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tonight and put it on the charger,
but I left in such a hurry. It’s still on the kitchen counter.”
    “Well,
couldn’t you at least email?”
    Daphne
recalled her little hacking stunt in the library at Neverland Academy, just
before she’d met Finn. And then he’d just shown up at her house tonight out of
the blue. There was something about him that she just couldn’t figure out. But
it was intriguing. And she was curious. Carrie lifted an eyebrow as she waited
for Daphne to respond.
    “No,
sorry. The ‘rents are screening my emails. I’ve got to keep it on the down low
for awhile, you know?”
    “Man,
they really are keeping you under lock and key, huh? I guess I needn’t ask how
you managed to pay us a visit tonight?”
    Daphne
jangled her mother’s key chain in front of Carrie’s face. “Nope. I think you
know good and well how this works. Where’s Rocks?”
    “He
was going to get some drinks. It may be a while, though. There’re a lot of
people here.” Carrie’s eyes shifted beyond Daphne. “Or maybe not.”
    Daphne
turned to find her boyfriend carrying three bottles of Terrapin beer in each
hand. His three-inch Mohawk was stiffer than a corpse and painted neon green, a
new shade since last she saw him. His brown eyes were heavily lined with enough
black makeup to make Cleopatra look like a line drawing.
    “Hey
babe,” Rocks said, handing Daphne a bottle. He wrapped his other arm around the
small of her back and pulled her body to his roughly. “I missed you.”
    “I
missed you, too,” Daphne said, and kissed him.
    In
an exaggerated effort, Carrie cleared her throat. “Is that for me?”
    Without
letting go of Daphne, Rocks reached an arm out and Carrie took both bottles.
“How did you get through the crowd so fast? I thought it’d take an hour to get
served.”
    “I’m
with the band sweetie. I get special treatment.” Rocks pulled away from Daphne,
though she still held on to him. “I gotta go find the guys. They’re waiting on
their refreshments.” Rocks lifted the hand that still held three bottles. Daphne
stared longingly as he marched away.
    “How’s
he been?” Daphne asked, watching the earlier band leave the stage.
    “You
know, the usual. Let’s go get a spot up front.”
    The
girls pushed and maneuvered their way through the crowd. Since Daphne was so
small she led the way, meandering through bodies and pulling her Amazonian
friend behind her. When they finally reached the stage they ignored the dirty
looks tossed their way.
    “What
do you mean, the usual? Like it doesn’t even matter that I’m gone?”
    “No,
I mean, I think maybe he’s just coping. You know, it’s not going to do him any
good to mope around without you.”
    “So
he’s still going out? Partying? Moving on?” Daphne caught a glimpse of Rocks
with his band mates. A tall, thin brunette was walking her fingers up Rocks’s
sleeveless arm, tracing the dragon tattoo on his bicep. He didn’t seem to mind.
In fact, he looked to be quite enjoying it.
    “Don’t
think of it that way, Daph. He’s not moving on, he’s just—” Carrie turned
to see what Daphne was looking at. Disheartened, she turned back to Daphne.
“Look, I don’t think he’s ready for a serious commitment yet. But he’s still
all about you.”
    “Huh.
I’m not sure I’m buying it.”
    “Don’t
worry about those little tramps. You know how it is with bands. They’re
everywhere. They mean nothing to him.”
    “Yeah,
I know. But I won’t be at his shows anymore. And I know how guys are. Pretty
soon someone else will come along and he’ll forget all about me.”
    The
brunette Daphne was staring at reached up and pulled Rocks’s face down to whisper
something in his ear. It didn’t look like she was just some girl he’d only just
met. If Daphne didn’t know better, she’d think the brunette was more than just
a groupie.
    Carrie
looked down at Daphne with sorrowful eyes while the band took the stage. Rocks
made brief eye