The Life of Bands

The group finally managed to get up and head back, not far behind Rina. "Hey Ri-" Ty was about to snap back at Rina, but Dex stopped him in the act. He nudged him and shook his head. He kept a serious look to ensure Ty he wasn't joking around. Ty was surprised by this and shrugged it off. He wasn't exactly one to put two and two together. As they walked back, he stared at Rina. He felt a sick feeling in his stomach, not one caused by the alcohol he consumed from the night. Was he..feeling something about Rina? He didn't want do believe it.

They finally got back to the hotel and headed to their room. There was complementary waters sitting out in the lobby, obviously so people could remove some level of intoxication from themselves. Dex held up and stood alone for a bit drinking some water and watching people as they went by, occasionally saying a "Hey" to some.
 
Even if a bomb had gone off in the next room, Rina probably wouldn't have woken up. She was absolutely exhausted, and barely managed to get changed before falling into bed, asleep by the time she hit the pillow. Bliss. No dreams, just wonderful, glorious sleep.

When she woke up, the sun was high in the sky. Midday. Shit. They were on in three hours. They'd missed their soundcheck slot. If they didn't get their asses in gear soon, they'd probably be disqualified. Still groggy, Rina threw herself out of bed, sprinting down the hall in just an oversized t-shirt. "Guys! Guys!" She shouted, hammering on their door as if her life depended on it. Well, it sort of did.

It was Will who answered the door, clean and dressed, totally cool, as if nothing was wrong. He took one look at Rina and struggled not to laugh. "Oh, Sweetie. Reggie and Aron are at the stage, have been since ten. They've sound checked for us. Get yourself ready and we'll head down."

She was stunned. Also thanking god that two of the four of them were actually organised. Otherwise they would have run out of steam a long time ago. "Will, I love you!" She hugged him tightly, giving him a quick peck on the lips, before turning and running back to her room, shouting behind her, "Give me half an hour and I'll be in the lobby."
 
Dex and his band had been down in the designated practice spot for at least two hours. They had done their sound check and more importantly had the amazing luck of being one of the last few bands to play. This meant more time to relax, practice, and perhaps a better chance of making it to the next round. The sounds of guitars, basses, drums, keyboards, and even some woodwind instruments filled the island with constant sound. Dex did not need to play an instrument today. The band had decided what to play each day, if they were to make it. Today was a day Dex was straight vocals. He didn't really mind much. Evan was the one who had it in for himself. He would be singing backup, playing guitar, and keyboard. However, he seemed to be the most calm of the four.

Dex was doing so vocal warmups, including face massages and singing the scales through la's, da's, and tu's. He had had some years of vocal lessons and never forgot them. Dex also had at least ten water bottles with him. Any chance he thought his throat was drying he guzzled down a drink. "Watch it Dex," Evan said noticing him drinking, "You don't want to have to use the restroom right before we preform."
 
Roughly an hour later, with only two hours to go, Rina and Will joined the others in their little nook of a practice space. All the instruments were tuned, and so they got down to deciding what they would play. They decided on 'Protest' which was nothing more than something to get the crowd going. It was full of anger and hope and love. It was what every band stood for, kicking ass, believing in yourself and generally having a good time.

"Is anyone else shitting themselves? Because I'm shitting myself." Rina said, wondering if she'd even be able to handle the backing vocals, let alone lead guitar. It all seemed so much to take.

"Yes, we're all bricking it." Aron grinned, tousling the girls hair, hoping to calm her nerves.

"But more importantly, we need to go and get ready. We're up in half an hour." Reggie chimed, though he had little to do. He was bald, and would probably end up going on topless. You got hot, hammering away at the drums.

The rest of them went to preen, Rina happening to glance over at Dex, though she quickly looked away again, hoping he hadn't seen her.
 
Dex looked over at Rina just after she had glanced at him. Whatever impulse he had caused him to walk over and he questioned himself every step of the way. "Hey, Rina. Look, I apologize for anything I said yesterday. I was just messing around." Dex thought to himself, "What are you doing!? She is your rival, grow a backbone!" However not listening to the little voice in his head, he continued, " I hope I didn't bring any hard feelings. Well, I should get going. You guys are up pretty soon. Oh and by the way, I'm looking forward to hearing this," normally Dex would follow with a sarcastic insult to their playing ability but instead he followed up with, "I've always liked Blood Diamond's sound. The lead guitar is killer." With that, he was off.
 
Rina just kind of stared at Dex blankly for a second, before finally shaking herself out of it and glaring at him instead. "I don't need your sarcasm right now. Just leave me alone." It was unwarranted, but she was pretty damn stressed, and in a helluva hurry to get ready. It was for this reason that she didn't wait for an answer, instead running off to go and get changed.

When she came out again, her eyes were shining happily, and also pretty well made up. Her hair was loose again, styled carefully, of course. She wore a pair of very 80s glam rock, zebra print skinny jeans, along with a loose fitting purple and red shirt. Her quitar was quite plain, a red fender, she'd owned it for years. Nothing fancy, just a lucky guitar.

Aron went for more of a leather jacket, leather trousers look. Not forgetting the obligatory aviators. Will was just jeans and a t-shirt. They were all different, but the mixture of styles seemed to work.

"Right. This is it guys..." Rina smiled, just backstage. They did quite a cheesy group hug, a sort of ritual they always went through, and then with that they ran onto the stage, determined to give this one shot everything they had.
 
Dex walked out into the crowd. He was upset that she saw it as just another attack. It made sense though. The two never shared a normal conversation. He decided to let it go and waited to watch their performance. Only Evan joined Dex, the others staying back to keep watch over their equipment. "Dex, what's with you? You're not falling for her are you? Don't think I didn't watch what you did. I know you and that was sincere. Not that I have a problem with kindness, but that is Blood Diamond. Our one true rival. Especially now. The worst thing you can do is let emotions effect your performance. If you don't sing well, we don't play well." Dex just sighed and waited for the band to start playing. He couldn't keep his eyes off of Rina. Evan looks concerned and headed back to the band.


Evan arrived back at the practice space for Voices and Vessels. "Ty...Bent...We have a problem...."
 
It came as no surprise to the rest of them, that once she played the first note, Rina's nerves fell away from her completely. The four of them played a fast and energetic song, the three at the front of the stage often charging about the stage like the lunatics they so often were. At one point, during the solo, of course, Rina stood on Aron's shoulders, as he knelt on the floor, struggling to continue with the bass line as the thankfully lightweight girl balanced, dismounting with a quick shout into the mic.

When they exited, they were all sweating like pigs, and full of adrenaline. "I think we actually did it. We fucking nailed it!" Will shouted as they staggered to put their equipment away. The rest agreed, smiles all round, although Rina was still a bit away with the fairies. She had seen Dex and his brother in the crowd, had even made eye contact at one point. The fact that they had bothered to watch made her uneasy, not that she saw any reason for it.
 
Dex, now back with his band, was doing a few more vocal warmups. There were still 5 bands to play before they had their chance. "Blood Diamond was good, real good." Evan said as he tuned his guitar. Bentley countered, "It's nothing we can't handle Evan. We are better than them." Dex looked over at Bentley. "Don't be too sure about that Bent. They were awesome. best I've seen them yet. Don't get too confident with yourself." Bentley then looked over at Evan. "Man, you were right about him." Dex was confused and looked over at Evan now. "Right about what? About me? What about me?" Dex became very defensive. Evan gave a look towards Bentley almost as if to say 'That was supposed to be between us." "Don't worry about it Dex, just get ready we are up soon." "No," Dex replied, "Tell me what you said to them?" The two the began arguing with each other. Dex finally stormed off a bit away from the band. He was breathing heavily and pacing.


Dex tried his hardest to calm down but couldn't. He was letting himself ruin the best week of his life, right before the biggest performance of his band's existence. He was furious that his own brother would go behind his back. Dex just paced along. Evan looked at Dex before turning to Bentley. "Good fucking going man. Now our singer is pissed. Not exactly the best plan of action. He already was off his game, this just dug an even deeper hole." Bentley shrugged it off. "Dex will be fine, don't worry Evan."
 
The four of them lingered around for a while, talking about the performance and the flood of emotions they were feeling. Although it had only been one song, it was more than they had ever hoped to achieve. It was a damn sight more than playing to a few dozen at a local club. When they'd started that had been enough to satisfy them, but from there their determination had grown, until finally their will had led them here, to the biggest break of their lives.

With the confidence still in her system, Rina stuck around to watch a few more of the acts, also being congratulated by many of the fans, even those that hadn't known her before today. It was for this reason that she headed backstage again for a while, just hearing the end of the conversation between the Voices and Vessels boys. She briefly considered what they could be talking about, although her attention was soon taken away to the band currently on, still very much audible from here.
 
Dex returned to his band a few minutes before they were to go on stage. Instead of their normal routine before playing, a tradition they kept from the start, they were silent. They headed on stage and Dex stared out towards what seemed like an ocean of fans. They were all screaming shouting, many chanting the band's name. Dex imagined Bentley had an effect on that. Dex forgot all worries for the time as he heard Ty count off to their song. They decided on " A Bullet for a Pretty Boy" The song was a jab at Dex after the countless times he was called one. It was all for fun and Dex was actually the one to come up with the name. The band seemed out of sync but overall pulled together. The fans were not disappointed, the same could not be said for the band itself.


They exited the stage and remained silent all the way back to their space. Only a few bands remained so the crew packed up their belongings and set them on the designated area so the staff could take them back. Evan, Ty, and Bentley all moved to the area where they had to be so judging could commence. They sat and talked. Dex kept his distance, still angry at Evan. It seemed a bit childish but Dex wasn't in the right state of mind.
 
Although there was certainly the same, raw and powerful energy to the band, Rina detected that something wasn't quite right. They played far too lossely, though of course they still managed to pull it off. Even so, it was strange. Rina came away from the stage then, dwelling on it, though she knew it was none of her business. If anything she should be pleased. If they fell at the first hurdle, then perhaps Blood Diamond would have just that little bit more of a chance.

"Did you see that? They were all over the place." Will commented, stating the truth of it, though he seemed just a tiny bit pleased. He wasn't one to wish ill upon another person, but he would take any advantage he could get. Aron and Reggie agreed, seeming rather pleased with the result.

"Yes, I saw. It was strange." Rina actually felt slightly bad for them, though mostly she was just confused by what on earth could be going on with the rival band. Still, for now she would remain quiet about it, instead following the boys as they made their way to go and find out the final verdict.
 
At last all the bands had played and the judging had finished. The large crowd that had spent the afternoon hollering and yelling was dead quiet. Out of 75 bands, only 25 would be announced for the following day to preform. The list read from 1 to 25 in no particular order. The judging on who was the best came later in the week when it really mattered. As the judges began, Dex listened carefully and occasionally looked over to Evan who as well listened in with great anticipation. Blood Diamonds band was called out among the first six. It wasn't until the last 4 bands that the judge officially announced Voices and Vessels name. Everyone cheered for the bands that made it, and a lot of cussing could be heard from the bands that did not. Dex and his fellow members seemed to join in on a collective sigh of relief.

Evan soon walked over to Dex. "Look, we can't stay mad at each other. It's not going to help at all. I know today was just random order but we were 3 bands from not making the list. I am sorry I said things behind your back. Being the older sibling, I should be the one that is more mature. I apologize sincerely. All I said was that your head wasn't in the game. I know you're focused on Rina a lot. You just have to try and distract yourself. How about we head back to the room for the night. Screw the after party, we have a whole week left practically. What do you say?" Dex smiled and hugged his brother before walking back to the practice space to grab some belongings.
 
The nerves were back. All of them were feeling it now, and they were actually holding hands like children, though they were squeezinfg pretty hard on eachother, until of course they were announced nice and early in the order. They could scarcely believe it. They had actually made it! Well, for another day at least. The four of them were far too enthusiastic, jumping and whooping like there was no tomorrow. Thankfully they did calm down in time for the rest of the bands to be announced. They stayed until the very end, and Rina watched the reaction of Voices and Vessels when they were finally announced. They did at least seem a bit more together than they had earlier.

Of course, Rina didn't stare after them too long, not wanting to draw any attention from the rest of the band, or any snoopers. No doubt, there would be plenty of those around this week. Soon enough, the four of them headed away to the bar, and Rina went to also have a night in. The stress of today, getting up late, almost missing the gig, all that stuff, it had taken its toll. The boys intended to do some karaoke, of all things, no doubt only awful songs that offended the ears would be allowed. The good music ended early. Rina, on the other hand, just wanted to watch a movie or something, and have a big think about what the hell she was doing always paying attention to Dex, though she insisted to herself it was just the band.
 
Dex headed back to the hotel with Evan. They entered the hotel which for the first time had only a few people, as most were out at the after party. They took the elevator and once inside the room, stripped down to basic clothing. It was hot after all. Dex wore only an undershirt and some black jeans. He headed out to the balcony of his room which had a nice view of the skyline above the ocean. He once again had a guitar, and it was actually his this time. He strummed a bit before breaking into an acoustic song he wrote. Of course it had deep feelings in it. It was one of the typical songs that gets girls to fall in love with the singer for that moment they see him on stage. With high pitched falsetto notes and all that good stuff. Evan just laughed as he heard his brother and began playing some video games. Dex was finally starting to relax and break free from what seemed like mind control

He heard all the commotion from the party and figured everyone was there. He would rather be where he was. At certain times, Dex enjoyed being alone for the most part. He was very sociable, but everyone needs time apart from the wild side of life. He had a notebook and a pencil next to him. His esteemed notebook that held everything from song lyrics to journal entries. He cherished it and after singing every now and then he would drought some random things into it.
 
Rina showered and changed into a pair of pyjama shorts and a tanktop, considering what to do now. The night was still young, but she didn't really feel like doing much. So, she went out into the night, leaning on her own balcony and watching the stars. Could there be anything better? Doubtful. It was a beautiful place, warm, balmy air, everything was just perfect. But it would all be over in a week, perhaps even sooner if they did spiral out of the competition early. Rina was just betting they would.

A couple of floors up, Rina could hear someone playing. From here she couldn't tell who it was, so she shouted up a friendly greeting, just because she was bored, if she was honest. "Great night, isn't it?" She called, thinking to herself that whoever was singing and playing up there wasn't that bad. Needless to say, the moment she realised it was Dex, she'd retract that thought, and pretend it had never occurred to her in the first place. She couldn't afford to go soft on the competition.
 
Dex heard the shout and wondered who was yelling that out. He set his things down and walked to the edge of the balcony looking down at he heard the person. All to his surprise, he caught a glimpse of Rina down below. Why did she say that? Surely she thought it was someone else. Not wanting to start anything at all, Dex replied, " For some more than others!" He grabbed his guitar, only playing now instead of singing as well.

He was regretting even answering her. Evan might have been right. It would have been best for him to rid Rina from his thoughts. Dex didn't worry about it too much and continued playing. He closed his notebook and sat up in his chair. Part of him was ready to head back inside for the night, but another part kept him out, perhaps waiting for a reply.
 
There was a part of her that knew who she was talking to, but the wind did ever so slightly warp the voice, enough for her to say to herself that this was a completely random person that she had never met before. With this suitably confirmed in her head, Rina continued to speak with this apparent stranger. "Maybe, but I'm sure even the most miserable of us are still a teensy bit happy."

Now for a completely tactless comment, something that only Rina would think appropriate. "Say, you're not considering jumping, are you? Don't make me come up there." And knowing her compulsiveness, she probably would head up if she thought someone was going to jump. Self preservation wasn't a strong point. She was just in life for living in the moment, whatever the cost to the future might be. Had she not got the band tying her to the wider world, she probably would have been dead by now, after doing something like skydiving without a parachute.
 
Dex, once her heard the replies, stood up and walked over the the edge. He could not see anyone anymore and was debating on if it was Rina in the first place. But whoever it was thought Dex suicidal. Whether as a cruel joke or not, he had to set them straight. "I"m quite fine not flying towards the ground below me. Maybe another day, but not today. Thanks for the concern. Sorry you can't come up though!" He laughed, leaning over on the railing on the edge of the balcony. Dex was always something of a flirt, he never really meant to. In fact, he was a very traditional one girl go getter attitude. He never liked the idea of dating multiple girls. He always tried to make it work with one girl. He perhaps slipped with the last comment because he was starting to believe that was a random girl who was a few levels below. He listened close for a reply. Whether it was Rina or a random stranger, Dex was anxious to hear a reply.
 
"Glad to hear it." Rina answered, leaning quite dangerously back over the balcony in an effort to see who was up there. Of course, the voice at the back of her mind, which she had brutally silenced, knew full well who she was speaking to, but until it managed to shout over her stubborn will, this conversation was going to continue. "Why can't I come up? You're not naked are you? Or are you just shy? I promise I'm nice. Honest."

Yes, this was definitely the way to spend the night. It was certainly interesting, just chatting to a random stranger, adding a slightly flirtatious tone to her voice at times, not with any intention to it, just good natured fun. As she waited for a reply, Rina did push her luck just a little too far, slipping and hitting her head on the rail, thankfully not going over the edge. "Ow, shit." She grumbled, deciding not to try and see who was up there, instead rubbing the back of her head as she spoke, "Don't worry, I'm still alive."
 
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