Out of Step

ix. When you're a Winner, You're a Partier

She wasn't sure who's house she was at – she had just piled into the car, her brother following the other cars in front of them and pulling up in front of the house. Even though they had left before most people, there was already a good amount of people there –with nearly three hundred band members it was no surprise–, each of them getting out of their own car and heading in through the front door and garage.

Alana followed closely behind her brother and Eli, squeezing between other people and hoping they were heading towards the kitchen.

They did wind up in the kitchen and Alana quickly grabbed a plate of pizza and a drink, bypassing the very light alcohol for an orange soda in the back of the fridge. When she turned around, Eli and Alex were gone, so she headed back in the direction she had come from.

Or at least that's where she thought she was heading – somehow, she wound up in a living room of sorts, with band members laying around on couches, the coffee table, and even the floor. Spotting Owen on one of the couches talking to a guard girl and not wanting to be alone, Alana squeezes in next to him. After a few seconds, and glances that Alana misses from the girl, the guard girl has left, leaving just the two of them.

"Did you get any pizza?" She offered him one of the few pieces from her plate and he took one, taking a huge bite from it.

"How many pieces did you get?"

"Well, I was with Alex and you know he always steals my food!" She huffed, her food almost flying everywhere as she moved. Owen grabbed the plate from her, bringing it down she it was in her lap. "But then he and Eli left me!"

"Wow, that's rude of them," Owen said around a mouthful of pizza. He grabbed the soda from her, using one hand to pop it open.

"I know!" She responded before angrily taking a hard bit of one of the pizzas from her plate. "And I'm still mad at Laila – not that it matters because she's probably following Lucas like a lost little puppy anyway."

"So now you're stuck with little old me," he said with a laugh as she pouted. He flicked her nose, handing her back the soda before she could get mad. "Oh, don't sound to upset; you know you love spending time with me."

"Eh," she said around a mouthful of pizza, spewing crumbs out and over both their laps. She chugged some of her soda and swallowed before speaking again, watching as he swiped the crumbs off his lap and grabbed another slice of pizza from her plate. "I mean, you're a lot better to hang out with than like.... I don't know Ross Gellar. But nobody likes him, so really it's not that hard of a competition."

"I feel like that's a lie. Ask yourself, would you rather be hanging out with me or your brother right now?"

"Well, neither of you let me play video games with you, so like no?"

"So, if I let you play video games with me, you'll like me better than your brother?"

"Eh."

"Very articulate over there aren't you," he said and she mumbled something in response. "Ah yes, I understood every word you just said."

"Good, so you're shutting up now then?" She said and he opened his mouth to respond only to be cut off by someone shouting, "Here's to another awesome first band competition of the season!"

Everybody in the room, or who could hear the person, began cheering, raising their glasses as they did so and soon, everyone throughout the house was echoing the cheering even if they didn't know why they were cheering.

Alana went to follow suit, only to have her orange soda stolen by Owen who raised it, so instead she raised a piece of her pizza up before biting a piece off.