Ethan's P.O.V
Andy raises an eyebrow from his spot on the window still, repeating slowly, "Sadie Killer and The Suspects?"
Steven, who was tuning his black and white guitar, grinned as he nodded at both me and Andy. "Yup! It's a working title that looks to be fitting pretty well so far."
I just frown a bit at this, looking at this Sadie bitch I can hardly see her as a rock singer. Though I could be completely wrong on the whole thing, then another thought came in about what Steven said in the car. I ask a bit bluntly, "But aren't you singing today Steven?"
"I am, but only to see if I'm even cut out for rock music." He stretched his neck and gave a nervous chuckle. "I can sing a little, but when it comes to rock i'm pretty new to it all..."
Jenny scoffed and swung her arm around Steven's shoulder, making sure her yellow guitar wasn't in the way as she winked at me. "As if," She says in an upbeat tone to me as she poked the shorter teen's cheek. "Steven here has the vocal cords of an angel, and he comes up with songs right off the back. It's a natural talent."
Buck then put in his two cents with, "He gets it from his father."
Steven just blushed at them and tried to cover up his face before whining, "Guys stop!"
Everyone laughed, more so the gang than me and Andy. Still, I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at Steven's blushing embarrassment. It was easy to see that he was trying to impress me and not think highly of himself, but really even if his voice was junk I might find it the most beautiful voice on earth. It still kind of shocks me that he wanted to take a shot at rock music which might even explain the try at wearing more darker outfits too. It was kind of awesome.
In the car Steven was explaining to everyone that he wanted to try out a song he was making a while ago. From the way he was describing some of the lyrics process, it sounded like he was making this song for a pretty long time. Everyone was on board with it in the car, although Andy kept saying he wasn't going to pull it off jokingly, I was just a bit curious on what it could be. My mother always told me that music is mostly based on the soul of the person who writes it and sings it. When it isn't about money or making fame, the song could be the very key to open the door to their very soul. While i don't think this is the case, just seeing Steven so serious and deep about wanting to try out his song had sent me a bit on a curious wonder. Whatever song this was, that he deeply wanted to try and sing, was something serious and deep to him. Was it about the girl he had broken up with? No that was less than a month ago, so it might be something much different. The memory of us on the bench outside there brought up some other ideas I had in mind too. Could this be family related maybe.
Shaking my head, trying to just enjoy the time I have right now with Steven, I smile. "I think it will be amazing Steven."
He smiled at me with what looked to be pride, but then I saw the blonde chick from the corner of my eye give me a bite remark. "Yeah..." She mumbles not so quietly. "Steven sure is our special little guy."
There it was again, this Sadie bitch is really getting on my nerve. It was pretty much clear that she already didn't like me at all even though we both just met each other. Honestly I couldn't wrap my head around why she would be so hostile towards me, but that didn't make me hide away like a coward. Even to my father I never hide who I am with him around, so no way was I going to be walked over by this blonde chick. During the drive was pretty great though, watching the seething ice blue glare she gave me as I hugged Steven on my lap. Andy was of course drooling over Jenny to even notice, but it felt kind of great to show this bitch that my eyes were set on this cute brunette. Damn now I kind of sound like a possessive jerk. Come on Ethan, drop the damn jealous bean and pay attention.
Besides, just because the main singer of the whole band didn't like me doesn't mean that Steven was hanging out with jerks. The other three were pretty awesome honestly. SourCream was easily the funniest to talk to out of the other three, and him and Andy hit it off pretty right off the bat when we came to the house. My silly dark haired friend loves tech and computers like a nerd in the closet. Seeing all of the steidos and computer work that the blonde was already working on was almost as good in his opinion of this whole trip, but honestly I think the sight of Jenny was his number one. Jenny was pretty awesome to talk to him too, though it was obvious that she was the teasing type. She has been teasing Steven the whole time we came to hang out, but something tells me that she would tease everyone about everything. I think she's only teasing him because of me. Jenny may look to act like a lazy or party girl at best, but one glance at me and we just clicked that she already knew I had the hots for the brunette. At least someone supported it so she was on my friend list right away. Buck was obviously the silent type, but he can be dramatic when he wants to be. He's kind of on the fence with me. He hasn't said much to be very friendly, but he wasn't a jerk either. When he does speak though, he's kind of funny and his smooth voice always seems to pull people in to listen. Sadly though that just isn't my type. I like bubbly boys.
Speaking of said boy again, Steven started to explain about something that they emailed them. It was probably the song he wanted to try out with his band. I never thought for a second that Steven would even be in a band, a rock band no less, but thinking about it made my mind wonder. I mean just imagine seeing such a handsome but cute guy like him, dressed as he is with maybe some black mascara on his face, singing his heart out on stage covered in bright lights. I haven't even heard him sing yet and I already felt like screaming my heart out like a love sick girl at a concert. Man Rea was right, I got it so bad for him.
Can't really help it though. It was something about Steven, beyond his angel-like looks, made me want to get to know him more. He was filled with so many secrets and something extra that made me want to be even closer. Call it a stupid crush but I'm not scared to test the waters of this new crush filled sea.
Shaking my head after Andy nudged me to probably stop drooling, I tune in to what Steven was saying to the other members of the band. "Now I know this may sound weird," He fidgets a bit, giving them a nervous look. "B-But I really want to be singing these parts while Sadie is doing the back up. I... I want to try it out for myself."
Jenny waved her hand and smiled at the shorter member. "Steven relax, this is just practice after all."
"She's right Steven. There is no pressure dude," SourCream said as he nodded in agreement. "This is your song anyway, it only made sense that you would be the lead singer."
Sadie grinned and smacked him on the back as she stated, "Besides, if you don't feel like you can finish I can always take the lead anyway. No worries here okay Steven?"
I really really hope that she doesn't do that. This was Steven's song for the love of all gods and devils out there. What rights did she have to take his song like that? Sadie Killer or not, this was his time to shine and I wanted him to sing today, not a blonde bitch.
I hide the screaming wolf inside of me and smile at Steven. "I know you can do it Steven!" Oh watching that look of annoyance on a blonde bitch's face was awesome.
Steven smiled a bit brighter, looking over at Andy and I as he asked, "R-Really guys?"
Andy chuckled and shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah man. I never really cared for rock but you might change my mind."
"Heh, this is really new for me." Steven stated as he tweaked his own silver and black guitar in his hands that he is planning to use for more songs later. He placed it down and ran his fingers into his curly hair as he said, "Making music is easy for me to do, but really singing the lyrics like Sadie is kind of new territory for me."
"You are too hard on yourself Steven. Just let your emotions tell the story that you have written down," Buck said in a silent but smooth voice, his words very inspiring all on their own. "Let the key of lyrics open the door to those deep emotions, and believe me you will see you can do it."
"Damn this guy is eerie but yet so poetic," Andy commented in complete shock, making the other four smile at him for their now silent friend.
"Buck's right Steven," Jenny raised a fist into the air, trying to pump her friend up. "Just do what feels natural and go all out!Just have some fun."
We all give him a supportive grin, making Steven feel a bit put on spot from the looks of it. Still, I can tell that his friends just want him to at least have fun with everything right now. The only reason me and Andy were here was just to get to know his friends and have a good time after their practice was over, so it was clear that he didn't need to try so hard to impress us. I couldn't' wait to hear him though so i was basically giddy from excitement when we all saw him take a deep breath and nod before grabbing the second spar mic.
"A-Alright... You guys ready," The brunette asked nervously as he turned to the gang. I could tell that everyone was a bit nervous to have Andy and I hear this song, but it was clear that Steven was even more so. Jenny and Buck now as they tuned their guitars and start the tempo, finding it to be a very good beat to start off with. SourCream was already adding the other beats that were needed to make it so much better. I honestly could feel my left foot bouncing to the music and both of the singers haven't even started yet.
I turn to face Steven and the blonde chick, seeming them take a deep breath and nod seriously to each other. It amazed me how serious the shorter teen looked already. It was like seeing the cute cinnamon roll breaking from some sort of mask. Taking their mics in hand, the blonde chick Sadie started the first lyrics.
"Life's too short to be dancing with the devil.
Life's too short to be dancing with the devil.
You best sleep with a blanket and a shovel,
'Cause life's too short to be dancing with the devil..."
To be completely honest, Sadie didn't have a bad start off with such a dark and gruesome voice even more so with the lyrics clearly showing that this song was not sunshine and rainbows. Yet when with the tone of voice change, even Andy could tell that by herself, the blonde's voice wasn't really good by its own. She had a good voice obviously, but rock just didn't seem to fit her vocal cords all on their own. It needed to cover something with it, and while music would help it might be better to have a singer by her side. Still it worried me a bit turning to see Steven start his piece. He's voice was soft like hers, so I was a bit concerned to see how he would take a shot at singing rock.
The moment he started, it was clear in his brown eyes that he was nervous, even though his voice was a bit soft and laced with unease, but something changed. Right before everyone's eyes, all of which were widening no doubt, we all saw his eyes become clear and raw. That rawness though was something that shocked all of us.
"Where am I? My hands are tied...
Turn on the lights, and I see you standing,
Over me, it's hard to breathe.
I can't believe that you'd do this to me!"
This was different, and shocking to say the least. After this verse, it was like Steven finally broke a shell of innocence and entered new emotions. I'm pretty sure he never knew he had these ones before.
"Years of us building the trust up,
No love was ever enough.
I'm foolish to think we were friends...
It's funny how it ends..."
"You know, when times get tough you always give up!
I know your smoking gun's the tip of your tongue.
You take your aim to point the blame, it's time we let it go..
So save your lies, behind those eyes you're a devil in disguise!"
Sadie stepped in, her voice still in a very dark tone and now sounding better with the tempo.
"Life's too short to be dancing with the devil.
Life's too short to be dancing with the devil.
You best sleep with a blanket and a shovel,
'Cause life's too short to be dancing with the devil."
Andy was already clapping to the beat, smirking at the song already enjoying it. I was just completely staring at Steven. Call me a lovesick fool, but seeing this bubbly cutie turn into a clearly hurt but passionate singer made my heart skip serval beats.
"Now it's time to pay the price!
No playing nice when you live so selfish...
Have a drink and make a scene!
Embarrass me 'cause you're lost and hopeless!"
"Years of us building the trust up,
No love was ever enough.
I'm foolish to think we were friends...
It's funny how it ends..."
These lyrics felt too raw and deep for Steven to just get them out of nowhere. Infact, listening more into the words, it was clear that these words were for someone who had hurt him. It made my eyes widen a bit. These words, this hurt in his voice, were they for that girl at the party? It made sense, some of these lyrics hit home from that night. That girl was practically screaming at him for something that she obviously blamed him for, but what could it be to be hurting him this much. Whatever she blamed him one didn't matter at this point. It was just the fact that she pointed the blame to him and now it left him in pain, so much so that he had to sing a song just let the pain out. Andy may not notice, or his friends, but that fact that the girl hurt him like this made my blood boil. Forget that blonde bitch, I had a new target to get angry at.
I blocked the hate for now, holding a smile and enjoying Steven's powerful and emotional voice as he continued to sing with a smirk on his face. The look he had was honestly kind of scary and hot. Shit! Don't get a boner now Ethan!
"And you know, when times get tough you always give up!
I know your smoking gun's the tip of your tongue!
You take your aim to point the blame, it's time you let it go!
So save your lies, behind those eyes you're a devil in disguise!"
"Life's too short to be dancing with the devil.
Life's too short to be dancing with the devil.
You best sleep with a blanket and a shovel,
'Cause life's too short to be dancing with the devil."
Steven frowned but kept his voice as powerful and impactful as before, it was like he was in his own little world. I could even the other band members were impress by his tone change to fit this song. Maybe not rock, but it was definitely a performance. His voice started to become faster, filled with spite.
"You try to act as if you're saving me...
But you wouldn't cut the rope if it was hanging me.
I'm sick of people saying what you sow you reap...
'Cause I've been counting down the minutes of that, so to speak!
Think of all the hours and hours of grind that would it turned into sour findings!
As I wonder if our resigning is becoming the silver lining,
But I'm not a coward, I'm fighting 'cause if they're the meat, then I'm biting!
Go ahead ignoring and smiling 'cause I'm climbing till I let you know!"
Both Steven and Sadie sang this next part, their voices mixing beautifully as the music picked up higher.
"When times get tough you always give up!
I know your smoking gun's the tip of your tongue!
You take your aim to point the blame, it's time you let it go,
So save your lies, behind those eyes!
And yeah, you know, when times get tough you always give up!
I know your smoking gun's the tip of your tongue!
You take your aim to point the blame, it's time you let it go,
So save your lies, behind those eyes you're a devil in disguise!"
"Life's too short to be dancing with the devil.
Life's too short to be dancing with the devil.
You best sleep with a blanket and a shovel,
'Cause life's too short to be dancing with the devil."
With that, both Sadie and Steven were left panting a bit and smiling at each other. The gaze made him tense, but it was clear right away it was a smile of pride with how well it sounded. At least it was clear once Andy was whistling and cheering like this was a real concert.
Yeah, this was kind of like a concert though. It was completely amazing! I was already clapping with everyone else as both of the talent singers were blushing in embarrassment at the praise. The whole thing was amazing, and it honestly sounded like something that would fit right with this band. It wasn't just these two either. Buck and Jenny were great with the guitars, and SourCream sounded like a prodigy with the DJ equipment. Everything just sounded so amazing, and I had no doubt now that this band was going to go places with the music they were perfecting and it was all in one day. I saw Jenny was already jumping and hugging Sadie as I was quick to walk over to Steven with a smile on my face.
"That was amazing Steven," I said very excitedly while giving him my biggest grin I could. Just seeing his pink cheeks turn slightly more pink just made me smile more at him.
He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, flashing me as nervous as he asked, "R-Really Ethan? I-I... It was just something that I was writing on. A-Amethyst helped a lot and... um i-it had words t-that P-Pearl would never approve of so I might not even sing it at a concert a-and um..."
Good gods, how can someone so sweet and shy have the vocal cords of an angel and a dangerous vixen? That's it! Ethan Bussiere, you need to lock this guy down and claim every inch of him. Heh, that's a great idea, brain. That girl had no idea what man she just ditched out on.
Hiding my darker thoughts, I flash him a smile back and place a gentle hand on his shoulder which thankfully stopped his small nervous rant. "I don't see why you can't sing it Steven. It was really amazing." I saw his blush turn a bit red now, but I just chuckle and wink at him. "You're pretty good at rock too at that ending there."
Jenny, who was off Sadie and latched on the blushing brunette right away, smirked and ruffled his hair. "What did I tell ya," She stated gleefully. "This boy has a born gift with those vocal cords."
I just nod and agree with her cause honestly it was true. Steven had a voice that could only be described as a born given gift. It made me wonder what his father sounds like too to give him such a gift, or his mother in fact. If they both had pretty good voices, it made sense then how he could carry such a voice in a small adorable body like his. Still, it was pretty clear that he never sang a song like that before since he kept asking the gang if it was good enough for them. It wasn't completely rock, but it was amazing in my opinion and my opinion may be very biased. Sad to say it but Sadie's voice definitely played well with his own. I was never a singer so I'm glad that he could have a voice like hers to back him. Though it would make more sense to make him the lead singer than her. Sadie Killer is a sick name, but her voice wasn't made with rock whatsoever. It sounded rough and out of place that having a backup singer made more sense to fill out the flaws in ehr voice. It made me wonder why she even picked rock as a music grene for her gang. She sounds better for sof or even classic music. Whatever, at least the song was still very good even with a voice like hers.
What made the song really pop out to me was the words that were used; the full meaning of it honestly. The lyrics were clearly talking about the girl who betrayed him and shamed him at Kevin's party. I wonder if she regrets ever doing that honestly. If I knew anything from fights at parties, even if she wasn't drinking, is that the parties always regret the fights that happened there. I wouldn't be surprised if she was, but something told me that this song was the first step for him to finally move past her. It was clear she hurt him badly when we met at the library, but I was happy that he was moving on. The only question was if they were only just friends, from the sounds of it it could have been something more on Steven's side.
Seeing Steven talking to SourCream about the lyrics for a bit, I move back over to Andy only to get a hand placed on my shoulder. I turn quickly to see that Sadie was sort of glaring up at me. Oh great... I knew what was coming... and cue the-
"We need to talk."
Yup there it is. Man I'm so not looking forward to this.
I sigh and look over at Andy, who saw my look of 'give me a moment to chew her out' and he nodded before moving off to talk to Jenny and Buck. With them busy, I turned back to the blonde bitch and said bluntly back, "I'm listening."
Sadie looked to not have liked my answer back, not that I cared she was annoying me. "Look, I know the way you're looking Steven isn't friendly in any way," She points a finger at me, getting very frustrated. "I don't know what you're planning with him but-"
"If I do him dirty you'll skin me alive right?" Seeing her shocked and angry face was very amusing, but to save her from the repeats I raised my hand and gave her my most smug smirk. "Look Sadie Miller, no need to do the romance novel trope on me okay. I get that enough from my family and half of my school, so untie your panties and know that I will never hurt Steven like you are claiming."
"Yeah right," She spat out at me, her blue eyes honestly looking to be made of blue geek fire. If looks can kill, hot damn. She jabbed her finger into my chest, hard, as she hissed at me. "Don't think I didn't notice how you just popped into his life after he lost Connie. I won't let a creep like you try and use his feelings only to get a laugh at it."
Okay this bitch was pissing me off. "Use him? I would never."
"And how can I know that for sure?"
I so wanted to scream at her at this point, but I saw in my side eye sight that Steven glanced at the both of us. He didn't seem sad or shocked, but I bet her knew by now that me and his friend were not having a friendly chat. I just looked back at her and leaned down to her face, hoping my hard glare at her made her tense as well. "Look, you don't know what happened at that party and honestly I don't care what you think of me missy," I whispered firmly at her. "But know this; I would never hurt such an angel like Steven, but don't think that I won't fight for him."
Sadie frowned even more, whispering back, "I knew it... you're only trying to use him..."
"Wrong. I'm only trying to be close to him, you can say that I like him... a lot in fact," I stand fully up and smirk down at her, loving her protective glare at me. Honestly it was clear that she felt a big sister affection towards Steven which is sweet, but I'm not backing down.
She saw this and I knew she did. Sadie just sighed in defeat, giving me a single gaze as her shoulders no longer were tense. "You better not play with his heart..."
"Heh, oh I will Missy and I'll be playing with it like a fiddle right into my hands."
"I really dislike you." With that she turned away and walked back to the others, a prideful smirk on my face as I shrugged back at her. "Feelings mutual."
With that, I calmed down and turned back to see Steven and Andy talking a bit now. I saw his face turn to me, giving me a kind of worried look on his face. It made my heart twist a bit at the look in those soft brown orbs. Before I could even flash him another smile, I saw him mouth a small 'sorry' as he glanced a bit at Sadie who was now with Buck and working on other written pieces. The act alone made my heart flutter a bit, my cheeks even felt a bit warm as well. Just the fact that he knew what happened and was worried about me made my already love struck being hit by another arrow from Cupid himself. At this point, I'm wondering if he is really playing with my heart into his hands instead.
The song used in this chapter is called Dancing With The Devil by Set It Off. It isn't mine and I'm only using it for my chapter. Repeat: I DO NOT own this song or the rights to the song. I like the nightcore version of it better though honestly.
Anyway I do hope you guys like the chapter!
High Five The Sky!