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big place, and the lights are dim, so it's hard to see. There's a stage up front with equipment set up. The band hasn't started playing yet but club music is pumping through the speakers.
    I spot a table in the middle toward the back and make my way over there, sneaking through the crowd.
    It's strange being out like this. It seems like forever since I've had an actual night out with people my age. All last year I spent every Saturday night watching TV in my room, listening to my brothers fight with each other while my parents yelled at them to be quiet.
    It's good I'm no longer there. It was definitely time for a change. I needed to get out of my parents' house. Out of Michigan. Out of my comfort zone. Maybe living on my own will prove to my parents that I'm not weak and fragile, and that I actually can become the athlete I used to be. And if not, I'll at least prove that to myself. Because miracles do happen. And I'm going to be one of them.

Chapter Three

    Austin
    There's a big banner over the bar with our name on it. Dylan has a friend who works at a print shop and makes all kinds of promo stuff for us for a really cheap price.
    I love seeing that banner. It makes me feel like we're a real band. A band that could actually be something more than just some guys who like playing music together in their free time. We've never talked about it, but I think we should make a demo and send it out to record companies, just to see if anything would happen. It might not, but what the hell? Why not try? We're popular here in Chicago, so why couldn't we be popular elsewhere?
    "I love Vandyl!" some girl yells as she looks up at the sign. She's drunk and spilling her drink as her hands wave around. Her friend is just as drunk and yells, "Vandyl!"
    Vandyl is the name of our band. It's a combination of Van and Dylan. They started the band and named it before I joined. They needed a guitarist so they put an ad online and that's how I found them. We clicked right away and the rest is history.
    "Austin," the bartender says. I turn and see him holding a bottle of water.
    I take it from him. "Thanks. What do I owe you?"
    "It's on the house. Good luck tonight." He gives me a nod, then goes to take drink orders.
    The band always gets free drinks, but I still offer to pay because I don't like to assume. I always stick with water. Van and Dylan do too. We agreed when we formed the band that there's no getting drunk before or during a show. And there's no drugs, period. I'm not hanging around that shit, or around people who are into that, and luckily Van and Dylan feel the same way. They both get drunk after a show, but that's it. Just alcohol, no drugs.
    There's a back room at the bar where we can hang out before we play, but as I'm heading over there, I stop when I see a girl. It's her face that catches my eye. She's pretty, but not in that done-up kind of way, like most of the girls here. This girl isn't wearing much makeup, or maybe she's not wearing any at all. It's hard to tell from where I'm at. She has a slight smile on her face as she makes her way through the crowd. She seems to be heading for a table, her eyes focused on it. I wonder if she's with someone. Maybe that's what the smile's for. He's probably waiting for her.
    The people in front of me move, allowing me a better look at the girl. Now I can see her body, and damn, she's hot. This girl works out. I can see the definition in her arms. But it's not too much. Some of the girls at the gym work out to the point that they have almost no body fat, leaving them with all muscle. No womanly curves, no softness.
    This girl has curves, and yet she still has muscle. My eyes linger on her breasts, and when I lower them, I can see her lean torso. She's wearing a tight black t-shirt and jeans that hug her round ass. Shit, she's got a perfect body.
    Boyfriend or not, I gotta go say hello to this girl. I reach her just as she approaches the table she was eyeing. Some guys sit down there and her