No Strings Attached

Chapter 9: Friday

The jam session on Thursday and Friday went off much better than it did on Wednesday as both Becca and Freen pushed their emotions far to the back of their minds and focused on their music, especially the original song they would play that Saturday night. Though the words still stung both of them on a certain level, they knew they had to push their professionalism to forefront. They owed it to Richie and Heng as least.

They had also settled on a punk rock song as their cover in order to get their audience on their feet. Not that their original was particularly slow; it was still a powerfully emotional song, but they needed something fun to balance it out a bit. They practiced "Want you bad" by The Offspring until it was so potent it even had the band jumping and rocking around from enjoyment. They were ready for The State's Saturday night Bandslam.

"Okay, come on guys it's been a long week of practice. I think we need a pre-party party!" Heng grinned as he put his guitar away at 5pm that Friday evening.

A pre-party party? We all know that's Heng-code for 'let's go out and get wasted'." Richie said and rolled his eyes. "You're lucky I'm game." He raised his brows at Becca and Freen as if to ask whether they would be joining. "Hell yeah, Jokers is having a foam party tonight! I wanna get wet!" Becca laughed and wagged her brows at Heng, who shot her a grin and a finger gun.

Freen seemed a little unsure. The university she attended typically didn't have much in the way of parties or rangers, though she had attended once or twice. She found out quickly that it wasn't her scene. "I don't know guys. You should go and have fun. I think I'll just sit this one out."

Becca wasn't about to argue with her, but Heng was. He hopped over to Freen and placed his hands on her shoulders from behind, turning her slightly so that he could see her side profile. "Come on Freenkie, just imagine all those half naked chiseled bodies dancing to dark beats in the strobe lights, foam everywhere and slick skin. It's practically sex on the dancefloor." He ended his last words with a wave of his hand in front of Freen as if to encourage her to picture it.

"Not that we want to you to feel pressured..." Richie shot Heng a glare before his eyes softened and his smile widened at the dark haired beauty. "But if you're going to be part of this band you'll have to get used to quite a bit of partying." Becca slumped down on the couch and simply shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "Besides, it's good marketing for us. We get to know the people and promote our band. More of them come to the Bandslam to see us and cheer us on. You already know bandslams are heavily based on crowd reaction."

Freen paused and chewed on her bottom lip as she thought about it. She'd feel pretty left out if her whole band went without her, but on the other hand she wasn't sure whether she'd be comfortable enough to enjoy herself. As if Becca could read her mind, she canted her head to the side and smirked at her old friend. "We'll feed you some shots to loosen you up and Heng and Richie will happily protect you."

"And what about you?" Freen asked Becca with a pointed look. "No protection from you?" Becca laughed hard as she threw her head back, while Richie scoffed and Heng smirked, moving to the front of Freen again. "She'll be too busy with her tongue down some chick's throat. For some reason that I can't figure out she's got mad game."

"I told you I could teach you, Heng, but you won't listen!" She smirked like she was the devil incarnate and Freen could feel her heart sink into her stomach. That was not quite what she was expecting to hear, though she didn't know what else she was expecting. Just like herself, Becca had grown into a gorgeous young woman that exuded confidence, wrapped up in that inescapable bad girl image.

"Okay fine. I'm game. Can't be labelled a prude now, can I?" Freen sighed and rolled her eyes. "You can bring any friends you'd like if you want, if that would make you feel more comfortable." Richie reassured Freen and it did make her feel a bit better, smiling and nodding at Richie. "We also have some friends that usually join us, so maybe you can even find someone you like." At those words Freen gave a small smile, while Becca snorted from the couch and silently clenched her teeth together. She definitely did not like that idea, even though she knew it wasn't her problem or responsibility to get involved in Freen's lovelife. "Richie, your friends all suck." He laughed in turn, "Don't let them hear you say that, Becks. You'll break their hearts."