Chapter 2: Enjoy The Show
"Good Evening ladies, gents and lovers of rock n' roll! Welcome to the biggest music competition in the nation, the Grand Final for The Battle of The Bands! And boy, are you in for an exciting night, tonight!" The host of the show shouted across the stadium as the crowd cheered. The competition was held at the United Centre in Chicago and every seat was filled with sweaty bodies. Caroline watched as the crowd roared with pure exhilaration and anticipation on what was to come tonight.
"We have an excellent line up for tonight's show! Up first we have The Originals!" The crowd erupted into a roar again. It was so loud the whole stadium seemed to shake. "Then we have The Preatures, followed by I Fight Dragons, Lemonade Mouth and then finally The Mystics! Chicago, now it is time to let the battle commence. So get ready to drown in the sweet sorrow that is THE ORIGINALS! "
The lights on the stadium dimmed as the audience lowered their roars to dull murmurs. Caroline had sneaked out of backstage and was leaning against the stadium exit door near the front as she watched the crowd; she had plenty of time to get back before she had to go on stage. There were so many people watching… She was glad that she wasn't singing leads tonight for she knew that if she did, she would've passed out before a note ever left her pink lips. Sure, Caroline was used to attention; craved it even, but certainly not this much attention.
The audience's murmurs had quietened down to complete silence as they waited in anticipation. The stage was enveloped in darkness. Caroline was still trying to make out a single silhouette when she heard the tapping of drum sticks on stage and the whole stadium suddenly flooding with a blinding white light.
"Oh yeah" Rebekah sang into the microphone. Caroline identified each Mikaelson and their desired instrument. Rebekah on vocals and percussion, Finn on bass, Kol on drums, Elijah on keyboard and finally her eyes resting on Klaus and his jet black electric guitar.
"Oh yeah" Rebekah sang again. The Originals were so mesmerising with their stage presence. They looked like they definitely were born and bred on the stage. Even though Rebekah was front and centre, working the crowd; Caroline couldn't keep her eyes off Klaus. His complete focus on the song and the sense that he was lost in it the moment it began, it completely enthralled her. She shouldn't be this captivated by him. Klaus was the biggest rival of her entire music career but she couldn't help but gaze at those intense blue eyes and his long fingers strumming the chords.
"OH YEAH" Even though Rebekah was always in the spotlight and Elijah was known for managing the band, the magic behind The Originals was purely Klaus. He was the songwriter, composer and guitarist for the band, hence the nickname 'The Hybrid'; and he made them sound good. With that thought in her mind, Caroline lost herself into the music as well; her eyes never straying from the Hybrid as she listened intently to his words.
"Hello again friend of a friend,
I knew you when
Our common goal was waiting for
the world to end.
Now that the truth is just a rule
that you can bend.
You crack the whip, shapeshift
and trick the past again.
Send you my love on a wire
Lift you up every time, everyone
Ooh pulls away ooh from you.
Got balls of steel; got an automobile
For a minimum wage.
Got real estate, I'm buying it all
Up in outer space.
Now that the truth is just a rule
That you can bend.
You crack the whip, shapeshift
And trick the past again.
Send you my love on a wire
Lift you up every time, everyone
Ooh pulls away, ooh
It's so mechanic-able
And number one
Will take a ride from anyone, everyone
Who wants to ride, Ooh from you
Ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh
Ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh"
Caroline took a deep breath, overwhelmed by the emotion in the lyrics and oh how good those lyrics were, as The Originals started their second song.
"Sweet dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree. I travelled the world and the seven seas. Everybody's looking for something" the sweet voice of Rebekah flowed over her. The song was hauntingly beautiful yet so creepy at the same time that it sent shivers down Caroline's spine and left goose bumps all over her skin. It was so unlike the first song.
"Some of them want to use you. Some of them want to get used by you. Some of them want to abuse you. Some of them want to be abused…"
Meanwhile….
"Wow… they are good. We are so screwed" Damon commented watching The Originals play their set from side stage. Since the show had started their group had dispersed to god knows where performing their last minute mantras while he and Katherine took side stage to scope out the competition.
"You're right. If we stick to Elena's goody too-shoes, fair and square ideal, we'll be squashed like a grape. But never say never, for I have a plan." Katherine stated.
"If Elena ever finds out-"
"Which is why we are not going to tell her; or anybody for that matter. This little plan of mine is completely between you and me" Katherine pushed off the pole she was leaning against and started walking off with Damon trailing after her in confusion.
Katherine walked all the way out of the backstage area, past the audience doors to the stadium, up a flight of stairs before she stopped in front of a red door.
'JUDGES ROOM ONLY' it read.
"I am going to use my powers of persuasion and try to get those Mikaelson's disqualified by any means necessary" Katherine said fluffing up her hair and pushing down her top to show just a tinsy bit more cleavage than was probably allowed.
Damon quirked up an eyebrow reading between the lines of Katherine's infamous plan "And by powers of persuasion you really mean powers of seduction"
She shrugged "Phrase it how you want, Salvatore. It has a 100% success rate; it never fails me"
"I seriously doubt that your seduction is that accurate. You know that there are guys out there who are seriously repulsed by self-indulged bitches"
"You mean like you? Trust me Damon, my methods are flawless. I know just what makes a man tick. It worked on you every time didn't it?"
Damon rolled his eyes, "And if they're not all guys in there?"
"Just because you think I spend most of my free time around you Salvatore's, doesn't mean that I haven't swung the other way. I play the field. I know how to win."
Shaking his head, Damon left as Katherine innocently knocked on the door to the judge's room and went to find his brother and the rest of the band to see if they had been updated with the change of plans.
The rest of the night went fairly quickly with each band rocking the stage with their best songs. Each song had every person in the stadium on their feet and dancing the night away.
Watching I Fight Dragons, Lemonade Mouth and The Preatures perform Caroline knew this competition was fierce. This outcome for the competition was gonna be a close one for sure. Any one of them could win and claim the title. With their melodies and harmonies in perfect sync, Caroline let the music wash over her, allowing herself to lose all thought and get lost in the songs.
It wasn't until The Preatures played the last note of their song 'Somebody's Talking' that Caroline realised that The Mystics were up next. Quickly, Caroline got up from where she stood and ran like her life depended on it, which it literally did, out of the exit door and flew all the way through backstage, past the security guards and to side stage where Tyler was waiting for her.
"Where have you been?! I have been looking everywhere for you!"
"I know…" Caroline puffed "I'm. Sorry. I was. Watching. From the. Audience."
"Well come on, we have to go now. The host is announcing us."
With one last quick fluff of her hair and a deep breath, Caroline walked on stage towards her spot next to Katherine, ready to rock the crowd's socks off.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter even though its a short one! Don't forget to review pretty please! I'd love to improve my writing skills haha
As for the competing bands, most are not made up (except Lemonade Mouth is from a Disney Movie, and obviously The Originals and The Mystics) so if you would like to listen to the songs they performed in the competition there will be a link to a youtube playlist in my profile (apparently you can't put links in the A/Ns which sucks)