Chapter 9. Will You Teach Me?

After the lunch outing on Friday, Vert was feeling better about this whole "joining an a Capella group while being completely unqualified" thing. Getting to know everyone like that really helped take some of the pressure off, especially after that train wreck of a rehearsal the day before. It was nice to put the music away for an afternoon and just hang out. He'd had fun, met some new people, gained six new contacts in his phone, and was added to two different group texts.

Shenanigan Squad was all ten of them who had been at Zeke's for lunch and was already over a thousand messages long. Most were memes courtesy of Spinner, horrible puns also started by Spinner, but had nearly everyone joining in, vague threats from Agura to stop, and actual threats from Tezz to "shut the fuck up or piss off a Physics and Engineering major." Vert, having been on the receiving end of one of Tezz's experiments, decided to take a break from the puns for a while. Possibly indefinitely.

BF5 was an obvious one. It was basically just rehearsal reminders and what practice room they would be in that day. Which Vert was going to be late for their Tuesday rehearsal if AJ didn't hurry the fuck up. The plan was for AJ to work on his TPA in the library while Vert and the BF5 practiced.

"I'm ready!" AJ emerged from his room, backpack on his shoulders and hair still dripping from the shower.

"Great." Vert said only mildly sarcastic. "You moved the parking pass back to your car, right?"

"Yep." AJ nodded and pulled the keys from his pocket.

"I'll drive, AJ." Vert told him. "Gimme your keys."

"What?"

"Gimme your keys."

AJ protested. "I can dri-"

"Give me your fucking keys, AJ."

AJ sighed and surrendered his keys.

"Your insurance company will thank me for this." Vert said. AJ stuck his tongue out. Vert rolled his eyes. "You can drive home. Besides, we'll have to switch when we get there anyways. Your pass doesn't cover the Fine Arts building."

"It would make more sense if I drove then." AJ said.

"Nope." Vert dashed out the door and down the stairs. He could hear AJ close behind as they raced through the parking lot. They were both out of breath by the time they reached the car. Vert unlocked the car and climbed into the driver's seat while AJ hoped in the passenger seat.

"You know," AJ said between breaths, grinning mischievously, "being the fastest isn't always the best."

Vert flipped him the bird, turned the key in the ignition, adjusted everything so he could see properly, and pulled out of the parking lot. The rest of the drive was filled with him and AJ singing along to whatever janky mix CD AJ had in the player.

The front of the Fine Arts building had a horseshoe driveway that was perfect for dropping off and picking up. Vert put the car in park, not bothering to turn off the ignition, opened the door, and hopped out. AJ climbed over the seat and started readjusting the mirrors.

"I'll text you when we're done." Vert said to him. AJ just nodded, now messing with the seat. Vert started walking towards the building.

"Vert!" Zoom's voice called out from behind him. Vert turned to him. "Nice ride! I didn't know you had a Hummer too!"

"It's AJ's actually," Vert explained. "He's the one with the parking pass and he had some work to do in the library. I just didn't feel like dying today, so I drove here."

"Fair." Zoom watched as AJ sped out of the driveway. "Is that thing even street legal here though?"

"AJ shouldn't be street legal."

Zoom giggled and Vert had to actually bite down on his tongue to keep from asking him out right then and there. Zoom wasn't like the other people Vert had dated. If he screwed things up with Zoom, it would screw things up with Battle Force 5 and with everything the group had already been through Stanford might actually kill him if that happened. So, he wouldn't ask Zoom. Not yet anyways. He'd only agreed to be part of the group for the competition. After that, who knew?

Vert jumped a little when he felt a hand touching his shoulder. Zoom stared at him with curious eyes. "We should probably get to practice."

"Yes!" Vert said a little too quickly. "We should go practice!" He continued towards the building, Zoom following wordlessly beside him.

Just as it had been last week, rehearsal hadn't gone too well. It wasn't that Vert didn't know his part, it was that he was getting lost in the parts happening around him and couldn't figure out how to get back on track without completely stopping and playing a few notes out on the piano. He was frustrated and he could tell the others were as well. They ended rehearsal earlier than normal to give everyone a chance to cool off. As he stood outside texting AJ, Vert wondered if it would be better for him to cut his losses and quit now. Though that might make everyone hate him even more. Vert sighed. He didn't know what to do. In the distance, he heard a motorcycle engine starting. Zoom. He sighed again. Now that was fucked.

And then the sound got closer. Vert looked up from his phone in time to see Zoom's bike coming towards him. He didn't move, but instead watched as the bike stopped right in front of him and the engine cut. Zoom took off his helmet and smiled.

"Good. You're still here." Zoom said.

Vert swallowed hard. This couldn't be good.

"So, I know we've only had two rehearsals," Zoom started, "but music is hard. Especially this music."

Vert nodded in agreement, already preparing himself to be kicked out of the group.

"So, I was wondering if you wanted some extra help?" Zoom asked.

Vert stared at him.

"I know that means more practice time, bu-"

Vert cut him off. "I'll do it."

"Really?"

"Please." Vert said desperately. "If I'm gonna be part of BF5, then I need it."

"How soon do you want to start?"

"As soon as possible."

Zoom thought for a moment. "How about tomorrow, then? I'm not done with classes until three, so it would have to be after that."

"I get off work at three, so that's perfect."

"Great!" Zoom was smiling again. "We can just do it my house! I'll text you the address."

Vert nodded again. "Okay."

"Cool! I'll see you tomorrow then!" And then Zoom was off, leaving Vert wondering if that had really just happened.