Chapter 15: CHAPTER 13

All the guys sat in the huge L-shaped couch, waiting for Jade as she placed her phone in a light ring that Finn had lent her.

She hit the record button and sat in a chair across from them all, holding some cards in her hand that Frank had given her to write down her questions.

She was extremely nervous, thinking about how much Melody would jump and scream when she gave her this interview for her blog.

Frank and Draco gave her a thumbs up, Alycandro winked at her with his hands on his nape. Finn was texting someone furiously, Zeth wasn't even looking at her, and Everett was following a fly with his eyes.

"Seamons, put that phone down, act like a professional. Who the hell are you texting?" Zeth asked.

"Oh! It's just... Well, Jade is interviewing us for her friend and I just thought it would be good to tell..."

"Tell who?" Zeth raised a challenging eyebrow and Finn blushed, swallowing hard, "Who are you texting?"

"Evie." Finn replied, pressing his lips.

"I've got everything under control and you know it," Zeth whispered, "I told you that all my cards are already on the table."

"Cards means bodyguards in case Trojan Horse is Trojan Horse." Everett said, winking at the other guys. Frank and Finn were motioning for him to be quiet. Alex and Draco just closed their eyes and shook their heads. Zeth put his fingers on his own lips to tell him to shut it, "What? Why are you shutting me up?"

"We don't understand what you're talking about, Big Guy," Finn said, feigning dementia.

"I am speaking code so that Trojan Horse doesn't know that we're talking about her. You're welcome." Everett replied with a warm smile.

"Hey, I'm right here, you know?" Jade said, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly," Everett nodded, "That's why we speak code."

"Everett, for fucks sake," Zeth face-palmed.

"I'm low-key Yeti," Everett said, very proud of himself, "I want raise."

"Please ignore Everett, Jade," Finn bit his lower lip, then turned to look at her, "We can start the interview now."

Jade swallowed and cleared her throat.

"Um.. I'll start..." and she flipped through the cards nervously.

"Just relax, Jasmine!" Zeth told her and she jumped in her seat, "Obviously you're nervous, but if you do it wrong everyone will remember. If you do it right, the focus will be on what's important... Us."

"Don't listen to him," Alex said and rolled his eyes, "You'll do just fine. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Worst that can happen is Hotel bursts into flames mid-interview," Everett said, following the fly again.

There was an awkward silence.

"Ignore that too and... Draco! Sit down!" Alex yelled and the scarlet haired boy grumbled and sat, "Damn, Draco! Finn is the youngest of the group and it seems like he's more mature than you!"

"Hey! I'm mature!" Draco pouted, "It just stresses me out not to move!"

"If we're being honest, Alex... Finn is more mature at twenty-five than you are at twenty-seven," Zeth said with a grimace, "For starters, he doesn't jeopardize our career, you know what I'm saying?"

"I know what you are saying," Everett said.

"Everett! Shut up! My God!" Alex rolled his eyes, "Anyway! Go ahead, señorita."

"You can do this!" Frank told her, his bionic green eye shone like a precious stone.

"Don't stress. You can ask whatever you want," Finn told her with a piranha-toothed grin.

"Except for my Social Security number," Everett said, "I don't know it."

"Ooookay? I'm ready!" Jade nodded and cleared her throat, "Ok, first question... What zodiac sign are you, guys?"

"Libra," Frank said.

"Technically I'm Pisces," Draco said, "In my time there was no January or February anyway."

"I'm a crab, baby!" Alex said and winked at Jade, making her blush.

"Virgo," Finn said, raising a hand.

"I'm misunderstood Gemini," Everett said, "But I don't believe in that stuff. Mama Yeti used to say that those things attracted Zeldrichs and dark forces, and I don't like dark forces, nor salt shakers."

Jade became more and more confused every time Everett spoke.

"I was born under the constellation of the Lion, when the Comet Zeth crossed the skies of Evalon." Zeth said.

"Ignore Zeth and his weird stuff," Alex rolled his eyes, "We have to be thankful he didn't start talking about how Zeth 'the Conqueror' was also born under that damn comet."

"Zeth means 'Conqueror' in the language of the three goddesses," Zeth replied. Jade was impressed by how deep into character he was, "My destiny was written before I was born. I find that very interesting about me."

"Next question," Everett ordered, "Zeth makes my head hurt."

"Yeah, and I find it weird that a fan doesn't know our zodiac signs," Zeth said, looking at Jade suspiciously.

"Oh! I do know your birth dates and signs, guys, but I thought it was an interesting question," Jade sighed, "Anyway... Who do you think is most likely to not text back?"

"I think that would be Draco," Frank replied, and Draco laughed, "He never remembers where he left his phone. And if he's playing Angry Bats on it, he literally ignores your messages and forgets to reply."

"What are you taking about?" Alex asked, "Everett doesn't even text!"

"I don't even remember turning on phone," Everett said.

Jade began to calm down. Interviewing these guys was easier than she thought. The vast majority were very friendly, although Everett seemed very absent and Zeth... Couldn't he stop checking his nails?!

"Okay, who is most likely to sneak out in the middle of the party?" Jade asked.

"Everett," they all said in unison.

"One second he's next to you and the next, POOF!"  Draco said.

"I don't like parties," Everett replied, finally ignoring the damn fly, "Too much noise disturbs my inner peace."

"Very good, um..." She moved on to the next card with slightly less shaky hands, "The most likely to drench themselves with perfume?"

"Zeth," everyone but Zeth said in unison, even Everett.

"Most likely to have a wardrobe malfunction on stage?"

"It's funny because we always see Draco running backstage with his hand on his butt because his pants ripped!" Alex said, laughing out loud.

"Synthetic leather rips easily," Draco shifted his shoulders, "It's not my fault."

"Maybe if you didn't wear tight pants we wouldn't see your red underwear at every concert you bend over, Draquito," Alex messed Draco's hair a little.

"Who is the most likely to cry?" Jade asked and they all looked at Frank.

"There's nothing. Wrong. With crying." Frank frowned.

"I cry all the time," Everett said, everyone gasped.

"You cry?"  Alex asked.

"Yes," Everett stared ahead, into nothingness, "But I only cry on the inside."

"OOOOOkay! Group photo or selfie?" Jade asked.

"I would say Selfie because there is always someone in the group photo with their eyes closed or making a stupid face." Alex answered.

"WWWWWWhy is everyone looking at me?" Draco asked.

"Okay then..." Jade turned to Everett, who was staring into nothingness without blinking, "Everett, tell me, who is your favourite Monster Mash member?"

Everyone turned to see him, everyone except Zeth who already had a graceful hand at chest level.

"Who is my favourite?" Everett asked and Jade nodded with a smile, "Me."

"WHAT?!'  Zeth yelled, and if Melody had been here, she would have known exactly what high note he hit.

"Ok, thanks for your honesty I guess," Jade sighed, "Ok guys... What do you like most in the world?"

"Oh! OH! That's an easy one!" Draco said, bouncing in his seat, "I like Cheetos!"

"Being on stage," Finn said.

"Working, day and night, even on holidays," Zeth replied with a dismissive hand.

"Frozen Burrito," Everett said.

"I guess robotics," Frank said.

"BJs," Alex said with his hands on the back of his head.

"Oh Jesus Christ! PJs! Alex meant pyjamas!" Frank shouted.

"No I didn't," Alex said, frowning, "I don't even have pyjamas! I sleep in my underwear. Sometimes."

"Next question," Everett growled.

"Right," Jade bit her lip, "Something you hate too much?"

"Not working," Zeth said.

"Being Draco's babysitter," Alex said.

"Having a babysitter," Draco grumbled.

"Noise," Everett said, "And salt shakers. And napkin rings. And noise. And buffering of videos. And YouTube ads... I have list. I'm too lazy to say it all."

"I think we all hate sleeves," said Frank, "But I hate fire."

"Oh! I know!" Finn said with a piranha-toothed smile, "I hate it when..."

"Finn hates it when people interrupt him!" Draco said and suddenly, Alex slapped him on the back of the neck, "Ouch! What the hell?"

"No problem, Finn. I have a couple questions for you," Jade turned to Finn, who was looking at her expectantly while Jade searched through her cards, "Okay. Some people have said that you drink too much bottled water and don't care about the environment. What do you have to say about that?"

"Oh. Well, I guess people haven't heard but, I have a recycling program," Finn replied, "I made an alliance with a corporation called 'For The Turtles' who are in charge of cleaning, melting down and moulding bottles into new shapes and designs to reduce the amount of plastic waste in landfills and oceans. They make clothes, shoes and even home furniture with all that plastic and they are going to start a project to also make construction materials. All these products are quite affordable too."

"Wait, why doesn't anyone know about that?" Jade asked and Finn shrugged.

"I don't know. I even appeared in a YouTube ad, one of those that everyone skips. But they have containers all over Transylv Island and many other places in the world. It has been a success though." Finn replied, "I think this interview will be helpful for people to do as I do and put their plastic bottles in the right place."

"Okay. It's good you cleared that up because I didn't know that either," Jade said, searching through her cards, "And the other question is: During an interview, Draco accidentally mentioned that 'Slasher Mask' would be the next single you guys would release for a movie and that you wrote that song."

"That's right, I wrote it," Finn smirked and rubbed his hands on his thighs nervously.

"Could you tell me a little bit about what it is about?"

"Well, 'Slasher Mask' is a satire, it's a song about the rules and clichés of slasher movies, but it is also... How can I explain it? It's my way of telling our fans that they shouldn't give in to social pressure and do harmful things like using drugs or drinking just to fit in."

"Oh! That's so nice of you," Jade smiled. "Okay. The next question is for Frank... About the song 'Victor Frankenstein' from 'Stitched Together' like, what exactly did you want to say with those lyrics?"

"Oh! Okay," Frank rubbed his palms together, "Well, I always liked Mary Shelley's book so, as I read it several times in the hospital after my accident, I decided to write a heartbreak song. The part that says 'You stitched me together, oh. You used me as a lightning rod' is about how this person made you feel whole but always hurt you. The song is about leaving behind a loveless toxic relationship, but still missing that person and wanting to try again even though you know you shouldn't. That's what the parts that say 'I want to spark a love that wasn't there' and 'I want to resurrect what's dead' mean."

"That sounds so relatable," Jade said, "Did you write that song about an ex-girlfriend?"

"Next question," Everett said.

"Fine, fine, sorry!" Jade apologised, for no good reason, and bit her lip, "I have a sexy question, so to speak. You promise not to get mad?"

"Why would we get mad for talking about ourselves?" Zeth crossed his arms, "Come on! Ask a question that will really launch your friend's blog to stardom!"

"Who's still using blogs nowadays anyway?"  Everett asked but Finn nudged him...

"Ouch! Bro! You are a rock!"  Finn had to rub his elbow, "More like an iceberg!"

"My body is cold and hard, like life," Everett replied with his eyes on the ceiling.

"My question is..." Oh Jesus! Jade couldn't believe she was going to ask this, "Is any of you still... A virgin?"

"Oh no!" Frank blushed, like a tomato, "Next question please!"

"Sorry, I think I did go too far with that one," Jade said, more flushed than Frank himself, "Ok... Alycandro! Draco! What do you think of Dralycandro? Is it true that you two are in a relationship?"

Draco and Alex looked at each other, then at Jade, whose palms were already sweating.

"Well?" Zeth waved for either of them to speak, "We are listening, gentlemen. Is there some chicken soup in your story that none of us know about?"

"Why don't you ask something awkward to Zeth instead?" Alex asked, avoiding Draco's sly gaze.

"Oh yeah! Bring it! Ask anything!" Zeth crossed one leg, leaned back with his hands behind his head and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, this question is also sexy."

"Is it about the pictures that I supposedly sent to a Masher Mum?" Zeth asked and Jade nodded, "The guy in the picture is not me."

"You sure?" Jade sounded a little sad.

"Obviously. I wouldn't do anything that stupid, much less for free!" Zeth rolled his eyes, "By the way? Onlyfangs coming soon."

"Onlyfangs? Like, Fangs? Or like Fans?" Jade sounded too interested.

"Next question," Everett growled.

"Come on, I want you to make me uncomfortable, Judy," Zeth said in a challenging tone.

"Very well, if you want it that way," she looked down and sighed heavily, then took a deep breath, and asked a question she wrote on a card, "Are you gay, Zeth?"

Everyone, including Everett, made sounds like orangutans, hissing and turning to look at the golden boy.

However, Zeth didn't flinch.

"I'm bisexual," he replied fearlessly, "Come on! You can do better."

"Do you like any of your bandmates?" Jade's fists were clenched more than they should.

"Does my reflection count?" Zeth cocked his head. But for a second, Jade was sure she saw Finn looking down, as if what he just heard made him sad.

"Do you hate someone in the band, Zeth?" Jade was getting hotter inside.

"If I hated anyone I wouldn't be in the band. I would go solo. I have all the talent I need."

"Then why do you have bandmates?" Jade asked, a little annoyed by his arrogance.

"Bandmates? Oh no, miss. You're wrong. They are not my bandmates..." Zeth turned to look at his friends with a warm smile, "All of them, from the largest to the smallest, are my family." For a moment, Zeth stopped sounding like his usual arrogant egomaniac self and sounded sincere, "Come on, Jessy! You're not even trying!"

"Would you date a fan?" Jade was shaking, boiling, her heart racing, and the band leader didn't even look uncomfortable.

"I'm always too busy so no, I don't have time for dates," he replied, "But I'll understand if you have a crush on me, I mean, I'm perfect."

He was so... Arrogant!

She was already so red she looked like a STOP sign.

"Zeth," Alex snapped his fingers, "Enough! She's going to pass out again!"

"I want to ask something!" Draco raised his hand like a kid in school and bounced a little on his seat, "Hey Jade. Do you like Fright Nights At Teddy's?"

"Oh, well I..." she rubbed her arm. Maybe she shouldn't, maybe it was a bad idea, but these guys had made her change and be proud of who she was no matter what other people said. "I do but, I don't think it makes sense that Carly's death happened before the missing children incident. Puppetbot was already designed to babysit so, I think the rabbit man killed Carly after the incident. I think Carly's soul was the one who found the souls of the other kids and gave life to the animatronics afterwards, but hey! That's just a theory!"

"Oh my God! You are so cool!" Draco shot to his feet, quivering happily like a squirrel who drank five cups of coffee.

"Wait..." Alycandro stood up, "Do you like War of Thrones?"

"I mean, who doesn't?" Jade eyed all the boys, who looked particularly excited. "But that ending... It would have been more palatable if they revealed that the three eyed owl warged to manipulate Dany. If only George had finished the books before the series ended!"

"And I highly doubt he will," Draco whispered, "I never told him what happened after..." And then one of Zeth's gold rings flew through the air and hit his head, "Ouch! Why did you throw that at me, Zeth?!"

"Shut up," Zeth whispered, "We don't talk about Evalon."

"But you just did!" Draco yelled, rubbing his head.

"Wait! Jade! Do you like cooking?" Frank got to his feet. "Because I love it! I used to work at a pizza place here in Hallow Woods actually!"

"God! I love pizza! But I can only cook instant soup and quesadillas." Jade laughed.

"Do you like figure skating?" Everett asked in his deep voice and everyone cocked their heads.

"I used to go see live shows with my mum in L.A. when I lived there so yes." Jade nodded.

"Me too, we should go figure skating some day." Everett said and they all gasped in unison.

"Oh... I thought you were the type to play hockey but..." Jade squirmed in her seat. Had he just asked her out? "I mean, it's unexpected coming from you but, okay!"

"Hey, do you like Pop-Punk music? Or maybe Rock?" Finn asked.

"Obviously!" Jade replied way too happily, "That's why I love your voice, Finn! My first crush ever was Patrick Stump! And my favourite band was Aerosmith! And your voice is the best of both worlds!"

"Wait, you actually... Like my voice?"

"Well, obviously! You are so underrated," Jade said, flipping through her cards, "Okay, I have another question but it's not written here," Jade looked Zeth in the eyes, "What is Evalon? I heard you mention something about that and..."

"Okay, hold up!" Zeth jumped to his feet, "I think Jessy is here to..."

"My name is Jade," She said with a frown and Zeth waved her off. "Are you going to answer my question then or not? What is Evalon? Is it a book or a place? And if it is a place, where is it?"

"I knew you were here with ulterior motives," Zeth half-shut his eyes, looking straight into hers. He moved dangerously close to her, his nose and lips merely inches from colliding with hers, and then he whispered, "What is your plan? You fainted, apparently, and then what? You start asking questions about Evalon? What's next? Are you going to bring an army of hunters to kill me and my friends?"

"Are you high?" Jade asked.

"What?" Zeth frowned.

"High," Jade repeated.

"Oh! Hi!" Draco waved effusively.

"She said high," Alex told the vampire.

"Hello," Everett said, "From the other side."

"No, she said high," Frank said.

"Hi," Everett waved at Jade.

"Okay, everyone shut up! No one's saying hi to anyone!" Zeth shouted.

"I didn't say anything, it's not fair," Finn said.

"Whatever!" Zeth walked menacingly up to Jade, "And you, Jody... What are you doing here?"

"My name is Jade," she put a finger on the division of Zeth's chest and pushed him away.

"I haven't felt this much tension between Zeth and a girl since Evie knocked on our door," Draco said, suddenly in the kitchen, eating popcorn, "This is so much fun!"

"At what point did you leave my side and made popcorn?!" Alex yelled at Draco, but Frank gasped and snapped his fingers.

"Oh! OH! Zeth! I have an idea!" Draco exclaimed, jumping a little in his place, "Zeth! We need a model for our video. What if..."

"Absolutely not!" Zeth yelled.

"Absolutely yes!" Alex and Draco yelled at the same time.

"Zeth! She's perfect for..."

"She is perfect for getting us killed, Seamons!" Zeth replied and turned to Jade, "In my opinion, Federica here is working for the Hunters."

"Federica? What the... My name is Jade!" she was getting sick of this.

"She's too scrawny to be hunter," Everett said, "And she's Erich's daughter, according to her."

"She can say she's the president's daughter, I don't care." Zeth replied, snapping his fingers, "I don't know why you're here, Janice, or who sent you, but I don't trust you and I don't like you."

Oh! Zeth was quite an asshole!

"I want her to be model," Everett stood up and bumped a fist into his hand, "Unless there's problem with that, Zeth."

"I'm more powerful than you, Frostakov," Zeth said, looking at Everett with a wagging finger, "Trust me, you don't want to mess with me."

"Zeth, democratically, we are all in favour that she is not a threat," Frank said, and Zeth seemed to want to say something hurtful, but changed his mind, just nodding and looking down.

"I think it's a good idea for Jade to be our model, Zeth," Finn said with a hand up like a school kid.

"No! Hold on!" Jade shook her head, "Guys, I appreciate everything you've done for me tonight but Zeth's right."

"Always," Zeth smiled, "I knew you were a Trojan Horse working for the Hunters."

"What? No! Not about that! I have no idea how to dance and I'm not a model! And much less am I a Hunter, whatever that means."

"We can teach you how to dance!" Alex said, walking briskly towards her, "It's easy! You just relax and let yourself go! Like this!" And then Alex swayed his hips sensually, ran his hands through his torso and hair, and God! He was so hot! He was like a stripper in action!

"Hey, are you still recording?" Finn pointed at the phone in the light ring and Jade turned red.

If Melody saw this, that Alycandro Alfaro himself was dancing for her, she would surely faint.

"Guys, I really appreciate the offer," Jade said, taking his phone off the ring light, but there was a huge sign there on the screen. There was not enough space on the internal storage to save the whole video. Damn! Cheap fucking cell phone!

"Everything okay?" Frank asked as Jade looked through what she had saved from her interview.

"No, not really," Jade whispered, "The last thing that was saved on my phone was the part where Zeth talked about Onlyfangs... Just my luck. Just give me the cat and I'll go, okay?"

"Not yet," Zeth said with a grunt, "First you sign the papers, then you leave. If you're telling the truth about who you are, I'm sure we'll see each other very soon."

"Yeah, I hope not," Jade replied.