Some months had passed since Matt's birthday. It was now July and Warped Tour was going to be in town the following day. Matt's thoughts were racing at a million miles an hour as he tried to contain his excitement.

Cat called her friend at 1:00 pm. "Hey! Ready for tomorrow?"

Matt rolled his eyes. "Do you really need to ask me that? Of course I'm ready. I can't wait for it. BVB, PTV…I'm getting so pumped just thinking about it."

Cat giggled at her friend's enthusiasm. "Good. Wanna come over? We can get even more pumped with a jam session. Anything you want."

"Oh yes," he responded. "I'll be over in 10 minutes. See you soon."

"Right. See ya," she said; she hung up.

Matt was quick to grab his iPod and house key and race downstairs. He scribbled a hasty note to his parents, should they get back from "grocery shopping," as they put it. Matt suspected that meant lots of drugs and alcohol. He sighed at the thought of them, his lip twitching slightly in aggravation.

About halfway to Cat's house, Matt heard a loud and aggressive rev and some yelling. He turned around to see none other than Vince and his gang following him in Vince's black '69 Corvette Stingray, decorated with red racing stripes running the length of the car on both sides. Vince was trailing slowly, letting the engine roar. You're going to ruin the clutch holding it that much, Matt thought sourly. Wouldn't that be a shame?

"Hey, loser," Vince shouted, "Heading to your girlfriend's house again, are you?" His friends laughed. They were now all at an intersection. The light was red and though no one was coming, Matt knew better than to try to cross; it was a dangerous intersection and people tended to drive rather aggressively. They could come shooting through at any moment.

"Fuck you, Vince! It's none of your business," Matt shot back over the revving of the Corvette. Subconsciously, Matt admired the car; it was quite beautiful. Vince loved the car and it was obvious. He'd wash and polish it weekly and would lose his temper if anyone damaged it or dirtied the interior. It was his pride and joy.

"Hey, man, that ain't our job! That's your precious Cat's job," shouted one of the cronies in the back. They laughed.

The light turned green. "Whatever! See you, loser!" Vince revved the engine real high and then threw the car in gear, the tires squealing as the torque sent the car shooting off. Matt rolled his eyes for several reasons, first and foremost because of how obnoxious the boys were. But also, he mentally chided Vince for causing dust to be thrown up in his face.

The rest of the walk to Cat's house was sour and he couldn't forget about what had happened. until he got to her doorstep. As usual, Cat opened the door within seconds of the doorbell ringing and pulled her friend inside quickly. "Hey, Matt," she squealed.

"Hey, Kit-Kat," he said softly.

She sensed the annoyance in his voice and asked, "What happened?"

"Vince," Matt muttered bitterly. "Being a jerk, as usual. And ruining that damn car of his." His lips curved into a sarcastic smile. "He loves that car. You'd think he'd know that holding the clutch often to rev the engine is bad for the transmission."

Catherine smiled slightly at her friend. "It's his car," she said. "If he ruins it, that's his fault."

"Still, what a waste of a beautiful gem." He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I didn't come here for that. I came for music. Let's get this going, huh?"

"That's the spirit." They went into her music room where her stereo system was set. It was a full setup - a turntable, a CD player, preamplifier, equaliser, and power amp. She had regular speakers and dedicated subwoofers for that power in the bass. Matt grinned as he selected her BVB4 vinyl and showed it to her. She, in turn, smiled. Matt opened the turntable's cover and delicately took out the record, placing it on the platter. He cleaned the record with the brush she had and then closed the cover, flipping on the other necessary equipment in order - preamp, EQ, and finally power amp. Once everything was ready to go, Matt adjusted the preamp volume and turned on the turntable.

They took turns singing along to the songs, reveling in the awesomeness that was Black Veil Brides.

Driving through this world unknown,
I've built my life on broken bones.
Not living for this anymore,
You want a fight... I'll bring a war!

I feel alive inside
I won't be terrorized,
I'll take all the blame.

This heart of fire is burning proud
I am every dream you lost and never found
This heart of fire is stronger now
Build your walls but you can't keep me out
I'll burn them down.

I am every vow you broke,
They left for dead and turned to smoke.
Arm yourself with words of hate,
I'm ripping through the souls you take.

I feel alive inside
I won't be terrorized,
I'll stand up to the pain.

This heart of fire is burning proud.
I am every dream you lost and never found
This heart of fire is stronger now
Build your walls but you can't keep me out
Let's burn it down!

This heart of fire is burning proud.
I am every dream you lost and never found.
This heart of fire is stronger now.
Build your walls but you can't keep me out.

This heart of fire, fire, fire.
This heart of fire, fire, fire.

This heart of fire.

Matt's vocals rang through the room and Cat watched him fondly. He deserves the best, she thought to herself. He's been through so much.

They went through two BVB albums and two Avenged Sevenfold albums before Matt decided to go. "It's getting dark out there," he said. "I should go."

"Ok," Cat said. She turned off the equipment and walked him out. "I'll see you tomorrow, Matt. My mom will pick you up at your house at 3:30."

"Cool. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Kit Kat," Matt said.

"Bye," she said, blushing ever so slightly.

As Matt was walking home, he was pelted by something that first hurt but then felt wet and cold. Then it came again, two more times, three, four. Matt realised the objects were eggs. He turned around and saw none other than Vince's car speeding away. Matt shouted in frustration. Bitterly, he stalked home, muttered curses towards Vince. He hoped for a better day at Warped. How wrong he was.

Notes