The Life of Bands

"I-I think Bentley? I'm not to sure about him. However for now he is cool with this. I feared Aron wouldn't take this well. He has every reason not to." Dex stared off for a brief moment of displeasure but soon returned his focus on Rina. "What are your plans for today? Can any of them involve....me? While Dex didn't mean to, he sounded very sad and almost playing the puppy eye routine without realizing it as he spoke those words. All the while Voices and Vessels remained in the back, snicking comments at each other which Dex would never be able to hear, probably ever.
 
Well, a little bit of uncertainty was better than a flat refusal to even try to adapt to this quite sudden turn of events. Of course, Rina did understand why Aron felt the way he did, and didn't begrudge him for it, but that didn't change the fact that his attitude was going to make this all the more difficult on everyone concerned. Unfortunately, there could be nothing that could be done about it for the time being, and so Rina chose to just live in the moment and spend some time with Dex. It made sense, really. "Seeing as you're being so sheepish, I think I'll allow it." Rina had to smirk, tousling his hair in what ordinareily might have been the height of patronising gestures. But it was meant well, and hopefully he would understand that.
 
Dex smiled at her acceptance. He grabbed her arm and stared running off towards the beach. "You're gonna love this!" He took her down the coast line to a spot of tree's which provided a comfortable space of shade. He sat her down and plopped next to her. "I found this place a while ago and never thought to come back. It's away from everyone else and it's quiet. Just the waves." He smiled at her pleasantly. He placed his hand on her leg, not to intrude but rather to comfort. "I'm...so happy that this all happened. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I know we are competing, but right now that doesn't matter to me. All that matters is you." He blushed like a little kid who had a crush.
 
Following blindly and putting her trust in him, Rina went with Dex to this secluded area of the beach. It was a truly wonderful place, an oasis of solitude on an island that seemed fit to bursting with energetic tourists, and for this week only, the lucky few bands and their devoted fans. Although the buzz of the crowds was great, this was just what they both needed, having been dealing with quite difficult emotions for a day or two. "Who'd have thought it, the pretty boys a little sweetheart too." Rina just had to tease, leaning against him slightly as she spoke, feeling surprisingly at home here. None of this felt too alien anymore, although she had to admit, part of this playful fawning was in an attempt to ensure she didn't get too attached too quickly.
 
Dex put his arm around her. He did not want to come off as someone who was rushing, but he felt the need to. He stared off into the ocean and then at Rina, "Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. There isn't much in the world that can compare to this...the view is nice too." He smiled and laughed a bit, sure it was cheesy but as said many times it was who Dex was. For the time being, they were alone and all problems were ceased. This is exactly what he wanted. Dex was glad that Rina appeared to enjoy this too, for it was a bold me to carry a woman off to a secluded area without dangerous glances from others.
 
"Smooth." Rina chuckled, finding his slightly cheesy, cliche phrases rather amusing. "And you're pretty damn handsome yourself." She grinned, of course meaning what she said wholeheartedly, though currently their words were so nonchalant that they were almost flippant. At the moment there wasn't that much need for serious talk, there had been enough of that for today, although it was likely that a certain someone might end up forcing the issue anyway. "So, how long do you think before the tide comes in?" She wondered if they'd just sit here until they got swept out to sea. It didn't seem like such a bad idea, when you really thought about it.
 
" I'm not very sure, I-" The moment was interrupted by Ty. At first Dex believed it was another repeat of the other night, and was about to be angry but realized Ty's expression was serious...and fearing. "Dex! You need to come now. Aron, he came out of no where and hit your brother, punched him right in the face when Evan wouldn't tell him where you were. The police have both of them detained and Bentley is with Evan, but I thought you needed to know." Dex was too shocked to ponder on how Ty found them. Instead he shot up from the sand. He sort of saw something like this happening, but he did not think that Evan would suffer for Dex's actions. This infuriated Dex and he started following Ty.
 
The moment Ty approached and spoke, Rina's heart sank. She felt absolutely awful when she heard the news, and of course got to her feet as quickly as she could. She hastened after Dex and Ty, trying to work out how on earth she was going to make this right again. "Dex, I'm so sorry. If I'd known..." But what would have happened if she had known this was going to happen? Just pretend she didn't have these feelings? That never would have worked, and she knew it. Still, that didn't change anything now.

Will was at the station too, sitting with his head down, his hands tightly clasped and wringing. He had spoken to his brother, but apparently Aron was now being processed. Common assault was hardly a good thing to have on ones resume, and it was made all the worse by the fact that the young man didn't appear to be showing any remorse.
 
Once Dex entered, an officer walked over. "This is his brother sir" Ty announced as he pointed at Dex. "Alright, son your brother is fine. A simple cut on his nose. There seems to be no broke bones. However we are still in the process of determining whether Evan is to be charged or not." The officer walked away and Dex's face turned red. He was angry, but now was not the time to do anything.

He walked over and sat in a chair in the waiting area. What would this mean for the band, both bands. Surely an act such as this would disqualify them from the competition. Both bands had come so far only to fall to a simple skirmish. Dex could not believe what had happened and was confused about how to go on handling it. Ty sat next to Dex. "Dex, things will be fine, they can't charge Ev-" " I know they won't. That isn't the problem. What about our bands? We are going to be kicked off the island by tomorrow. And Ri-" He stopped and stared at Rina. He didn't want to publicly announce his worries of what this would do to their current standing. Surely it would crumble, he thought.
 
Although she was of course concerned about Dex and his friends, Rina first had to concern herself with Will. She sat down next to him, hesitantly placing an arm around him, hoping to comfort him in some way. "Will, I'm so sorry. How's Aron?" She was somewhat flustered, but was trying to do her best here, "If you need me to, I'll lea-"

"Don't. You can't help what you feel." Will spoke quickly, still staring at the floor as if it was the most important thing in the world.

"And that's why I'll support Aron." It sounded bad, but nothing would dissuade her. "He's a victim in this, and if I could take it back-" No, she wouldn't take it back, "I just wish I could have helped him."

"Rina, he's always been like this. You know that. Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later."

That much was true, and to be honest, they were surprised Aron hadn't been charged with assault or something similar sooner than this. So far he'd only been expelled from a few schools, and had escaped incarceration throughout his adult life, mostly through expressing himself via music, and keeping his distance from most people.
 
It was about a half hour later that Evan walked out into the waiting lobby. Dex stood up at the sight of him and briskly walked over. "Are you being charged?" It was what he wanted to know most. "No," began Evan, "They only fined me, it wasn't much I payed it then and there. That's not the concern though. I have to meet with one of the directors later tonight to decide if we are still able to participate in the next round tomorrow." Those words destroyed Dex's composure. He began pale and demotivated. "Look Dex, what happened happened alright? But we are all ordered to go back to our rooms until after the meeting tonight is over. So we need to leave." "Oh this is just fucking great!" Bentley had remained quiet for most of the waiting but this set him off. He stormed out of the station and Ty followed. Evan walked out adjusting the bandage on his nose. There Dex remained. He wasn't sure whether to say anything to Rina. It might have only made things worse.
 
Aron was not so lucky. Of course, Rina and Will clubbed together and posted bail, but he would now have a criminal record, no matter what happened. But, at least he hadn't damaged Evan's reputation too much, small favours. He wasn't released until some time after the other, mainly because it was feared that he might just go for it and reoffend. So, as the two of them waited, Rina went over to Dex, speaking quietly, now rather subdued thanks to todays events. "Look, I've talked it over with Will, and we're going to pull out. Reggie is already informing them, I'm sorry."

She exited the station at this point, for the simple reason that Aron was likely to be too pissed off to see her. It was doubtful that he'd let Will anywhere near him either, something that was almost unheard of. They were close, always had been, but occassionally things became far too much. Indeed, when he slunk out of the holding cells and into reception, he kept his head down, shrugging his brother off when he went to comfort him.
 
In one quick evening, Dex's life had turned upside down. Now back at the hotel he sat in quiet along with his band. Playing here just didn't seem worth it anymore. With their biggest rivals out, it just turned into a complete mess. "What should we do, even if we are able to continue?" Ty asked, breaking the silence. "I suppose we will decide that after the verdict Ty. I have to leave soon so please stay here until I have finished the meeting. I'll be back before you know it. " Evan stood up and exited. Once more the silence commenced.

Dex wanted to see Rina, even if just for a moment. Everything went sour so fast, he had no time to say goodbye or anything of the sort. He looked at Ty and Bentley. "I'm sorry guys, this is my fault." "No, it's not. It's no ones. It just happened, everything happens for a reason Dex." A reply like that would surely be heard from Evan, but instead it was Bentley, the hot head. Dex was surprised at his response but it made him feel somewhat better. Everything happens for a reason. What reason would qualify for this.
 
The rift between them was understandably wide, and even though several hours had now passed, Aron flatly refused to allow Rina into the room. As a result, she and Reggie had retired to her room, while the two brothers occupied the boys room. Who knew how long it would be before this died down, or even if it ever would. Things hadn't been this bad in a long time, and it now felt as if this would be the straw that broke the camels back.

"He deserved it. I just wish it had been his god damn brother." Aron growled, still raging away, "He's not good enough for her. There's no way that bastard actualy cares about her." And that was the crux of the matter. Aron was way too protective of Rina, and although there was good reason for that, it didn't excuse what he had done. However, Will did have the beginnings of a plan of action. It was for this reason that he left his brother in the room, heading up to the Voices and Vessels room, knocking on the door and hoping they would answer.
 
It was Ty who answered the door. "Will? Uhm you're about the last person I expected to be at the door. I'd pick seeing a ghost before seeing you. No disrespect of course." He left the door open and walked back to his bed. Bentley looked up and was shocked to see him. "Will, huh, what brings you here. You gonna punch me, Dex, how about Ty?" "Stop Bent." Dex said with a serious tone. "For real though, why are you here? We aren't exactly in the mood to talk you know." He continued reading a magazine while he sat up on his bed with his legs kicked out. They seemed to give Will no attention. Normally the three would not be this concieted but they had other things to worry about, although it didn't look much like they were now.
 
"I'm not here to fight. You're being ridiculous." Will couldn't help but bristle, afterall, he was under rather a large amount of stress. He stepped just inside the door, inviting himself in and shutting the door - well, pushing it so it remained slightly ajar. He didn't intend to stay long, just time enough to explain. "You've got to understand why Aron reacted so badly. I get that what he did was wrong, but if you'll give me a chance to explain it might at least clear the air."

Rather than launching into the story straight away, Will did pause for a moment, wanting to gauge the reactions of the other men. If they appeared too negative, he would leave, just in case any of them would spill the beans. He wasn't entirely certain he should be divulging such private information anyway, but it seemed the best way to get them to understand why this horrible affair had occurred.
 
Dex was the only one to speak. "Will, we'll listen. I'm sorry for the rude inviting. Even on behalf of myself." The three finally stopped what they were doing and all looked at Will, waiting to see what he had to say. Dex had a slight feeling he knew how this would end. Most likely he would feel like shit and nothing would improve. However he had invited the words of Will and now would have to listen. Bentley appeared to become impatient. Ty was chill as usual and waited to hear what he had to say. "This better be good," mumbled Bentley.
 
He had to admit, he was feeling a little bit sick. "Well, when we were kids we went to different schools, the parents wanted us to make friends on our own, rather than just being 'the twins', and Aron didn't do too well with that." Will shrugged, looking a little bit sheepish, and feeling it too, "Anyway, Rina was the one that protected him, even when we all went to the same high school, he'd sometimes go to her rather than me. So, you see they've got this inextricable bond, particularly as Aron feels such raw emotions. You may have noticed, he doesn't have much self control."

This was all in the past, obviously, but it was still tough to talk about, particularly to what was essentially a room full of strangers. "Do you remember a couple of years back, we kinda dropped off the map? Rina was in the hospital for alot of that, it was her boyfriend that put her there. Not for the first time, mind you, but it was this one that finally brought it all to light." He felt bad, talking about something so personal, but he needed to get this out in the open, for the sake of everyone, "That guy beat her up for three years before we knew for sure what was happening. Rina was a wreck that year she finally left him, and all of us made our own private vows to protect her after that. And as you might understand, Aron took it hardest. He felt like he had failed her, when she'd protected him for so long, so you see, he honestly thinks that keeping you away from her is the best way to ensure her safety."

There. It was all out in the open. "I don't expect you to forgive him, just understand why Aron has reacted so violently." Will moved to leave, feeling that there was little else to say, just alot of bad feelings in the air.
 
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