Battle of the Bands

Battle Of The Bands
Chapter 2
Hangovers & Broken Hearts
"Oh my god. What the fuck did I do yesterday?" I groaned as I opened my eyes. My head felt like it was in a vice & my stomach was doing backflips & cartwheels. I laid there feeling around for my phone. I didn't feel it & started freaking out until I felt it vibrate in my pocket. It was Kyle.
"Hey, I'm sorry about yesterday. I was just messin' with ya. I'm sorry. We still cool?"
"Yeah. We're good. But don't you ever try & pull that shit again."
"Roger that." I thought about texting Jimmy, but I decided against it after remembering our conversation from the night before. I sat up in bed & rubbed my aching head. Looking at the clock, I noticed it was 3 o'clock.
"Oh, fuck. I slept in way too late." I stood up & walked to the kitchen where I found a basket with a big container of Orange juice, some Alka Seltzer Morning Relief tablets, a couple bottles of Apple juice & fruit punch, & a bottle of Vitamin B pills. Attached was a note from Jimmy.
I figured you would have a killer hangover so I brought you this basket of stuff to help cure it. Hope it helps. - Jimmy
"Hmm." I started drinking some Orange juice & took some Vitamin B pills when there was a knock at the door.
"Matt. Hey, what's up?" I said, wincing as my head started throbbing again.
"I heard what happened."
"Which part?" I asked, confused.
"You drank too much, Jimmy took you to go get ice cream, you two took a walk, & then it got awkward after that."
"Oh, that." I sighed, hanging my head.
"I'm probably the only person who really understands what's going on & chooses not to make fun of you two. The other guys really need to butt out, but that's whatever. You do realize that Jimmy has feelings for you, right?"
"Psh, nah. Get real."
"How can you not see it?"
"We're friends. Just friends."
"That's what he said you said. He wants to be more, but after hearing that, he gave up on it. He was really hoping to ask you out last night."
"No, I have too much going on right now, anyway. I don't have time for a relationship."
"You need to tell Jimmy that, then. What you guys do together is your business, but you need to be honest with him."
"I'll talk to him later." I said, looking up at Matt.
"I'm just trying to look out for the both of you. If you guys end up together, that's great. If you don't, fine. That's great too. I just want you guys to be happy no matter what happens."
"Thanks. He must have dropped off a basket this morning. He left it with a note."
"That's Jimmy. I need to head home. I'll text ya later. Do you need anything?"
"No. I'm fine. Thanks, though. Bye, Matt." I sighed, closing the door behind me. I walked into my bedroom & thought about texting Jimmy, but I figured I'd do it later. Later on, I took a hot shower & when I got out, I texted Jimmy & asked if he'd come over.
"Feeling any better?"
"Yeah. That basket of stuff really helped. Thanks."
"I'll be over in a bit." About twenty minutes later, he was at my front door.
"Hey." I said, quietly.
"Hey." he grinned, walking inside. We walked into the living room & it was really quiet as we sat on the couch.
"I'm just going to come out with it. I don't have time for a relationship right now. I pieced everything together & I know you want us to be together, but it's just not going to work. I'm sorry. I need to focus on my band right now."
"Is this why you asked me to come over? I'd rather not talk about it."
"Jimmy, this is important. We need to talk about it."
"I can't."
"Jimmy, I-" "Just drop it. I don't want to fucking talk about it. We both know what's going to happen & I just don't want to deal with it. Just forget it & let's move on."
"I don't want this coming between us."
"You don't understand, though. You're my best friend & I've liked you for a really long time, but you just don't feel the same apparently."
"I don't know what to say."
"And on that note, I'll be leaving now." he said as he stood up.
"Jimmy, wait." But he didn't stop. He walked out the door & I watched him pull out of my driveway & that was it. I wasn't sure how to feel or what to say to make things better. I thought that maybe if I left him alone for a while, he'd come back around & things would go back to they way they used to be. I was pretty tired after that & decided to get some shut eye so I went to bed, hoping to maybe get some practice in with my band that following day. When I woke up the next morning, my phone was ringing.
"Hello?" I answered, groggily.
"You're still not awake? Come on. Get a move on. We got work to do. Battle of the bands is in a few months & we need to start working on some shit. Move it. I'll be there in ten." Charlotte answered back.
"Oh, geez. Yeah, I'm up. I'm up." I replied, hanging up my phone. I climbed out of bed & almost fell on my face trying to gather myself. Looking through my closet, I wasn't sure what I wanted to wear that day. A Crown The Empire band tee & my black mini skirt with the purple ruffles along the bottom seemed like a good idea. After I got dressed, I slipped into my purple Converse, put on a little eyeliner & headed out the door, notebook in hand. Sure enough, Charlotte was waiting on me with a big smile on her face & a cup of Starbuck's coffee in her cupholder.
"I figured you'd probably need a little pick me up this morning."
"Life saver, Charlotte. That's you." I grinned, sitting down in the passenger's seat. We normally had our band practices at Ryan's house in his basement. All of our gear was down there & we even had a few couches & a mini fridge too. He had hung some skeleton lights along the edge of the ceiling for decoration which looked wicked cool. When we arrived, Kyle, & Rachel were already there. Ryan was already picking away at his guitar, trying to warm up a bit before practice.
"Well, now that the gang's all here, shall we begin motherfucker's?" Kyle announced rather loudly.
"I have some new material I think we should all check out." I said, handing Kyle my notebook. He skimmed over my lyrics & passed it around to everyone else.
"Title?" Rachel asked.
"Accuse Me Of Being A Backstabber (Even Though The Knife Looks Good In Your Hands)."
"I like it." Ryan said, his eyes growing big with excitement. We went over a few tunes that sounded good & after about an hour & a half, we finally found a good sound to go with the lyrics. We practiced for another four hours & then decided to call it a day.
"We'll just get together for another practice session in a few days. So far, so good. Try to gather some new material if you want & then we'll go over it at our next session." I announced, sitting down on the couch.
"Sounds good to me." Kyle sighed, sitting his drum sticks down on his stool as he stood up.
"So what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Rachel asked me.
"I'm probably going to go see what Matt & the guys have going on."
"Ah. Going to check out the competition, eh?" Ryan said, knowingly.
"No. Okay, maybe. But I haven't seen them for a day or two, so I need to see them anyway."
"Right. Well, text me later, Lydia." he waved, grabbing a coke from his fridge as I walked up his stairs & out to Charlotte's car. She walked out to meet me soon after.
"Ready to go?" she asked me.
"Yeah, I suppose." I sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"I think things between Jimmy & I have gone to shit."
"Just give it some time. Guys can be real hard headed sometimes. Just give him some space & he'll come around. Don't worry." she winked at me, starting her car. She drove me to my house, dropped me off, & I got in my car & headed for Matt's house. I pulled in his driveway & immediately heard them rocking out in Matt's garage. I knocked on the door, not expecting them to hear me. I opened the door & sat on the couch, just watching them practice. A few minutes later when they were done, they all turned around to look at me. I saw Jimmy roll his eyes, but he didn't say anything.
"Hey, what's up?" Zack waved, wiping sweat off his brow.
"Just got done practicing for like five or six hours."
"Preparing for war, huh?" Brian chuckled.
"I suppose so. You guys may be pretty hard to beat, though."
"We'll see what happens, though." Matt grinned.
"I wonder how many bands will be there." Johnny said.
"Not sure, but I bet there will be quite a few." Jimmy replied. Months passed by & there was finally a week left until the big showdown. The week was filled with tons of practice sessions & lots of hard work. We had three songs lined up for the big day & we knew we were ready. We all decided to go out for drinks that night & so I called the guys & asked if they wanted to come with us. I already knew Zacky & Brian would be game. They were always down to party with me & whoever I was with. I called the guys & sure enough, they were all going to meet us at Johnny's Bar later that night. I decided to wear a black & white polka dot halter top with a black ruffley knee length skirt & some black slip on's. I put on a little eyeliner & curled my hair a little bit & headed out the door. I was the first to show up at Johnny's Bar so I ordered a Mojito. A few minutes later, a tall guy about my age with long dark hair came up & sat down beside me on the bar stool. He ordered a beer & looked around. I started sipping my drink when he looked over & noticed me.
"Well, hello there. What's your name miss?"
"I'm Lydia Frost." I grinned, nervously. He was very good looking.
"I'm Matt Tuck. I'm new here. I haven't even met anyone yet."
"Well, welcome to Huntington Beach, California. It's a pretty great place to live. I've lived here most of my life & I love it here." I said, taking another sip from my glass.
"It does seem rather beautiful here. The beach is great, too. I'm in a band, by the way."
"Really? What do you do?"
"I play guitar & I sing. Bullet For My Valentine."
"Where are you from anyway?"
"Wales. Me & my mates are all from Wales, actually. They're not here. They decided to chill back at the hotel, but I needed to get out of there." His accent was absolutely amazing. I practically melted right in front of him.
"I know what you mean. I'm meeting some friends here soon."
"Ah. I see. So what do you do?"
"I'm in a band, too. Scent Of Castle. I just sing." I grinned.
"Nice. I'm sure you have a very lovely voice."
"I guess so. I've been told by a lot of people it's great. I just really love music."
"Music is quite wonderful." he chuckled, taking a few drinks from his bottle. We sat there talking for a few more minutes & he was so interesting. He was funny, too. I was totally into him. Then, everyone started showing up.
"My friends are here. I should probably go join them."
"I understand. Hey, do you think I could call you sometime? Maybe we can go out to dinner or a movie or something."
"Are you asking me out on a date?" I asked him, knowingly.
"Perhaps I am. Interested?" he grinned.
"I think I might like that." I replied, excited, but trying to remain calm as I scribbled my number down on a napkin & handed it to him.
"I'll text you later then." he said with a big smile as he waved. I walked over to where everyone else was sitting in the corner & Charlotte had a huge smile on her face.
"He was pretty cute." she grinned, sipping her maragarita.
"His name is Matt Tuck. He's from Wales. He's in a band, too & he sings & plays guitar."
"Well, you have the whole package. He's British, plays guitar, & sings. Oh, & he's hot, too."
"Yeah. I think I like him." I grinned, sheepishly sipping the last of my drink.
"So are we ready to get our drink on?" Brian asked everyone as we all clinked our glasses together.
"Let's do this!" Zacky said, rubbing his hands together excitedly. We had a few drinks & started feeling a little tipsy so we all agreed to go to the beach to continue our party. Stumbling along our way to the beach, I noticed that Matt was still at the bar.
"Go on ahead. I'll catch up." I told Charlotte.
"Go get 'em tiger." she winked, following the guys.
"Matt, hey. We're having a little party over at the beach. Would you want to come hang out with us?"
"That sounds cool. Yeah." he grinned, standing up & following me to the beach. We talked a little more on the way & once we were there, we kept on talking. We were just chattering away while getting to know each other. We were walking along the beach as the waves rolled in when I stopped & sat down far back enough so the water wouldn't get to me.
"I'm really glad I met you. You're really cool. You're also really beautiful, too." he grinned, pushing a strand of my hair back behind my ears.
"Thanks." I grinned, nervously.
"This was a lot of fun. Really. I think I like you. A lot." he said, gazing into my eyes. He started leaning towards me & I knew what was coming. My heart started racing & I leaned towards him. Our lips almost touched until I saw Jimmy standing behind him about twenty feet away just shaking his head as he turned around & walked away.
"Matt, I can't do this."
"What's wrong?"
"I have a lot going on right now. There's a Battle of the Bands in a few days & I really need to focus on that."
"No way. Me and my band are competing in that, too."
"Oh. The guys are in Avenged Sevenfold & they're competing in it, too. Well, anyway, I'm really sorry. I like you. I really like you a lot."
"You know, it's okay. I understand. I know where you're coming from."
"I'm sorry. I probably need to start heading home."
"Yeah, it's getting a little late, anyway. But, hey, I'll text you sometime. Is that okay?"
"Yeah. That's great. Thanks for understanding." I grinned. I walked back to my car & drove home, thinking about everything. I didn't bother talking to Jimmy because it would've just made the siuation worse. I just needed to focus on the band & nothing else.