I'm sitting on my bed in my bra, examining myself when Kirsten walks into my room. "So how was the show?" she asks.

"It was great," I smile, spying a scrape on my elbow. "Can you grab me a band-aid from the bathroom?" I pick a piece of dirt from the wound while I wait for her to return. "It's too bad you couldn't make it," I say, sticking on the band-aid. "You woulda loved it."

"Yeah, not many punk bands come through this town," she says, sitting down on the end of my bed. "Was there a pit?"

"Yeah, and it was fucked! At first I just kept my distance, because everybody was pushing each other and I was sure I'd get my ass kicked. But when they started playing Paradise Kiss the crowd went fucking nuts, and suddenly the pit was twice as big. So I was in the middle of it, and some guy pushed me and I smashed up against this other guy, and when I pushed back to keep my balance I wacked into somebody else. Then after a few seconds it fell into this kinda chaotic rhythm, everybody pushing each other and slamming into each other, and it was great. It was the best band I've ever seen, it's way better than just standing there listening. And it was actually weirdly polite, people would push you, but they wouldn't hit you. And nobody tried to grab my tits or anything."

"That's surprising."

"Yeah, I know, but people didn't even care that I was a girl. It was just about how excited we were to see the band, about all the energy that was in the room. I'm sore everywhere, but it wasn't malevolent at all. You could really tell everyone was having a great time, in between songs everybody would stop and cheer, and then when a new song started a bunch of us would start jumping until everything turned into a shoving contest again. It was insane, I've never been so exhausted."

I lay back on the bed with my arms behind my head, glancing up between my breasts at Kirsten. "So where'd you get that?" she asks, pointing at the scrape on my elbow.

"I got pushed backward and there was nobody to hit. Just bad timing, but it scared the shit out of me. I kept falling until I bashed into the ground, but somebody helped me up right away. And shoved me back into the pit," I say with a grin. "Actually, I had to fight my way out a couple of times, it was just too tiring. I had to go to the bathroom and douse myself with water, then catch my breath before I went back in."

"It's too bad I missed it. I don't know if I woulda been too proficient at the pushing, but I coulda been your help-up-off-the-floor girl."

"Ah, there was nothing to it. You would have been great." I look up at the ceiling, smiling. "So what were you doing tonight?"

She stands up and doesn't answer right away, and when I glance up at her she's looking out my bedroom door. I sit up; it's awfully unusual for her to be coy.

"I went to see Nishi," she says.

"What? Why would you go see that fuck?"

"I was nervous! I couldn't get it out of my head that something was going to happen to you. I mean, there's no way he's just gonna let things go."

"So, let me deal with it. You don't have to get involved."

"But I can be like a mediator," she says. "This thing's just gonna get bigger and bigger, you getting back at him, him getting back at you. It's fucking stupid."

"How can you be a mediator? He could get back at you just as easily as me."

"Well, I had to do something," she says, pacing a little. "I had a dream about it and I couldn't even fall back asleep afterward. I don't think you understand how far this could go."

"Really. So what was this scary dream about?" I ask, and she stops pacing long enough to give me a disapproving look.

She sets her jaw slightly, crossing her arms as she looks away. "I dreamed you were in a hallway at school, tied up naked, and the bell rang and everybody came out of class..."

She falls silent and I can't help a smirk as I say, "I don't know, that sounds kinda hot."

"This isn't a goddamn joke!" She looks straight at me. "Those fucks were planning something. I'm just trying to look out for you."

"It was only a dream, Kirsten. I'm sure it was spooky, but nothing like that's really gonna happen. They don't have it in them."

"Nothing's gonna happen because I dealt with it. I'm not just gonna wait for the next offensive to hit. Maybe they weren't gonna tie you up, but something embarrassing was gonna happen to one of us, and there's no need for it."

"So what kinda deal did you make? You didn't give Adam a handjob, did you?"

"No. Though he did ask." She clears her throat. "I agreed to go on some dates with Nishikado."

"Some? How many?"

"Three. No sex, no touching, he's going to take me to a movie or something. That's all. Then he said we'd be even."

"Are you retarded? You just had a dream about this guy sexually assaulting me and now you're gonna go out with him? Do you want to get date-raped?"

She narrows an eye, arms still crossed. "Give me some credit, I can look after myself. I don't need you watching out for me."

"And I don't need you watching out for me. This is ridiculous, he's taking advantage of you."

"I'm doing this to look out for both of us. After this the pressure's gone. Like it or not, this is what's happening. It's only three dates, it'll be over before you even know it."

"You believe that he's just gonna stop?"

"Yeah." She glances down at me. "Put on a shirt, your bruises are starting to show."

I look down at myself and see that she's right; large dark spots are forming on my shoulders. I pick up a long sleeved shirt from next to my bed and pull it on, then watch her silently for a moment. "Why don't we make it a double date with Adam? So we can look after each other?"

"No, he doesn't want you around. I don't think you know how pissed he is at you. His eyes get this bitter look every time you get mentioned..."

I drop my head slightly. "This is a stupid plan."

"Well maybe pushing him into a gym full of people was stupid, too."

Then for a minute we don't say anything, until she finally says, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

She walks out of my room, waving without looking at me.

I lay back on my bed and my hand finds its way under my shirt, my fingers wrapping around my cross. I give it a small squeeze and look up at the ceiling, then close my eyes as my other hand slides into my jeans.