My Tourniquet
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West Island, Orb, Summer CE 73
"Welcome to West Island's first Battle of the Bands," Jeorge's voice bellowed out into the park. "Strange no one's bothered to do this before now. Go us. Now, we have 11 bands here ready to rock your world this afternoon and tomorrow. This is how it's gonna go down. We have our elimination round. The first group are gonna play for you two of their songs. You get to vote which two get to move on. We'll take a recess and let some of our local dancing talents entertain you while we tally the scores and prepare group two. We good?"
The crowd gave a chorus of okays and other cheers. He asked again, and the crowd replied louder. Without further ado, he presented the first band, a three man team, Red Slip. The band's name came up on a large screen, announcing them to the public. Soon after their two songs, another band began, and then another. As Em vocally predicted, Steena was up last for round one. She gave them a slower song before upping the beat. If the cheering of the crowd was any indication, Steena and Harlequin Red had this round.
The dancers, another local team from NPA, did a few of their favorite routines while the next group was getting warmed up. Em asked Lacus what she thought.
She smiled. "It's actually pretty amazing. It looks like a lot of hard work to get that far."
"You have no idea," Em laughed. "You need to see Amy and the guys go at it one day. It's crazy. She's the queen band-zilla or something."
"I've always wanted to be a singer," Lacus said softly, thinking back to when she first started voice lessons. "To be on a stage, singing what I wanted, what I felt."
"That's a powerful feeling." Em nodded, eyes searching the area for his friends. "Chat with Amy. Ya might like her. Very outspoken, but that's what ya gotta love about her."
The next band began to play, noticeably faltering a little in the beginning. The few after that were mediocre but tolerable. The teen parent wasn't alone in thinking the BOB Committee did auditions for getting in. No one could accuse the nerds for being stupid. A girl led group, Hot in Combat, was ninth up. Lacus told him her friend went to middle school with the group in the Capital. This was one of the performances the girl brought out her camera to record the music.
The girls finished and bowed out. When the cheering only just began to subside, the title Evanescence faded in and sent them into another bout of shouting. Em was hollering along at the top of his lungs. Paul, Kira, and Kara began the song immediately after taking their instruments with Deanna backing them up. Dave was handling the synthesizer on loan while Amy sang. Em told her the names of the two songs, but Lacus hardly noticed. She was busy trying to get the lens to zoom in as closely as possible to the second guitarist.
"That's…"
"Kira? Yeah," Em grinned a huge grin. She gaped wide eyed at the guy and he innocently shrugged. "What?"
It clicked, looking at his knowing face. "You knew?"
"You have an unforgettable face, babe," he replied, looking back to Amy stirring up the crowd, "even from an old photograph."
Her heart skipped a beat. "Kira showed you photos of me?"
"Once when we were moving stuff around. He doesn't talk much about his pre-high school years. I guess you're a fonder memory from that time."
She didn't answer. She simply watched as Kira played his guitar in time with the other guys. The singer's, Amy's, voice or her words hardly registered as she kept her eyes trained on him. His concentration was completely on his instrument and Amy's movements. The song ended with the audience yelling loudly. The bodies seemed much more packed now than before. Beside her, Em was trying to keep the little girls from being plowed over without losing them.
One more band played and then they allowed the voting for the next group. The results would be announced later. Em kissed Olivia goodbye and then grasped Lacus by the hand and led her away with the two girls trailing ahead of them.
"Where are we going?"
"Meet up with Amy and them," he answered. She didn't say anything as they walked through the dispersing crowd. Once they went down some of the path, Em veered off into a less traveled direction and found the team laughing and hooting at a picnic table.
"Those amateurs don't stand a chance against us," Dave exclaimed. "You see the faces of that one group, Hot Combat or whatever? It was priceless."
"Sup, Em?" Amy yelled as they drew closer.
"You rocked as always, Evanescence," Em applauded. "I come with surprise in tow."
"Rawr." Paul and Dave both peered up and down at Lacus, pulling back after Amy and Deanna swatted the back of their heads. "Testosterone."
Lacus didn't pay much attention to their antics. Her attention was on Kira, who looked rather surprised to see her.
"Care to get a room? I don't care for exhibitionist romance," Deanna deadpanned, sending snickers through the group. Lacus blushed at the implication while Kira merely rolled his eyes. He walked over to her.
"Don't mind the rated R circus," he replied.
"Fuck, and I was aiming for NC-17," Paul laughed. He gave Dave a high five.
Amy narrowed her eyes. "I pegged you for an XXX kind of male."
"Okay, I'm outta here before the sex talks begin," Kira declared, sending another warm blush to Lacus's cheeks. He took her gently by the elbow and was about to step away from the group when Amy halted him.
"Hey! Where's the introductions?" she demanded.
Kira turned back around. "Fine. Everyone, this is Lacus. Lacus, Amy, Deanna, Paul, Dave, Kara, and you look like you already know the girls and Em. I miss anyone?"
"Nice to meet ya," Amy gave an ever so slight smile. "I guess we'll catch up later."
"Sure," Lacus replied awkwardly. The other girl's appearance was dark looking, but she didn't seem to have a bad personality. Other than that, she couldn't understand Amy. Nice or mean? Bossy or loose?
This time, Kira and she walked from the picnic area into the woods just out of both eyesight and earshot. They were both quiet, not sure what to say. Kira surprised her by speaking first.
"I didn't really expect to see you here," he said, leaning against an old tree. "At least, here alone."
"I almost didn't," Lacus replied. "Cagalli, Athrun, and a few others were supposed to come but they ended up going to a social party. Lorene insisted I do this instead. What about you? I certainly didn't expect you to be playing in a rock band. When'd that happen?"
He chuckled. "Wait, you know Cagalli?"
Ignoring the fact he skipped her question, the pink-haired girl nodded. "Yes. We met our first day at Orb Prep. We were looking for you and found her instead. Been friends ever since. She's even dating Athrun."
Kira was stunned. "Wow. From what I remember about Cagalli…wow. Her and Athrun, huh? Bet that's a match made in heaven on some planet."
She laughed. "They are. She's a bit of a prankster."
"That's my sister for you. What else did I miss?" Kira didn't know why the strange, sudden compulsion to know that latest in the Capital. As long as it kept her talking…
"Mir and Dearka are together and quite happy," Lacus answered. "We're thinking Yzak and Shiho might start dating but…"
"When hell freezes over, right?"
"That's one way of putting it," she supposed, remembering the two's latest tiff. "Mr. la Flaga and Ms. Ramius got married, too. They both work at Orb Prep now."
"I think we all saw that coming since sixth grade," Kira pointed out. "How's high school treating you?"
"It's all right," Lacus said. She fell silent. "What about you?"
He didn't reply immediately; just shrugged, looking uninterested in the question. "Busy."
She didn't press the question. There was more to that statement then he let on, but let it go for the moment. "She seems nice, Amy."
Kira bit back a laugh. "Seems nice, not really. Amy's a…handful, I guess. It's her way or die."
"Bossy?"
"Very."
"You seem to get along," she noted.
He gave her a wry smile. "We do. She doesn't pull half her bullshit with me like the others. I also don't annoy her as much as Paul or Dave. Those two will do anything to drive her up a wall and back."
"They're an interesting group," she said.
"Just so you know, you don't have to take any of their crap," Kira warned her. "They are smackable and are plenty used to being yelled at. A lot of what they say is hot air anyways. They rarely mean it."
She nodded. Before she could come up with a response, another girl's voice cut in. "Kira! Hey!"
A shorter girl, foreign, came jogging over and latched onto Kira in a hug. When she kissed him, Lacus's breath caught in her throat. When the second girl hopped down, she said excitedly, "The final show is Evanescence versus Steena! They just announced it."
"That wasn't unexpected," Kira reminded her, unfazed by the jump and kiss routine. "The other groups were just for show."
"I know, but it's just really cool," Celeste bubbled. Then she noticed the third party. "Oh, sorry. Was I interrupting something?"
Not sure how to answer that, Kira went with his next best option. "This is Lacus Clyne. We used to go to school together until I moved a couple years ago. Lacus, this is Celeste Cresthill."
"Nice to me'tcha," the American girl grinned.
"Pleasure," Lacus managed to say, proud her voice didn't waver.
Celeste turned back to her boyfriend. "Amy wants you. Quick game planning."
"Sounds good," Kira agreed. In the midst of all the prepping and horsing around, the team hadn't figured out their plans for the rest of the evening. He personally was tired and ready to call it an early evening.
"You coming to the show tomorrow?" Kira asked Lacus.
"Oh, yes. I'm staying at a hotel nearby," she replied.
The short walk was silent only to be greeted by Amy hollering at Paul, again. Kira was exasperated and just ignored the bickering. Celeste giggled and whispered it was normal behavior. Tired herself, Lacus said goodnight and left back for her hotel. Just outside the park gates, a girl from Kira's band, Kara, ran up beside her.
"Hey. Lacus, right?"
"Yeah." She looked at Kara curiously, not sure what she was doing, but Kara didn't seem to notice as they kept walking. "Did you want something?"
"Not really," Kara smiled. "Just wanted to chat. I tend to be what you call a meddler and I see a love triangle to be meddled in shamelessly."
Lacus halted in the middle of the sidewalk abruptly. "What?"
"Kei, Celeste, and you," she replied casually like it wasn't news. She met Lacus's gaze and almost laughed. "Come on, girlfriend. The goo-goo eyes said it all. You were practically drooling over him."
Wide-eyed, Lacus stuttered, "I…I don't know what you mean."
"Sure you don't," Kara scoffed. "Celeste is cute, but she's not long term material. Hell, the girl goes back to the United States in a week or so. Between you and me, really long distances like that don't make for great relationships."
"I don't know why you're telling me this," Lacus commented.
"Another time," the girl replied. "We're supposed to be hanging out after we win tomorrow. You should come along."
"I can't join your celebration party!"
"We're open about it," Kara said. "Just a big party, everyone is attending deal. Em will be there, Olivia will be there, even Celeste, and some other classmates are gonna be there. One more won't hurt. Besides, I think Amy likes you."
"How's that?"
Kara smirked. "When she first met Celeste, she was a little bitchier than normal. She likes her okay now, but it took a few rounds. She was rather nice to you. Not sure why but hey, no one's complaining." She noticed the doubt in the other girl's eye. "Sure, we're not your normal crowd of people, but we're not bad. Just notably crazy. Don't let the guys scare you off. They're typical horny males, Kira excluded. The gentlemen attitude has to be a product of prep school."
This time Lacus smiled. "Probably. We have a few players in our school as well."
"Crass?"
"Not crass, just flirtatious."
"Ah, our flirtatious means gropey, wandering hands and peering eyes," Kara griped. "Don't know which is worse, a smooth talker or blatant sex hound."
Lacus woke up later than she anticipated. Kara and her were up for hours talking about anything and everything, except Kira. With breakfast on the go, she hurried down to the park where Kara was meeting her. Waiting by the park gate was both Kara and her partner in black, Deanna. She mentioned that Amy was wandering with Em and Kira with Celeste. They refused to hazard a guess with the other two male catastrophes were off at. The three girls spent the day wandering the booths and talking more. Lacus found Deanna was a girl of few words and kept a conservative style, a complete opposite of Kara who was vivacious and shameless. Sometimes Lacus wondered if she was a compulsive speaker. When it came time for the concert, they left her in the capable hands of Em and Olivia again and vanished.
"Welcome back to the final showdown, Evanescence versus Steena," Jeorge announced. The audience assembled cheered. The two lead singers came to stand on either side of him. "I'm going to flip a coin; the one who calls it goes first. Ready?" He flipped the coin high up to give time for the girls to call it. In unison, Amy called tails and Steena heads. "Heads it is. Go girl."
Steena threw a coy smirk at Amy as she left the stage. Her band hopped on and set up their equipment with practiced efficiency. The blonde took the microphone and waited. Just as the crowd fell silent, they began their finale.
Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend
No way, no way, I think you need a new one
Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend
Hey, hey, you, you, I know that you like me
No way, no way, you know it's not a secret
Hey, hey, you, you, I want to be your girlfriend
Behind the stage, Amy winced and made a gagging motion to her group, who just agreed. The audience found the music catchy and upbeat, which was what Steena aimed for. She moved to her own beat while the guitar and drums brought her to her first stanza.
You're so fine, I want you mine, you're so delicious
I think about you all the time, you're so addictive
Don't you know what I can do to make you feel alright?
Don't pretend, I think you know I'm precious
And so yeah, I'm a hey, hey princess
I can tell you like me too and you know I'm right
She's like so whatever
You could do so much better
I think we should get together now
And that's what everybody's talking about
Somewhere in the crowd, a few people echoed the lyrics, already knowing the song. Steena knew they were her loyal fans from East PA. By the end of the song, she hoped most would be singing her song. As the chorus started again, she jumped, punctuating her words.
Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend
No way, no way, I think you need a new one
Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend
I can see the way, I see the way you look at me
And even when you look away I know you think of me
I know you talk about me all the time again and again
Hey, hey, you, you, I know that you like me
No way, no way, you know it's not a secret
Hey, hey, you, you, I want to be your girlfriend
So come over here and tell me what I wanna hear
Better yet, make your girlfriend disappear
I don't wanna hear you say her name ever again
Cause she's like so whatever
And she could do so much better
I think we should get together now
And that's what everybody's talking about
"Sing along, everyone!" Steena grinned as her music revved up for the chorus once again. This time more of the crowd joined her. The singer swayed to the words.
Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend
No way, no way, I think you need a new one
Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend
Hey, hey, you, you, I know that you like me
No way, no way, you know it's not a secret
Hey, hey, you, you, I want to be your girlfriend
She realized she should've used a head set so her hands could've been free for some dancing. Improvising, Steena winged it with one hands as she sang.
Oh, in a second you'll be wrapped around my finger
Woo, 'cause I can, cause I can do it better
There's no other, so when's it gonna sink in?
Hey, she's so stupid, just what were you thinking?
Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend
No way, no way, I think you need a new one
Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend
No way, no way
In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger
'Cause I can, cause I can do it better
There's no other, so when's it gonna sink in?
She's so stupid, just what were you thinking?
She jumped up and moved the length of the stage, soaking up the attention from the audience as they sang with her the final chorus.
Hey, hey, I know that you like me
No way, no way, you know it's not a secret
Hey, hey, I want to be your girlfriend
No way, no way, no way, no way!
Pleased with the outcome, Steena waved and bowed out with her band. At the bottom of the steps was her competition, not looking overly impressed. She just smiled sweetly and kept walking, confidence evident in her stride.
Amy's team had a five minute interval for set up and they hopped to it. Deanna was rearranging the percussion set while the guys hooked up the guitars. Amy took charge of the microphones, on handheld for her and one stand for Paul.
From the sea of people anxiously awaiting the final song, Em stood watching only 15 feet from the stage. Celeste had joined them to watch the show. Em studied the set up and grinned. "They so got this one."
"Bring Me to Life?" Celeste guessed. Lacus looked at them. She explained. "It's their most popular song. Everyone loves it."
Amy had borrowed a keyboard from another band who was willing to help out. Paul handed the lead guitar to Kira and took his own to stand behind the microphone, ready to rock. Between the two just to the side of Deanna stood Dave with the bass. When they were ready, they went straight into the music. They nixed Kara's little part in favor of her playing the keys while Amy concentrated on the song. The difference was just slight. Amy counted the notes and began singing.
How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core
Where I've become so numb?
Without a soul?
My spirit sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find there and lead it back home
The briefest of pauses took hold, throwing a little bit of suspense over the audience. Then the band played in full swing with Paul singing with Amy.
[Wake me up!]
Wake me up inside [I can't wake up]
Wake me up inside [Save me!]
Call my name and save me from the dark
[Wake me up!]
Bid my blood to run [I can't wake up]
Before I've come undone [Save me!]
Save from the nothing I've become
Now that I know that what I've without
You can't just leave me
Breathe into me and make me real
Bring me to life
Most of the audience was singing along with the first round than with Steena, proving how much more popular Kira's group was. Hands were going up in the air as Amy sang. Lacus found herself more drawn to the echoing lyrics and powerful sound of the music of Evanescence than Steena's bouncing piece. Her eyes watched Kira pick the strings of the guitar, adding to the collective sound that supported Amy's voice.
[Wake me up!]
Wake me up inside [I can't wake up]
Wake me up inside [Save me!]
Call my name and save me from the dark
[Wake me up!]
Bid my blood to run [I can't wake up]
Before I've come undone [Save me!]
Save from the nothing I've become-
Bring me to life…
[I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside]
Bring me to life…
Amy wandered the length of the stage as she sang, eyes roaming the faces before her. She found Em and the rest watching with smiles, approving of their performance. Taking a deep breath, she continued.
Frozen inside without your touch
Without your love, darling
Only you are the life among the dead-
[All this time I can't believe I couldn't see
Kept in the dark, but you were there and followed me]
I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems
You're to open my eyes to everything-
[Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul]
Kira, when he could, looked up long enough to search the people in front of the stage. It was easy to find their friends. Olivia's bright red hair, Celeste's electric blue streaks, and Lacus's pink hair made it simple to catch. His girlfriend was just ready to implode with excitement as she jumped with the people nearby. She knew how to have fun at a concert. Lacus just stood, lips parted, as she listened. He remembered her tastes in music being tamer and light- Pop, instrumentals, love ballads. The darker lyrics and upbeat notes were new to her and she seemed to be enjoying it.
Bring me to Life!
Amy gestured to the crowd, encouraging them to sing with her, which they were more than happy to. Behind her, her team mates also echoed the words, the guys lining up with Paul and the girls with her.
[Wake me up!]
Wake me up inside [I can't wake up]
Wake me up inside [Save me!]
Call my name and save me from the dark
[Wake me up!]
Bid my blood to run [I can't wake up]
Before I've come undone [Save me!]
Save from the nothing I've become
Bring me to life
[I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside]
Bring me to life
Bring me to life-
Amy held that last notes until her lungs finally ran out of air just as Kara finished the last notes on the keyboard. It didn't matter as the last notes were drowned out by the cheering as usual. She honestly didn't know why they bothered with a full finish. She waved for a bit as they packed up. Finally, they were done, and the voting to happen. Amy and Steena were called back up for the final voting. The guys were lazy and went with hands voting. When he called for Steena, a few dozen hands went up. By the time he finished saying Evanescence, those hands were down and the rest of the crowd were raising theirs, cheering. Lacus, Celeste, Em, and Olivia obviously voted for Amy's team. Only about a third of the audience voted for Steena, leaving the winner of the Battle of the Bands- Evanescence.
Amy smiled her biggest shit-eating grin as a fuming Steena stormed from the stage. It was time to party.