Author's note: the band is as follows before the start of the story: Vocals: Aris. Lead Guitar: Gally. Rhythm Guitar: Minho. Bass: Alby. Drums: Thomas. Keyboard: Chuck.
"Thomas, I want "Master of Puppets" on the damn setlist!" yelled Gally.
"No, we can't have that because it will exceed our time limit!" replied Thomas.
"Well then why does Minho get his pick for "November Rain"? It's just as long - actually, even longer!" yelled Gally.
"Well, because Estranged is a ROCK song, and we are a ROCK band. Not a thrash metal band." argued Thomas.
"Estranged is a fucking ballad for god's sake! It's so fucking slow, I hate it!" snorted Gally.
"I'm with Gally on this one, because there isn't much singing in "Master of Puppets"," added Aris.
"Well deal with it, goddamnit! It's not my fault they cut our time in such short notice!" growled Thomas.
"You know what, fuck you all! I worked so hard on this and you say no to it? I'm off to start my own band! See you and I hope you all fail!" snarled Gally.
Gally packed his guitar, and slammed the door as he left.
"Shit! The goddamn gig is in 3 weeks! What to do now?" asked Minho.
"Minho, why don't you play lead, and we'll have a backing track playing rhythm," suggested Thomas.
"Well, I'll try to learn some of the stuff, but I guarantee you I most likely won't be able to learn it all in 2 weeks. Worst case scenario I'll stick to rhythm and you play the lead on backing track." replied Minho.
"We don't have to play at all if we can't find a lead guitar - lead is pretty important," added Alby.
The group sat in silence as Thomas tried to determine what to do.
"I have an idea! Advertise! Put posters all around the school and post onto your social media accounts." exclaimed Chuck, suddenly.
"That's a great idea. Since you're so excited to do it, you should go make all those posters. If we can't find anyone, or if Minho can't learn the parts, we have to cancel the show, since without lead guitar it isn't much of a show. There isn't much we can do," said Thomas.
"Who the fuck made this? This looks terrible," asked Thomas, after seeing a poster of Guns N' Roses members but with their heads replaced by their band.
"Definitely not me," replied Minho, with a slight smile on his face. Thomas punched Minho in the arm.
"How could Chuck ever agree to hang this up?" Thomas asked as he ripped the poster off the wall.
Ah, last audition for today, thought Thomas. Today, Thomas has auditioned three people wanting to play for his band, much to his surprise. He never thought his band was that popular. A white boy with dirty blonde hair sticking out all over the place, who is a bit taller than Thomas, but quite scrawny, entered the room. He is wearing a blue sweater and track pants.
"Hello?" he said in a British accent.
"Huh? - Oh yeah hello," said Thomas, snapping out of his thoughts. Thomas suddenly felt a strange sensation when he turned his head and looked at this person. "Let's see what you've got. What's your name?"
"Newt," he said. Thomas noticed the accent and wondered if he's from England. Newt then proceeded to play his audition piece, "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5.
Hmmm, that's a bit different, and this ain't rock, thought Thomas. But instead of actually listening to Newt's guitar playing, he admired how cute Newt looked while playing. Thomas knew he was gay for quite a while now, but no one else does. He does many straight boy things and doesn't want to get looked down upon, and has vowed to never tell anyone. Thomas was still staring when Newt finished.
"Uh, Thomas?" Newt said.
"Uhh - Oh yes, that was great. I'll notify you tomorrow whether or not you were accepted tomorrow," informed Thomas. "Can I get your number?"
Newt gave him his number and smiled as he left. Thomas really liked that smile.
Thomas went home thinking about Newt and wondering what the hell he was feeling. Thomas decided he'll let Newt in his band just for the hell of it (and because he thought he looked cute), despite one of the other auditionees being actually good.
Author's Note: here are some links to the music referenced in this chapter:
Master of Puppets by Metallica: watch?v=lPjP0jbxBXw
Estranged by Guns N' Roses: watch?v=8VgRL8Htv7k
She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5: watch?v=nIjVuRTm-dc
