Never Ending by Kailin Gow Read Free Book Online Page B

makeup artist had attempted to
transform him into a rocker, I thought, Luc always projected an air of
sweetness, of vulnerability, that broke my heart, even when I didn't know why.
              “What is it,
Neve?” Luc caught my gaze. “You okay?”
              “Yeah,” I said,
taking his hand and squeezing it. “I'm okay.”
              Just feeling
lucky.
              It was so surreal
that I could hardly believe it. A few months ago, the Never Knights were down
and out, completely done for, the band fragmented and broken, our hopes
shattered and trodden into dust. And now here we were, backstage in the green
room at the Rock the House Night at Midnight Blue, preparing to go onstage as a
band – no, as a team – once more. And it felt good.
              “Just imagine the
look on Roni's face,” Steve was laughing. “When we go out there after the Dusk
Rider's first set.”
              I grimaced as I
imagined it. It would feel like victory, I was sure – at least, at first. But
would she seek to retaliate?
              The music of the
Dusk Riders droned in through the sound system to the green room, along with
the rush of applause that greeted every single song. I couldn't deny that they
were good – very good, even. Their guitar licks were polished; the rhythms were
tight; the lyrics fit one another like a hand in a glove. But as I listened to
the lead singer – the girl with my face –  wail out the final chord to
one of her songs, I looked up at Danny, an encouraged smile spreading across my
face. They were slick , maybe – but their music had a polished,
manufactured sound, as if it had been thought up by market researchers in a
laboratory rather than by real artists.      
              “A glam rock band
out of central casting,” Steve said, catching my eye. We both burst into
giggles.
              “What did she put
on the casting notice – people who look edgy, please apply within?”
              “Unconventional
people – five individuals, all unique, yet somehow all the same?” Kyle broke in
with a high, quick laugh.
              Immediately there
was a short, surprised silence. Kyle had been warming up to us, little by
little, but throughout our frenzied week of rehearsals he'd still seemed a
little awkward, a little standoffish, as if he'd been holding back. Now,
however, he was all smiles, grinning from ear to ear as he laughed with Steve, me,
and Luc. Just like old times.
              But it's not
like old times, is it?
              I looked
over to where Danny stood by the mirror, a few feet away from the rest of us.
It hadn't been an intentional slight, as far as I knew – even Kyle had been
meticulously polite to him. But our table had only room for four mirrors, and
Danny had chosen to get ready at the other table across the room.
              I hadn't wanted
to say anything – Danny and I were still committed to keeping our relationship
as quiet and discreet as possible, to avoid antagonizing Kyle or Luc. So I'd
let him walk away without giving him a second glance. But as I watched him
smear stage makeup across his chiseled, marble-white cheeks, I couldn't help
but feel a pang of pity.
              He's still an
outsider, isn't he?
              To me,
Danny Blue was my boyfriend, the boy who sent me reeling every time he looked
at me, touched me, kissed me. But to the rest of the band, Danny was a strange
interloper, a larger-than-life figure who had sailed in, taken the girl, taken
control of the band's management, and plunged us all into a standoff with Roni
Taylor that none of us had ever wanted – or even imagined was possible. And, as
nice as the guys tried to be to him, one thing was clear.
              He wasn't one
of them.
              Danny was
older; he was foreign; he hadn't grown up with the rest of us. He didn't have
the memories,