Trust Issues (Book #1 of the Defy series)

Chapter 3: Prelude (Ace POV)

Trust Issues (Book #1 of the Defy series)

Ace:

The Lights blind me as I strum my guitar.

The vibrations from the speakers moved through my body. Causing my adrenaline to kick into gear. As I look back I catch the eyes of Hugo as he beats lightly at the drums. His brown hair shimmers in the spotlight above him. His eyes dance with the excitement that only occurs when he's playing music. I give him a grin.

Turning to my side I spot Liam on the piano, playing soft notes that seemed to build angst. And on my left stood Aaron, his guitar in hand and his eyes on the sea of faceless people. But they still made their presence known with their loud screams and cheers.

I could feel their excitement. Heck, I could smell it, breathing it in with every intake of breath. I look towards the back of the venue we were playing at and our band name was displayed on the wall in big neon lights.

DEFY.

The name was up for interpretation. Our group name meant defying expectations some might say. Defying society, the more poetic of our fans claim. But to me at least, it means defying the odds. Resisting the easy road to failure and taking the difficult road to success. Even when it seems that family and friends are against you, still coming out on top despite that. Persevering through the pain.

With that thought in mind, I ready myself and sing the song that practically made us.

In a moment everything is so clear.

I tried to hurt you but hurt me instead.

Now every move I make is in fear and I feel like I'm on edge.

But I've been in this car so long; driving recklessly without a seatbelt on.

Missing all the signs until it's too late.

Knowing that we're lost if we keep going at this rate.

I won't surrender

I won't surrender

Even if it hurts me instead...I won't surrender.

My voice rang out through the crowd and seems to calm them down. Aaron and Liam sing and harmonize on some parts while I move to the beat. And then to my surprise, the crowd is chanting along. Removing my in-ears I soak in the atmosphere as the crowd sings my part. I stop singing, resting my voice and letting the crowd take over.

And then before I knew it, it was over. We gave our thanks and bowed. Hurrying off so that the stage and equipment could be cleared. We all went into our shared dressing room.

"Man, this was our best venue yet. Did you see all those faces, Ace? Well, did you?" Aaron was basically buzzing with electricity, not seemingly able to be still. I gave him a smile. He was the youngest out of all of us and was overly excited about everything.

"Yeah, Aaron I saw all those people out there." I turned to find Hugo sitting on a big brown sofa in the corner, his leg swung over the other crossing at the ankles. He looked tired, mildly out of it, and agitated. But then again that's how Hugo always was when he wasn't performing.

Liam was busy getting a drink from the mini-fridge, something I was planning to do as soon as my feet had stopped aching. Reading my mind Liam threw me a bottle of water; I caught it not wasting any time before I devoured it. Liam's blonde hair was matted to his head by sweat. He came over sat by me on my position on the couch opposite of Hugo.

"Hey, Hugo have you told Mom and Dad about this yet", Aaron spoke. I looked up interested to see if he had. Aaron and Hugo are brothers while not biologically. When Hugo was eight his parents adopted Aaron, but I can't imagine a time without Aaron at all. You see all of us grew up together. Hugo and Aaron's parents became me and Liam's parents.

We all had the itch for playing music. And in high school, me, Hugo, Liam, and Aaron formed the band DEFY. Very creative, I know, I made the name. And somehow that inadvertently made me the leader, however that logic works.

Hugo looked around at us, "Yeah, I told them, they just couldn't make it. Things came up." He said this flatly, with the vigor of a wilted plant.

"Oh." The disappointment was clear in Aaron's voice. Their parents usually always came to our shows to support us. But I also knew they had a life too. It would be selfish to expect them there every time.

"Alright, guys! Listen up, today was good but I need you guys well rested for tomorrow's practice", Marty our manager stated. He was up in age, late 60s, and had some greys growing in. He was like a grandfather to us.

Marty's brown eyes seemed to have a mischievous twinkle in them, as he rubbed both of his wrinkled hands together. Heaving out a sigh, that was more to build up suspense than anything else, he spoke.

"I have some important news."