Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I just don't understand." Chester sighed, plopping onto the used futon in Mike Shinoda's apartment.

"Neither do I." Mike said, "What was her deal?"

The two had just gotten rejected from the record label for the 43rd time, and they were considering giving up. Their determination to put out their album was fading away, almost as quickly as the money in their bank accounts.

"I don't know, man. Maybe we should just give up. I can't afford to do this anymore, I need to get a regular job. I cant keep living under your roof Mike." Chester put his head in his hands and let out another exasperated sigh.

"I don't mind letting you stay, Ches. I enjoy the company." Mike smiled at his best friend, knowing full well that things were going to change between the pair very soon. Mike wasn't lying, he really did enjoy Chester's company, perhaps a little too much.

"I know, Mike, but I can't keep living like this." Chesters voice became softer as he felt tears well up in his eyes. There was so much that Mike didn't know, and Chester wasn't sure how he'd react if Mike found out, which he would, if Chester continued to live under his roof.

"Well then I'll help you find a job, if this next gig doesn't work out." Mike offered.

"Are you sure? Y-you don't have to." Chester made eye contact with Mike for the first time that night.

"I want to. Now try to get some sleep." Mike stood up and walked over to the linen closet, opening it and throwing a blanket at Chester. "Use one of the pillows on the futon, they should be comfy enough."

"Thanks for everything, Mike." Chester whispered as Mike turned off the lights and headed into his bedroom.

Mike had only just found out about Chester's living situation, and became immediately concerned for his friend. He really didn't have much, and he was living in his car that he could barely pay for. Chester was also alarmingly skinny, because he couldn't afford to eat much. What he didn't know, however, is that most of the money that entered Chester's bank account was immediately withdrawn to pay for his addiction.

Chester woke up at 2am, the effects of withdrawal beginning to take over him. He hadn't used the entire day, or the night before. He crawled out of bed, desperate to find his car and get his fix. He walked carefully, to avoid waking Mike, but as he passed Mike's bedroom, a floorboard creaked underneath him and he cursed the shitty building.

"Chester?" Mike opened his bedroom door, rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing up? It's 2 am." Mike leaned in the doorway and glanced at his friend.

"I-I couldn't sleep, so I was gonna go for a walk." He lied, cursing up a storm inside his head.

"Oh! Let's go for a walk then!" Mike smiled, eager to spend more time with his best friend.

Chester's internal cursing became louder as he shook his head vigorously. "I'm fine, Mike. Thanks." Chester hoped he could convince Mike to go back to bed but it was no use.

"I'm already up, and besides, night walks are fun!"

"Okay, I guess you can come along." Chester rolled his eyes at Mike, who immediately darted into his bedroom and changed into some 'more appropriate' clothes to wear in public.

He grabbed his keys and the two left the apartment, cool, crisp night air filling their lungs as they walked outside. "So, where did you want to walk to?" Mike asked, as Chester passed by his car, the slightest hint of sadness in his eyes as they walked.

"I'll let you pick." Chester sighed for the seemingly millionth time that night. Chester pulled out a box of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one.

This was something Mike had seen him do before, and as much as he didn't approve, he let it slide, though he constantly gave him crap for it. At least he wasn't on more hardcore drugs, or so he thought.

"Yano those aren't good for you, right?" Mike warned, "They could damage your vocal chords."

"I know, Mike." Chester was slightly irritated with his friend.

"Okay then." Mike kicked a pebble into the street as he walked alongside Chester.

A strong breeze put out the cigarette Chester had lit before and he cursed loudly. He grabbed his lighter and tried to light it again, but most of it fell to the concrete below them. "fuck it, I give up." he mumbled, tossing the rest of the cigarette to the floor and putting it out with his shoe, sweeping the debris from the concrete with his foot. He wasn't getting his fix tonight, that was for sure.

"Mike, do you think we will finally get recognized?" Chester asked, looking up at the slightly taller man.

"I sure hope so."

That next morning, the rest of the band had showed up to practice for their next gig, which would be held at The Roxy. Brad knew someone from Warner, who was going to be attending the club. The band had doubts about being signed by such a big label, but they had to rule out all opportunities, and the smaller labels weren't keen on taking them in. They tried for Warner before, but this time they were performing in hopes that this other man would sign them under the label.

"I WANNA BE IN ANOTHER PLACE

WHERE NO ONE CAN SAY THAT I LIVE FOR THEM!" Chester roared into the microphone, not caring that the entire block probably heard him.

"I WANNA BE IN THE ENERGY

NOT WITH THE ENEMY

A PLACE FOR MY HEAD!"

They heard pounding on the door and the music quieted down. Dave opened the door to a very irritated neighbor. "Can you guys please keep it down? He barked. "What the hell are you doing all the time anyway?" The middle aged man was clearly pissed.

"Oh, well, we are practicing for our next gig..." Mike replied, gesturing to al the music equipment.

"Good luck with that, your music sounds awful, and your hair is ugly. Now can you PLEASE keep it down?" The scent of alcohol was prevalent on the man's breath, and he stumbled out of the doorway, slamming Mike's door shut behind him.

"Jesus, what's up with him?' Brad scoffed, reaching into the cooler and tossing everyone a soda.

Their confidence was diminishing by the second. Chester plopped down on the futon next to Joe, shaking his head in dismay. He ran a hand through his orange hair, which he thought was actually cool, until the man dissed it.

"Maybe we should just give up. Rob quietly mumbled, packing his drumsticks into his bag.

"You know what?" Mike stood up, a sudden burst of confidence washed over him. "Fuck this guy. We're working our asses off, what's he gonna do about it?"

"Yeah, you're right." Dave chimed in, strumming a few chords on his bass.

"Chester, make it extra loud." Mike shot Chester a devious grin and the music began to play again.

They heard more pounding at the door but they didn't care. "HEY! FUCKTARDS! I SAID KEEP IT DOWN!!! I'M GONNA CALL THE POLICE ON YOU!!!" The man drunkenly shouted.

Instead of quieting down, Chester let out an ear piercing scream, which was only amplified by the microphone. The pounding continued to get louder, but as it did, so did the music. After awhile, the pounding eventually stopped, and the guy hopped into his car and drove away.

"That was epic. If they don't sign us now, they must be stupid." Dave grinned from ear to ear.

"Or tasteless." Mike commented.

Two days passed, and the band was getting ready to play their show. They bumped into some members of their street team who wished them luck before their gig.

The crowd began to cheer as they walked onstage with their equipment in hand.

"Who's ready to rock & roll!" Chester shouted into the microphone. The crowd erupted into loud cheers as the opening notes to A Place For My Head began to play.

"That show rocked!" An unfamiliar man approached the table where the band was sitting. "Tell me, what's your band name?"

"Hybrid Theory." Chester smiled up at the man.

"Hybrid Theory? What a cool name!" He smiled before darting off into the audience and returning moments later with another man, one that Brad recognized.

"Well, Hybrid Theory, consider yourselves officially signed by Warner Bros!"

Their mouths fell agape as people around them cheered. They made it, they've finally made it.

"Chester?" Mike knocked on the bathroom door, where Chester was hiding, He was finally getting his fix.

"Yeah, gimme a sec!" Chester called back to him, opening the bag of white powder and dumping it into the palm of his hand.

"Ches, I left my phone in there! I hear it ringing, can you please open the door?" Mike fumbled with the handle but Chester didn't unlock it.

"I'm pooping!" Chester shouted.

"Ches, seriously! I'm a guy, you think that's gonna scare me away? That call is important! I need to take it! aw fuck it." Mike walked away and returned two seconds later with the key. He fumbled with the door even more until he finally got it unlocked, what he saw made him cry.

'Ches, I-"

"I'm so sorry Mike, I-I understand if you don't want to see me ever again, I'll go." Chester stood up and tried to run but Mike stopped him.

"Chester." He said more sternly, which absolutely freaked out the guy. "I want to help you."

Chester stopped in his tracks and looked up at Mike, tears forming in his eyes. "Mike..."

Mike wet a towel and wiped the powder off of Chester's nose, pulling him into a tight hug. "How long?"

"S-since i was 15..." Chester said shakily through his sobs.

"Jesus, Chester, I-why didn't you tell me?" Mike momentarily pulled away from Chester.

"I didn't want you to hate m-me." Chester wailed.

"Ches, I don't hate you. I want to help you." Mike looked him directly in the eyes.

'W-why?"

"B-because I..." Mike hoped he wasn't making the wrong decision. He merged his lips with Chester's soft ones, hoping Chester wouldn't run away.

Stunned, he kissed Mike back and through the kiss he heard, "Because I love you."

Chapter Text

"Now what are we gonna do?" Mike asked. Mark Wakefield, their singer, stomped out of Mike's front door angrily. He had just quit the band, leaving them without a singer.

"Can't you sing Mike?" Brad asked, neatly packing away his precious guitar.

"I can rap... singing isn't my thing. Besides, if we wanna go for this whole rap/rock thing, we need someone better." Mike sighed, plopping down on a beanbag.

"Well, why don't we hold auditions?" Dave asked, immediately perking up the band. "Couldn't we find someone then?"

"Holding auditions is too much work." Joe grumbled. "Why don't we talk about this tomorrow?"

"Wait... didn't Jeff Blue say he knew a guy that could sing?" Rob asked.

"Yes! He did! Brad, call him!" Mike immediately shot upright.

"Okay, okay! I'll call him tonight, maybe we can ask him to come here." Brad suggested.

"Yes, we should, tomorrow." Joe groaned.

"Okay fine, we will do it tomorrow." Mike laughed at his tired friend.

"I'll call him on my way home." Brad said as he walked out of the garage, followed by everyone else except for Mike.

He just hoped he could find a singer.

"Okay, so I know a man who might be the perfect fit."Jeff was sitting on the sofa in Mike's small apartment.

"Great! Put him on the phone." Mike was eager to hear the singer that Jeff had in mind.

"But the issue is," Jeff raised his hand into the air, silencing Mike, "He's in Arizona."

"Call. Him."

Chester had just finished his shift at Burger King, and was on his way home when he received the call. "Sup?" He asked, confused why Jeff Blue was suddenly calling him.

"Hey, Chester, my man, i have a group of boys here who are looking for a singer, you interested?" Jeff asked. Chester could hear muffled speaking on the other end of the phone.

"Fuck yeah! What kind of music?" Chester asked enthusiastically.

"Some sorta... rap rock thing. I'll send you a demo, can you record your vocals?"

Chester wasn't sure about making rap rock music, he wasn't sure how different that would be from making music with his old band, Grey Daze. He hoped that this new band wouldn't be like Grey Daze, he hoped it would last. "Yeah, i'll record it for you.

"Ches! You got something in the mail!" Samantha, his wife shouted as she burst through the front door. Chester had mentioned the contents of Jeff's call to her, and she was equally excited for Chester to find a new band.

Chester rushed towards Samantha and snatched the package from her hand. He opened it, and inside was a cd, XERO DEMOS written in blue sharpie. He immediately popped it into his cd player and loud, somewhat thrash music began playing through the speakers.

"Ches, your mom is on her way over, you can listen to that later." Samantha popped the disc out of the player and the house became silent. "Besides, it's your birthday, spend it with us."

"Chester! Oh, happy birthday!" Susan wrapped her son in a tight hug. How come I hardly see you anymore?" She asked.

"Mom," he whined, "I'm always working." Chester pulled away from his mother's embrace,

Susan hugged Samantha as well, and the three of them spent some time together for Chester's birthday.

About an hour in, Chester got really impatient to hear the demos that were sent to him. He quietly snuck away from Susan and Samantha, who were laughing together and drinking wine. "Ches, where are you going?" Susan asked him.

"Oh, he wants to listen to some demos a band in California sent to him. He was offered a chance to be a singer for them." Samantha stated, smiling at Chester's mother.

"Oh! Thats awesome!" Susan stood up and wrapped Chester into another tight hug. "Go have fun, but remember your party is tonight, I'm sure everyone would want to spend some time with you."

Chester darted into the garage of his and Samantha's small home, which he had converted into a tiny music room. He had another disk player in here, but he had a microphone connected to it, and they were both hooked up to a cheap computer, so that Chester could record his vocals. He hadn't completely given up on his dream, so he tried to make music on his own, but the only instrument he knew was his vocals.

The loud music began to play through the speakers again and Chester heard some rapping, and another singer began to scream. He thought this type of music was awesome, and he spent most of the day learning the lyrics and recording the demo for the band.

Chester had received another call from Jeff, almost a week later. The band heard his voice and wanted him to come to California as soon as he could. Chester packed a bag and kissed his wife goodbye, driving out that same day. He was becoming anxious to meet the band.

Mike and the band had called up a few more people, deciding to hold auditions just incase Chester couldn't make it. There wasn't many people, but the band were unimpressed with almost everyone. What they heard on that recording from the singer in Arizona had surpassed all of their expectations, and they hoped he would come soon.

They had just shooed away another person when a scrawny boy, about Mike's height had opened the door to the small room where they were holding the auditions.

"Hi I hope I'm not late for something. He quietly spoke. He seemed timid to the band, and they were already doubting him.

"No, you're fine." Mike stood up and walked to the man. "I'm Mike, by the way."

"Chester." He shook Mike's hand and the whole room immediately looked up at him in shock. That was Chester?

"No way, sing us something then." Joe challenged him.

Chester, remembering some of the lyrics to the demos, was prepared. "Okay, you ready?" He asked, before he began to sing the opening verse to And One.

"No fucking way..." Brad spoke. The entire room went silent as they all stood there, jaws to the floor.

"So, when do we practice?" Chester scratched the back of his neck, hoping he wasn't rushing things.

"Right now, right fucking now." Mike cheered. "Chester, welcome to the band.

Chapter Text

It was quickly becoming overwhelming, everything. Mike had left hours ago, and since then, Leah's brain was filled with nothing but the voices in her head telling her she wasn't good enough.

Being with Mike Shinoda, it was a dream come true! She remembered the days before the two had met, when she had first discovered his band, Linkin Park. It was like an explosion inside of her mind, how genius and talented the band was. And then she discovered Michael Shinoda.

She remembered meeting him, it was magical. Seeing him in person, hearing his soft voice... All that paled in comparison to the way he looked at her that night. Like she was the only one in the room. Everyone deserved to be looked at like that. From then on, the two had been inseparable. Mike had been so loving toward her.

But why me? She thought, why would Mike ever love someone as plain and average as me?

She dwelled on this thought for the millionth time. She wasn't deserving of Mike's love, at least that's what she believed.

Soon enough, the silence became haunting, as flashbacks of previous trauma replayed over and over again in her mind, mixed with the fear of losing Mike.

She stood up, knowing immediately what was going to happen next. It felt like time stopped, as the room began to rotate slowly before her eyes. She had reached out for her phone just before she collapsed to the floor.

"You don't mean a thing to me." She heard Mike say, though he would never say something like this. "I don't love you, I never did."

The room began to spin quicker now, and she began to cry.

"We're over." Mike's lovely voice sounded so menacing.

Despite trying to remind herself it's all in my head, nothing was working. She began hyperventilating as her crying became louder and louder. She felt her throat tightening up as she barely managed to unlock her phone and dial Mike Shinoda, fully knowing he was performing that night. She needed him, now.

Mike wiped his forehead with a towel, the energy of the crowd that night was the only thing keeping him going. He leaned on one of the platforms behind the stage as Chester spoke to the audience, riling them up for the next few songs.

Amidst all the cheering and loud speaking, Mike felt his phone buzzing in his back pocket. He picked up the device and checked the caller ID. It was Leah.

Knowing she wouldn't call him in the middle of a performance unless it was an emergency, he immediately removed his in-ears and answered the phone, putting it on speaker so he could hear her.

"Mike-I-I-" she barely managed through her sobs.

"Leah? Is everything okay?" He asked, beginning to panic as the first few notes to Easier To Run began to play. He immediately kicked himself, of course she's not okay you idiot!

"Helpmepleasei-"she spoke quickly, barely managing to breathe. She began quickly hyperventilating and Mike knew something was wrong.

"Okay, I'm coming over, give me a few minutes!" Mike hung up the phone before she could protest, and he ran out towards Chester, signaling for him to come. "Goddamn it Chester!" He whisper-yelled, fully knowing no one heard him.

Chester eventually turned around and jogged to a frantic Mike. Mike led him backstage for a moment and the music stopped playing.

"Mike? What's going on?" Chester asked, removing his in-ears.

"Ches, it's Leah-I-I need to leave, now." Mike breathed.

"Mike, we still have half of a show to do tonight! I can't do it without you!" Chester panicked.

"I-just come up with something!" Mike yelled.

"Ah-okay! Fine!" Chester flung his arms into the air in frustration. "I'll come up with something, you go help Leah!" Chester darted back towards the stage, slipping his in-ears back into his ears as he leapt.

Mike ran out of the building as fast as he could, receiving several strange glances. He hoped Chester could come up with something so that they could finish the show without him.

As Mike searched the massive parking lot for his car, he heard Chester from the outside of the arena. "Okay everyone, sorry about that. I need you all to rap Mike's lyrics for me, could you do that?" He asked the audience, and Mike could hear the loud cheers from the audience. "Alriiiight! Let's restart this bad boy!" Chester shouted, and more cheering ensued.

Mike found his car, practically jumped into it, and calling Leah back at the same time.

Leah didn't answer, and Mike found himself speeding in the direction of his house, which thankfully was only five minutes away.

The radio began blaring and Mike immediately turned it down. He sped down the block, miraculously avoiding police and accidents.

As he pulled into the driveway of the nice home he shared with his girlfriend Leah, he practically jumped out of his car before it fully came to a stop.

The door was locked, as Mike had left it. He ran back to the car in a hurry, cursing under his breath, grabbing the keys from the ignition and rushing back to the door, all in about two seconds.

"Leah, LEAH!" Mike ran around the main level of the home, and there was no sign of her anywhere. He ran up the steps two at a time, and eventually approached their shared bedroom, where he could hear muffled sobs.

As he opened the door, he saw Leah on the floor, hands wrapped around her legs as she shook back and forth, a panic attack.

"Leah, Leah, it's okay!" Mike ran to his sobbing girlfriend, scooping her up into a tight hug.

Leah wasn't fully aware of Mike's presence before he picked her up, as she was clouded by her mind. She smacked Mike, as a defense mechanism, to which he nearly dropped the girl.

"Leah, it's me, it's Mike. What's going on?" Mike quietly asked his girlfriend. She tried to speak, but continued to hyperventilate, not able to get the words out. "Leah, calm down, it's okay, I'm here." Mike cooed.

After a while, Leah finally began to de-escalate with the help of Mike.

"M-Mike." She finally spoke clearly, wrapping her arms around him, he still hadn't let go of her.

"Leah, what's going on?" He asked calmly, cupping her cheek and making her look up at him. He made eye contact with her teary eyes, the sight before him saddening him deeply.

"M-Mike." She said again, "t-thank you." She hiccuped.

"Leah, tell me." Mike coaxed her.

"I-I just d-don't want you to leave m-me." Leah managed, as a stray tear fell from her eyes.

"Leah, I'm not gonna leave you. I'm not going anywhere." Mike wiped the tear away, staring intently into her eyes.

Leah saw nothing but love in his eyes, which helped to calm her down.

"I'm sorry I took you away from your concert." Leah looked away from him, expecting him to be mad.

"Don't worry about it, Leah. I'd do it again in a heartbeat for you." Mike turned her face toward his again.

"You s-sure?" Leah asked, looking up at him longingly.

"Absolutely." Mike placed his forehead onto hers, the space between them growing smaller.

"W-why me?" Leah asked, knowing it was a stupid question.

"Because, Leah. Because I love you." Mike stated, placing his soft lips against her own.

Chapter Text

"They should be here any minute." Chester tapped his fingers against each other in anticipation. "You ready?"

"Yeah, oh! Lemme grab the lyrics sheet real quick!" Mike darted into Chester's favorite room in the studio, his singing booth, to grab the lyric sheet.

The band wanted to change things up a bit with their second album, and they decided that having two more members would do the trick, so they were holding auditions.

The band heard a knock on the studio door, and Chester leapt from his seat to open it. "Dayton!" He pulled his old friend into a tight hug.

"Hi Chaz!" Dayton hugged his friend back. "Long time no see!"

"And who's this?" Chester looked away from Dayton for a moment, catching eyes with his beautiful lady friend.

"This is Reagan." Dayton put his arm around the girl playfully. "Reagan, meet Chester, Mike, Brad, Dave, Rob, and Joe!"

"Hi." Reagan awkwardly waved at the band.

""Guys, you remember Dayton, right?" Chester asked, some heads nodded while others shook. "His brother is Simon, from Platinum Lotus Foundation?"

Now everyone nodded, remembering meeting Dayton a long time ago. "Hi guys!" Dayton waved, they all waved back.

"Well, come on in!" Chester enthusiastically opened the door, welcoming the newcomers into their sacred studio space.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Reagan looked at all of the expensive equipment in awe.

"So, do you guys want to show us what you've got?" Chester asked, and both nodded furiously.

"Okay, so it's called Lying From You, Mike you ready?" Dave asked, handing the lyric sheet to Dayton and Reagan. Mike flashed them a thumbs up and walked towards the soundboard.

Dayton grabbed Brad's guitar and he and Reagan began to sing.

"his isn't what I wanted to be
I never thought that what I said would have you running from me
Like this
This isn't what I wanted to be
I never thought that what I said would have you running from me
Like this"

The two sang in unison, a raspy, yet calm sound that the two of them produced together would give the band a unique twist. Combined with Chester's vocals... it would be heaven.

"Well, you're in!" Joe clapped, "welcome to Linkin Park!"

The whole room erupted into cheers and everyone hugged each other.

"Okay, let's get to work."

"Today's progress is awesome!" Mike pressed pause on the song after they had listened to the recorded vocals so far. Their three voices harmonized sounded amazing.

Chester smirked at Reagan, it was clear to everyone that he had developed an attraction to her. Dayton smiled at his friend, still surprised at how well their first day with Linkin Park had gone.

"Dayton, tomorrow you should show me your skills on guitar, teach me a thing or two." Brad suggested.

Chapter Text

"Okay class, who can answer this question?" The teacher asked the room full of students. Leah panicked, not having paid any attention to the lesson.

A few hands were raised, and the teacher took a moment to ponder. "Hmmm, Michael? You never have your hand up, are you even paying attention?" The teacher walked to the back of the classroom where Mike sat.

"Oh, hey Mrs Jeffrey." Mike looked up from his drawing he had been working on instead of paying attention.

"Michael, what is this?" The teacher asked angrily, snatching the drawing off of his desk.

"Please don't rip it!" Mike whined. He had been working on that piece for a long time.

"Well maybe next time you should be paying attention to math, instead of this. Come sit up front so I can make sure you're paying attention."

Mike trudged behind the teacher, as he sat in the only open seat in the front row, right in front of Leah. He smirked at his friends as he passed by.

Leah blushed, she had a thing for Michael Shinoda, she has had a crush on him ever since the first grade.

But she could never get a guy like Mike to fall for her, that would be nearly impossible. See, Mike Shinoda is popular, whereas Leah was lesser known. Mike Shinoda had lots of friends, whereas Leah had one or two. There was no way in hell that he would notice her out of all of the people he could have.

"Mr Bennington, quit your laughing before I make you sit up here too." The teacher snapped, bringing Leah back to reality.

As Leah walked into the hallway, she saw Mike perched by her locker, speaking to his girlfriend. She squeezed past him to get into her locker, as she eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Fuck you, Mike. You just use everyone, don't you?" His ex, apparently, seethed. "I hate you!" She ran away, crying.

Leah raised an eyebrow in shock, as she watched Mike sigh in frustration and leave. What was that all about?

She walked into the loud cafeteria, spotting her usual table by the exit. Her friend waved to her as she walked toward the table and plopped into a seat across from her.

"So, anything new?" Her friend asked.

"Nah, not really." Leah lied.

"So, Mike..."

As lunch break ended, Leah began to walk back towards the classrooms but she was interrupted by someone shouting her name.

"Leah!" It was Mike Shinoda, the last person she'd expect to even know her name. "Leah wait up!"

Leah immediately stopped in the middle of the hallway, irritating some freshmen, but she shrugged it off. Mike Shinoda was more important.

"What's up?" She asked, Mike had caught up to her and they walked out of the center of the hallway.

"Hey, Leah, you wanna... come hang with me after school?" Mike asked, running his fingers through his goddamn beautiful red hair.

"I-I, me?" Leah asked, completely shocked.

"Yeah, we could go hang out at my place." He suggested.

Leah immediately remembered hearing the girl from an hour ago, screaming at him for using everyone. Did he use everyone? Was he a fuckboy? Mike could have anyone he wanted in this school, and he did. Except for Leah.

While she had dreamt about this day, the day that Mike would finally notice her, she didn't want it to be this way. She wanted to create something lasting with Mike, not spend a few nights together.

"N-no. I'm good." Leah said a bit too harshly, before she walked off, leaving Mike confused.

"I don't understand! I should've said yes!" Leah was home alone, talking to her best friend on the phone. It was about ten o'clock.

"I don't know, Leah, you want a relationship with Mike, right? Not a situation-ship." Her friend, Stella, had said on the other end of the line.

"Stella, I-I could never have a relationship with Mike, I've already accepted that." Leah began to self pity.

"Leah, you are so worthy of that! Whatever Mike Shinoda says or does, it doesn't matter. You're a wonderful pers-"

"Stella, hang on." Leah interrupted her friend as she heard the sounds of tapping on her window. "What the hell?"

"What is it?" Her friend asked, panicked.

Leah opened her bedroom window as Mike climbed up. "Leah, I need to talk to you." He admitted.

"M-Mike? What are you doing here? And you could have knocked on the door, you scared the shit out of me!" Leah screamed.

"Mike?" Stella asked, but before anyone could respond, Leah hung up the phone.

"Mike, what's going on?" Leah crossed her arms, glaring intently at the man.

"I asked Chester for your address-" he began.

"Chester knows my address?" Leah interrupted. She'd never even spoken to Chester before!

"Not important, but his dad is the principal, he can easily pull up that stuff. Anyway, I need to talk to you. Leah, I really like you and I-"

"Save if Mike." Leah grumbled. "I'm not some girl you can fuck around with, I'm not some toy. Now please get out of my room."

Mike nodded, climbing back out of the window before he got to say his piece. After Leah had closed it behind him, she collapsed onto her bed in a fit of tears. Now Mike would never talk to her again!

"Leah, what happened last night?" Stella asked, grabbing her math book from her locker, Leah following behind.

"Mike came over and said he needed to talk to me." Leah began.

"And why did you hang up on me like that?!" Stella sounded irritated, and Leah knew she was about to get chewed out by her friend.

"Leah?" A soft voice spoke, disrupting the two again.

Leah whipped behind to face who was speaking, it was Chester Bennington. "Yeah?" She asked.

"It's about Mike, listen, he really likes you and-" Leah turned away from him before he could even finish his sentence. "Please, at least talk to him!" Chester ran behind the two as they walked.

"Mike?" Leah knocked on the door to the art classroom, where. Rob said he would be. Each of his friends tried to convince her to talk to him, and as Rob spoke, she decided she'd at least give it a try. He seemed devoted.

"Leah!" He jumped up in excitement. "I never thought you'd come talk to me!"

"What's up?" She calmed down a bit, plopping into a chair near where Mike was sitting.

"Well, I wanted to ask you out to be honest." A blush could barely be seen on Mike's cheeks. "But if you're not into me I'll leave you alone."

"No!" Leah shot upright, surprising both Mike and herself. "I-I mean, but I-"

"So, would you like to go out with me?"

A few weeks later, Leah stood in Mike's garage, listening to his band's music. All of his friends that tried to convince her to go out with Mike were bandmates, and the music was really awesome, and loud. Very loud.

"Hi babe." Mike snaked his arm around his girlfriend's waist, pulling her close to him while his bandmates took a quick break.

"Hi Mikey." Leah ruffled his spiky red hair and smiled up at him.

Mike pulled her in for a quick kiss, which Leah returned gratefully. "I love you." He murmured.

"I love you too."

Chapter Text

It was a warm day, and Leah had joined her friends at the beach. Of course, each of them brought their boyfriends, who coincidentally were the members of Linkin Park. The day was going to be so fun.

The only problem was that Mike was on tour, leaving Leah alone for a few months. She had no idea when she would see him again, and Skype just couldn't cut it. She wanted to see Mike's face in real life, not on a blurry and pixelated screen.

"Leah, you've been down all day!" Her friend, Talinda placed a towel beside her friend and sat down. Leah didn't respond. "Is it about Mike?" She asked.

Leah nodded, and Talinda pulled her into a hug. "Hunny, we know this is hard for you since it's your first time without him, but he'll be back soon. I just know it."

"He's been gone for two months already." Leah grumbled. "I don't think I can take Skyping him anymore, I need him to be here."

"Well, try to enjoy yourself today. That's what we came out here for, to give you some fun! You can't just be sad all day every day, liven up a bit!" Talinda tried to cheer up her friend but it wast working.

"Tali! Come get in the water!" her boyfriend, Chester, shouted from the ocean, which was a few feet away.

"Oh hell no!" Talinda ran around Leah as Chester emerged from the water and scooped her up into his arms. Talinda flailed around, attempting to get down, but Chester wouldn't budge. Instead, he waded into the cold water and dunked Talinda in.

"Oh you fucker!" She shouted once she emerged, running towards Chester and pushing him under. He grabbed her and the both went under the water for a few moments, only returning to the surface with their lips locked.

Seeing this made Leah even more sad. She missed the fun times with Mike. All the goofiness, all the love that the two shared. She was sure he was her soulmate. But the trips away, the tours in other countries, those were the hardest parts of their relationship.

"I am so in need of a snow cone." Brad mumbled. The sun had begun to heat up the beach a few hours ago.

"Me too!" His girlfriend, Elisa, shot upright in excitement.

"I'm coming with!" Dave and Joe said at the same time. Everyone else joined in except for Leah.

"Leah, you coming? We are just going to that food truck over there! You should come with!" Linsey, Dave's girlfriend asked.

"Nah, i'm fine. You guys go ahead." Leah sadly declined.

"You sure? You've been sitting in the same spot all day..."

"It's fine, I'll save our spot."

"Okay." Linsey was unsure about her friend's decision to stay, but she didn't question it any further.

Leah shed a tear as her friends left. She missed Mike so badly, she didn't feel like she could have any fun. She wished she was in the comfort of her home, where she could lay on her bed for hours in silence.

Someone snuck up behind Leah, and she had no clue. He put his hands over her eyes and whispered "boo."

"Get away from me!" Leah slapped the stranger's hands away and whipped around to face him, enraged by the sudden contact. The scowl upon her face soon morphed into a look of surprise as she saw her boyfriend, Mike Shinoda, sitting beside her.

"Mike! You're here!" Leah wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. His physical presence felt so welcoming to Leah.

"Hi babe!" He hugged his girlfriend back.

"I'm so glad you're back! How did you-" Leah began, but was cut off by another voice.

"Mike!" Chester tackled his best friend into a hug. Talinda handed Leah and Mike each a snow cone.

"Wait, did you guys know he was back?" Leah asked, still in complete shock.

"Chester told me where you guys were." Mike admitted.

"Oh, it's so good to hear your voice!" Leah tightly hugged him again.

"Babe, cant breathe!" Mike wheezed. Leah loosened her grip on him, but refused to let go. She just got him back, she couldn't lose him again. "We skyped almost every night..."

"It's not the same! Seeing your face on a pixelated screen, hearing your voice clearly, the physical contact..." Leah rambled.

"Aww, you guys are so cute." Elisa smiled, pulling her arm around Brad.

"Well, how long are you staying for? Do you have to go back?" Leah asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I do. Tak and Ryan are waiting for me." Mike said, seeing tears form in Leah's eyes.

"No! I can't lose you again! You just got back!" Leah wailed, still hugging Mike.

"That's not all." Mike smiled, winking at Chester.

"W-what? there's more?" Leah sobbed. She couldn't take any more bad news.

Mike cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs wiping the tears away from her cheeks. "Babe, you're coming with." He pulled her into a passionate kiss.

Chapter Text

"Hey babe!" Lillian, Dayton's new girlfriend ran up to him. She was going to meet his band members.

"Hey, you ready?" Dayton asked, leaning on the wall next to the studio door.

"Yup!" Lillian pulled Dayton in for a quick kiss as she opened the door.

"Hey! Nice to meet you, I'm Mike!" One of the band members greeted them.

"Guys! Come out here, Dayton's girlfriend is here!" Mike shouted into the studio which seemed empty with the exception of him. "Come on in, they won't bite." Mike smiled.

Four other guys emerged from another room where they had been making music. Mike was out in the main room, sitting by the soundboard. "Lillian, meet Brad, Dave, Rob, Joe, and Chester. CHESTER! GET OUT HERE!" Mike shouted. "Sorry, he's in the vocal booth, it's harder for him to hear us with all that padding on the walls."

"That and he's insane." Dave commented, all for comedic fun.

"Good one, Dave." Brad playfully hit his friend's shoulder.

"What'chu sayin' 'bout me?" Chester emerged from the vocal booth, making eye contact with Lillian. "Whoa, love the gothic look." Chester smirked. He was also dressed in slightly gothic clothes, which Lillian found pretty neat.

"Thanks, like your piercing." She replied, noticing Chester's lip ring. "So, I'm Dayton's girlfriend..."

"Nice to meet you." Each of the members said simultaneously.

Lillian was enjoying being around the band, she learned a lot about their ways of making music, and that the band originally started with one singer, Mike. Chester and Dayton came in later, after the band decided they needed a new singer, and the label decided the band needed three. That and Dayton also played the guitar alongside Brad.

"I bet you five bucks you can't sing." Lillian challenged Chester, whom she already became best friends with.

"I don't wanna." Chester whined.

"If you're such a singer, show me your skills." She taunted.

"Okay, fine." Chester disappeared into the singing booth and belched out One Step Closer.

Lillian, a bit sad that she lost her bet, pulled out a five and handed it to a grinning Chester.

"Oh, that's nothing. Wait till you hear this!" Dayton moved past Mike to get to the computer where the vocals were being recorded. He hit play, and the room filled with intense, yet beautiful melodies that the three singers had each participated in.

"Damn." Lillian mumbled.

The band had become successful. Linkin Park sold millions of copies of Hybrid Theory, and they were now on tour. Dayton had brought Lillian with, and everyone else brought their girlfriends, which happened to only be Chester's wife, Sam, and Mike's girlfriend, Anna.

The band had just finished performing a concert, and Dayton and Lillian had left a few minutes early, as they were no longer needed onstage. Dayton had finished his part on the song.

"Oh you sexy thing you." Lillian whisked Dayton away from the stage and onto the tour bus, they had some free time on their hands, and they planned to spend it together.

"Oh my god, ew!" Chester headed to the tour bus alone, while the band was packing up, Rob asked him to grab the bag for his drumsticks, which he left on the table on the bus. He walked in on the two. "Warn me next time!" He grabbed the bag and began to head out.

"Chester! Get out!" Lillian screamed at him, embarrassed but not as much as Dayton, who looked horrified.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that." Mike stood outside of the bus. "God, they can't keep their hands off of each other!"

He and Chester walked back into the arena to finish cleaning up.

Chapter Text

His name was Mike Shinoda, leader of Los Angeles's own Mafia. They were an underground group, known as Hybrid Theory. Mike picked the name because everyone in the group had their own lives, each leading member was highly successful with their careers outside of their little group.

This "little group" of theirs was known to keep order in LA, because they were the biggest and most powerful in the city. Turns out having successful leaders gave their group an advantage, money. Without Hybrid Theory, Los Angeles would be in ruins of the imminent chaos that would ensue if the group disbanded.

Outside of the Mafia, Mike Shinoda was an artist, one who made thousands per day selling drawings and paintings to museums and displaying it in art galleries, where he would sell them at the highest bid possible. He signed each painting as M. Shinoda, and most people figured that Mike had a brother. They couldn't perceive Mike Shinoda to be a painter, not with all the bad juju his name held. He was notorious for his cutthroat attitude and his desire to keep things in order. Whilst most knew his name, hardly any knew his face.

People knew Mike Shinoda, he heard someone whisper his name almost every single time he walked outside, and he watched as parents shielded their children from him, backing away because they were scared of him. Mike thought it was complete nonsense, he would never do anything to harm innocent people, he hated the idea of it. Those that did, they deserved to pay. And that's exactly what led Mike to create such a group known as Hybrid Theory.

As Mike tightened his tie, he heard a knock on his door. Sighing, he grabbed his triple tinted sunglasses and headed for the door, not forgetting to switch off the bathroom light on his way out.

As he ran towards the door, the knocking became more persistent. "Okay, okay! I'm coming!" Mike darted for the door and opened it up to reveal his partner in crime, Chester Bennington.

Chester was MIke's best friend, and also his right hand man. He helped Mike lead the group, and he was the only one who could talk back to him. Unlike Mike, Chester was a successful businessman with his friend, Sean. The two owned a popular tattoo parlor called Club Tattoo.

"Mike!" Chester ran into the mansion, not one bit phased by the sight of everything Mike owned.

"Chester?" Mike flipped his sunglasses up onto his head as he welcomed his friend into the home. "What's going on?"

"Where's Anna? And Maria?" Chester asked frantically. (I don't actually know Mike's daughters name, or if he has a daughter at all but here we go anyway!)

"They're..." Mike racked his brain to try and remember where his wife and daughter were. "Upstairs? I don't know!" Mike remembered getting into an argument with Anna the previous night, so she slept alone. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen either of them that morning.

"Mike..." Chester's tone completely changed from a frantic one to a serious one. "Check your phone."

Mike, now worried, felt around in his pockets for his phone, running upstairs to his bedroom when he realized he didn't have it. When he returned, he was out of breath. "What is it?"

"Let me see it." Chester reached his arm out to grab Mike's phone but he protested. Mike liked to keep things private. 'Mike," he warned, "now is not the time to shimmy away. Let me see your phone." Chester demanded, his voice had gone down at least two octaves. Mike eventually handed it over.

"What's this?" He asked as Chester hit play.

"Shh, it's a voicemail. From this morning. Listen closely." Chester whispered, listening to the voicemail intently.

"I have your wife and daughter." An obviously edited voice spoke. "And I need sixty thousand dollars by tonight, or your pretty little family will be reduced to one." After the man spoke, Mike heard a very familiar scream before the message ended. It was Maria.

Mike looked absolutely horrified. Someone had gone out of their way to take his family. Instantly, he began to boil over with anger, Mike's worst trait. In the strongest voice he could muster, he spoke, "Lets go, now."

Chester immediately darted out of the doorway, Mike's phone in hand. Mike followed behind, making sure to lock the place. He had already lost his family, he couldn't take losing anything else.

Chester drove, knowing Mike needed to think.

How could I be so stupid? Mike thought, nibbling on one of his fingernails. How did i let the two of them out of my sight? Is my security not strong enough? Immediately, Mike's thoughts went back to the previous night.

"Mike." Anna slid under the covers next to her lover.

"Not tonight." He grumbled, pushing Anna away. He was tired after a long week, and didn't have the time, nor the energy.

"How come you always push me away?" Anna asked suddenly.

"Anna, I don't have the time for this!" Mike shouted.

"But you never spend time with me anymore. You're always cooped up in that studio, or spending time with that group of yours." Anna didn't know much about Hybrid Theory, nor did she care to. "What about me, or Maria? She was so sad that her father wasn't at her school play last night."

"Anna please, not right now." Mike buried his head under his pillow in an attempt to shut out the noise.

"Mike, she needs her father. I know you're busy, but can't you make some time for your own daughter? And for god's sake, me? We haven't spent any time together in months!" Anna persisted.

"I give up." Mike stated, grabbing his pillows and a blanket.

"What are you doing?" Anna shrieked.

"Gonna go sleep somewhere else. I can't deal with you right now." Mike hadn't meant for his words to be so harsh, but he was tired. He promised he'd make time for her in the morning. He walked past her and out to the living room, where he slept that night.

Mike knew it was stupid, if he would have spent more time with Anna that night maybe he would have been able to protect her. But what about his daughter? Mike facepalmed, growing more and more frustrated by the second. He knew it was dangerous to be in a high class gang and have a family, but he never thought something like this would happen to him. He shed a single tear as Chester pulled up to their hideout, The Hole, is what they called it.

It was an old alleyway behind a run down yet miraculously still open motel, and next to a smoke shop. They got out and headed for the entrance, which was an old drain covering put behind the alley by accident, therefore it was free to use, and Hybrid Theory claimed it as their base. Once they were sure no one was looking, Chester lifted the lid and Mike climbed down the hatch and into the dark base, which was guarded at all times. He had to squint, because usually he wore his triple tinted sunglasses, but forgot about them as he clambered into the dark drain. Chester followed behind him once Mike had gotten to the floor.

"Good morning, Mr Shinoda." One of the men guarding the place said. "Good morning to you as well, Mr Bennington."

"Chester." He corrected the guards every single time, he hated being known by his last name, and he made that clear to everyone.

"Chester." The guard smiled and nodded, opening the door for the two of them. As Chester climbed down, he shut the lid of the drain, flooding the small room with even more darkness. The only way they could see was by the lights that each guard had been given, and one turned it on as soon as they opened the entry door to the hidden base.

The place was swarming with people as usual. Hybrid Theory were a large group, mainly consisting of prisoners who struggle to get back onto their feet when they get released. Mike gave them a second chance, and that's why so many were so loyal to him. Of course, some even try to bow down to him when he passes, but Mike found that unnecessary.

The base had been renovated and inside had been much better lit, so lit, in fact, that Mike slid his triple tinted glasses back over his eyes and Chester did the same. Marching down toward their technician's office, Mike opened the door without asking permission, as he always did.

"Mornin, Mike!" Joe smiled, looking up at his friend. Joe was their technician, and also a turntablist. When he wasn't playing a gig with his turntables, he was down in the office that Mike had reserved for him, making sure everything was running smoothly on Mike's behalf. He also was the best with technology, far better than Mike.

Mike did not return the same enthusiastic smile towards Joe, and Joe's faltered as Mike walked further into the expansive office, where Joe could see his angered expression.

"Joe, I need you to try and trace a call for us." Mike boomed. Chester handed Mike the phone and Mike handed it over to Joe.

"Okay, I'll get right on that." Joe plugged Mike's phone into his computer, connecting it to the screen.

"That one, right there." Chester pointed at the voicemail. Joe clicked on it immediately, and the room was full of the sound of that distorted voice.

"I have your wife and daughter." The voice rang out. Mike had dreaded hearing the voice again. He watched Joe's expression falter yet again as the message continued. "And I need sixty thousand dollars by tonight, or your pretty little family will be reduced to one."

Joe's mouth fell agape as Maria's scream echoed throughout the room. It sounded ten times worse on Joe's speakers, and Mike shuddered.

"Well, whoever called made sure they could do everything they could to be anonymous." Joe spoke after he had a chance to realize what just happened. "it'll be harder to trace, but I'll do my best. I'll need your phone as of now, so i'll contact you through this." Joe handed him a burner phone that he kept in his desk drawer.

Mike tried to protest, but Chester interjected. "Whatever happens, Joe can call you, or me. Just let him have the phone. Nothing is as important as your family, Mike.

Mike sighed, taking the burner phone from Joe's hands. "If the guy ever calls again, I'll have a better shot at tracing it than I would right now. I'll call you if it's anything important.' Joe gave him a weak smile.

"Got it, thanks Joe." Mike nodded and the two headed out. Mike originally planned to have the day off, he planned to spend as much of it with his family as he could. He didn't want to tell Anna, because he wanted to surprise her. But after that argument and what had happened this morning, it was clear that he wouldn't get the chance. So he decided to paint. There was nothing more he could do.

As Mike sat in his office, he hadn't even picked up a paintbrush. He sat in his favorite chair for what felt like an eternity, though it had only been thirty minutes. He was suddenly interrupted by the loud ring of the burner phone, receiving a call from an anonymous number. it must have been Joe.

"Mike? You there?" Joe asked, clearly panicking.

"Yes, Joe? What's going on?" Mike stood up immediately, disregarding his half dry paint.

"I need you to come down here ASAP." Joe hung up the phone soon thereafter, and Mike ran out to his car.

He sped down the street and turned a few lefts before coming at a stop to the alleyway. Chester stood above it, waiting for him.

"Joe? What's new?" Chester asked as the two burst through his office door for the second time that day.

"Come take a listen." Joe stood up and moved, allowing Mike and Chester to stand near the computer. He hit play as he moved out of the way.

"3231 South Hollywood Blvd. Meet me there at 11PM tonight, no later. You better have that sixty grand, or I won't hesitate to kill them both." The distorted voice echoed throughout Joe's office again. Whoever was behind the voice laughed, and before the message ended, Mike heard it, Anna's voice.

"Mike! Please!" Anna shouted before the message ended abruptly.

"Mike, you should probably go there, I mean, what other option do you have?" Joe took initiative to speak this time.

"He's right." Chester shot him a 'you need to listen to him' look.

Mike decided to listen to Joe, though he never took orders from someone else other than Chester. "Right, Joe, you keep tracking that phone. Chester, you and I have some planning to do." Mike stood up, braver than he'd been all day. He was ready to get them back.

It was pitch dark, and they were ready. As Mike headed to that address, following the GPS in Chester's phone, he thought about his plan. Word had already gotten around quickly about the kidnapping, and Mike had gathered everyone he deemed fit. A group of six guys worked on this mission in total, Mike, obviously, Chester, who was a good fighter, and some others.

Dave, head chef at one of LA's finest restaurants, probably the best competitor of Gordon Ramsay, had also been a member of Hybrid Theory. He was one of Mike's highest respected in the group, as well as Brad, Joe, and Rob. Brad owned several hair salons, and despite his being a male, his salons were the most successful in the world. He had been a part of Hybrid Theory for a year now, and in that span of time, he proved to be one of the best. Rob owned a nightclub called The Roxy, and he sometimes played drums along with live performers. Rob was one of the first few to join Hybrid Theory when it began. And Joe, he wasn't physically there, but he was doing everything he could to help from his office.

Mike's burner phone rang loudly again, and the entire car went quiet as he answered. "Joe?"

"Mike, it's Wakefield." Joe spoke into the phone.

Mike felt his heart plummet. Mark Wakefield was his mortal enemy, the hardest person to fight off. He too, was in charge of a large mafia, but their group didn't even have a name. He thought it was...'exotic.' "What about him?" Mike asked, hoping for good news though he knew that was quite the opposite from what he'd receive.

"He has them, your family. I looked up the address, and the house is under the name of a M Wakefield. It has to be him." Joe informed the group. Some were surprised, others, not so much. "I've already sent backup. Mike, you need to be careful." Joe's voice came out loud and clear.

"I-I will. Thank you, Joe." Mike heard the click of the hang up button as the call ended and everyone sighed. "Chester, how did you know about this?" Mike asked.

"What?" Chester didn't understand.

"How did you know to come over to my house and check my phone?" Mike asked, raising his voice a bit now.

"Oh, well I got a suspicious text message from an anonymous number, telling me that Anna and Maria were taken. I rushed over to your place right away." Chester told him, and Mike knew he wasn't lying. He knew his best friend like the back of his hand, when he lied, his bottom lip quivered and his eyes would double in size. Right now, his face remained normal.

As they pulled up to the house, Mike laughed. Mark couldn't have been so stupid to bring them to his real house, was he? They unloaded everything from the car and the six marched toward the front door, armed as a precaution. Dealing with Wakefield was always a serious issue.

"C-can I help you?" A young woman carrying a baby asked as they furiously pounded on the door. They must have woken her up.

"Is there a Mark Wakefield living here?" Mike asked as the girl shook her head yes. "Where is he?"

But before she could respond, they were surrounded by Mark's mafia. "You guys are so stupid! You walked right into the trap, how funny!" Mark's laughter boomed loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Not stupid enough to give you our real address, huh?" Mike countered. "You four, go find them. Chester and I will hold them off until backup comes!"

Mark clearly took offense to this. "You're never gonna find them." He spat. It was then, that Mike and Chester realized they were very outnumbered. Mark walked over to the door and into the home, comforting his wife and child. Who would be stupid enough to do this right here?Mike thought.

After what felt like hours of searching, Brad had found Anna and Maria. They were locked in some sort of shed, way off in the distance. Brad kicked the door down and helped them out, gasping as he saw Maria's hair had been chopped clean off. Mike wasn't gonna like that one bit.

Anna looked normal.

Mike saw the three of them in the distance, and he smiled, that is, until he saw Maria's head. Her hair was shaved, it looked like. Mike angrily lunged for Wakefield, as he locked his front door. "What did you do to them?" He seethed, he now had Mark pinned to the wall, shaking in fear.

Mark was weak, and Mike knew this. He was a man of empty threats and chaos, this is why Mike couldn't let him be the biggest mafia in LA. The city would become chaos, pure chaos. Mark was crazy, and Mike had the upper hand. Mark was jealous, that's what led him to kidnap Anna and Maria, but he was glad they were fine.

"Where's that sixty thousand?" Mark dared to ask, as Mike kept him pinned down.

"STAND DOWN!!!" Everyone froze as a few police officers arrived on scene.

"Wait, that wasn't supposed to happen!" Mark cried out in confusion.

"This is why you never settle this kind of thing in public, Mark." Mike taunted. It was obvious that Joe called the police for backup. After a threat like that, Mark had to be put away for good.

As the police took Mark away, Mike ran toward his family. All of Mark's men tried to run away to avoid getting arrested, so they were free.

'Mike!" Anna yelled, running into his arms.

"Daddy!" Maria squealed. Mike scooped both of them up into his arms.

"Oh, I was so worried about both of you!" Mike cried. "I'm so glad you're safe!" In that moment, it didn't matter that Maria's hair was shaved off, it didn't matter that they stood outside of Mark Wakefield's home. All that mattered was that they were safe.

Chapter Text

"Leah, you can't just keep dating the two of them. You need to pick one eventually" Rebecca scolded her friend. "You're just playing with both of their hearts at this point. You have to choose."

"I know, I... I just don't know who to pick. They're both so perfect!" Leah sighed. She'd heard this talk from her friends several times.

"Leah, you have to." Rebecca's boyfriend, Brad interjected.

"It's not fair to either of them." Rebecca stated. "You have to choose soon. I mean, come on. You have two of the world's most sexiest and successful men waiting on you hand and foot because they both want a shot at you. You need to pick one, or you're gonna lose them both."

Leah was growing irritated. She knew she had to choose between the two, and soon, but Rebecca being on her case about it every day was really not helping.

"You know what? Pick one, you better tell me who by tomorrow morning. If you can't do that, I'm out." Rebecca sighed, walking off with Brad, who flashed a Leah a sympathetic look.

"Reb, wait, what?" Leah called after her friend. "You can't be serious."

"Oh I'm serious." Rebecca glared at her friend, "Just pick one. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Rebecca stomped away.

Leah had spent the entire day weighing her options, and she still came up empty. When she thought about Mike, her heart fluttered as she pictured his most adorable moments in her head, and the little drawings he would give her. But when she thought about Chester, her heart still fluttered. He was so adorable too, her little Chaz. He always sang her little songs as he passed by. It was truly an impossible decision.

As she opened Mike's bedroom door, she finally made up her mind. She couldn't do without him, he was the one. As she spotted him, cuddling up against a teddy bear, she couldn't resist him. She crawled into bed beside him, listening to his quiet snoring and running her fingers through his hair.

"Mike." She whispered. "Mike, wake up please." She gently shook him until he woke up.

"Leah?" He rubbed his eyes as he sat upright. "What's going on?"

"I've made my decision." Leah announced.

"What decision?" Mike asked, growing increasingly worried by the second.

"I've decided which of you two I will break up with and which one I will stay with." Leah admitted.

"I knew it." Mike slumped back down, sadness written all over his face.

"Knew what?" Leah asked.

"I knew you'd pick Chester over me, I mean he's Chester, why wouldn't you?" Mike began to sob. Leah felt her heart shatter with each year that fell from Mike's eyes.

"I didn't pick Chester over you." Leah wrapped Mike into a tight hug. "Mike, I picked YOU." Leah felt him nuzzle up against her as he hugged her tightly.

She was happy with her decision.

"M-Mike, I need to go get into some pajamas real quick, I'll be right back." Leah squirmed away from Mike, who frowned.

"Okay, see you in a few minutes then." Leah opened his bedroom door and crept out, passing Chester's room as she walked. He stood in the doorway, a frown upon his face. She knew he heard everything, but she didn't want to talk to him right now.

She crept to her room, which was on the opposite side of the tour bus, so that she could change quick before going back to Mike. Little did she know she'd been followed.

She heard light knocking on her bedroom door, so she opened it, revealing a sad Chester. She sighed, knowing she would probably have to talk to him now, and that she'd absolutely shatter his heart, which she didn't want to do. It was hard enough to make the choice, but she had to.

"Leah, can we talk for a second?" Chester asked.

"Yeah, sure. Come in, I was just about to change but I'll wait a sec." Leah gestured for him to come inside. As he did, he pushed Leah up against her bedroom door as it closed, ferociously attacking her lips with his own. Leah gave in for a moment, before pulling away. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"I had to kiss you one more time. I already heard you and Mike, I'm sorry." Chester stepped away from the girl, deep sadness evident in his eyes. "I'm glad he has you, Leah."

"Chester, I-" Leah began to speak, but she didn't know what to say.

"Why him? Why can't you just be in a relationship with the both of us?" Chester asked.

"I-I had to choose. It wasn't fair to either of you." Leah sighed.

Chester stepped closer to Leah, and she felt herself shiver at the close proximity the two were at now. "Pick me, Leah, even if it has to be a secret. I can't live without you." Chester gazed into her eyes, he was letting her see everything now, how much he truly cared for her.

Leah nodded. And now I'm back to square one.

Chapter Text

Dayton was feeling the high energy of the crowd that night. Chester had always told him how pumped the crowd gets, and he was right. Dayton felt like he was on top of the world as he sang alongside Chester.

The opening notes to Papercut began to play and Dayton could feel the vibes as the crowd erupted into cheers. Chester always talked about how this was his favorite song to play onstage, and Dayton now knew why.

Soon, Mike began to rap the first verse. Chester and Dayton joined in, and the crowd was going wild.

"It's like I'm paranoid lookin' over my back
It's like a whirlwind inside of my head
It's like I can't stop what I'm hearing within
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin" Dayton and Chester chanted.

Perhaps, Dayton got too caught up in the vibes of that night. He began to supply backing vocals for Chester, and as he did, he climbed high up onto a platform and tried to attempt one of Chester's jumps.

He was filled with regret as he felt his body flying off of the platform. It wasn't a smooth landing at all, his foot got caught in one of the steps and he felt himself flinging downward fast. He heard a crack as he landed on his wrist, but he stood up.

At first, he didn't feel a thing. Adrenaline kicked in immediately, and he kept singing and jumping around the stage.

As the song became quieter, his wrist was in searing pain, and it was becoming more and more painful. He was grateful to have backup vocals on this part, because he wasn't sure he could sing right now. After his part was done, he walked backstage.

"You okay?" Jim Digby asked as he made his way offstage.

"Yeah, I think I sprained my wrist." Dayton showed Jim his wrist, which looked distorted beyond belief.

"Um, Dayton, did you hear any cracking when you fell? I saw that nasty fall." Jim asked, gently touching Dayton's arm but he retracted it instantly as he hissed in pain.

"Yes, ow!" He hissed, as Jim asked someone to get some ice.

"You need to go to the hospital." Jim said, as the ending notes to Papercut played onstage. Mike and Chester made their way toward him.

"Dude, that was a sick fall, you okay?" Chester asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but I think I broke my wrist." Dayton managed.

"Dude, should we stop the show?" Mike asked, clearly concerned.

"No!" Dayton shouted. "It's gonna be just as broken in 90 minutes as it is now, I might as well keep going!" Dayton suggested.

"That's not a good idea." Jim shook his head, "you'd need to be very careful."

"That's fine!" Dayton replied, but was cut off by Mike speaking to the audience. He must've snuck away at some point.

"Dayton is pretty sure he just broke his wrist." Mike said to the audience, and the room became increasingly quieter.

"You sure, bud? Mike and I can handle it, you should go to the hospital." Chester offered.

"No, seriously, I want to perform. What would everyone think of me as a new addition to the band if I broke my wrist and left the stage at my first performance? I have to go out there." Dayton finally convinced everyone to let him keep going.

"But I think he's gonna come back out and finish the show!" Mike announced, and there was lots of murmuring in the crowd.

Dayton wrapped some ice around his wrist, hissing in pain. Jim of course, pulled out a camera and claimed this was for LPTV, and Dayton didn't complain.

As he walked back out on that stage, the beginning notes of the next song could hardly be heard through the loud cheering of the crowd.

He knew he belonged.

Chapter Text

"Oh my god, look at him!" Jo sat in front of the TV, engrossed in an MTV episode featuring her favorite band, Linkin Park.

"Ugh, you're seriously still watching that?" Dana scoffed. She never really understood her sister's obsession with Linkin Park, not that she'd cared to look into it. Jo always overplayed their music and gushed over their lead singer, Chester Bennington.

"Yeah, cmon, get out of the way!" Jo demanded, as Dana stood in front of the TV with a smirk on her face. The two sisters always liked to mess with each other.

"No!" Dana laughed at her sister as she struggled to push her out of the way. Dana grabbed the remote and almost switched the channel before Jo tried to pry it from her hands.

"C'mon! This is an important part!" Jo squealed.

Dana hesitated for a moment to glance at the TV.

"And before the commercial break, we have our special guests coming back, Linkin Park!" The hosts announced.

"Lemme see that!" Jo pushed Dana out of the way to see the band members.

The show cut to a commercial break.

"Girls, settle down!" Mom's shrill voice stopped the both of them in their tracks. "Have you even started packing? We go to California tomorrow night, remember?"

"Moooom! Dana keeps taking the remote!" Jo whined like a two year old, despite being eighteen.

"Yeah, cuz you keep watching that Linkin Park stuff! What do you expect?" Dana teased.

Mom walked over and took the remote from Jo's hands and switched off the TV, to which Jo groaned and Dana smirked. "Go pack, now." Mom demanded.

They went to school for that day, as they had a night flight. As Dana walked around the lunchroom to find a seat, she saw her sister and friends, drooling over Jo's flip phone.

"Hey, whatcha looking at?" Dana snatched the phone from her sister's hand, reading an article about a Linkin Park performance the night after. "Oh." She handed the phone back to her sister in dismay.

"What do you mean, Oh?" Jo's friend, Ivy looked to Dana in shock. "It's Linkin Park, and they're performing tomorrow! Oh I'm so jealous that you get to be so close to them, maybe you'll even meet them!" Ivy gushed.

Dana didn't even say a word, she shook her head and rolled her eyes as she walked away.

After landing at the airport and grabbing their stuff, Jo and Dana waited outside while their parents got a rental car. "Maybe I should get a rental car, so I can go see them tomorrow!" Jo jumped up and down.

"There's no way Mom and Dad are gonna allow that. "Dana sighed.

"It's called sneaking out, duh." Jo scoffed at her twin, they were so similar yet so opposite it was insane.

"Well, you can't." Dana smirked.

"Uh, yes I can? What do you mean?" Jo rolled her eyes at her sister, holding up her driver's license. "You're just jealous you can't because you failed your driver's test."

"Uh, no you can't, ever heard of reading signs? It says you have to be at least 25 to rent a car from LAX." Dana stated.

Jo whipped around and read the sign, scoffing. "Well I guess I'll have to ask Grandma if I can go out tomorrow then."

"Yeah whatever." Dana murmured under her breath.

"Go out where?" Mom and Dad walked out to the parking lot, suitcases and keys in hand.

"Oh, nowhere, just sightseeing! I've always heard that cities look so pretty at night!" Jo lied through her teeth.

"Um, we will have to see about that, let's just get to Grandma's first."

Jo and Dana hugged their grandparents whom they hadn't seen in years. "Oh it's so good to see you girls!"

"It's so good to see you too, Grandma!" Dana smiled, and Jo rolled her eyes.

'Grandma, do you have a car I can drive tonight?" Jo asked.

"Jo..." Mom began, but Grandma cut her off.

"Of course, I have this old thing that you can drive! Oh let her go out tomorrow night and see the city, its marvelous at night! Besides, I could use some time with my daughter!" Grandma smiled, pointing at her ugly pink car.

Jo grimaced, but was grateful anyway. "Thanks, Grandma." She smiled.

"Okay, well let's get inside, it's late!" Grandma herded them all into the house.

"Mom, Grandma, is it okay if I take that car out for the day? I'll be back tonight." Jo asked.

"Jo, we came out here to spend time with family-" Mom began but again Grandma cut her off.

"Hun, they're here for a week, they'll have plenty of time to spend with us old folks. Sure, the keys are hanging on the hooks near the door, furthest away from it."

"Okay fine, but bring Dana with you." Mom said.

Both sisters scoffed. Dana didn't wanna spend the whole day with her sister, and Jo didn't either.

"Do I have to?" Dana whined, moving her eggs around on a fork rather than eating them.

"Yeah, does she have to?" Jo asked.

"It's either that or you both stay here. That's final." Mom said.

"Okay, I'm gonna try to get to the concert venue early." Jo said, applying another coat of red lipstick as her sister buckled into the passenger seat.

"Well what are we gonna do until then? I'm not gonna sit there all day." Dana wore no makeup, she didn't like the idea of it unless there was a reason to. Instead, she wore a hoodie and some jeans.

"Shopping, duh."

They spent the entire day shopping, to which neither of them complained. Shopping was something they both enjoyed to do, though it was for different things. "Okay, now toward the Hollywood Bowl! Oh I can't wait!" Jo squealed. Dana rolled her eyes as the car began to move at a quick pace. "Now, where is it?"

It was thankfully nearby, and as the sky began to darken, the place became crowded. "Just wait here." Jo said as she gathered her things.

"Jo, it's a no parking zone. You can't park here!" Dana sighed, but her sister already stepped out of the car.

"You'll be fine. I just need to get in there before the meet and greet is up! I need to meet them!" Jo squealed as she slammed the car door shut, not locking it behind her. Dana watched as she weaved through the crowds of people to try to get through.

"Oh fuck this." Dana got out, in search of her sister. The car would just have to wait, and she wasn't gonna sit there for another two hours. The street began to clear up now, but as she made her way toward the entrance, she saw a large sign reading TICKET ENTRANCE ONLY. Either her sister bought a ticket beforehand, or she snuck in, which would have been easier when the street was still crowded, but now Dana couldn't get away with that. She sighed, angrily walking toward the back to see if she could find another way in.

As she walked toward the back alleyway, she found no luck. About to give up and turn back, one of the doors suddenly opened, causing her to fall and hit her head.

"Oh! Oh shit, I'm so sorry!" A voice said, but Dana could hardly understand it, she was seeing stars. She felt someone's hands go beneath her back, lifting her up. She tried to ask who it was but her voice came out unintelligible. "Who are you" She tried to ask.

"Shh, it's okay it's okay, I'm Chester. What's your name?" He asked, expecting her to fangirl any moment.

She sighed in irritation, of course it was Chester. As her vision began to clear up, she began to see his face, and she was overwhelmed. How much her sister wished she could be in her place right now. But as she looked at him, her eyes went wide. He was much more attractive in person. and it was clear now, why her sister was such a simp for him.

Okay maybe I'm going crazy. She thought to herself as she tried to shake her head.

"Don't move too much, okay? I'll take you over to my place so I can fix you up. I'm so so sorry!" Chester opened the passenger door to his car and turned on the light, setting the girl in the passenger seat. "Okay, look at me. Your eyes aren't dilated so you're fine. Phew, glad I didn't give you a concussion!" He shut the door and walked to his side of the car, climbed in and revved up the engine. Music began blaring through his stereo and he immediately turned it down, as it made her headache worse.

"So, you gonna tell me your name?" He asked, driving out from behind the venue.

"I'm Dana." She finally responded.

"What were you doing out there anyway?" Chester asked.

"Looking for my sister. She's obsessed with your stupid band." Dana hissed.

"What, you're not a fan?" He asked, surprised.

"Hahaha no. I'm not really into the pretentious boybands who sing about fake depression and think their screaming is cool." Dana said, immediately angering Chester.

"You know nothing about me." He seethed.

"You're right. and I don't want to, so can I just go home now?" Dana was known to have a temper sometimes, and she was unleashing it on poor Chester.

"No. I'm taking you to my house." He calmed down a bit, but this made Dana even more mad.

"What? No, ew! I don't wanna go to your house, can't you just bring me home?" She yelled back.

"It's either my house, or the hospital. You took a pretty bad fall back there and I want to make sure you're okay." Chester said.

"Oh, you sweet sweet thing." Dana mocked. The rest of the ride was silent, but the two could tell the other was rolling their eyes at each other.

"Wow, fancy house." Dana said as they pulled up the driveway to Chester's mansion.

"Yeah, it's nice, but it probably won't be mine in a week, after my divorce." Chester solemnly stated. "Please don't tell anyone I just said that! I don't want the media to spread stuff about it!" He panicked.

"Relax, I'm not gonna tell anyone about your sad love life. Besides, how does someone like you have that sort of issue when you literally have girls like my sister that are obsessed with you?" Dana asked.

"That's just... weird. It's still so strange to me, our music just became super popular a few years ago and it was like a shockwave of fame hit us at once. I'm still not used to all of the groupies." He admitted.

"Oh, how sad." Dana mocked him again, climbing out of the passenger seat but Chester ran to her aid. "I got it, I can walk!" Dana nearly yelled.

"Please keep your voice down out here, don't want people to hear you." He asked.

Dana rolled her eyes as she tried to walk, but fell into Chester on accident.

"Okay, you can't walk. I'll carry you inside then." Chester picked her up bridal style and carried her through the entry of his home, setting her down on a sofa in the main living room.

"Wow, what kind of house are you gonna buy if you lose this one?" Dana asked as Chester disappeared into the kitchen for a moment and returned with some water and a blanket.

"Well, when you have a money hungry wife like me, it's hard to know." He looked down in shame, expecting to be mocked by the girl, but she didn't mock him.

"Oh..." Was all she said.

Chester handed her the water and blanket, which she accepted gratefully. She thought about how ironic it was that her sister was the simp, yet Dana was in this position instead of her. Jo would most likely be mad if she knew about it.

"My sister!" She shouted, nearly jumping off of the couch.

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down! Lemme take a look at you first, then you can call her, okay?" Chester offered.

"What do you need to look at me for? You're doing it already." She joked.

"Ha, ha. Very funny, I need to make sure that I didn't give you a concussion or something." Chester cusped her cheeks into his hands and stared into her eyes, making sure they were normal despite having checked them before.

"I thought you already said I didn't have a concussion." Dana wore a quizzical expression.

"I did, but you can never be sure. Besides, the lighting was not as good in my car as it is here." Chester focused on her eyes for another few moments, getting lost in the ocean that was her blue eyes.

A weird feeling washed over Dana as she looked back up into his brown orbs. It felt like electricity where his hands touched, and she saw something in his eyes that she couldn't figure out.

"Uhhh, your eyes look fine. Lemme see if I left a bruise." Chester moved her hair to the side, confirming that there was indeed, a bruise on the side of her head. A nasty one too. "Yup, just do this and you won't even know it's there. He parted her hair in a way that would hide the bruise, and he backed away. "Do you need a phone to call your sister?" He asked.

"She probably won't answer a strange number, but then again she probably knows it's yours. I'll just use mine." Dana pulled out her phone and dialed up her sister, giving her the exact address of where she was, with the help of Chester. She heard his voice, so there was no doubt she sped the entire way there.

Not even ten minutes later, Jo was knocking on the door. Chester opened it, and she nearly fainted.

Chester caught her in his arms and brought her inside, setting her next to her sister. "How in the hell did you end up here?" Jo asked.

"Uhhh, long story." She replied.

"I've got time."

Chester explained what had happened and how they had met. As they left, despite both of them not wanting to, Chester pulled Dana aside. "This is my phone number." He said. "Please, call me anytime."

"You're so giving me that number." Jo said as they walked through the door.

News of Chester's divorce broke, shocking many except for Dana and Jo, who only knew because she pried it out of Dana.

Jo eventually moved on, finding another obsession while Dana continued to talk to Chester.

The two got married several years later.

Chapter Text

Denver sighed as she flipped the open sign to closed. Work had been so tough that day, and she needed a break. As she began to wash the dishes, she heard a faint knocking on the glass door and she groaned. Can't they see the closed sign? She thought to herself as she dried her hands and made her way to the door.

"Can I help you?" She asked, after unlocking the door and opening it.

"Yes, can I please get something to eat? I'm so sorry I know you're closed but there's nothing else that's nearby and I haven't eaten all day." A mysterious man, probably about her age spoke.

Denver sighed as she nodded, letting him inside and locking the door behind him. As if this day couldn't get any worse.

"Alright, what can I get ya?" She asked as the man took a seat at one of the barstools. He glanced at the menu she handed him, and immediately placed his order.

"I'll do some Mac N Cheese." He felt bad for making the waitress work overtime, so he ordered something simple.

"Coming right up. Can I get you something to drink?" She asked.

The man took off his hat and jacket, allowing her to see his face for the first time. He was oddly familiar. "Uhh, some water is fine, thanks."

As Denver prepared his glass of water, she scoured her brain, trying to figure out who this strangely familiar man was. She was growing frustrated with every second. It wasn't until she handed him the full glass, that she recognized him.

"Chester?" She asked, hoping she didn't just embarrass herself.

"Wait, how did you know my name?" He asked, gulping down some water. He was exhausted from his busy touring schedule. The band had a week here, so they all went their own ways to explore. He hoped the waitress wasn't a crazed fan.

"You were my best friend in high school, well, before you joined Grey Daze and dropped out." Denver admitted.

"Wait... Denver?" He looked up at the waitress in shock.

"Hi." She awkwardly waved to her old best friend.

"Wow, I-I didn't expect to find you way out in the middle of nowhere." He said.

"Well, this is actually my hometown. Y'know, sweet home Arizona, am I right?" She smiled at her friend as she heated up a pot of water and set it on the stove to boil.

"Yeah, wow. I forgot that you lived all the way out here, this part of Arizona is so... bare." Chester took another sip of his water as Denver poured some pasta into the pot.

"So what are you doing out in the middle of bare... land? I'd never expect to see some famous rockstar out here." Denver teased.

"Oh, you know about my band?" Chester asked, mentally slapping himself. Everyone knew his band.

"Duh, who doesn't? It's one of the biggest bands out there right now, isn't it? I think I heard one of your songs playing in here this afternoon." Denver stirred the pasta around in the pot, making sure it was evenly cooked.

"That's... great." Chester sighed.

Denver leaned across the counter from Chester. "What, you don't like that? Isn't that like some sort of milestone, hearing your music in some lame ol' restaurant?" Denver winked.

"Yeah, I guess it is, it's just still strange to me, hearing my voice everywhere I go. I'm proud of it, but I haven't gotten used to it yet." Chester admitted.

"Oh, well you'll get used to it eventually. So how are you? I haven't talked to you since... a long time." Denver couldn't remember the last time she spoke to Chester, just that it was over five years ago.

"I've been good, I'm actually on tour, but I'm here for a week or so, so I decided to explore, Everyone else is doing their own thing." Chester explained. "How are you?"

"I've been better, but I'm really glad to see you again! It's been so long." Denver smiled, turning back to the pot of pasta and stirring the noodles. "These are almost done."

"Thanks, Denver. Sorry for keeping you open late." Chester smiled as he watched his friend stir the noodles, then take a strainer to drain the water.

"Oh, it's no problem! Seriously, don't worry at all." Denver stirred the ingredients into the noodles as the homemade cheese recipe melted overtop the noodles, filling the air with a delicious aroma. "Here, you eat up while I finish these dishes real quick." Denver spooned the pasta onto a plate and handed it to Chester, who looked extremely grateful as he took a bite of the steaming pasta, moaning in delight.

"Whoa, what did you use to make this? it's so good!" He asked, immediately putting another spoonful into his mouth.

"That's a secret." Denver winked.

"Thank you so much." Chester handed Denver the now empty plate and she stuck it into the sink, quickly washing it. He handed her a $20, but she immediately gave it back.

"No need, it's on the house. Thank you for coming in, it was really nice to talk to you again." Denver said with a sad smile. She didn't know when she would talk to him again, if ever.

"You too, do you have a napkin?" Chester asked.

Denver looked at him oddly, before handing him a napkin. He pulled a pen from his pocket and wrote something on it. "Here, it's my number. Call me one of these days and we can hang out, maybe I'll even introduce you to my bandmates." Chester grinned, handing her the napkin.

"Thanks, I'd like that."

Chapter Text

Chester and I, we were notorious for being trouble. The entire community knew us as such, but neither of us cared. To be honest, he was the best brother ever.

So that day in our last period science class, when we sat together because the teacher refused to partner either of us with anyone but each other, we were scheming up a plan to get out of school.

"So, I believe if you use all of this potassium..." Chester dumped the beaker filled with potassium into our science experiment, and the mixture created a white cloud of smoke before exploding before he could finish his sentence... "It would do that."

"Everyone evacuate! We have to evacuate the entire science building!" The teacher's shrill yells pierced through the noise that the explosion had created. Everyone left the classroom as the teacher darted around from room to room, telling everyone to evacuate.

As everyone made it to the football field, which was far enough away from the buildings, the teacher approached us with a scowl, grabbing each of us by our shirts as she hauled us away from everyone else. We could hear everyone mocking us as we left.

'Yo, Miss... where are we going?" Chester asked, flashing her a toothy smile despite knowing exactly where we were going.

You be quiet young man, this stunt of yours may have just gotten you both expelled." A smile could be seen on her face as she said that.

Soon enough, we were hauled down the main corridor and into the office, where we slumped down into the chairs next to each other. The secretary glared at us as we laughed amongst each other.

"The principal will be seeing you two shortly. You know, I can't wait for the day you two get expelled, with how much you two have been in here." She snapped.

"Diana, that's enough." Mr Evans, the principal, walked into the room. "Well, can't say I'm surprised to see you two in here... for what? The tenth time this month?" He raised an eyebrow and motioned for us to follow him into his office.

"That stunt you pulled back there, that may very well be grounds for expulsion, or suspension at the least. I'm going to have to call your parents." He said as all three of us took a seat.

"No, please! We won't do it again!" I begged, fully knowing it wouldn't work.

"Leah Bennington, I suggest you start taking your education more seriously, that goes for you too, Chester." He shook his head, placing the phone up to his ear and dialing the very familiar number of Mrs Bennington, their mom.

"What did you do now?" Mom asked, pinching her nose in frustration as she walked into the principals office, ten minutes later.

"Mrs Bennington, I'm afraid your children here, have caused an explosion in the science lab, causing everyone to evacuate." Mr Evans informed her.

Mom glared at us both. "Starting off you both are grounded." She seethed, before turning back around to face the principal. "Please, sir, please don't expel my kids, there's no other schools around here that will take them, and I can't homeschool them while I'm working two jobs." She begged. She had been called from work that day, so she was still in her scrubs. Turns out being a nurse wasn't enough to afford taking care of two kids, well, at least not us two kids.

"Ma'am, with all due respect, I think you should learn to punish your children for their actions. I understand that you work two full time jobs, but these kids here are becoming unbearable for the teachers, I cannot hold them off." He said. "And a stunt of this magnitude..."

"Sir, please! I was only curious what would happen if I used the potassium that was given to me, that's science... right?" Chester asked.

Before anyone else could respond, his walkie talkie interrupted the room. "The smoke's all cleared, it's nothing to worry about. The kids are all back in their classes." The janitor's voice filled the room.

Mr Evans replied to him, thanking him before setting the device down and tapping his chin, clearly in deep thought. "Well, you two got off lucky, this isn't grounds for expulsion. But you will both be punished for your actions here, and I will leave up the rest to your mother. You're both assigned to detention."

Everyone let out a breath of relief, right before he continued.

"For a month." He concluded. Chester tried to protest, but mom shushed him. "And seeing as you're both failing some of your classes, I will assign two other students to tutor you in detention."

"Thank you sir." Mom sighed in relief.

The last bell of the day rang, and Mr Evans stood up. "You two go home tonight, your detention will start tomorrow. But if you ever pull a stunt like that again... game over."

Mom gratefully nodded, thanking him again as she rushed both of us out of the office.

The next day, after a severe talking to from mom, the two of us found our way to the detention office, groaning as we opened the door.

"Chester, Leah." Ms Banks, the teacher in charge of detention said without even looking up. "You know the rules."

The both of us found our usual seats in the back row. No tutors were there yet, so we just sat in silence. Chester made a face, making me laugh, but right before Ms Banks could yell, two more students walked in.

"Can I help you?" Ms Banks asked, looking up at the two.

"Uhm, yes, we were assigned to tutor Chester and Leah..." Rebecca, one of the nerdiest people in the school said nervously.

"They're in the back, just try to keep it down, and please don't try to fool me. I'll know if you're working or not."

They both nodded and shuffled toward us, taking the seats in front of us and flipping them to face us. "Uhhh, you may not know me, but I'm Rebecca." The girl introduced herself as she took a seat

"And I'm Mike." The other nerdy boy said, sitting right across from me. He was actually kind of cute. I looked over at Chester, who was eyeing Rebecca.

"So, what are we starting with?" Chester asked, putting his feet up on the desk.

"I guess... Math?" Mike pulled out a math textbook from his backpack and I groaned. Why did he have to be so cute but so nerdy?

Ever since that day, a lot has changed in our lives. Chester started dating Rebecca, and I started dating Mike. The four of us got along well, they kept us in check while we promised them a good time. It worked out. We were older now, and we still haven't managed to get expelled.

"Chaz!" Rebecca screamed, Chester had picked her up and hoisted her over his shoulder. She flailed around but Chester didn't let go.

"You're mine, hahaha!" Chester ran around, eventually Rebecca stopped flailing around as he placed her into the passenger seat of the car we both drive, kissing her passionately.

Mike wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him. "You ready?" He asked, as he picked me up and carried me to the car, putting me in the backseat next to him.

"Let's do this thing!" Chester hopped into the drivers seat and turned up the radio, all of us cheering as he rolled down the windows.

We drove around blasting some Twenty One Pilots, Rebecca's favorite band. We were having a blast, like we did every day when the four of us hung out. I couldn't ask for my life to be better.

Just when I thought my day couldn't get better, Mike pressed his soft lips against my own, sending volts of electricity all throughout my body. I never want to leave this moment.

Chapter Text

It had been nearly a week since Dayton was asked to join his best friend singing for Grey Daze. It had been at a house party Chester invited him to in this very garage; when the two of them sang Polly together.

"Dayton, you give it a try." Sean handed Chester's friend the microphone. "Start from the chorus."

Dayton nodded, grabbing the lyric sheet from Sean's other hand. He quickly read the chorus of their new song before filling the room with his melodic voice.

"Open your eyes
Look to the sky
Grab your wings
And start to fly"

"Man, that was epic!" Chester shouted, giving his friend a pat on the back. "Let's go over it one more time, Sean record this one!"

"Alright, alright!" Sean grabbed the tape recorder and plugged it in, hitting the record button as it powered on. "Ok, its recording.

Dayton sang the chorus again, and with each word, Chester's smile grew bigger and bigger.

"We have to hear this with both of our voices!" Chester announced as soon as Dayton finished.

"Then record your voice and I will put them together." Mace said.

How in the hell are you gonna do that?" Chester asked.

"The same way we record every other song." Mace rolled his eyes.

"Oh. I'm not good at this stuff." Chester sighed before taking the microphone from Dayton's hand.

"Shut up and sing already." Bobby said from the futon in the corner. Chester did just that, sticking his tongue out at him.

"Okay, watch." Mace took the tape recorder after Chester finished singing the chorus. "Here's Dayton's version, and here's your version.  Now listen."

Everything went silent as the room was filled with the harmonies of the two vocalists. Putting their voices together was one of their best ideas yet.

Before anyone could even speak, Bobby jumped up off of the futon. "THAT"S FUCKING AWESOME!!" He cheered, making everyone laugh.

"Yeah, like you helped out at all." Chester teased.

"Hey! I make myself useful sometimes!" Bobby defended.

"Chill out bro, we're only joking." Sean laughed at Bobby's demise.

Bobby glared at the both of them before plopping back down onto the couch.

"Hey, could you play that recording again?" Dayton asked.

Grey Daze had become increasingly popular in the last few weeks. So popular in fact, that they would be performing a show tonight, with a signing agent watching. They knew that the crowd would love the new song, and they hoped that Dayton joining the band would go over well.

"Hey, don't be nervous, you'll get used to it soon." Chester put a hand on Dayton's shoulder, his shaking body seeming to calm down a bit.

"I'm not nervous." Dayton lied.

'Dude, you're shaking."

"I-I, okay fine I'm nervous. What if there's a lot of people out there?" Dayton asked.

"There's gonna be a lot of people out there, but that's part of the fun. It's exhilarating up on that stage, it feels so fun and free. Just trust me, they're gonna love you." Chester reassured his best friend.

"You sure about that?" Dayton's voice began to quaver.

'Yeah, I'm sure. Cmon, help me set up." Chester extended his arm out to Dayton, who happily took it.

"Dayton, my man, help me figure out this microphone setup." Sean whisked Dayton aside, and Chester chuckled to himself as he helped Bobby set up his drums.

"You guys are on in two minutes." The manager popped backstage to inform the band.

'Got it, thanks!" Chester nodded, and the band huddled together, saying anything and everything to boost their spirits.

"And next up, we have Grey Daze!" The manager announced as the curtain lifted and the band walked onstage. The room instantly filled with loud cheering and Chester's voice as he approached the microphone stand.

"You ready to rock and roll?" Chester asked, and the noise level of the crowd amped up a few octaves. "Well, first I'd like to introduce our new vocalist to you. Meet my best friend, Dayton!" The crowd went wild as Dayton froze in place, completely mortified. Chester squeezed his shoulder as if to tell him it's okay. He stepped up to the other microphone and awkwardly waved to the crowd as the first opening notes to Starting to Fly began to play. "We've got a new song for you all, we hope you enjoy it!"

As they performed, Dayton realized Chester was right. As he began to sing during the chorus, the crowd seemed to be enjoying it. And it was a freeing feeling. He felt like he was on top of the world as he watched the reaction of the crowd to his singing.

After the concert, the band hopped offstage to talk to some fans. One man approached them, clipboard in hand. It was pretty obvious who he was and why he was there. "Excuse me, Grey Daze?" He asked, gaining the attention of all the members. "I like what y'all did out there. If you could meet me this Sunday, I'd like to discuss possibly signing you." He said before walking off.

Each of them stood there, jaws to the floor. THey've worked so hard for this, and now it was officially about to happen.

"Celebratory pizza?" Sean asked after awhile, and everyone agreed.

"Hello, I'm Jeff Blue, you must be Grey Daze." The same man from the concert stood in the main entrance of the Record Label building.

'Yes, we are." Chester announced. "I'm Chester, this is Dayton, Sean, Bobby, and Mace." He pointed to everyone and Jeff smiled.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all. Come on back here, I want to introduce you to Matt, who will be helping you in the studio. He is also going to be in charge of all executive decisions regarding your band, including whether we choose to produce your music or not." Jeff winked, then lead the band down a short hallway and into a large studio space. Everyone's jaws dropped when they saw the sheer amount of space and equipment in the room. A short, stocky man turned as he heard the band walk inside. He stood up to greet the shocked band.

"Hello, I'm Matt. Jeff here, recorded a sample of your vocals from your last performance, I must say, I'm impressed." Matt smiled at the group, who were extremely happy to hear this. Matt noticed their shocked faces and laughed. "Cmon, I'll give you a tour of the studio."

Everyone's eyes lit up as Matt began talking about all of the music equipment and how it worked. Chester seemed the most impressed out of all of them. "Whoa, so I get a whole entire booth to sing in?" He asked.

"Well, if you're the singer, then yes!" Matt smiled, motioning for Chester to go inside the booth.

"Dayton, come check this out!" Chester called for his best friend, who happily popped into the vocal booth.

"Whoa, this is awesome!" Dayton gasped as he glanced around. The room was filled with singing equipment, the walls were lined with soundproofing, and string lights were dangling from the ceiling,  giving the room a peaceful aura.

When they both exited the booth, Matt gave them a quizzical look. "So wait, who's the vocalist?" He asked.

"I am." Chester announced. "But Dayton is our newest member, also a vocalist."

"Two vocalists, eh?" Matt put his thumb up to his chin almost as if he were in deep thought. "I guess we will have to see about that/"

Chester raised an eyebrow in confusion, but the subject quickly changed when Sean spotted the drums.

"Alright, so let's hear it." Matt suddenly said after giving the tour.

"Hear what?" Dayton asked. Matt was a very confusing guy.

"Your music of course! I heard it over recording and it was amazing, but now I wanna hear it in person." He smiled, ushering Chester into the vocal booth.

Everyone took their places by their instruments as Mace began to play the guitar.

"Hmm, Chester, sing that chorus for me again, would ya?" Matt asked, the band had now spent a few hours with him, and Matt felt like there was something off.

"Umm, okay." Chester stepped back into the vocal booth for the millionth time today and sang the chorus of Starting to Fly again.

"Marvelous. And now Dayton, your turn." Matt listened intently as Dayton began to sing. When he finished, Matt looked happy, like he figured something out. "Well, guys, I don't think we need two vocalists."

Everyone in the room looked confused, and Dayton stood there, panicking.

"What do you mean?" Chester asked. "Who is staying?"

"You." Matt stood up, brushing himself off. "Your voice is marvelous, but Dayton, no offense, we don't need you anymore. You can go."

Dayton began to walk out of the room, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He had wanted this so badly, but he was happy his friends could still pursue his dream.

"WAIT!" Chester shouted, making Dayton stop in his tracks.

"What is it?" Matt asked.

"Why would you throw out Dayton? He's such a good vocalist, he's important to this band."

Matt furrowed his brows, growing irritated. "Because, Chester, your voice prevails over his. You're an exceptional singer, Dayton is... mediocre at best." Matt tried to convince him but Chester was not gonna back down.

"Ches, what are you doing, man?" Sean slapped his friend's shoulder, whispering under his breath. "This is our chance to get signed. We need him."

"Exactly, you need me. I know how the music industry works, I have brought several musical acts to fame. Dayton goes, and you'll all become famous." Matt yelled.

"No." Chester stood up for his best friend, walking right up to Matt angrily. "Dayton stays. Haven't you all heard his voice? Or ours put together? We need him!"

"Mr Bennington, I would suggest toning your voice down." Matt stepped closer to the thin boy, as if to intimidate him, but it wasn't working.

"No. Dayton is my best friend, you can't kick him out of my band." Chester seethed.

"Fine, you want it that way? Forget being signed, you won't make it without me. You all can go." Matt said harshly.

'Chester!" Sean whisper-yelled as they walked into the hallway.

"What, Sean?" Chester whipped around to see his friend, clearly angry with him.

"Why would you do that? We need him, and we've worked so hard for this! Don't you wanna get signed?"

"Fuck yes I want to get signed, you think I don't? I have nothing if Grey Daze falls through. But I'm telling you, we don't need Matt. What we need, is Dayton. Fuck this." Chester stomped out of the building, Dayton following close behind. With all of the fighting going on, the tension in the air became too much for him to handle, he needed to get out.

Chester was right, the band didn't need Matt, they needed Dayton. Eventually, they had connected with a different label and quickly released Starting to Fly. They instantly grew to fame, becoming one of the biggest bands in the world, bigger than any musical group Matt signed.

"You ready?" Chester asked, tying his dreadlocks up into a bun."

"Ready as ever." Dayton smiled, grabbing his favorite microphone and microphone stand.

"Let's kill this thing."

Just before the curtain lifted, Sean burst into the room, phone in hand. "GUYS!" He shouted.

"What?" They both asked unanimously, flipping around to face him.

"You remember that producer, Matt?" He asked, smiling as he spoke.

"I wish I didn't." Dayton said, "What about him?"

"Well, apparently he is in jail, for stealing most of the money that the singers he produced earned."

"Stupid fucker." Chester snorted,  just as the curtain opened and they heard cheering.

Dayton looked around the full arena, there had to be at least ten thousand people out there, screaming for them as they walked onstage. He was no longer nervous to perform in front of such a massive crowd. "You guys ready to rock and roll?"

Chapter Text

Gryffin sat in the studio, rubbing her temples in frustration. Withering Blue, her small garage band with friends had just blown up and she hadn't gotten used to all the chaos yet.

"GRYFFIN, WHERE ARE YOU?" She heard her best friend Dayton yell from another room.

"I'M IN HERE! WHY?" Gryffin asked, rolling her eyes.

"You'll never believe what just happened!" Dayton ran into the room, clearly excited.

"What happened?" Gryffin turned around in her swivel chair to face her ecstatic friend.

"You know Transformers?" He asked.

"Duh, who doesn't? What does that have to do with anything?" She snarked.

"Well, they're coming out with a new movie." Dayton stated.

This immediately caught Gryffin's attention. "Shut up."

"No. I'm serious!" Dayton's voice rose a few octaves."

"Well, tell me more!" Gryffin now nearly matched the excitement Dayton was feeling.

"I just got an email, from the directors! They want US to write a song for the movie!" Dayton jumped up in excitement.

"Wow Dayton, that's awesome!" Gryffin genuinely smiled at her friend."

"There's more." Dayton smirked.

"Get on with it!" Gryffin demanded.

"Not only are we writing a song for the movie, we are writing it with none other than..." Dayton's voice lowered a bit.

"Than who? Tell me!" Gryffin pleaded.

"Linkin Park!" The both of them squealed are the mention of their favorite band, the one that inspired Withering Blue in the first place.

"No freaking way!" Gryffin stood up and jumped around in excitement with Dayton. "Wait, what if this is a scam?" Gryffin asked.

"Oh c'mon, it's not a scam." Dayton rolled his eyes at Gryffin as he walked into the room he had come from, a computer sitting atop a table in their studio.

"Look, here's the email. It's not a scam!" Dayton smiled as he watched his best friend's face change from a conflicted one to a more excited one.

"Fuck yeah!"

About a week later, after they had discussed the once-in-a-lifetime invitation with the rest of their band, they stood outside of NRG studios. They exchanged a few nervous glances back and forth before Gryffin opened the entrance door.

Inside, a woman about their age sat at the front desk, eyeing the band before she recognized who they were. "Ah, if it isn't Withering Blue! Welcome to NRG Studios!" She greeted the band, shaking each one of their hands. "Come inside, I'll introduce you to the members of Linkin Park."

Gryffin squeezed Dayton's hand nervously. She didn't realize that they'd be meeting the band right away, and after the huge impact they made on her life and the band, she wasn't sure if she was ready.

"Gryff, you got this. C'mon." Dayton let go of his friends hand and followed the woman into the hallway.

The hallway was long and lined with lots of doors. The woman opened the door labeled Studio A and led the band into the large studio. A wave of audible gasps echoed throughout the room as they looked around at the studio that was a lot nicer than the one they had recorded their first album in.

Dayton immediately recognized a man as he poked his head into the room. It was Mike Shinoda. At this moment, he began to feel all of the nerves that Gryffin was feeling. Seeing him in person was not something he ever expected to happen.

"Guys, come out here! Withering Blue is here!" Mike ducked back into the room he'd just come out of to inform his friends of the guests in their studio. He arrived once again to greet them. "Hi, I'm Mike!" He shook hands with everyone as he introduced himself.

"Oh, we know! Withering Blue is inspired a lot by you." Dayton stated.

"Oh, really?" Mike asked, smiling. He loved to hear that he had made an impact.

Dayton looked back at Gryffin, who stood there mouth agape.

Pretty soon, the rest of Linkin Park trickled our into the room. "Well, seeing as you like our music, you probably know Chester, Brad, Rob, and Dave." Mike smiled as his bandmates shook everyone's hands.

"We're so excited to work with you!" Gryffin managed to say. Dayton smiled at his friend.

Days later, progress on the song had officially begun. It was a dream to work with Linkin Park, and actually doing so felt so surreal. Dayton couldn't believe how well everything was going.

"Dayton, can you come over here a second?" Chester asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" Dayton stood next to Chester as he read over some of the lyrics.

"What do you think of these?
I remembered black skies
The lightning all around me
I remembered each flash
As time began to blur
Like a startling sign
That fate had finally found me
And your voice was all I heard
That I get what I deserve" Chester read to Dayton, who was incredibly impressed.

"Dude, that's awesome! That's so deep man." Dayton replied.

"Thanks!" Chester smiled and patted Dayton's shoulder. He walked away, going to show everyone else his lyrics.

The melody of the song had already been composed, and it sounded awesome. Dayton felt that Chester's lyrics perfectly fit the song and the flow. He also felt so relieved to know how Linkin Park made their music in the studio. He knew they'd definitely take some inspiration from them.

Months later, the song had been finished. The band was about to perform it at the 02 Arena to debut the song, and there was no doubt everyone was excited for it.

As the opening notes to the song began to play, the members of Withering Blue stood onstage, glancing at the insane crowd in front of them. Albeit nervous, they had performed the first half of the set well, and they were exited to surprise the crowd, who had no idea Linkin Park was even performing with them. It was insane to them to know how many people stood out in that crowd, ready to hear Withering Blue perform, again, they hadn't gotten used to the insanity.

Gryffin began to sing the opening lyrics as the crowd eagerly listened to the new song. As the song progressed, Mike and Chester jumped out onto the stage as the crowd erupted into cheers. Chester took over singing as the rest of Linkin Park took their places.

The crowd roared as the song continued on. Gryffin and Chester sang together now, and it was melodic. Gryffin's voice sounded like classic rock, but made it cool again. It worked so well with Chester's equally empowering raspy vocals.

That night was definitely one of the best I'm Dayton's life. A night that would definitely go down in music history.