Chapter 1

"WHAT'S UP, NERDS!" Lance yells. He plopped on the ground and slipped his shoes off. Ohhhhh, that felt much better. After a long day of standing at work, there was nothing better than taking his shoes off to stretch his toes.

"Hey, Lance," Pidge shouted back. He could hear them clacking away at their keyboard while the more muffled sounds of video game music came from the TV. Lance walked into the living room to see Hunk leaning forward in his chair with a super intense expression on his face.

Lance glanced at the game he was playing. "Dude, it's just Mario Kart. Why the intense face?"

Hunk veered the controller to the right, along with his body. "Oh, hey, Lance. I'm in a tournament so I gotta' get first place."

Lance smiled. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

Lance started walking toward him, but instead of walking around the couch he walked in front of the TV. It totally wasn't on purpose though.

"Dude!" Hunk cried, leaning to the left to see around him. "Seriously? I'm trying to win, here!"

Pidge snickered, and Lance smiled wider. "Of course, of course. I just needed to get something from over here that I could only get by walking in front of the TV. I absolutely, one hundred percent couldn't have gotten it any other way."

"AAARRGGGHHH! I'll kill you, Luigi!" Hunk yelled, spamming the L button. The race ended and he groaned, throwing the controller to the other side of the couch. "Great. Thanks, Lance. Fifth place 'cuz of you and Luigi."

Pidge cracked up. "Oh my god, have you seen that slow motion video of Luigi?"

"Yeah!" Lance said. "The one where Luigi, like, glares at the other characters when he passes them?"

Pidge started laughing until they snorted, and Lance laughed too.

"Not funny, guys," Hunk grumbled, folding his arms across his chest. "Luigi hit me with a red shell and I lost my first place."

"It's okay, Hunk," Pidge said. "It's not like you were gonna' get first place to begin with."

"Hey!"

Pidge and Lance burst out laughing again, and once Lance was starting to calm down he walked over to Hunk and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy. You'll get that dastardly Luigi next time."

"Hmph." Hunk sank into the couch. "Whatever."

The sound of the door opening had Lance peering around the corner. And of course his heart started racing like it always did whenever he saw her. Allura closed the door behind her and a smile lit up her face. "Hello, everyone! I ended work early and I came straight over." Lance ran over to her and leaned against the wall, putting on his best "lover-boy" face as she took her shoes off. She looked up at him and rolled her eyes. "Yes, hello to you too, Lance."

Lance's heart did a slow roll in his chest. Ever since he first met Allura he'd had the biggest crush on her. She was pretty and smart and amazing, and even though Allura thought it was just a school-boy crush on his part, Lance was certain that it was more than that. "Why, hello there, Allura. Why did you come straight here after work?

She smiled. "Give me a tic." Lance smiled back. He loved her British accent. She bent down and rummaged through her bag, tucking her long white hair behind her ear. "Ah, here!" She stood up with a rolled up poster in her hand and headed around the corner into the living room.

"Hey, you two," Allura said.

"Hey, Allura," Pidge and Hunk replied at the same time.

"I don't mean to interrupt what you're doing, but I think you'll want to hear what I have to say." Pidge and Hunk swung their heads around to look over at her, and she unfurled the poster in her hands. Lance leaned over to see what was on it.

"Ta-da!" Allura presented. The poster was hot pink with a guitar taking up most of the page, and in big, black letters it said, 'Battle of the Bands!'

Lance blinked and glanced up at Allura. "A band contest?"

She nodded in excitement. "Yes! Wouldn't it be amazing to try it? The winning band gets a five-thousand cash prize and gets to open for Marmora Blade!"

Lance's jaw dropped. "No. Way. Marmora Blade is one of the best bands ever!"

Pidge leaped out of their chair and Allura handed them the poster. Pidge squinted at it and adjusted their glasses. "Let me check out their website." They returned to their desk and furiously tapped at the keyboard.

"Do you really think we're good enough to compete?" Hunk asked, resting his chin on the couch top. "I mean, Marmora Blade is really good. Could we even get there?"

"Okay." Pidge cleared their throat. "It says here, 'Battle of the Bands is a statewide contest that travels from state to state looking for new talent. We're looking for bands that think out of the box and aren't afraid to try something different. Winners receive a five-thousand cash prize, as well as the chance to open for rising band Marmora Blade. Keep reading to see the rules and how to sign up."

Lance's brain took over, and he was immediately transported into a fantasy. He could see it now: their band going through the contest. Winning first place. Opening for Marmora Blade, gaining recognition, and signing a record deal. They'd record their own music, go on tour, and become nationally recognized musicians. Not to mention, he'd have tons of girls around him. That was the dream.

A huge smile lit up Lance's face. "Guys, we have to do it."

Hunk frowned thoughtfully. "Are you sure? We might not be that good for it."

"What are you talking about?" Lance asked, walking in front of Hunk and grabbing him by the shoulders. "Of course we're good enough! And if we aren't, we just have to become good enough!"

"Lance is right," Allura said, smiling broadly. "Even if we're not good enough yet, we know what to do to become better. And even if we don't win, it would be practice for us. Come on, guys. Isn't this what we've been talking about for a while?"

It was true. Their band, The Paladins, was started when Lance met Pidge and Hunk at school. They'd been missing a fourth member, but after meeting Allura at another band's concert they'd finally formed their band. With Lance on lead guitar and vocals, Allura on rhythm guitar and backup vocals, Hunk on bass, and Pidge on drums, they were a solid band that melded well together. They'd been trying to gain more recognition recently, since the four of them weren't satisfied with just playing open mic nights.

Pidge stood up from their desk. "Yeah! I'm in!"

Hunk grinned. "Alright, I'm in too."

"Yeah!" Lance cheered. "We're gonna' be awesome, guys!"

They all cheered together, and Lance felt his heart dance in his chest. There'd be no stopping them now!

The first half of the contest would be in the summer before the next school year started, which was fine by Lance. Having to take general education classes at his community college was like torture, especially when he had no interest in most of the other subjects. The first part would have three rounds in three weeks, with each band performing once per round. That meant they had to write three different songs to perform during each round.

Lance puffed out a quick breath. He could feel the motivation giving him intense energy, and he couldn't stop a smile from spreading on his face. They were totally gonna' win this thing.

The next few weeks were spent practicing, practicing, and practicing. Writing the songs was usually a collaborative thing, but Lance came up with most of the lyrics. He was sitting at his desk going over lyrics for one of the songs when his phone buzzed next to him.

He picked it up and smiled to see Allura's icon. "Hey. What's up?"

"Hey," Allura responded. "I'm just getting off of work and I wanted to ask about the songs before I officially pass out in my dorm."

Lance laughed. "Aw, you're not even gonna' stop by to see my beautiful face?"

Allura sighed lightly. "Nope. Not today. I've got sleep to catch up on. How's the writing coming along?"

"I've got most of the lyrics done, but this last song keeps tripping me up."

"I'm sure you'll get it eventually."

"Thanks," Lance said, breaking into a yawn of his own. "Woah, I think your sleepiness is contagious."

"I'm almost to my car anyway. See you tomorrow for practice?" Allura said.

Lance nodded. "Yep. See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

They hung up and Lance stretched as he yawned again. Tomorrow was another day of writing and practicing. He'd better get some sleep.

"Pidge, maybe the rhythm should be different at this part?" Lance suggested, going over to Pidge and notating on their score. "I feel like it should be different."

The four of them were in Lance's garage, practicing the first song on their set list. It was the week before the first part of the contest started, and Lance was getting increasingly excited and nervous. Their songs were almost ready, but there were a few things left he wanted to tweak.

"I know what you mean," Pidge said. They set down their drumsticks and erased the previous rhythm. "Maybe we could space it out more? Should it be more syncopated?"

Lance nodded. "Something like that. Let's try it."

They practiced that section with the rhythm change, and Lance felt immediately better about it. "Perfect. That works a lot better."

Pidge scribbled a note on their score and Lance wrote it down on his as well.

"Okay, everyone," Lance said, "let's take a break. We've been going for a while."

The four of them had sheens of sweat on their faces, and Lance could feel his own clammy heat. He loved the way practicing music made him feel. He set his guitar down in its stand and walked over to Allura.

She took a drink from her water bottle and smiled at him. "How're you feeling about the set list?"

"Pretty good," Lance replied. "Would you be mad at me if I tried to hug you right now?"

Allura rolled her eyes in good nature. "I'm already sweaty enough. I don't need yours added to mine."

Lance grinned. "Just checking."

"Hey, guys," Hunk said from his seat, "what do we know about the competition?"

"I'm glad you asked, Hunk." Pidge pushed their glasses up, a self-satisfied smirk on their face. "I've actually been doing research into the other bands to see what they're like."

"Okay, go on then," Allura said.

Pidge cleared their throat. "Well. There's a few bands that I can see being a problem for us. One is called Jungle Planet, and they've been kind of prolific in their performances so far. Nothing specifically noteworthy, but still they have a bit of a following on social media."

"Heh," Lance snickered. "Noteworthy."

Hunk snorted. "Nice."

Pidge rolled their eyes despite their smile. "Next, there's Galra Nation, who've been slowly building a reputation as having killer guitar and drum solos, as well as specializing in jazz."

"Okay. So we've got to work on our jazz style," Allura noted, half to herself.

"Finally there's The Legendary Defenders, and they're probably the band we're gonna' have the most trouble with. They've opened for a few lesser known bands before, and their main member, Keith Kogane, has quite a big fan base already."

Lance squinted. "Keith Kogane? Where have I heard that name before?"

Pidge shrugged. "You might have seen him in the local news or something."

"Nah, I don't watch the news."

"Then, I dunno'."

Hunk said something to Allura and she replied, but Lance was in his own world now. Those three bands had followings already, meanwhile their band barely had three people who knew about them. Hard cold resolve formed in Lance's gut, and he squared his stance.

"Okay, guys," he said. "We're gonna' win this thing no matter what. Who cares about those other bands? We've got our band, and our band is the bomb. We're gonna' blow everyone else out of the water, and then we'll win first place!"

"Yeah!" the other three cheered.

Lance just hoped he could feel as confident as he acted.

The four of them were standing in the wings of the venue, waiting for their turn on stage. The venue was not as big as Lance had thought it would be, but that was to be expected for the first round of a band contest. The final performances were usually more popular anyway.

Lance let out a deep breath and turned to his friends. "Okay. Dress rehearsal. We don't have to give it 100%, but let's give enough to intimidate the other bands. So, like, 85%."

Pidge rolled their eyes in good nature. "Sure, 85%. Got it."

Hunk stretched out his hands, rolling his wrists back and forth. "So, just a practice run?"

"Yep," Lance replied.

"Don't worry about this one too much, either," Allura said quietly. "Just remember that we've practiced our songs enough times to have it be muscle memory. Our bodies know what to do."

Lance smiled at her. Allura always knew what to say. "Right. Let's give it our 85%, y'all."

"Yeah!" they whisper-cheered.

"Next up, The Legendary Defenders," the MC said, his voice muffled from his place in front of the closed curtain. "Their members are Keith Kogane on guitar and vocals, Takashi Shirogane on bass, Adam Westley on drums, and Shay Balmera on keyboard."

"This is them," Allura whispered to Lance, leaning in to him. "The band that Pidge warned us about."

Lance nodded, and he felt his gut clench in anticipation. He wanted to hear what this so-called "good" band sounded like. "Yeah. Let's see how they do."

He watched from the wings as The Legendary Defenders set up their instruments in a blue-out. A blackout would be too dark for the musicians to set up things properly, so the lighting designers opted for blue-outs during transitions. The only problem was, Lance could still hardly see what the other band looked like.

They were still setting up when Lance felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a stagehand dressed in all black and with a clipboard around their neck. "The Paladins, right? You guys are up next?"

Lance nodded. "Yeah."

"Come with me, please."

Lance gestured to his friends and they followed the stagehand through a door that led them to another part of the backstage, one that wasn't open to the stage. The door closed behind him and Lance had to hide his disappointment. They'd barely be able to hear The Legendary Defenders now.

The stagehand gave them a quick smile. "While The Legendary Defenders are getting ready you guys will have to prepare your instruments to be moved on next. We'll go through a quick practice session right now, but tomorrow you can move your instruments into place as soon as the band before you starts to move."

The stagehand led the four of them through the movements of moving their instruments into place, which ended up taking a bit longer than anticipated. Disappointment churned in Lance's gut. He'd have to wait until tomorrow to hear them.

Finally they finished moving, and Lance went as quickly as he could to the wings to see if he could catch them performing. He opened the door to the wings and heard them play the last chord in their last song, and Lance pouted. Great.

The curtain closed, and the MC went on to announce Lance's band next. Allura came up next to him. "You ready?"

Lance looked over at her and smiled. He wasn't nervous right now, since this was just a rehearsal. "Yeah. We've got this."

Once The Legendary Defenders had finished moving their instruments to the other side of the stage, Lance and his band moved theirs on. It didn't take long this time, and Lance was proud with how efficiently they'd set everything up.

The curtains opened, and Lance took a deep breath. This was just a rehearsal. Tomorrow. Tomorrow was the real deal.