Sunday, Shane's House, 4:45 PM...

AN: I said the event started at 3 in the second to last chapter. Ignore that, it starts at 7:15.

"Dad, for the last time. I'm not letting you cut my hair into a damn mohawk." Shane told his father.

"Oh come on. How you gonna be a rockstar without a rockstar haircut?" Kevin countered.

"Cause I'm not a friggin rockstar. And there's no way I'm letting you within 5 feet of my head with any sort of sharp object."

"What, you don't trust your old man?" He asked, feigning a hurt look.

"With that? Nah man, nah. Last time I checked, you don't have a license to cut hair. If you don't at least have that, you're not going anywhere near my head with any type of sharp object."

"Well damn."

"The whole puppy dog eyes thing barely works on me when Alexa does it. Why the hell would you doing it work on me?"

"Cause your pops is fuckin adorable, obviously." Papa Price joked.

Shane mimed like he was gagging.

"Never say anything like that again in your life."

"Look, when you get older maybe my charm and extraordinary good looks will fully manifest upon you. Patience is key, young one."

"I'm... dude, you're ridiculous."

"Well, what about your clothes? You're not even gonna dress cool for the gig? You're the frontman, you're supposed to have a look that really stands out. Make a real statement, ya know?"

"I'll let my voice do that for me. Plus, what's wrong with my clothes? I'm wearing a Black Flag shirt and a black zip up hoodie over it. You don't like Black Flag?"

"Dude, I love Black Flag but that's not the point. Every day I see you in a different band tee or a hoodie with the same pair of black jeans. The fact that you have at least 3 pairs of sneakers blows my mind. You wear stuff like that all the time. You don't wanna switch it up for the special occasion?" .

"I honestly don't feel the need to do that, dad. I'm not one for flashy stuff, never have been."

"Yeah, that's definitely something you got from me... ya boring bastard." He joked.

"What?! But how am I the boring one if you said you got it from-"

"Silence! No questioning the Kevin!"

"But-"

"Aaah!"

"But you said-"

"Aaah!"

"You said-"

"Imma keep cutting you off I hope you know that."

"That's not-"

"Aaaaaaaah!"

"Aaaaaaaah!"

"Aaaaaaaah!"

As the father/son duo playfully bickered back and forth, their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"I got it." Kevin stated.

He opened up and there stood the pint sized princess herself, Alexa Bliss with a confused look on her face.

"What the hell is going on in here? I could hear you both yelling while I was crossing the street to get over here." She questioned.

"Sup, kid? Oh, that was nothing. Just the ol' Price boys doing what we do." Big Price answered..

Today, Alexa decided to sport a more casual and laid back attire for tonight's festivities. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she wore a baby blue hoodie with navy blue ripped jeans, abandoning her regular pink and black color scheme. She chuckled and shook her head at her boyfriend's father.

"Doing what you do, huh? Craziness, is that it?"

"Yup, exactly! Anyway, nice to see my son's handler on this fine evening."

"Hey! I take exception to that. I'm not a damn wild animal." Shane fired back from the background.

Bliss chimed in.

"That might be true, but you do have a habit of doing things that make me question your sanity. Case and point, whatever the hell just happened before I got here."

"Oh yeah, other than that, name one thing."

"Kid, like two days ago I went to go use the bathroom and I found your ass screaming into the mirror about making sure you were fully prepared for the contest." Dad brought up.

"That shouldn't count, I was just psyching myself up!" He responded.

"Okay, your best friend is literally Dean Ambrose. It's been months and you've gotten to know him pretty well... and you still choose to be best friends with Dean Ambrose. If that's not crazy, I don't know what crazy is." Alexa added.

"Oh ha ha ha, very funny. Just come over here and hug me, woman."

"Careful, you hug him too long and the psycho energy might rub off on you." Kevin joked again.

The two teens embraced and Shane kissed her on the forehead.

"Damn, you let him kiss you? I'll be surprised if you don't end up turning into some kind of were-psychopath or something."

"Dad... come on man."

Kevin laughed.

"Sorry, man. I just think it's really funny that you actually have a serious girlfriend."

"And what's so funny about that?" Shane responded defensively.

"Little man, you know exactly why. When you were younger, you couldn't care less about relationships or girls or anything like that. When Paige came around I coulda sworn she was gonna be your first girlfriend, but when that didn't happen, I kinda just gave up on being able to tease you about girls. But now, thanks to Little Miss Bliss over here, I can!"

"Glad to be of service." Alexa joked with a smirk on her face.

"Look, I'm already stressed out enough as it is. I don't need to be dealing with my girl and my father ganging up on me right

Right after that statement, Shane felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out to see that he'd received a text from Liv Morgan. It read, "We have arrived at the venue. Get here soon okay honey?" with a bunch of heart emojis at the end.

"Was that one of the girls?" Lexi asked.

"Yeah, it was Liv. We should probably head out now if we wanna make it to the place on time."

"Welp, in that case, you two go over to the car. Lemme go grab my keys and I'll be right there." The elder Price instructed.

The couple did as they were told. After standing in front of Kevin's Jeep for a bit, the man was right behind them. He unlocked the vehicle and hopped in the driver's seat. Shane took shotgun and Alexa sat behind him.

"Let's get this show on the road, shall we?" Kev said aloud before starting the car and driving away.

Now, they were on the way to the venue. The name of the place, the Bowery Ballroom. As mentioned before, the Battle of the Bands had developed sort of a cult following over the years. As such, the audiences grew more and more and eventually, so did the size of the venues. The Ballroom holds about 570 people, and it's located on the Lower East Side in Manhattan. Most years, it's filled to full capacity. Considering that the very first event took place in a random field somewhere in Upstate NY, they've come a long way.

As they drove through the city, Shane turned to his dad to ask him a question.

"Hey dad, do you know much about the Ballroom? I know you work within the nightclub scene so I'm kinda curious."

Before he answered his son, Kevin had some "business" to take care of. He rolled down his window for a quick second.

"Hold on. Asshole, use your goddamn turn signal! God, I hate these fuckin cab drivers. Alright, what was the question?"

Alexa was in the back laughing at the man's outburst.

"He asked if you knew anything about where we're going."

"Oh! About the Ballroom? Well, honestly not really. Remember, we only moved here a few months ago still. I have heard a little bit about it from the boys down in the club though. Apparently, it's real nice in there. I think it was voted number one club in the country by some major publication a few years ago. Rolling Stone, I think it was."

"That sounds pretty cool actually. I'm assuming there's no seats or anything." Shane stated.

"Now that's something I don't know about. Probably not though. It's not like anyone's sitting down for this anyway. The audience is gonna be filled with a bunch of teenagers and early 20s motherfuckers. Everyone knows you guys don't sit still for anything."

"Yup, the ADHD is real." Alexa joked.

"Exactamundo, little lady. I'm one to talk though. I'm on the wrong side of 30 and I still hate being docile."

"Yeah.. unless you're passed out drunk on the couch." Shane fired at his father.

"Kid, just because I'm driving doesn't mean you can't get fucked up."

"Hey, hey, hey. Can we not? I'm a little young to meet the Grim Reaper." Bliss said, not trying to be involved in an accident."

Shane smirked at Kevin.

"Yeah, what she said."

The elder Price couldn't help but chuckle at his son's playful ribbing.

"I love you, ya damn nuisance."

From then on, the car ride was relatively quiet. Aside from the sound of the radio and the occasional comment from the driver or one of the passengers, they chose to sit in near silence. About an hour passed and they had finally pulled up to their intended destination.


6:11 PM, Bowery Ballroom

"You guys go inside, I'm gonna look for parking. Damn, that's a lotta kids."

Both Shane and Alexa exited the vehicle and waved to Kev before he drove off. Now, they were both on the sidewalk scanning the sea of teens and young adults outside the venue to find anyone they knew. The sun had retired to its quarters for the night, but it wasn't fully pitch dark outside just yet. It had gotten a little colder, but luckily despite it being mid December, snow had decided to not show up on this day.

"Look, there's some of the football team. I see Kofi, Big E, and Cody standing over there to the left. Pretty sure Sasha's next to E too." Shane pointed out.

"I see some of the cheer squad. I think that's Dakota and Naomi standing by the door. Oh wait, I see some more of your boys near the middle. Yeah, that's The Uso Brothers and Cedric talking to each other."

Since they were busy trying to seek out more of their friends, they were completely oblivious to the fact that they had been spotted themselves. Oh, but they were about to realize that real quick.

"FRIENDS!"

Before either of them even got to utter the word "huh", they were wrapped up in a monster of a hug. By who you ask? Don't ask stupid questions man, you know exactly who it is.

"H-Hey, Bayley." Shane and Alexa struggled to let out.

Seth had also appeared with a remorseful look on his face.

"I tried to stop her, I really did."

"It's... It's okay. Bayley- Let... go, can't breathe." The petite princess pleaded.

Hearing this, Bayley gasped and immediately released the couple. She then nervously giggled.

"Heh, heh, sorry. I was just really happy to see you guys."

After fully regaining his composure, Shane patted the bright girl on the head.

"You're fine, Smiles. Yo Cap, I saw some of the team scattered around here. Do you know exactly who's here?"

"Well, not exactly but I did see most of em around. A lot of the kids we go to school with in general are here... Mandy saw me and started laughing, so that was fun."

"It's okay babe, I'm sure most of the school's already forgotten about you calling yourself a bad bitch by now." Bayley said, trying to cheer up her man.

Shane snickered.

"Man, that was so funny."

"Yeah, hardy har har har. It was hilarious." Seth responded sarcastically.

"Wait, did Bayley just swear? Seth, what the hell? Have you been corrupting her?" Alexa accused.

Rollins put his hands up.

"No, not at all I promise."

"Oh! We saw Ruby and Liv out here a few minutes ago. I think they went inside." Bayley told them.

"Yeah, and they had passes on them to go in. Do you have yours?"

It was at that moment that all the color drained from the Irish boy's face. He frantically checked every pocket he had, praying to every deity that he hadn't forgotten his pass at home. Sadly... it was nowhere to be found.

"Son of a bitch!" He exclaimed, disappointed in himself.

"Ah man, that's rough." Seth said, feeling for his friend.

"Oh, poor Shane. I'm sorry." Bayley said, remorseful as well.

"My God, I am a fucking idiot! Man had one job, one!"

"Babe." Alexa uttered, trying to get his attention.

"All this fuckin preparation, and for what?! For me to no show because my dumbass couldn't remember to bring his stupid backstage pass?!"

"Baabe."

"Those girls are gonna be so goddamn pissed, and they should be! I know I would! Hell, I am! Shane, you friggin moron, I swear-"

"BAAAABE! Calm down, I have it!"

She then reached into her own left pocket, and pulled out the little piece of paper with his name, face and information on it.

"It was on the TV stand, I grabbed it before we left." She clarified.

Shane looked at her, then at the pass, then back at her, and then back at the pass again. It took a few seconds but the relief soon washed over his entire body. He wrapped Bliss in a borderline Bayley hug, and kissed her on the cheek a couple times.

"Have I ever told you how you're the best ever?"

Alexa softly tapped him on the forehead with her knuckles.

"Not enough, dummy. Now go inside, your bandmates are waiting for you."

Shane nodded and gave his girl one last hug. He turned to Seth, dapped him up and then quickly hugged Bayley before he walked over to the entrance. He showed the guy at the front his pass, the man scanned in to verify it, and then was allowed inside. Once he was in, he took a minute to really take in his surroundings. There was a feeling of organized chaos within the Ballroom. You had workers moving equipment and putting the finishing touches on the set up for the event, you had members of other bands walking around and mingling, basically everything you'd expect to see on a night like tonight. As he headed to what he assumed what was the backstage area, he found a familiar face wearing a security shirt that caught him way off guard.

"Nah... Dean, what the hell?"

"Oh hey there, rockstar. Funny seein' you here." Ambrose cheekily said.

"How... you... why?"

"Oh, I lied about my age again and volunteered to work security for this thing. Just so I could get in for free." He explained.

"Dude, admission was 7 dollars. You don't have 7 dollars?!"

"No one said I didn't. I'm Dean Ambrose though... Dean doesn't pay for things."

Shane smiled and sighed.

"You're right, man, you're right. You sure you're gonna be able to keep people in check though?"

"Sir, I am offended. Look, I got my fists taped up for a reason. I may not be the biggest, but I sure as hell know how to use these bad boys."

"Well, as long as you're sure. Is Becky coming?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, I just got off the phone with her actually. She's gonna try and make her way down here to the front when she gets here. She's all about mosh pits. You'll be seeing her up close and personal, believe that."

"That does not surprise me at all. Try not to start any fights man. You're here to control the chaos, not cause it. Remember that."

"I'm the king of not starting chaos."

Price rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, sure. I'm goin backstage."

"Can't wait to see ya up there, brother."

Shane walked behind the curtain and was greeted with all sorts of eyes turning their attention on him. As he looked at the various types of outfits the other bands had prepared, a small feeling of regret started to creep into Shane for not following his father's advice. The boy felt slightly out of place. He awkwardly waved and then sought out his fellow band members. After a small search, he found his guitar player standing by a table drinking a bottle of water. She spotted him and called him over with a smile.

"Ay, mate ya made it on time! Come on, get over here. I don't bite." Rhea happily joked.

Shane walked over to the table and hugged her, subconsciously telling himself not to melt into her strong grip like he had before. However, Rhea was having none of this short hug business.

"Ah, weak. Mate, hug me for real!"

She pulled him back in and this time he couldn't help himself. He just felt so damn safe in her arms. Once Ripley was satisfied, she let him go and Shane got to look her over and check out the outfit she put together.

"Whoa, Rhea. You look awesome!" He complimented.

"Glad ya think so. Emma helped me with it. If there's one thing she knows about, it's definitely fashion." (Picture her 2018-2019-ish attire with the long hair.)

"Did the other girls dress up too?"

"Yup. In fact, I see them coming. They had left to go get something."

Shane turned around to see Ruby and Liv approaching, with Riott holding a stack of shirts. When Liv saw Shane, she did what she normally did.

"Honey!"

"Oh boy."

Price instantly prepared himself for the tiny ball of energy that was about to come flying at him. This time, he caught her no problem.

"Hi, Liv. Hey, Ruby. Whatcha got there?"

After he gently let Liv down, he looked at the two girls to see how they decided to dress themselves. Ruby was wearing a red and black ensemble, complete with converse and jeans that she cut so that there was only one full pant leg remaining. The other leg was the length of a pair of shorts. On the pant leg, she had painted the word "Riott" multiple times in red. Liv on the other hand, wore a red crop top that showed off her midriff, along with a pair of black shorts with a red pinstripe design across them. She was also wearing converse.

"Ah man... All you guys look so cool, and I just look normal. I'm gonna look so outta place up there." Shane lamented.

"Oh, don't you worry about that, sweetie. Rue Rue's got ya covered." Liv said.

"Yeah, we wanted to surprise you. My mom had made us all these." Ruby stated.

The punk rock girl tossed Shane one of the shirts she had been carrying. Price looked at it and beamed. It was a Riott Squad T-Shirt, with a cool logo and everything. (The actual Riott Squad logo.)

"Wow! Your mom's the best for this! This looks friggin sick!" Shane exclaimed with joy.

"Well? Put it on, man, come on." Rhea playfully demanded.

Shane removed his hoodie and shirt, leaving him in just a wife beater for a brief moment before he quickly put on the new "merch" so to speak.

"It fits perfect. How did she know my size?"

"I asked Alexa and then told Ruby's mom." Morgan admitted.

"Man... how do you always manage to do stuff behind my back?"

All the mischievous cheerleader did in response was smile and lift her arms up in the "I don't know" stance.

The rest of the band put the shirts on as well, and just like that they were all matching.

"Hold on, one more thing." Liv said.

She licked her hand a little bit before ruffling Shane's hair and making it messy just like she did the day she asked him to be in the band.

"Really, Liv?" Price asked smiling.

"What? Now you're ready to Riot!"

"Yeah, I guess I am."

Shane pulled out his phone to check the time and saw that it was about 10 minutes until showtime.

"Do we know when we're going on?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, first." Rhea answered nonchalantly.

If Shane had been drinking something, he definitely would've spit it out as soon as he heard that.

"Fuckin what?! First? Why?!"

Ruby attempted to calm him down.

"Dude, dude chill. It was a random drawing, and we were the first band to get called. It's fine. We practiced, we know what we're doing."

"And mate, remember. The main reason we're doing this is to have fun... and also maybe possibly win that cash prize also, but mostly to have fun." Ripley chimed in.

"Wait, there's a cash prize?" He asked surprised.

"Well, yeah duh. You thought the winners were just gonna leave empty handed?" Liv asked.

"Oh... well, shit. I could use the money, man's broke."

"So let's go out there and blow em away!" Rhea said, definitely motivated.

Ruby put her fist in the air.

"Squad Up?"

The rest of the crew followed suit and put their fists up as well.

"Squad Up!"

"Well, well, well. Look who it is." An outside voice interrupted.

The four teens turned to see someone... Well, someone they'd rather not see. Rhea in particular was the most disgusted out of the bunch.

"Ugh, Samson what the hell are you doin' here?"

Yup, indeed it was the very talented, yet insufferable musical prodigy, Elias Samson.

"What am I doing here? Oh, my Aussie friend, what an idiotic question to ask. You think Elias wasn't gonna show his extremely handsome face at one of the biggest musical events of the year? Please, I wouldn't miss this for the world." He gloated.

Shane facepalmed in annoyance.

"Okay, so you have a band? I thought Elias was strictly a solo act, what happened?"

"Au contraire, Nuisance Kid. Elias is always willing to work with others... so long as they're on the same level as me. You and your ragtag group of vagabonds over there are certainly nowhere near someone as talented as me. Meet Ryker, Blake, and Cutler."

3 rough around the edges looking boys... or should I say 2 boys and one grown ass man appeared behind Elias. Ryker looked like a damn psychopath, while Cutler and Blake looked like they weren't the biggest fans of... well, people.

"Ryker is my loving uncle, while Cutler and Blake are my loyal older cousins from out of town. Doesn't hurt to stay in the family, ya know?" Samson smugly stated.

"Yeah, and it looks like they have that mindset with everything they do." Ruby mumbled under her breath.

"You got somethin' to say, little girl?" Ryker asked agitated.

Rhea got involved and stepped up.

"I suggest you back off, mate."

Shane immediately sensed the possibility of this ending badly, so he wisely intervened.

"Whoa, whoa. Rhea, chill out, it's not worth it."

"Yeah, Ripley. Listen to your friend there. Well, as much as I would love to stick around and speak to you plebeians I really wouldn't. So we're gonna go somewhere that isn't here. Maybe get... acquainted with some of the other talents, and I use that term loosely. Anything to get away from you. Good luck, you're definitely going to need it."

And with that, Elias and his family turned on their heels and departed. Liv made sure to flip them off while their backs were turned.

"What a fuckin arrogant prick." Ruby said aloud.

"It's okay, it's okay. Remember what you guys told me. We're here to have a good time. Don't let Samson of all people ruin our night, okay?" Shane said, trying to keep the girls mellowed out.

"Okay, okay. You're right." Liv spoke for them.


After the pre-show ritual and the run in with Elias Samson, lights outside were starting to dim. Shane peeked from behind the curtain to see that the crowd had almost entirely filled out the building. He could see people everywhere from the floor to the balcony. He audibly gulped.

"Damn. That's a lotta people."

Shane then retreated back while the host of the show had just begun to make their way to the front of the stage. Dude had a pretty nice suit on.

"Remember kid, you're up first." He said to the boy as he walked passed him.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! I, along with the lovely people that worked tirelessly to put this event together would like to welcome you to... THE 11TH ANNUAL NYC BATTLE OF THE BANDS!"

The crowd clapped and cheered at the announcer's words.

"I of course am your humble host with the most, The Ayatollah of Rock N Rolla, Chris Jericho! Now, before we get this show on the road, I gotta run down the rules right quick for any newcomers. Tonight, there will be 10 different acts performing for you all. 5 each will be divided into two separate brackets, A and B. Each band gets to play up to 4 songs. At the end of each bracket, you the fans will get to decide which band gets to advance to the final battle. Finally, the winners of each bracket will go head to head. This time, they only get to play one more song each. After that, you guys once again choose the winner, and they will be declared the winner of the 2017 Battle of the Bands, as well as the recipients of a 3000 dollar cash prize to split amongst themselves. Now, if you're ready, and I know you all are, MAKE SOME NOOOOISE!"

The crowd of mostly teens and 20 something year olds erupted and the show was now just about to commence. Liv and Rhea clenched their respective instruments a little tighter, while Ruby did the same with her drumsticks.

"Now, first up we have a band who I must say, has a pretty sweet name if say so myself, the Riott Squad! Go get em!"

The four teens came from behind the curtain and the people that recognized them started cheering, while the rest of the crowd respectfully clapped. Each of them had their own, for lack of a better term, flair when it came to making an entrance. Liv seemed to be the most comfortable in front of the crowd, beaming at the cheers and whistles she got when she waved. Rhea seemed the most confident, a smirk adorning her features as she plugged in her guitar, as if to say "Y'all not ready for this." Ruby was definitely the most focused as she headed straight for the drum kit, barely acknowledging the audience. And then you had the frontman. Shane was obviously nervous, but he wasn't freaking out. He had an awkward smile on his face, and he was slightly blushing. The audible comments of, "Oh, he's cute" and other things of that nature from various female voices in the crowd didn't help either. He cleared his throat before he spoke his first words into the microphone.

"Well... what's up guys? My name is Shane, to my left is my bass player Liv, to the right is Rhea the guitarist, and behind us is the heart of the group and our drummer, Ruby Riott. We're here to hopefully entertain you." He opened.

"Wooo, Cash! Hit em wit da vocals, brother!" Big E bellowed out with his powerful voice.

The crowd laughed and Shane chuckled as well.

"And that was my buddy, Big E. Now, without further ado... Ladies? Let's go."

Ruby rose her sticks in the air and counted, "1, 2, 3!"

(I'm aware that this song doesn't have bass in it originally. Imagine they're playing this version instead: watch?v=0-krHJU1w54 Copy and paste that into Google and it should pop up.)

Rhea immediately starting playing the opening riff, and then Shane grabbed the mic with both hands and let it rip.

"FELL IN LOVE WITH A GIRL, I FELL IN LOVE ONCE AND ALMOST COMPLETELY! SHE'S IN LOVE WITH THE WORLD, BUT SOMETIMES THESE FEELINGS CAN BE SO MISLEADING!"

Some of the crowd recognized the song right from the beginning and happily sung along with the boy. His father, who had found himself near the front of the audience, felt his chest swell with pride.

"This kid's really doin' it." He thought as he moshed around with the much younger concert goers. Although he was in his mid 30s, Kev was legitimately in much better shape than most of them, so he could hold his own just fine.

"BOBBY SAYS IT'S FINE HE DON'T CONSIDER IT CHEATING, NOW. REDHEAD WITH A CURL, MELLO-ROLL FOR THE FLAVOR AND THE EYES FOR PEEPING. CAN'T KEEP AWAY FROM THE GIRL, TWO SIDES OF MY BRAIN NEED TO HAVE A MEETING!"

Ruby was deadlocked in, her hands and feet moving in harmony like a well-oiled machine. Rhea felt like a friggin king strumming away, while Liv prepared to temporarily join Shane on vocal duty by playing and walking toward the mic at the same time.

"SHE'S JUST LOOKIN FOR SOMETHING NEW WELL, SAID IT ONCE BEFORE BUT IT BARES REPEATING NOW!"

Liv and Shane together:

"AAAAAAH, AAAAAAH! AAAAAAH, AAAAAAH!"

Then Shane resumed singing by himself.

"CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING TO DO, YEAH MY LEFT BRAIN KNOWS THAT MY LOVE IS FLEETING! SHE'S JUST LOOKING FOR SOMETHING NEW WELL, SAID IT ONCE BEFORE BUT IT BARES REPEATING NOW! FELL IN LOVE WITH A GIRL, I FELL IN LOVE ONCE AND ALMOST COMPLETELY!"

Standing way up on one of the balconies was Alexa Bliss. Mosh pits and sweaty bodies all around weren't exactly in her list of interests, so she opted to watch from there along with Bayley and Sasha. Sasha shared the sentiments as Alexa. Seth asked Bayley to not be down on the floor with him for obvious reasons. Although she was deceptively strong... it's still Bayley. Anyway, Bliss watched along as her boyfriend sang his heart out on stage. She also noticed a good portion of the females of the crowd checking him out. All she could do was smile and think about how lucky she felt to be in a relationship with him.

"That's all mine." She thought to herself.

As Shane neared the end of the next verse, an idea suddenly decided to show its face, however the boy was a little iffy on it. However, his doubts were done away with when Liv once again approached the mic and the two locked eyes for a few seconds. She nodded as if she knew exactly what Price was thinking and that's when he realized it was the right call.

"COME AND KISS ME BY THE RIVERSIDE, YEAH BOBBY SAYS IT'S FINE HE DON'T CONSIDER IT CHEATING NOW!"

Liv and Shane:

"AAAAAAAH..."

Shane signaled for the band to stop playing and allowed the crowd to sing that part on their own, which they happily obliged.

"AAAAAH!" They sang right back.

"AAAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAAH!"

Even Dean, who was working security couldn't help but join in on the action.

Once that part of the song had ended, Shane motioned for Ruby, Liv, and Rhea to finish the song. They just carried on without missing a beat, literally.

"CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING TO DO, YEAH MY LEFT BRAIN KNOWS THAT OUR LOVE IS FLEETING, SHE JUST LOOKIN FOR SOMETHIN' NEW, WELL SAID IT ONCE BEFORE BUT IT BARES REPEATING NOW!"

And just like that, the first song had come to a close. They received a very strong ovation from the audience, which they greatly appreciated. All four kids had huge smiles on their faces. Liv flipped her hair, clearly feeling herself. Ruby simply raised one of her sticks in the air as a sign of gratitude. Rhea threw up the devil horns with her left hand. Shane, still a little timid, addressed the crowd.

"Wow, thanks guys. Uhh, wasn't expecting that good of a response, honestly... Bro it is hot up here, damn."

Liv leaned in next to him.

"Maybe it's because you're up here performing with a hoodie on, hon." She spoke into the mic.

The sound of scattered laughter from the audience could be heard.

"Hey... I thought leaving it unzipped would help." He responded.

A girl in the crowd started a chant that would catch on like wildfire.

"Take it off, take it off, take it off!"

At that point, even his bandmates couldn't help but laugh. Shane just rolled his eyes and removed his sweatshirt, to the delight of the girls in attendance.

"WOOOO!" They called out.

He then handed the hoodie down to Dean, who kept it slung over his shoulder.

"Looks like my son is quite the ladies man" Kevin thought.

"Alright, alright. Now that we've all had our fun at my expense... Liv. It's time for the next song. Imma do this one in an Irish accent because, well I'm Irish and the dudes that made it are Irish as well. Shout out my sister Becky Lynch in the crowd, I see you."

Shane looked toward Liv, Rhea, and Ruby and went, "Big, Big, Big." They all understood and prepared to play.

"This one's called "Big" by Fontaines DC. Ladies, let's do it."

Ruby started off with the drum beat, and Liv followed suit with the opening bass line. Then, Rhea and Shane did their thing at the exact same time.

"DUBLIN IN THE RAIN IS MINE, A PREGNANT CITY WITH A CATHOLIC MIND. STARCH THOSE SHEETS FOR THE BIRDHOUSE JAIL, ALL MESCALINED WHEN THE PAST IS STALE, PALE. DUBLIN IN THE RAIN IS MINE, A PREGNANT CITY WITH A CATHOLIC MIND. SLICK LITTLE BOY WITH A MIND OF RITZ, PULLIN THAT THREAD FOR THE NEXT BIG FIX, THIS."

This song in particular was a little less high energy than the opener, but people were still intrigued and enthusiastic. A large majority of them were jumping around, dancing, having a good time. Price's Irish accent was extremely convincing. It had Becky wondering if he'd spent some time in the motherland and just failed to tell her. It gave Papa Price flashbacks to his late wife, which served to make him slightly emotional on the inside. Alexa and the other girls, even Bayley, found it somewhat attractive.

"Hmm, never heard him use that one before." Bliss thought with a smirk.

"MY CHILDHOOD WAS SMALL, MY CHILDHOOD WAS SMALL. BUT I'M GONNA BE BIG, BUT I'M GONNA BE BIG."

They finished the song about a minute and 30 seconds later, and once again, they get applauded for their efforts.

"Should we call it here, or do one more song?" Shane asked his band away from the mic."

"Eh, I say we give em one more for the hell of it." Rhea answered.

"Yeah, I'm with Rhea. Rue Rue, what do you say?" Liv asked her long time partner in crime.

"I'm in. Can we do that Misfits song we practiced? I love playing that song."

"Alright, you're the boss. Everyone, Hybrid Moments, Hybrid Moments."

Price then walked back up to the microphone.

"Okay, this last one is a song that Ruby back there has been dying to play. Anyone in here that's into old school punk might recognize this little tune. Ladies, if you would?"

Ruby once again let off a 3 count before getting into the opening drum beat, and the rest of them followed suit with their individual parts.

"IF YOU'RE GONNA SCREAM, SCREAM WITH ME! MOMENTS LIKE THIS NEVER LAAAAAST! WHEN NEW CREATURES RAPE YOUR FACE, HYBRIDS OPEN UP THE DOOOOR!"

Seth in the crowd was extremely happy about the song choice, belting out the lyrics along with Shane and playing air guitar. Big E was ecstatic as well, shouting, "YEAAH, LOOK AT MAH BOY! HE KILLIN' IT!"

As Ruby played along, she mouthed along with a warm smile on her face. She knew her mom was up somewhere in one of the balconies, and this was one of her favorite songs.

"IN HYBRID MOMENTS, GIVE ME A MOMEEEEENT! GIVE ME A MOMENT, GIVE ME A MOMEEEENT!"

This was also kind of a break for the girls in the band, since it was a relatively short and simple song. At the same time, the two previous songs they performed weren't exactly complex either. Regardless of difficulty, they all collectively did their jobs the way they were supposed to be done. No mistakes in sight.

"OOOH BABY WHEN YOU CRYYY, YOUR FACE IS MOMENTARY. YOU HIDE YOUR LOOKS BEHIND THESE SCAAAARS!"

The Squad finished the last song of their "mini-set" and felt pretty good about themselves. A lot of the people were blown away by Shane's singing ability, which he was able to properly show off with that final performance. After one more round of applause and cheers, Ruby, Liv and Rhea joined Shane at the front of the stage while the boy wrapped it up.

"Well, me and my band have got to leave for now. Hopefully, you liked us enough to wanna see us again one more time in the final battle. You guys were real cool." He modestly said.

All four teens held hands and bowed. As they were about to leave, Liv ran back to the mic.

"Love you all! And I'd like to give a shout out to all the cute boys in the crowd tonight! Especially the hottie over there toward the left! Mwuah!" She exclaimed, blowing a kiss to close out her impromptu speech.

She then ran back and hopped on Shane's back. As they walked backstage, Shane tilted his head to sort of face her.

"Did you really have to do that?"

She giggled.

"Just tryin' to use my feminine charm to improve our chances of winning. No harm in that, right? Plus that one guy was actually pretty hot."

"Yeah, Liv. Whatever." He responded with a smirk.

"Shane Price, you love me!"

When they fully made it through the curtain, they were showered in praise from both the other bands in the competition, and the host of the show itself.

"Wow guys, that was really cool! You all delivered, that's for sure. The crowd were super into you."

They all said thank you, and Jericho headed back out to introduce the next bands. The Squad found a couch somewhere backstage and plopped their behinds down onto it.

"That felt pretty good, not gonna lie. I got almost the same adrenaline rush I got from playing football." Price shared.

"Now, aren't you REALLY glad you didn't say no?" Liv asked.

"Definitely, definitely."


8:57 PM...

The next 9 bands and acts stepped up and all tried their damndest to impress the people. Some fared better than others. An hour and a half had passed before everyone had gotten a turn to prove themselves. After the last band headed off stage, a 20 minute intermission was given so people could go outside to get some air, use the bathroom, or whatever they had to do. Once most of them had come back, Chris reappeared on stage to mediate the voting process.

"Okay, now it is time to see who you guys deem worthy of it making it to.. THE FINALS! Starting off, will all groups within the A Bracket please step onto the stage?"

Everyone, including Shane and his girls, did as they were asked.

"Without any hesitation, let's get this started! How this works is so simple it's stupid. I announce the bands, and if you want em to advance, cheer. If not, either stay silent or boo. Whoever gets the most positive reaction goes on. Starting off, give it up for the cool, suave Hip Hop stylings of Swerve, Top Dolla, Adonis, and B-Fab, Hit Rooooow!"

The crowd overall were respectful, and gave them something. The reaction wasn't earth shattering but it wasn't trash either. Hit Row themselves obviously felt they deserved better, and promptly shook their heads in annoyance at the audience.

"Next up, we have the rambunctious trio of feminine rock insanity themselves, Nikki Cross, Ember Moon, and Shotzi Blackheart, The Ball Pit! God those names are cool."

Shotzi howled at the crowd, and a large amount of them did it right back. They were easily the most energetic performers of the night.

"Okay, okay. Not bad, not bad. Following them we have the smooth but very engaging R&B duo of Naomi Knight and Cameron Lynn."

Although The Usos were there to support their man Shane, Jimmy in particular, couldn't help but root for his girlfriend, Naomi. Among the cheers and applause the two girls recieved, Jimmy's voice could clearly be heard.

"Nice, nice. Second to last we have, the extremely hilarious and surprisingly talented comedy rock duo of Matt Martel and Chase Parker, Ever-Rise!"

Parker and Martel both raised their arms in the sky and yelled "Ever-Rise ruuules!" at the top of their lungs, which gained lots of laughter from the audience.

"Ha, I like those kids. Finally, last but not least we have the group that kicked off the night for us, Shane Price, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, and Ruby Riott, the Riott Squad!"

To say that the reaction they received was positive would be the understatement of the century. Everyone, and I mean everyone was cheering at the top of their lungs. You could hear the members of the football team that attended lose their minds along with Shane's father, the girls were borderline shrieking, and Seth had managed to start a "Riott, Riott" chant. The place was on fire.

"Ah well... I don't think we need a retrial with that one. Congratulations to the Riott Squad, you have officially won your bracket and advanced to the Finals!"

Liv grabbed Ruby and started jumping up and down in pure excitement, Shane pumped his fist in the air, and Rhea simply nodded and smirked.

"Okay, now on to the B bracket! Will everyone in that group please come out here?"

What followed was pretty strange. 30 seconds had passed, and no one had come out. Jericho figured they must've somehow not heard him, so he tried it again.

"Uh... Bracket B, it's your time to come out... Come out."

Once again, nothing. Bracket A and the crowd were just as confused as Jericho. Just as he was about to call out to them for a third time, someone actually did come out. That someone or... those someones just happened to be Elias and his family. No one could really understand why it was just them. The people on stage and in the audience that knew him all inwardly groaned, not really happy about seeing his face. Speaking of faces, Elias' had a big fat grin plastered on it. The people that didn't know him personally cheered, because him and his band's performance was actually great. That's the one thing you gotta remember about Samson. The kid may be a huge egomaniac, but he is insanely talented. He approached Chris and motioned for him to hand him the mic. Only because he couldn't think of a reason not to, he did just that. Elias cleared his throat before he began speaking.

"Hello, I am Elias. But, you all knew that already. Of course, how could you forget my name after the absolutely breathtaking performance I bestowed upon you all earlier tonight? The answer to that question my friends, is you can't. Speaking of said performance, it seems that unfortunately, my raw, unbridled talent was far too much for the other "musicians." It is with deep regret that I must inform you all of the other participants in Bracket A's decision to forfeit the competition."

An audible gasp could be heard among the people in the crowd. No one could believe what they were hearing.

"Man... I've been hosting this event for 5 years now. Never have I heard of something like this happening." Jericho said to him.

Elias shrugged his shoulders.

"First time for everything, right? Well, since there's no one to challenge me, go on and announce that I'm in the Finals." He said, handing the mic back to Chris.

"Okay then... I guess congratulations to Elias and The Forgotten Sons. You're in the-"

Right as he was about to finish his sentence, a certain Aussie had decided that she didn't like how this was going down.

"No, no, screw this!" Rhea yelled as she marched up to poor Jericho and snatched the microphone out of his hand.

"Look, I'm sorry, but you don't know this prick like I do. I came here from Australia over this past summer, and started my Freshman year over at St. Augustus High. I'm there on the first day and I see that they have a pretty good music program, so then I'm like, "Oh, I play guitar, I should join, it would be fun." How wrong was I? I lasted one lousy week, and you know why? Because the only other person who played guitar in the program was this stupid scarf-wearing jackass! From the moment I stepped in the door, he talked down to me. "Oh, you're not technically proficient enough to hang with me", "Oh, I can strum circles around you", or whatever the hell else kinda egomaniacal bullshit spewed out of his mouth. I wanted to hit him so bad, I really did. Only problem is, if I would've done that there would've been serious consequences thrown at me. Which leads me to my final point. This kid is afraid of the thought of anyone challenging his skills as a musician. He's managed to remain the only guitar player in the school music program due to verbal abuse, being an ass to anyone that shows the slightest interest in playing guitar, and any number of other ways at his disposal... And I think his latest method is those three ugly bastards beside him."

Ryker, Blake and Cutler didn't take too kindly to the dig at them and had to be restrained by Elias from lunging at the girl. Someone had brought out another microphone, intending to hand it to Chris Jericho, but Elias intercepted it. This boy was livid.

"Ripley, how about you shut your mouth, huh?! What would my family members have to do with a bunch of losers forfeiting? You tell me that, go on I'm listening!" He angrily responded.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe they went around backstage THREATENING the other bands with a beating if they didn't drop out to cater to your bloody frail ego!"

Samson laughed outta spite.

"And what made you jump to that conclusion, hmm?"

"It just makes too much sense, don't ya think? Let's see, ya brought in a grown man with tattoos and a psycho look in his eyes, along with a couple of dudes that can't be younger than 17 that look like they hunt people on weekends. And then what was it said just before we stopped talking to one another backstage earlier? That you were gonna "get acquainted" with some of the other bands? Sounds pretty suspicious to me."

"I can't help how my family looks, Ripley. You know what I think? I think you're just scared to face me. You're scared that you and your amateur ass friends wouldn't stand a chance against someone the caliber of Elias! You know I have more talent in my ring finger than you or anyone else in this godforsaken club!"

Those words from Elias didn't really sit well with the spectators in the crowd. They could all sense the arrogance just oozing out of every sentence.

"See? There you go again! You can't even deal with the possibility that someone could be just as good or better than you at guitar or just music in general." Ripley clapped back.

"Whatever. Look the point is, these accusations you're throwing out have no weight behind them whatsoever. Now end this clown fest so I can destroy you in the Finals!"

"Hey, kid. Rhea, give me the mic." Chris told the girl.

Reluctantly, she obliged and handed it back to him.

"Okay, wow. That was intense to say the least. Here's what's going down. Despite the admittedly suspicious nature behind this whole forfeiting thing, we need to declare a winner. So, Elias does in fact advance to the Finals against the Riott Squad."

The football team, Alexa, Bayley, Becky, and Kevin all could be heard booing loudly. Dean was gonna join in but he didn't wanna risk Elias seeing him and exposing the fact that he was still a minor. As you would expect, the brash musician didn't appreciate them voicing their opinions on him.

"No one asked you!" He shouted into the mic he was holding.

Jericho was rapidly getting fed up with being interrupted.

"Hey! I'm the host, I'm talking, okay?! Okay!"

He took a deep breath before continuing.

"As I stated at the beginning of the event, each act will only be allowed to perform one song and one song only. To decide who goes first and who goes second, we're doing this NFL style. One member of each band will stand in the middle of the stage, face to face. We do a simple coin flip. Whoever calls the correct side gets to pick the order. Simple enough, right? Now, I need two people in the middle. Who's it gonna be?"

Elias walked right up without saying two words to his band. He obviously wanted to be seen as the head honcho. On the other side, the Squad held sort of a mini meeting. On the other side, the girls looked to Shane to make the call. The boy shook his head.

"Nah, in football the captain does the coin flip. I'm not the captain. Nope, that distinction goes to Miss Ruby over here." He declared with a smile.

The rebellious girl was slightly taken aback by Shane's decision. Instead of asking if he was sure though, she nodded and made her way over to stand face to face with Elias. Samson stared her down in disgust.

"I'm so out of your league you have no idea." He said.

She refused to back down.

"Yeah? We'll see about that."

Jericho pulled a quarter out of his pocket and held it in between the two.

"Ladies first, heads or tails Ruby?"

"Tails." She answered.

The host then tossed the coin in the air before catching it and slapping it onto his forehead.

"Ah, it's heads. Well, Elias, your call. Do you wanna start off the final round, or finish off the show?"

Elias scoffed.

"I'm goin first. Once I blow these people away with my god-like musical ability, these bozos won't be able to follow me."

Once again, Elias' arrogance caused some audience members to look at him in a less favorable way.

"Alright then, it's settled. I'd like to ask both groups to head backstage for ten minutes. After those ten minutes are up, the finals will officially begin!" Jericho announced.


15 Minutes Later...

The sounds of cheering and applause could be heard as Elias and his goons exited the stage, satisfied with their performance. To his credit, Samson took a different approach, opting to perform an original composition of his rather than a cover like everyone else. It was a track he wrote titled "Amen" that the crowd ate up, despite some of their opinions being swayed in a different direction. As the talented yet obnoxious boy crossed paths with his opponents, he smirked.

"Like I said before, out of my league."

Shane had to hold fiery little Liv back from attacking the smug boy, literally. She was doing her best Scrappy Doo impression, "Lemme at em, lemme at em!"

"Liv, Liv! I wouldn't mind slapping him around a little bit either, but we both know that's a terrible idea. How about we hit him where it really hurts?" Price brought up.

"His balls?" Liv curiously asked.

"What-no, Liv! His ego. If we beat him, he'll have to deal with the fact that someone got the better of him."

"Oh okay... I still kinda wanna kick him in the balls though."

"Yeah, same." Ruby piggybacked.

"Wouldn't mind doing that." Rhea agreed.

"No one's kicking anyone in the balls! But... I know which song we should do. Rhea, it seems like you have the biggest beef with Elias out of all of us. How about you be the one to stick it to him?"

It took the Australian a few seconds to really understand what he was saying. When she did, her eyes went wide and in an extremely rare turn of events, she showed signs of timidness and hesitation.

"I, uh... Are you suggesting what I think you are, mate?"

Price nodded, completely serious.

"But, we only practiced that like 3 times. And the last time we were all just messing around and not taking it seriously."

"Right, but Rhea. When we were taking it seriously, you blew us all away with how well you did, remember?" The boy pointed out.

"Okay, fair enough. But do you think that'll be enough to beat Elias though?"

Liv piped up.

"Rhea, babe. Like Shane said earlier, we came here to have fun, and Elias isn't gonna ruin it for us. Win, lose, or draw."

Morgan's pep talk seemed to work, because Rhea's hesitant demeanor had pretty much disappeared by this point.

"Fuck it, I'm in."

"Awww yeah! Let's do this shit! Squad Up!" Shane exclaimed.

They did their hand signal and made their way to behind the curtain and waited for Jericho to introduce them.

"What an incredible performance from Elias and The Forgotten Sons! Tough act to follow, no doubt. However, if anyone can, it might be these guys. Once again, please welcome, the Riott Squad!"

The group walked out to an excited reaction from the crowd, which put a smile on each of their faces. Morgan set her prized bass on the ground, still in the case, and stood by Shane at the microphone.

"Okay, final song of the night. No pressure, no pressure. So, before we begin, yo Jericho do me a favor?"

"Sure, what's up?" The announcer responded.

"Can I get your mic? We're gonna need it for this."

Jericho, although slightly confused, tossed it over to the boy and walked backstage.

"Alright, alright cool. Now, allow me to tell you guys a quick story before we start. Up until a little while ago, the Riott Squad wasn't even really a thing. One day, my drummer Ruby and my bassist Liv-"

"Heeeeey!" The mischievous cheerleader interrupted when she heard her name, causing everyone to laugh, including Shane.

"Yeah, her. Anyway, they came up to me and asked if I would wanna be the lead singer of a band with them. It took a few days of convincing, but eventually I said yes. Then we realized we needed someone on guitar. That's where the girl on my right comes into play. Funny enough, the first person we asked was our opponent tonight, Elias. To put it lightly... he declined."

"Cause he's a dick!" Seth yelled from the crowd, which again caused laughter.

"I'm neither going to confirm or deny that. Either way, he said no. Rhea, on the other hand, was all in. I've only known her for a relatively short amount of time, but she's become a very close friend of mine. Sorta like a big sister in a way, even though she's younger than me. With that being said... I think she's got something to say to all of you. Miss Ripley, if you'd please step up to the microphone."

Rhea, guitar in hand, made her way to the front of the stage and Shane stepped aside. As she looked amongst the crowd, her confidence started to soar.

"Oi, thanks for the introduction, Shane. I ain't the best singer, but hey, it sounds cool to me. And I hope it sounds cool to all of you as well." She said.

Shane stood in the same spot Rhea was at before she moved with Jericho's mic. He was ready. Liv and Ruby were more than ready. Everyone was just waiting for Rhea's cue.

"Alright, one, two, three, four!"

(Rhea is in bold, Shane is in parentheses, Shane and Rhea together is in italics.)

"IT'S COME TO TAKE FROM THE RIIIPE!"

("FROM THE RIPE, FROM THE RIPE!")

"IT SITS SO STILL I COULD, JUST DIE, JUST DIE! IT'S COME TO REACH UP INSIIIIDE!"

("UP INSIDE, UP INSIDE!")

"OH HOW THE BLOOD STAINS WELL ON WHIIIITE!"

"OOOOAAAOOOOH, THE CORAL FANG! SINKING IN, TO MAKE YOU WELL! OOOOAAAOOOOH, THE CORAL FANG! SINKING IN, TO MAKE YOU ILL!"

The suddenness of how the song started, combined with the high energy tone of the song made the crowd go into a frenzy. People were moshing, jumping around, overall just having a great time. Some of the boys were starting to fall in love with Rhea, talk about Fell In Love With A Girl. Shane looked at Rhea singing her heart out, and a feeling of pride in his friend invaded his chest. For a song they had only rehearsed a couple times, she was completely killing it.

"WHEN THE CORAL SHAVES THE SKIIIIIIIN!"

("SHAVES THE SKIN!")

"DISEASE IS CHEAP, SCARS ARE POLISHED CLEAAAAN!"

"OOOOAAAOOOOH, THE CORAL FANG! SINKING IN, TO MAKE YOU WELL! OOOOAAAOOOOH, THE CORAL FANG! SINKING IN, TO TAAAKE AT WILL!"

And with that final line, the song was over. Judging by the reaction from the people, it was definitely a successful attempt. Even Alexa was shouting, "WOOOO!" (No, Nature Boy), at the top of her lungs after it was over. All four of them came to the front of the stage and bowed, grateful for the love they were being shown. Jericho appeared back on stage was absolutely ecstatic. Shane handed him the mic he had borrowed.

"Thanks kid. What an awesome way to close out the show, ladies and gentlemen! That girl sang her heart out! Are your lungs okay after that?"

Rhea beat her chest a few times and flashed him the thumbs up sign.

"Good, good. Now! It is time to find out the winner of the 2017 Battle of the Bands! If I could ask that Elias and The Forgotten Sons please come out?"

Elias recieved a warm welcome from the crowd as he lead his family out. He could be seen giving the Squad a very obviously sarcastic slow clap. It seems that he did not think to highly of their performance.

"Any last words before we begin?" Jericho asked.

Everyone in the Riott Squad shook their heads no, not seeing the point. To them, everything they had to say had been said already. Elias on the other hand, had more to say. He motioned for Jericho to come over. Chris then held the mic up so Samson could speak into it.

"Ya know, that was cute. It really was. But, these people I'm sure know the difference between amateurs and professionals. They'll make the right choice. Better luck next time, chumps."

"Ooooh, this man's confidence knows no bounds! We're about to see what the crowd says about that. Without further ado, if you thought Elias took this one, LET ME HEAR IT!" Jericho yelled.

Remembering how well he did, the crowd gave him his just due. People were firmly behind the kid, cheering loudly. Now Elias REALLY thought he had this one in the bag. He shot the Squad a look that basically said, "I told you so."

"Okay, okay. That's gonna be tough to beat. On to the next ones... If you think the Riott Squad are the rightful winners, GIVE ME WHAT YOU GOT!"

Dude... remember in 2011 when CM Punk faced Cena in that match at Money In The Bank and the crowd went apeshit when Punk came out? Take that reaction, put in on a slightly smaller scale and that's what this sounded like. It was Bonkers bro! (Some people think I'm Bonkers, but I just think I'm free... sorry I had to.) Members of the football team were ripping their shirts off, water was being thrown on people, just hysteria all the way through. This man Elias was absolutely seething. The outcome definitely was no longer in doubt.

"Welp... I think that pretty much sums it up. Your 2017 Battle of the Bands winners, THE RIOTT SQUAD! Congratulations, you guys earned it!"

Ya know, Price had been relatively calm this whole night. As soon as Jericho made that final announcement, the whole even keeled thing was completely thrown out of the window. The boy figured he had one shot at this, so he might as well go for it. He frantically tore his shirt off, and ran full speed until he jumped off stage into the crowd. Luckily, he wasn't ridiculously huge, so they were able to catch him. It didn't hurt that a portion of the hands belonged to his teammates.

"WE DID IT! WE DID IT!" He yelled.

After he had his fill of the rockstar fantasy, he asked to be let down. He was crowd surfed back to the front of the audience, where Dean was right there to help him onto the floor.

"Thanks brother." Price said to his best friend.

"No thanks needed, just doin my job."

"That you got illegally."

Dean laughed.

"The correct term is finessed. Now shut up and get back up there."

The two fist bumped and Shane climbed back to the stage. His girls were all looking at him with amused looks on their faces. All the Irish boy could do in response is shrug. The four of them posed for pictures, and Shane was handed an envelope with 3000 cash in it.

"Heh, money. Nice." Is all he could say.


10:13 PM...

Not long after, the building was emptied of the crowd and a lot of them went home. Some of the team and cheerleaders from school stuck around to personally congratulate the band. Bayley locked Shane in a death grip of a hug, because of course she did. Finally, standing outside were just the Squad itself, Alexa, and Big Price.

"So why did you take your shirt off exactly?" Alexa asked her boyfriend.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Spur of the moment type thing, I guess." He answered honestly."

"It's cause the boy's out of his mind. We went through this earlier." Kevin said.

Shane laughed.

"Yeah, dad whatever. This boy's now a champion... again!"

"Don't let all the success get to your head now, mate." Rhea chimed in.

"I won't, Rhea. Promise."

"Kid, your voice is the shit." Kevin told the Aussie girl.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just kinda scream really." She joked.

"Screaming or not, you were ten times more entertaining than that Elias dude. What a snore fest that guy is... Uh, is that other kid okay?"

The "other kid" that he was referring to was Liv Morgan, who had her eyes locked on Shane's dad. It looked like she was on the verge of drooling. Ruby elbowed her in the side.

"Owwww, what was that for, Rue Rue?"

"For staring. That's rude, Liv."

"Say, how are you girls getting home?" Kevin asked the punk girl.

"Oh, me and Liv were gonna go with my mom and take the train home. She's inside just using the bathroom real quick."

"I was gonna crash with them and go home in the morning." Rhea answered as well.

"Tell you what, you ask your mom when she comes out if she'd let you guys ride with me and I'll drive ya home. Or you could stay at my place for the night."

"That's fine. I'll just text Emma and tell her I'm going with you guys." Ripley responded.

"Ooh! Ooh! Shane's house, I wanna spend the night at Shane's house! Can we?!" Liv asked excitedly.

"As long as mom says okay. Speaking of which, here she comes."

Lita Dumas exited the Ballroom and immediately saw the kids. She then made her way over to them with a smirk on her face.

"Okay, okay I admit it. I was impressed. Lead singer over here really outdid himself."

"Well, thank you Miss Dumas. I aim to entertain." Shane responded smiling.

"You too Rhea. Didn't know you had that in ya. You two really put together quite a team." She said, speaking to her daughter and Liv.

"I'd say so. Yup, these kids are... Lita?" Kevin asked completely perplexed.

The tattooed woman really took a look at the man, and her eyes bugged out when she realized who had just said her name.

"...My God Kevin Price. Is that you?"

The kids, especially Shane and Ruby, were confused by the events playing out before their very eyes.

"Y-Yeah. That's me... Long time no see, huh?"

"Uh... yeah."

"Um... Look, I can see that this conversation is gonna take more time than we can give it right now, so we shouldn't do it at this exact moment. I asked your daughter if she wanted me to drive you guys home. She said it was up to you. What do you say?"

All Lita could do was nod yes.

"Okay... Everyone hop in then." Kevin awkwardly told everyone.

Rhea and Liv placed their instruments in the trunk of the vehicle. Then the two of them along with Shane, Ruby, and Alexa managed to squeeze in the backseat, while Lita sat shotgun. It was a relatively quiet ride to the Riott Household. The kids were all tired, and the adults were too shell-shocked to say anything. Once they arrive, Liv again asked her question.

"Miss Dumas, can me, Rue Rue, and Rhea spend the night at Shane's? Please?"

The woman looked at the kids, and then at the man sitting next to her.

"Uh... sure, no problem. Just call me when you get there and before you leave tomorrow."

"Yay! After party at Shane's!" Liv joked.

"Ha! After party, she says. Morgan, I don't know about you, but I am dirt tired. I'm going to sleep when we get home."

"Awww, boooo. The night's still young! There's still more fun to be had!"

"Nah mate, I gotta agree with Shane here. I'm pretty buggered as well if I'm being honest." Ripley said.

Liv looked at Ruby with those puppy dog eyes that she's become a master of at this point.

"Sorry, Liv. We can really celebrate tomorrow. Tonight, I'm beat."

Liv comically folded her arms and pouted.

"No fair, no fun either."

Meanwhile, Lita was about to exit the car. Kevin stopped her at the last second though.

"I'll have Ruby send you my phone number. Whenever you wanna... ya know, talk? Just text me and I'll come over."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay."

She then left, and Kevin put his hands on his face and sighed. The kids in the backseat all shared looks of concern and confusion. The girls motioned for Shane to ride shotgun and maybe ask his dad what the matter was. So, he left and sat next to Papa Price.

"Hey, dad? Are you okay? What was that all about?"

A few seconds of sorta uncomfortable silence went by before Kevin reached over and patted his son's head.

"Little man, it's a loooong story. Let's just go home. I'll explain at a different time."

Shane accepted that was the best he was going to get out of his father, and he just dropped the conversation. After a very, very eventful day, it was time to finally get some rest. As they rode around NYC, Shane found himself staring out of the window, almost daydreaming. He couldn't help but think about the main thing that took place during this particular day.

"We did it man... We really did it."

AN: AAAAND the band arc has officially been completed. Wow, that took me forever to write. Longest chapter I've ever written in my life man, I'm telling you. Well, now that this part is finished, you guys let me know what you think is gonna happen next. Also, throw out any suggestions if you want. Mark signing off for now, you guys are awesome. See you in the next chapter.