"Now when I caught myself
I had to stop myself
From saying something
That I should've never thought." -I Caught Myself

--

Stunned silence. That's the only way I can explain Weston High's current situation. With Katerina's last words echoing fresh in our minds, I'm sure that the only thing that's running through our thoughts are shock (no brainer), confusion, and disappointment.

Ah, yes. Disappointment was hanging tensely in the air. I mean, imagine this. You enter a music contest. All of your hopes and dreams are about to come true because hey, you've worked hard and you have a decent chance at winning. And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, this musical prodigy comes along and steals the spotlight, ruining your chances at accomplishing something that you've set your heart on. Basically, that was what everyone who was interested in the competition felt. That was how I felt. I could just hear their excitement deflating like a balloon and flying out a window.

The members of the band glanced nervously around the room, their eyes searching for a reaction besides the obvious negative feelings swimming around them. I saw Zeke give Blake a narrowed glare of accusation while the latter returned it with a panicked shrug.

Everyone was waiting for something to happen. Mr. Luthien was sweating even more than he usually did. Tilted Reality looked like they regretted coming here.

Beside me, I felt Carter shift in her seat and before I could say cilantro, her hand shot up into the air, startling Olivia next to her.

Katerina let out a small sigh of relief and immediately pointed at Carter thankfully, speaking into the microphone, "You? Do you have a question?"

I knew as soon as Carter opened her mouth and said, "Well, we don't have a chance now, do we?" that chaos would erupt.

And that it did.

Protests and accusations sprung out from left and right. Teens were complaining about how they could never win against a band that's already nearly professional. Some were yelling about how unfair it was since Tilted Reality was already signed into the label, and that they were already rich.

Meanwhile, the band members themselves were arguing too. Zeke was blaming Blake for even bringing up the topic while the girls tried to calm him down. I could hear his stinging words faintly from the microphone though I doubt anyone else did over the noise level.

Even Mr. Luthien was screaming at as all to shut up.

Rubbing my temples, I let my eyes wander around the room once more in order to distract myself. And that was when I noticed a lone figure standing up from his seat and making his way to the front of the stage.

No one else had noticed. Arching one eyebrow, I leaned forward, waiting to see what the individual would do.

He had light blond hair, with natural brown highlights that I caught under the fluorescent lights from the auditorium. The boy had a lean, agile build and he wore a loose flannel shirt, baggy jeans, and Vans.

He rose up the stairs attached to the side of the stage, rousing the members of Tilted Reality out of their debate and making the rest of us fall into hushed whispers.

"What the hell is Gabriel doing up there?" Caden muttered, frowning up at the blond. Carter shot him a look and hissed, "Sshhh" before turning around to stare wide-eyed at 'Gabriel.'

I didn't personally know the guy but apparently everyone else did.

"Oi!" Gabriel yelled into the mike, causing the parts of the audience who hadn't noticed him to jump in surprise and glare up at the conversation intruder. "What gives you all a right to act this way? Guys, we have a freaking famous rock band in our midst, and what do we do? Pull a riot? Get a grip!"

The members of Tilted Reality stared at Gabriel in shock; Vanessa's mouth was in a little O and Katerina had her hands over her mouth.

Gabriel took a second to pause, scowling at us. "Look, who gives a crap if they're in this competition or not? We can work harder now. Prove to ourselves that we can do better! I'm sure they have their reasons-"

"Yep," Zeke added, popping the 'p.'

Gabriel went on, unfazed. "So stop acting like you're five and just move on with life for Christ's sake. Now I don't know about you all, but I'm still entering Infinite Records' Battle of the Bands." He smirked, and I swear some girls in the audience almost swooned. "And my band and I will try our hardest to win."

For the third time that assembly, there was stunned silence until Carter slapped her palms together. Then slowly, she began to clap and everyone else followed until the crowd was hooting and cheering together rather than screaming and yelling.

Gabriel shrugged and turned to Zeke, staring him straight in the eye as if challenging him. "Pamphlet, please."

Zeke narrowed his eyes but said nothing as he reached across Katerina and swiped a thick packet from the table. He shoved it into Gabriel's stomach and then stalked off into the shadows of the wings.

Katerina smiled sheepishly and walked up to Gabriel, hugging him and mouthing, "Thank you." Gabriel shrugged and smiled back, nodding.

He rolled up the packet and then turned to the audience, frowning a bit. "What are you all waiting for? Christmas?" And with that, he hopped off the stage and back to his seat, where two other guys stood and slapped him on the back, grinning and messing up his hair.

After he left, the sound of chairs being slapped back made me turn my gaze away from the guy and towards the stage again. People were starting to line up, and the remaining members of the band happily handed them their packets of information.

Carter stood up too, beaming. She scooted past the Twins into the aisle, smoothing down her plaid shirt."Gabriel was amazing, right? He's in my History class and sometimes I talk to him. Anyway, I'm going to go get a packet for Within These Cages."

"I'll come with." I added, surprising myself. It seemed that the excitement was taking over my body, rendering the logical-thinking part of me useless.

Carter glanced at me quizzically, a confused gleam in her eyes. "But... you're not in a band?"

Not yet... I thought darkly to myself but I just shrugged and stood up, making my way over to where she was standing. "I know. I just... want to give you some support." I lied easily, gesturing for her to start walking.

"Hey, thanks." Carter grinned, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as we walked up to the stage together. It took a lot not to shrug off her arm but she eventually let go when we got in line to get a packet. With a sigh at the long line, I stared at the wall clock beside the baskteball hoop and counted down the minutes.

--

Exactly 6 minutes and 34 seconds later, Carter and I made it to the front of the line where Blake and Vanessa sat at the edge of the stage, holding up two packets for us.

"You two bandmates?" Vanessa asked with a smile, handing Carter her packet.

"Nah, Lacey's just here to give me support." Carter quipped, taking the thick packet into her arms. I didn't add anything, merely looking at my combat boots and shrugging. When in doubt, just shrug.

"Oh, really?" Blake added, sounding surprised. I glanced up to see him smirking at me, head cocked to one side.

"Yeah, sure." I replied as Carter waved to me and headed off to her seat. Turning to follow her, a hand enclosed around my arm lightly and my entire body tensed at the contact. The hand guided me off to the side where I ended up standing beside Blake as he handed out more packets to the remaining possible-entrants.

"Yes?" I asked in my monotone voice, leaning against the stage and shaking his hold off my arm.

"You're not in a band?" Blake asked curiously, swiveling in his seat to face me. Vanessa snorted as she was left alone to hand out the rest.

"Why does that surprise you?" I easily countered, shoving my hands into my pockets. My gaze swept over the audience and I caught Xander's eyes narrowed on Blake while the rest of the gang were talking to Carter. I frowned at him but he didn't seem to notice my eyes focused on him.

"Well, because you're really good at drumming and judging by your taste in music, I thought you might be into that." Blake answered my rhetorical question, snapping me out of my stupor.

"I am," I turned back to him, hopping up onto the stage beside Blake and swinging my legs a little as they dangled over the edge. "I just haven't thought about joining one." Another lie. Well... not exactly. The thought only occured to me about seven minutes ago.

"Well, you should. You could enter the competition and then I get to see you more." He smiled, reaching into his pocket and taking out a drum stick. He twirled it effortlessly, kicking his legs out in time with mine.

I almost smiled at that sentence, unsure of how to reply. So I just let my gaze wander over his appearance again. I didn't mean to; it just happened.

The lights over the stage gave his dark brown hair a tint of amber and I noticed it was messy in a sort of attractive way; as if he just rolled out of bed and didn't bother to brush it. His emerald eyes shone with excitement, probably from the competition. The navy blue graphic tee he wore clung to his body in all the right places while his jeans were loose-fitted and wrinkled. He looked pretty darn nice.

"Checking me out again?" He asked without looking at me, making me blush slightly and scowl. I turned my gaze away and noticed how many girls in their seats were glaring at me. They probably thought I was some sort of slut. Hey, I wasn't doing anything wrong. Just talking to their all-time crush and role model. Ah... so maybe that's what all the looks were about.

"You wish." I scoffed and stopped kicking my legs, jumping down from the stage. The attention his jealous fangirls were giving me were making me uncomfortable. And it was probably time to head back to my seat too. Vanessa was already finished with the rest of the line. Mr. Luthien was yelling at us to get back in our seats so he could give the closing statement and allow us back into class.

"I'm heading back. See ya, Harnage." I muttered, starting towalk back to Xander, Carter, Olive, and the Twins.

"Wait," Blake called out, making me turn around. He jumped off the stage and held out a packet to me, grabbing my hand and placing it in my palm. "Just in case." He winked playfully.

Taking a step back, he mock bowed and smirked his signature lopsided grin. "I expect to see you again soon, Sturm."

--

Decided to post this today as a Christmas present. Hope you all have a lovely holiday season! Love you all!

Comment. Vote. Fan.

Stay lovely,
Isabelle