and the stars will all come out

chapter thirty! ☆

ON THURSDAY, LANDRY CAME TO THE CABIN, BUT SOMETHING UNUSUAL WAS HAPPENING IN THE BASEMENT.

She heard the raucous drums as soon as she stepped inside, closed the door behind her, and shook her shoes off on the mat. The band was practicing again, clearly, but it didn't sound anything they'd been inventing for the album. Most starkly unusual of all, the voice singing along amid the drums and bass sounded much different.

Landry descended downstairs, half curious and half confused, and was met with the peculiar sight of Taylor at the front with the mic, belting out lyrics, while Dave was behind him, pounding the kit. Was it opposite day?

Despite the slight confusion, she smiled, bobbing her head to the beat. She knew this song, she could tell it was a cover, she just didn't know what song it was.

Taylor just thundered on, a cigarette pinched between his fingers as he sang, "And did we tell you the name of the game, boy?"

Ah. Pink Floyd. That was it.

He grinned at Landry, and she smiled and waved shyly, drinking in the free performance.

"We call it riding the gravy trainnnnn..."

Truth be told, she initially thought Taylor couldn't or wouldn't sing, but she was wholly enjoying being proven wrong.

The song came to a halt sometime after the second verse and before the guitar solo, and beaming, Taylor bowed spectacularly.

He struck a pose. "Have A Cigar, ladies and gentlemen!'"

"You guys kicked ass," Landry said truthfully, and now that there wasn't any performance to be captivated by, she flopped on the couch. "Whose idea was it for T to sing?"

"Mine," Taylor said proudly. "D and I fucking love that song."

"That was great," Nate said from beside him, his bass hanging by his hips. "Lan, we were saying that the four of us should jam sometime. An extra guitar would make a difference."

"We should!" Landry responded enthusiastically. "I don't know how we haven't yet. That would be awesome."

"You been doing a lot of gigs lately?"

"Next one's tonight, actually," she responded. "Back at the Blue Lounge. Seven to nine. Should be interesting."

"Oh, definitely."

It was that moment that Dave came into the conversation, still behind the kit, slightly sweaty. "We should jam with Lani right now."

Taylor turned to look at Dave. "Fuck yeah!"

Landry immediately sat up straighter, taking a glance around the basement for any available guitars.

She looked at Dave. "What were you thinking?"

"Have A Cigar 2.0?" Taylor suggested helpfully.

Dave pointed his stick at him. "That works."

Nate gave his thumbs-up to express his content, and Landry was already up from the couch, looking for that green Gibson she'd taken a liking to.

She found it not too far away from the band, and tossed the strap over her shoulders. "That's good with me. I'm ready."

Dave spun his stick, not unlike how Taylor regularly did. "Great."

"Count us in, man!" Taylor said, and--

The band kicked in at full force, and what followed was one of the weirdest covers she'd ever been involved in.