I leaned against my car and waited for Emily. I hated hanging with her friends just like she hated hanging with mine, but I'd promised to go with her to her best friend Mindy's party. The new cheer squad had been announced, and Emily made head cheerleader. So I knew there was going to be a lot of screaming and hugging and crying. There would probably be a lot of short sundresses too . . . so . . . there was that. Still, it seemed like a good waste of a perfectly sunny August day. But then Emily had sat through three long hours of band practice in Mike's hot garage the day before. Emily and I had so little in common, sometimes it seemed like we were still together just because everyone expected us to be. We'd been dating since freshman year. It started on our first day of high school. She came back from summer with a tan that made her blue eyes look like gems and a newly developed chest that turned every head in the hallway. Including mine. We ended up eating lunch at the same table, and the rest was, as they say, history. For some reason our classmates had dubbed us the it couple, the couple everyone wanted to be. Emily was popular and top of the class in academics. I was the self-purported bad ass with an attitude, a bass guitar and a band. For a long time, the odd couple thing had worked for us, but lately, it felt as if we were from two different worlds and meeting in the middle was getting harder and harder.

The front door opened and Emily's stepsister, Rebecca, strolled out on her long tanned legs and bare feet. Rebecca's dad had been married to Emily's mom for four years, and it seemed the two families had managed to merge together without a problem. Rebecca had no siblings and Emily's brother, Dylan, who was four years older than us, was in and out of the house depending on whatever job he could find. Rebecca thought the Sun revolved around her stepsister, Emily.

"Hey, Rebel, Rebel, what's up?"

"Emily is still working on her hair." A few long strides took Rebecca across the front lawn to my car, where she quickly planted herself on the hood and crossed her legs. "She's getting all fancied up, so she might not be happy that you're wearing that Iron Maiden t-shirt. Maybe you should just give it to me, and I'll find you one of my dad's shirts to wear."

"Nice try. You've been vying for this t-shirt for a year, so I'm on to your little scam."

"Butthead."

"You love this shirt as much as Emily hates it. Anyhow, aren't you supposed to be listening to those boy bands where they all sing really high and wear puffy hairstyles?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure there is no written law that says after your fourteenth birthday you are required to go gaga over boy bands. I prefer rock and roll."

"Since when?"

Rebecca lifted her leg and nudged my side with her toe. "Ever since my future brother-in-law decided he was going to be a heavyweight rock star."

"Future brother-in-law, that's a good one. Let me first pass senior year before you start marrying me off."

"So how is it going with the Domino Dogs?" Rebecca was on a short list of one for people who took an interest in my band. "How did you come up with that name, anyhow?"

"Well, it was all really scientific. We had a great deal of debate about name choice. Then one day, during practice, Everett pulled out his phone to show us this viral video of some dude building this long ass, complicated array of dominoes. And before he got to the end, so that he could push that first domino and see them all fall, his dog walked by and knocked the thing down with one tail wag. The name fell right into place."

Rebecca reached down and tugged at the sleeve on my shirt. She had a tendency to touch me a lot while we were talking, but it never annoyed me. "You should have shirts made for the band. There could be a picture of a dog pushing down a domino for a logo. That'd be cool. Not very rock and rollish though, I suppose."

I stared up at her. "Great, now I'm rethinking the whole name thing.”

"No, the name is cool. I like it." Rebecca leaned back and rested on her hands, turning her face up to the sun. She had begged her parents to let her change her hair color to something funky with the promise that she'd go back to her natural candy caramel color by fall. Today she was sporting a lot of lavender stripes. "Do I look like one of those hot models sitting on the cool car at the car show?"

I laughed. "Uh, yeah sure. Except for the hot model part." I was always teasing her. For the past few years, I'd taken plenty of time to make fun of her bean pole figure and tangle of legs and arms. But I had to admit, lately she was growing into all her parts. It seemed it wouldn't be long before all the boys in the neighborhood would be riding past on their BMX bikes and skateboards just to get a glimpse of their crush.

Rebecca blew a raspberry from her lips as she lowered her face. The sun had instantly colored her cheeks. "And the cool car. And if we were to get technical, the car show too." She patted the faded green hood of my dented Subaru. "Oh! I almost forgot that I made you something." She reached in to her back pocket and pulled out a green and pink lanyard. "As you can see I was bored out of my mind today. And I knew if I didn't look busy, then my stepmom would make me help her dust the bookshelves or polish the living room chairs or some other horrid, mind-numbing task. So instead, I came up with my own mind-numbing way to spend the morning. And I made it to match your car. Except for the pink. I just thought it looked good with the green. There's a hook so you can put it on your keychain."

Rebecca crossed her arms to let me know she was waiting for me to put the lanyard on my keys.

"Right. I am going to add it right now."

"Don't ever take it off. I'll be checking your keys from time to time, and I'll be expecting to see it."

I worked the hook around the key ring and held it up for her to see. "There it is and there it will stay. Even after I buy that black Ferrari with the money from my first concert tour."

"I love your optimism, Joshua Hardy. And I'm counting on you making it to the big time because then I can tell everyone I know a rock and roll mega star."

"So, two things. I have to keep this on my keys at all times, and I have to become a mega rock musician."

"Right." She leaned back again. Her long legs kicked back and forth. "Why are you so much easier to talk to than other guys? Boys my age are like drooling idiots. Emily says it's because you are much more mature than other guys."

"Is that what she says?"

"Yep. And trust me, that's high praise from Em. Of course, you know her just about as well as I do. Even better, since you guys make out." Her cheeks blushed, but this time it wasn't from the sun. "Ooh gross, I can't believe I just said that." She waved her hands in front of her face. "I'm erasing those last disgusting words. Do you believe in the boogeyman?" she asked with an abrupt and welcome topic change.

"You mean the guy who hides in your closet or under the bed when you're a kid? Do I believe in him? Can't say I ever found any monster in my closet." I leaned against the car and looked up at her green eyes that were surrounded by a curtain of black lashes. Suddenly, it occurred to me that she wasn't just going to be pretty, she was going to be stunning. But talking to Rebecca, she was still just an innocent kid, which was probably why it was so much fun to talk to her. She was always happy and funny and totally off the wall. And she was one of the few people who was always excited and enthusiastic about my music career. "I guess we all have our form of boogeyman, Rebel."

She stopped swinging her legs, and some of the sparkle faded from her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Just that everybody has something they're afraid of. Your sister Emily freaks out about clowns, so I guess guys in white makeup wearing red noses are her boogeyman."

She crossed her arms. "What are you afraid of?" Something had darkened her mood, but I couldn’t figure out what.

"I guess I'm afraid of losing my dad. His liver isn't working on all cylinders anymore, but he hasn't cut down on the whiskey."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Josh."

I nodded, no longer able to respond. That was another thing about Rebecca. She was always genuine.

She took a deep breath. "Well, my boogeyman is different."

The front door opened and shut, and Emily stepped out onto the porch. I looked back up at Rebecca. "Why is that? No clown makeup?"

She shrugged her thin shoulders. Her bottom lip trembled so slightly, I was almost convinced I'd imagined it.

I turned to face her. "Rebecca?"

"He's just extra scary, that's all." She pushed her smile back up and spoke airily to Emily. "That red and white striped dress makes you look like a candy cane."

Emily stopped and tilted her head to let her know she didn't appreciate the fashion critique. I took Emily's hand and pulled her closer. "She's right." I leaned my mouth close to her ear. "You look lickable."

Emily pushed me back. "Jeesh, your mind always goes straight to dirty." She made a point of looking at my shirt. "Speaking of dirty. Why the heck are you wearing that crummy old t-shirt?"

Rebecca's foot swung like a pendulum over the car door as she nudged me with her foot for a silent 'told you so'.

"And I thought you were going to finally cut your hair," Emily continued. "It's getting longer than mine."

"He can't cut it, Em. He's a musician. Long hair goes with the bass guitar. Besides, I think it's cool."

I tilted a sideways wink up at her. "Yeah, Rebel thinks it's cool."

Emily crossed her arms and worked hard to look angry, but she was just too darn cute to look mad. "This party is a big deal. And Mindy is already mad at me for beating her out as head cheerleader. She'll be extra mad if you show up in a faded t-shirt."

I pointed over my shoulder. "I could go back home and finish my video game, and you could go to the party without me."

"Oh sure, you'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Uh, yeah, I think that's what he just said," Rebecca piped up.

Emily's scorn shifted to her sister. "Don't you have some place to be, Becca?"

"I guess I'll be on my way." Rebecca hopped off the car.

A loud whistle shot up from the street. Two boys on skateboards stopped in front of the house. "Hey, Becca, want to come hang out at the park?"

"I guess." Rebecca leaned toward me as she walked past. "Stay strong, buddy. Don't let your guard down around the cheerleader zombies. They will eat you up and spit you out like a cheer. Pom poms waving and all."

"I'll stay alert." We bumped fists.

I watched as Rebecca walked to the curb to meet her two friends. One looked like a decent guy, the kind of guy who would lend you a buck for lunch if you forgot your money. The other guy looked like the kind who spent third period out behind the gym smoking a joint or making out with a girl. The guys held their boards under their arms and the three of them headed down the sidewalk toward the park. Rebecca was a good two inches taller than both of them.

"Do you know that guy with the chain on his pocket?" I asked Emily. "He looks kind of sketchy."

"That's Zach. I think Becca likes him."

We walked around to the passenger side, so I could open the door for her. "That guy? Shit."

Emily laughed as she sat in the car. "She said she kind of likes Zach because he's a lot like you." She grinned up at me as I closed the passenger door.