Chapter 85: Another

Katherine sat there in shock for a long while after Dean admitted to her that he was the guitarist for one of her favorite bands.

But when she thought about it more intensely, there was a lot of overlap with previous information he had told her.

Dean had been in ROTC in college and the National Guard. Which meant that he had military obligations at least once a month, and therefore couldn’t tour the country, even on summer break, performing at different venues.

It was one of the reasons that the band had never really taken off, and had always been a sore point for Katherine, as she never got to see a live show because of her own conflicting schedule.

Plus, it was the type of music her mother would not have approved of, and she tended to keep such interests hidden from her personal life.

Just then, one of her favorite songs came on, it was the final track of the band’s final studio album, and they shared the same name: Thorns of Madness

The music wasn’t simple. It started heavily; driving guitar, sharp and deliberate, like something meant to be felt more than heard.

But it never stayed there… The verses shifted, broke apart, and reformed into something more complex. Layers of sound weaving together before collapsing back into the chorus with overwhelming force.

And over it all were the clean vocals. They were neither soft nor gentle. Instead they felt powerful, controlled, almost operatic in the way they carried the weight of the lyrics.

It was the conclusion of a brief foray into the musical realm. A lexicon based upon the spectrum of overwhelming human emotion.

From their first album, Ephemeral Nightmare, which shared the same name as the band itself, which was optimistic and hopeful, describing the human state of coping with a life that was far from okay.

This was followed by the second studio album “Reaper’s Embrace,” about loss, grief, depression, and struggling to remain standing in a world that was unforgiving.

This was the crescendo in an arc that concluded finally with “Thorns of Madness.” And to Katherine it was an album filled with addiction, despair, and rage against an ever soul crushing world that threatened to devour the last bit of sanity the listener still had.

It wasn’t the kind of music that filled stadiums. But for the people who understood it, there was nothing else like it.

Dean had written it all, but he was never the frontman. He stood behind on those small stages, playing the guitar, which to him was the most complex and controllable part of it all.

Katherine realized after he had concealed half of his face exactly who Dean was… who he had been. She sighed heavily and chuckled wryly.

“D.W… Dean Winters… Dante Wylde… Smart… Real smart… Hiding your real name within your stage name. Why the fringe bangs though? That had gone out of fashion by the time you guys played, and nobody else had that whole aesthetic going on? I was never able to figure that out?”

Dean smirked when he heard this and shook his head.

“It was a wig… I’m not what you’d call a people person… I didn’t want fans, as few of them as there may be, coming up to me on the street. I never wanted to be famous, I just needed an outlet is all.”

Dean took a sip from his beer and leaned back into his chair, listening to the chorus intensify.

He reflected on his brief career in the metal scene. And how this album had come to be… He was silent for several moments as the song came to an end…

“I don’t mean to pry, but the songs you wrote were some pretty heavy stuff Dean, what exactly did you go through to write such a discography?”

Dean scoffed and shook his head.

“Let’s just say the world was fucked long before the snow fell, the long winter just made things more honest….”

Dean didn’t sit around and wait for a response, he grabbed his glass and returned to the kitchen. There he poured himself another drink, while Katherine muttered her own thoughts beneath her breath.

“Tell me about it….”

Neither of them wanted to have that discussion. At least not tonight. Instead, they sat there for a long while listening to the another song.

At some point after Katherine’s cheeks had flushed, and Deep entered a deep introspective state closer to meditation than consciousness, Katherine rested her head on his shoulder.

Brooke just so happened to come down the stairs at a time to see this. And instantly became frustrated with the scene. Cursing beneath her breath before storming back upstairs.

“Fucking liar….”

She found her way into Dean and Yuki’s room, where Yuki was resting in the hot tub alone. She barged out doors, startling Yuki, who was quick to try to cover herself, despite long since having grown comfortable with her bold choice of swimwear.

“What the hell, Brooke? Don’t you ever knock?”

Brooke didn’t have time for Yuki’s attempts to play coy, and instead glared at the young woman.

“Oh please don’t act like you haven’t been in this tub with Dean and Katherine before. Stop performing, we have bigger problems! I think Katherine is in love with Dean!”

Yuki’s response was cold, measured, and startling in a way that Brooke hadn’t expected.

“I know….”

Brooke’s brows raised almost through the ceiling, as her mouth dropped agape.

“To be specific, I don’t believe she’s even aware of it herself. But it’s been obvious since before you showed up that eventually, if she and Dean continued to be in proximity that they would develop feelings for one another. They’re extremely compatible personalities. Believe me, I was far more hostile to her when she first showed up than you.”

Yuki had spoken these words while sinking even more into the depths of the hot tub’s jets. Completely relaxed with the idea.

But Brooke only tensed further, her fists curling tight, and her shoulder blades squaring up.

“And you’re okay with that?”

Yuki opened one eye, her peaceful moment clearly disturbed by Brooke’s posturing. Her tone was sharp and to the point.

“Why do you care? Your relationship with Dean is purely transactional. I know you have your so called ’pride’ to maintain. But what my relationship to Dean is, and what his relationship to Katherine is, is really none of your business. Neither of us intends to publicly shame you, that would only create more problems for Dean and he has enough on his plate already. Get off your high horse.”

Brooke could only stand there gawking at Yuki’s audacity, as she turned over in the hot tub, looking away from Brooke entirely and towards where the snow continued to fall in the background.

No matter what Brooke wanted to say, the words couldn’t come to her, and so she simply stomped off, back to her own room. Once the door shut behind her exit, Yuki rolled back over, floating in the small pool of steaming water, gazing up at the roofing above.

“Great… now I have to worry about another….”

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