Keeping It Together • Sebastian Bach

Chapter 1: Pissed Off

(Hello! Just a quick author's note before we jump in. The main character in this story is Savannah, which is me lmao- but I understand a lot of people like reader inserts, so feel free to mentally replace any info about Savannah that's inaccurate to you with info that is. I just wanted to have my own story with my own name, appearance, and personality in it lmao- anyways, this story will have some strong language and mentions of drugs, but is pretty friendly other than that. If that changes, I'll put the appropriate warning. I also have no idea how the music industry works, so cut me some slack in that department and excuse any false information! This is also a modern story set in 2021, but with the music trends and celebrities of the 80s. Anyways, that's it, and have fun! <3)

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Savannah threw herself into her car, fuming. "Fuck!" she shouted as she struck her steering wheel as hard as she could. Realizing how dumb that was only after the pain set in, she shook out her hand, muttering more curses.

Fuck her bandmates. Fuck her manager. Fuck all of them.

She replayed the events of the past twenty minutes in her head for the third time since she left the house she used to be at all the time. Whether it be for practicing, writing music, or just hanging out, she was always there with her band. But now, she was determined to never set foot in there again.

Savannah had loved her band. It was called "Deadly Complacency," and it was a rock band. She had a kickass drummer named Darren, an amazing guitarist named Jessica, a super sweet bassist named Al, and herself. She was the lead singer, and she had the time of her life screaming into the mic and charming the audiences that came out to see her. The band had been no Mötley Crüe, but its listeners on Spotify were increasing, as were the audiences that attended its shows.

   She should've known it was too good to be true. She wanted to hit herself, since this whole situation was essentially caused by her stupidity.

   When she had first joined the band, she was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, excited to be a part of the band. When she joined, it wasn't popular, but it was just popular enough to have a manager (who was really just Jessica's friend that was doing them all a favor). This manager presented her a contract, and she signed off on it without thinking about it. Sure, she had read it, but she figured nothing within it would be an issue.

   But, she underestimated the difficulty that came with maintaining good relationships within a band, which affected one of the main points of her contract.

   And that point was that if she was run out of the band due to unsatisfactory behavior, all of the money that she had been getting from streams, records, CDs, etc. would cease to go into her pockets anymore. All of the rights to the songs would belong to the band, and the money that had been set aside for her would be used among the remaining members.

   Again, she never thought this would be an issue, since she usually got along with everyone. What behavior could lead to her getting kicked out of the band?

   Well, apparently something. When she arrived to her drummer's house the day of her termination, her bandmates informed her of how controlling, stubborn, bossy, rude, and power-hungry she was, and how she was to be fired immediately. Apparently the band had been talking about firing her for a while now, and they all agreed to follow through.

   Jessica ended up adding some nice salt in the wound by saying, "You're just kind of a bitch."

   Savannah's disorderly conduct was news to her; she thought she was acting great. She tried to offer them a compromise: a change in behavior in exchange for her singer status to remain. But, her band wouldn't hear of it, and sent her home. Even Al, the one who Savannah thought she was super close with, kept dismissing her with a frown on his face. The band's manager watched, powerless to stop their decision. But, Savannah couldn't help but feel like he had encouraged this whole thing. He had never liked her.