Nate locked up the house and lead him out to his car. Sean climbed into the passenger seat and took it upon himself to look through his CDs in the armrest. Nate didn't seem to care as he turned on the car and began to back out. Sean pulled out a CD, holding it up as he asked him. "I didn't know you were a Green Day fan." Nate chuckled, his eyes locked on the road as he stated out proudly. "Oh ya. They kind of inspired me to be the kind of musician that I am." Sean popped out the CD and slipped it into the player, before asking him curiously. "How so?" Nate grinned brightly, replying openly. "Well, Green Day is one of the reasons that I started... Umm... Not started playing music, but got more into the rock alt. You know? Band side of things. So, it was really cool to see, you know, my musical idols and one of my biggest inspirations. On stage and doing their thing. It was amazing! They played like a three-hour set and it was really cool. And they were doing a thing where they pull audience members up and-"

Sean relaxed in the seat, smiling to himself at how passionate Nate was getting. He never noticed before that the more passionate or nervous Nate was... The faster he seemed to talk. It was adorable and he loved it. It reminded him of how energic he usually was. All bouncy and excited. Nate continued on and Sean listened really carefully. If this was Nate without coffee... Then he had some competition. "-I didn't get pulled up to do it because I was in the cheap seats. Way, way, way, WAY back there. To where it would have taken me a good half an hour to even get to the stage. So, it... you know. I didn't get to play with Green Day... As cool as that would have been. I had such a blast and I have such fond memories of that concert." When Nate stopped to focus on merging, Sean asked him sweetly. "How many concerts have you seen?" Nate exhaled in such a way that it blew his long bangs away from his eyes, then answered with a small chuckle. "I went to a lot of concerts in high school and college. Being in the band scene and you know, a musician. That's kind of a big part of it."

Sean nodded, expressing excitedly. "I understand. It's like doing research on what made the great ones so great." Nate returned his nod, answering firmly. "Exactly. You learn from their experiences and stuff." Nate stopped at a red light, then took a quick glance at him asking curiously. "What about you?" Sean shrugged guiltily, telling him softly. "I lived in Ireland. Not many bands go out there. I did manage to go to one though. I have fond memories of it, because not only was it my first live band experience... but for the first time my brother and I had something in common. It was a bonding moment for us." Nate shrugged, asking curiously. "Who did you see?" Sean rested his head on the seat with a grin as he recalled that day and answered blissfully. "System of A Down." Nate smiled at him so warmly that Sean asked him. "Why did you start making music?" Nate's attention moved back to the road as traffic moved, but he replied honestly. "It was actually from video games. Surprisingly enough."

Sean sat up a bit straighter in his seat as Nate continued. "I was into video games before I was into music. But I was playing Earthworm Jim for the Genesis. Moonlight sonata. The piano piece was playing as background music because it is royalty free and it was super appropriate too for the level. I listen to that and I'm like 'that's really cool.' 'That's beautiful.' 'That sounds nice.' 'I wanna make that myself' and I started taking music... Not seriously... but it sparked my interest in music." Sean stared at Nate closely trying to think of why he had never gotten closer to him in the past. He had so much in common with him and yet... He was kind of envious of him. Nate was living the life he wanted. Nate pulled into the parking garage and told him giddily. "Most people are still at work or school. So, the mall should be pretty empty. We'll be able to take our time." Entering the mall, Sean's jaw dropped. The place had four floors with high glass ceilings and bright white pillars. Nate nudged his shoulder, telling him excitedly. "What do you want to do first?"

Sean turned to face Nate, taking playful steps back as he retorted innocently. "Surprise me." Nate gave him a shrug, pointing to the escalator as he told him. "Ok. Third floor. Gauges first. Before we forget." Sean practically skipped to the escalator. There was so much to see that he forgot himself... until the third floor. He made the mistake of leaning his lower back against the third escalator, glancing over the side to look down. The shock of how far up he was made him jerk away so fast that he lost his footing. His misstep caused him to slam into Nate, but Nate was spread out enough that he kept him from falling. Sean leaned against Nate for a moment still in shock. His fear of heights was getting the best of him. Nate wrapped an arm around him, whispering to him very softly. "You too, huh? My advice... Stay away from the glass guard above and never look down. You'll be alright." Sean lifted his head enough to look him in the eyes and asked bluntly. "You're scared of heights?"

Nate nodded, then took a deep breath that he clearly was only doing to remind him to breathe. Sean copied his breath and Nate rubbed his shoulder, telling him. "Like I said. Just don't look through the glass guards or look down. Keep your eyes on the stores. You'll never see a difference." Sean nodded, then stepped off with him. Nate took his arm and guided him down along the stores. Pointing out things to keep him from looking toward the center of the mall. When they reached a body piercing shop, Nate ushered him inside. The place smelled heavily of leather and rubbing alcohol... but had walls lined in different jewelry pieces. A scrawny tattooed woman with piercings around her eyebrows and ears, asked them kindly. "You boys just looking? Or do you want something pierced?" Nate pointed to a wall of gauges for Sean to look at, while telling the woman sweetly. "Just looking to get some new gauges. I've got all the piercings that I can handle." The woman nodded, sliding away from her counter to join them, asking curiously. "What size? Are you looking for plugs or tunnels?"

Sean scanned his eyes over the wall, distractedly answering. "Tunnels in 8mm. And made of silicone?" The woman tapped his shoulder to get his attention, then pointed to a glass case nearby. She tapped a long pink nail on the glass, informing them sweetly. "The silicone ones are in here. Keeps them from being ruined. Do you mind?" She gestured to his ear and he glanced at Nate, before letting her touch it. She gently pulled at his earlobe to examine his piercing, stating out to herself. "Ah, ya. You take them out a lot. Looks like you've let them seal over about 2mm. Did your other ones hurt that much?" Nate spoke up for him, saying politely. "He wears headphones for his job and the plastic ones... Well." The woman smirked, finishing for him. "They can hurt like hell. I understand. You'll still have to take these out to clean them, but you'll be able to wear them more often. Let me know if you need anything else." The woman moved away as another customer entered the shop, allowing Nate to move closer to him and say. "Nice lady. See any that you like?"

Sean pointed to the case, telling him honestly. "I've always liked the standard black ones. They can go with just about anything that I wear." Nate opened the case to carefully remove a set of jet black tunnels and Sean prodded out. "What are you doing?" Nate stuck his tongue out at him, flagging the woman back over as he answered smugly. "My date. My treat." Sean shook his head, but Nate was already paying for them. After stepping out of the store, Nate removed the gauges from the bag, asking him sweetly. "May I?" Sean blushed, turning his head enough for Nate to slip the gauges in for him. Once they were both in, Nate turned his chin to look at him for a moment. Sean nibbled his lower lip, until Nate whispered to him. "They look really good on you. Call me crazy... but it's like I'm seeing you for the first time. Complete." Sean rolled his eyes, staring to walk away as he mumbled out. "Don't say that... Over the years they have just become a reminder of an old life and new mental issues."

Nate tagged along a little behind him, stating out innocently blunt. "You mean Anti?" Sean halted in his tracks. Nate slowly walked up next to him, casually saying. "The curse of the internet. Everything about you is out there for everyone to see and judge. Good and bad. You chose to embrace it. Part of recovery is knowing you have a problem." Sean grabbed Nate's arm, pulling him closer as he lightly snapped out. "I don't have a problem. Anti isn't real. The fans made him up." Nate raised a hand to touch his finger to Sean's forehead, telling him gently. "He's real up here. The fans saw your inner demons and just gave them a singular name. You chose to play with fire... and now you can't shut it off. Can you?" Sean swatted Nate's hand away, mumbling out. "That doesn't make sense." Nate crossed his arms over his chest, gently explaining. "Sean... The problem with playing with your inner demons... You start to realize how fragile you are. The more you taste, the more distant you get from those around you, until you either stand at odds with them... Or you join them."

Sean rubbed his collarbone anxiously, asking him seriously. "How do you know this?" Nate let out a low grim chuckle, before honestly telling him. "You're not the first one who had their demons exposed to the internet. In order to write the songs that I do... I have to have some emotional connection with them. Even the painful ones. The only difference is that I try to hide them in my music... Then fans started to read between the lines and well... Natemare was born. My struggle is different from yours like any demon. But the goal is the same. To wear you down." Sean lowered his hand and scuffed his sneaker over the tile as he mumbled out. "How do you deal with it?" Nate uncrossed his arms, placing a hand on his shoulder to bring his attention back to him. In a serious tone of voice, Nate told him. "Face them. You'll both walk away with deep scars that will never heal but think about this... Your demons are only as powerful as you make them. They'll never go away, but that doesn't mean that you can't accept them for what they are. Things happen. You can't change the outcome. So, don't dwell in the past. Mistakes make you who you are, and scars make your skin stronger. Just accept them and fight your way forward. It's what I do."

Sean forced a subtle smile, stating softly. "I'll try to remember that." Nate patted his shoulder, then tugged on the sleeve of his shirt as he pipped up playfully. "Well, enough of that. Come on. I wanna show you the most amazing thing ever." Sean let Nate pull him toward the escalator, stepping on. Nate turned Sean to face the center of the mall. Slowly Nate wrapped arms around his chest, resting his head on his shoulder as he whispered to him. "Wanna get some ice cream and ride that?" Sean chuckled, telling Nate happily. "Hell ya!" Nate kissed his neck and Sean tilted his head back to rest it on Nate's shoulder as they rode the escalator down. Both of them staring at the majestic carousel. It was massive and decorated in shiny brass with colorful decorations. Even the animals were realistic looking, and he couldn't wait to enjoy it with Nate. To Be Continued...