Mozart, Metallica, and Me...Wynnie

"Shit, CC, your girlfriend looks hot!" Ashley whistled.

"Ashley Purdy, you stop that this instant or I will tell your girlfriend." Sammi glared at him warningly and I ducked behind my hair the best I could, looking at the ground.

"What is it with this family and the ability to pull off steampunk?" Andy chuckled. I looked down at my dress. It was a lot less revealing than the "dress" I'd worn for the shoot. Its skirt actually reached my feet. However, I'd be changing mid-day for an--unfortunately--choreographed performance with another violinist, her name escapes me.

No matter, the dress I was wearing now basically covered everything. I'll admit, the corset top was quite flattering, but that was really it.

I looked up as Sammi adjusted the hat on my head.

"If someone makes a reference to my brother one more time, i s-swear." I muttered.

CC kissed my cheek.

"I think you're much prettier."

"That's good, because she's a girl." My brother snorted.

"You're a very pretty boy, brother dearest." I teased and he made a face back at me.

"You guys ready to go?" Jake asked.

"Juliet's meeting us there." Andy shrugged. "So I'm set."

"Y-you're a-all g-going?!" I squeaked.

They looked at me funnily and nodded. Each one replying with some sort of slow "yeah" or "yeah, why?"

"N-no reason." I bit my lip.

***

"So what's the plan?" CC asked when we all met up in the parking lot outside of the convention. I was starting to feel sick. My stage fright was not going to do me any good here.

"I-I'm playing some corner by a food tent until one." I sighed checking the time. "And I need to be there in fifteen minutes." I looked around at them. "I-I'm going to take the back entrance. Y-you all have y-your tickets." And I hurried off, violin case in tow.

It was an unfortunate "miracle" that landed them the available tickets they'd gotten for the convention. I really don't know the details, just that it's unfortunate for me that they'll be here.

I took my assignment from the woman in the back office and hurried to my location.

The only good thing about today was that I could take tips, the convention-runners didn't care. just leaned up against a little tree that happened to be in my corner of the outdoor portion of the convention venue, not the best way to play violin but oh well I refuse to stand for five hours, and set up.

I don't think I was playing very long before the tips started dropping in. It was slow and gradual, but pretty steady. I mean, most of them were small coins, and I'm not poor or anything so I didn't mind, I thought it was a nice gesture. It's nice to be appreciated.

Terrifying to know people are judging you, but nice to be appreciated.

"Calm down, breathe." I heard a familiar voice soothe and a shadow fell over me. I looked up to the best of my ability to see my brother standing over me. "Guess I win, I'm the first to find you." He stepped to the side so people could still see. I smiled in a small manner to myself, giving an appreciative glance to the woman who'd just dropped a quarter in my case. "Don't collapse your wrist." He teased.

I'd just reached the ending of the song and I shifted, looking at him and shaking my head in disappointment before continuing to the next song.

"You've gone so far with this." He commented softly, sitting down next to me. Ugh brother-sister moments, kill me now.

I mean that in the most loving way, of course.

"Oh, that's a classic." He teased lightly again as I began Mozart's Summer Overture . I made a quick face at him, careful not to shift my instrument in the process. He named it easily.

" Requiem for a Dream ," I corrected softly.

" Lux Aeterna ." He re-corrected back, "Requiem for a Dream was the movie."

"Technicalities." I sighed, continuing. It sounded funny with only violin, but whatever. I finally got through it and continued straight on into my next piece, after a couple of improv'ed bits to swing into the key signature change.

"The hell is this?" Brother dear made a face, five more people dropped tips and some were watching, which made me almost hit a wrong note, and go a little eccentric on my vibrato from my trembling. "Breathe, Wynnie."

"Get with the times," I said, I hate talking in general, but when you're playing violin it's just uncomfortable in every sense. "It's Hans Zimmer."

He childishly stuck his tongue out at me and a few people laughed and I heard a sigh.

"I'm married to a five-year-old."

My brother grinned and turned his head, standing up to greet Sammi who'd apparently just found us along with Jake.

"Ashley and Andy are with Juliet," Jake informed, "And CC's, he's being CC."

I chuckled to myself, that meant he was getting food.

"Hans Zimmer…" Sammi made a face, "A little to eccentric for my taste."

"His popular stuff's very folky." Jake agreed.

"Who the hell is Hans Zimmer?!"

"A composer, thought you'd know that, Jinxx." CC's voice filled my ears and I grew a lot more nervous.

"He's modern then?"

"He's in a few movies, yeah." Jake nodded.

"I finally know a composer Jinxx doesn't, accomplishment." CC laughed.

People stopped to listen and the group stayed quiet for the most part. I was still freaking out, but more so now that Chris was watching. What if he didn't like it? What if I wasn't good enough?

"Whoa, cool the vibrato, Wynn." My brother said quickly, but quietly so no one but our group could hear.

i took a breath and tried to calm the nerves.

I focused on the looks the boys were getting. Sammi hadn't dressed up, but she was wearing a dress that--I guess--was steampunk approved as all eyes looked right over her.

I wasn't the only one to notice the stares.

"Even when I'm not dressed up, I'm not dressed right. Why do I bother?" Jake chuckled as a couple of kids walked by looking at him as if he were a freak for wearing jeans and a black t-shirt.

Five hours passed slowly, I replayed a few things, made some stuff up here and there. The rest wandered around, and I don't blame them, it's pretty neat some of this stuff.

CC came back a lot, though. He just sat there mostly, quietly listening. Then he'd wink at me as he got up and he'd walk away.

Finally, one o'clock came around and he was right back there with me.

"You done?" He questioned.

"For now." I sighed. "I have a performance at three in the main hall…" I bit my lip.

"A performance?" He looked at me blankly for a moment before smiling and hugging me. "I get to watch you like, actually perform?"

"WIth another girl, Chris, don't make it a big fuss, please? I'm already freaking out." I whispered.

"Oh, Wynnie, it'll be fine." He soothed, brushing some hair out of my face and kissing me softly. "What are you guys doing?"

"We're playing a couple of more modern songs." I shrugged. "And I had to learn a dance for it so we practice once at two to make sure we're on time with each other."

"That only gives you an hour." He frowned.

"With you?" I chuckled bitterly, "I know."

"No, I mean to practice." He shook his head. "Come on, let's get some lunch. There's a vegetarian stand right down the walkway in that direction so you can--"

"I'm not hungry." I mumbled as I finished packing up and stood up.

"You need to eat." He took my hand and dragged me to the stand. "You don't need to eat a lot, you just need to eat." He smiled softly at me.

I bought my own order of a wrap and sat down next to him to stare at it.

"You want it?" I looked at him.

He laughed and shook his head.

"You need to eat, you've got to be tired."

"I was sitting down and playing all morning." I pointed out. "I didn't do much."

"But you'll be dancing this afternoon, so eat." He pushed the plate towards me and I sighed. I ate about half of it before shaking my head and pushing it back to him. He sighed. "I'm not eating it. Finish, Wyn, it wasn't even that big of a wrap. You can eat it."

I groaned and granted his wishes of finishing the damn wrap. It was only one-thirty, so I guess I didn't struggle that long.

"You wanna head over to the place you have to be at two?" He questioned, getting up and throwing away the trash as I slowly rose to my feet.

"Sure." I sighed and followed him. He'd walked around enough, I guess, to know where I was needed and we got there in maybe ten minutes. We were so early.

"I'll leave you be." He kissed my nose. "I'll be back at three though." He smiled.

I whined and he laughed.

"Chris, don't leave." I pleaded. "I'm early and I don't know anyone here--"

"Hi, you must be Bronwyn?" A girl's voice spoke up. I turned to see a smiling woman holding out her hand to me. Her hair was in natural-looking ringlets and tied up in a bun, leaving one two strands to hang in her face on either side of her bangs. Her face was bright and happy and I could see that she, too was holding a violin case.

I reached out and shook her hand.

"Y-yes, you are?" I cocked my head to the side, not realizing CC had run off.

"I'm Lindsey." She practically beamed. "I'm performing with you today."

I slowly started to recognize her.

"Lindsey Stirling?" I pushed. She nodded.

"Yup, that's me." She agreed, "Lindsey Stirling, or Lindsey Stomp, whichever you know me by."

"Nice to meet you." I smiled shyly.

She grinned.

"And you!" She opened the door and we stepped inside. "So, by the looks of it, we both have to change." She laughed. "I hope you don't mind, the costume is a dancer costume, so it's revealing."

I shook my head.

"I'm a model, I don't mind."

"A model with taste and talent if you play violin." She handed me a hanger. "We should change. Keep your hat on, though. You'll need it."

I nodded and moved into the room she told me was the dressing room to change.

This dress could hardly be called that. The shirt's sleeves were both off the shoulder, though not extremely so, and the bust to it dipped down. The half-corset straps met my skin where the white fabric of the top ended. My belly was bare to my hips where a skirt hung. In the front it was cut mid-thigh but in the back it met below my knees. A white shirt, a light brown leather half-corset, and a green and red skirt and petticoats with a mini top hat and goggles on top of it, classy, Wyn, classy.

I stepped outside of the room, thankful that my make-up worked for this dress as well as my other one, and met Lindsey. she wore a similar dress, though her half-corset was black and her skirt black and red.

"You look great." She smiled and I thanked her and complimented her in return. She thanked me as well. "Cool, so you wanna run the choreography a few times?"

We ran that for an hour, dancing while playing is fucking crazy. I'm glad I memorized the music I'd been given for this, but I worried about being able to play it. Lindsey was more than capable though.

"It takes some getting used to." She agreed, "But it's fun." She smiled. I smiled back and someone came to tell us we were almost on.

We were both using acoustic violins, so the violins people normally see. But, with the help of a couple of techs in charge of working the stage for the day, latched on amps to our bridges and we ran through a couple of scales together to check the sound.

The man working stage right gave us a thumbs up and we looked at each other.

"Break a leg, Wyn," I'd told her to call me by my nickname. "And just have fun."

"Break a leg to you, too," I wished her good luck back and we made our ways out onto the dark stage, striking the choreographed poses before the lights were raised.

We had a backing track playing, the only thing live were the violins and neither of us had ever worked simultaneously with another violinist on stage, but she'd done dance duets on stage.

I'd never done anything.

And all of this dawned on me when we started.

And then I forgot about it once we had.

Right, left, right, right, left, hop, 360 turn left…

All of this was running through my mind along with smile, interact with Lindsey, play the right notes.

I made quick eye-contact with my brother who was sitting with the entire group, because CC must have told everyone.

And, I smiled a real smile and let the excitement of performing again, with any instrument.

"Don't collapse your wrist."

I could hear the grin in his voice in my head as I watched him smile at me.

Finally, we were done.

We'd been on stage for an hour.

I'd realized how amazing Lindsey was in that time. She could do things I didn't think possibly with a violin. She laughed and tugged me to an empty space of floor backstage to teach me how to almost fall all the way to the ground before rising again, while still playing.

After three failed attempts and a lot of friendly laughter, I heard a familiar voice.

"Amazing job, Wynnie." CC smiled, standing by the side stage entrance with the others. How they got themselves back there was a mystery to me. Lindsey laughed and held out her hand for me to help me to my feet and I brushed myself off, thanking her.

"Lindsey, this is CC," I introduced as he made his way over to us slowly. I waved the others over and they followed. "And these are his…co-workers. Andy, and his girlfriend Juliet."

"Nice to meet you." Lindsey nodded, after shaking CC's hand and reaching out for theirs.

"Ashley and Jake," I nodded to the next two. She gave them a genuine smile and shook their hands as well. "And my brother Jinxx and his wife Sammi."

"Pleasure to meet you." She smiled and shook their hands as well.

Jinxx raised an eyebrow at me, as if to ask how I was being so friendly to a girl I'd just met. Honestly, I didn't know. But, Lindsey was incredibly nice and bubbly when you worked with her and you just had to love her, in my opinion. So, I'd started talking to her, and within a few hours I could have full conversations with her, without stuttering.

And I've never done that before.

I felt really accomplished.

"You're extremely talented." Sammi smiled at Lindsey and she blushed.

"Thank you, it means a lot to hear that my practice has paid off."

"Your dancing is amazing and so is your music." Juliet agreed.

"Thank you." She grinned before she turned to me. "I actually have to go, but we should definitely hang out sometime! You've got my number, don't be afraid to call, I always could use something to do." She waved at the group after giving me a hug and hurried off.

"You were amazing out there, Wynnie, why don't you perform more?" Juliet asked as we left after I gathered my stuff and checked myself out on the performers list.

"It's not really my style." I shrugged.

"Bullshit, Wyn, you're a natural." Sammi rolled her eyes. "Admit it, you just don't like being compared to your brother."

"If it helps, you're definitely better than him." Andy said in a serious voice, eyes full of amusement when my brother raised an eyebrow at him.

"Thanks guys, but performing isn't really where my heart is." I said softly, a smile on my face.

"Step out there, Wynnie!" Juliet nudged me. "Come on, you know it'd be fun!"

"Being a starving musician is fun?" I teased.

"You ain't starving when you're rich!" Jake commented.

"Aren't, you aren't starving when you're rich." Andy mumbled, holding his head in his hands. I chuckled.

"It takes a lot to get there." I pointed out.

"Oh, we've got her thinking!" Juliet cheered.

"We're talking her into it!" Sammi laughed.

"Do you know how much work I'd have to do on top of my other jobs?" I rolled my eyes.

"You schedule cosmetology." CC pointed out.

"Music and modeling go hand in hand." Juliet struck a mock-pose with Sammi.

"You can write on the road." Andy commented, "You'd have the instruments."

"That's assuming I'd be touring." I laughed.

"Face it, when we were little that's all you would talk about, being in a band." Jinxx--as I have finally taken to calling him that after all of these years, just because he gets irritated if I call him "Jer" in public (it "ruins the illusion" and he "hates it")--teased, shaking his head as he smiled.

"You're letting your boyfriend and your brother live your dream?!" Juliet gasped in fake horror. "That's horrendous, we have to do something about it!"

I tried to hide in CC's arms from their teasing and encouragement.

"Wynnie, give it a chance." CC looked down at me.

"Maybe I don't want to."

"Well, too bad."