The electric guitar wailed over the amplifiers; the man behind the equipment playing every chord from the tabs in front of him almost perfectly.

Katlinne's voice hummed into the microphone, her beautiful and melodic lyrics spoke of life beyond death in a dream world of nothingness. A pleased smile spread over her lips as she looked to the new guitarist beside her.

Blaine had listened to his sound and, as Vince's replacement; the man had hit every single note in their song as if he'd played with the band all along. His blond, spiked hair, dark tattooed arms, and ears full of chrome metal rings would fit within the band. Pure metal.

“Damn, dude, that was awesome,” Katlinne interrupted the rest of the band's playing. “Where did you learn to play like that?”

The man shrugged. “Been playing since I was little. A lot of Metallica and Pantera.”

“Awesome,” Katlinne's eyes sparkled.

Blaine chuckled at Katlinne, whom appeared to be a little hot for the new guitarist. “So, Raz, right?”

“That's my name,” the guitarist said.

Blaine focused on their new guitarist. “I swear you seem familiar. Have I met you before?”

“I don't think so.” Raz shook his head.

Maybe it was just a coincidence, but Blaine swore he'd seen Raz before. Once at the club. And wasn't Raz the guy who moved the statue into the apartment? Blaine blinked and shook the thoughts away. “Anyway, what do you think about the sound?”

“Seriously, man, this is a sweet deal you got going on. I'd love to fill in, if that's what you're asking,” Raz affirmed with an excited smile.

“Nice. That's what I was hoping to hear,” Blaine said. He'd found himself a suitable guitarist, hopefully one that would stick around for a while, and not try to the change the band on his own. Hell, this would be a lot better than getting persuaded into ruffling their hair with spray.

“Well, shit, let's get back to practice, huh?” Katlinne snapped her fingers, impatient to play more, or see the guitarist in action. Blaine wasn't sure which.

Raz strummed a long, electric chord, the sound reverberating through the amplifiers. It had everyone stoked and ready to go. Katlinne hung around Raz, swinging her head in time with his intriguing guitar rhythms.

Blaine began a low bass line, while Robert tapped on the high tom.

It couldn't get better than this, Blaine thought, as he looked out at everyone so damn excited. As if his bad luck had finally taken a breather. Could his angel truly not be a part of this?

But, how could he believe Lynsael after everything he'd said the night before? Blaine nibbled on his lower lip, his enthusiasm wavered. Lynsael had killed someone? That couldn't be right. Things started to go right after the angel appeared. Well, besides for Vince's deal, which could have just been Vince being a typical ass.

Blaine thought back to Lynsael trapped in that apartment. What could he have been doing at that moment? He hoped he wasn't moping. He still didn't understand quite what had happened with Lynsael, nor the statue, he did know one thing. Every time he saw that round face, that lean body, and those handsome blue eyes, his entire body came alive with solace.

“You have this weird look about you, my friend,” Raz had whispered.

Blaine's head snapped up, his eyes opened, and he was back in the garage. Raz was standing close beside him. The interruption made him stop his playing. “What do you mean?” He crossed his arms over the guitar.

Raz shrugged. “I don't know. Just a very passionate expression.”

“I love what I do. Don't you?”

“Of course, but there's something else about you.” Raz narrowed his eyes. “Someone else—“

“Are we going to play or talk?” Robert huffed.

“Yeah, come on. Let's get our asses in gear. We have three days before the gig,” Katlinne said.