Hello again. They record their video audition.
The whole group, except for Jean, stared at Eren, baffled. Jean just laughed at all their reactions. Mikasa took another look at the duct tape, "Fairy Green." Mikasa stare at her brother's eyes. Eren's eyes were always so dazzling. They were so huge that it put disney princesses' to shame. The boy's eyelashes were also long, giving the boy a feminine look. The orbs, though, the eyes were just so beautiful. Honestly, if Eren wasn't so stupid and stubborn, he could find someone to love him happily very easily. But no, he used his puppy eyes for stupid shit.
"Is this a new color?" Mikasa asked.
"Yes. I saw it at the store, so I had to take it. Guess we finally know why I'm gay. I was just born as a fairy," Eren joked.
"Lol, Eren, ain't that the truth," Armin chuckled,
"Well, I guess that settles that," Marco smiled. "Oh, what song are you guys going to use?"
"Oh yea, totally forgot about that," Eren grumbled.
"Of course you would," Armin rolled his eyes.
"Sorry, my mind was just so focused on you, my sexy baby," Eren winked at Armin.
"Yea, you wish," Armin smirked.
"Whatever," Eren stuck out his tongue.
"So enough with the flirting. Let's go look for songs," Jean demanded as he brought out his phone.
They all agreed and went off to their electronics. Armin mentioned to Jean about not getting on facebook or he'll never find a song. Eren stood up and went to his room. He grabbed his laptop. He bought the laptop from saved up money. He never bought a new mic before because he knew that he needed a laptop.
Eren and Mikasa lived with Armin. After dealing with a lot of Grisha's drunken breakouts, Armin offered them to stay with him. The blonde boy only lived with his grandpa, who was currently out. His grandpa was happy to have more people home. Grisha never came by looking for them because he didn't know who Armin was.
Grisha was always an unattentive father, which was why he didn't know anything about his children. He didn't even know what school Eren and Mikasa went to. However, after Eren's mom died a fews ago, Grisha became more aggressive. It got to the point where Eren was completely unsafe in his own house. Grisha never touched Mikasa, only Eren.
Eren went back to the basement. Upon exiting the stairs, the only thing that was seen was a wall. From there, went around to see his friends. He sat down on the brown couch that was facing the wall and not the stairs. The basement had white carpet covering it. It was extremely spacious. In the middle was a coffee table placed in front of the couch. To the side, there was a single brown chair. At the walls were tables with a bunch of random shit on it. Two foldable chairs were positioned in front of the tables. To the far right was a door, which was Mikasa's room. She chose that room for more privacy. To the right and the back wall, there was a full bathroom. To the far left was where their music equipment was.
Jean was sitting on the couch with Eren. Marco was on the single chair. Armin was at the table. Mikasa was in her room with her door open. They all grumbled suggestions and were either shut down or just plain ignored. Eren opened his laptop and pressed the power button. His screen turned on.
"When is the last day we can turn in our video?" Eren asked.
"In like a week… wait, less than that. The auditions have already been open for some time. After the forms close, people can watch the videos. The top sixteen most viewed videos will be accepted," Armin replied.
"Wait! So, it's up to the audience to choose who gets accepted? I understand why at the performances, but in the beginning?" Eren exclaimed.
"Actually, it makes sense. If the winner is going to perform with Wings of Freedom, all their fans will want to see a band that they also like," Mikasa reasoned.
"Ugh, how annoying," Jean said. "That means we have to do something that stands out."
"How about a slower type of song?" Marco suggested.
"What makes you say so?" Eren asked.
"Well… a lot of people will try to get attention with a more upbeat song, right?" Marco reasoned.
"That's a good idea. When you're constantly listening to the same type of music, it's good to change the pace with something slower," Armin explained further. "We can't see any of the videos right now, but they are most likely more upbeat performances. This is a competition for new bands trying to make it big."
"I mean, I get it, but aren't there consequences? By using a slower and calmer song, won't people think that we're not talented enough to play a more complicated song?" Eren reasoned back. Armin stared at Eren like he couldn't believe what he just heard.
"Why are trying to sound smart?" Armin questioned.
"Are you okay, Eren?" Mikasa asked from her room.
"Oh my gawd, fuck you guys too," Eren rolled his eyes as he heard Jean and Marco laugh.
"Okay, okay, in all seriousness though, although you prove a good point, you seem to have ignored the benefits of a slower song," Armin told Eren. "Slower songs tend to touch more personal emotions. As our singer, the question is, are you talented enough channel the emotions of a song?"
"Why is it up to me?!" Eren exclaimed.
"Because you're the leader," Armin replied. "Don't lead us to death."
"And the singers are the face of every band," Jean commented. "You're ugly face isn't presentable so at least make your voice good."
"If our singer sucks, then we ain't going anywhere," Mikasa stated.
"Guys… I feel the need for blood now," Eren growled.
"Eren, I'm sure they're just teasing you. I have faith in your abilities," Marco tried to calm Eren.
"Marco! I love you!" Eren blew kisses to his friend.
"Well then, it's decided. We will do a slow song," Armin declared. "Everyone, start looking."
"Hey, if I'm the leader, why do you give orders?" Eren pouted.
"Because you are like the president and I'm definitely the VP. You're just the face while I do everything, prez," Armin explained.
"It's a good position, so don't complain," Mikasa said.
Eren rolled his eyes as his attention went back to his laptop. His desktop screen was a photo of Levi singing at a concert that he did not go to. Yes, Eren knew that deep down inside of him he was a loser, but he didn't care. The first thing he did was go through his music. He scrolled down through his music. There was a bunch of Japanese songs and old grunge or alternative rock songs from the 2000's. Eren was finding no hope until Jean spoke up.
"How about Coldplay? They sing some pretty chill songs," Jean said.
"If you mean depressing, then yea you are right," Armin said.
"Wait! That's perfect! Coldplay," Eren smiled.
"What song? The Scientist?" Mikasa asked.
"No! Fix You!" Eren exclaimed.
"Okay, depressing we will be," Armin said.
"Armin, why are you being like that?" Marco laughed. "You said that you guys were going to touch people's feelings, so isn't depressing good?"
"Yea, I'm just fucking around," Armin replied. Armin's phone buzzed with a text message. The blonde looked at his phone. "Ah, it's Thomas."
"What'd he say?" Eren asked.
"He's asking if I wanted to go out with him," Armin grumbled. "I want to go, but we need to to start preparing for the video. We only have a few days to this."
"Oh… sorry," Eren pouted.
"Nah, it's good. If I didn't care, I would've just left," Armin reassured Eren as he sent a reply to his boyfriend.
"Are you sure you don't want to bone your boyfriend?" Eren asked innocently.
"Oh my god, Eren, shut up," Armin blushed.
"I'm sure it's fine. So, we're doing Fix You?" Jean asked.
"Yea!" Eren smiled.
"Well then, since you guys decided, I'm going to head home," Marco announced.
"Why?" Jean asked.
"Well… you guys get so absorbed into learning and practicing songs. I also need to go home to help my mom. When you guys are ready to record, I'll come over to help," Marco replied.
"Okay, be safe," Armin said. "Jean,walk him out."
"Why do I have to?" Jean asked.
"Just do it," Armin, Eren, and Mikasa said.
Jean got up, grumbling how no one loved him. Eren rolled his eyes at the display of his friend's stupidity. They were trying to give the horse more time with Marco. Jean had to accept that he was crushing on Marco sooner or later. Jean led Marco up the stairs.
"Gawd, he is so stupid sometimes," Eren shook his head.
The other two nodded in agreement. Armin went to listen to the song with headphones to hear the drum patterns. Mikasa did the same with her headphones, but for the guitar. Eren went to look up the lyrics as he pulled out his headphones. He played the song and listened to it as he followed with the lyrics. The three of them immersed themselves into the song.
Jean came back down and paused as he saw his friends. He grumbled to himself how Marco didn't lie. He sat down next to Eren, pulling out his headphones. He plugged it in his phone and went to play the song to hear the bass.
Armin listened closely to the song. In all honestly, the drums didn't even kick in until the middle of the song. However, it was for dramatic effects. The blonde pretended to be in front of his drums and played out the beats. He bumped his head to the beat.
Mikasa listened to the guitar that appeared just before the climax. Originally, it sounded like an acoustic guitar was being used, but later it sounded electric. Mikasa would have to use her acoustic electric guitar.
Jean listened to the song and frowned. The beginning sounded like a totally different instrument was being played, but he knew that he could make out the same feel out of the bass. Jean sat quietly and closed his eyes to focus.
Eren read and listened to the lyrics. It really was depressing. There was also the piano. Eren knew that he was going to have to pre record the piano, because it was really important to the song. He couldn't just forgo the piano and he was the only one who knew how to play it. Eren fingered out the piano in air. The lyrics though, Eren loved this song, but didn't know how to channel it. Well, he did, but he didn't really want to.
"So umm… guys, how about a different song?" Eren asked.
"No. I already told you it was depressing," Armin refused. "You brought this on yourself. You chose the song."
"But I'll cry," Eren pouted.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Mikasa asked.
"You already have a lot of charisma. Genuinely crying will immediately bring in the viewers," Jean said.
"Are you guys abusing my feelers?" Eren gasped.
"Yes," Jean replied.
"Rude," Eren sulked.
"You know, this might actually be good for you Eren. Emotionally, you are kind of constipated especially when it's about your mom," Armin said.
"Thank you for the observation," Eren looked at his friend indignantly.
Fix You reminded Eren of his mother. Eren's mother, Carla Jaeger, died from bone cancer. By the time they were aware of it, it was already in its late stages. Eren went to the hospital every day and watch his mother become weaker and weaker. He cried all the time about how weak he was. He couldn't help his mother get better. Eventually his mother passed on. Eren knew Fix You before the incident, but after it, he could only see his mother's situation. When he wanted to remember his mother, he listened to this song. Despite how sad it was to say goodbye to his mother, her last moments were precious to the brunette.
"Ugh, fine," Eren pouted.
"Good. Now, are you going to play the piano?" Armin asked.
"Yea, but Imma just record it. I want to be free when I sing," Eren grumbled.
"K den, so let's get started," Jean said as he stood up.
Mikasa came out of her bedroom. Armin went to go sit by his drums and he started to practice on the drums lightly. Mikasa grabbed her acoustic electric guitar and started to strum chords. Jean took out his newly bought bass and tuned it before plucking it. Eren sat down in front of his keyboard that was next to the tables to the left. The way the all faced, except for Eren, they were facing the couch. Eren was facing the wall, since he only played piano for fun and not for the band. His back was facing directly to Mikasa. Eren's mic stand was in front of the other three. Armin was all in the back, his back touched the wall. Jean was to Armin's right and little more forward. Mikasa was to Armin's left and a little more forward as well.
Eren started playing keys to the song, trying to think if he could change the song a little bit. Anything he did to change the song, everyone else followed since he had good intuition in music. His keyboard was one that could record what the user was playing when needed, so they didn't need an external recording device for his piano. The piano also only recorded what was being played. It couldn't record his voice or anything. It made things a lot easier. Eren was thankful that his mother bought it for him.
Over a couple of days, the group constantly practice their own instrument. Soon, they started to play the song together. They tried their best to be in sync with one another. Armin decided to play the bass drum a little before the actual time he was supposed to play to give the song a bit more dramatic feel. Jean finally figured out how to play the whole song, especially the beginning. The bass was the only accompany instrument for the vocals in the beginning. Mikasa decided to strum and finger the guitar even though the song didn't require it. Mikasa's plucking parts were going to match Eren's vocal parts. When she switched to electric, she just focused on strumming. Eren decided that for the bridge, he was going to make some parts higher. He loved the song, but he felt that a little dramatic play would work really well.
On the day before the audition closing, Eren was recording his piano part. Everyone else were touching their instruments. The mic stand before them had changed to Eren's new mic. Eren's mic and cord was wrapped in his fairy green duct tape.
"Lights will guide you home," Eren sang as he played and recorded his piano. Mikasa started to videotape Eren on her phone. "Bitch don't record me now. I will punch your face."
Eren stopped playing and stopped his piano from recording nothing. He was done with the piano. He stood up and stretched. Mikasa stopped recording. Eren then tackled his sister.
"Get off me you stupid fairy!" Mikasa laughed.
"Bitch, please, Imma pound you so hard," Eren declared.
"Ugh, disgusting," Jean commented.
"Fuck off horseface, you know you want some of this," Eren got off of Mikasa got into Jean's face.
"No, I don't want your tiny ass, cunt" Jean replied.
"Cuz you want a freckled ass!" Armin laughed.
"What the fuck, Armin?" Jean looked at Armin deliriously.
"Oh come on! You know that you're hella gay for Marco," Mikasa rolled her eyes.
"Hey man, shut up!" Jean blushed.
"Holy shit!" Eren exclaimed. "The noble steed here is blushing. He finally has some self awareness."
"Guys! Shut up! Seriously!" Jean screamed.
"Okay, okay, gosh. Touchy," Armin smirked.
"Don't tell Marco any of this either," Jean gritted his teeth.
"Okay," the rest said in unison.
Armin's phone started to ring. Armin looked at his phone and excused himself. Thomas was calling him. The other three went back to practice. Marco wasn't there, but he was coming soon for the recording. They were all in their black clothes. Mikasa wore a black blouse with black jeans. She had the red scarf that was Eren's first present to her on. Armin was in a black button up shirt and black jeans. He bore a blue tie to match his eyes. Jean wore a button up shirt and black pants. He wore white suspenders. Eren wore a black t-shirt with a black zip up hoodie. He wore skinny black jeans. His color item was his mic so he saw no point in adding something else to his attire. The door to the basement opened. They thought it was Marco, but it was Armin's grandfather.
"Kids, I made some lemon tea and I bought some cookies. Should I bring it down for you guys? Oh and is that freckle one coming too?" Armin's grandfather asked.
"Yea, Marco is coming over. I'll come and get it," Eren replied as he started going up the stairs. He walked up to Armin's grandfather and took the tray of cookies and tea from him. "Thanks grandpa, as always."
"No problem. It's so nice having you guys here all the time. You all are like my own children," Armin's grandfather smiled.
"And I'm the cutest one, yea?" Eren smiled.
Armin's grandfather chuckled and replied yes. He patted Eren's head before he walked away. Eren smiled as he made his way down the stairs. He set the tray on the coffee table and grabbed himself tea and cookies. Mikasa and Jean joined him.
Armin came back to the group. He looked at Eren and chuckled at his stuffed face. He walked over to join as the basement door opened again. It was definitely Marco.
"Marco, hurry! There are cookies and tea from grandfather," Mikasa said. "If you don't come now, Eren will eat all the cookies."
"Lol, I'm coming," Marco said as he appeared before his friends. He set his bags to the side and joined them. "Guys, I bought temporarily black spray hair dyes. I didn't know what you guys wanted to use to cover your faces, so I grabbed colored bandanas for you guys. I thought it would be easier for you guys to reuse. And by the way, Eren, fairy green has become a popular color lately."
"That perfect Marco. Thanks for all the hard work," Eren smiled at the boy. Marco smiled back. Jean glared at the scene.
"Well, of course, Marco is always perfect. That's why he's freckled Jesus," Jean proclaimed.
"Haha, thanks Jean," Marco chuckled as he blushed.
Everyone looked at Jean with one raised eyebrow. The noble steed shrugged his shoulders. Eren rolled his eyes and finished his tea and cookies with everyone. They all stood up.
"Ready?" Eren asked and they all nodded.
"Marco, I'll help you setup the camera," Jean said.
"Okay," Marco smiled.
"Okay, then the three of us should go to the bathroom and I'll dye your guys hair," Mikasa said.
The remaining trio walked to the bathroom with the spray. Eren grumbled about a horse courting its mate. Mikasa rolled her eyes and opened the door. Armin and Eren took turns to stand in the bathtub and get sprayed. Once they were done, they looked at themselves in the mirror.
"Mikasa, I look like an emo ass white kid that's way too big to go down a slide," Armin said.
"Lol! It's all good Armin, I'll still love you," Eren laughed.
"And why do you actually look decent?" Armin questioned.
"I think it's because I don't have a huge structure and long hair," Eren replied.
"Guys, stop being annoying. Besides we can't do anything about it now. We already said we were going to do this," Mikasa sucked on her teeth.
"Whatever," Armin rolled his eyes.
The three of them left the bathroom. Jean and Marco were done setting up the camera so that it caught all of them when it recorded. The horse took his potential mate to the bathroom to also dye his hair into one solid color.
Eren picked up his fairy green bandana and tied it on himself. He covered his nose and mouth. The others did the same.
"You know, surprisingly, it's really easy to breathe with this on," Eren commented.
"That's good. It won't get in the way of your singing then," Armin replied.
"I was wondering for a while, but are you just going to randomly turn on your piano during the middle of the video?" Mikasa asked.
"No, I thought you were going to turn it on since the piano comes in before the guitar," Eren answered. "Was I wrong?"
"Well, you never asked. Do I just turn it on when you finish saying 'worse?'" Mikasa said.
Eren nodded his head as Jean came back out with black hair. With that, the four of them got into position. Marco got behind the camera.
"Alright guys, I'm pretty sure we can do this in one take," Eren smirked.
"Of course, so don't fuck up Jaeger," Jean said.
"Don't start to fight guys," Marco interjected. "Eren just give me the signal."
"'Kay," Eren replied.
Eren calmed himself. He took a deep breath and exhaled it. Everyone put their heads down and then Eren gave the go. Marco pressed record and the camera beeped. It was time to start.
Jean lifted up his head and started plucking the bass gently. Eren listened carefully, waiting for his turn to start. His left hand slowly slid up the mic stand. Once he griped his fairy green mic, he lifted his head.
"When you try your best, but you don't succeed," Eren started. He lift up his right hand and pretended to throw something away. "When you get what you want, but not what you need."
"When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep," Eren sang in a raspier voice as he brought both of his hands to his mic.
"Stuck in reverse," Eren slowly swayed his head from side to side.
"And the tears come streaming down your face," Eren slid his right index finger down his right cheek and continued to his chest. He clenched onto his t-shirt. "When you lose something you can't replace."
"When you love someone, but it goes to waste," Eren gave a hopeless look to the camera as he grabbed his mic again before he closed his eyes. "Could it be worse?"
Mikasa sneakily went to the piano and turned Eren's recording went back to place with her head down. Eren opened his eye once the piano came on.
"Lights will guide you home," Eren pointed up at the ceiling with both index fingers. He closed his hands and pretended to produce fire. "And ignite your bones."
"And I will try to fix you," Eren closed his eyes again as he brought his hands to his chest.
"And high up above or down below," Eren grabbed his mic from the stand. He pointed up and then down. Mikasa lifted up her head and started playing the guitar. Eren then shook his head to the lyrics. "When you're too in love to let it go."
"But if you never try you'll never know," Eren smiled with sad eyes. He gently grabbed his neck. "Just what you're worth."
"Lights will guide you home," Eren pointed up while swaying. He closed his hand and brought it down. He opened it in time with the song. "And ignite your bones."
"And I will try," Eren closed his eyes again. He held his mic with both hands. "To fix you."
The electric guitar strumming picked up. Armin lifted up his head and started gently hitting the bass drum. Slowly, the drums became more than just the bass drums. The instrumental part went on as Eren swayed his body to it gently with his eyes closed. He held his mic with his right hand. In his left, he held on parts of the cord.
"Tears stream down your face," Eren let go of the cord in favour of pulling his hair back. "When you lose something you cannot replace."
"Tears stream down your face and I," Eren sang higher as he looked up and then back down to the instrumental part.
"Tears stream down your face," Eren sang at the same notes as before. He sang the next part in a higher pitch. He held his head with his left hand. "I promise you I will learn from my mistakes."
"Tears stream down your face," Eren sang even higher as he felt his tears coming. "And I."
Eren fell to his knees when the piano picked up. He shook head in disbelief as he remembered his mother's face. He smiled weakly.
"Lights will guide you home," Eren reached his hand out to the camera as he felt his voice breaking. He put his head down as he felt his tears come down on his face. "And ignite your bones."
Eren closed his eyes with his head down.
"And I will try," Eren lifted his head and opened his eyes. He let his tears run down. "To fix you."
Thank you for reading.