No Strings Attached

Chapter 8: Clashing

The next day was already Wednesday and the Bandslam was on Saturday night. There wasn't much time for them to get their new original song sounding its best. Practice that day wasn't going very well. Though Richie, Heng and Becca were doing fairly well with staying in sync and keeping to the right notes with good transitions, Freen was struggling and tripping up way too much than was desirable. Although the guys were encouraging, Becca was getting irritated as hell.

"Shit." Freen breathed out heavily at her next mistake, and when another one came Becca lost it. "Fuck Freen! Where's your fucking head at?!" She bellowed at the dark haired woman. Richie and Heng looked on with wide eyes, before Freen mumbled a soft "Sorry" and put her guitar down before walking off to one corner of the garden where she could hide as tears trickled down her cheeks.

"I'll go." Heng said and started removing his guitar from his shoulder, but Richie quickly interjected. "Heng, sit your ass down. We can have a beer while Becca goes to fix her fucking mistake." Becca looked incredulously at her brother but his stare told her he was in no mood for her bullshit.

"Now go before I fling a fucking drumstick at you." Becca sighed deeply and stood at the door of the garage to try and spot Freen where she sat cross-legged in the soft grass. She grabbed two beers and made her way to the woman slowly, unsure of how to approach the situation.

Eventually she simply sat down next to Freen and handed her a bottle. Freen wiped at her eyes quickly and took the bottle thankfully. "That song is aimed at me, isn't it?" She asked softly and Becca gave no answer, which was an answer all itself.

"Beck, look, I'm sorry. I was young and stupid. I didn't know what I wanted and I didn't know who I really was." Becca snorted before taking a swig from her bottle. "You sure knew who you were when you dated Scott for two years. Goddamn prom king and queen and everything."

Freen shook her head as she took her own sip from her drink. "Look, I'm trying to apologise. Like I said, I was stupid. Are you ever going to forgive me? I mean, we have to get along on some level at least if we're going to play in the same band."

"That's presumptuous of you, thinking you're a permanent member of this band." Becca smirked then, finally dropping the hard façade for a second as she bumped her shoulder against Freen's.

"Oh please, you can't function without me." Freen joked in return. "Oh I don't know, those other guys weren't so bad. They just need some training." Becca lifted one brow as she gave Freen a sideways glance, causing the woman's jaw to grow slack.

"I think your brother might kill you." Becca nodded in agreement as she scoffed lowly. "Okay come Sarocha, let's get you to relax." Becca moved to her feet and offered her hand to Freen to pull her up.

"But don't think this makes us friends." Becca was serious with her words and that much was clear in her expression, but for once she was not hostile towards the other woman and Freen was very thankful for what she considered to be at least one step in the right direction.

When the two women reached the garage Becca chased the guys away, telling them to go play some video games or whatever. She needed the space and time with Freen to get her comfortable enough to pick up the song. "Okay, switch your pedals off and enhance your bass. Keep your notes low and slow. We're playing a cover. Please just bear with me, okay?" Freen nodded, slightly unsure, but willing to try whatever Becca wanted.

"Sit down, get comfy." She told Freen as she moved to the back of the garage to fetch her own acoustic guitar, coming to sit close to Freen and strumming it to tune it correctly. "You'll know the song. Fall in when you're ready, then I'll start adding the words."

Becca started a slow song, a sad melody as she played, but so bittersweet. Soon Freen sighed heavily and joined in, allowing Becca to start singing:

"Somebody said you got a new friend,
Does he love you better than I can?
And there's a big black sky over my town,
I know where you're at, I bet he's around."

Freen's eyes started tearing up again as she played and listened to the rawness of Becca's voice. She realised the immense pain she caused Becca truly was a wound she had been carrying for years.

"And yeah, I know it's stupid,
But I just gotta see it for myself.
I'm in the corner, watching you kiss him, oh...
I'm right over here, why can't you see me? Oh...
And I'm giving it my all but.
I'm not the girl you're taking home, ooh...
I keep dancing on my own, ah..."

Whether Freen was noticing it or not, Becca was busy bearing her soul to the woman. There had been a point at school, underneath the bleachers with Nop and a blunt in her hand, watching Freen as she cheered Scott on at practice that Becca realised... This was more than just a feeling of friendship. She had chalked it up to the pain of losing her best friend, but she knew on some level that she was just fooling herself.

"I just wanna dance all night,
And I'm all messed up, I'm so out of line, yeah.
Stilettos and broken bottles,
I'm spinning around in circles...

And I'm in the corner, watching you kiss him, oh...
And I'm right over here, why can't you see me? Oh...
And I'm giving it my all,
But I'm not the girl you're taking home, ooh...
I keep dancing on my own,
And oh, nah..."

Becca's voice faltered a bit, but she quickly managed to pull it together and continue the song. Freen's fingers fell across her strings with as much feeling as Becca was placing into her voice and her own guitar. Glancing over at Becca to steal a glance, Freen was surprised to see a single tear fall down her cheek and all Freen wanted to do was gently wipe it away.

"So far away but still so near.
The lights come on, the music dies,
But you don't see me standing here
I just came to say goodbye..."

They finished the song in perfect harmony, both sets of eyes wet with tears, though Becca quickly stood up to replace her guitar at the back of the garage and grabbed her bottle of beer again to drink the pain away. Freen put her guitar in its stand and wiped at her eyes before taking a sip from her own bottle. She didn't want to say anything that could turn out to be a mere assumption and so she left it at that.

"You know when I said I wasn't going to prom?" Becca suddenly spoke softly as she approached the open garage door, but kept her distance from Freen. "I was there. I tried to be invisible but you were anything but. You looked so beautiful, it made my heart ache." Becca swallowed hard and took a few more swigs before dropping her empty bottle in the trash. "When I saw you crowned I took one last good look and left."

Freen didn't dare look up at Becca, just simply swirled her drink around in the bottle. "And I never saw you again." She whispered. When she finally lifted her gaze to Becca, she found the woman gone.