Free Dismissed by Kirsty McManus

sure she wanted to go with Taylor. It would be exhausting, and they would never end up doing anything Lizzie wanted.
    ‘Do you want a cocktail?’ Taylor asked, only just noticing that Lizzie didn’t have a drink.
    ‘No thanks. The chick at the door suspects I’m not eighteen and said I’m not allowed to go near the bar. If she sees me drinking, she’ll probably kick me out.’
    ‘Harsh. Oh well. I guess that means you still might be able to drive us home later.’
    Lizzie couldn’t help but smile. Of course Taylor would find the benefit for her in that situation.
    ‘Oh look!’ Taylor screeched. ‘They’re starting!’
    The lights went down and the crowd began cheering. Everyone gravitated towards the stage. Lizzie felt Taylor pulling on her arm so they could get a better view. She didn’t resist.
    A rocky song played as the band members walked onto the stage. Actually, swaggered would probably be a more appropriate word than walked . First up was the drummer, who Lizzie knew from Taylor was called Ethan. Ethan sat down at his drum kit and started playing a solo, whipping the audience into a frenzy.
    Jason was up next. He had a bass slung over his shoulder and flicked his hands upwards to encourage louder cheering. It worked.
    Alex followed third. He was the lead guitarist, and he had a huge afro with a comb stuck in the top. He reminded Lizzie of Andre 3000.
    And lastly, Brandon came out. The cheering reached fever pitch. Lizzie forgot she was in a small Brisbane music venue, and suddenly felt like she was at a stadium watching Muse play.
    The band kicked off with a song Lizzie recognised as Venus the 2nd . She started tapping her foot to the heavy intro. Taylor was already throwing herself around. Lizzie expected her to climb up on the stage at any moment and start crowd surfing.
    The place was packed and it quickly heated up. Soon, everyone was sweating.
    Taylor pushed her way through to the front barrier. Lizzie hung back slightly. She wasn’t used to being aggressive, and she was also scared what Brandon might do if he spotted them.
    But Brandon seemed focused on the song, at least for the first few minutes. Lizzie couldn’t get over how much sexier he was here on stage than in the classroom. And he was already pretty sexy in the classroom. Tonight he was wearing faded black jeans and a fitted leather jacket over a loose singlet that showed off half his chest. Lizzie had to stop herself from physically drooling.
    She quietly mouthed the lyrics as Brandon sang. She knew all the songs now off by heart, which was kind of strange, seeing as she usually fell asleep soon after putting on one of their albums. She figured she must have absorbed the words subconsciously.
    Interstellar came on next, and Lizzie had to stop herself from screaming along with everyone else.
    She closed her eyes and sang along, getting lost in Brandon’s soulful tone.
    When she opened them again, she noticed two things.
    Brandon was staring at her in confusion.
    And Taylor was too.
    Crap.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 8
     
     
    Lizzie felt her face heating up.
    She didn’t know who to focus on first.
    Brandon kept looking at her as if he couldn’t believe she was actually there. Then he saw Taylor, and his mouth twisted into an angry scowl.
    Lizzie was horrified.
    Taylor stomped back to Lizzie.
    ‘How do you know the words?’ she demanded.
    ‘I’ll explain later. But first, we should probably leave. Brandon is pissed at us.’
    Taylor glanced back at the stage and saw his expression.
    ‘He’ll get over it. He can’t exactly do anything about it while he’s playing. So tell me. How come you know this song so well?’
    ‘I looked them up after you showed me. I thought they sounded cool.’
    ‘Why didn’t you tell me? You made me feel like I was bringing you here against your will, while all along you must have secretly wanted to come.’
    ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make a big deal about it.’
    ‘Well by not