Reviews :

foalan1230 : Thank you! I'm glad you feel that way.

Burgie : Thank you! Yeah Lash is a bit of a wild card, but his and Berri's relationship comes a lot farther than this. :)


Song Listened To :

Must Be Love by Christina Grimmie


*Chapter 141*

"It's nice to have another guy on board," Gunner pressed with a kind smile, he shrugged his masculine shoulders and simply glanced in a nearby mirror to make sure his hair was tidy; Theo, Wren and Throttle loitered and lazily hung out, nearby. Gunner heaved a hard sigh and stood up, the four men were securely back stage, prepared for their very first show inside Dig Dug, the crowd beyond them could be heard excitedly preparing for their debut, something that was still a thrill to Throttle, but had softly numbed the band members. Throttle's eyes peered to Gunner in boyish, wide-eyed excitement as Gunner straightened out his opened button-down shirt, which showed a sexy, thinner undershirt across his broad chest. He eyed Throttle and waggled his finger in smiling anticipation, "Be thinking about where to go after the show. This is Dig Dug's largest city, so there's probably too many options, y'know?"

"Thanks for including me," Throttle smiled with a nod, Gunner shook his hand in a waggle, as if to express that it was no big thing, though he finally winced in agitation and scrunched his shoulder in a tight, painful kind of way. Throttle sagged his shoulders and frowned up to Gunner's disposition from the comfortable lounge chair he was slouched in, "Y'okay, there?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, uhg... I slept horribly," Gunner muttered as he grappled his neck and tried to work out a kink.

"Really? I slept like a BABY," Theo blurt with a hard laugh as he stood, he instinctively drummed out a small few pats of a rhythm onto his thighs and peered to Wren and Throttle for conclusion, "Those beds are so comfortable, don't you think?"

"Yeah, Throttle and I got in a solid nine hours, it was amazing," Wren choked a small laugh and did everything he could to seem unassuming, "You, uh... Kept up by a certain blue-haired princess?"

"No, the place is freaking HAUNTED," Gunner blurt in exhausted irritation, and with the way his eyes glossed Wren in desperate agitation, it was clear to all three boys that Gunner had probably gotten two hours of sleep, tops, "I went to the concierge to see about getting another room, but the hotel was booked out, filled to the brim... Likely for the concert."

"So what ended up happening?" Theo wondered in whole confusion, he shook his head and shrugged, "I was out like a light. If there was anything haunted in my room, it clearly didn't try hard enough, because I slept like a rock."

"Yeah, us too," Wren chimed gently with a shrug, Throttle shrugged as well, "We saw you leave and mention something about the place being haunted, but... Honestly, we had no issue."

"I came back to see about just forgetting about it and going to sleep, but... Berri had locked the door and the lights were out," Gunner frowned and looked down to his feet in brewing irritation, "I thought, for sure, she would've wanted to wait up for me. I ended up trying to sleep on the couch, but I was so on edge."

"Welp... At least we won't have that problem at the next place we go," Throttle shrugged, he curiously peered to Theo and Wren and sighed, "Tonight's a new night. Should be fine."

"Oh, yeah," Wren quickly agreed with a nod, and without sniffing out a single suspicious note, Gunner bobbed a nod and heaved a raspy sigh as he pressed towards the opened dressing room door, a much larger group room with lighted mirrors lining two opposing walls.

"Alright guys, I'm going to go check with the sound guys and make sure we're good to go," Gunner sighed as he hung in the door frame for a second, "Fifteen minutes and we should be ready, kay?"

"Heard," Wren quipped as Gunner quickly left, though with such, Theo furrowed his eyebrows in entire confusion and gave Throttle and Wren a look of worry.

"I'm kind of freaked out, now," Theo wondered nervously, "Had I realized the place was haunted, I probably would've been on edge, too."

"The place isn't haunted, Teddy, Throttle and I were just..." Wren halted his words, bugged his eyes and urgently peered down into Throttle's; their height difference was only opposing, in this instance, due to Wren's standing stance over Throttle's slouched, sitting position. Throttle equally gave Wren a look of poised urgency as both boys froze.

"You and Throttle were ...?" Theo dart his curious eyes between Wren and Throttle in anticipatory wait, though with the way Throttle's face began to turn red, Theo crossed his arms and peered to both boys down the bridge of his nose, "... Alright, what's going on with you two? Anything you maybe, uh... Need to fess up to?"

"Okay, Teddy, OKAY, I'll tell you what's going on, but you have to PROMISE you won't tell Berri or Gunner," Wren whispered as he shot his eyes to the gaping door frame, he softened his voice even more so, in the event that anyone passing by would hear them. As Wren leaned in, Throttle and Theo softly leaned in, as well, "Th-Throttle and I, sort of... Well..."

"...Pants-off dance-off, cool, cool," Theo nonchalantly bobbed a nod, though he shot Throttle a cheeky smile and waggled his eyebrows, "I'll bet fifty bucks Throttle topped'yah good and surprised the coding right outta y-"

"ENOUGH, enough, shh-gah," Wren urgently flagged his hands and muttered incoherent obscenities, all while keeping his voice at a sharp, irritated whisper. Throttle blurt a soft chuckle into his hand as he eased his palm over his forehead; Theo beamed said elated, cheeky smile into Wren's eyes as both boys' faces turned beet red, "Yes, we code swapped."

"Cool beans," Theo huffed as he stood up a little straighter, though he furrowed his eyebrows and peered to Wren in soft confusion, "What... Does that have to do with the haunting?"

"Because Throttle and I were the reason for all the poltergeist activity," Wren cocked an eyebrow, gave Theo a cheeky smile, and as he outreached his hand, a comb from far across the room suddenly rocketed straight for Wren's open palm, and the second it softly collided with his skin, Wren began to nonchalantly comb his razored white hair without so much as batting a lash, "Now, it all started in good fun, and... Quickly turned into us successfully getting Gunner out of the notions of getting Berri into the same bed as him."

"H-Holy shit, did you just...?" Theo bugged his eyes and urgently peered across the room, then into Throttle's elated eyes, and straight to Wren's boyish disposition, he calmly combed his hair with a cocky smile on his face.

"I did," Wren hummed knowingly, "Now... You keep quiet about this, and you can be in on the shenanigans. Berri's on the fence about leaving Gunner. Throttle and I think it'd be fun to maybe, I don't know... Speed the process along, a little. No harm in giving the poor girl a hand."

"Hoooho, you do NOT have to tell me twice," Theo hissed softly in grinning delight as he rubbed his hands together, "I may not have telekinetic powers, but I can still glitch and wreck. I'll do anything to help you guys out."

"You would ultimately be helping Berri split up with Gunner," Wren whispered as he lofted his gaze across the way, "You think you can live with yourself, at the end of the day, knowing that's what you're working towards?"

"Hey, I'm the only single one here, it's getting annoying," Theo muttered as he crossed his arms, though all three boys jumped in surprise the second Bedgy flitted past the room and chirped a noise of urgency.

"It's almost showtime boys! Places!" She called as she lost a grey feather along the way, though Wren beamed a cheery smile and called after her.

"Coming!" His voice carried, and as Throttle and Theo quickly got to their feet and began to shuffle towards the exit of the room, he eyed Throttle and Theo as they quickly tailed behind him, all three boys pressed out of the larger dressing room and down an airy hallway loudly littered with all sorts of different band and crew members, "We can talk more about it later, but for now... Pretend you know nothing."

"My lips are sealed," Theo grinned a closed-mouth smile and pretended to zip his lips shut.

"C'mon guys, showtime," Gunner suddenly stated with an exhausted smile as he gestured out to a lower level of the backstage, it peered up into the darkened abyss of their arena, with little glimpses of the massive, never-ending crowd and gorgeous display of stage lights, everyone perked up and began to press closer to their positions, their cues for entering the stage, a domain they knew so well.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Berri suddenly pressed as her gorgeous, tall heels clacked closer to the gathered group.

She looked like a vision, dressed in an awesome, though dainty rockstar ensemble, she wore a studded leather jacket cut in such a way that still kissed her with a feminine touch. Her gorgeous blue hair was straightened and razor sharp at the ends, with make up and everything else absolutely on point, Gunner most certainly stuck out like a sore thumb with the raw fact that he looked exhausted. Throttle inhaled a deep breath, broadened his chest, sagged his hands into his jean's pockets and eyed the band with a look of delightful pride.

"WELP. Go get'em, crew," Throttle chimed with a warm smile, "I'll be here, cheering the loudest."

"Thanks, man," Gunner pat Throttle's shoulder and gently pushed past him; one by one, everyone began to softly breeze past Throttle's standstill disposition.

"Thanks, babe," Wren eased lovingly, he stood on his tip-toes as both him and Throttle met in the middle for a quick smooch of a peck, to which Wren happily stepped away afterwards.

"Thanks, babe," Berri mocked, though she cutely stood on the tippiest point of her heels and gave Throttle's cheek a loving peck, to which Throttle smiled and bashfully looked down to his feet as Berri's figure quickly pressed on.

"Thanks, babe," Theo was quick to tease in a high-pitched voice, though as he sharply leaned in to obnoxiously give Throttle a messy kiss on the cheek, Throttle bugged his eyes and urgently ducked away.

"Yooo, man, not for you," Throttle barked a hard laugh as Theo grinned and was quickly whisked away, and though Throttle settled with a softening chuckle and a nostalgic gaze that chased after the four individuals that began to ease closer to the stage's gaping, beckoning lights, Throttle furrowed his eyebrows and caught with the sound and lighting crew off to his right.

Tucked away in a proper booth that overlooked the stage, Throttle cocked an eyebrow and sneakily stepped a little closer to the cracked door of the booth. Inside were three or four men that hovered about a huge display of a sound board, full of knobs, switches and levers, all needed for certain microphones, instruments and other aspects of the show, as well as all sorts of controls for the lighting and display boards, Throttle ogled the display in humility. Though people continued to bustle around, and the show was about to begin, he hovered in a grey area of quiet just outside the booth, unseen and unheard. He held his breath and looked over his shoulder as Berri, Wren, Theo and Gunner began to press onto the stage with fervor, urgency, a thrill for the crowd now going absolutely nuts, Throttle bit his lip and felt everyone around him ease into go-mode, a concentration that couldn't be shook. With such, he felt invincible, and although he was well aware to leave his and Wren's shenanigans for Gunner's personal life, Throttle cocked an eyebrow and laid eyes on two specific knobs and controls; ladened with tape clearly labelled, one for Gunner's microphone, and one for Berri's guitar, as well as nearby mics, Throttle felt his brand new coding surge through his system with hot knowing. He wondered just what kind of trouble he'd be in if he was discovered to purposefully muting Gunner's mic mid show, if he got caught.


"So, you're meaning to tell me, you WATCH her shows?" Lash pressed in irritation, "Instead of just, I don't know, GOING to one?"

"You know my stance," Turbo muttered in whole dullness, as if he's been over this before, though as him and Lash plopped down on his loveley red, sprawling couch, the game, underneath Turbo's sixty-fourth floor drop off, rumbled with the sound of a thunderstorm going on far below them.

"I know your stance, it's just confusing," Lash mumbled, he scratched his forehead in curiosity as Turbo turned the volume, on his television, up a few notches; Lash spoke over the noise, nonetheless, "You love that chick, don't you? I mean, isn't that what you do for someone like that?"

"I'm working up the courage, dude, it will happen," Turbo grumbled as he nervously straightened out his currently messy hair, "I watch her shows because this is the most I can afford, right now."

"You can afford a holy-shit Lumos, for crying out loud," Lash gestured his arm outward and sat up a little, "I THINK you can afford some concert tickets."

"MENTALLY, it's all I can mentally afford, for User's sake, will you just shut up and listen?" Turbo urged in irritation as he continued to turn the volume up, Lash finally gave up and sat back into Turbo's fluffy couch.

"What kind of music do they play, anyways?" Lash wondered in a grumbling way, he scratched the top of his head as the band quickly segued into their first song, one that Gunner was favored for, he sung his heart out, though Lash cocked an eyebrow and peered to Turbo in softness; it was clear that his eyes were honed in on the gorgeous, blue-haired guitarist on stage left.

"Eh, it's like... Rock, alternative, pop," Turbo listed gently with a shrug, he looked up in pondering and sighed, "I guess it really depends on the song, but I'd say either three of those genres would describe the band well."

"Alright, so see Berri plays the guitar," Lash chimed as he pointed, "Damn, she's... She's really good."

"That's not the only thing she's good at," Turbo mumbled in soft, dire desperation as he shook his head and alost dared to shut his eyes and allow his heart to wallow in lovestruck pain, "She can sing, too."

"She can?" Lash pressed curiously.

"Boy, can she," Turbo sighed.

"Well... Why isn't she?" Lash wondered nervously, "I told her to sing her heart out, today, and she said she would."

"... Wait, what?" Turbo urgently furrowed his eyebrows and peered hard into Lash's eyes, "You spoke to her today?"

"Yeah, I called her," Lash shrugged sheepishly, to which Turbo kept his eyes tight to Lash's in dire, shocked curiosity, "I-I didn't think she'd pick up!"

"I leave you with your phone for ONE night and you end up calling Sugar Rush's princess, one of Litwak's hugest stars, whilst she's on tour," Turbo listed, he finally blurt a chuckle and sagged back, "Some balls."

"Yeah, more than you got," Lash muttered, and though Turbo felt a knee-jerk reaction to counter Lash's retort and one-up him, the feeling fizzled, "Yeah, she... She said she'd sing her heart out, today."

"She meant figuratively," Turbo mumbled sorrowfully as he gently gestured, "Look at that poor girl. You see her singing along?"

"... Huh, yeah I do," Lash squinted his eyes and honed in on Berri's figure; she was urgently singing along and playing her heart out, the guitar made a world of noise, though her voice was empty, as if she maybe should have a mic up on her, though nothing was picking up the sheer power of her voice, the power that was clearly there.

"It's because Gunner doesn't let her sing," Turbo nearly growled, he glared Gunner's figure down and shook his head a little in disgust, "Don't ever get me in the same room as that guy..."

"Y-Yeah, we... We don't want you to see red, I would pay for that NOT to happen, okay?" Lash muttered nervously as he waggled his hand towards Turbo, as if to gesture him to calm down, "So, lover boy doesn't want a second singer. Can't he, I don't know... Let her solo or something?"

"You'd think," Turbo sighed, "I'm pretty sure Berri has been beating that horse dead for weeks now. I think this is the closest thing she could get to genuinely singing in front of an actual crowd.

"... Wait a second, wait," Lash furrowed his brow in a sharp spike of confusion, although both boys had been watching the routine of their show, agitation began to break out on stage; Gunner urgently looked as if to be loudly singing into his mic, though Wren's, Berri's and Theo's methodical music carried on without a care.

"What the heck is happening here?" Turbo pressed in confusion as him and Lash sat up straighter and peered to the television in poised bewilderment.

"Gunner's mic went out, it looks like," Lash staggered, he finally blurt a hard laugh and pointed, "Lookit, he's so scared right now, look look look! Lookit his face!"

Turbo huffed a shaky breath, a trail of a laugh, and as Lash's boyish, excited laughter began to billow into something heavier and shocked, Turbo felt his pupils tighten in a draw of surprise the second he saw Berri's quick thinking lead her just a handful of steps off to her left, closer to the center of the stage, and with as much gust as Turbo knew she had inside of her, she urgently continued to strum her hand at her guitar, her skillful fingers all up the neck of her guitar, her beautiful voice suddenly coated the arena in a ladened coat of warm clarity. Turbo raised his eyebrows in unmitigated surprise as Gunner was simply left, front and center stage, peering back at Berri in unadulterated shock as her gorgeous, powerful voice began to climb to a point of stability in pursuing the rest of the song with her own talent. Turbo nearly stood, his mouth agape, the crowd beyond them went absolutely wild as Berri, Wren and Theo so confidently carried on, without Gunner; they stood in hot confusion before the television, fully prepared for the press to have a field day with this perfect mistake.