The Rock Rollercoaster

5. Under Pressure

Picture of Nate over there ----------------------------->

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I'd decided enough was enough. If I wanted to live a life that centred around what I wanted, and not other people, why was I suffering through Psychedelic Disadvantage? I didn't like the band. I really didn't like William. So what was the point?

The band just didn't stand for what I wanted. Not just William, but David and Taylor too, were only in it for the money and fame that becoming famous could bring. That wasn't what music meant to me, so why did I keep on trying to fit in with them, keep on changing things I wanted so I could carry on with them?

It was three weeks after the disaster performance at Smithy's and the guys had nursed their hurt feelings after I had scoffed at them and not turned up for the rehearsal. They were back to normal. The songs were stereotypical, the shed still too perfect and William still...William.

So, enough was enough.

I wasn't sure how to break it to them - harshly, get it over and done with? Softly, ease the blow? In the end, I just wanted it finished. I couldn't stand the band anymore. And the poster offering an audition with Kick the Crown still teased me every time I went to Amor Musicis. However, their audition date crept closer, and I knew the time was catching up with me.

I had looked up Kick the Crown on the internet, and like what I saw. As in, really liked it. The lead singer, a guy named Nate, sang with an intensity and passion that you only really heard when listening to an old band. The guitarist, Freddie, played the most complicated pieces without breaking a sweat, and the drummer, Chris, thumped out beats that reverberated through the ears and soul of the listener.

Its safe to say I was a fan. A big one. I wanted that place in the band, I wanted to help them make music - music that seemed to have meaning with every word, every chord. I wanted it bad.

So when I walked into the shed on the morning of the Kick the Crown auditions, I knew I was almost out of time. If I didn't do it now, it would be too late to even try for the band I had accumulated a new love for. Time to take the initiative and end it. And then start over again and actually like it.

I breathed deeply on my way there. I would end it with Psychedelic Disadvantage, then go across town to where the auditions were taking place and try out. Simple.

"Hey guys," I said awkwardly as I entered the shed. Alicia grinned from her place on the sofa and the guys mumbled hellos.

William was speaking, as usual. "So I was think we could maybe go through There, There again? We need to spruce it up a bit, and I was thinking we could also-"

"I need to talk to you guys," I cut off his tirade.

David frowned at me. "What's up?" He asked.

"Erm, I'm leaving." I said, bluntly.

"Where you going?" William asked, obliviously.

I rolled my eyes. "Nowhere. I meant, I'm leaving the band."

William blinked, but David and Taylor shrugged at each other. "What?" I snapped at them. "You don't care?"

"No," Taylor said. "We just knew this was coming."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Lyra. We knew you hated the band from the moment you heard us first play. You tried to make us how you wanted, gave up, and now you're moving on. Its OK." David said.

I stared at him. "Right." I said finally. "So you don't mind that I'm ditching you guys?"

Taylor shook his head. "If you're not happy, why stay?"