Battle of the Bands - Sanders Sides

Chapter Eleven

By the end of the day, the final bell rang in Remus' ears but he felt almost numb. It had been almost three hours since he had performed and he was still radiating nerves. The environment around him felt completely new. No one had given him an odd glare. No one had trash-talked him. Hell, anyone hardly looked at him. And it was an amazing feeling!

While walking out of the room, he could see many of his classmates glued to their phones. He assumed they were looking at the results of the battle. Suddenly, Remus felt a whole new level of nervousness wash over him. It was like a tidal wave after the storm had seemed to have calmed down.

He made it to his locker, surprised to see Janus and Virgil not there waiting for him. Instead, leaning against the locker next to his was Logan. It took his breath away, seeing the nerd captivated in his book.

Remus walked closer, eventually putting his fingers around his locker while putting in the code. When he opened it, it made such a noise that Logan snapped his book shut and jumped. It scared Remus a bit too, immediately putting his hand on the nerd's shoulder in support. When the two realized where his hand was, they both heavily blushed.

"I-I apologize for that. I suppose I never saw you coming," Logan reasoned.

"No, please don't be sorry. I should've said something rather than pretending like you weren't there. You just seemed really deep into your book is all," Remus muttered, getting Logan to let out a chuckle that made the student's heart melt. "What book is it?"

"'Their Eyes Were Watching God.' A beautiful book really," He answered. As Remus emptied his bag full of his books, he started to wonder again. Why was Logan here? Does he want something? Is there something missing here? "Is something the matter, Remus?"

"Oh...uh," Remus shut his locker, leaning against to casually to face his nerdy crush. "I guess I was just wondering why you were talking to me. I mean, we've never really talked."

"True, but I wanted to wish you congratulatory remarks about your performance today. And I can't wait to see you guys continue."

"Wait...continue?!" Remus pulled up the school's website on his phone. Sure enough, his little band had ranked number five out of the eight remaining bands. Remus genuinely felt proud of himself and his friends. For their first performance ever, ranking five was more than any of them expect.

His eyes wandered up the list, seeing Remy's band at number one, which didn't surprise him one bit. "Uh, congrats to you on first place too!" Remus said. Logan rolled his eyes, a smile poking through his resentful exterior.

"Placing highly in these competitions don't mean anything to me. I just enjoy playing the keyboard. It's Remy, Patton, and Emile who require the gratification. And it hardly helps that Roman supports it so much." Remus could tell that this topic was a personal one to Logan. From what the student did see, Logan did enjoy playing but Remy was the one who made it a less fun experience.

Remus sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. Logan straightened his glasses, turning back to the mustached boy. "Well, I didn't come here just to congratulate you and vent. I wanted to see if you'd perhaps like to get some sort of treat to celebrate with me," Logan admitted. Remus went bright red. He had never been asked on a date before. Was this even a date? Or just something to celebrate with?

"I'd love to!" Remus agreed before a thought came to him, "But, Janus and Virgil...they probably want to celebrate with me too!"

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Logan told him with a kind smile, "Last time I saw them they were in the back of the library, almost in each other's pants so...I think you'll be okay for a while." Remus laughed but couldn't help but agree. So he followed the nerd out of the school and down the street.

Remus had lived in this town long enough to know that they were heading for a local shopping mall nearby. His mind started to wonder as to where they were going in the mall, but the student had a keen idea as to where.

"So, how long have you played the keyboard?" Remus pondered, striking up a conversation.

"Not long. Probably since the start of high school. I met Remy on the first day of high school and he introduced me to Emile and Patton. Later on, they started a band and asked me to join. At first, it was just for fun and I really enjoyed learning how to play. But then, when the band got popular the strive to be the best got too deeply planted into their heads."

"So, why haven't you quit?"

"I can't," Logan sighed, rubbing his shoulder. "Even if they treat me badly, they are my friends and I love playing the keyboard. And it means so much to know that those guys see me as a friend and a band member rather than everybody else sees me, as...a nerd."

Remus looked down, sadly thinking through Logan's story. He felt bad, he truly did. But in a weird way, he understood. "I get it. Being seen as one thing, no matter how true it is, hurts. But I hope you understand that my friends and I won't see you like that if you don't want us to."

"Please," He instructed, clearing his throat again. "Thank you."

"Of course...nerd," He joked. The two continued to the mall, Logan leading him to a frozen yogurt shop. Remus was surprised. He had never been to this place before, but he already loved it so much.

Remus poured all twelve flavors into his cup and did his best to get all of the gummy bears, worms, rings, and fruits into the cup. Logan just got a simple salted caramel flavor with white chocolate chips.

At the end, Logan paid the bill despite Remus trying to do the same. And as they walked back to the school, eating their delicious treat and chatting away, their two hands slipped together, leaving a red hue on both of their cheeks.