It was nearly an hour until it was time to start the concert. Just about all people who had bought a ticket were there already, waiting for it to begin. Everything was fine until now. The problem? The band's bass player wanted to leave, both the concert and the band entirely.
"What the hell? You can't just leave, not now," Zexion yelled at his band member. He wasn't angry – not as much as he was upset.
"I can and I am," Riku replied, continuing to gather his personal things from the room.
"You asshole. What do expect the rest of us to do?"
"I don't know. You'll figure it out eventually," the silver haired one said. "Find a new bass player for all I care."
"That doesn't help us now. At least stay for tonight," he pleaded, trying to get him to stay so they wouldn't have a big problem on their hands.
"Sorry, I've got other plans," Riku told him before walking out the door.
Zexion followed him, stopping in the hall. He was really going to leave them before the concert and Zexion knew he was doing it on purpose. "Fuck you!" he yelled, now angry, as Riku walked away. Sighing, he leaned against the wall. He supposed he'd have to tell the others that they can't go on with the concert. If they couldn't find a way to fix this, then they'll have to cancel it all completely, and Zexion didn't want to do that.
Demyx was beyond excited for the concert. Dusk 'til Dawn was his absolute favorite band and he had always wanted to go to one of their concerts, and he actually managed to get him and Axel tickets this time. Before going to get their seats, they walked through the crowds until finding a bathroom. Demyx waited for the redhead outside the restroom, all the while unable to stand still. After a couple minutes Axel came back out and they walked back into the crowds.
"You remembered to tell everyone else band practice was cancelled tonight, right?" Demyx asked as they walked.
"Of course I did," the redhead answered.
"Did any of them ask why?" Demyx questioned, curious.
"Yeah, Kairi did," Axel told him. "She was completely jealous too."
"I had a feeling she might," the blond said. Before he could say anything else, a voice called from behind.
"Excuse me," a female voice called in a sing song tone. "Boys," with that they tapped on their shoulders, making them both stop and turn around. They came face to face with a blonde woman dress in a black dress suit and black heels.
"Yes?" Demyx asked, curious and confused.
"I couldn't help but overhear, and correct me if I'm wrong, but did you say you're in a band?" she asked.
"I did," he answered.
"What instrument do you play in your band?"
"Bass," he said, still unsure as to why she was asking him these questions. He glanced over to Axel who looked just as confused as him.
"Do you at all happen to know any of Dusk 'til Dawn's songs on bass?" she asked and got a nod from him. "Perfect," she exclaimed, giving a single clap with her hands. "Come with me please," she said, turning away but stopping to check over her shoulder. "Well come on, both of you, hurry hurry."
She started walking and the two of them quickly moved to follow. No questions were asked as she led them to doors that led to backstage, telling the security guard they were with her.
"My name's Larxene," she finally told them. "Assistant manager of Dusk 'til Dawn. Here's my card," she added, pulling a small card from the breast pocket of her coat and handing it to them, Axel taking and looking it over.
"So what is this all about?" the redhead asked.
"Riku up and left the band just twenty minutes ago," Larxene answered. "We didn't want to cancel the concert so have all been trying to come up with ideas to save the show. Once I heard you were in a band of your own, the idea to see if you could fill in hit me."
"Wait, you want me to fill in?" Demyx asked, shocked as nerves started to fill his stomach.
"Yes. We just have to get you a bass," she mused, looking at the doors they were passing. "Ah, here we are," she said and stopped at one. She took the handle and quickly opened the door, calling out, "Zex! Get me your bass!" in turn making the boy she spoke to jump.
"What for?" a voice called back, more casual than the woman's tone. Demyx tensed at hearing the voice, even more so when Zexion came to meet Larxene in the doorway.
"For blondie here," she answered, gesturing to him with her thumb. He glanced over at Demyx then, giving him a look over, making the blond blush. "Turns out he plays bass and happens to know some of the band's songs. I figured if he's good enough, he could fill in for tonight."
Zexion quickly thought it over before saying, "Alright, get him in here." With that he walked back into the room, Larxene and the other two following, Demyx a bit more hesitant than the others. "Here," Zexion said, handing him a black bass guitar.
"Wh-What do you want me to play?" Demyx asked, unable not to stutter as he took the bass from him.
"Play the chorus to From Shadows," Zexion told him. Once he had the instrument ready, Demyx did as he was told. When he finished playing the chorus, he glanced back up to the guitarist of his favorite band. "Okay, now play the bridge," he said. The blond quickly did and when he stopped was told, "Play the chorus of World's Lost. Then the bridge."
Demyx played what he told him before stopping and looking at everyone else in the room one by one. Larxene looked pleased that her plan was going well, Zexion still deciding on the blond filling in, and Axel smirked when he looked at him.
"Alright," Zexion spoke up. He gave a small nod, saying, "He's good, he can fill in. Go tell the others were going on."
"Will do," Larxene said. "Now get yourself dressed and ready to go." With that she turned and left the room to alert the rest of the band.
"Well I guess I should go find my seat," Axel said, making to leave the room.
"You don't have to," Zexion said, stopping him. He pulled off his shirt, in turn making Demyx blush again, before going on. "Chances are you won't get there in time. You can stay backstage if you like. Or you can sit with Larxene in one of the front rows. Your choice," he said, pulling on a black button up shirt and doing the buttons before picking up a dark blue tie. "Do either of you know how to tie a tie?" he asked, turning to them. "If not then I'll just go find Vanitas."
"I know how," Demyx answered quietly.
Zexion walked over to him, offering the tie to him. "Will you then?"
"Yeah, sure," he said, feeling his cheeks burn as he took the tie from the other and put it around his neck before tying it, being careful not to make it too tight.
"Thanks," the guitarist said, stepping back to finish changing his clothes. He changed his torn jeans for a tight black pair. "We should go see if you fit in Riku's clothes," he told Demyx. "You two look about the same size."
"Okay," the blond said. Turning back to Axel he asked, "What are you going to do?"
The redhead gave a shrug. "Maybe go sit with Larxene. That way I can get a good view of my best friend on stage," he said with a smirk.
"If you're going to sit with her, go to the right side of the stage, I'll have her meet you there," Zexion told him. "And to make sure you don't get stopped and kicked out by security, here," he said, getting a permanent marker from a bag and coming to the redhead. He took one of his hands and wrote down his signature on the back of it. "Show that to them and tell them I let you in. You too," he turned to Demyx, doing the same to his hand. "Just in case. Now let's get going."
He led them out of the room and down the hall. He pointed Axel in the direction of the stage doors. "Good luck Dem," the redhead called with a wave as he walked away.
"What's your name?" Zexion asked, tilting his head. "I don't think you've told us."
"Oh, uh, my name's Demyx," the blond answered, momentarily thrown off.
"Got it," he replied with a nod. "Come on, we should hurry," he said before opening a door and taking the blond in. He got the clothes meant for Riku to have worn for the concert and gave them to Demyx. It was the same as his own outfit, black button up shirt and tight black jeans, except the tie was a light blue. "See if these fit, hurry."
Demyx did so, quickly removing his clothes and putting on the ones he was given. Luckily they fit fine, which seemed to relieve Zexion just as much as himself. The blond put the tie on before Zexion took him by the wrist and pulled him back out of the room. He took him to stage left, where the rest of the band was waiting.
Both Roxas and Vanitas – one of the main singers and drummer – were dressed the same as them, Roxas's tie red and Vanitas's orange. Xion, the other main singer, was dressed in a black button up shirt of her own, a yellow tie around her neck, and short black skirt.
Backstage workers came to Zexion and Vanitas, handing them each a microphone headpiece and helping put them on properly.
"Tuck in your shirt," Zexion told Demyx as he adjusted his microphone. Both him and Vanitas were also singers, but considered more back up. They never go unnoticed though.
"Uh, Zex, what about all of Riku's lines?" Xion asked.
"I'll sing them tonight," he said.
"You sure about that?" Roxas asked.
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Everyone set and ready to go?" Larxene asked as she came over.
"I think so," Zexion answered, looking at each band member before back to her. "Oh, and Larxene, I told the redhead he could sit with you. Meet him on the right side of the stage."
"Got it," she said before walking off. She found Axel easily and quickly took him to the seats. "Let me guess, blondie's a big fan of Zex?" she questioned, raising her voice over the audience to be heard.
"Oh yeah, he sure is," Axel replied with a smirk. "How'd you guess?"
"Come on, only a fool could miss that with the way he was blushing," she said, sitting down in her seat. "And don't get me wrong, Zexion's smart, but even he can miss something as obvious as that."
The concert was finally over and Zexion was more than relieved with how it went. Demyx only slipped up a few times due to his nerves, but it was hardly noticeable. So other than that, the blond did good. It didn't seem that the audience cared that someone was in Riku's place – though they all knew there were some fans out there disappointed – at least not once they started performing.
The band all knew that reporters were surely already putting together their reports on why Riku's spot was taken by someone else. Paparazzi probably managed to get pictures of Riku leaving before the show and they probably wanted to get pictures of the blond who played in his place. People altogether were going to want to know who Demyx was and why he was on stage with them.
But that could wait until later. Now Zexion just wanted to rest and push those things aside. Getting to one of the dressing rooms, he lied down on the couch, letting Vanitas move his legs to sit down before resting them back on the drummer's lap. Xion and Roxas each took a chair, Demyx remaining standing near the door.
It didn't take very long for Larxene to come in, Axel close behind. "Well, that went better than I expected," she said happily.
"Surprisingly, yeah," Vanitas agreed absently.
"Hey, before we go, any chance we can get autographs for a friend of ours?" Axel asked. "She was pretty upset she couldn't come, so I know this would be a nice surprise for her."
"Sure," Zexion answered, sitting up. "What do you want us to sign?"
Axel remained silent in thought, looking to Demyx who only shrugged. "What about our ties?" Xion asked, playing with her yellow tie in her hands. "That way each of you can have one, with one more to either keep or give to another friend."
"That can work," Zexion agreed. "You guys want to do that?" he asked them.
"Alright," the redhead said with a nod.
Each band member silently took off their ties, Zexion getting the marker he used earlier to sign his and hand it to Vanitas, who gave it to Roxas, the blond tossing the marker to Xion. Zexion stood up, taking the ties from the others and walking over to the other two. "Here you go," he said, handing them to Axel as he pulled out his phone with his other hand. Turning to Demyx he asked, "Would you mind giving me your number? We're gonna have to replace Riku's spot in the band. If you'd like, think it over and I'll call you in a few days." With that he handed the blond his phone, having him type his number in to make a new contact.
"Well, I guess we should get going," Axel said. "Nice meeting you," he added before taking Demyx's wrist and pulling him along.
Welp, here's a new story. I've had this idea for a while and my mind keeps going back to the band stories, so I finally got this one started. My mind can stop running in circles now.
Not much else to say here other than, what do you think?