Jason was dressed in joggers and an athletic shirt with a pair of sneakers on so he definitely didn't fit the vibe of the store.

And after spending so much time with Jason Kyle's sense of fashion had become similar to his own, although still slightly different.

Kyle was wearing a white Tee shirt with a picture of a girl dressed as a magician printed on it along with a pair of black joggers.

His sneakers were the same model but each of them was a different color. One was black and one was white. But they were both low cut sneakers that went well with the rest of his outfit.

The two of them couldn't deny that they stuck out like a sore thumb. Jason smiled at the two guys "Don't mind us guys. We just came in with our friends. They're the alt ones not us."

Kyle nodded his head "Yeah one of our friends is punk while the other one was.... I think she said post new wave emo? Or was it pre new age metal?.... I kinda forgot. There were too many words."

As the two guys got closer and closer to the two of them Jason could smell the overbearing stench of cigarettes and motor oil from them.

Skeets chugged down his can of Monster Energy drink before crumpling it up against his skull "So being alt is too good for you two?

Hey Luke I think they think that being alt is below them. That really grinds my gears." Jason could see as Kyle began to tremble.

Seeing Kyle get intimidated so easily Jason sighed. Although Kyle had made huge strides in regards to his confidence he still wasn't able to deal with confrontation.

Although that was only if he wasn't on the basketball court. Whenever Kyle was on a basketball court it was like a switch being flipped as he turned into a confident and reassured player.

Jason could see that things were not going in a good direction "We never said that being alt was bad.

We also didn't say that we were too good to be alt. It's just that being alt isn't really our thing. We're both basketball players but our school has a talent show for the end of the year.

One of our friends suggested making a band and the song we're going to perform is a classic by one of the really old bands.

That's why we're here. Our friends went to go get us some clothes to try on. But we are going to be really respectful about the culture. We are not going to make fun of it or anything like that."

Skeet stopped and looked at Jason and Kyle "Really?" Jason and Kyle hurriedly nodded their heads.

Skeet then burst out into laughter as he patted Jason and Kyle on the back "Well that sounds awesome dudes.

It's always great to hear about outsiders respectfully taking part in alt culture. As long as you don't just treat it as a weird costume then you guys will be fine.

You said that you guys were going to perform at your school's talent show right?" Jason and Kyle once again nodded their heads.

Skeet asked "What school do you guys go to?" Kyle answered "We go to Jefferson Middle School."

Skeet and Brad smiled "No way this tall ass mofo is in middle school? You guys are pretty tall for middle schoolers.

Me and Luke went to Jefferson. How's Principal Morris doing? That fat fuck used to catch me all the time for smoking in the parking lot.

But he was pretty chill. He never ratted me out to my parents for skating at school and he let me eat at the cafeteria for free even after my meal benefits ran out.

Me and Luke will bring some of the guys over to Jefferson to watch you guys jam out. The alt community is pretty diverse but that also means that there are some assholes in it.

So I want to make sure you guys have some fun with the show. Nothing bums me out more than having a dead crowd after you play your heart out. Laters guys."

Jason watched as Skeet and Luke went to a different section of the store. After those two left Jason realized that even though Kyle had been trembling he had stood in front of Jason the whole time.

Jason playfully punched Kyle in the side "Way to go Kyle. You managed to stick up for yourself."

Kyle looked over at Jason questioningly "What do you mean? I didn't do jack shit other than shake the whole time."

Jason laughed "Sure you were shaking. But you didn't back down and you were able to answer their questions while looking them straight in the eyes."

Kyle was surprised by what Jason had said "Your right Jaya. I answered their questions and I looked them straight in the eyes the whole time! I didn't back down!"

Kyle excitedly lifted Jason up from the ground as he started swinging him around while hugging him.

Samantha and Shania walked back over with a bunch of clothes in their arms. Shania laughed "Y'all in the middle of something?

We can comeback if you want us to. Wouldn't want to spoil the romantic mood y'all set up." After hearing that Kyle put Jason down before scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

The two boys then began to try on all the different things that the girls had brought back. After a few rounds of trial and error they were able to find outfits for the two boys.

The four of them then went to the food court and got some food. After eating and chatting the four of them decided to catch a movie at the mall's movie theater.

Since they were all under the age of 18 they had to settle for a generic superhero movie. Samantha and Shania went to go find the seats while Jason and Kyle picked up the snacks from the concession stand.

As they were waiting for the food Jason complained "Jesus man. I can't believe we paid that much for popcorn and soda. We could have just eaten out at an actual restaurant at that price."

Kyle smiled as he popped a piece of candy into his mouth "You my friend are lacking in the culture department.

You're not just paying for the food. You're paying for the experience of snacking while watching a movie on a huge display."

After getting the snacks the boys made their way over to the room that was showing their movie.

As the trailers ended and the actual movie began Jason smiled as he looked at his friends 'Taking a day to relax isn't so bad.'

- - -

The weekend passed by as Jason had a full schedule. Jason, Kyle, and Samantha spent their last day practicing as much as possible to make sure that they wouldn't mess up during the actual show.

During the day of the show it was finally time as Jason, Kyle, and Samantha stepped out on the stage.

They were dressed in all black attire and they even had some makeup done as they looked out into the audience.

Jason had been in front of large crowds of people before but even for him this was a brand new experience.

He could feel his hands getting sweaty as his heart rate started climbing up. He looked back at Kyle who was behind his keyboard "You ready?"

Kyle nodded his head. Jason then turned to his side where Samantha was "You ready Sammy?"

Samantha smiled brightly "You bet." Jason then grabbed the microphone as he began singing "Hey there,

I know it's hard to feel like I don't care at all. Where you are and how you feel.

Put these lights off as these wheels"

As Jason continued singing Kyle was playing his keyboard and Samantha was playing her guitar when she joined in on the vocals.

Jason and Samantha sang together "And I can't make it on my own. Because my heart is in Ohio."

Jason tried his best to match Samantha's singing as the two of them sang the rest of the song together.

After a while the song was done. Jason was breathing hard as sweat dripped down his face. The three of them looked out into the crowd.

At first the crowd was silent. And then Skeet and Luke stood up along with the rest of their friends as they began clapping and cheering.

Eventually the rest of the crowd joined in as everyone cheered for the three of them. Jason, Kyle, and Samantha went back stage as they cleaned themselves up a bit.

The three of them then waited as the last of the acts finished up. At the end of the night Jason was surprised as their band actually won 1st place.

As the three of them went up stage for the last time Jason couldn't help but laugh in his head 'First place at the end of the year talent show. Now I just need to cap things off by winning Jefferson its first county championship.'