A/N: Hello! The Band is With Me has reached over 4,100 views! Yay! Thank you again for all the reviews and for continuing to read! xoxoxox
Rinoa grinned, her nose scrunching as she clicked away at the adorable couple in front of her. The couple was standing in the middle of the boardwalk, the groom to be with his back towards Rinoa and his face towards Zone. The bride to be had her arm looped around her fiancé's waist, her cheek resting casually against his shoulder as she chuckled softly to herself.
Rinoa played with her settings for a moment so that even though the couple was surrounded by a few people walking through the boardwalk, the couple was the only ones in crystal clear sight. "Eyes only for each other," Rinoa murmured, raising the camera to her eyes as she kept the couple in pristine focus.
The bride moved away, her fingers lightly trailing over her groom's stomach before lacing her hand into his. Almost wistfully her long pink skirt billowed around her legs, her tawny hair suddenly gathered up by the soft gentle breeze that whispered through. As she carefully tucked her strands behind her ear, Rinoa snapped a few shots of the groom staring adoringly at the woman in front of him.
They are adorable, Rinoa thought. As she captured a few more shots, she couldn't help but sigh tenderly at the look of complete love and devotion that was displayed on the groom's face. It was something straight out of a romance film and it reminded Rinoa of a quote she had seen floating around online that said something along the lines that one could see how much a man really loved his woman by the way he looked at her when she wasn't looking.
A quick movement caught her eye and she glanced up to see Zone gesturing to her. "I think that's it!" he mouthed to her.
"Yay!" Rinoa lowered her camera and stepped down from her perch, a stone slope that curved along the length of the boardwalk. Both she and Zone approached the lovers and Rinoa gave the bride a quick hug. "We got some amazing shots! I can't wait to show you!"
The bride clapped her hands and excitedly planted a kiss to her groom's cheek. "Thank you! Thank you so much for being able to do this—I know it was so last minute…but he's getting called away for business in a few days and he'll be out of state for at least two weeks."
"Oh no! Well, we'll get these to you soon enough, promise. Then you'll be able to look at his pretty face all the time."
Irvine finished chugging down the rest of her water when he saw Hans come in through the hall. After swallowing the last sip, Irvine tossed the bottle into the bin and looked over to Hans. "What's up?"
The other man grinned and softly stroked his beard. "Did you know that a teaser for your guys's video is up?"
"What?" Irvine jumped out of his seat and hurried after Hans. "That motherfucker didn't tell me!" he protested, pulling out his phone to see if he had any missed texts—he didn't. He followed Hans into the other room where the remainder of their own bands were huddled around Esteban and his laptop. Joining them were also two members from Doomtrain, the bassist from Odin's Blade, the tour manager, and one of Occult's bartenders.
Quistis lifted her head and quickly motioned for Irvine to come over. "Hurry! You haven't missed too much," she assured. "They started off with little pieces of that interview Seifer had us do."
The video itself was just barely under three minutes, in the background was their song 'Misery' playing while Quistis was on the screen, finishing up her makeup. "Music is an outlet," she was saying. "Some people paint, some draw, some dance! We…play hard rock."
Zell's chuckling form came across the screen, little flashes of him shredding on his guitar flickered over him. "It's a trip," he laughed. "When I'm playing it's like this whole 'nother being just comes out."
"I love it," Irvine laughed, shown on the couch as he looked over to Squall, who was checking out the crash symbol he was having Zell hold. "It's the best feeling in the world to be able to play this music…this creation that we all had a part in."
"We all come together with this," Quistis added in. "Squall will be fucking around with some beat and then Zell will jump in to add a riff. Sometimes we come up with something awesome in a matter of hours…sometimes it takes weeks. You just never know!"
The camera then moved over to Squall, who was now shown sitting on the couch and taking a long swallow from his beer bottle. When he took notice that the camera was aimed on him, he offered a slight grin and raised his beer in toast. "Cheers to that," was all he said.
As the band laughed together and raised their own drinks in a pre-show toast, the background music grew louder and heavier, fluidly shifting from interview scenes to actual footage of the show.
The camera panned through the crowd, focusing on Selphie and the way she swivled her hips, her eyes closed and lips slightly parted, her hands caressing the curve of her jaw and the slope of her throat as she let the music embrace her.
Irvine made a throaty groan at the sight of her moving her luscious body. "Goddamn," he hissed.
Quistis sipped her water. "That is a fine looking woman you snagged yourself there," she said.
"That she is," Hans agreed, giving Irvine an admiring slap onto the back. "Job well done."
Fujin only chuckled softly, her head softly shaking as she watched Hans's eyes nearly bulge from their sockets. She turned her view back to the screen, nodding her head to the thunderous beat that vibrated through the stereo.
Across the screen Irvine shouted into the mic, "The only way that I can describe this life I'm a train wreck survivor buried alive/No sign of life for days but's it's quiet here so I'm going to sleep for a while…"
The camera flashed over to Zell with his foot balanced atop one of the stage lights, the glowing yellow illuminating the many studs that adorned the toe of his boot.
"Do you really need a reason?/Right moment, right time, right season/Let's not pretend who we're pleasing here/Because I don't need a better reason/It's gonna alter my direction/It's something that you seem to have forgotten to mention…to mention…"
Irvine's gravelly voice pulsated through the devastatingly striking crashes of Squall's drums, the quick strums of Zell's guitar, and Quistis's throaty plucks of her strings.
The screen was now filled with an overhead shot of Squall dominating his drum's skins. The muscles of his forearms quivered and clenched with each thrash, his long hair shook over the nape of his neck. The camera focused then on Quistis, who was arching her spine and letting her head fall backward as she slapped her fingers over her bass. When Squall slammed his drumstick heavily onto his tom, Quistis snapped her head forward, strands of her blond hair falling over one of her eyes. The image filled the entire screen of the laptop and exuded steamy and raw passion.
"So how can I look away?/When our hearts seem to be breaking down…"
The camera panned over the thriving crowd, the flashing lights illuminating a few excited faces with their mouths open in screaming howls. Then the camera landed on the back of one girl, her long black hair reaching the curve of her waist that flared out into hips that were currently swaying to the beat.
Squall's brow lifted. Instantly he recognized those hips. As if to cement the notion, she raised an arm and hooked that long waterfall of black hair over her shoulder, exposing the inky wings that spread over the backs of her arms. She raised those winged arms high overhead, camera in hand, rotating her hips and then jumping in time when the dancing brunette from earlier in the video came in and joined her.
"You made an addict out of me without even knowing/You made an addict out of me without even knowing/You made an addict out of me without even knowing I was a sucker for another dose of you…"
Rinoa turned, her beautiful profile flashing across the screen as Selphie grabbed her hand and dragged her away. The camera followed them for a split moment, showing the girls laughing as they snaked through the crowd.
Slowly the music died down and the screen turned black, filled only with the words: Absolute Lore's first music video "MISERY" launching soon!
The video came to an end and Esteban turned in his seat and gave them a hearty clap. "Very nice!" he said. "Seems that your first video is coming along nicely!"
The tour manager, Ward, gave a deep and rolling laugh while he raised his arms above his head and applauded. "I can't wait to see the rest!" he rumbled. "So honored to have you aboard with us on the tour."
"Doesn't hurt that you've got a bit of eye candy going on in there too," Fujin said, suggestively raising her eyebrows. "It's good that they're showing that you have some hot fans!"
Zell nodded. "Oh yeah. We definitely have some fine looking fans!"
"It helps too that you guys are all pretty yourselves," said Eli, the guitarist from Doomtrain.
"How you mean?" Zell asked.
"Unfortunately, talent isn't enough in this business," Fujin sighed. "Now, I'm sure you guys would have gotten far with your sound and talent alone, but now that everyone soon know what you all look like—since you guys are infamous for your lack of pictures—you guys will get there faster."
Eli reluctantly nodded. "Welcome to the industry," he said, holding his arms wide.
"We did kinda expect that," Irvine grumbled. "We just have to kick ass and continuing blowing everyone's minds with our music—fuck what we look like." He ran his palms over his hair and smoothed his coppery locks into a ponytail. "We'll draw them in with our looks and keep them interested with our talent if we have to."
His phone rang from his back pocket and he quietly excused himself.
The bassist from Odin's Blade, Gregor, looked down to his watch. "I should probably go pull the guys from the bar," he said. "It's almost time for us to set up."
"I thought you guys were after us?" Quistis asked.
"Normally we would be, but we switched set line up with Doomtrain for tonight."
"Morgan's son got into a car accident a few months ago—he's fine—but he had to get metal screws into his ankle and tomorrow he's going into surgery again to get them replaced. Kid's only twelve so Morgan is video-chatting with him to keep his spirits up," Eli explained, talking about their singer.
Irvine came back over, gently sliding the phone into his back pocket. "That was Selphie, she says good luck to our first show together!"
Quistis made a face. "Aww…I miss her already."
"I know the feeling! She told me she's waiting for Rinoa to finish up at the studio to come over. They're going to watch the live stream on Selphie's computer."
"Nice!" exclaimed Zell.
Rinoa pulled open the microwave door, smiling brightly as the scent of freshly popped popcorn wafted into the air. "Yay!" she said, carefully taking the bag between her fingers and emptying the contents into a large glass bowl. "Selphie! Popcorn's ready!"
"Bring it here!"
As Rinoa entered Selphie's living room, she carefully stepped over the piles of clothes that were sorted out onto the floor. It was laundry day in the Tilmitt house, apparently. Rinoa moved herself onto the couch and watched Selphie mess with her cables so that her computer was now connected to the television.
Selphie stepped back for a moment, eyes narrowing as she watched the television screen blip before it displayed the Occult's live feed. "Yay!" she said, clapping her hands. She looked over to her clock. "Alright so the first band is already setting up." Selphie joined Rinoa on the couch.
Not long after Rinoa and Selphie blew through the first set and their tub of popcorn. Rinoa was licking the buttery residue from her fingers when Squall walked across the stage to his kit. Instantly her jaw clenched and she felt her eyes widen a fraction.
Selphie took notice and gave Rinoa a shove. "What are you—seventeen again? Falling headfirst for the hot musician?"
Rinoa laughed and leaned back against the cushions. "Oh…what is it about being seventeen?" she asked. "You know? You like, think you know everything and can take on the world with just that fiery look in your eye as your guns blazing and then looking back it's like…wow, bitch, you didn't know shit."
Selphie paused in lifting her soda to her lips and gave Rinoa a weird look. "Everything alright?" she laughed.
"Don't judge me," Rinoa said through a smile. "I got some boxes out of storage and found some old journals."
Immediately Selphie winced. "Yeesh…"
"I wanted to up and leave and like…go live on a train!"
Selphie laughed and set her soda onto her side table. "For real? I mean, I remember when we met at eighteen you were definitely the free-spirited type, but I definitely don't remember you wanting to live on a train!"
"Yeah…a year after I wrote the entry I figured that living on a college campus away from home was much more liveable. It also helped that I earned a scholarship…but you know." A sharp, powerful, hearty smack along the snare drum caught Rinoa's attention and she jumped. Her eyes turned back to the screen and she saw Squall sitting on his throne; his left hand hovering over his snare drum, drumstick captured within his fist, while his right hand was lifted up to adjust his hi-hat.
Dammit though, he does look delicious, she thought, her tongue running over her teeth as she watched him move. Before she knew it, hard and heavy sounds were coming through the speakers of Selphie's television and filling the space of her living room.
Selphie squealed and jumped onto her sofa, her barefeet sinking into the plush cushions as she hopped and tried to keep her balance. "There's my babe!" she cried. "There he is! On his first tour and looking damn sexy!"
Rinoa joined Selphie in gales of laughter and together they danced, thrashed their hair to the beat, and raised their arms in glee as if Absolute Lore were truly in the room with them, gracing the two with their own private show.
While Selphie was lost in her own little world of dancing madly in circles to the thrum of Irvine's gravelly voice, Rinoa paused so she could actually watch the band members move. Quistis and Zell moved across the stage so fluidly, maneuvering with their hunks of intruments effortlessly. When Irvine was able to take a quick break from singing, he clutched the guitar that hung low against his pelvis and held it so provactively as if he were making love to it, the throbbing and vibrating chords were equivalent to orgasmic moans.
It wasn't easy to watch Squall since he was partially hidden behind his set, but Rinoa had seen him practice enough to know some of his movements. She was able to see his arms thrash around and a bit of his head, though it was lowered so he could concentrate. His head lifted for a moment, and for a brief second Rinoa was able to see the hard glint of his steely blue eyes beneath the glaring stage lights.
Squall tilted his head back, his eyes closed as he prepared to bring his arms back down violently over the skins. Rinoa sucked in a breath. The way his throat worked, the euphoric closing of the eyes and the slightly parted lips…it was the same face he had displayed when she was riding him in his Jeep.
His sex face, she thought. He made the same ecstasy-filled face when he was inside her as he made when he played the drums. Her insides suddenly were overflowing with giddiness. Quistis herself had said that playing onstage was orgasmic and almost better than sex…Squall had countered that it depended on the girl.
"Why are you blushing?"
Rinoa snapped her head towards Selphie's direction. "Uh…what?"
Selphie only narrowed her eyes and twisted her lips into a schemeful smirk. "You know, Irvine told me that when he makes that face"—She pointed to the screen where Irvine was practically growling through his teeth, his eyes lustful and filled with dark and palpable promises that spoke of twisted bed sheets and fists gripping a metal headboard—"He pretends that he's fucking me. Says that it helps really 'get into the moment' to make the performance even more…stimulating."
Rinoa could only stare as she listened to what Selphie was saying. She could feel her bottom lip drop lower and her cheeks grow hotter. "Um…ok?" she finally managed to utter out.
"The crowd feels it," Selphie was continuing. "Look at them. They're practically coming in their jeans." She giggled as she danced a finger over the screen of her television. "It just makes me wonder, really…what do you think they're feeling from Squall?"
The brunette flipped her hair and gave Rinoa a quick wink before skipping off into the kitchen to grab another soda.
Rinoa swallowed. She had yet to tell Selphie about the wild night with Squall the night before they all left on tour…but it still seemed that her friend had an inkling of what had transpired. She wanted to tell Selphie, wanted to gush and giggle and compare sex notes…but deep inside she still wanted to be greedy and keep that night only to herself. After all, she and Squall promised that they would keep that night between them until he got back and they could figure out their…"situation."
Selphie returned and handed a canned soda to Rinoa. As she watched Absolute Lore pack up their gear and move off the stage, she sat down on the couch and pulled her legs up beneath her. "The band that's headlining is called Djin Theory," she said. "Absolute Lore played with them last holiday and several times before that."
"Are they also from Deling?" Rinoa asked, grateful that Selphie had instigated a new topic.
"Fujin is," Selphie said. "She's the singer. She went to high school with Irvine but they didn't really know each other. Irvine said that what he could remember about her was that she was really quiet and kept to herself. I think she said that she was in choir?"
Rinoa sank into the cushions. "Choir? And now she's in a rock band, that's pretty cool."
"She's super nice too. I hope you get to meet her when they roll back through here."
After Doomtrain's thunderous set, Djin Theory finally walked onto the stage, welcomed by roaring cheers and chanting praises. Rinoa lifted her brows, intrigued as she watched the band members one by one take their places. Then, lastly, Fujin took center stage.
She was striking. Her silver hair was a jagged and angular cap upon her head, decorated with only a leopard print headband. Her outfit was so simple and yet so devastatingly hypnotic. Fujin gripped the mic with one hand as she cocked her hip, her low slung tight jeans clinging to her lean and muscular legs. Her leather boots were strapped up the length of her calves, little metal circlets dancing around her hips as they fell from her belt. Her top was nothing more than a fitted black tank top. But what caught Rinoa's attention the most was the eyepatch over Fujin's left eye, decorated with little silver studs in the shape of an X.
Fujin brought the mic to her darkly painted lips and she graced the crowd with a meltingly sensual smile. "Hello my dears," she purred, earning heaps of whistles and hollers from the erupting crowd. Fujin chuckled and waved slim fingers to the fans. "How is everyone doing tonight?"
Rinoa turned to Selphie. "Wow," was all she said.
"Right?"
For the rest of the show Rinoa found that she could not take her eyes off of Fujin. The woman was mesmerizing. She strutted her legs across the stage, she wickedly swayed her hips to the thrusting beat given to her by her bandmates, she pursed her painted lips to the crowd as she crooned…she was a siren. For a moment Rinoa was hoping that Djin Theory was in need of a photoshoot.
Afterwards, Rinoa helped Selphie clean up. "How long has Djin Theory been around?" she asked.
"Um…a few years," Selphie answered. "Like, maybe a year or two longer than Absolute Lore? I know that they're on their second bassist already. The original left about six months before they really started to get big."
"What happened?"
"He got an offer for another band that's also doing pretty well in another country."
Rinoa dumped the popcorn kernels into the trash. "Oh! Well good for him!" A thought entered her mind and she turned to Selphie. "Holy shit—what if Absolute Lore goes international?"
Selphie giggled. "Oh wow…that would be amazing! I mean, I'm ready to cry now because I'm so proud of Irvy—and it's only been his first show!"
"But say if they did start touring internationally, would you go with him?"
Selphie paused, her hand hovering over the faucet knob. Her lips twisted as she thought. "I think it would all depend on where we're at, you know? As in where we are as a couple…are we getting married, are we going to have kids soon, are we financially set enough where I don't have to work since I won't be able to work if I'm bouncing around city to city with them…you know, all that."
Rinoa nodded. "Makes sense." After a pause Rinoa suddenly felt a spray of cold water against her back. She shrieked in surprise and nearly jumped out of her skin. "The hell was that for?" she demanded, glaring at the petite brunette who was aiming the detachable sink nozzle at her.
"Now look what you've done!" Selphie cried. "Now you've put it into my mind and now I'm over-thinking and over-planning and over-hyping everything!"
Fujin chuckled and draped an arm around Squall's shoulder for balance. "Oh, come on…" she slurred. "Help me finish this bottle—we're celebrating! It was a great show!" She looked over to Esteban who was polishing off the rest of his beer. "All four bands together! We…we are just…fucking awesome."
Squall took the bottle from her hands and chugged the last of it. He was never a fan of champagne, but she was right, it was a celebration of sorts. Across his tongue he could taste the waxy residue of Fujin's lipstick and he looked down at the lip of the bottle, stained purple from her mouth. "I think you've had enough," he said.
"I'm sure you are correct, sir!" she replied, moving her arm away from him to clutch at his hand before dropping onto the couch. She tried to pull him down to sit with her but was distracted when a leggy blonde came dancing into the room.
Quistis came up to Squall and practically jumped into his arms. "Squaaaaaalll…" she sang. "You're the soberest right now, you wanna go get pancakes with me?"
"It's two in the morning," he said, his arms suddenly around her slim waist to keep her wobbling form balanced.
"I'm aware."
With a sigh he set down the bottle. "Fine."
She clapped her hands. "Yay! Zell!" she called over her shoulder. "Put your shirt back on, Squall's taking us out for pancakes!" Quistis turned back to him and placed a platonic kiss to Squall's cheek. "How you spoil me."
Fujin laughed. "Whatever the lady wants—she gets!"
Quistis pointed at her and nodded enthusiastically. "You know it! Girl, you know how it is."
"Of course!" Fujin said, daintily placing her fingers along her chin as she innocently batted her eyes. "When you're the only girl in the group you get treated like a princess!"
That was when Quistis stopped smiling and placed a hand on her hip. "Princess?" she scoffed. "Let's get one thing straight, honey, I'm no princess. I am the motherfucking queen."
Fujin raised her hands high over her head and gave a loud squeal. "Get it!" Then the silver haired woman fell about in laughter when Royce practically threw himself over her legs so that he spanned over the length of the couch. "What're you doing, drunky?" she asked, gently patting him on the back.
"Using you as a pillow," came Royce's muffled reply. "Don't judge."
Squall gently tugged on Quistis's ponytail and hauled her out of the room. "Come along, Queen Pain in My Ass," he barked. "Zell! Hurry up." As they exited the motel they passed Irvine who was outside talking with Ward. "She demands pancakes," Squall announced.
Irvine chuckled. "I'll join you," he said.
The four of them walked up the street to the local twenty-four hour diner (Squall insisted they walk because he didn't feel like rearranging the van again to fit their drunk asses) and were seated immediately due to the lack of patrons.
Zell groaned and massaged his temples as they all filled in a booth and ordered. "Man," he mumbled. "What a night…"
Quistis pointedly swiped at the dark red streak of lipstick that was left on his cheek. "Busy, I see?" she smirked, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow.
"It's only for the photos, I promise," he laughed.
"It was a great show," Irvine said with a wide grin.
"Yeah," everyone agreed, falling into a comfortable silence as they relaxed and waited for their orders. Quistis leaned her head back, audibly moaning as she felt her tight neck muscles stretch.
Irvine scrolled through his phone and smiled. "Look what Selphie put up," he said, holding the phone to Squall. It was a picture of Selphie in front of her television, her mouth wide open in an excited howl as she pointed at the screen behind her, where a close up of Irvine growling into the mic was displayed. Beneath the photo the caption read: That's my babe! Absolute Lore is on tour people! This is not a drill!
Squall gave a quiet chuckle and sipped at his coffee. Obviously, it was Rinoa who had taken the quick snapshot since Irvine had mentioned that she was heading over to Selphie's to watch the live feed. Silently he wondered what she thought of the show.
"Hey, since our next show isn't for a couple of days, how about we go to that amusement park?" Zell piped up. "Apparently there's this new roller coaster that launched a few months ago. It's supposed to be insane."
Quistis immediately clapped in excitement. "Ooh! Yes, I vote yes!"
Squall sighed but gave a slight nod. "Monday might be a good day," he suggested. "We'll see if anyone else wants to go."
Irvine made a noise of agreement. "Yeah, we'll rest up tomorrow. Then we'll get our bodies beat to shit by rickety roller coasters on Monday. Then we'll play another insane and fan-fucking-tastic show on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday we pack up and drive off to…" He frowned. "What's the name of the city? It's not Timber…"
"It's close to Timber," Quistis said through a yawn.
"Squall, you're gonna hit the arcade with me at the park on Monday, right?" Zell asked, his lips spreading into a wide and excited grin.
"Of course."
Zell sat back and rubbed his palms together. "Man, that skee-ball machine is just calling my name!" Suddenly his crystal blue eyes glinted with mischief. "Are you gonna win a prize for Rinoa?"
Squall glared at the blonde man over the rim of the coffee mug. Despite his throat nearly closing in shock at the sudden jest, he managed to take a calm swallow. "Why? Are you?" he shot back.
"Nah…I figured to make up for being such an asshole right before you left that you'd wanna get her something nice."
Quistis stomped on Zell's foot beneath the table. "It's no use," she sighed. "I told him to get her flowers when she was at the hospital visiting her father, but did he listen? No. So what makes you think he'd listen now?"
Irvine gave Squall a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "You are pretty god awful with women," he murmured. "Given your history…I have no idea how you snagged the attention of such a fine specimen of woman like Rinoa."
Squall frowned. "I feel I'm supposed to be insulted by that."
Quistis laughed and tossed back the rest of her coffee. "I don't know…" she mused. "I think you guys would look kinda cute together. Plus, you guys balance each other out. She's lively and outspoken, you're a quiet asshole but you speak your mind when it counts. Oh! And she got you to dance! I haven't even been able to get you to do that—and you've been obliteratedly wasted each time I tried!"
It was true. Even though Rinoa was certainly correct in the statement that he possessed full rhythm throughout his body thanks to drumming, he in no way shape or form danced willingly. A tiny, elated smile touched upon the corner of his lips as he thought about how her body molded to his his.
Squall spared part of his attention back to his band, they had gone on to another subject—this time about where Zell had received the kiss mark upon his cheek—and inwardly Squall wondered what Rinoa was thinking about at that moment.
Then the waitress appeared, and his attention was fully given to please the hunger within his empty stomach.
"Misery" music and lyrics by Nonpoint
