Oh my gosh. Over 370 reads and #260 in ChickLit! Whilst not on the radar for some, this is huge for me! I had never planned to write anything that another person would read, let alone publish anything, so you all need to know how much it means to me that all of you are reading this! Thank you so much for your support!

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It was a twenty-minute walk to the pub where the band was playing, but even at 8.30 in the evening, the summer breeze provided them warmth. They didn't speak much, but Genevieve felt Matt glancing over every now and then; she tried to avoid eye contact in general. As much as she enjoyed his company, he often made it difficult to be around him. Unfortunately for her, not enough – she couldn't imagine not seeing him anymore. It made her choice that much harder to make.

"We're here," she noted as they rounded the corner, and turned to look at him. He wasn't beside her though. She looked around and found him about meter behind her, staring at the queue of people with an utterly confused look on his face.

"Uhhh, what are we doing? What is this?" Matt asked in disbelief, looking at the line.

At the entrance waiting for tickets to be checked, were people ranging from what appeared to be eighteen to thirty-five, looking far more interesting than Genevieve cared to admit – girls with all shades of vibrant hair colors and styles, mass amounts of black eyeliner, and more black clothing then would be at a funeral. He started at her speechless.

Genevieve shrugged at him nonchalantly and walked to the end of the queue.

Matt looked around uncomfortably as he ran a hand through his hair, but she saw him cautiously follow her. "What did you say the name of this band was?"

She smiled at him as she handed him a ticket, "Forever in the Darkness. They're a local Melbourne metalcore band, but they've played all over the world. I'm so excited!"

He stared at her in disbelief again, and she felt her cheeks growing warm. "What?"

Matt looked around at the crowd surrounding them as they handed their tickets to the bouncer and made their way inside. "Who are you, woman?"

She gave him a sly grin as they had entered the building, and she led him to a bar table on the edge of the open area that was overfilled with bodies watching the opening act.

"What?" He asked dryly, looking around at the variety of colourful characters. "Not in the mood to join the mosh pit?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Do I look like the type of person who would jump around with a bunch of sweaty people. I don't even dance."

He gave one of his lopsided grins, but she felt it wasn't as sincere as it had been. "No, but you also don't look like the person who would take a guy on a date to go see an metal band."

Genevieve's eyes widened at the mention of the word 'date', and she ducked her head to hide her flaming face. Matt hadn't noticed though; she had peeked up out of the corner of her eye and seen him obviously judging the crowd that was jumping up and down in time to the thumping beat. She thought she heard him mutter something about 'feeling old'.

She didn't say anything as she took in his obvious discomfort. She leaned across the table and spoke loudly into his ear, "We can leave it makes you uncomfortable. It's ok, I don't mind," she added earnestly.

He looked down at her and she saw his stern face soften, though his brows were still furrowed together in astonishment as he edged closer to her in order to face the stage. His arm brushed hers, and she felt a flutter deep within. She couldn't help but smile.

"Now what kind of fellow would I be if I didn't give the crazy lass a chance to enlighten me?" He asked, putting an arm around her and squeezing her shoulder.

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Matt spent equal times watching Genevieve and the band. Whilst the band surprisingly wasn't as bad as he had first imagined, the real surprise came from Genevieve herself. It was as though she let loose – not one of the crazy kids trying to get laid by the lead singer, but rather let go of her own inhibitions. She swayed to the music, sung the words under her breath, and just generally gave off a vibe of fun. Every now and then she would smile up at him, and he would begin to wonder what made the strange and secretive woman, who had unconsciously sidled up next to him, tick.

As the show ended, the band casually made their way to the bar, and in swarmed the groupies and fans that were eager to join in the festivities. Desperately hoping Genevieve did not want to be a part of the madness, he placed his hand on the small of her back, and casually led the way out. While he did feel her stiffen beneath his hand, she didn't shy away as she usually would have.

Once out in breezy night air, she shrugged into her jacket and nervously smiled up at him, leading the way back to their homes. "What did you think?" she asked, her voice brimming with eagerness.

Matt shrugged, running a hand through his hair that he had felt had begun to curl at the nape of his neck in the heat. He tried to shake them out without ruining his hair too much.

She laughed before he could say anything. "I like your hair like that," she said, gently touching the curls lining his neck. "Anyway," she quickly changed the topic, "The band?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, but proceeded to run his fingers through the curls. "They weren't as bad as I thought they would be. I could probably get used to them."

She grinned and shoved him gently. "They were great! Even if you don't like the music, you can tell how talented they are!" She exclaimed, her voice husky from all their shouting.

He looked back at the pub then chuckled. "I have never felt so out of place in my life." He held out his tattoo-covered arms, as if to emphasis his point. "And that's saying something."

She laughed at him, placing a hand over the masts of his ship tattoo; her cool touch sent a wave of shivers throughout his body. "You and I both know you look like you're more likely to go to their concert than I am."

He laughed at that. "Honey, I do not own anywhere near enough eyeliner for that to be true."

She grinned as she looked ahead, sliding her arm through his as they casually headed towards the intersection leading to Ink. She looked up at him, "Thank you for coming with me. I was so glad we made it!"

"It was my pleasure. I actually had fun."

She scoffed at him, rolling her eyes. "You say that like you're surprised."

He looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. "You're not always the most welcoming person, sweetheart."

He stopped, thinking he had accidentally said too much again, when he saw her brow rise in thought, "I can't fault you there."

They walked in silence for a moment, when she said softly, "Don't get me wrong, I think they're great musicians. But the music," she paused, trying to find the right words. "I was depressed, for quite a while actually. Stupid reasons. But their songs, even though many are so dark, they just resonated with me, and eventually stuck. As silly as it sounds, knowing other people felt the same as I did helped me realize I wasn't being petty."

He stopped and turned to look at her, grabbing onto both of her arms. "Gen, having depression isn't petty. It's a disease. You couldn't help it."

She shrugged, but sadness was etched all over her face. "I know that, and I'm over it. But come on Mattie. I have a good family, extremely fortunate, first world country and all the opportunities anyone would want. What right did I have to be depressed, when there are so many people struggling through such worse situations than I?"

He looked at her, emotion washing over him as he looked at the still-broken woman in front of him, and he took her hand. "It's not a matter of right." He said quietly. "These things obviously matter to you. You are different to every other person in the world. It's ok to be struggling. It's not ok to give up."

She smiled sadly, and he saw a flush stain her cheeks as she looked down at his hand encasing hers. She didn't retract her hand, but he saw he face relax as she squeaked, 'Oh! I didn't tell you my news!"

He raised an eyebrow at her sudden change of mood. "What news?"

The slapped his shoulder as they rounded the corner towards her apartment, "What I came to tell you this afternoon. You know, before you Hulked out on me, dummy!"

He glared at her, raising an eyebrow at her outburst. "Jeesh. I told you I was sorry."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head "Forget that! I quit my job!"

He felt his eyes widen in surprise. "No way! Are you kidding me?"

Her face broke into the biggest smile he had seen all night, "I did! I finally had enough of Amanda's crap, and I did it. And it's all thanks to you!"

He shook his head with a smile. "Not me. That was all you kiddo."

This time, it was her that shook her head, as turned to face him. He hadn't realized they had reached her apartment until they stopped walking. "You told me I could do it. You had faith in me. Thank you."

He looked at her as he had been doing more so lately – when he now looked at her, he could see the emotions hiding in her eyes, and right now, he could see the warmth radiating out. He couldn't help it, he reached out tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and he felt her slightly turn into his hand.

It didn't last. Her cheek was barely touching his hand, but she looked down and sighed. "Mattie" she whispered. "You..."

He closed the gap between them, putting his hands on her face and pulling her into a kiss. It was slow and deep, and he felt it reverberating deep into his chest. Although she didn't pull away, he felt her sharp inhale as his lips touched hers.

When he pulled back, he stopped inches from her back and watched Genevieve slowly open her eyes, not looking up at him.

"I..." She stammered, still avoiding eye contact. "I... You shouldn't have done that. I have to go."

And with that, she raced inside and left Matt breathing deeply at the steps.

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I'm sorry it's another long chapter, but I couldn't help it!! I hope you thought it was worth it!  I know it gets a little dark in the middle, and I apologise if that makes you uncomfortable, but unfortunately, some things just need to be said!

And the band, 'Forever in the Darkness', is just a band I made up with. I based them off The Amity Affliction, which is an Australian Metalcore group. If you're into that music, do go check them out! Their song Pittsburgh is amazing!!

Please don't forget to let me know what you think, but commenting and voting below! I love to hear your feedback, and I'd love to know what you think is going to happen next ;)

G xx