Today is the day. So much practicing and so many bandages leading to this moment, graduation. All I can hope is that all our practice pays off and that they love our song. I need them to. I sigh as I stand in front of my dresser, sifting through my more formal wear, trying to figure out exactly what I’ll put on for the show. I glance over at Anon, who is adjusting his jacket. Not his normal green one—we went out shopping for him a couple of days ago and put together a fancy looking outfit for him to wear on stage.

I have to admit, he looks fucking good dressed up even if it’s no suit. He’s wearing a light blue blazer with a pair of black dress pants. A white-and-black-striped shirt sits underneath the blazer with a blue tie hanging from his neck. He finishes putting on black leather boots as he turns to face me, holding out his arms as he grins.

“How do I look, Fang? Good enough to stand by you on stage?” His grin only grows as he strikes random poses, each one more ridiculous than the last.

I chuckle as I smile at the dweeb. “You look great, dork. But please, no random posing when we are performing. I want to make it through this without getting booed off the stage this time.”

He shrugs as he strikes one last pose, trying to give Mr. Universe a run for his money. I shake my head as I turn back to my dresser, still hunting through my clothes for something to wear. Dammit, I really should have figured this out yesterday, but there are so many things to pick from. Anon walks over beside me, draping his arm across my shoulder as he scans through my clothes.

He picks up the outfit I wore at prom—my mom worked so hard to get the punch stains out of it and it shows. That little gray vest and fitted white dress shirt with gray distressed shorts combo looks as pristine as the day I wore it. Fuck me, that day couldn’t have gone much worse. He holds it up to my chest as he tilts his head to the side. “Hmm…” He adjusts my arms, placing one on my hip while poking my beak, tilting it a little giving me a smug frown.

“The fuck are you doing, dweeb?” I just stare at him as he continues to try to pose me, moving my arms wherever he needs them as he does whatever the hell he’s doing.

“Just give me a minute more, Fang.” He smiles as he keeps working me over. He goes over to the bed and hands me my guitar before stepping back, nodding with a confident grin. “That is perfect, absolutely perfect.”

My eyebrow raises as I stand still, holding my guitar in my hands, confused as hell. “What do you mean, perfect? You remember what happened to me the last time I wore this, don’t you?”

He nods again before taking the outfit off my shoulders and fluffing out any wrinkles. “Of course I do. That’s why I think you need to wear it again.”

I sigh in frustration as I set my guitar on the bed. “Anon…I’m not non-binary and you know that. Why would I wear androgynous clothing when it doesn’t really fit who I am anymore?”

He just shrugs as he gets the shorts out and places them beside the rest. “Who said dropping the non-binary stuff means you can’t dress like this every now and again? I think it looked fucking sexy on you. I was really hoping after some time you’d start wearing it on dates. Going out to some comfy restaurant with my sharply dressed rock goddess? Sign me the fuck up.”

A blush covers my face as I walk up beside him, taking the vest in my hands and running my fingers across the fabric. “You really thought I looked good in this?” I look up at him as he smiles.

“I did, and I still do. Fang, you may have decided for yourself that the non-binary stuff wasn’t you, but that style definitely was. You wearing dresses will make sense too, and I know for sure that you’ll rock any that you wear but…” He turns to me, taking my shoulders in his hands as he gazes lovingly at me. “This is a part of who you are. A badass rocker chick with a heart of gold and a soul made of fire. This is the time we show them all how wrong they were that night.”

His words nearly bring me to tears as I bury my face into his jacket. “Thank you, Anon.” I sigh with relief as I take the clothes off the dresser. I slip the dress shirt over my wings, buttoning it up to the top, taking the vest and putting it over top of the shirt before pulling the shorts up my legs and zipping them up tight. I grab my guitar off the bed before turning to Anon, striking the most badass pose I can come up with as I drag my fingers across the strings, my wings spread out behind me. “So how do I look?” I say with a sly grin.

“Like the most powerful guitar maestro in the entire fucking world. We’ll knock ’em dead for sure this time.” He smiles as he gives me a thumbs up. I take my guitar and put it in its case as Anon does the same with the bass I’ve given to him as a gift. He’s worked so hard to get ready for the show—it’s only fair he has an instrument that belongs completely to him. The sparkling blue starry paneling glimmers in the sunlight, each star reflecting beautifully before he closes it in the case. With that in hand, there is no way he won’t dazzle the crowd.

“Come on, Anon, let’s freshen up a bit before we go downstairs. Got to look our best if we want to shine on that stage today.” I take his hand in mine as we hurry down the hall into the bathroom. I straighten out my hair and put on my usual purple and orange makeup as he shines his scalp and fluffs out any wrinkles left in his getup.

He admires himself in the mirror with a smug grin on his face. “Goddamn, I look good. Not used to wearing something that isn’t my normal everyday clothing but…” He flexes his arms before shooting me a wink. “I think I can get used to this.”

I smirk and wink back at him while pulling him in close with my wing. “You better get used to it. So many concerts we can go to dressed like this and rock the whole place to the ground.”

He puts an arm around my waist and sighs happily. “You really think we can make this band thing something else, don’t you?”

I nod, biting my bottom lip a little. “I think so, yeah. I mean, I don’t think we should try to replace jobs with it or give up on our college ideas completely, but Anon, you are so much better than you think you are.” I tighten my grip on his waist, glancing up at him. “You’ve picked up the bass in a month and you play it fucking good. It’s only one song so far, but we easily could do some shows around town for fun if you’d want to, of course.”

“Bah.” He chuckles as he shakes his head. “As if I wouldn’t want to do it. I can’t promise I’ll be amazing, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been enjoying doing this with you. It has been the most fun I’ve had in my entire life, and if you want to do more then we will.”

I smile up at him. “Good, ’cause Moe has been bugging me to do more shows ever since the last one and with you by my side, there’s no way the crowd wouldn’t love us there. Plus, extra money wouldn’t hurt either.”

“That’s for fucking sure. Don’t want to live the ramen lifestyle if I can avoid it.” He gives me a kiss on the snout.

“Do you really gotta keep kissing that?”

He peppers my snout with more kisses. “Of course I do. It’s adorable and you pretend to hate it so much…makes it more fun to do it every time.” He kisses it one more time before I grab him and pull his lips down to mine, kissing him deeply and nearly ripping the air out of his lungs. He staggers backward a little as the kiss ends, trying to keep himself from falling flat.

I snicker as he catches his breath. “Don’t die, dweeb. We still have a show to do, and I don’t want you the floor…well, at least not yet.” I flick out my tongue with a sultry smile and he nearly dies on his feet. I burst into laughter as he steadies himself against the wall.

“Good grief, Fang, have mercy on me. I can only take so much at one time.”

“Hmmm…I guess. For now.” I kiss him on the cheek. “Now come on, they are probably waiting for us downstairs, and we do not need to be late.”

“Right, let’s move!” We quickly make our way to my room to grab our cases before heading downstairs to my waiting family and Naomi. Naser and Naomi together are dressed up in their graduation outfits. Both are valedictorians of the graduating class so they’ve got to look extra fancy since they will be giving a speech. Naser has a stylish white suit on with his graduation cap in his hand since it doesn’t fit his crest anyway, and Naomi is wearing an ankle length black dress with heels. My dad is in his best formal suit and tie, which just makes his hulking form even more imposing. My mom is in full glamour mode, makeup expertly done with eyeshadow complimenting her amber eyes and wearing a beautiful dark purple formal dress with a handful of lilac flowers interlaced with her braided hair.

I do my best to not shoot Naomi a dirty look as we walk up next to them all. “Hey guys! Sorry to keep you waiting…took a minute to find something to wear.” I take in the sight of my mom with a nod. “Wow, Mom, you look amazing.”

She smiles warmly at me. “Thank you, dear. You look wonderful as well. I’m happy the stains came out of that outfit. I was so worried when I found it in your room that those punch stains would stay forever. Nothing that a good hard scrubbing couldn’t fix!”

I do a quick spin in place with a smile. “You did a fantastic job, Mom. I didn’t find a single drop of punch anywhere, which is freaking impressive considering it was soaked…” Those fuckers at prom…really didn’t need to throw shit at me just because the show went bad. I sigh as I shake the thought from my head. “Doesn’t matter, right now we need to get going. Need some time to prep and meet up with Reed since we go on after you two speak.” I motion to Naser and Naomi.

Naser nods and cracks his back. “Yeah, let’s get this stuff over with. I’ll be happy to put high school behind me. Not that I’m super pleased, having to talk in front of everyone.” He sighs. “The work never seems to end for me.”

I slide up to Naser and give him a gentle hug, whispering in his ear. “It’s okay. After this is over, we can get some drinks and party. Just don’t tell Naomi or she’ll ruin the whole fucking thing.” I shoot a glance over at Naomi, who seems oblivious for once.

“Don’t worry about it. I won’t tell her a thing.” He whispers back as he hugs me and we part.

“Alright!” I pick my case up from the floor. “Let’s go! I’ve got a whole class who need their eardrums destroyed.”

My dad rolls his eyes and my mom chuckles. Anon grabs his case and follows us all out to the driveway. Thankfully, we have two cars…no way we would all be able to get there in one. My mom and dad drive in one while the rest of us pile into Naser’s car. I refuse to call it by the nickname he gave it, the fucking dork. I notice something seems off about him and Naomi, though. Naomi’s talking a mile a minute and he’s barely responding outside of a few yeses and okays. They are normally always joined at the fucking hip, even vocally, but it’s almost like he’s just waiting for her to run out of air…weird.

Anon is staring out the window as we swiftly speed past the neighborhood. A complex expression is on his face but there is an air of confidence around him I’ve never seen him show before. He always seems so reserved—silently avoiding most contact with people and of the two of us, I would figure he’d be having stage fright but it’s almost like he can’t wait. As if this is some moment that he’s been waiting for all his life without ever knowing it. I smile as I lean against him and he wraps an arm around my shoulder. Perhaps music means more to him than he has let on.

It doesn’t take long—with how speedily Naser has been burning down the road—for us to slide into the back parking lot behind the school. There are streamers everywhere and decorations scattered about the school leading to the track field. Thank fuck, the sun is merciful today and it isn’t swelteringly fucking hot, considering we are all going to be sitting in the open sun for all of this. Naser and Naomi hop out first as Anon and I get out and grab our cases. We idly chitchat by the car waiting for our parents. My dad catches up a moment later and parks beside us. He looks like he wants to smack Naser upside the head but holds it back before joining us.

“Alright, everyone got what they need? Oh, I got these for you two.” My mom holds out a bag of jerky and a couple of water bottles, which Anon takes. “Don’t need to be dehydrated and hungry before you go on stage! I can’t wait to see what you two do…I’m so excited!” She claps happily before giving us both a hug. “We’ll be up as close as we can on the bleachers. Oh, oh…pictures!” Oh, dear god, no. She pulls her camera out of her bag and snaps several pictures of all of us. Color slowly returns to my vision as the flash-induced blindness fades. Fucking Naser always has aviators for this crap; why don’t I ever pack sunglasses?

“Alright, Mom.” I rub my eyes, trying to force the spots out of them. “I need to actually be able to see what I’m doing today.” She frowns a little as her arms lower. “Oh, don’t worry! There will be plenty of time for pictures afterward, Mom, I promise!” Her smile returns as she puts the camera back in her bag.

“Come on, Naser!” Naomi’s painfully cheery voice instantly drops my mood by three levels at least. “We’ve got to go talk to Spears about our speeches! Have to make sure he clears everything.” She tugs at Naser’s arm who already seems disinterested in the whole affair.

“Yeah, yeah…let’s get this done before I bake in this suit.” He lazily follows along after her as she practically skips as she walks. Huh…Naser definitely has something on his mind today. I shrug as I poke Anon in the side.

“Come on, Anon. Let’s find Reed. He’s probably getting everything setup without us. We need to test our instruments before we get on stage.” I tug at his arm and he nods.

“Sure, Fang.” He looks over at my parents. “See you guys after graduation!”

“Break a leg!” My mom says and Anon just kind of stares at her like an idiot. “It’s an expression, dear…” He doesn’t get it, but he smiles so who cares.

My dad comes over and gives me a hug. “I’m proud of you, Fang. No matter what, know that I love you with all my heart and can’t wait to see where you go from here.”

“Thanks, Dad…” I smile softly as I hug him back. My mom comes in and pulls Anon into the hug as we all quietly embrace for a moment. I sniffle back a tear before the hug ends and I straighten out my shirt. “I love you both.” I turn to Anon as I take a deep breath. “Almost showtime…you ready for this?”

He nods as he picks both of our cases up off the ground. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Time to find Reed!” I wave to my parents as we disappear around the corner and make our way to the stage where Reed is already tinkering away with the speakers that Anon bought. Hell, even Reed is dressed up for this…well, as dressed up as Reed could possibly be. He has a loose orange dress jacket on with a green shirt and pants, along with his normal multicolor sneakers. He looks like a technicolor disaster, but he tried and that’s what counts.

He plugs one last thing into the outlet before turning and spotting us. “Yoooo!” His grin is infectious as he hops up and runs to us both. “Dudes! Great to see you. I got alllll the shit ready. Just need you dudes to test your gear to make sure everything works.” The air is distinctly less pungent around him today.

“Sweet! Thanks Reed, I appreciate it,” I say as I take my case from Anon and pop it open.

“Not a problem, bro.” He winks as he pushes some cords out of the way.

“Reed, are you sober right now?” I ask as I test my strings. I’m not having these fuckers snap on me twice.

He painfully nods as he sucks in a deep breath through his teeth. “Sure am, bro, and I fucking hate it. I do not need Spears kicking me off stage for being stoned out of my brain.” I can sense a deep misery as he stares into the distance. “Don’t worry ’bout it though…can easily make up for lost time after the show!” He picks his backpack up off the floor and gives it a jingle, the sound of glassware bouncing together makes it clear he’s prepared for an afterparty of his own.

“I appreciate your sacrifice, Reed.” I chuckle as I plug the guitar into the sound system. It plays perfectly; silky tones pass through the speakers with every pluck of the string. I hear a string snap and my heart sinks. I check my guitar but not a single one is broken. Where the fuck did that come from, then? I look over at Anon and hear a couple expletives as he fiddles with the frayed string. Oh fuck no, not again…not after everything we’ve done.

“Oh shit! Anon!” I run over to him as he removes the broken string from the bass and sets it aside. “Oh fuck, oh shit, not again, not again!” I freak out as he quickly stands up and puts his hands on my shoulders.

“Fang…calm down, it’s okay.” Panic still runs through my brain as my thoughts send me back to prom night. A broken string nearly ended my dreams, and my life. “Fang!” He shouts and I snap back to reality. I look to him with tears in my eyes. He leans down and pulls out a bag of strings from his case. “You really think I’d let a string potentially fuck up your show twice? I even brought two packs.” He shakes the bag in his fingers before I let out the biggest sigh of relief in my entire life.

“Oh, thank fuck. Sorry for the freak out…brain instantly went into ‘oh fuck no’ mode as soon as I heard that sound.” I wipe away the sweat on my forehead as he gives me a quick hug.

“I don’t blame you. It was a nightmare the last time you heard it.”

“No shit.” I go back to testing my guitar as Anon finishes restringing his bass and tunes the new string. I just got him that thing too…stupid faulty factory-tested strings. After a little work, we get everything ready and set behind the stage for when it’ll be our time to shine after Naser and Naomi’s speech. Reed shows me the mic Anon bought. It’s a clip-on mic that will run through a speaker at my feet designed to catch nothing but my voice that’ll boom out across the crowd, so I don’t need to strain myself too hard. I’m still not fully healed, so any boost is welcome right now.

We find a spot to relax in the back as we wait for things to get started. Anon and I cuddle up against a wall while Reed longingly gazes at his backpack. Poor bastard must be suffering from some serious withdrawal with how much he normally smokes a day. Spears comes around the corner with a clipboard in hand, shuffling a few pages before catching sight of us.

“Ah good. You guys are here already. Everything prepared for your song after the valedictorian speech?” His voice is surprisingly quiet as he looks at the three of us.

“Yup dude! Everything is set to go as soon as it’s our time to shine.” Reed shoots him a wink with his usual finger gun salute.

Spears barely moves as he nods to Reed. “Good. You guys will be on right after them, so don’t waste any time. The schedule is packed as it is. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the two of them don’t go over their allotted time.” He walks over to me, putting his clipboard down, a somber twinkle in his eyes. “I’m still so sorry for what happened to you at prom, Fang. You did not deserve what they did to you. I can only hope that this makes up for what occurred. We even delayed graduation a couple of weeks to shove more bully sensitivity training in for the whole school after that.” He smiles a little as his colossal hand lands on my shoulder. “Guess that worked out, giving you more time to prepare for this! I have full confidence in the three of you. I’ve seen how hard you’ve been practicing. Show them all how great you are, Fang.”

I can only imagine the hell he went through after discovering what I did. The thought of losing one of his students to suicide has probably weighed heavily on his mind ever since. I give his hand a gentle squeeze as I smile at him. “I’ll give them a show they’ll never forget for all the right reasons this time, Principal Spears.”

He gives me a fatherly smile as he nods. “Glad to hear it. Now I need to get to work. I’ll call you guys out when it’s time. Rest until then.” He looks at each of us before heading on stage. This is it…in a few minutes, it’ll be time for our show. All I can hope is that it’s leagues beyond the last one. VVURM DRAMA’s real chance to shine here and now. It’s only going to be one song, but we’ve poured our hearts and souls into this.

Naser and Naomi come around the corner and she waves at the three of us. Naser looks like he’s already ready to be fucking gone before he even gets on stage. I can only guess how much he’s ready for the strain of having to be perfect to end. I hope he can relax a little before he goes away to college. He looks like he has something on his mind, though, even as Naomi chatters away at him. I wonder what he’s thinking about. I shrug and he turns to look at me. I give him a thumbs up with a smile, and that seems to melt away some of the stress he is under and he smiles back.

Moments later, I hear the booming voice of Spears calling out to the crowd of parents and students. It looks like it’s almost time for the valedictorian speech. Naomi is practicing her facial expressions as Naser takes a deep breath.

“And now for a few words from your class valedictorians. Please welcome Naser and Naomi!” Spears’s voice booms into the back and Naomi takes Naser’s hand in hers as they step out on stage. The students cheer as they approach the mic that Spears didn’t even use. Naser pulls a handful of flash cards out of his pocket as he taps the mic. He looks at them for a moment, flipping them between his fingers before shrugging and flinging them into the air, much to the surprise of Naomi.

“Hey guys! Normally it’s some speech about how this is beginning of the rest of our lives or how now we have the skills to pursue all our dreams or some other pedantic stuff that means nothing…but not today.” There are some scattered gasps from everyone as the three of us in the back completely focus our attention on him. What is he up to?

He takes the mic from the stand and takes a seat down on the edge of the stage as he sighs. “Guys, life is going to be hard. It’s going to suck and there are going to be times you aren’t going to be able to do anything about it but survive. You’ll push hard and all it’ll do is knock you right back down on your butt.” He sniffles as he rubs his sleeve across his face. “You’ll run into nightmares you think won’t end. Your dreams will break and…sometimes you’ll come close to losing something or someone you can’t imagine living without.” He looks back to me, his eyes locking onto mine with a deep sorrow in them as he turns back to the crowd.

He stands back up, holding the mic close to his beak. “But through all of it, you must keep pushing forward. You have to hold onto everything you hope for and never let go. Because life is merciless. It’ll take everything you let it and give nothing back. But you can’t lose hope. Help each other, love one another, and if someone falls down help them back up. We’re about to go into an entirely new hell, and all we will have are each other to look to for help. We’re in this together, and each one of us will shine…I know it. Thank you.”

They applaud him as he puts the mic back on the stand and quietly waits for Naomi to speak but she just stares at him blankly. Clearly whatever she had planned for him to say went right out the window when he decided to do whatever he wanted. Her plastic smile returns as she quickly says a few words of encouragement before they both are hurried off the stage by Spears. Naomi looks like she’s about to give him a piece of her mind as he glances over to me with a smile, mouthing the words “You got this, Fang” to me before disappearing off the stage.

“Well, that was unexpected, but his words ring true. It’s going to be a tough world out there but all of you are prepared to handle it, especially if you lean on one another,” Spears says as he stands before the students. “Now, we have a little something special for all of you. A few of our students want to play a song for you and I have happily allowed it. I know they haven’t had the best reception before but if any of you so much as fling a single thing up here, you’ll have me to answer to.” His stony gaze freezes the blood of the entire class before him. “Now, join me in giving a warm welcome to VVURM DRAMA!”

They clap in fear of Spears and I see a few of them pulling out their phones while a couple snicker in the back. Fucking hell, assholes till the very last day.

Anon touches my shoulder and I look back at him. “We’ve got this, Fang. Let’s show them all how hard we’ve worked.”

I turn around and give him a quick kiss on the lips and we walk out onto the stage as Reed wheels his drums into position and takes his seat. Anon puts his strap over his shoulder and stands at the ready as I test the mic a little. It perfectly picks up every sound. Nervousness nearly overwhelms me as I look out into the massive crowd. I’ve never played for this many before, not to mention how many faces I recognize from that day. I almost want to run but then I catch sight of my parents. My mom is positively exploding as she jumps in place waving her arms while my dad smiles down at me as he waves one of his huge arms through the air. With my confidence restored, I take one more look back at Anon—it’s time.

Reed starts off the song with a beat and Anon joins in moments later. He’s gotten so much better than before, not missing a single note as he plays his part perfectly. A few seconds later I join in, strumming away at my electric guitar as I sing as hard as I can. The final mixture of lyrics from our writing sessions flows from me as I put every bit of my soul on display. The snickers fade and the students’ faces go from boredom to surprise as they listen. The rock ballad rushes over the audience as the speakers that Anon got reach the furthest seats in the back. My fingers expertly glide across the fretboard as my pick plucks the strings and every note is sung with all the energy inside me.

They are loving it! More phones pop up in the crowd but instead of cruel leers, it’s excitement. They’re taking the moment with them for the rest of their lives. I’m a real musician…I’m doing it! A smile grows across my beak as I take a moment to look back at Anon. He continues to play with all of his heart as he walks up beside me, locking his eyes with mine while I continue to sing our combined lines with him joining in with me. All I ever need is right here, with him, with us. This is our moment and we are nailing it. I can hear Reed hammering away at his drums as he follows along with us. As we reach the crescendo of the song, I lean out into the crowd to sing the final words. They already know the chorus by now and they join in.

“Goodbye Volcano Hiiiiiigh!” I sing as hard as I can as the last of my soul echoes in that final word, which lingers across the field. There is utter silence for a moment as the music stops, but then it starts. The clapping and cheers grow into a standing ovation as the entire class along with all of the parents in the audience rise to their feet and claps for us. The tears flow from me as I take it all in. It’s everything I ever wanted—to be seen, to be heard. To share the music in my soul and have them love it. It’s almost more than I can take as I tremble on stage, looking out to all the cheering faces before me. Anon sees my legs wobble and he takes me in his arms, giving me the warmest hug I’ve ever felt as I sob into his shoulder. They love us. They really love us!

I pull away from him, joyful tears staining my cheeks as I gaze into his welcoming eyes. This dweeb, the person I thought nothing of when I saw him, just another face in the masses I said to myself…and here he is. He has done more for me than anyone ever has and has never asked for anything in return except to be by my side. A love so pure that people could search a thousand lifetimes and never find it, and he saved my life. I cup his cheeks in my hands as I pull his lips down to mine, locking them together in a kiss as the crowd cheers ever louder with wolf whistles filling the air. I hold onto him for what feels like forever, simply caressing his face as he holds me tight, my wings enveloping us both as we share a moment we never would have had if it hadn’t been for him coming that one day to save me.

As our kiss ends and my wings pull back from him, I see that everyone is still on their feet. We stand there, blushing. In the heat of the moment, I kind of forgot I just did that in front of a few thousand people. We wave to the crowd one last time as Spears comes out from the back, clapping with the biggest smile on his face as he approaches us.

He puts a hand on both our shoulders as Reed comes up to stand beside us. “Now that was a wonderful performance! One this school will remember for years to come. Let us hear it one more time for VVURM DRAMA!” He steps back and claps as the cheers grow while we all stand there misty eyed and taking our bows. I catch sight of my parents again and my mom is an absolute mess. Her makeup is beyond ruined at this point and she clings to my father crying her eyes out as he stares proudly at me.

I did it, guys…I finally did it.

Spears finishes clapping and he gently sends us off stage so he can finish the ceremony and everyone can get their diplomas. Reed, Anon, and I all celebrate in the back, jumping up and down at our success.

“Holy shit, guys, they fucking loved us!” I squeal happily as I take it all in.

“Yoooo! We totally nailed it. We should definitely do more of this. Could make some serious dough on the side!” Reed grins ear to ear as he pats Anon and I on the back.

“You know, I really liked being up there,” Anon says as he smiles. “I thought I’d be freaked out, but it felt natural, like that was something I was meant to do.”

“It could be something we do a lot more you, know. Plenty of little venues we could play at around town for fun and shit,” I say, a grin almost permanently etched into my beak at the moment.

Anon nods, still smiling like he just won the lottery. “I think we should. Still gonna go to college but I really think we could do this, guys. What do you say?”

“I say yes for sure, bro. Plus, I won’t need to be sober for the rest of these shows,” Reed says with a thermos already in his hands. How the fuck did he even grab that…?

I nod as I squeal and wrap my wings around the both of them. “VVURM DRAMA is a real band!” I stomp on the floor as happy tears continue to stream down my face. So many things could have gone wrong, but we nailed it. I’ve never been happier in my fucking life. My dream finally come true.

The energy finally settles as we catch our breath and sigh. I hear my name being called out by Spears. Wait, why is he calling me again? We already did the show…oh shit, right, the diploma! I quickly hurry out from the back of the stage, sheepishly waving to the crowd as he hands me my diploma and I rejoin Anon and Reed. Only a few moments later, both of them are called up and get theirs as well. After the ceremony, we meet up with my parents and Naser, my mom practically tackling me as she squeals.

“That was wonderful, honey! You had the whole crowd on their feet dancing along! I even got your father to move a little, which he’d never do in public.” She smiles as she nuzzles her cheek into mine. My dad gives us all a look—if you tell anyone about that you’re dead—before putting a friendly smile on and nodding to us.

“I’m proud of you, Fang. You as well, Naser, that was a fantastic speech. And Anon…” He turns to Anon, who stands up straight. “You did a fine job up there as well, take pride in that.”

Anon can’t find the words to say as my dad pats him on the shoulder before turning to Naser and holding him tight. The two of them still have a lot of healing to get through. Naser’s been through hell and one session isn’t going to seal the rift between them, but this is a start. Naser wraps his arms around our dad’s back and sighs, the relief of a stressful life ending pouring from him. Naomi is nowhere to be found as I tap Naser on the shoulder.

“Where did Naomi go, Naser?” I look around but still can’t catch sight of her anywhere.

“We are going to head over to her parents’ place so she’s getting the car ready.” He shrugs. “Guess I’ll be hanging with you guys later when I get back.” He nods to our dad before giving our mom a hug. “I’ll be back home before seven, so don’t eat all of dinner without me!”

“What about Naomi’s cooking?” Mom asks as she raises an eyebrow.

“Like I said, don’t eat all of dinner without me,” Naser says again as he groans. “See you all later.” He lazily waves as he walks off to his car.

We all shrug and head to the car, waving bye to Reed, who quickly takes a nap in the grass after finishing off an entire bottle of “water.” The drive home is quiet, both Anon and I taking a quick nap, completely spent from the performance. We get home and my mom quickly throws some food together for us. Anon and I take heaping helpings, the nervousness and stress having gnawed a fucking hole through our stomachs. We talk a little while about our college plans and what we’ll be doing now that we graduated, speaking about how we plan to move in together and save money. My dad doesn’t even react—guess he’s used to it since Anon’s been here for over a month now.

Tiredness settles in as seven rolls by. Naser comes in and immediately eats all the leftovers…guess Naomi really does suck at cooking. He stumbles up the stairs and I hear him collapse into bed, exhausted. We aren’t far behind as we say good night to my parents and head to my room, plopping into bed after tossing off our slightly damp clothes. I pull a shirt over me and we cuddle under the covers.

It’s official—we are now adults freshly thrown out into the world, but at least we have each other. I mean, we were already over eighteen but now it’s official. The whole school will never forget that show and I don’t think there is any way it could have ended better. The embarrassing memories of our first two shows at school were completely obliterated in a moment. Trish could have been there if she hadn’t screwed up. Though, it was weird that I didn’t even see her in the crowd. I guess she didn’t want to see us up there…her loss. It doesn’t really matter that much anyway. All that matters is us, and now we have shown the whole town how good VVURM DRAMA is.

Anon is already softly snoring away as his arm hangs onto my side. I scoot closer to him, my beak resting a few inches away from his face. Soon we’ll be going to college, starting our part-time jobs, and moving on with our lives. I honestly can’t wait. There is so much more I want to do, and I have all the time in the world now to do it. I close my eyes and a tender smile grows on my lips as I slowly drift off to sleep, no nightmares left to haunt me anymore.