Mitch sat in his spot in the corner, watching his band perform without him. Or rather, watching Sean perform, as the mellow acoustic song he had chosen was mostly vocals--which was fine for Sean, since all he wanted to do was show off for that stupid fox.

Mitch thought she was a fox, anyway. He couldn’t be entirely sure, but she was certainly a canine of some sort. He hoped she wasn’t a coyote. He couldn’t stand coyotes. Regardless, everything in him wanted to rip her throat out just for being too close.

He needed to do something like that soon, though. Tear something apart. Even if it was just a squirrel. Mitch gritted his teeth as a wave of dull pain hit him, making the air catch in his throat. He took a deep breath, pushing back the feeling. This wasn’t a good night for him to be out and about at band practice--it was the new moon, meaning he had only a few hours of humanity left for the evening. When the night hit its darkest point, he’d become nothing but claws and fur and teeth until sunrise, off to tear up that squirrel. Or maybe a rabbit. He wondered where that freshman bunny lived.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Sean finished the last lines of the song, Mitch pushed himself off the ground, brushing some dirt off his jeans. “Okay, you had your fun,” he said, stepping back to his position to Sean’s right, and picking up his guitar. “My turn.”

“Oh, fine,” Sean sighed. “What do you want to play, then?”

A smirk crept onto Mitch’s face, and he looked at the Raina. Though she had been enjoying Sean’s song moments before, she was now looking at him, unable to completely hide her confusion and fear.

“’Monsters’,” Mitch requested. “We need to practice that anyway.”

“Aw, really?” Sean asked. At Mitch’s glare, he frowned, and said, “Fine, have it your way.”

The rest of the band looked at each other, shrugged, and got their instruments ready. “Ready when you are,” Mikey said. Mitch and Sean nodded, and Mikey launched into a guitar riff that sounded like the background music for a circus freak show. The others soon joined in, Sean eventually stepping to his mic once again for a performance that was much less pleasant and much more haunting than his last one. Mitch and Daryl joined in on backing vocals, Mitch shooting Raina a nasty smile every time something particularly unsettling was said. He’d crossed the line from making her uncomfortable to being downright chilling, and probably a bit unhinged.

Scaring her was no doubt his goal, however. He knew what she was, most likely better than she knew what he was. He wanted her away from there—and at this point, she was happy to oblige.

As the song finally ended, Raina smiled nervously, turning to Sean. "That was...very nice," she said, trying not to sound as frightened as she was. "You guys're good," she added honestly. "But I really need to get home."

"Alright, here, let me walk you," Sean offered.

"Oh," Raina said, a bit surprised, but okay with the idea. As long as it was him and not Mitch. "Um, alright. Thank you."

"Of course," Sean said, smiling.

"I thought we were practicing," Mitch said threateningly.

"I'll be right back, Mitch," Sean almost growled. "Just stay put."

As they walked up the street in the direction of Raina's house, Sean said, "Sorry about Mitch. He's an ass."

"What's his problem, anyway?" Raina inquired curiously.

Sean shrugged. "No one knows. He doesn't exactly talk about himself. He's actually a pretty talented writer and not a bad guitarist though, so we just sort of put up with him and his bitching."

"I see," Raina replied. "We go to the same school, actually, so I've seen him before, but never, uh...up close, really. Most people just know him as the school bully.”

Sean rolled his eyes. "That sounds about right. I feel bad for you. I wouldn't want to go to school with him."

Raina giggled. "Thanks. But I don't really have to deal with him, usually, so it's no big deal."

"Still," Sean said. "That kid has problems. Anyway, on a totally unrelated note, where are you from? You don't hear a lot of southern accents in Ariesville."

"Carolina," Raina replied.

"North or South?"

"South," Raina told him.

"Huh," Sean said. "What made you move up here?"

Raina shrugged. "Oh, our farm wasn't doin' that great, and Daddy found work in Pittsburgh," she explained. "So up we came."

"That kinda sucks," Sean said. "Do you miss it?"

"Yeah," Raina sighed wistfully. "But I'm getting used to it. Still not big on the whole winter thing, though.”

"Yeah, neither am I," Sean laughed. "This isn't bad though; I used to live in Michigan. That was a winter."

"Oh my, I can only imagine," Raina chuckled. "So we're both imports then."

"Apparently," Sean agreed. "I'm glad I'm not the only one."

"Me too," Raina agreed. Then she stopped walking. "This is my house."

"Oh." Sean looked up at the little yellow two-story house. "It's cute. Suits you," he laughed.

"Thanks," Raina said, giggling. "Anyway, thanks for walking me. You better get back to your band."

"No problem," Sean said with a smile. "It was nice meeting you, Miss Raina," he added with a little bow, making Raina giggle again. "See you around?"

"Maybe," Raina told him. "Does your band practice there all the time?"

"Yeah, usually every Monday," Sean said. "You'll hear us, I'm sure. Stop down and say hi again sometime."

Raina smiled. "Sure, I'll do that. What're y'all called, anyway?"

"Moral Of The Story," he said. "It was supposed to be a placeholder name, but it kinda stuck," he added with a shrug.

"Hm, I like it," Raina told him. "Anyway, I'll see you later, hope the rest of your practice goes well."

"Sure, thanks," Sean said, turning to leave. "Have a nice night."

"You too," Raina said, and headed inside, smiling softly to herself. She was glad she'd decided to take a walk.

Something still bothered her, though. That Mitchell kid. What was he, exactly?

Scary, Raina decided. He was scary. That was all she really needed to know.

~~~~~~~~~

"Took you long enough,” Mitch spat as Sean walked back into the garage.

"Shut up," Sean shot back. "What the hell is your problem tonight?"

"My problem is that my goddamn vocalist is too busy hitting on girls to actually do his job."

Sean's eyes narrowed. "Okay, first off, I'm not your vocalist," he said angrily. "I'm the band's vocalist, not your fucking lackey. Stop acting like you can order me around like my parents. Second, that's not all. We've had girls here before, and you've been okay with it. Something else is up."

Now, the entire band looked expectantly at Mitch, who actually shrank back a bit. "It's none of your damn business," he growled.

"Fine," Sean said. "But whatever this little PMS issue of yours is, you'd better get over it by next week."

Mitch didn't answer, just gave him a deep glare, which Sean returned full force, making it clear that he wasn't going to put up with Mitch’s attitude any more tonight. Finally, Mitch tore his gaze away from Sean's, and Sean could have sworn he heard him growl, a faint, low, rumbling noise.

"Whatever," he spat. "Next song then. We've wasted enough time as is."

"Agreed," Sean said, snatching his microphone from the stand. "Let's go."

With that, Moral Of The Story was off again, each lost in their own musical worlds.