Um.. Sorry? After promising not to disappear again, I get out maybe two chapters before poofing. Well, there's school. ANd then there's the fact I have limited computer time each day. And then there's my recent obsession with Supernatural. But those are all excuses. You guys stuck with me, and I've felt the pain of being attached to a fanfic that takes a couple millenniums to update. It's frustrating. So I'm sorry. So here I have typed out a day of renewed energy and grojfeels. I aim to as soon as I publish this, start on the next chapter, maybe get it up. But hey, you know me. don't get your hopes up.
I don't own Grojband.
Lenny's POV
BWAMP. BWAMP. BWAMP. BWAMP. BWAM. BW-
My alarm clock fell silent as I slammed down the snooze button. It was . Who needs sleep when you had The Battle Of The Bands?
Getting up, I got dressed in an outfit specifically for this event. It was very hardcore- looking the look was very important in a competition. Carrie had stressed this over and over and it was now embedded in my mind.
I ate breakfast, tuned my bass, checked my phone, and it was 4:30. Carrie'd agreed that we should all meet up at 5:30, which meant I had an hour to go. What to do? I was so on edge and time seemed to be in slowmotion.
My eyes landed on my phone on my bedside table. Text Laney. What other way to kill time was there?
Lenny: u up?
Laney: yep :-/ couldn't sleep.
Lenny: bummer. good luck today
Laney: thanks. we'll need more than luck if we're gonna get out of this alive though.
Lenny: i'm sure we'll be fine..
Laney: yeah right.
Lenny: stop being such a downer. they'll understand.
Laney: are you kidding me? you know them.
Lenny: i'm sure they'll come around
Laney: good luck with that.
"Thanks, but The Newmans don't need luck." Carrie had her trademark smirk and casually waved at Bernadette. "But thanks anyways." B had just wished us luck today. She'd be going to see us play and since Trina refused to go and she had an extra ticket, she'd be going with Nick Mallory.
"Carr, don't you think we should at least practice once more?" I suggested idly. We'd already done our soundcheck.
She rolled her eyes "No way. I've got a feeling in my gut that says we'll do perfectly."
"But-"
"Shush. We have to get there early, come on." Carrie grabbed my arm, pulling me out of The Garage.
I let her drag me out, smiling weakly "Yeah Carr." I mumbled. I felt stupid nervous, everything around was amplified but also blurred. I couldn't feel my heart beat. My heart belonged with Laney.
"Why can't you get Bernie to drive us there, anyways?" Konnie grumbled. The competition was like, five blocks away. It wasn't far, but we were carrying our instruments. The poor girl had to lug her drum set for what would seem like miles.
Carrie glanced at Konnie "B's out with Riffin senior this morning. She'll be here when the performances start."
"Lame." Konnie sighed.
"That's not a winning attitude. Act like nothing's wrong and nothing will go wrong." Carrie responded smoothly.
"Yeah, tonight will go perfectly. Us, beating Grojband into the dirt. Nothing could ruin something like that." Kim started me straight in the eye as she spoke. "Right, guys?" At least she wasn't asking me specifically. Carrie would know something's up, probably Konnie too.
"Yeah. It'll be great." Was my half-hearted reply.
Laney's POV
"Please welcome to the stage, Puke Of Jerky!" Mayor Mellow called out. The wannabes got on stage, playing their second class instruments to a second class song. Once they'd finished, The Newmans would play, then us. This gave me and Nepp about six minutes together before we'd split up. After that, we wouldn't see each other until we started solos.
I swirled fruit punch in it's blue plastic cup, staring at my watery red reflection "So where's your band?"
"Watching the competition, far away from us." Lenny's eyes flickered around the audience, resting on some distant location.
"Great. So, you ready?"
"For what? The gig or telling our precious friends about us being an item?"
I clenched my teeth. He was so calm, but I had been him, and I could see through him. He was barely containing his anxiety "Both, I guess." Me too, Nepp.
"Then I guess no to the latter. Anything could happen, that's the worst part. They could accept it, they could kick us out of the band, or they could explode." Nepp shrugged.
He was right. It's not as if they'd just continue playing on like nothing happened. Take it in stride that their bassists were romantically conspiring. Corey couldn't stand being in the same room as them, and he wasn't going to let his best friend date one.
The two of us proceeded to watch Puke Of Jerky in silence, anticipation binding our vocal chords. They weren't that bad, but they needed practice. They were obviously unprepared, and you could practically smell the fear on them. Corey was right- we were pretty good for Peaceville standards. There was no doubt we'd both beat them, and we'd at least be in the top two. Who'd come out on top was the question.
And then like that, they were done playing. Nepp turned to look at me, his fists clenched and breathing uneven "See you on the other side." He kept his voice and expression the same. Relaxed, nonchalant.
"Later, my doppelganger gender-opposite."
Puke of Jerky got off stage, and The Newmans got on. Nepp glanced at me before shifting his gaze to the general audience. "Good luck." I muttered.
"Hey Lanes!" A hand closed around my arm and I jumped out of my skin. Next to me was Corey, Kin, and Kon. "Were you giving the Newmans good luck?" He seemed genuinely confused instead of accusatory.
I smiled at him, rolling my eyes "Sarcasm, Core." How smoothly I lied to my friends for him. How foolish of me.
"Oh, of course. Anyways, we should go get ready. This isn't worth watching." It was, though. I'd seen how much effort they'd put into perfecting this, and it had paid off. Corey didn't know that. Corey couldn't possibly know, and why would he care? I shouldn't care either.
"Yeah, let's go." I let him pull my arm backstage, where we tuned and tweaked our instruments. "Hey, Core, by the way," I started.
"Yeah, Lanes?" Core glanced at me.
"I'm participating in The Battle Of The Solos. So once we're done I'll have to go perform and it'd be great if you could watch." I said it as casually as I could.
Corey slowly lifted his head, staring at me "Um, sure Lanes, no problem..?" He choked out.
"Great thanks." I smiled.
We stood there in silence after that, listening to The Newmans through the curtain. Nepp was there, playing his bass to the tune of pop.
They died out after a few minutes, and that was it. They were done, and now we would play our song, then me and Lenny would sing songs and the world would fall on it's side. Better sooner than later, though.
We took the stage.
"The sun goes down
The stars come out
And all that counts
Is here and now
My universe will never be the same
I'm glad you came
You cast a spell on me, spell on me
You hit me like the sky fell on me, fell on me
And I decided you look well on me, well on me
So let's go somewhere no one else can see, you and me
Turn the lights out now
Now I'll take you by the hand
Hand you another drink
Drink it if you can
Can you spend a little time,
Time is slipping away,
Away from us so stay,
Stay with me I can make,
Make you glad you came
The sun goes down
The stars come out
And all that counts
Is here and now
My universe will never be the same
I'm glad you came
I'm glad you came
You cast a spell on me, spell on me
You hit me like the sky fell on me, fell on me
And I decided you look well on me, well on me
So let's go somewhere no one else can see, you and me
Turn the lights out now
Now I'll take you by the hand
Hand you another drink
Drink it if you can
Can you spend a little time,
Time is slipping away,
Away from us so stay,
Stay with me I can make,
Make you glad you came
The sun goes down
The stars come out
And all that counts
Is here and now
My universe will never be the same
I'm glad you came
I'm glad you came
I'm glad you came
So glad you came
I'm glad you came
I'm glad you came
The sun goes down
The stars come out
And all that counts
Is here and now
My universe will never be the same
I'm glad you came
I'm glad you came."
There. We were done. We sang a song, and so did The Newmans.
We exited stage.
"Welcome Laney Penn, singing an original piece written and performed by herself!"
Deep breathes, Laney. Looking out on the stage, I saw seven familiar faces. Carrie Beff, Kim Kagami, Konnie Kagami, Kin Kujira, Kon Kujira, and Lenny Nepp. All of them were waiting for me. How rude of me to keep them waiting.
"Get out your guns, battles begun,
are you a saint, or a sinner?
If loves a fight, than I shall die,
with my heart on a trigger.
They say before you start a war,
you better know what you're fighting for.
Well baby, you are all that I adore,
if love is what you need, a soldier I will be.
I'm an angel with a shotgun,
fighting til' the wars won,
I don't care if heaven won't take me back.
I'll throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe.
Don't you know you're everything I have?
..and I, wanna live, not just survive, tonight.
Sometimes to win, you've got to sin,
don't mean I'm not a believer.
..and major Tom, will sing along.
Yeah, they still say I'm a dreamer.
They say before you start a war,
you better know what you're fighting for.
Well baby, you are all that I adore,
if love is what you need, a soldier I will be.
I'm an angel with a shotgun,
fighting til' the wars won,
I don't care if heaven won't take me back.
I'll throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe.
Don't you know you're everything I have?
..and I, wanna live, not just survive, tonight.
ooooohhhhhhhh, ooooooohhhhh whoa whoa oooh whoa
I'm an angel with a shotgun..
fighting til' the wars won..
I don't care if heaven won't take me back..
I'm an angel with a shotgun,
fighting til' the wars won,
I don't care if heaven won't take me back.
I'll throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe.
Don't you know you're everything I have?
(I'm an angel with a shotgun)
..and I, want to live, not just survive, tonight.
(Live, not just survive)
..and I'm gonna hide, hide, hide my wings tonight.
They say before you start a war,
you better know what you're fighting for.
Well baby, you are all that I adore,
if love is what you need, a soldier I will be."
That was it. I was done. The audience applauded and I got off stage. I didn't go to see Corey. I didn't want to talk to him. I wanted to watch Nepp sing a song about me and remember that he loves me and doesn't care who gets in the way.
I stood in the crowd, looking up at the stage. Lenny was getting on stage, holding an electric guitar. Bass wasn't an instrument for solos.
I remember when he sang this song to me at his house, when I gave him a black eye. He still had it, and I have no idea how he explained it to his friends. He really was willing to take a lot of crap for me, and no one even knew yet.
"Now, please welcome Lenny Nepp, performing an original song written by himself!" Mayor Mellow introduced. All of his expositions were the same, like a fill-in-the-blank thank-you card for lazy recipients
We were not fill-in-the blank people.
"Check yes Juliet
Are you with me?
Rain is falling down on the sidewalk
I won't go until you come outside.
Check yes Juliet
Kill the limbo
I'll keep tossing rocks at your window
There's no turning back for us tonight.
Lace up your shoes
Ay Oh Ay Ohhh
Here's how we do:
Run, baby, run
Don't ever look back.
They'll tear us apart
If you give them the chance.
Don't sell your heart.
Don't say we're not meant to be.
Run, baby, run.
Forever will be
You and me.
Check yes Juliet
I'll be waiting
Wishing, wanting
Yours for the taking.
Just sneak out
And don't tell a soul goodbye.
Check yes Juliet
Here's the countdown
3... 2... 1... now fall in my arms now
They can change the locks
Don't let them change your mind
Lace up your shoes
Ah Oh Ah Ohhh
Here's how we do
Run, baby, run
Don't ever look back
They'll tear us apart
If you give them the chance
Don't sell your heart
Don't say we are not meant to be
Run baby run
Forever we'll be
You and me
We're flying through the night
We're flying through the night
Way up high,
The view from here is getting better with
You by my side
Run baby run
Don't ever look back
They'll tear us apart
If you give them the chance
Don't sell your heart
Don't say we are not meant to be
Run baby run
Forever will be...
Run baby run
Don't ever look back
They'll tear us apart
If you give them the chance
Don't sell your heart
Don't say we are not meant to be
Run baby run
Forever will be
You and me
You and me
You and me."
Color me impressed. I loved it acoustic in a warm room with just us, but him rocking out on a stage, bright lights focused on him and illuminating the whole festival, it was a whole new song.
Nepp exited stage, his eyes on me. Now, we were supposed to find our bands and explain to them. We were dating someone. We were dating each other. We were well aware that our partner is of a rival band. We don't care.
I nodded at him then turned to find my friends.
"Laney! Okay, so good news, and bad news. What do you want to hear first?" Corey started at me.
I laughed nervously "Bad new, I guess."
Corey inhaled deeply, and his expression changed. He was angry. "We lost. Well, we placed, but we lost. To The Newmans."
"I offer my deepest condolences, Corey. Now good news." I didn't care. I was exhausted from performing twice and I wasn't ready to tell him.
"You were awesome! Seriously, where did you get those lyrics? And it was so.. good! Lanes, did you write that?"
"Yeah. I actually have something I need to tell you." I started. How stupid of me.
"Really? What, Lanes?" Corey's attention was focused on me. So were the twins'.
"I didn't just write the song, I wrote it about someone."
"Who?"
"That's the thing. Um, I don't know how you're going to react to this, but I'm sorry. It's- uh, about a guy?"
Corey stared at me "Um, is it me?"
I laughed dryly. Oh Corey, I wish it was. That would be so easy. A bassist and her frontman, the perfect couple. But it was the bassist and the bassist and it wouldn't end well "No. You know him."
"Nick Mallory?!"
"God, no! Corey, he isn't a friend of yours. In fact, you kind of hate him." I lowered my gaze. I didn't want to look at him.
Corey blinked "Lanes, I don't hate anyone, who are you-" He stopped "Wait. No. You couldn't be possibly be talking about-" He looked around nervously, like someone was watching them "Nepp?"
"Bingo."
There we go. Lenny and Laney do stupid things such as being in love. Thank you all very much for your reviews, smiley face.
Really, I do appreciate them. I feel like I should write, I go and I look at my reviews. I look at them and see how much people like my stuff and me as a person. It strengthens the idea I am a good writer. That makes me feel nice and warm and fuzzy. I start writing because of the fun, but I explore new ideas and write things I'm not sure about and I doubt myself. You guys make me feel better. So, uh, thanks.
bye.