Realistic or Modern Writing the Future (Rock band RP)

[IDKnuggets]

Vincent Theodore Beckett​

---

It didn’t seem to take much deliberation between Riley and Alex for them to decide who would be in the band. Vincent couldn’t blame them, they chose exactly the way he would have. Yet at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel bad as he saw the look of disappointment on Amber’s face.

“Hey Amber, you were great up there today!” Vincent told her with an encouraging grin and tussle of her hair. As he made a mess of her red locks, the young girl’s face took on a shade to match them. “Let me give the keyboard boss my number, then how about we go grab dinner?” It took her a moment to process exactly what he had said, but when she did her heart did a flip.

“D… dinner?”

It turned out that when Vincent said ‘grab dinner’ what he really meant was fast food, and when he said ‘we' that included Lucas and Franklin. The two boys that joined them each gave Amber a sympathetic look as they showed up, knowing exactly how she felt about their clueless friend.

They hung out for a few hours before going their separate ways, Franklin driving Amber home since Vincent didn’t have a helmet for her to wear. He had a decently long ride out to his house, a large property on the outside of town.

His footsteps were all he heard as he entered, his father gone as usual. Jeffery Beckett came and went from his home frequently, never staying any longer than a month at the very most. Vincent didn’t mind having the home to himself, it allowed him to do as he wished freely without having to worry about what his father thought.

Spent from the long day, he flopped on his bed but couldn’t get to sleep quite as fast as he hoped. He was filled with excitement, thrilled to be a part of a band. The day played through his head again and again. The frosting, running into Amber, seeing the poster.

Plum, the girl with the purple hair. Her beautiful singing. He admired singers so much, what they did was amazing. Even though he loved to sing himself he knew he wasn’t any good at it. His mother had had a beautiful voice, singing him lullabies every night when he was a boy.

California Boy and RC, they had both been excellent guitarists. He and Rahat had met in detention a couple times, but Vincent had no idea he could play like that. He was sure he would learn a thing or two from each of them, and hoped to do the same for them.

Finally, the short lion and Riley. Vincent didn’t know much about either of their instruments, but he did know they played them well. The drums were intense and full of energy, whereas the keyboard was soft and beautiful. If you had asked the bassist which instrument each musician played beforehand, he would have answered opposite.

It took Vincent hours to fall asleep and when he woke up the next morning he felt miserable. That misery was only reinforced when he found out Jensen had gotten the entire band detention. Okay, maybe he understood RC, California Boy, and himself. But Plum, Little Lion, and Riley hadn’t done anything at all.

Later that night he received a text with details on the band's first practice. Wanting to make the best first impression possible, he wore a white dress shirt paired with charcoal vest, tie, and suit pants. With the addition of his motorcycle helmet and bass, he was ready to go.

Vincent slowed as he entered Kat's neighborhood, keeping the rpm low so the bike wouldn’t make as much noise. He didn’t want to be rude, causing a ruckus near their house.

Coming to a full stop, he gently rested his Harley on the kickstand and dismounted. After making sure the gas line was closed and throwing a lock on the bars so it wouldn’t get stolen, Vincent straightened his tie and made his way up to their door. He rapped on the wood gently, a warm smile coming to his lips.

This was it.

 

[Dawnstar]

Alex' Wakefield
Alex' had felt horrible seeing Amber and any of the other rejected musician's faces when Riley reconfirmed their choices; he hated making people feel bad but- out of everyone here he knew who thought were the best choices. Still excitement and trepidation washed through him as they shared cell numbers also giving Alex' an easier way to introduce himself by text even if he couldn't manage it face to face.

Alex' was less enthusiastic about the whole detention part - To say the least it did not go down well at home, he'd never been a great student but he normally kept out of trouble which helped keep his parents disappointment at a scolding simmer, now uh? Well even that bridge was burning with his mother chewing his ear out for a solid 20 minutes until something else went wrong with one of his siblings. Riley likely receiving frantic text messages that evening from a really upset Alex' explaining what had happened, again. (This wasn't anything that new however)



On the day of the first practice Alex' has spent the morning in the kitchen frantically at the mixing bowl and oven, as he stuffed his small black backpack with two plastic containers full of brownies. One for himself and the band, and one to Kat and her family as a thank you for letting them use their place for practice - and knowing he may not be able to talk well at the time he taped stickers to lid of each one explaining who they were for.

With that Alex' made his way to Kat's place in the only way he really could catching a quick bus across town, and then with helmet and skates donned huffing it by skating the rest of the distance into the nicer area of town. It was defiantly an unfamiliar neighbourhood, Alex' eyes darting around trying to figure out which house was the right one as he casually coasted and glided down the street past a few parked cars.
Eventually Alex' found the right one and effortlessly glided up the drive and past what looked to be a pretty sweet looking bike parked just outside. Alex' found himself wide eyed staring at it as he went past. Yet as he approached the door he saw someone else there, immediately Alex' sideskid, breaking a few paces away and hoping he hadn't been seen. Some tall, suited dude with a bike helmet standing there in the doorway - Wait was this the wrong address? This neighbourhood seemed a lot nicer than he was used to. Alex' was just standing there in a black-t, white-jeans, white-black rollerblades, white helmet, small backpack and with a bunch of similarly monochrome accessories. Was he suppose to dress up more? Not like Alex' could, he didn't have anything fancy or formal anyway..

Not realising the helmeted & suited figure was a fellow bandmate ahead Alex' just kinda stood there awkwardly on the drive a separating distance back, his nervous figure would still be visible to anybody at the door. The extra few inches Alex's skates gave him really not doing much for his confidence at the moment in such an unfamiliar place.

 

[KeroseneLollipop]

Addie was excited to hear he had made it. Though a part of him had figured there wasn't a whole hell of a lot of competition. Looking at the time, he realized he would be late to the youth guitar lessons he hosted at the local community center. "Shit." He murmured before dashing up to Riley and Alex and giving his number to whoever was taking it. With a quick thanks to the two, Addie made his way over to his guitar to pick it up before dashing out of the school. Surprisingly he quickly caught a bus and made it to the community center ten minutes late. The kids' parents weren't happy, but the nice thing about kids is they have a lot more compassion and innocence than adults. So happily in Addie's case, the kids didn't hold a grudge and gladly tuned into and participated in the lesson.

The next day was a bust at school. Pretty, pretty Princess, Jensen had gone and snitched on the whole group when it really was only RC, Vincent, and Addie that went after him. The whole time in detention Addie felt like he was actually gonna be sick to his stomach. Without a doubt, his parents already knew. His father was on his last straw with him so what would be waiting for him when he got home. Addie could not sit still and it wasn't due to energy. Once he was released Addie headed to a bathroom to actually get sick this time and once he was done he washed his face by the sick. "Gross." He said looking into the mirror. His reflection showed the tears he hadn't noticed were falling. Pull it together, Noah. You don't think you can actually stop this, do you? You're still the weak little Noah those people know and you will never amount to this Addie person you have created. The voice in his head informed.

WIth that Addie left the bathroom and headed out of the building where he decided to ride his skateboard home. When he made it into the driveway of the home that had been in the Arcane family for years, he paused. Addie just wanted to make a run for it. But he knew if he didn't face this head-on and avoided it things would only get worse. Addie hadn't expected what was coming the moment he opened the door. He was barely in the door for a second before he felt the hand grip at his shirt and then the gruff voice of his father erupts

"Is this what I have to do to get you to listen, boy...huh? You ungrateful fuckin' brat. You're mother and I gave you life, a roof over your, food on the table, a bed to sleep in and so much more however this is how you treat us. You are tiring you're mother emotionally but you don't care cause the world revolves around you, right? Well, get this... NO more of this Addie shit, you are Noah Arcane, a son of the devil. We did not raise you to let the devil in your heart. My son Noah is supposed to be a man, not a Queer who dresses in feminine clothes and wears nail polish. It is absolutely disgusting. If you would just let god in your heart and do some self-reflection you can be fixed."

His dad might have been the one who had every advantage but Addie found a sudden boldness he had never had with the man. "You know what, dad. Screw you. You need to do some self-reflection here. I am not the one who puts his hands on his kids and screams at them. Nobody deserves to have the person they are supposed to be decided from the moment they are born. You can't fix me, dad, I like everyone equally no matter their gender. You can't change the fact I don't care for gender norms. You especially can't change the fact that I believe Christianity can go FUCK ITSELF..." Addie managed to scream out before he felt the blow.

Apparently, his dad didn't like the religion part. His face stung from where his dad's fist collided with his face. Then he felt him grip his shirt again. "You little ungrateful shit, don't you ever speak to me like that. I think I haven't been using the correct teaching for this you. How does the last always end up being the fuck up?" And that's when he felt the full fury of Christopher Arcane being released on him and he- he froze like the defenseless Noah he thought he got rid of a long time ago. But with this Addie, knew Noah was still in him. He didn't even defend himself for a minute of any of this. He just let the blows fly. But then his savior burst through the door. Turns out Cipher called Miro who showed up in the nick of time. Apparently, they tackled their father having seen what he was doing to Addie, and that's when Cipher to his chance to grab Addie and run out of the house.

Cipher had already packed all their stuff up in the room and was going to grab it while Miro dealt with their dad. "You low-life piece of shit, keep your hands off my brother," Miro shouted as they fought their dad. It was enough of a distraction for Cipher to make the rounds while their mom screamed at him. She wasn't like their father in the physically abusive sense. Once Cipher had cleared the room of their bagged belongings and got it all in the car, Miro sent one last punch towards their father before tripping him and pinning him. "Addie and Cipher are no longer living under this roof, do you understand? Those two or not going to be you're punching bags anymore. I don't care if they are legally your kids, but I will fight to be their guardian. I have proof that of your abuse and will not be afraid to contact cps." They said before walking out.

Cipher had been sitting in the car helping out an Addie who kept trying to push him away. Running over to their car, Cipher moved out of the way so Miro could deal with it. "Hey Kiddo, look at me," Miro said. The way Addie's face was all busted up broke Miro's heart. "Aww, Add's let's get you home and clean you up," Miro told him. Addie's nose was bleeding, gratefully not broken from the looks of it, and one of his eyes was all puffy and looked to be bruising. His lip was bleeding most likely meaning it was busted, but Miro wouldn't actually know how bad till they got the blood cleaned. With that Miro went to the driver's side of the car and got in while Cipher sat in the back with Addie.
------

"Ready to go, Phantom?" Miro asked. Addie sighed in response. He had not been to school since his face still wasn't in the best shape though now his lip was mostly healed up since it wasn't a major busted lip. They had gotten the swelling in his eyes to go down with much icing, but now it was bruised. "Wonderful first impression, showing up with a black eye," Addie murmured. "It will be fine, as long as you are a pleasant guest that is all the matters. Don't forget the thank you basket." Miro replied to their brother's foolishness. "Alright, let's go!" Addie suggested, enthusiastically. There was a slight pause before Miro asked "You can see out of your eye, right?" Addie looked up at Miro, not entirely sure why they were asking. "Um, yeah."

That's when Addie had keys flying at him. After catching them cause heaven forbid they hit the ground, Miro said something, Addie, thought he would never hear. "Take the Trans Am." He had always secretly loved that car. "Really? Oh hell yes!" Addie shouted before dashing for the garage door. Miro was left chuckling at his response to their offer. "God, I can't just not give the kid the car." They said walking to the garage door as Addie found his way to the driver's side of the Trans Am. WIth that Miro opened the garage door and watched their brother cruise off. Miro had to check the whole house to make sure he had his guitar and didn't forget it the moment he heard those words.

As Addie pulled into the drive of the house he believed was Kat's, he had to stop to take a deep breath. The black eye would be off-putting to most. After a few moments to himself, Addie hopped out grabbing all the things that he was bringing in with him and headed up to the door. Where he noticed Alex and some other dude he believed was Vincent, but couldn't fully tell. Then Addie looked down at his clothes. Of course, he had to be decked out in the most decent clothes he could find... but it was no surprise all of it was black. Addie walked past Alex giving him a side glance. He wasn't sure why the kid was standing so far back but Addie made his way closer to the door and stopped to wait at the bottom of the steps cause he just wanted to hide his eye for as long as possible.

 

[withinasapphire]

Riley didn't know why Kat seemed so surprised when they told her the news. How could they not accept her in? Especially when the other option was..not someone Riley could be around. They had laughed when Kat thanked them. "Of course! Though you should really be thanking your voice!"

They felt their laughter fall short when they felt buzzing coming from their phone where it rested in their front pocket. Quickly taking it out, they noticed a string of messages from their sister.

Where have you been?
Did you have an after school activity? I was under the assumption you weren't in any clubs.
Please respond now.

Whoops. They forgot to tell their sister what they were doing. And knowing Evelyn she would keep going if they didn't say anything now. With their thumbs moving fast across their phone, they came up with a message that might quell their sister's worries.

whoopsies sorry evie!! I can't believe I forgot to tell you
you know how I play the keyboard

Their sister responded so fast that Riley wondered if she was even human.

Of course. I've known for the longest time what you play. How is this relevant?

well now I do it for a band thingy. I meant to tell you but I forgot

Underneath the message, they sent an image of a sad dog, the text across it saying 'I'm so sorry', 'I never meant to hurt you', and 'please forgive me'. It took Evelyn a bit to respond, which meant she was either typing a paragraph or was trying to word what she wanted to say. Riley used a bit of that time to start heading home. In due time, their phone notified them of a new message.

You did what? Of course, I'd like to preface this now, if this is an activity that will bring you joy then I'm glad you're doing it. But at the same time I have concerns. A band is usually formed with more than one person. Which means you're doing this with more than one other person. Do you know these people? Are they nice? Who are they? Tell me their names.

Riley looked at this message for a moment before hastily typing up one of their own.

later!! let me get home first! I'll say what I can then

Very well. Be safe on your way home. Also I'm not mad, so do not worry.

I will!
and I didn't think that, but thank you for telling me evie

Of course.

When Riley finally arrived home, they found Evelyn sitting at the dining room table, a textbook laid out in front of her. A frown was etched onto her face, until she took notice of Riley's presence. "Oh, you've returned."

"Yep, aliens didn't abduct me this time around!" They laughed and walked over to her, taking a seat beside her. "What's that you got over there?"

"Aliens do not exist." Evelyn gave a sigh and stared down at the page her textbook was flipped to. "And this..is a math textbook. Unfortunately, I'm not learning much from it."

Riley stuck their tongue out. "Sounds gross. You should stop looking at it before it infects you."

"Math textbooks don't have that ability. But..even if they did, I'm probably immune. No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to retain anything I learn from this thing." She sighed again before slamming the book shut. "Anyway, enough of that. Tell me about this..band you're now in."

Riley did their best to regale their older sister with the tales of the band auditions. They told her about how Kat sang, and how other people showed up which totally surprised them, and how everyone played their own instruments and how cool it all was. They paused for a moment when they got to the part where Jensen showed up. Evelyn noticed it immediately.

"What's wrong?" She asked. "Do you not feel well?"

"Umm..I don't know. There was this guy, you probably know him, Jensen?"

She made a face of pure disgust. "I..know of him. We're in the same grade." She frowns. "He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"No, no, but..I might have been worried he would? But he didn't..he was still a jerk, though."

"I see.." Evelyn then stood up. "I'll be back in a moment. I'm going to check on Everly. While I do so, you should take your binder off. You've had it on for a while and I read that isn't good for you." She thought for a moment. "I have a few baggy sweatshirts you can borrow. And some baggy sweatpants too if you need them."

"Oh, yeah, thanks. I almost forgot about that." It was moments like this Riley felt grateful for their sister. Sometimes, it felt like they would lose their head if it wasn't attached to their shoulders. It slips their mind at times that they have to take a break from their binder once in a while. Luckily, Evelyn was usually there to remind them when they do forget.

It was unfortunate that sometimes Evelyn couldn't always be there. When the next day came to be, Riley was shocked to hear they had detention. They didn't even do anything? Sure, they might have been secretly pleased at what had happened to Jensen, but it wasn't like Jensen could read their thoughts. But no matter what it was they said or thought to themselves, it seemed inevitable that detention is what they would receive.

They wish they could just say the experience was boring and leave it at that. They wished they could say that's all it was. Except it wasn't only that. Sitting there, bored out of their mind, they felt a sudden sense of discomfort. At first, they figured maybe they were just worried. They were a little bit worried after all, they knew their mom wouldn't be happy to hear this. But this feeling only persisted the longer they sat there. Riley moved a little in their seat, it was like..their body itself was becoming more irritated with each passing second. Okay, they will try not to panic, but they are totally panicking.

"Uh," Riley had spoken up. "Can I go to the..bathroom?" The dreaded word came out of their mouth, but this felt like an emergency in which they need to use it.

The guy supervising them looked up at them, blinking slowly like he was a turtle. "No talking, Gray." He droned.

"But..I really need to--"

"No talking, Gray."

Riley had hung their head, feeling quite defeated, as their body continued drowning in a raging sense of total discomfort. It's not supposed to feel like this. They know it's not supposed to feel like this. Had it really been that long? They don't want to hurt themselves on accident.

Riley was trying really hard not to cry in detention with people who were essentially strangers, but they were scared. They didn't want to mess things up for the band if they can't play because they left their binder on too long. They were usually not that bad, but it's not like this was even their fault this time. They were just stuck in detention because of a certain someone.

By the time detention had crawled slowly to an end, Riley felt like they were on the verge of death. They could not stand this feeling anymore. The second they were allowed to leave, they hurried the hell out of there and right towards..another place they don't want to be. The bathroom. They stared up at the..girl's bathroom, everything in them screaming for them to not go. But this was the only other option they had, because this school only gave them two bathrooms to go into. And they seriously had to try and do something about this. Extremely hesitant, they entered with their feet desperate to go the other way. They hate it in here.

This was a quick trip since no one was in here now, with them heading into a stall and unzipping their bag as fast as humanly possible, digging out a sweatshirt among other things that Evelyn had thankfully suggested they put in. They struggled a bit to get their binder off, but they managed to succeed. The sweatshirt was at least one of the baggier ones. They could..work with it. When they finished and placed their binder in their bag, they stepped out of the stall, eyes purposefully avoiding the big mirrors present in the bathroom. They did not..need that right now. For a moment, they thought of texting Alex, but decided against it. Not right now.

____

Riley didn’t go to school the next day. Their mom had insisted out of worry when they had mentioned what happened, and Riley didn’t protest too much. Evelyn was very adamant that Riley do some breathing exercises and stretches while at home, which they did because they were equally as worried as they were, but they also set aside time to quietly curse Jensen for having a hand in making them experience all that.

When Saturday rolled around, and Riley was still wrapped up in a blanket in bed, they were surprised when they received a text. Quite a few texts actually. One being from Kat, apparently they were having their first practice already (and at her house??), the others being from Alex. He sounded..not very good. Riley narrowed their eyes at his texts as they sat up. They sent a few messages in response doing their best to be the reassurance he needed, worry starting to swirl around inside as they read his texts again. They hope he’s okay..

Since they were already looking at their messages, Riley began typing up a message to send to their mom.

hey can you please buy something I can give to my bandmate’s parents please or I will cry

The response was quick. Bandmate?

Oh yeah, they didn’t tell their mom yet.

By the time Riley had caught their mom up on the recent events in their life, and their mom had given them store bought cookies to hand to Kat’s parents, they were feeling good enough to feel safe to put their binder on again.

“Are you sure you’re feeling up to going?” Their mom asked as Riley climbed into her car since Riley can’t drive. “You don’t have to go if you aren’t feeling well. I’m sure this..band of yours would understand.”

“I’m feeling pretty alright right now. You don’t have to worry, I’ll call if anything happens.”

“Well, okay, if you’re sure..” Riley’s mom then proceeded to start up the car. “Now, what’s the address to this..Kat’s house?”

When Riley had arrived, and their mom had driven off after wishing them luck, they surveyed their surroundings. How unfamiliar. They hummed quietly to themselves as they began to walk up to what was probably Kat’s house, their smile finally showing itself when their eyes caught sight of a familiar friend.

“Alex!” They ran up to him, wrapping one arm around him in greeting. “Oh hey, were we supposed to dress up?” They asked, gesturing to what could be Frost if their memory is correct. “I didn’t know Kat wanted us to be all fancy, haha! Oh well!”

Out of the corner of their eye, they suddenly spotted..what’s his name, Addie? Was that a black eye? They frowned. That’s..concerning.

 

[Togy]

Another audition and he already knew he'd won the hearts of his audience. Jensen had walked out immediately when he entered the room this time, which was a real shame. He'd just gotten a new can of whipped cream for him. He'd actually started warming up to the guy, his cruel pranks on him staying cruel and unproportionate to anything they've done, but also gaining an endearing edge. Well, from his perspective anyway. Jensen probably thought they were just being an asshole. Which he was.

Most auditions went like this: Come in late, upstage everyone, get accepted, and laugh at them before ditching. He's already pledged his loyalty to the first one he auditioned for, his loyalty couldn't be swayed so easily. It was more like a way to measure the competition.

He learned he got detention, a dozen of them, actually, for tormenting Jensen a day after the fact. Fair. Not gonna lie, he kind of deserved it.

He already had detention, in fact. Every day of the week was booked with them. Honestly, he couldn't tell what he was in for at this point. Was it the graffiti? The Sombrero? The whole Jensen stuff? Was he still getting punished for that whole staffroom fire thing last year? There were too many options, it was too hard to tell.

It was alright though, Mr. Tepedino lets him practice the guitar in detention as long as they can make song requests. Martin was cool like that.

His mom wasn't home when he got back, as expected. They didn't even have a punishment planned for him getting detention once he got backed, just a freshly cooked lasagna and a 'Sorry I missed you' note, again. She used to try to get him to cut it out, then tried to use tough love, but she eventually gave up after the realization that nothing was going to stop him from being a petty ass.

He'd brought the Sombrero home with him-Mrs. Gonzalez could get it back when he was dead and gone, he was too attached to it at this point. Setting it on the coffee table in the living room, RC settled in for the night. His dad hadn't called in a while, and he'd hopefully keep that up. Every dozen calls or so they'd try to say sorry for what they said when they found out, but if they didn't mean it then they wouldn't have said it in the first place.

A day later, he was peeling into the new girl's driveway. As he pulled in, he saw a well-dressed man with a motorcycle helmet climb off their Harley. Had to be Vincent, the only guy who would go to band practice in an outfit like that unironically.

Parking a yard behind his bike, RC climbed out of his grey jeep. It wasn't a looker, sure, but it was his jeep. There were many like it, but this one was his.

Striding confidently towards the quickly arriving members, RC threw a lazy two-finger salute to anyone looking his way. Either he came underdressed or Vinny had something to prove because he just came in with ripped jeans and a black T-shirt. Still, though, Vinny looked damn nice.

Giving a quick and exaggerated bow as he said "M'lords" in the snobbiest accent he could muster, he made his way over to the front door. As he approached the steps, he quickly noticed Addie's black eye. The kid looked miserable, probably because they showed up at a friend's house with a black eye. He might not have known them, but they sure did look at him with a lot of admiration during the audition.

Plucking his Aviator shades from where they rested in his hair, he quickly placed them over his eyes and gave them a pat on the shoulder before moving towards the door. They should cover most of the bruised area, hopefully.

Finally, RC knocked three times on the front door. He felt the need to pull out the Sombrero from his messenger bag but barely resisted.

 

[PixieDust]

KAT SUMMERS​

Kat was snapped from her thoughts as she heard the sound of the door knocking. Tearing her gaze from the colourful geometric art on the wall, she took one last look over to the living room where her mother was setting out savoury and sweet snacks on the coffee table and her dad and Archer were having a lively debate about overused chord progressions and diminished sevenths or something.

Well, here goes nothing...She thought as she headed for the door. Kat hadn't expected the feeling of relief that she got as she opened the door to find all of them there. They really did look like such an odd bunch as she quickly processed all their appearances like a snapshot. Rahat looked sort of odd without his sombrero, though she noticed he held it in his hand and looked as laidback and unbothered as ever. Alex stood a little way off with Riley beside him looking as upbeat as they always seemed to, though Alex was clearly nervous (honestly she didn't blame him).

Next she spotted Addie, who looked deeply uncomfortable. It didn't take long for her to notice the bruises around his eye. A frown of deep concern graced her features, but she had a feeling it would be better not to say anything just now. Lastly her gaze fell on Vincent, or at least she assumed it was him since he had a helmet on. He was oddly overdressed for a band practice.

'Hey everyone, come on in!' She gestured, stepping away from the door to let them through with a shy little smile on her face. She led them into the house and her parents looked up at the new arrivals.

Her mother beamed at them all in greeting and her father straightened up from his conversation with Archer shooting them all a brief nod. Archer who had been animated not moments before suddenly became a complete wallflower and shrunk into the orange couch as though hoping it would make him invisible.

'So this is my mom, dad and my brother Archer,' she gestured a little awkwardly. 'Mom, dad, meet Riley, Alex, Addie, Rahat and Vincent.'

Her mother was the first to approach them with her bright smile, Kat was almost a double of her mother, aside from the fact that her mother had golden blonde hair. 'Oh it's great to meet you, kids! Please feel free to call me Carla. I set out some snacks for you when you need to take a break from your practice. Amazing what a little fuel will do.'

Kat noticed her dad had remained quietly taking stock of the group before adding his part to the conversation. 'Good to meet you, kids. You'll be using the music room in the basement. Kat'll take you down there. It's not completely finished in there but it's set up enough that you can get in a solid practice. Just no food or drink in there. You're welcome to eat over here though.' He gestured to the living room where the snacks were set out.

It was totally obvious to Kat that her dad was majorly sceptical about them all, though to an outsider he appeared extremely laidback as he leaned against the back of his couch. She knew though. He would need convincing, especially of the three guitarists.

Looking around the living room, it dawned on Kat how obnoxiously artsy her mother had decided to decorate the place. Bright orange couch and teal walls with that huge canvas of Johnny Cash she had painted so long ago and just would not keep out of pride of place hanging on the back wall. Maybe Johnny Cash would help everything run smoothly enough that she could convince her dad to let her stay in the band.

 

[Dawnstar]

Alex' Wakefield
As each of the others arrived Alex' defiantly show them a look, but he still still pretty frozen up watching everyone here. That was until Riley came over and wrapped a familiar arm around him. His friend's presence immediately snapped Alex' back to reality and to a bit more of a smile on his face.
"Riley! You sure your good right? After-you know..?" Alex whispered to Riley, one hand used to shield the sound not needing to go onto tiptoes for the moment with the extra height of his skates bringing him to a slightly more comfortable height. "Nobody said anything about dressing up. Like I just threw on my normal stuff?"

"Oh urm I brought brownies, some for us and some as a gift for Kat's family. You know. Just like encase I freeze up again? Like that time the other week?" Informing Riley of his plan, not knowing how the next bit would go.
As Kat ushered the group inside quickly it kinda caught Alex' off-guard a bit but he did his best though he looked really nervous being rushed inside, Alex' awkwardly needing to take a moment and looking really uncomfortable doing so and quickly take off his skates before following everyone deeper. He'd would have much prefer to sit down and do it but well, this wasn't his place; he didn't feel like he had permission to walk around with 'em here till he could find a seat.

Black and yellow Pikachu socks visible (the only colour on Alex' clothes), skates held by the tab in one hand, and helmet still worn he rushed to catch up and join the rest of the group as they met up with Kat's parents. Alex' gave a bit of a weak smile and wave to Kat's parents and Archer as they were all introduced though it was obvious by his meek body language and expression that he was also pretty shy here though seeing Archer melt into the couch to hide did make him gave a sympathetic smile familiar with this exact situation when his older siblings brought friends home.

Alex' listened almost like an obedient puppy as the two parents spoke nodding strongly but without a single word coming to his lips. He had a reply he'd make but Riley could see that twitch in his body language, he was muted - The short-teen not even wanting to whisper to Riley in fear of being seen as rude. Yet as the parents motioned and gestured to the living area with all the snacks laid out Alex' did actually push out from the group as he rather skilfully flicked his backpack off a shoulder to his front and with his single free hand actually pulled out the two plastic containers, placing the groups one out on the table and opening the lid revealing the still-warm and very gooee clearly home-made chocolate brownies, topped with a sprinkle of icing sugar like now - they just let out a sickly sweet smell into the nearby room.
Alex' then putting on his best smile before approaching Kat's mom and awkwardly and shyly holding out the second plastic container with the label sticky-tapped to the top. 'FOR KAT AND HER FAMILY FOR HAVING US OVER", a separate fresh batch of brownies visible through the clear underside of the container.
He'd flicked the backpack to its normal resting state behind his shoulders while offering it out. His knees practically buckling before everyone under his nerves but he thought it best to just offer these out now since food was brought up, and not wanting to risk bringing them to the music room and getting in trouble. Alex' passed Riley a few worried glances looking for some confirmation he was doing okay.

 

[IDKnuggets]

Vincent Theodore Beckett​

---

Vincent was snapped out of his reverie as RC leaned past him to knock on the door. With a quick glance behind him, he realized that the entire band had arrived without his noticing. Everyone else was dressed a bit more on the casual side, which was to be expected. Even he knew he was a tad overdressed.

His attention was drawn back to the door as it was swung open by a short purple-haired girl. “Hey Plum!” the tall boy greeted her with a grin, pulling off the helmet he wore and running a hand through his messy hair in an attempt to fix it.

The wide grin turned into a well-mannered smile as introductions were made. Carla seemed like a wonderful woman, in some ways reminding Beckett of his grandmother. Her father, on the other hand, was a bit slower to welcome them. His demeanor was similar to that of a businessman deciding whether or not a deal was worth taking. Vincent was determined to sell this deal.

“Hello ma'am. As your daughter said my name is Vincent, Vincent Theodore Beckett," the dark-haired boy gave just the slightest bow as he introduced himself to Kat’s mother, “it is a pleasure to meet you"

Vincent swiftly removed a pair of roses from his messenger bag, one for each of the Summers women. “Welcome to Recuerdo, and thank you for having us in your home. It is quite beautifully decorated”

 

[Togy]

Cocking a small smile towards Kat's parents, RC donned the Sombrero purely out of reflex. Waltzing in, he immediately grabbed the father's hand in a death grip and shook furiously.

"Usted se ve muy bonito esta noche señor" RC said, fluent Spanish flowing off his tongue, looking at the man appreciatively as he nodded his head. Stepping past the man with a pat on the shoulder, he continued as he looked around the house. "Buen lugar, buena esposa, señor" RC said before taking off and tossing the Sombrero across the living room. It caught on the couch's armrest and hung there.

"Really, beautiful place. Love the Johnny Cash shrine! God, what a man" RC said wistfully, walking past Archer. The kid looked wildly uncomfortable with strangers in his house, so he made sure to throw them a finger gun as he went past.

"I'm Rahat C. Mahammed, the only white Muslim in town. Welcome home!" RC greeted, throwing two thumbs up and a grin in the parents' direction. Was he supposed to bring a gift? Everyone else brought one. Oh well, worse comes to worst he'll give them the sombrero.

 

[withinasapphire]

Riley stilled at Alex's whispered question to them, but they gave a small nod, eyes flicking to the others for a second before returning back to Alex. "Yeah, I took..a break..all of yesterday. I should be okay now." They whispered back their reply. It really sucked, having it off. They like it on a lot better. It always feels like something clicked into place, and it felt right.

Riley snickered. They couldn't imagine themselves dressing up for anything. "Heh, yeah. I just threw on the first hoodie I saw in my closet." They then hummed in thought, as something occurred to them. "Maybe Frost over there just has someone to impress?" That thought melted down into the drain, though, the second Alex mentioned he brought brownies.

"Ohhh, really?" They tried to give a sweet-looking smile. "That sounds good and all, but, um..you should totally give me extra! 'Cause you know. We're such close friends. Please?"

They never got to hear an answer since everyone was then ushered into the house, much to Riley's disappointment. They followed after Kat, their thoughts on brownies being put on hold for a second as they looked every which way, admiring the inside of Kat's house. It's been a while since they have been to a new person's house.

When they were finally in front of Kat's parents, Riley tried to appear like a polite person. They tried to stand up straight and keep eye contact with them. Except they weren't so successful, since they noticed Alex's Pikachu socks and they started thinking about how they wanted to have Pikachu socks. Which then lead to them zoning out as their mind drifted off to thoughts of Pokemon in general.

...They didn't hear anything that was said.

But they did hear how Kat's dad mentioned eating and made a gesture to the living room, which made Riley remember the store bought cookies that they were currently holding. They watched as Alex approached Kat's mom and held out the batch of brownies which Riley wanted to eat so badly right now, but instead they held themselves back and walked up to Kat's mom as well, spurred on mostly by the few worried glances Alex had sent their way but also they had a gift to give. They didn't want to be holding onto this for too much longer.

They gave Alex's shoulder a small and gentle squeeze as they offered up their not-homemade cookies to Kat's mom. "Almost forgot, haha! These are for you guys. Eat 'em at your own pace!"

 

[KeroseneLollipop]

Addie wasn't really sure how to take it when he felt something being place on his face. He was still on edge from Thursday evening. However, his brain was running through every possible reaction, Freeze? Flinch? Punch first, ask later? Face whatever the hell was happening? Addie ended up choosing the last seeing as he knew there was every possibility he irrational. When he finally did look up there were shades on his face and RC was walking away after patting his shoulder. The realization that RC had noticed his eye and was looking out for him hit him with one of the first genuine smiles that had even appeared on his face in the past two days. Addie was about to thank him when the door opened and everyone headed inside.

Right off the bat, he watched Kat's dad carefully. He for sure didn't trust father figures. Addie sort of just watched everything go around him, remaining on high alert. But when Kat introduced him as Addie, something didn't feel right. He wanted to say something but held off. When Kat's mom stepped in and greeted them a cautious edge had been lifted of Addie; However, the moment her dad spoke up the edge came falling right back on Addie. He sort of just watched the others greet her parents to see how people normally spoke to other people's parents. He didn't really like being around other people's parents since the first time he did his friend's dad got annoyed and started shouting since his friend wasn't listening. Which of course sent Addie into a panic attack and they found out how his parents were. So he stopped going around people's parents after that.

But now, here he was in the presence of someone's parents. After watching mostly everyone introduced themself in whatever way they choose Addie decided he couldn't hold off any longer. "Um hello, I'm Noah!" Addie greeted with a small wave before continuing "Uh I kind of put together something as a thank you to you guys for allowing us to practice here... I'll just set it right here." He said scooting his way over to the table. Jeez, he hated being this nervous over this. God, he was acting like he couldn't handle anything anymore. It took a bit to set in, but he realized he introduced himself as Noah. "Shoot sorry, I introduced myself as Noah didn't I?... I meant to introduce myself as Addie." He stated, hoping to clear up any confusion. Well as best as he could without saying his birth name is actually Noah. Great now he felt like an idiot, so now he was just going to sink away mentally until they were able to move on. Nice going, Noah! The same voice that always told him he wasn't good enough decided to say.

 

[PixieDust]

KAT SUMMERS​

Kat watched in anticipation as each of her new bandmates introduced themselves to her parents. First of all Alex had made his way over to her mom, looking even more nervous than he had before and handed her a container of brownies wordlessly. Kat's mother took the container with a kind smile that was supposed to be reassuring, looked at the sticky note taped to the top and put her hand to her chest.

'Oh that's so thoughtful of you, thank you so much! Those look delicious, did you make them yourself?' She looked over at her husband as if to say: 'look these kids are sweethearts,' before Vincent stepped forward to introduce himself too.

Kat had to admit that he was perfectly charming as he greeted her mom and complimented their home. Her mother shot her a quick glance and raised an eyebrow at her that Kat sincerely hoped nobody else saw, because she knew exactly what that expression meant.
'Well thank you, Vincent. What a charming young man!' her mom said as he handed her a red rose before turning to Kat and offering her one too. Kat sincerely hoped she was not blushing from her embarrassment as she murmured an awkward 'thanks' and gently handed her rose to her mother to put in a vase.

Her dad looked more taken aback than even she did at all this, but didn't say anything. She could spot Archer fighting not to laugh from his spot on the couch.

Next RC strode in, placed his sombrero on his head and clasped her dad's hands tightly while speaking to him in Spanish. Her dad's eyes widened in alarm at this. Archer had let out a mortified sound from where he was sat and had whirled round to face the culprit, but RC was already striding over to the couch and throwing his sombrero across the room, which landed neatly on the arm rest.

Her father still looked completely non-plussed when RC suddenly switched to speaking English and complimented the artwork of Johnny Cash on the wall. Kat caught Archer's eye, but her little brother shook his head emphatically, still looking sort of grossed out by RC. What he had said could not have been appropriate. She was just glad her parents had no idea of Spanish. They both thanked him warily before Riley piped up and offered some cookies as a welcome gift.

Next came Addie, who, oddly introduced himself as Noah and offered them a little gift basket. Her mother offered him a kind smile, though kept eyeing his sunglasses wondering if he was going to take them off, but not wanting to ask him to. Kat's dad had his arms folded by this point with a sceptical frown on his face. There was absolutely no way he was convinced to let her join this band.

Feeling as though the best thing to do was to get everyone as far away from her parents as possible, she spoke up.
'Okay well, we should probably head down to the basement. Lot's of stuff to do. See ya mom, dad.' She shot a winning smile toward them both and ushered the band to follow her as quickly as possible.

'Have fun, kids, don't forget to come up for snacks later!' her mom called with a little wave.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Kat let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her purple locks. 'Oh my god I'm sorry my parents are kinda cringe sometimes. They'll get used to you all though.' She said this to reassure herself more than them.

The basement, though not entirely decorated and furnished, was certainly the perfect practice spot. A few guitars were mounted on the back wall where a practice amp stood along with a PA system and a keyboard. The room was well kitted out, with a good sized electric drum kit and there were even a couple of cosy sofas.

Archer's glockenspiel stood in a corner, and Kat noticed her black and white cat Figaro had decided to curl up on top of the instrument in a little ball. She let out a little laugh and walked over to him. 'Hey Fig, you can't sleep here, it's gonna get loud.' She stroked the little fluff ball who mewed in protest, before she picked him up and kissed the top of his head.

'Okay guys, this is the practice room, obviously,' she added with a little shrug. 'It'll do for now I guess. We don't really have any actual songs to practice, but my dad always says the best thing to do first is to jam together. It's not like we've ever actually played together after all.' She looked between them all, hoping they would agree with her sentiment.

 

[IDKnuggets]

Vincent Theodore Beckett​

---

Vincent didn’t know what RC had said, but from the look of disgust on the face of Kat's brother it must not have been very respectable. He should have known RC would do something like this, hopefully their father wouldn’t understand what had been said.

Fortunately, everyone else’s introductions seemed to go fairly well. Addie seemed a bit off, introducing himself as Noah before backtracking and correcting it. All in all though, RC was the only one who really worried him.

Vincent waited for the rest of the band to leave the room before he approached the handsome older man Kat had introduced as her father. “Sir, my name is Vincent Theodore Beckett,” the young man offered a hand to Mr. Summers as he continued, “I would like to begin by apologizing on behalf of my friend Rahat. He can be a bit… eccentric, but I’ve known him for a while now and he really is a good person deep down"

“I would also like to say that you have raised a remarkable young woman. When I heard her audition I knew this band could truly be something. Her voice was enthralling, not one person could look away. Everyone in this band is truly gifted, I feel honored and inspired to be able to play alongside them. I sincerely hope you may be able to spare the time to come and hear them all for yourself at some point, I know they will not disappoint.”

“Now if you would please excuse me sir, I really should catch up to the others. Thank you once again for allowing us into your home.” The boy excused himself to the music room with a respectful bow and a friendly nod to Archer.

Vincent caught up to the others just as Kat was suggesting a group jam session. He shot RC a stern look, then clapped his hands together and gave their host a bright smile. “That sounds like an excellent idea, Plum”

 

[KeroseneLollipop]

It took a few seconds of analyzing but Addie had realized how concerning he must have come off to Kat's parents. For god's sake, he was wearing sunglasses inside and just managed to screw up the name he had successfully introduced himself as many times. No one here knew that his birth name was Noah, without a doubt his name mess up came off odd. Wonderful first impression to your new bandmate's parents, possibly seeming high.

As soon as Kat had made her proposal, Addie was immediately down for it. Once Kat had begun leading the group down to her basement, he had been quick to follow. Her comment about her parents had him cocking his head and frowning slightly. Her mom seemed like such a sweet and kind mother. It wasn't surprising Addie was skeptical about her father. He was like that towards any father figure.

Reaching the basement, he recognized it to be a great practice area. There was no way they weren't a big music family with all the equipment. This stuff wasn't down here for no reason, families don't just have a whole ass practice room in their basement just because. Now he was for sure curious what Kat's occupation was. Hell with how Kat had sung at that audition there was no way a music talent didn't run in her family. "Nice" Addie commented more to himself.

When he noticed the Glockenspiel in the corner of the room, Addie has to hold off a snicker. He had vivid memories of Cipher and him screwing around with their elementary school's music and her beloved Glockenspiel. They knew the risks of getting caught and having the school report their behavior back to school, yet they kept on messing with her. Mainly they screwed around with her through means of her Glockenspiel since she loved the thing so much. She was a rude and short tempered teacher anyway. Though the cat curled up on top of this Glockenspiel was adorable.

Though that was besides the point since Kat had began speaking and he had been spacing out. He missed a little of what she said, but picked up on the part where she was mentioning a jam session and how they had never played together in the first place. Addie was about to make a simple comment before a quick clap had him nearly jumping out of his skin. When the voice picked up afterwards he felt so stupid since it had been just Vincent entering the room. 'Dude, pull it together.' He told himself. "Alrighty, sounds awesome!" He replied with genuine enthsiam.

 

[Dawnstar]

Alex' Wakefield
Alex' followed the others quickly as they departed the living room, giving an acknowledging nod and smile to Kat's Mom as he left, he would defiantly be coming up for snacks later; to be honest he already had a bit of an apatite skating half way across town after getting up early today.

He felt soo out of place as they entered the music room, place was filled with dozens of instruments some of which Alex' couldn't even name if he wanted to. It looked really cool though, and there were even couches down here - It was pretty quickly though that Alex' eyes caught the electric drum kit. He'd never used one before but well he definitely wanted to try it.

He dumped his backpack and skates down besides the couches and quickly made his way over to it before anybody had suggested anything, an excited look in his eye wanting to try it - So when the Jam session was suggested Alex' cocked his head back and grinned a bit giving sharp short nod. Quickly moving around to the drum kit to sit down.
..And promptly realising he was only barely able to reach the pedals at the current height this thing was at. He got off again and went through the same old tedious show of adjusting it for himself as always, before popping himself back up and getting ready to play with the others.

 

[withinasapphire]

Finally relieved of their cookie gift, Riley had stepped back and resumed looking at everything in Kat's house. It was so different from their own, they could imagine their mom would find it..unconventional. Then again, their mom wasn't a complete musician like Kat's family seemed to be. Maybe it's in a musician's soul to be unconventional.

It's when they heard Addie introduce himself as Noah that Riley felt their attention grabbed. They gave the guy a look of confusion. I mean, if he went by two names, they wouldn't be bothered by it. But somehow it didn't feel like that was the case here. This suspicion was confirmed when he later corrected himself.

Their gaze lingered on Addie, wondering why he was acting so..off. They figured, maybe, possibly, it had to do with that black eye they saw earlier. But maybe not, who knows, maybe Addie just knocked his eye into something. They've had their fair share of black eyes before, some of them being from something stupid. Others, not so much.

They looked down at the floor for a second as a few memories bubbled to the surface in their head. But they quickly shook them off as Kat seemed to want them all to follow her into the basement.

Once they reached the basement, they let out a laugh when Kat mentioned her parents were kinda cringey. "Ha, you think that's bad? Why don't you try meeting my parents!"

Just as they said that, they took notice of the keyboard and immediately darted over to it. They ran their hand along it's keys, a smile quickly surfacing on their face. When they heard Kat's words, they nodded and gave her a thumbs up. "Sounds good to me! I'm itching to go!"

Though, they couldn't help but to try and hold back a laugh when they noticed Alex had to adjust where he sat, barely being able to reach the pedals. There was an obvious look of fondness in their eyes however, despite their laughter.