The Life of Bands

Dex stopped and looked behind, now feeling a soft, but assertive pull on his hand. "Ya, uh, the rain wasn't really a part of this whole....plan I had. " He smiled slightly and climbed back down to her balcony. He stared in her eyes and the moment seemed to stop completely. There they were both standing in pouring rain. At one moment Dex was overjoyed that they had at least created a small bond that would enable them to be friends. But in the next, he was crushed that the beautiful girl who was standing only a few few from him was never to be more than just a friend.

"I don't want to trample through your room all soaked like this. That would be rude." He laughed slightly and looked into her blue eyes. That of course made him smile uncontrollably.
 
"Well you'll have to stay out here then, or man up and wreck my room. I'm not letting you go up there." As always, Rina was direct, smiling slightly as she spoke, though there was so much doubt in her now that it was impossible to know precisely how to continue. Ordinarily Rina was the type of girl that never did things by halves, but she had to be hesitant now, knowing exactly she wanted, but unable to go out and get it, for the sake of the band. And perhaps her own sanity. "Dex. What are we going to do?" There wasn't really anything they could do, aside from attempting to keep a secret, easier said than done.
 
Dex walked over to the entrance of her room, standing just inside and pulled her along with him so they could be away from the rain. " I don't know. I wish I could think of something, anything that could make this work." He stood there and looked around a bit, as he did when he was in deep thought. The whole thing sucked and he knew it. He wished so much that he could just forget about this competition and leave the island with her. That would never work and he did still care for the competition and his band. These were all new feelings and his band has been with him for much longer. Dex now started thinking all the bad things. If they never did make this work, they both had to go back to a town where they didn't live very far away from each other. In addition, they would be playing similar gigs, just like before. It was rare that a gig didn't have Voices and Vessels without Blood Diamond, or Blood Diamond without Voices and Vessels. This made Dex's expression turn sad as he thought on.
 
It was really a bit pointless coming inside now. They were both soaked, the rain here was sudden and almost always heavy, just as it was tonight. Still, at least it was warmer in here and they could start to dry off. In any case, the weather really wasn't the problem. There were far more pressing matters, and both of them knew it, much as they probably wished none of this had ever happened. "We're not going to have to sneak around like teenagers out of curfew, are we?" Rina muttered, a touch of humour to her voice, although part of her thought it was the best idea for them. There were risks attached, particularly as if they were found out there would be quite a scandal, but it seemed worth it, at least in theory. It was that or give up, and that wasn't something Rina was ready to do.
 
Dex secretly liked the idea of hiding there new found relationship. He thought of how true Evan was calling Dex Romeo. " I want this, you, more than anything. If that would be what it would take. I mean at least until this week is over." He started in closer towards her. It was as if her eyes were magnetically pulling him in. It was the heat of the moment and Dex forgot about everything else. "Rina, will you be my best kept secret?" It was really corny the way he said it, but that was just Dex being himself. It was good though that his playful attitude was returning. Things seemed to brighten up for him.
 
Rina was thinking along the same lines, but it did seem a little bit over the top to have to skulk about like this. However, for the right person, it was worth it, and Dex was most definitely the right person. So, all joking aside, Rina was more than willing to take this risk. Unfortunately, she found Dex's question so amusing that she ended up bursting out in a fit of giggles. She tried to stifle them, struggling to do so, and feeling pretty damn terrible about her inability to remain serious. Eventually, she did get herself under control, finally answering, "Yes. Was what I was trying to say." At this point she leaned up to him, giving him a sweet, chaste kiss that was actually quite shy. She was excited, but also apprehensive, particularly as there was still alot to think about.
 
Dex smiled happily at her giggles, and then blushed from the sweet kiss. Things were looking up. The only problem that remained was filing out the details and how to keep it a secret for the next few days. Dex shivered a bit for he was cold. " It must be nice having a room to yourself. As much as I do enjoy my friends, they can get a bit aggravating." The only thing Dex thought of to do now was to create small talk, as he started. It was something to get some sense of normality back into the situation. After all that had occurred, reality was knocking on the door and Dex was trying to prepare.

Suddenly Dex's phone buzzed, which was good considering it was probably wet even though it was in his pocket. He took it out and saw he had a text message from his brother. It read, "You're not dead are you? What's going on?" Dex debated whether to lie or not. He knew Evan would understand the truth but he still was in his band and was smart enough to know that it could jeopardize everything. "It's my brother. I'm not sure what to say." He looked back at Rina, showing her the message he had received.
 
Rina decided that now was a good time to sit down. She perched on the edge of her bed, patting the space beside her for Dex to join her. She did agree that it was great having the room to herself, though of course there were drawbacks. "I didn't actually havve any choice in the matter. After our first mini tour, Aron's exact words were "Living with you is like living with an explosion of glitter and flowers whilst trying to dodge baby rage." It had only been for four nights, but it was enough to drive at least one of the boys to distraction. And really, although Rina wasn't tidy, she didn't think she was quite that bad. Well, the PMS, or baby rage, as Aron called it could be tough at times, but the same could be said of most women.

Now, onto this text message, and the wider issue of what they should do about the rest of the people that were technically concerned with this turn of events. Rina thought on it for a few moments, eventually coming up with, "Tell him the truth. It's better that they find out sooner rather than later." She wasn't sure how her boys would react, but knew that keeping it secret, even for a few days, would only make it worse.
 
Dex sat down next to her and laughed at her answer about being alone in her room. He then looked at his phone, thinking about what to say. She war right, he needed to be truthful. If not for the obviousness of telling the truth, Dex also considered the fact it was his brother and he wouldn't care much at all. He decided to just reply saying he would tell him later. After that he put his phone away. " I'm trying to play out how my band will take this. I know my brother will be fine with it. He might not care for it too much. After all he dated Cassie from This is Athens for the longest time." This is Athens was a band that was very popular a few years ago and was a tough competition for Voices and Vessels. Fortunate enough for Dex's band, This is Athens broke up after an alleged fight between Cassie and her drummer. Evan and Cassie parted soon after. "The only thing that concerns me is is Bentley. He is taking this competition seriously and might not enjoy the fact you and I...well...." Dex wasn't sure where they were at completely. Neither himself or Rina mentioned dating at all so he kind of stumbled over words to move on. "He won't like it I'd imagine. With Ty, he could take this the same was Evan or Bentley."

"I have to ask you, since I don't know your band members so well, do they even like me?" Dex honestly had never spoken to anyone from Blood Diamond except Rina in the past. It was odd considering the amount of time the two bands played together in gigs.
 
As she waited for Dex to decide what to do, Rina did think about what the others would think. She was pretty certain she could gauge their reactions fairly accurately, although it was impossible to say exactly what anyone would say or do upon finding out what was going on. The unknown quantity that was Ty did concern Rina slightly, even more than Bentley, but she made nothing of it. Dex would deal with his friend and bandmates the way he saw fit, and she would do the same on her side of things. Well, she'd try to. She knew Aron would be a huge problem, and most likely Will would take his side - doing the brotherly thing. Reggie, on the other hand would probably be pleased for her, though he would warn her to keep it on the straight and narrow.

"Reggie is practical, he'll be pleased, so long as I remain focused. Aron will take it personally. He always hated you. Sorry, but he does. You sing, he sings, you've got tons of groupies, so as he. He's always seen you as direct competition." She sighed, shaking her head, "He'll think that I've chosen you over him. Not that there's ever been anything between us, it's just...just his way. Will's going to take Aron's side, although I think really he'll be okay with it. And they may all threaten to break your legs if you even lay a finger on me." That last part was said with a snort of laughter, though it was likely to be true. After the last relationship, they were all pretty damn protective of their little Rina.
 
Dex hadn't realized Aron saw him as direct competition. "Ok...ok we can do this. I hope. This is really weird. I'm incredibly happy...I mean I'm happy that I am sitting next to you but at the same time if either of our band members takes this wrong..." Dex continued rambling on saying whatever was on his mind. He would say the good and bad and didn't plan to stop talking. He would sometimes get into these tangents where he wouldn't cease talking and just ramble on until someone stopped him, generally a slap on the head from Evan.

As he continued he tuned out the world, just spitting out useless information and highly unlikely situations, such as "What if Aron tries to fight me, or even worse what if Bentley tries to fight me...he would rip me in half!" As so Dex continued, no end in sight.
 
Rina did at first allow him to continue talking, but when he seemed to be getting into a bit of a hysterical state, she quickly put her hand on his, squeezing slightly in an effort to bring him out of his downward spiral. She had to admit, that if she was just a little more open with her own thoughts and feelings, she probably would have been doing the same thing. As it was, Rina was internalising, thinking everything through in a muddled way that really wasn't very effective.

"Dex. It will be okay. They might hate us for a while, but it'll be alright in the end. They're good guys, you know that." She did have her doubts about Aron. He was always unpredictable, he was the one who had always been getting in fights at school, preferring to deal with his problems via rage, rather than thought. It was only Will that had kept him from jail, if she was really honest. "Tomorrow morning, we'll tell them. But for now, you need sleep." Rina wasn't usually the most practical, but now she was taking control, hoping that it would help just a little bit.
 
"Oh, right..sleep. Sorry about that. I just kinda lost it there. Right, we will tell them tomorrow. I mean there isn't any competing anyway." Dex felt somewhat better, getting all those thoughts from his head, but he still was worried about what tomorrow might hold. For now, he should be happy though. He was where he wanted to be. Finally he had told Rina the truth, and she felt just the same. It was like a fairy tale.

Dex got up from the bed and headed over to the door. "Sorry for the wet spot on your bed Rina." He made a silly sad face even though he honestly felt bed for tracking wetness everywhere.
 
"I'm just as wet as you, you know." Rina retorted, rolling her eyes as she waved him off. "It'll be fine. I promise." As she was left alone, the confident smile faded from Rina's face. There was no way it was going to go well, and she knew it. She spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in her bed, unable to sleep for the constant stream of potential outcomes of this revelation. In every one, someone blew up. It was to be expected. Dark feelings had been harboured for a long time, mostly fuelled by slightly psychotic fans. Even so, the emotion was there, and it wouldn't just be wiped away overnight.

The following morning, once dressed and ready to face the day, Rina sent a text to Reggie, trusting him to round up the others. "Meet me in my room. 10am." She thought that at least if she could block the exits, Aron wouldn't go on an impulsive rampage.
 
When Dex had arrived in his room that night, everyone was asleep, including Evan. He decided to hold off anything until tomorrow. The next morning Dex was the last to wake up and everyone was thankfully still in the room. Evan let Dex shower and everything before he spoke up. He walked over to Dex and made it so either Ty nor Bentley could hear. "Dex, you wanna tell me what happened now?" Dex turned and looked at him with a nervous expression. "Actually," Dex began and spoke loud enough for Ty and Bentley to notice, "Guys I have something to tell you." The three all had their attention on Dex, which he didn't like at all but it was necessary. "Rina and I-" That was enough for Bentley to butt in, "Oh God, did you two have sex? Really Dex, I can't be-" No no! We didn't have sex or anything like that. But, we kinda confessed to each other that we've fallen for one another. We both really like each other." Dex waited for the reactions, but was generally surprised. Evan just laughed and said, "Ya, I kinda thought that was coming. It didn't take much for me to put that together." Ty began, " I did not see this coming, but you do what you want man, I'll back you up." This made Dex feel much better before Bentley said his thoughts. "Ya, but I swear if you let Rina get to you too much and we get kicked out because of her. You better hope I don't get my hands on you. Other than that....good for you man!" Dex laughed in a weird way, he wasn't sure to be happy or scared at Bentley's words. Now that that was over, Dex had to only wonder what would happen with Blood Diamond.
 
As per her request, the boys arrived in her room just after ten, all in a good mood, joking and laughing as usual. Unfortunately, this was all set to change. Rina leaned against the door once they were in, just as a precuation - Aron had always been a livewire. She barely gave them a chance to get in the room before speaking up, "I kind of have a thing for Dex, and guess what...the feelings mutual, and I think we're gonna give it a try." She smiled sheepishly, waiting to see what the boys would say.

"Not that prick! No way. That is not happening. Dammit Rina, you've got to be kidding me." Aron, of course, was the first to speak up. He was fuming. His fists were tightly clenched, and it was easy to see that he wanted to go and punch someones lights out. Thankfully, Will was able to butt in before any further hurtful things were said.

"If you're sure...then I support you." It was a level headed response, and Will was still sort of sitting on the fence.

Aron had yet more to say, "Yeah, she was sure about the last one. Look how that turned out." They had nearly broken up that year. They'd certainly parted company for a lengthy period, and had only really come back together by a strong stroke of luck.

"Irrelevant. Rina, it's your life. I'll be looking out for you." And there was Reggie, always positive. No doubt he had his concerns, as did they all, but he knew Rina never made the same mistake twice, so at least any trouble she got into would be a new kind.
 
Dex headed out with his band so they could all go shopping. It sounded girly but they wanted to see if they could improve their bands equipment. They had some money leftover from earlier gigs so they took the opportunity now. The island had many stores catering to band needs. Today they decided to set aside for themselves. They would spend as much of the day as they could with each other before getting annoyed at one another.

Dex had Rina and would keep his mind on Rina the entire day, as per usual. He was worried if her band took the news as well as his band had. As they walked around, he constantly looked around for her. Not to avoid her though. The one person he planned to avoid to the utmost, however, was Aron.
 
It took a fair old while for anyone to come up with anything further to say. Well, Will was busy trying to placate his brother, hoping that by some miracle he would actually put his grudges and also his fears aside, rather than blowing up like the ticking time bomb he was. However, eventually the young man did seem to calm down a little. His face wasn't his red, and his fists -although still clenched - were at least a little looser now.

"Right. Okay. I know I've dumped alot on you guys, I'll get out of your hair for now. How about we meet up tonight? Dinner on me?" Rina hoped that would be enough time for them to process all that was going on, although the main emphasis was on Aron calming down. The four of them left the room, heading in various directions. Will and Aron went back to the boys' room, most likely to sulk, while Reggie headed out to the beach. Rina, on the other hand, just wandered. She was distracted, even moreso than usual. She was also patrolling for a psychotic man...just in case he escaped.
 
It took awhile before Dex found Rina, and of course he ran right to her. He didn't see Aron so he was especially elated. "Hey Rina." He smiled and wanted to hug her but refrained. "So how did the guys take it?" It was the first thing on his mind so of course it was the first thing he asked. Dex's band just watched in the distance but eventually walked a but closer. They didn't want to intrude. Dex always felt a heightened sense of affection when around Rina. Every moment he wanted to hug her or even kiss her. Luckily he was able to control himself, if even enough time for her to answer.
 
Not expecting to be accosted by Dex, Rina was a bit surprised to see him, though of course an affectionate smile was on her lips as he approached. However, she frowned slightly when he mentioned the boys. "Not well. Aron is...a bit upset." That was the understatement of the century, but really, Rina didn't want to paint him in a bad light. "Will's pissed off with me for upsetting Aron, and Reggie is fine. He's not getting into it." She shrugged, that was the long and the short of it, he could take that how he would. "How about you? Did you fare any better?" She was guessing so, seeing as she was well aware of the others close by, but it was worth asking, just in case there was any hidden animosity.
 
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