*Video is dedicated to the MC Talia, for finding herself again and finding her voice. This the song she sings to do it.*  

*Chapter dedication to @GreenAtlas for her reader support and the amazing cover she designed. Check it out in A/N*

I just needed to escape. I had tried to avoid the drama, but in true Talia fashion, drama always sprung up to slap me on the butt, then wink at me like nothing was wrong. Since I had half of a lunch period and a free block, I rushed back to my dorm and scooped up my electric guitar and my amp.

I checked the studio rooms and all of them were occupied, which bummed me out hardcore. There was one room that was empty though. It was larger and had a bunch of musical instruments set up, like a band took to practicing there. I set down my amp, carefully lifting Ness out of his case and plugging him in. I pulled my hair out of my pony tail and threw my jacket over my case. 

It was time to free Talia.

The sound that echoed through the room was deafening and sounded like pure heaven. I slapped my boot clad foot onto the top of my amp and started playing The Ramone's Blitzkrieg Bop. 

A   D   E.... x3..... A   D   A 

A   D   E.... x3..... A   D   A

A   D   E.... x3..... A   D   A 

At that moment, I missed my band. I missed Mosh and his fiery drum skills. I missed the twirl of his sticks as he stuck his tongue out at the girls in the crowd. I missed Seth, showing off his bass skills, while the girls threw themselves at the stage; his hair whipping slightly around and his head bobbing up and down. I missed Mickey's grip on the mic as he thrust his fist in the air and jumped up and down. I even missed Sims' special brand of quietness as he spread his legs and bent slightly backwards with his guitar. I missed my family; and my band was my family.

A...................D......E

A...................D......E

A............................D

My hair just whipped around, my boot pushed on the amp as I blasted the chords. Somewhere in the middle of my performance, someone walked into the room and stood against the wall and just watched. My eyes flashed up and saw his figure, but I didn't care, this was my element. This was me, for the first time since I got to Anthabask, I was Talia "Picks" Grey, the fiercest punk guitarist to come out of Northfield, Minnesota. 

I was unstoppable.

I didn't give a crap about the drama that had surrounded my first week at the academy. I didn't care about my scattered feelings, my out of control hormones, or the tears that I had shed. It all washed away with each chord my fingers played. When I was finished, I had a small audience of three boys who I had never seen before. As my guitar died down, one boy started clapping and walking towards me.

"Hot damn! That was amazing. I'm Matt and even though you're totally in our space during practice, you can for sure stay if you agree to jam with us." He stretched out his hand and I set my guitar down on the vacant guitar stand nearest to me. I threw my pick in between my teeth, while I wiped my hands off on my skirt, relieving them of their sweat in order to shake his hand.

He was a tall boy, probably around five feet, nine inches, with black hair that had a little hint of some blue streaks in it. His eyes were sort of a blue-grey, with definitely more grey than blue. His hair was shaved around on all sides, and the longer top was in a sort of man bun to the back. He had black stubble around his chin and a black lip ring to the right side of his mouth. I noticed a small cross tattoo on the side of his wrist when he shook my hand. 

"I'm Talia. So, this is your practice room?" 

"Yeah, three days a week my band, Velvet Transmission, practices here. I play drums. This here is Tony, he plays bass and Arnold plays rhythm guitar, but since our main guitarist graduated last year, he's been taking the lead and singing as well. He likes to be called Toad."

I looked over at Tony, who was around six feet, four inches, and had bleach blonde hair which was about shoulder length. He had green eyes and a slight beard. He looked older than eighteen and part of me wondered if maybe he was held back. He was thin and didn't appear to have much muscle mass. He had a tongue ring that you could see him messing with in between his teeth, as he stood there listening to Matt talk.

Arnold, aka Toad, was a short guy around five feet, seven inches, with a rounder build and chestnut brown hair, which was short and spiked at the top into a little bit of a faux hawk. He had a really nice set of brown eyes and a cute smile, but when he was being introduced his top lip curled somewhat under, and I waited for him to dart his tongue out like a toad; to see if he lived up to his nickname. He was wearing a band t-shirt under his uniform, which had a picture of the band The Sweet.

I shook hands with the band, "Hey Toad, right? I see you like The Sweet, know any of their stuff?"

His eyes lit up when I acknowledged him, "Yeah, dude, I love their stuff. You know Ballroom Blitz?"

"Do I? Hell ya, I do."

"That's amazing, then stick around and show us what you got! I'm a terrible singer, so have at the mic and take lead." He walked over and grabbed up a really amazing, teal blue Gibson Les Paul studio deluxe IV electric guitar. He plugged in and tuned up while Matt grabbed his sticks and tapped his foot on the bass drum pedals a few times.

I stepped up to the mic, guitar in hand, tapping it a few times and waiting for Matt to count us down. 

3, 2, 1. 

He tapped his sticks together and started his drum intro. When it came time, I came in and started my riff.

E...E6.E7...E7.E6...E  x2

Everything came naturally. It was like I was complete. Even if this wasn't my band, I was home. I was a natural on that mic and I forgot about every problem I had ever had. I wailed and reached out for Matt fiercely as he twirled his sticks in the air, his head bobbing to the point where his man bun was all askew. Tony was crouched, legs spread, digging into his bass. I looked over at Toad who was all smile, ear to ear in fact; his fingers gliding over the strings, his tongue scraping his teeth while he scrunched up his face.

We had attracted a crowd of several girls, who I figured often came to watch the guys play. They were bopping up and down, their hands in the air. I spotted a few guys in the crowd, but I saw his dirty blonde hair sandwiched against the wall next to those chocolate brown eyes. I think the fact that they were both there, made me dig in more. 

It was time for them to see Talia for what she was. Not a toy that they could pull and tug at, but the fierce creature she was when she wailed and screeched, her fingers like claws digging into flesh. A girl who had a monster wail and seductive wink, as her fingers called to you in between chords. They might have been animals that currently played with my heart like a chew toy, but I was the beast they should fear. My fingers jutted out to them, teasing them with the motions. 

Take that stupid boys!

The smile that was returned from that head of dirty blonde hair was massive. He was eating it up; he was right where I wanted him. I was back in control of my life and his eyes never left me. My shoulders swayed at the end riff, before I grabbed the mic and wailed one last time to end the song, fist in the air. 

"Damn, someone hold the phone! That was amazing!" Tony threw his head back, getting his sweaty hair out of his face. "Please Matt, tell this girl she's officially in our band."

"Dude, there is no question. She can wail," Toad chimed in as he set his guitar on his stand and grabbed a small towel from his bag, wiping his face and head off.

Matt got up from behind the drums and came over sticks in hand offering me a fist bump, "Just say the word and you're in. Do you got a nickname, Talia?"

"Yeah, Picks. I'm in..." I looked in the direction of the boys who still stood lining the wall, this time talking to a few other guys who had showed up. "I need the distraction."

"Awesome, Picks. Have you been in any other bands?" Tony asked as he pulled his long hair back into a ponytail.

"Yeah, I'm in a band called Extinct Dinosaurs With Tiny Hands. We are Minnesota based, but I'm on hiatus since I'm here."

"Holy shit, you mean you're that Talia? I saw you guys play at Durmont's in St. Paul, with My Brotha Is Tony Danza, two years ago. Seth Carter is a god on the bass! You guys were amazing. I am so sorry I didn't recognize you!" Tony smiled the biggest smile, like he was meeting his idol for the first time. I was just a guitarist, nothing like Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day amazing, but I was good.

"Yeah, Seth is my bestie actually." I started to pack up my guitar as Tony leaned over to talk, "That's a sweet guitar, what's its name? My bass is Starr, after the chick from The Lost Boys movie."

"His name is Ness. After Mike Ness of Social Distortion. He's one of my idols." Tony gave me a nod of respect, before excusing himself to talk to a cute girl with blonde shoulder length hair.

"Hey Picks, so we practice on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during this block. We play all kinds of music, but I'll email you a set list through the academy email and you can brush up before Wednesday. We play some of the big parties around, but we don't have any gigs coming up till late October. I really hope we see you Wednesday." Matt clasped me on the shoulder and said his goodbyes, wrapping his arm around a brunette with a pixie cut and glasses.

I felt free. I had a band again, if it was only for the year.

.................... 

I rushed through my last block, eager to call Seth and tell him the news. After the bell signaling the end of my AP French block rang, I hurried to the door. Mrs. Clarke, a really nice middle-aged woman with a short sandy blonde bob, called to me, asking me to wait behind.

Mrs. Clarke had a thick French accent, which signaled to people that she either grew up somewhere in France, or spent a lot of time studying there. My money was on the whole, grew up there background. She finished up with another student and asked me to sit in the empty seat in front of her desk.

"Mademoiselle Grey, I am very impressed with your grasp of the language. I have a student who had asked for assistance in honing his language skills more before graduation. Currently, all of my students who tutor on a regular basis are full for the term. I was wondering if you would be willing to take the student on until another tutor is available?"

"Madame Clarke, I'd be happy to help." 

"Wonderful. I will tell him to meet you in the library for an introduction at 6:00PM. You can set up a tutoring schedule with him at that time. I think he only needs maybe one session a week, possibly two. That will be all, Mademoiselle Grey. See you next class."

I got up and headed out to my dorm room to change out of my uniform, before going on a walk while I waited for the dining hall to open for dinner. The campus was busy as I walked around, earbuds in my ears, enjoying the wind on my face. 

I ended up out around the outdoor field, where the lacrosse team was practicing. There were several girls bundled up on the bleachers watching the players. I noticed Angie sitting by herself, with a book in her lap. I slid on the seat by her and she smiled when she looked over at me.

"Hey, Angie."

"Hey, Talia. What brings you out here?"

"Nothing really, I was out for a walk and decided to check out the hype. What brings you out here?" I looked over at her while she looked out longingly at a player with the number 7 on his jersey. He was a tall boy with light brown hair that was shaggy. He was standing on the sidelines talking to player number 23, who had his back to the bleachers. 

"Oh, well see that guy over there? His name is Marco, and I come out here and watch him practice." She suddenly had a shy expression on her face.

"Is he your boyfriend? Or just a crush?"

"He doesn't know I exist, so definitely not a boyfriend. Do you have a crush on anyone in school?" 

"I don't know, maybe." I looked across the field to see Damian headed to the sidelines to talk to the two boys. He pulled off his helmet and flung his head back, the sweat flying off his wet hair. His eyes came to rest on the bleachers and he focused in on me, flashing me a smirk. Number 23 must have noticed his actions, because he turned around to look behind him and I realized that number 23, was Paxton Reever.

I took that as my cue to leave. I turned to Angie and made an excuse about having to meet up early to tutor someone. We said our goodbyes and I walked down the steps of the bleachers and away from the field.

Dinnertime was uneventful. Damian never came to sit with me, he stayed at a table with the other lacrosse players and for a minute, I felt slightly disappointed. I just read my book while I ate, until I felt a piece of paper sliding down by my plate. I looked up and only saw a rush of boys pass by towards the door. I set my book down and opened the small piece of paper, the block print stared at me.

Meet me at our place at 9PM.

                                                -D.R.

 I carefully slid the note into my pocket and finished my meal, before collecting my plates and placing them on the conveyer belt to be washed. I checked the time and it was a quarter to 6:00PM, so I walked in the direction of the library. The building was empty, except for a student behind the main desk. I scanned the tables at the front of the library, but no one was around. I checked the time again and it was 6:01PM.

I walked back to the tables at the back of the library and there was a single boy sitting at a table, looking at something on his phone. I approached him and he raised his head to look at me and once again, those chocolate browns stared at me. I took the seat across from him and placed my hands on the table.

"Hi, Paxton. So, I guess you need some tutoring?"

He laughed at my question, "Hi back. Actually, I don't, but seeing as how my brother has been monopolizing your time lately, I had to take certain measures."

I looked at him with a slight expression of shock. What was he playing at? 

"So, let me get this straight... You wanted to spend time with me so you faked needing help in French? Why not just ask me to hang out, why pull a stunt like this?"

"Well, Talia, it's no secret that neither my brother or I can openly be hanging out with you, because of who your roommate is. It would cause too many problems for all parties involved, especially given the fact that said roommate is also your secret sister. Considering Damian admitted to telling you a little bit about our history as rivals, you get where that may be difficult to say the least." He inched his hands closer to mine, trying to take them in his, but I pulled away from him and sat back in my chair.

"So, ok, well, you know who I am and still want to be around me. What's your angle? It must not be to get me all to yourself, otherwise you would have told Damian who I am and we both know how he feels about Wyndhams, regardless if I was a willing participant in that family, which I'm not."

"No angle. I'm drawn to you, Talia, just like my brother. You're right, if I had an angle I would have told him. I would never hurt my brother and telling him you have filthy Wyndham blood would destroy him. He's become rather attached to you in such a short period of time."

I was shocked when I heard that. Damian Reever was attached, which made the fact that I was keeping secrets from him even more heart wrenching. The truth was, that I had become a tad attached to him as well and a stupid affair that my mother had, might destroy what I was beginning to care about. 

"So, what exactly are you getting, by roping me into fake tutoring you?"

"I'm securing some time with you for myself. That way when it comes time for you to decide who holds your heart, I've had my opportunity to cement myself in there." His eyes never left mine while we spoke. If we were being honest, I didn't feel the pull I once did to Paxton. There was still an attraction, but the fear of him ruining my life cast a dark shadow over it.

"You seem rather confident that I'd choose you. Why me, when you can have any girl in this school, which I'm sure you've had a few under your belt already."

"You're a forever Talia Grey, the rest of these girls are a right now. That's what makes you so desirable." He reached again for my hands and reluctantly I allowed him to take them in his. His fingers brushed my knuckles.

"So, what do you want, Paxton?"

"Two hours a week. We do or go wherever I desire, within reason. At the end of the year, you make your choice."

"I don't think I can agree to that. It's not right and I'm not a whore or someone to be tugged back and forth between two boys, let alone brothers."

"Of course, you're not. Just think about my proposition. I'll see you Thursday, for our first tutoring session, 6PM." He got up and walked over to me, placing a soft kiss on the top of my head before leaving.

I couldn't do this. If I had just said no, my life would have been much easier.

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A/N: Hey guy!

So Talia found her voice! Finally....

She's got a new band, a new found sense of her identity, what could go wrong? LOL

So how do we feel about Paxton? What does he have up his sleeve? 

Please comment and vote and keeping reading for more excitement.

Amina <3

Love the new cover made by @GreenAtlas, true talent right there :)