Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, You can't see me

I decided I had to put these stupid letters aside and try to mend my relationship with Joe and the rest of the band. I slowly make my way down the hall to Joe's room and solemnly stand outside his door, waiting the right time to enter. That's when I heard Mike's voice.

"Listen, dude, he's going crazy. I think these stupid fan letters are starting to get to him. Give him a little slack. Everyone has bad moments." Mike said, defending me

"I understand that, but that was an important meeting this morning. He's got to get his head out of his ass."

"Look, I'll talk to him. But you have to make ammends with him as well. More stress on him isn't going to make things better. It'll only drive him more into himself." That was my Mike. He knew me all too well

I cautiously knock on the door and wait for someone to tell me to enter. I wait and wait and wait. It seemed like forever passed before I decided to knock again. This time much louder than the first time.

"Enter"

"Hey Mike, Joe. Listen I wanted to apologise for my behavior this morning. It was unprofessional and not like me. I hope you guys and the rest of the band can forgive me." I said in an apologetic tone, looking from Mike to Joe and back again

"Chester, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been so......mean, misunderstanding. But you can't keep letting these stupid letters get in the way of your job." Joe said in a much friendlier tone than his look when he first came in.

"Yeah, don't let your new girlfriend monopolize your mind" Mike said with a snicker.

"Fuck off Mike!" I told him, before throwing a smile in Joe's direction.

"Hey Ches, you've got a mysterious package in the mail!" Rob yelled up to us.

I went downstairs, not knowing what to expect. Naturally Mike and Joe were in tow to see my newest gift as well. I looked at the box wrapped in plain brown paper, it was a complete square with no return address. Everyone had gathered to see what was inside, and I was getting really nervous. What if there was something in there I didn't want the guys to see? Butterflies flew in my stomach as I meticulously unwrapped my package.

"Come on Chazy Chaz, open it up!" Mike said, starting to laugh heartily.

I finally got the package open, and looked inside. There was a letter, handcuffs, a ball-gag, a blindfold and a few photos, mostly of me. I didn't know what to think. This person was obviously into bondage. But were they telling me they wanted me tied up and gagged or just making suggestions of things we could explore together? I looked at the photos. They were all of me doing things most people didn't need to see. Such as me in the shower! Mike picked up the card and handed it to me, as I was engrossed in looking at pictures of me. I saw the photo inside the card first. It was me asleep in my bed. Then I forced myself to read the card:

"You Can't See Me....."

"Damn dude, your little girlfriend is a freak! Bet she REALLY likes your tats and piercings, too!" Mike said through fits of laughter. Soon all the other guys were laughing as well, except Phoenix.

I took my box upstairs and put it with my other cards and assorted items from my admiror. I stared at my window for a long time. I knew there was somebody there that night. It wasn't my imagination after all!!! As I leaned on my headboard, trying to write some new lyrics, I began to think. Mike is the one who is really having fun with this. He's the one who really sees how much this is getting to me. He's the one who laughs the loudest and longest. He became my first suspect. My mind was made up. I was going to track down whoever it was that was doing this.

I scribbled out my lyrics and began taking notes. Since I was now playing detective, my first stop was Mike's room. I knocked and then quickly entered. My eyes widened with what I saw. Packing tape, brown paper to wrap packages in, and various size boxes. Could it really be that Mike is behind all this? I didn't really want to believe it, but the evidence wasn't lying. I went back to my room to grab my digital camera to take photos. When I was done, I slipped out of his room and went to go find him.

I walked downstairs frantically looking for Mike. I heard the front door shut and I ran the rest of the way downstairs, nearly tripping on one of Brad's shoes. I opened the door only to find that Joe had left and was now getting into his car. "Damn" I thought to myself. I went to the kitchen in hopes that he would be there, fixing himself some lunch. No one but Phoenix. He looked thoroughly confused as I looked around. I shrugged my shoulders at him and went to the patio, hoping he would be outside playing basketball. Alas, there wasn't a soul out there but me. I went back into the house and wandered into the living room where Rob and Brad were killing each other on Halo 2. They were loading their next game when Rob looked up at me.

"What's up Chaz? You look lost or something." Rob said.

"Have either of you seen Mike around?" I asked a little impatiently. Both shook their heads no.

"I believe he was getting dressed to go out with Joe." piped up Brad.

Hmmm. Maybe Mike and Joe were in this together. I sat down on the couch next to Rob and began taking a few notes. With their game on pause so Brad could grab some food, Rob looked over at me expectantly. I knew he wanted to talk, but was probably struggling with the right words.

"Listen, Chaz. I know it's really none of my business............" His voice trailed off. I kept looking at him.

"Um, well. I want to talk to you about these letters and gifts and such. I know it's bothering you. Hell, it'd bother me. These messages are starting to get a little creepy. Everyone knows that's why your concentration this morning was a total zero. Talk to me." He comfortingly said

"Come talk to me a little later in my room. I'm gonna be here alll day." He finished as Brad came back into the room.

So. He obviously didn't want to talk with Big Bad Brad around. That was odd. Very odd. Oh well, I have to talk to someone. I can't decide if he's a bad guy or not. It seems like he wants to help me, but that could be one of their tactics. Getting one of them to gain my trust. "There you go again, being all paranoid." "Yeah, you thought you were just paranoid when you thought you saw someone outside your window and there really was someone there.". I hate arguing with myself. I decided to go back to my room and look at those photos again. Maybe I could figure out what angle and stuff they were taken from.

I was pondering the photos when I heard a knock at my door. I instinctively cringed. I got up to answer, but noone was there. Probably Mike playing a sick game with my head. I went to see if he was in his room, but found it empty. And cleaned up. He had been here! I raced back to my room to write this new information down. I became engrossed in the letters and cards, listening to my favorite record when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up into the famous Shinoda grin. I grinned back and took off my headphones.

"What's up Mike?" I asked inquizically.

"Joe and I just got back. It was an awesome movie. You should have came. Might have gotten your mind of things for a while." He said, grinning.

"Yeah, well, I've been kinda busy this afternoon."

He looked pretty interested, but said nothing. Like he was making mental notes, as I was doing the same. He leaned back on my bed and picked up a magazine and began reading. I sat there, staring at him. That man amazes me some days. I watched him for a while before turning back to the letters. I kept my headphones off. After a short while, I could hear the magazine hit the bed.

"Chester. I want to talk to you. I know this admiror of yours is really starting to bother you. But you have to know, that you're safe in this house. It's just cards and letters. Like these people could possibly get anywhere near this house." Mike said, trying to comfort me

"Mike, let me let you in on something. Do you realize why I was so freaked yesterday about the last card and those photos? I didn't let any of you see them.......because some were of me in the shower and one, the one that was in the card, was of me in bed asleep. I saw someone outside my bedroom a few nights ago. I thought I was just being paranoid because of all this." I said, starting to tremble.

He looked shocked. Like he couldn't believe what I was telling him. He then took my pale hands in his and just looked at me. He was trying to find the right words to say. He opened his mouth to say something, then promptly shut it again. I could feel the tears starting to burn my eyes, as I fought them back. I couldn't let him see me cry over something this stupid. But I was frightened.

"Chester, listen to me. I want you to stay with me in my room. I don't really think you're all that safe in your room. We'll see about one of the other guys switching you rooms. Damn it Chester! Why the fuck didn't you tell me this sooner? I'm you're best friend." He said, sensing how I felt.

I couldn't hold back anymore. I began to cry. Why was this happening? Who was doing this? What did they want? All I could think of was being kidnapped and chained to a cold basement wall, having extremely vile things done to me by my kidnappers. I wanted the safety of Mike's arms. He would protect me. I know he would. How could I have suspected him? He is my best and closest friend, afterall.

"Yo, Ches, you have a new letter." Rob said, keeping his distance outside my door.

Mike got up and retrieved it for me. He sat it on the bed, in front of me. All I could do was stare at it, afraid to open it. My hands started to tremble again as I picked it up and looked at it hard. "Oh well, here goes" I told myself.

"But I Can See You..............." was all that was written. I began crying in Mike's arms again.