OHMYGOSH you guys are so so fantastic. Thank you for all the amazing feedback! Gittana and I are really really excited you all like this.
Here is the next chapter! The song in this chapter is Say My Name by ODESZA (Hermitude Remix). Some people said that they liked to read the chapter with the music playing, so I'd figure I'd give it to you early ;)
As alway, check out Gittana's Musicans AU on tumblr for pictures!

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The sun was low in the sky when Adrien approached the outdoor amphitheater. Blankets and lawn chairs littered the ground, the bright colors and patterns covering the green grass. Sounds of people chattering combined with the plucked strings of the Bass that came through the speakers as they finished a sound check. He could see Nino walking amongst the sea of people, a tablet in his hand, adjusting the sound coming through the speakers. His headphones were perched around his neck, and a red cap on top of his head, despite him being dressed in nice skinny jeans, a blue dress shirt, and a loose black tie.

He just happened to catch Nino's eye as he weaved through the blankets and gave him a wave. The boy flashed him a huge grin and waved back. Adrien gave him a thumbs up, gesturing to the set up on stage.

A keyboard sat to his left of the stage, a laptop and soundboard set up on a table next to it. Adrien assumed that this was Nino's, as he had mentioned that he played piano and ran the sound. The large string bass was slightly to the right and behind it, the guy plucking away at the strings. A girl with black hair, with a few purple streaks, sat on the throne behind the drum set, twirling a drum stick between her fingers. A monitor sat in between them. The guitarist sat perched on her amp, looking bored. Her brown hair hung in twin tails over her shoulders. A couple of chairs sat on the stage, a few mics interspersed between them.

A lone microphone was on a stand at the front right of the stage.

Adrien tore his gaze from the stage set up and found Chloe waving to him from a yellow blanket in the grass. He made his way toward her, dodging a pair of kids tearing across his path.

"Hey Chloe, how's it going?" Adrien folded his legs under him as he joined her on the blanket.

Chloe began to chatter about the purse she found at the mall earlier that morning, which somehow turned into her evaluation of a phrase in the Beethoven Violin Sonata she was working on. Adrien listened, allowing the evening sun to wash over him.

A thought occurred to him.

"Where's Sabrina?" he interrupted, cutting off her description of the perfect shoes she had found for concerts.

Chloe paused, looking around for her friend. "She should be back by now. Stealing music shouldn't take that long."

Adrien's mouth dropped open, "Chloe!"

She answered absentmindedly, her gaze still searching, "Mmhmm?"

He huffed, "You can't just go steal music from them."

She looked at him indignantly, "Why not?"

"Because it's really rude. You can't just sabotage another ensemble just because you don't like the group."

Chloe huffed, crossing her arms across her chest like a child.

"Stop being jealous. ACMC doesn't have to always be the best at everything. We've always been fighting for top position when it comes to jazz. Besides, it's fantastic that a small community college is this good. They must be doing something right! We can learn from them!" Adrien finished with a triumphant smile.

She just rolled her eyes, "Leave it to you to find the silver lining in everything."

Just then, Sabrina stumbled up to them looking extremely confused. Her hands were empty.

Chloe looked at her indignantly, "Where's the music?"

"I – I couldn't find any?" she stuttered. "There was none! All I saw was some funky looking, hand-written chord stuff. And something that looked like it was printed? But it was really hard to read, and looked like hand writing. That wasn't their music, right?" Sabrina looked really worried and scared.

Adrien laughed outright, "I forgot that you girls only play Symphony and solo music; you haven't seen Jazz music before, have you?"

Chloe glared at him, "Why would we have?"

"Jazz music looks a lot different sometimes; it's written in an engraved style. Other times, good Jazz Combos just play off a lead sheet, or a learned melody and chord progression. Either they had their music elsewhere, or they are just that good!" Adrien tried not to gloat, but he was happy that their music wasn't stolen. No wonder Nino was confident they would be fine.

An applause interrupted any of Chloe's remarks. She was visibly upset that her plan failed, but Adrien knew that she would eventually get over it and move on.

The band was walking onto the stage, the instruments gleaming in the setting sun. Nino had walked back up to the piano and was seated on the bench. Three Saxophone players, two Alto and one Baritone, sat in the chairs. A Trombone player and a Trumpet followed, standing up behind them. They all took a pitch from the piano and tuned their instruments, preparing to play.

Nino cued, they all took a breath, and a catchy jazz tune started.

A girl sauntered on stage, her blue-black hair glimmering in the light. Her red skirt swished around her legs, fish net tights encasing them. A black, high neck, sleeveless blouse was tucked into her skirt. She strode up to the standing microphone with a smile on her face.

Adrien could see a look of fear flash across her face briefly, and then she opened her lips to sing.

Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars

Her voice was stunning, the perfect combination of sultry and sweet. It took her a moment, but she became immersed in the music, her facial expression and actions playing the crowd. Everyone was being drawn in.

She pulled the microphone from the stand and moved around the stage, singing the classic piece. Adrien was speechless. Her voice was clear and sweet, her demeanor full of confidence.

The music rushed around him, the classic melody resounding through his soul. It was light-hearted and sweet.

This is what music was supposed to be; it was supposed to feed the soul and share emotion. It was supposed to communicate intent and inspire the mind. Somehow these community college students had figured that out before the best of the best at ACMC. The used the techniques to inform the emotion behind the music, rather than focusing on achieving perfection.

Adrien sat back and let that wash over him.

He needed to learn how to produce music like that.

He wanted to learn from them.

Xxxx

The final chord of the encore echoed throughout the outdoor amphitheater, fading into silence. Adrien rose to his feet, clapping furiously with the rest of the crowd. Chloe and Sabrina stayed seated on their blanket, their mouths gaping. Even though they came to the concert with the intention to make fun and berate the performers, Adrien knew they recognized the amazing musicality and the fantastic production. They were speechless.

The thunderous applause did not fade for a while, the group taking a couple of bows. Nino finally put on some recorded music as the group filed off the stage.

Adrien waved goodbye to the still-astounded girls and waded his way through chatting parents and dancing children. He reached the front of the stage, leaning on it to chat with Nino, who was pulling his equipment together.

"Hey Nino!"

He turned and grinned at Adrien, "'Sup dude! What did you think?"

Adrien took a deep breath and tried not to completely gush. "You guys are so fantastic. The music was perfect, and the improvising was some of the best I've ever heard. I can tell that every musician is well versed and knows what they are doing."

Nino chuckled, "Would you believe me if I told you that over half the group are non-music majors?"

Adrien's jaw dropped open. "What! Really? They were so good though! The technique was so perfect and everyone worked together so well."

"Really, really! The string bass player, the singer, the trombone player, and one of the saxophones. And myself, of course. Lila, the guitar player, is a music minor though. Alya, who plays alto sax, is a journalism major.

"And your girlfriend," a sassy voice chimed in from behind them. Adrien turned to take in the girl holding the saxophone case. Her auburn hair cascaded down her back and shoulder, one side shaved to her head. The dark brown, wood style gauges in her ears matched Nino's, and a pair of glasses emphasized her green eyes. She wore an olive green skater dress, with a big brown belt around the waist and matching brown ankle boots.

Nino's smile erupted across his face. "Babe, this is Adrien from ACMC. Adrien, this is my girlfriend Alya."

Her green eyes turned on him, an eyebrow raised. "ACMC, huh?"

Adrien could read her guarded expression; ACMC students typically weren't very nice to the FCC students, especially the musicians. He approached hesitantly, "Yea! Nino was hanging flyers in the hallway and I ran into him."

Nino nodded viciously. "He was the one who warned me that some of the ACMC students might jack our music or something. And he plays bass!"

Alya smiled at him, but she still seemed wary. "Well, thank you for the warning. We avoided any pranks."

The guitarist pranced up, her orange tunic swishing around her legging-clad legs. "Who's the hottie?" she chirped.

Alya and Nino laughed at Adrien's red face. "Lila, this is Adrien. He goes to ACMC," Alya introduced.

Her eyes grew wide and a smirk came over her face, "Oooh, a rich boy!" She sidled up to him. "Tell me, Adrien; what did you think of our concert?" Her eyelids fluttered enticingly.

"You guys are awesome," he grinned, the blush still present on his face.

Her hand came to flit over his shirt shoulder, "Of course we are. You should see me play solo sometime." Her voice was laced with insinuation.

He leaned away a little, trying to pull away from the girl. As cute as she was, he wasn't interested in someone who would date him just for money.

"Lay off the flirting, Lila," a new voice warned from behind him. The musical cadence of the tone of the words sang in his ears.

He turned his head to see the singer of the group, her blue hair swishing around her shoulders.

Lila pulled away and pouted, "Don't be a spoil-sport Marinette. I was just making a new friend." She stomped away slightly, scooping up her guitar amp and carrying offstage.

The girl rolled her eyes, "Sure you were." The deep blue eyes then turned to him, causing him to inhale slightly. "I'm Marinette. Nino mentioned that you warned us about your peers trying to steal music. Thanks, pretty boy," she smirked.

Adrien just nodded, his blush deepening. The deepness of her eyes drew him in and took his breath away. They had the same quality as her voice, drawing him in.

She sauntered away to a group calling her name a couple feet away, throwing a wave over her shoulder. Adrien's eyes followed her, watching her walk.

He could hear Nino and Alya snickering behind him.

Adrien turned back to face him, trying to not look like he was caught watching her walk away.

Nino's grin widened, "What are you doing Friday night, dude?"

The question took Adrien off guard, but he examined his mental calendar. "I think I'm free after six. Why?"

"I am DJing at The Black Cat downtown all night. You should come check it out!" his eyes danced with mirth.

Adrien was confused as how that was funny, but went with it. He had never really been to a club before, and if their musical ability was any example, Adrien knew he would enjoy Nino's music there. "Sure! I would love to check it out."

Alya waved and walked away, joining Marinette with the other group of people. Nino was wrapping up his last cable, so Adrien figured he should take his leave.

"I'm gonna go find my other friends and head home. I'll see you Friday then?" He grinned at Nino.

"See you then!"

xxx

Adrien walked into the club, looking around curiously. Electronic music pounded through the speakers and lights danced all around him. The amount of sounds, smells, and sights overwhelmed him. He looked up to the stage, over the crowd of dancing people, and saw Nino at the center. A table was set in front of him with a large set up of equipment and a laptop. Music pounded through the speakers, a catchy tune that he hadn't heard before, but immediately liked.

This was a whole new thing for him. It both excited and scared him.

He wanted to dive right in, but he didn't know anyone, other than the DJ who invited him, and felt awkward. Plus he didn't really know how to dance to this style of music.

Of course, he could ballroom dance, due to his father, but couldn't dance to EDM music.

His feet took him toward the bar. He pulled a chair back and angled it so he could watch Nino in his natural habitat. He plunked down into the chair and put his elbow on the bar, his head resting in his hand. Green eyes turned toward the crowd, watching as they danced to the beat of the music, the lights flashing everywhere.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

The sweet voice interrupted his observations.

Adrien turned, almost startled. His eyes met a familiar blue, his mouth almost falling open in shock.

The girl looked at him in confusion, her head cocking to the side in an adorable manner. This movement was accentuated by the twin buns of dark blue-black hair on the top of her head, reminding him much of a cat. A white tee-shirt displaying a small black cat, the club logo, slid off her shoulder and tucked gently into high-waisted black shorts. A septum piercing glimmered in the dancing lights, which was a new addition since he had seen her a couple nights prior. Though, she had probably just taken it out to perform.

She was stunning. Stunning and dangerous.

Her eyes narrowed as she tried to process him. "Wait, I met you the other night at the Jazz concert. You knew Nino somehow, though he has this crazy way of meeting everyone." She looked at him curiously, "What was your name again? I don't think I caught it."

Adrien gaped for a second, and then pulled himself together. Luckily, he had managed to keep his mouth shut. "I – I'm Adrien," he stuttered. He hoped she wouldn't notice the effect she had on him.

But to no such luck. Her left eyebrow quirked up, a small smirk shaping in her lips. "Is that so," she said, her voice taking on a sickly sweet tone. She popped her hip out and leaned onto the counter. "And didn't Nino mention that you went to ACMC? A pretty, rich boy, are we, huh?" Her eyes flashed dangerously.

His heart pounded in time with the music, and he was sucked into her. His brain shut down completely, unable to process the pretty girl flirting with him. He sat, frozen.

Her eyes softened a little bit, and she giggled, standing back up on her feet. "Well, pretty boy, my question still stands; can I pour you a drink?"

Adrien shook off his reactions and tried to bring back his ability to speak. He took in a deep breath, "Yea, that would be great. Marinette, right?"

She grinned, "Yea, that's me! What do you want?"

He froze up. "Umm… Do you have wine?"

Her eyebrow quirked up, "First time at a bar, pretty boy?" She smiled sympathetically at his nod. "I mean, we do have wine. But it's pretty cheap and honestly sucks. Have you ever had a mixed drink before?"

"No, my family only drinks wine. Though, I tried this weird scotch thing a year ago."

Marinette burst out laughing, which did crazy things to the pit in his stomach. "I'm sure that was fantastic, considering it was straight liquor. Here, I'll pour you my non-girly favorite. It's pretty smooth and mixed with coke."

Her hands moved as she finished her sentence, scooping ice into a cup. He watched in fascination as she swooped up a liquor bottle from below her waist and poured it into the cup from the pour spout, her other hand shooting coke from the soda gun to mix. Her movements were quick and fluid, as though this was a very common practice.

The drink came sliding across the bar top to settle in front of him, a lime perching on the rim. He looked at it curiously and then back up at her. "What is it?" He asked, picking up the drink.

"Spiced rum and coke. Rum is one of the smoother hard drinks, but some people don't like it. It's one of my personal favorites," she added.

Adrien squeezed the lime in and took a sip. His eyes widened in surprise, "This is pretty good! I like the lime with the coke."

She grinned, "Pretty good, huh? Well, then this one's on the house."

He stammered in protest, but she was very firm in her decision. "After all, this is your first drink at the Black Cat; it's kinda a tradition," she winked.

Adrien gave up, figuring he would just leave a large tip. He sat back in his seat and pondered for a moment as Marinette polished a few glasses. Though the club had a decent amount people crowded on the dance floor, the bar wasn't very busy. The other bartender a couple meters down was pouring a couple drinks for a small group, but Marinette didn't seem to be moving to help her.

She broke him out of his train of thought, "Nino should be done with this set soon and be able to chat. Do you listen to this style of music very often?"

Adrien shook his head, "I honestly only listen to the stuff I play in school. I'm studying so often that I don't really enjoy it otherwise. I listen to a lot of Jazz though, which I really love. Recently, I've been listening to some of the AKs stuff, because my friend is really into them. I like their music a lot; the lyrics are really powerful and relatable, and the music is very well put-together with varying melodies and chord progressions."

A weird, strangled look crossed Marinette's eyes in passing, but Adrien just brushed it off, as he gets weird looks pretty often for being in the music industry and not knowing a lot of current music. She set the glass down that was in her hands and picked up a new one to polish. "I like their stuff too. I don't know how you do that though. I feel most inspired when I listen to all types of music. I would hit a creative wall if I listened to the same thing I was working on in school constantly."

Adrien shrugged, "It happens sometimes. But I get over it." He listened curiously, just recognizing the remixed song coming through the speakers. "Wait, isn't this the AKs? It doesn't sound quite the same, but I'm pretty sure that's the chorus."

Marinette laughed, "Yea, Nino's a huge fan. This is his remix of an old song of theirs: 'Say My Name.'"

Adrien paused to listen to the lyrics, the funky beat pulling at something inside of him.

I wanna dance, I wanna dance with you

So take a chance, take a chance, oh yeah

He spun to face Marinette, "So are you allowed to take breaks from working? Because I don't know how to dance to this type of music, and maybe you could teach me?"

Her blue eyes widened in surprise, then a mischievous look came over her face. "I don't know if you could handle me as your teacher, pretty boy. Girls like me are nothing but trouble." Her smirk widened.

Adrien chuckled, "'She's a wild mustang and she ain't no good."

Marinette recoiled a little bit, "What?"

Adrien waved his hands in front of him, "I didn't mean to offend! What you said reminded me of something my teacher quoted from someone he played with from the U.S."

She pondered the phrase, "You know, I kind of like it." Her eyes flashed dangerously. "A wild mustang, huh?" Her hip popped out, a delicate hand coming to rest on it. "I might steal that."

Adrien laughed, "Go for it. It's a cool phrase."

Her co-worker called for her, asking for some help with a large crowd of people that wandered up.

She set down her polishing rag. "Well, pretty boy, it was a pleasure. But I have to go. Nino is taking his break now anyways, so the bar is gonna get hit. Go find him!" She winked, "I'm sure I'll see you again. Tell Nino I say hi and that I quite like the pretty boy he sent my way." She turned on her heels and sauntered away, her hips swishing gracefully.

Adrien almost literally combusted; both a line, and a deliberate hip sway? He wasn't used to girls flirting with him this deliberately, though he was pretty positive this was normal for her. She seemed very confident in her actions and words, as though she was putting on a show.

Well, she did say that she was trouble.

A light punch on his right arm shook him out of his daze. He turned to see Nino sitting next to him.

"Hey man! Thanks for coming. What did you think?" Nino grinned at him.

Adrien glanced at Marinette's retreating figure one last time before turning his attention to Nino. "Dude, it was so good. I don't normally listen to this style of music, but I really like it. I loved the remix of the AKs song!" he gushed.

"Yea? That one is one of my favorite; it's very close to home!" his eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Thanks for inviting me. I need to listen to other music, other than what I'm working on for school. And I need to get out of the practice rooms," he added.

Nino laughed, "Not a problem, man. I love sharing my music with people." His smile turned to a smirk, "Marinette keep you company? Figured you would like that surprise."

Adrien's face turned red. "Picked up on that, did you?"

"She's a cool chick – Alya's best friend and like a sister to me! Though, she is pretty guarded right now, so I wouldn't make a move on her. A nasty guy just dumped her a couple months ago and it really is chewing her up."

Adrien glanced over at her, watching her mix drinks with her co-worker. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"Yea, but she had a long healing process. Alya didn't share much, but I'm pretty sure he was emotionally abusive and pushy. That time was the most subdued I've ever seen her; it was as though she lost her confidence and personality." Nino turned to glare at him, "You seem like a nice guy, so I don't mind you. But if you break her heart, I'll break your face, even if we are friends."

Adrien nodded frantically, "I would be offended if you didn't. I don't intend on breaking anyone's heart, ever."

Nino smiled, "Good. Glad we got that cleared up! So have you ever played electric bass? Or just stand up?"

"Just stand up. Why?" His head cocked to the side slightly.

"You should come jam with us sometime! The bass player we played with earlier this week left yesterday for the states for the summer. We are looking for a substitute for a couple of gigs."

Adrien grinned, "I would love to! That would be a ton of fun, even just to jam with you guys. I think there is a lot you can all teach me."

Nino laughed, "I'm not sure if that is true, but we will take you any time!"

The boys exchanged phone numbers, with the intent to pull together a jam session early the following week. Nino finished his break and ran back to his DJ table with a giant grin and wave.

Adrien sat, watching Nino play, the music resounding in his brain. It was very different than what he was used to, but really liked it. The harmonic progressions were rather simple, but the rhythm was always really cool. The music made people happy and pulled them on the dance floor to have fun, which Adrien really loved. It inspired and entertained people.

Marinette was bustling around, and so he didn't get to talk to her after. After he finished his drink, which was definitely his new favorite, he threw ten euros on the counter – definitely enough for a hundred percent tip, since Marinette wouldn't let him pay for his drink.

Slipping out the door, he breathed in the summer night air, looking up at the stars that dotted the night sky. The music still resounded in his ear and the feeling of happiness overwhelmed him.

This was music.