Jon made Tom listen to the entire song, and then he made him listen to the next song, then the next after that. To Tom, it all sounded like noise. Screeching noise. When the CD was done, Jon turned it off, much to Tom's relief. He hated metal music. But soon he wouldn't.
Tom's phone rang at that moment, and Jon answered it. It was Karyn.
"Jon?" she asked. "What are you doing there? I thought you were coming to Sarah's house with me."
An hour before, Jon would have been against it. But now, it sounded like a great idea. "I am. Did you want Tom to come with too?"
Tom looked up, wondering what Jon was talking about.
"Of course. That's why I was calling him."
"We'll be right over," Jon said, before hanging up. He looked at Tom. "Come on. We're going to Sarah's house."
"What? I'm not going anywhere."
"You're going to go to school tomorrow anyway," Jon pointed out. "You might want to get used to being out of the house."
"School? No way. I'm not leaving here."
Jon moved closer to him, and spoke in a clear voice. "Do you want your other friends to become like you?" Jon threatened him. "Because you know I can make it happen."
Tom looked at him, but didn't say a word. He knew that Jon could carry out his threat. And although having this new life scared him, knowing that his friends could suffer the same fate scared him more. So, reluctantly, he agreed to go with Jon.
