Me: Well, first of all, I want to say I'm soo sorry for always postponing the update. I honestly don't have any excuse this time. I'm slowly getting back on track so don't worry. To make it up to y'all, I gave you probably one of the longest chapters I've ever written. I hope you enjoy it~! Don't forget to leave a review! Hippo!

Hippo: Yeah, yeah, I know. ArtsyNinja3 does not own anything except for her own characters and the plot.


Narrator P.O.V.

It's been exactly a week since Luchia and her band signed up for the Battle of the Bands. It was about time their principal announced the bands or solo acts participating and the theme for Round 1. As if on cue, the announcements started. Weird punk music echoed the classrooms as the students all shut their mouths and returned to their seats.

"Good morning dear students!" the principal greeted everyone. "I bet all of you are waiting for my to announce the bands and solo acts, plus the theme for the first round. Well, too bad! I'm not announcing that until the end so on with the announcements!" The principal then proceeded to tell the students about clubs and certain messages that don't interest the students. One by one, the kids went back to talking to one another. After five minutes though, the weird punk music blasted through the speakers. "Now, onto the Battle of the Bands. First up, we have the bands." The principal listed all the bands participating in the contest and their members. "Then we have the band S4. Members are: Kaito and Gaito Doumoto, Nagisa Shirai and Masahiro Hamasaki from year two, class one." All the heads turned towards the four boys sitting at the corner of the classroom. Everyone was surprised, even their own girlfriends. "And last but not least, the band Vintage Wings. Members are: Luchia Nanami, Taihou Nagatsuka, Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin from year two, class one, and Emiya Nagatsuka from year two, class five." The people in the class cheered loudly for Luchia once her name was mentioned.

"How come we didn't get any cheers?" Nagisa whined. The others sighed and ignored him. They all listened to the people participating in the solo acts, waiting for it to finish to find out what the theme was.

"And finally, the theme for round one. Drum roll please," the principal said. Students from every class of the school started drumming their hands on the desks, books, chairs, bags, anything they could find. "And the theme for round one is…Punk or alternative rock. The teachers and I decided to give you guys an easy theme first. You may do covers of songs or an original song. Be ready to go next Friday. Live performances will take place in the gym during lunchtime next Friday. Everyone is welcome to come and watch. Well, enjoy the rest of your days, kids." And with that, the announcements ended with the weird punk music playing afterwards. Students quickly started chattering once the announcements were over. Their teacher just stood at the front of the classroom and sighed before taking a deep breath.

"Silence!" he yelled over the voices. All the students shut their mouths. "Now, we still have class. You guys can talk all you want during break or lunch, but now, I need you to focus. Turn your books to page fifty-six. Shirai-san, you can start it off since you were so loud." Nagisa groaned and stood up while the others snickered and chuckled. Classes continued until break without a problem.

During break…

"Nagisa," Hanon started, "You never told me you guys were participating!"

"Now, now, Hanon. Calm yourself," her boyfriend replied nervously.

"It was sort of on a whim," Gaito spoke up. "We decided it would be fun to enter on the last day of signing up and I guess we just sort of forgot to tell you guys."

"I'm sorry," Nagisa said with his head down but on the inside, he was sighing of relief. Thank god Gaito stepped in, he thought.

"You're forgiven," Hanon huffed.

"But doesn't that mean you guys are competing against Luchia and her band?" Rina asked. The guys all turned to look at Luchia, who was sitting at a desk with her head resting on the palm of her hand. She was smirking.

"Why are you smirking Luchia?" Gaito asked. It was his turn to be nervous.

"Just because," she replied. Then suddenly, two bodies threw themselves onto Luchia, causing her to fall to the ground. "Ouch! Get off me guys!" The Hitachiin twins then got up and pulled Luchia to her feet.

"My guess is that you already have a song in mind," Emiya said after studying her. Luchia's smirk was back on her face.

"I'll tell you guys in detail at lunch." She turned around to face her other friends. "You guys better step up your game if you're planning on winning this thing." And with that, she left the boys with fire in their eyes.


The day of the live shows…

"Are you guys sure we're ready?" Kaito asked worriedly. "I still think we need to rehearse one last time."

"Calm down Kaito," his twin said as he placed a hand on Kaito's shoulder. "We'll be fine." Just then, Kengo and Daichi burst into the room.

"Good luck guys," Daichi said.

"And don't forget Kaito. The bet is still on," Kengo added and they both left the room to leave their friends to their thoughts.

"Kaito. Don't think about that now," Masahiro said. "Right now, focus on the Battle of the Bands."

"Right," Kaito agreed. "Let's do this!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the first live shows of the Battle of the Bands!" the principal cried. Everyone started cheering. "First up, we have the solo acts, followed by the bands. The students were allowed to pick to do a cover of a song or and original song. They will perform the songs and will get feedback from the judges here in the front row. After every act has performed, you will write down which one you liked and there will be people that will come around to pick up the papers. You may only choose one. One, not two, not three, but one. Afterwards, we will tally up all the votes and the bottom two acts will be eliminated." There were banners and posters everywhere in the crowd. "Now, please welcome the judges! Mitsuki-sensei, the music teacher, Yukihara-sensei, the vice-principal, and Shindo-sensei, the math teacher." Students cheered as each teacher appeared on the stage set up. The judges then proceeded to sit down in the front row with clipboards and pencils in hand.

"Now…onto the first performance!" The solo acts went by pretty fast. There were not many people who were brave enough to sing by themselves.

"Now, wasn't that a great performance?" the principal asked the crowd after the last solo act performance. Cheers and whoops were heard. "Now, we go onto the bands!" Hanon and Rina cheered as loudly as they could with Hippo by their side. "First up is the S4!" Girls shrieked and screamed once they heard the name of the band.

The Doumoto brothers, Masahiro and Nagisa walked onto the stage with smiles. Kaito stood at the very front with his brother to his right and Masahiro to his left. Nagisa, on the other hand, walked to the back and sat behind the drums. They looked at each other, nodded and started playing.

This is not the end.
This is not the beginning.
Just a voice like a riot,
Rocking every revision,
But you listen to the tone,
And the violent rhythm,
Though the words sound steady,
Something empty's with 'em.

People got up from their seats once they heard the familiar song and started dancing and singing along.

We say yeah, with fists flying up in the air,
Like we're holding onto something that's invisible there,
'Cause we're living at the mercy of the pain and the fear,
Until we dead, forget it.
Let it all disappear.

Waiting for the end to come,
Wishing I had strength to stand.
This is not what I have planned.
It's out of my control.

Flying at the speed of light,
Thoughts were spinning in my head.
So many things were left unsaid.
It's hard to let you go.

I know what it takes to move on.
I know how it feels to lie.
All I wanna do is trade this life for something new.
Holding on to what I haven't got.

"They picked a great song!" Rina shouted over the noise.

"Whhattt?" Hanon yelled back.

"I said they picked a great song!" Rina shouted louder. Hanon nodded in agreement.

What was left when that fire was gone.
I thought it felt right but that right was wrong.
All caught up in the eye of the storm,
And trying to figure out what it's like moving on.

"They picked a good song," Hippo shouted, "But they won't be able to beat Luchia with just that."

This is not the end.
This is not the beginning.
Just a voice like a riot,
Rocking every revision,
But you listen to the tone,
And the violent rhythm,
Though the words sound steady,
Something empty's with 'em. (I'm holding on to what I haven't got)

We say yeah, with fists flying up in the air,
Like we're holding onto something that's invisible there,
'Cause we're living at the mercy of the pain and the fear,
Until we dead it forget it.
Let it all disappear. (I'm holding on to what I haven't got)

"That was S4 with the song 'Waiting for the End' by Linkin Park. Next up is…" Hanon and Rina tuned out once they heard that Luchia's band wasn't coming up. Instead they focused on what Hippo said.

"What do you mean they won't be able to beat them? They were amazing!" Hanon cried.

"True, but you guys have never heard Luchia's band play," Hippo replied. "They're on a whole different level."

"…And now for the last band, give it up for Vintage Wings!" Luchia and her band appeared on stage with their instruments. They even had costumes on. Luchia wore a white t-shirt and a sleeveless blazer overtop. She had a woven belt and a red skirt with black shorts underneath. She also had black and white striped knee length socks with red boots. She looked amazing. All of their costumes had something that had black and white stripes on. Luchia spotted her friends in the crowd and gave them a peace. She stood at the side with her guitar while Taihou stood in the center with the mike. Kaoru stood on the other side of Taihou with his guitar in hand while Emiya stood closer to the drums with his bass. Lastly, Hikaru took his place behind the drums before starting to play.

They started jumping around, getting the crowd hyped up and getting lost in the music.

Oh, oh, oh oh, oh, oh, oh
Lost in stereo, lost in stereo
Oh, oh, oh oh, oh, oh, oh
Lost in stereo, lost in stereo

She works for the weekend.
Mix-tape of her favourite bands.
Tearing up the radio,
Lost in the stereo sound.

Taihou sang with a smile on his face with pointing at Luchia, indicating that he is dedicating the song to her.

She's trouble in a tank-top.
Pretty little time-bomb,
Blowin' up - take you down.
Livin' in the radio,
Lost in the stereo sound.

Luchia smiled back at him as she played her guitar. She was jumping around the stage, one minute by Kaoru's side, the next playing with Emiya.

She's dancing alone,
I'm ready to go,
But she's so lost in stereo,
Lost in stereo.
She's out of control,
So beautiful in stereo,
Lost in stereo.
And I've been,
Waiting,
For so long,
But she'll never know.
I'm losing hope,
'Cause she's so lost in stereo,
Lost in stereo.

Oh, oh, oh oh, oh, oh, oh
Lost in stereo, lost in stereo.

Vintage Wings' performance was on a whole different level. They looked confident, they looked like they were having fun and they got the crowd to join in with them. Hanon and Rina finally understood what Hippo meant.

And I'm just like cellophane,
'Cause she sees right through me.
I know, she's glitter and gold,
And that's just the price I pay,
When I don't even know her name,
She's slipping away.

S4 was backstage looking at the performance behind the curtains. They were blown away by the performance. Even though they just performed on the same stage, Vintage Dreams made the stage their own.

She works for the weekend.
Mix-tape of her favourite bands.
Tearing up the radio,
Lost in the stereo sound.

The other contestants watched the performance with awe as the crowd screamed and danced along to the song. Hanon, Rina and Hippo jumped up and down alongside the crowd, screaming and cheering at the top of their lungs.

She's dancing alone,
I'm ready to go,
But she's so lost in stereo,
Lost in stereo.
She's out of control,
So beautiful in stereo,
Lost in stereo.
And I've been,
Waiting,
For so long,
But she'll never know.
I'm losing hope,
'Cause she's so lost in stereo,
Lost in stereo.

They let the last note ring. Vintage Wings froze in place until the last note faded out before relaxing. The crowd went crazy. The last performance of the afternoon would definitely stay in their heads for the rest of the day.


Me: Well, that's round 1~! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Now please go on my profile and vote for the theme for round 2.

The themes are:

1. Duet
2. Dance
3. First Love
4. Rejection
5. Dreams
6. Other (PM me your ideas or leave a review)

For songs you would like to be in the story, you can always leave a review or PM me the name of the song and the artist along with the theme you think would suit best.

Songs used: Waiting for the End by Linkin Park and Lost in Stereo by All Time Low. The songs belong to their owners, I don't own any of them.

I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

ArtsyNinja3 signing out~!