks his mothers worries are rubbing off on him as Star assures him that Laddie is just at home sleeping. Apparently the kid got too excited last night at the thought of getting to play with new people, and didn't fall asleep until 11.
“Well looks like we’re ready to head out, the stage hands will put the drums in our usual storage shed. So how about we get a move on, Michael?”
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Michael isn’t sure why didn’t consider the boys riding motorcycles. It fits their image perfectly, but it never crossed Michael’s mind. He feels silly now imagining Dwayne or Marko driving a caravan, for very different reasons.
Each musician has a unique style of riding. David is fast, at the front, and showy in a way he makes look casual. Star sits behind him, her long purple skirt flailing behind, with the red light of the bike it resembles fire, but set ablaze by a force higher than man or nature. Marko rides everywhere. His tricks aren’t very difficult or done to make him look cool, they are for the adrenaline of almost crashing every 15 feet. Paul rides very similarly, though, he seems to know exactly when to turn so he doesn’t hit a tree or attempt a jump his bike couldn’t make without a struggle. Finally, Dwayne, he rides in the back, a tail to ensure no one gets too close to his group, but also to herd the adrenaline junkies back to the road before important turns.
Michael is behind them, driving his old family truck, and his little brother in the passenger seat. The band offerd to take the brothers on their bikes, Marko offering first to take Sam. David shut that down before Marko finished his offer. Paul offered next, even promised to drive slow, Dwayne just glared and told Michael Sam would probably be safest riding with either him or David. But Star refused to ride with Marko or Paul, and Michael finally decided to just follow them. He’s proud of that decision now.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Finally the group stops at a cliff overlooking the ocean. Two large signs are posted to Michael’s left, while much smaller ones circle the rest of the edge. It’s too dark to read what they say, Michael assumes they’re about history or animal facts, maybe the caves have bats.
“Moonbeam, you coming or not?” Star calls, even though it’s nearly pitch black from the lack of city lights, Star still has her angelic halo. She’s dismounted from David’s bike, and now stands at the edge of the cliff. To Michael’s left. Where the light of Star’s halo now shows the big signs, now clearly warning of danger.
“Star, get away from the edge.” Michael quickly gets out of the truck, Sam follows. Michael resents it. The other boys aren’t in sight. Just Star, then she takes a step down, and another, and several more until it’s just her shoulders and head above the cliff side.
“It’s okay Michael, there’s more to this place than you know.” Then her head disappears from Michael’s sight.
“What are we waiting for Mike!? Let’s go!” Sam quickly scurries to the edge, cautious when he’s close enough to where a slip could mean falling into the waves below.
“Sam, stop. I’m going first, just to be safe.” Michael grabs Sam’s arm, moves himself in front, and squints down at the rocky stairway. Togeather the brothers navigate the path, Michael slipping and falling three steps half way down, Sam laughing so hard he falls too.
At the bottom a giant cave opening faces the water. Light glows from within. Michael goes first.
Down the path unnatural oddities make themselves known. Peeling wallpaper across otherwise normal rocks, fancy cushioned benches, their fabric all torn and legs missing chunks, and finally lights. Not candles or the sun, but electrical bulbs.
“Good of you to finally join us, Michael.” The first turn the brothers make presents a gaping hollow, decorated with anything one could imagine. Paintings, both professional and fading and on paper with fingerprints. Jewelry hanging from candlers, pipes, rocks, and overflowing in a fountain in the center of the room.
The band exists in the space with an old comfort. Paul half dances, half struts around the edge of the fountain, throwing in collections of coins, watches, and rings. Michael doesn’t want to consider where he got the latter two as Paul doesn’t wear a watch or women's rings. Dwayne is on an old couch, Laddie is barely awake, but still looking for the two newcomers, beside him. Marko crouches in an alcove, three light gray pigeons on his shoulders and head, a mouse in his left hand, held level to his face, the boy nods at it as if they were talking, and finally a large Alaskan Malamute lying at his feet. Michael is going to avoid Marko for a bit, at least until the mouse is gone. Finally, David and Star wait on a cushioned armchair, a throne among broken stools and ledges of rock.
“You didn’t exactly tell us where to go.”
“I waited for you on the first step, I thought you and Sam would follow me down.” Star responds. She is right in a way, the brothers did follow, just not as quickly as the band apparently hoped.
“I tried to follow you, Mike got all tough-guy and insisted on going first. But he’s also a chicken so it took forever.” Sam quips from across the room, he’s with Marko, the dog in his lap and a pigeon on his left shoulder. Michael glares at him, some brother Sam is to make him look bad in front of cool, and really pretty, musicians.
“You mean I’m responsible, and when mom arrives in three weeks and you're dead I’ll be joining you before the fourth ends.” Michael tries to quip back, but Sam seems unaffected, his blond hair all that’s visible from the fluff of the dog's neck.
“Don’t fret Mikey, Dwayne doesn’t let Laddie go down the stairs alone either. Though we usually take the starlight entrance, so it’s not really an issue.” Paul attempts to comfort, or maybe tease, Michael, and by extension Dwayne. David throws a rock under Paul’s foot to make him stumble off the fountain when he mentions the starlight entrance though.
“There’s another entrance? I thought this place was fairly closed off, except for the way we came and that hole in the roof over there.” Michael gestures to what appears to have been a grand window for the hotel lobby but was shattered long enough ago for the glass edges to have smoothed. None of the musicians answer for nearly a minute. Just quick glances between them until Star furiously snakes her head and Marko stands up.
“Yeah, we fly through the broken windows 35 feet up in the air.” He tosses the pigeon once on his head into the air, and it flies out the window. The blond waves his arms dramatically, but freezes in thought,
“Because we’re… what’s human-ish and flies? I mean other than, y’know, the obvious?”
David, Star, and Dwayne glare. Paul snaps his fingers and points to Marko.
“Mothman!” He says it seriously, but his face betrays him as a hysterical grin spreads across his face. Marko has a similar look.
“Who?” Sam asks, Michael is glad he does, because he doesn’t know what the two are talking about either.
“Just a legend from West Virginia about some monster that apparently looks like a human sized moth.” Star fills in for them, but to his right he can see Sam still cuddled into the dog as Paul and Marko spin some horror tale. Michael officially disfavours them, now Sam will refuse to sleep in his room for the next two nights, at a minimum.
The night continues in similar fashion. David teases, occasionally reins in Paul and Marko before they convince Sam and Laddie to do something stupid, and says Michael’s name in his special way. Michael.
Star switches between helping Michael appear less foolish as he fumbles through conversations with the band, and joining as David makes fun of him for it.
Dwayne stays close to Laddie, and Sam once he moves closer to the group, he doesn’t talk, at least not to the group, but from the switching of tunes on his bass, Michael assumes Sam and Laddie are holding something like a conversation.
Marko continues to pull animals out of nowhere, at least seven more mice, a brown pigeon, and even a raccoon for a bit. Michael doesn’t know where they keep coming from, but at least he hasn’t felt a mouse on his back or fingers yet.
Paul, in between Marko’s mysterious animal magic acts, convinces the blond to do a cartwheel with him while they hold onto each other's torsos, steal one of Star’s shoes, and get said shoe onto a chandelier.
Michael enjoys himself. From the look of his face Sam does too. Michael’s glad his brother isn't still agitated, that means bringing Sam to the next hang out won’t be as difficult.
Michael feels like they belong.