Battle of The Bands

06

Moonlight Sonata

July 2016

"Guys we are in LAX! This is fucking amazing! We have to go to Hollywood and the Santa Monica Beach. We HAVE to bump into celebrities! This is going to be so much fun!" Jax yells out excitedly as we stood in front of LAX looking for our ride.

She has been overly hyped since we got on the plane. I just continued to ignore her overly hypedness as I tried to look through the crowded airport.

"Jax chill. We haven't even made to to the hotel." Bev reasons.

I felt a tug on my sleeve to find a shy looking Cat pointing from behind us. Her shyness seemed to intensify with crowds as big as these.

Looking back my eyes met a man very professionally dressed holding up a sign that read: Broken Like Glass.

"Guys, Cat found him." I call out to the bickering girls as I grabbed Cats hand and tugged her along with me.

Even though she doesn't do well with large crowds, she feels better when we're there for her.

"Sir, we're Broken Like Glass." I say to the generic looking man with plain brown hair and eyes.

His only response was a simple nod as he led towards a limo? Limo! A freaking Limo!

He held the door open for us as we entered.

"Well this feels all awkward and quiet all of a sudden." Jax says out.

"Well the driver is kinda quiet," Cat replies, "and you stopped talking."

"Whatever, I just can't wait to meet cute California boys." Jax breaths out with a faraway gaze while Bev shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh yeah, Bev's already taken. She only has eyes for her one special guy: Mikey. Where is he again?" I ask recalling that she's never really mentioned anything about him other that he's in a band with lilac hair.

"He...isn't from America. Um, he's foreign..." She says clumsily.

"Sounds hot." Jax comments.

"How did you both meet?" Cat asked seemingly curious as well.

"The internet." She mumbled out.

I don't think she really wants to talk about him, she's starting to look really uncomfortable as a silence settled between us all. We all felt that.

Suddenly the intercom took over the the silence, "Ladies, we are arriving at the hotel." The driver says as the silence returns.

We were all quiet as we left the limo with our luggage trailing behind us. We were quiet as we got our room keys, headed in the elevator, and even when we reached our rooms.

I wasn't quite sure why we were quiet. Jax seemed to be stuck in deep thought while Bev seemed ashamed... for some reason. While Cat was being a quiet Cat. I, however, was just observing it all.

Since we had separate rooms for two people each, Cat and I decided to share a room.

"I can't wait a day." She states as she stared out the window where the city was alive and running.

"You mean for the instruments?" I conclude.

Cat lived to play music. Back at home, she was smart but school was never her thing. In middle school, when she discovered the schools band class she came alive. She learned everything she could about music and instruments. Soon after, she performed for the first time and fell in love with performing. She's been a music junkie ever since.

It's crazy, she can perform with almost any instrument, sing, and act on stage with no fear; yet she can't hold a full conversation with a stranger.

That's Cat, she's just strange like that. Last year, that's when I found out she isn't invincible to others criticisms of her.

"Yeah, a days too long." She sighs out tiredly.

"I saw a piano on our way in, it's a bit hidden, and you should ask before you use it but it's out there." I state as I placed my luggage on the bed that going to be mine for the next few months.

I looked at her as she smiled at me in gratitude before heading out. I don't want her to relapse after she's been doing relatively well, and I'm afraid to strip her best coping mechanism.

I placed all my clothes in the drawers before heading down to the lobby, because I like listening to Cat play. I can play piano too, but Cats on a whole different level. She's practically a professional.

As I stepped into the elevator loud sounds of teenage boy rough housing caught my attention. Australian teenage boys, familiar teenage boys. Ones that I recognized from the video the girls and I saw only a couple nights ago.

5 Seconds of Summer, I think.

They were barely exiting their rooms that were across the girls and mine, they were practically side by side. Which gave me enough time to react quickly and push the 'close door' button.

I panicked as they started to walk towards the door as the door made the heavenly sound, signaling that it was now closing. However, the sense of peace was only temporary as they started running towards the door asking me to keep it open. The door started its painfully slow journey of closing at slowest rate possible as they reached the elevator.

"Fuck my life." I breath out from under my breath.

"Thanks for nothing." The guitarist with lilac hair sarcastically remarks out of breath, his words flowing out with the sweet Aussie accent.

"Mikey." The drummer reprimands his voice also laced in the accent.

"Sorry, he's still jet lagged and missing his girlfriend." The member with black hair spoke out in the same sweetest sounding accent.

I wonder what his role is to the band? To me he didn't seem like a lead singer, but he wasn't playing anything. He was just...interesting.

I know I'm probably thinking into this way too much, just as much as I'm paying attention to their accents; but I can't help it. Jax was right, they were hot and I'm not blind.

I don't usually listen to any accent other than the varying American accents, so hearing an Aussie accent was enticing.

"Are you here for the Battle of the Bands?" The blond lead singer asks also holding the same accent.

I stared at him for a bit, he seems different. They all do. They seem much more charismatic and outgoing compared to the video. 

What's changed? 

I can only nod as I still feel the shock of actually seeing them in real life, they seem older. They also look very different from the video yet they look exactly the same? Except for the guitarist, he died his hair.

Now it's there turn to stare at me in shock, "What's your band name?" the drummer asks.

"Broken Like Glass." I breath out, still in my daze, as Mikey's face morphs into one of complete disbelief.

The other boys seem to understand Mikey's reaction as they seem to have a conversation with their eyes?

The door finally opens as Cats piano reaches my ears. I'm immediately entranced as usual, but now I see the boys are also entranced to the music.

I ignore them as I follow the sounds of the music to the lobby, where the other girls are gathered around Cat playing the piano. Bev and Jax look up at me as I arrive, but I don't hold their attention for long as their gazes lock into the boys that followed me.

Bev's eyes grow more ashamed? Jaxs eyes grow infuriated, which confused me even more.

All I know is that Cats Moonlight Sonata intensified the confusion within me.