Young But Real (5 YA Short Stories)

The Rainbow

It's an open area but the smell of sweats, perfumes, sodas and juices lingers in the air amidst the wild teenagers who are either jumping or screaming or both.

The cause, the fundraising concert by Rainbow, our school's very own rock band.

They hold this concert to raise the fund for them to be able to travel to Sydney. They are aiming to become the Best Band in Australia by participating in the Battle of the Bands which will be held in Sydney next month.

Almost all students and school staff are here. Our principal was supposed to be seated in the first row but he is now jumping with the students and singing his heart out. Same goes to Kira, Harrison and Mikayla.

Jarrod is behind her, ready to catch Mikayla if she stumbles as she can't see properly. Jarrod didn't want her to go, but she said, in concert, all you need is your voice, ears, hands and feet.

On my left is Jace who can effortlessly jump as if Eloise is not sitting on his shoulder.

On my right is Selena and we're in sync as we scream, I mean sing, jump and pour water in our heads and swing our hair for the effect.

I'm half-laughing and panting as the song comes to an end and the vocalist say a few words to thank the audience.

"We're taking a five-minute water break and we'll be back for the last set," says Toni, the vocalist of the band. He's wearing the usual black leather jacket, a white shirt underneath it, black jeans and black leather lace up platform boots. All of them are wearing the same outfit. The crowd boo and shout, "More! More!" Toni waves his hand, runs his hands through his messy short curls and passes the microphone to the guitarist.

"Wow! You all are the best. I hope you keep the energy until the last song. For now, shout out to Archer Golan who rushed to buy the string of my guitar when it snapped during our rehearsal earlier." He looks around the audience and when his eyes find mine, he winks and grins, "Thanks, Cher!"

Riley Scott. The naturally talented musician and most charming member of the band. We met on Finn's birthday a few months back and Kira introduced him as her best friend. Selena and I arrived earlier so we went to check on the band. While they're playing, one of the guitar strings snapped and Riley realised that he has no spare for that particular string. I volunteered to buy the replacement while Selena stayed just in case they needed something.

I smile back at him and hold his gaze for a few seconds before I blow a kiss and wink. His eyes widen and his smile falters in surprise, probably not expecting to receive a flying kiss from me. He recovers fast enough to act like he catches it. We're both grinning at each other.

Riley is a gay. Actually, all the members of the band are members of the LGBT community. Toni, the main vocalist whose real name is Antonette, and Chris, the bassist whose real name is Christine, are lesbians. Shaun, the drummer, is bisexual. Thus, the name of the band is Rainbow. All of them are good-looking. Toni and Chris would've been among the stunners if they're straight girls. Being lesbian didn't remove those charms. Riley, on the other hand, is a hunk with broad shoulders and bulging biceps. Let's not talk the ladies and gays' man, Shaun. He's the most handsome in the group.

"What was that?!" Selena yells in my ear. Averting my eyes from Riley, I turn to see Selena raising her eyebrow and her eyes are darting from me to Riley.

"What?" I mirror her actions. I know what she's talking about, but this place is not for holding a conversation. For Christ's sake, this place is too loud for that.

She pulls me down and shouts in my ears. "Why are you flirting with Riley?"

"You're hurting my ear!" I bend down a bit and shout back in her ear. She opens her mouth to say something again, but we are interrupted by Kira.

She turns around, still holding Harrison's hand, "Do you have water?"

"No," Selena shakes her head. "Archer emptied the contents in his head."

Kira and Harrison move their gaze to my still uneven wet hair.

"You're not obviously enjoying this concert, huh?" Harrison said, amusement clearly in his eyes and voice. He turns to Kira and says, "Let's buy water for everyone. I think these two will need a few bottles for the next set."

Laughing, the unbelievable couple leaves, but not before Kira yells to protect their spot. We are all standing ten metres away from the stage.

"I think my throat is already sore!" Selena said loudly again.

"Then, help us both, stop talking!" I roll my eyes and she smacks my arm in return.

Surprisingly, she actually shuts her mouth and sways his body to the beat of the recorded music by the band instead. I roam my eyes around us. Most of the students are dancing and the teachers have gone back to their seats. Eloise is now dancing with Jace while Jarrod and Mikayla are eating each other's mouths.

I glance back at Selena who is now watching Jarrod and Mikayla, a sad expression in her face. Averting her gaze, she pulls out her phone from her jean's pocket and quickly types something. I don't need to see what she's doing. It is obvious that she misses Finn and sends him a text telling him probably the obvious message, "I miss you. Wish you were here :x."

As expected the last set is met with roaring crowds and the band matches their energy. Toni's charisma in capturing the audience is palpable. If Riley's doing the  second voice and playing the guitar, the performance is out of this world.

My throat hurts as well as my ears. I hope the weekend is enough to recuperate. Harrison was right. Selena and I ended up pouring two water bottles in our heads. My black cotton shirt clings to my chest and abs. I grab some tissues to wipe the water and probably sweat from my face and neck. I shake my head to remove the excess liquid from my hair.

"Speak!"

As soon as I exit the male toilet, Selena shoves me to the wall between the male and female toilet. Her hands are firmly pressed to my chest. I could push her away, but she looks so serious as if I did something wrong.

Dramatic Selena mode is on yet I'll be damned if I don't find it cute. A chuckle escapes from my lips which infuriates her more.

"Huh, laugh all you can. We'll see if you can still do that after my question."

"Well, fire away."

She smirks, "Why were you flirting with Riley?"

Ah, I guess the toilet is far better than the loud concert venue for having a conversation.

"I like him."

She blinks her eyes and laughs. "Everyone likes him. I like him but you —"

"Because I like like him, not platonic."

She scrutinises me and I hold her gaze. I'm a direct person. You ask me. I'll answer with clarity. After a while, she removed her hands from my chest and put one on her hips.

"Damn, you're gay?!" 

***
It's me. Hi. I'm the problem.

Yes! That's from genius Queen TayTay. Welcome to a brand new story. I hope you stay with me until the story ends.

Thank you for reading.

Lovelots,
Alya