It was after school on Wednesday. Currently, Frank was waiting in the auditorium for the rest of his friends, since they had to practice for the upcoming dance. The doors opened, and Frank looked up to see Chris entering.

"Hey Chris..." Frank said as he looked up from his guitar.

"What's up? You said you had an idea of sorts?" Chris said as he ran a hand through his jet-black hair.

"Actually, yes..." The Persona User set his guitar on a stand and made his way to his friend. "Here Chris... have a seat."

Both the woren and the human took a seat on the edge of the stage. "What's on your mind, Frank?" Chris said as his tail waved slightly.

"Well... a new weapon, actually. I'm going to start development at work later today... Think you can help me out?" The Persona User asked his friend.

"Actually..." Chris said as he looked skyward for a moment to think. "What do you have in mind?"

"A bowgun. It's like a crossbow, but it works on the same principal as my Remington M870. We have similar weapons like that at home..." Before Frank could finish, Chris interrupted him.

"Whoa... hold on a sec..." The woren said as he held his hands up. "You lost me... Is this Remington thing your gun?"

"Yeah... heh... I should have explained..." Frank said with a chuckle as he put his hand to the back of his head. "The Remington Company back home made my model of shotgun. Mine's the Model 870 pump action full size for police work. The other model that's well known is the 1100."

"I'm just wondering..." Chris asked as he ran a hand through his hair. "How do you know so much about firearms?"

"Heh... My dad was a gun nut... Taught me some of what he knew..." Frank was beginning to get that look again, but quickly shook his head to clear some past memories. "Well, you up to it?"

"Sure! Let me guess... since this is a crossbow, you want me to ask Cynthia to test it, huh?"

"Right... Um... Chris... just you and me... I mean, Diane's great and all... but when I was working on the Western Custom... she kinda messed with it when I went on that delivery run with Brandon..." Frank said to his friend.

Chris just rubbed the back of his neck. "I kinda feel bad about keeping this from her... I mean, she is my girlfriend..."

"I know, I know... now I'm feeling guilty... Tell you what, Chris. If she asks, we'll let her in on it. But if she doesn't, it's between both of us. Okay?" Frank explained as he picked his guitar up.

"Sure... We'll get cracking right when we get to work, provided that we're not busy, okay?"

"Fine by me, Chris... Fine by me..." The Persona User and the woren looked up when they had heard the auditorium doors open. Alex, Ellen and Brad had strolled in, and gave a wave to the two.

"Hey guys..." Frank said as his friends came up to the stage. "Ready for a little practice?"

"Heck yeah!!!" Brad said enthusiastically as he twirled a drumstick absently. Sonya flew from his jacket and landed on his shoulder.

The pixie let out a small giggle before speaking. "You should have seen him... He's been wanting to play all day!" Sonya stretched her wings before looking at everyone. She saw Chris, and immediately flew over to him.

"Um... hi?" The woren said as his eyes went wide. His tail was also flicking slowly in surprise.

"Hi there!" Sonya said before flying a circle around the woren. Eventually, she stopped at eye level with Chris. "I'm Sonya! Nice to meet you!"

"My name's Chris... pleasure to meet you, Sonya..." The woren extended a finger, which the pixie began to shake.

"Anyway..." Ellen said as she passed out sheet music. "Let's start... here... I've got a song that I wanted to sing..."

Alex looked over the sheet music. "Love... Around The World???" The woren's tail was now waving in confusion.

Ellen just giggled. "It's a pure dance song, Alex... I think it'll go over well at the dance..."

"Okay..." Frank said as his group finished setting up. "On my count, guys. Ready?"

Chris took a seat in one of the chairs. Sonya was on his shoulder, and was watching the band on stage.

"One, two three four..." Frank said to his friends. The band took the cue and began playing. Within a few seconds, Ellen began to sing.

The kisses of the sun
Were sweet
I didn't blink
I let it in my eyes
Like an exotic dream
The radio playing songs
That I have never heard
I don't know what to say
Oh not another word

Just la la la la la
It goes around the world
Just la la la la la
It's all around the world
Just la la la la la
And everybody's singing
La la la la la
And now the bells are ringing
La la la la la la la la...

Inside an empty room
My inspiration flows
Now wait to hear the tune
Around my head it goes
The magic melody
You want to sing with me
Just la la la la la
The music is the key
And now the night is gone
Still it goes on and on
So deep inside of me
I long to set it free
I don't know what to do
Just can't explain to you
I don't know what to say
Oh not another word

Just la la la la la
It goes around the world
Just la la la la la
It's all around the world
Just la la la la la
And everybody's singing
La la la la la
And now the bells are ringing
La la la la la la la la...

The kisses of the sun
Around, around, around the world
Just la la la la la
It's goes around the world
Just la la la la la
It's all around the world
Just la la la la la
And everybody's singing
La la la la la
And now the bells are ringing
La la la la la la la la...
Around, around, around the world
La la la la la la la la...

Ellen finished up her song and looked at her friends, who began to clap enthusiastically.

"That was awesome, Ellie!" Brad said as he twirled both his drumsticks.

"Yeah love...but..." Alex's tail was beginning to twitch in confusion. "What's a radio?"

"It's a device that plays songs... but the songs are played from one place..." Frank said as he pulled out more sheet music. "It's actually kind of hard to explain..."

"So..." Chris asked from the seats as he stared at the group. "What else do you have planned?"

"Ooh!!! Great song, Frank!" Ellen said as she read over the music.

"What? What's the song???" Sonya asked as she began to hover beside Chris.

"The Middle?" Alex said as he stood behind his keyboard.

Frank nodded. "On my cue, okay?" As Frank began to count down, Janet Meyers and Lucy Conwing silently slipped into the auditorium, and took a seat in the back.

"One, two, three, four..." Frank then began to play a few notes on his guitar. As soon as Brad hit the drums, the Persona User began to sing.

Hey, I think you're better than that
It's only in your head you feel left out
Or looked down on.
Just do your best,
Do everything you can.
And don't you worry what they tell themselves
When you're away

It just takes some time
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride
Everything, everything will be just fine
Evertyhing, everything will be all right, alright.

Hey, you know they're all the same
You know you're doing better on your own
So don't buy in
Live right now
Yeah, just be yourself
It doesn't matter if you're good enough
For someone else

It just takes some time
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride
Everything, everything will be just fine
Evertyhing, everything will be all right, alright

It just takes some time
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride
Everything, everything will be just fine
Evertyhing, everything will be all right.

The group paused for a moment before going into an instrumental for a few seconds. Eventually, Frank began to sing once more.

Hey, I think you're better than that
It's only in your mind, you feel left out
Or looked down on
Just try your best
Try everything you can
And don't you worry what their bitter hearts
Are gonna say.

It just takes some time
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride
Everything, everything will be just fine
Evertyhing, everything will be alright.

It just takes some time
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride
Everything, everything will be just fine
Evertyhing, everything will be alright.

As suddenly as the song started, it stopped. The group looked at each other for a moment.

"That was great!" Alex said as he smiled. "Those songs will be perfect for the dance!"

As the group continued to talk amongst themselves, Janet and Lucy slowly approached the stage.

Songs in order
Around the World
Performed by ATC

The Middle
Performed by Jimmy Eat World

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