Out of Tune: The Original 2015 Draft

chapter 12

There's nothing like music to relieve the soul and uplift it

-Mickey Hart

"And that was Imagine Reality singing Let Her Go by Passenger!"

We waved as we climbed off of the stage at Quincy's. It had been over a month since our first performance after which we'd become a fixed set every Saturday night for an hour starting at seven at night. We'd managed to gain quite the fan base considering we'd only played a total of seven shows. Our YouTube channel was bursting, thanks to Taylor.

And still, no one knew who we were.

Not the people at school. Not the people who watched us online or came to our shows. Not my mom or Brad.

No one.

I was surprised that we had managed to pull off our façade for as long as we had been. People had been trying, of course, to figure out who we were. Several had tried following us as we left Quincy's each Saturday night, but we'd been able to evade them so far.

"That set was awesome. Better than last weeks. You're fans are going to be super pumped," Taylor said as we approached Spencer's house. We'd left Quincy's as quickly as we could, running out into the back alleyway to change clothing and start heading home.

"Thanks, Taylor." I smiled at her warmly as Spencer opened the door to his house and ushered us inside.

I was pleased to have her here with us; another girl in the group. I loved the boys, but sometimes, girl time was needed and Taylor was turning out to be my only option. With Katie gushing about how she was Imagine Reality's biggest fan and how if she ever got a hold of the lead singer she would "ravish him until he was blue in the face," I was starting to find it difficult to stand being near her for any extended periods of time.

The six of us walked through Spencer's empty house—Anna and Jared were out on their weekly date night—heading towards the basement. We trudged down the stairs excitedly, yet oddly subdued. I thought that the week was probably just catching up to us. It had been long and tiring, but we were still here, living to perform for another night.

The moment she hit the ground, Taylor stalked over to the computer and sat down on the chair, uploading the video from tonight's gig onto our YouTube channel. Miles sat near her, talking quietly. They'd yet to start dating as Spencer had predicted which meant that I was winning by betting it would take them over four weeks. I'd bet six, but we were soon going to be upon that marker, in a week and a half, and I wasn't entirely sure that I would be right.

They were both being as stubborn as mules.

Charlie, Spencer and I, sat down on the ground near the television. Spencer pulled out Settlers of Catan, our current after show ritual, while I put the first X-Men movie on. Zeke was upstairs, grabbing sods and popcorn, while the rest of us set up for our typical night of fun.

As we waited for the movie to load, Spencer implored, "So, what are you guys doing over Christmas break?"

It was that time of year again, though it hardly felt like it in sunny L.A. There was no snow and the temperature was still firmly above zero, which would have persuaded anyone who had once lived in New York, like me, to believe that it was really not December and that Christmas break was not around the corner.

I shrugged at Spencer. "Avoid my family."

"Isn't that what you do anyways?" Zeke asked as he climbed down the stairs, a bucket of popcorn and a heap of sodas nearly falling from his hands. He stumbled his way over to the couches and then unceremoniously dropped the cans of soda on the couch. The popcorn he placed gently onto the ground.