Heart Strung
Summary: Iron Weasel is looking for a awesome vocalist to harmonize with Derek Jupiter, but the lead singer would have none of it so Ash, Burger, and Tripp set up a secret arrangement with young music-star Lavigne Haertstrung; Derek's in for a surprise.
Derek JupiterxOC
Genre: Romance/Humor
The song used for this chapter is We Will Rock You by The Queen. I do not own the TV show or the music, however I do have claim on the imagination, storyline, and my OC.
Chapter 2: Hello, Hello, Surprise!
The next day, Tripp was at school turning and turning the knob on his locker. He twisted and twisted and twisted, but he did not follow after to open it. This series continued until his best friend Izzy walked up to him.
"Call me crazy, but I don't remember anyone having a 37-digit combination." the rock fanatic joked.
The guitarist broke free from hazy sub-consciousness and turned his attention to her. "Hey Izz. I was just thinking."
"About?" She asked.
"Well, Derek doesn't li-!"
"Ahh! Derek Jupiter!" Izzy outburst zealously.
Then there was the classic awkward silence.
She apologized and vied for Tripp to resume. "Anyways, Derek doesn't like the idea of having another Weasel in the band."
Izzy's mouth dropped open. "I don't believe this!" She said.
"I know, I know." Tripp sighed. "Derek is being a bit arrogant and selfish. I mean, what's wrong with having someone harmonize with him on the vocals, right?"
"No, not that!" Izzy blurted. "I can't believe you would just get another singer when you are well aware that I wanted to be an Iron Weasel!"
"Izzy!" Tripp yelled. "Focus!"
"Oh yeah, right." Isabella straightened and coughed. "Derek Jupiter. Arrogant. Selfish." She laid out.
"Yes." He shrugged and nodded solemnly. "And now I don't know how I'm gonna explain to him that we're gonna interview a possible member of the band tonight."
"Wait, who are you guys interviewing?" The rock fanatic asked.
"Oh, this amazing music artist I've heard about with an amazing voice," the guitarist replied. "Lavigne Haertstrung."
"Ahh! Lavigne Haertstrung!" Izzy jumped at the sound of the name with much fire.
"Izzy!" Tripp shouted again. "Must you keep doing that?" His best friend apologized again sheepishly, he waited for her to calm down just a bit. A bit passed by and she did indeed calm down, so Tripp asked, "So you know Lavigne?"
"Only to be one of the next rising stars in rock out history! Who doesn't know?" She chimed. "Wait, if you don't even know who The Haertstrung is then how did you manage to get an interview?"
Tripp nodded in boast. "I have my sources."
Flashback (Several days ago):
"What's up, rockstar?" Gleamed the one and only Annoying Arlene who pressed Tripp up against the metal lockers. "You looked so cute walking home the other day."
"Thanks…" Tripp felt slightly creeped out. He pushed her away gently right when she swooned at the sound of his voice. "Did you follow me again, Arlene?"
"No, don't be silly." She waved off. "I watched you from my telescope."
And so there was the classic awkward silence.
"Yeah, that makes it less creepy." said Tripp in a sarcastic manner. "Anyways, what do you want? No offense but I kinda have a problem at the moment."
"Oh, I know. You need another singer to give Iron Weasel the boost to get back in the spotlight." Arlene snorted.
"You heard about it too?" said the guitarist, well aware that the whole school knows what Iron Weasel requires to be amongst the now again.
"No." Arlene admitted. "I overheard you talking about it with this girl you were flirting with at second period."
"….But we don't have the same second period Arlene, how did you… Oh…" Tripp started but then ended with sudden realization. He was being a tad serious now. "Yeah, still doesn't make it any less creepy!"
Ignoring that last comment, Arlene continued, "So since you need someone to harmonize with your lead singer's vocals, maybe you should listen to the amazing Lavigne Haertstrung who will be more than perfect for the job."
Tripp's lips turned upright in joyful disbelief. "No way! That's great, thank you so much, Arlene!" And he hugged her in which she embraced too tightly in return. "Wait," he stopped the gleeful moment, pushing the plump girl's shoulders back a small distance away.
"Ohh…. Please don't push me away, you big piece of rockstar hunk!" she groaned.
Yet Tripp insists on setting the distance. "Is there a catch to this?"
Arlene shook her head bubbly, "No catch, just that the interview is gonna be at my place, so stop by next week, and you'll have to let me stare at you throughout the entire day."
"Don't you mean the entire interview?" Tripp asked.
"No…" She sighed.
End of Flashback
Izzy Fuentes gazed at her friend, not entirely certain why he was so hyped up about getting something from Annoying Arlene - or anything for that matter. "Okay." she said with hands at her hips. "So you got an interview with Lavigne Haertstrung. How are you gonna conciliate Derek with all of this?"
"Oh, we have our ways." smiled a nodding Witty Tripp.
Later...
In the evening, a few knocks filled the air in the penthouse, Arlene Roca answered the door and screamed at the sight of Tripp Campbell at her step.
"Hey Arlene." Tripp blinked after she ceased her little, loud bounces of eagerness. "Is Lavigne Haertstrung here?"
"Yeah, you're just in time; come on in!" Arlene pressed, propping the door ajar, but before Tripp stole a foot inside he called out into the hallway.
"Alright, guys! Let's go." yelled Tripp. The guitarist watched as Iron Weasel's bassist and drummer slowly, carefully, thoroughly led the lead singer across the corridor and into the suite.
"C'mon, Derek. We're almost there." Ash urged gently, holding onto Derek's shoulders as he pushes him along, taking tiny steps through the doorway.
"Where are you dimwits taking me?" Derek asked inquiringly, turning his head around blindly due to the feeling of a thick fold across his eyes, stripping him of his ability to see.
"We told you, man. It's a surprise." Burger said.
Derek scoffed with his British accent. "And I've told you that it's not my birthday!"
"It's not?" Ash questioned, moving Derek around the suite towards one of the leather couches. "And you choose now to tell us?"
Utterly annoyed, Derek said using his superior tone, "I've been telling you twits that for the past half hour!"
Burger shrugged it off, though he's aware Derek can't see, anyways. "Well, it doesn't matter because we're still gonna give you the surprise!"
The lead singer smiled, raising and dropping his shoulders in flattery. "I suppose it would be quite rude of me to deny an accidental present in tribute of me."
"Oh, it's in tribute of you, all right." Tripp muttered hoarsely once the other three Weasels settled inside. Burger undid Derek's blindfold to give back the use of his eyes.
After blinking a numerous amount of times, the rockstar took hold of his surrounding - and by taking hold, he just sank lazily onto the leather couch, but it did not stop him from being puzzled, so he said, "All right, let me see if I got this straight: you three took our Band Van, blindfolded me, thinking it was my birthday, just to drive me over to Annoying Arlene's place?"
"Hello? I'm right here." Arlene said behind the furniture, feeling insulted.
Derek stood up and fixed his composure nimbly. "Oh. Hello, sweetheart. Is your father well?" He tried to save with his foreign charm.
Tripp stepped in, before worse matters could be dealt with. "Okay, Derek. I know this doesn't make any sense yet but…" he quickly soothed." But we've got you something that you will definitely love!"
The singer took a step back. "What?" He gasped in disbelief. "You got Dereka a new strap!" He gaped favorably.
The guitarist rolled his eyes. "No, we're not talking about your guitar! Now, just wait there for a minute." He pointed before turning to Arlene and his other band members. "Okay, Arlene. Where is she?"
"Who?" Arlene said, looking about ready to faint.
"Lavigne Haertstrung."
Sudden realization struck again in Annoying Arlene and so she replied, "Oh! Actually, Lavigne is-"
"Hold the phone here!" Burger held his hands in the air.
"But you don't have a phone, Burger." Ash inclined him, looking down. "And you guys say 'I'm stupid.'"
The blonde shook his head in ignorance. "Who is this Armstrong person?"
"No, Burger. Haertstrung." repeated Tripp.
"Why would you string a heart?" Ash laughed, but then he turned his head at the drifting idea. "A heart can't play music… Pft…. Or can it…?" He looked down at the inside of his shirt.
"Weasels, listen!" Tripp snapped. "We're here to interview Lavigne Haertstrung and convince Derek to let her - if she's that good - to join the band," He whispered carefully and swiftly, "and possibly allow her to harmonize with him."
"Oh yeah…" The drummer and the bassist softly spoke, agreeing spontaneously.
Arlene sighed, "Yeah…" Her face too close to Tripp's.
"Uhh…. Arlene, I know we agreed that you can gawk at me all day, but there is a limit to personal space." The guitarist back away just a little, and by little, a lot.
"I know," Arlene shrugged unflappably, "but I wanted to tell you that your friend disappeared."
"What!" The three Weasels cried, shifting around, eyeing to where their lead singer was supposed to be. Indeed, Derek Jupiter was gone.
"Wha- Where did he go?" Tripp stuttered, eyes seeking out his older friend.
"Oh, he didn't leave." Arlene calmed. "He said he just wanted to explore the penthouse."
"And you didn't say anything sooner!" Tripp gasped. Before Arlene could answer him, Tripp just totally turned away from her. "Everyone! We have to find Derek before he finds out why we're really here!"
"Wait!" Ash stopped everyone's jump start. "So we're not here for Derek's birthday?" Burger smacked the back of his head indifferently.
And so the three guys, and one clingy girl, scattered.
Meanwhile…
Somewhere else in Arlene's penthouse, Derek was wandering down one of the many corridors. He was following the sound of catchy beats; he wasn't sure what it was but he decided to pursue it. The thumps sounded closer and Derek could identify what sounded similar to singing, but it was too faint to completely discern. And yet it was just calling out to him. Iron Weasel's lead singer moved further towards the tune until he stepped in front of a door. Then the singing and the thumping stopped.
Stricken with wonder, Derek took hold of the knob and let himself in. He was in a recording studio. The lead singer of Iron Weasel could see Arlene's father and some other unnamed male sitting on leather chairs next to one another. He followed their line of sight and through the window, he glimpsed at someone in the sound-proof room. It was a girl, just about Tripp's height. She had an outward appearance that made a clear point, however - this wasn't a little girl.
A shadow of a smirk crept on Derek's face and he walked around the two men towards the glass door.
"Excuse me?" The unnamed man said, stopping Derek Jupiter on his tracks. He turned to confront a man in a monkey suit with square lenses pushed against his eyes. "We're in the process of recording right now, you can't go in there."
The rockstar placed one leather-clad glove on the door and tapped his leather-clad boots against the Berber carpet. He feigned innocence, "Oh! Sorry, mate. I didn't know that." Derek nodded, getting the other guy to nod with him. "I'm just gonna go in then."
All the while, he nodded at the man who still nodded back. After he stepped inside, on the other hand, Derek locked the door before the other guy could rationalize what just happened.
Snickering at his work, he turned his body towards the five-foot-six female in the room. She had those huge earphones on and she wasn't aware that there was someone else with her. Derek moved around behind her, not quite sensing it's the right time to disclose himself to her. He did notice, however, that Arlene's record-producing father held a small sign against the looking glass. Only the rockstar saw this and the font was big enough for him to read aloud, "Don't do anything STUPID!" And, indeed, there were three exclamation marks with three slashes underneath the all caps word 'stupid.'
Derek only grinned devilishly in challenge and his smile only widened when the girl took off her earphones, hair whipping her long, thick-layered strands around to allow them to cloud comfortably around her shoulders and down her back.
She set the large hearing equipment aside and held the microphone in front of her. "I want to hear the instrumental bounce off the walls when I add the lyrics, Mr. Roca." She spoke with a firm, yet gentle tone.
"Uhh… Yes… Of course." The producer said through the intercom, pressing certain switches and buttons to meet the demands of his client. The other guy that Derek cleverly locked out had on a flagrant, panicky face, conspicuously pointing at the sign Roca held up when the girl wasn't aware.
"Alright. Let's do this then." The girl took hold of the mic and began tapping her sides along with the beat once it played. All four of the characters could hear the Dut! Dut! Platt! Dut! Dut! Platt! settle in the studio, and gradually increase in volume and dynamic.
Her head bobbed along with the rhythm rising and falling gently. And Derek noticed that this was the catchy tune he heard in the halls. The girl swung the mic in a circular motion by its cords, after that little show, she caught it again in her hand, pressing her lips in front of it. The beat, to Derek, sounded familiar except with a faster tempo and the shrill of guitars was added faultlessly with the percussion. The girl began to sing, and her voice was from a firmly gentle voice to some commandingly melodious vocals.
Buddy you're a boy make a big noise
Playing in the street gonna be a big man some day
You got mud on your face
You big disgrace
Kickin' your can all over the place (Singin')
And the young singer got up to kick the stool she sat on as she sang the last line to the chorus.
We will, we will rock you
We will, we will rock you
Knowing he should be more apprehensive with getting caught, Derek just nodded his head to the music. The rockstar then grabbed for one of the electrics and began to partake with a bass pattern for the song with some custom lead. It mixed perfectly well so the girl didn't notice or bother to turn around to the source of the add-in.
Meanwhile…
Suddenly, Ash, Burger, and Tripp, who got Arlene attached to his sweater, ran inside the studio. Producer Roca and his assistant stood up from their seats at the sight of more Iron Weasels. Ash pointed at Derek from behind the recording table.
"There he is, guys! I told you he was here." he said.
"That's because you heard Mr. Roca yelling, 'What's Derek Jupiter of Iron Weasel doing in my recording studio!'" pointed out Tripp. "And plus, the door we went through was the only one left open."
"Hey, who found him here?" Ash nodded dopily, gesturing a finger towards himself in recognition.
Burger prevented further disputes by saying, "What's he doing in there?"
"I'll tell you what he better not do!" Mr. Roca angrily warned. "He better not screw up this recording session or Iron Weasel is history!"
The guitarist, the bassist, and the drummer gasped in horror to that threat. Tripp then glanced at a certain sign discarded on the floor and picked it up. He and the other two Iron Weasels moved to the right side of the room, keeping out of the girl's view and pressed the board against the glass, gesturing to it with urgency. The girl then continued to sing while Derek then continued to play.
Buddy you're a young man hard man
Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day
You got blood on your face
You big disgrace
Wavin' your banner all over the place (Singin')
And the young singer waved her arm in the air, turning her body according to the beat and lyrics of the last line to the chorus. Derek, catching sight of the sign again at the last minute, frantically dived over to another part of the room. Quick and nimble, he landed on the carpet, back first so as to not damage the bass as well as make any noise colliding with the Berber. The leader of the Iron Weasels perpetually played to avoid overthrowing the balance of the music sounding off in the room. Everyone else in the recording studio sighed in relief. That was until the rocker dramatically decided to join her in the lyrics.
We will, we will rock you
(Sing it, YEAH!) Derek screamed dynamically, everyone outside of the sound-proof room felt their nerves clench. The tightening of their muscles abandoned all thought except the gnawing, 'Oh no! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NAWWW!"
We will, we will rock you
When they both sang out the last line of the chorus, the girl furrowed her brows and by turning her head to glance over her shoulder did the other people catch their breath at the touch of clenching hearts. And just like that did they see the foreboding shadow that told them that this recording, too, will cease to an abrupt halt. For now, the music kept on going and Derek Jupiter kept on strumming. He still lied on the floor out of hindsight. The female vocalist faced the wall once more, shrugging the weird add-ins to the song she sang, and began beating the wall the to the beat of the rhythm. The last chorus came around at last.
Buddy you're an old man poor man
Pleadin' with your eyes gonna make you some peace some day
You got mud on your face
You big disgrace (She pressed her back against the wall, jabbing her free fist against it with the music, she now began to move her body along with it; her voice reached an octave considered to be the good old, classic, screaming rock.)
Somebody better put you back into you PLACE!
The rockstar, who previously rushed from the floor to a corner of the room, observed her motion even as she removed herself from the satin-covered wall and strolled towards the glass window like a star on stage. He knew this woman had what it takes to string the hearts of all rock fanatics. Derek placed himself where she last stood and flashed his pearly whites thinking, 'It's time.'
We will, we will rock you. (They sung, the electrics ceased - Derek set down the bass to straighten out his shirt - but the beat persisted a little for the big bang then...)
(OOOHHHHH!) They both sang in harmony. It was euphemistic; it was perfect. But it caught the attention of everyone - Everyone! By then, the girl realized - she wasn't in that room alone. She was alert of this even after she turned…
We will, we will rock - Whooaaaa!
And just like that everything came to an brusque halt. Derek Jupiter was finally standing face to face with her at last. He could see her; she could see him. He was smiling; she was gaping. Still, everything felt like all just stopped. Like a shocking surprise.
"Well," Derek showed off his sparkling whites, "Hello, hello."
iRockStraightEdge: Second Chapter is up! Hope you all will enjoy. More spotlight on the ever-so-charming Derek Jupiter. I hope you can identify the humor as well as characteristics of certain 'others.' I tried to be as detailed and creative as possible with the descriptions and the scenes. If you believe I fail, well thats an opinion you can keep entirely to yourself unless you believe I can fix it to the best of my ability otherwise. Haha.
Friendly and supportive reviews are always welcome.