Blackmailed Into The Band

Christmas Dinner

" I'll meet you guys there," I said as they nodded and left.

I got in my car and followed Josh's car to his house. Once we parked, I wondered if the rest of the guys knew that Josh and I had been hanging out without them.

" Ready to record?" Aidan asked as we all nodded and walked into the garage.

All week long, we had been practicing The Balcony Scene separately. Josh and Carter learned the chords on guitar and bass. Phillip learned how to drum it out, and then there was Aidan and I who realized there wasn't much screaming, just rasping, in the song. I told him to go ahead and do the whole thing without me.

As I fixed the camera and started to film, Josh's eyes wandered past the lens and met mine. I'll admit that I was pretty mesmerized by his and Aidan's voices as they tag-teamed the song.

While we uploaded the video, we went to work on social media, promoting the heck out of our work and creating a Twitter and Facebook page for our band. We promoted on Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr... anywhere we could.

An hour later, our video was uploaded and ready to be viewed. It hit an astonishing 700 views in one night.

" How?!" Phillip asked, refreshing YouTube for the second time. We all high-fived as our covers gained recognition and people started subscribing.

" Let's choose our next song," Josh said, taking a break from strumming his guitar. " It's Carter's turn."

" I guess we could do something heavier since this song didn't have much screaming in it. Maybe we can cover a pop song and make it all punk and shit."

" And what would the pop song be?" Josh asked.

" Um... Let's do some One Direction," He said as everyone in the room rolled their eyes.

During the brief time I've spent with Carter, I've realized one thing about him: his undying love for boybands.

" Night Changes?" Aidan asked, repulsed by the idea. Carter nodded wildly as I grew interested. How would a punk version of Night Changes sound?

" Alright, Night Changes by One Direction it is," Josh said as everyone started doing their research. Me, Aidan, and Josh discussed what was going to turn into screaming and what was going to be sung.

" My mom just sent a text," Phillip said after a while. " She wants to know if you guys would like to come over on Christmas for dinner."

" This year went by fast," Aidan said. " I'll ask my parents."

Everyone dug their phones out to ask their parents if it was okay to meet up at Phillip's house for Christmas in two days.

I didn't ask, knowing my family took Christmas dinner seriously and would be occupied with visiting relatives.

" Alexia? Aren't you coming?" Phillip asked.

" I can't, I have parents who love and breathe for Christmas. They wouldn't let me go. Plus, I have relatives visiting," I said.

The guys nodded sympathetically. And then it was time to go home. I got in my car as they all got in Josh's and we took off.

As soon as I got home, I stopped outside the door and checked our views again.

750 views total.