Twisted Strings [MONSTER EDITING - Read at your own risk]

Throwing you away

''Rain? When was the last time it rained here?'' Lars was asking Stella who shrugged nonchalantly.

''Do we have to go through another round of practice?'' Thankfully, she changed the subject first She got up from her chair and placed her headphones in her pocket, after neatly coiling them. I would never do that to mine, even now my headphones were a tangled mess in my messenger bag.

''Well, it's almost our turn so no.'' Stella nodded and left the room, I caught a whiff of her perfume when she did. It smelled like lavenders. Like Oliver.

I paused myself, my face hot from the thoughts. It had to stop. I had to stop. We had a rehearsal in less than twenty minutes for goodness sakes!

''You look worried. Are you stressed about the rehearsal?'' For a moment, I considered telling Lars everything. About what had happened between me and Oliver. How he messed with my mind. And my heart. And then told me to not give a shit and forget about everything.

It was a mistake. A blunder. It wasn't supposed to happen. But how can you kiss someone as a mistake. We weren't drunk, we were perfectly sober. And yet, I was just a ''mistake.'' God, I hated him.

''It's nothing. I'm just tired.''

Lars nodded. ''Cool.''

We were silent for a moment and then he said again. ''I know I might come off as a guy who doesn't care. But I do care Violet. We are friends...so if there is something, anything, then you can talk to me about it. I'm not like super good at giving advice or all that shit, but I am good at listening.''

His words warmed my heart. But I couldn't tell him I kissed Oliver Parker. I couldn't tell anyone from the band (expect maybe Rhodes), I didn't know if we were even allowed to kiss the enemy. The last thing I needed was my friends being upset with me. And it didn't matter anyways, I was supposed to erase the kiss from my memory.

I sighed. ''I don't have much experience with dating and stuff.''

Lars grinned, ''I don't date but I do have experi-''

''First of all, ew. I don't want to hear about your 'personal life.''

He laughed at my response. ''I am kidding Violet.'' And then turned serious. ''I actually...um... dated Indigo Brown for a while last year, but it was a secret.''

My eyed widened, ''Indigo? From Oliver's group?''

Lars nodded and placed his finger on his lips. ''No one knows. It wasn't even dating. It was just making out in locked classrooms. And then she broke it off.''

''Why?! I mean you are handsome!''

He grinned again, showing all his teeth. I had just made a mistake of boosting his ego. ''Thank you. But I think you don't know that her Father is a pastor.''

''And?''

He sighed. ''And that's why she broke it off. Are you even listening to me?''

''I am! But that's not a reason. My Dad's a chef so do I just break up with my nonexistent bf?''

Lars cringed at my words. ''Please don't say bf...I hate abbreviations. Anyways, that's what she said to me that time. She didn't even have curtsy to say this, she messaged me.''

''SMS?!''

''No abbreviations Violet.'' He said after wincing.

''Oops, what I mean to say is that it's cold of her.''

''I was telling her to make the relationship public, but I think he's the reason she wanted to keep a secret. I thought she was ready to get it on.''

I pretended I didn't hear the last part. ''So, he's strict or something?''

''He doesn't want her to be a singer and they are always fighting.'' Lars replied, shrugging carelessly. Indigo was a nice person, I had no idea she had a history with Lars. Wasn't Lars the sort of guy who went after cheerleaders or hot girls, like Melissa? Or Brooke?

I couldn't picture him and Indigo Brown together. And the thought that he had his heart broken by her was more astonishing.

''Let's go, our bandmates are waiting for us.'' Lars got up and discarded his bottle in the bin, walking towards the door.

''Can I ask you a question?''

He glanced back and then joked. ''Sure? It's not a math problem, right?''

''What will you do if someone threw you away?''

He regarded me for a moment and I regretted asking him, thinking he might blow this off as another joke. He didn't.

With his jaw set and his eyes clear, he said; ''I won't let them throw me away the second time.''

***

We all waited for Oliver and the group to finish with their rehearsal backstage. They were so loud that if defeated the purpose of the whole privacy affair. I didn't know why Lars was trying so hard to listen anyways.

''I want to know what song they are performing.'' He whispered to me. Behind me, Rhodes was shaking his head.

''And that won't help us in any way.'' He reasoned with Lars, still shaking his head disapprovingly.

I heard Oliver and Melissa singing, which meant they were also doing a duet. This made me nervous because both were trained to sing, and even in evaluations, they had been flawless. Lars and I had good harmonization, but I keep thinking I would make a mistake. I dreaded those thoughts and had already imagined myself messing up our song a million times.

''You got this Quinn, don't be nervous,'' Rhodes said to me, noticing my panicked expression. He touched my arm lightly and I offered him a tight smile.

Just then the door opened, and our rivals came through one by one. Melissa was chatting animatedly with Brooke, both looked satisfied. The rest of the group followed them and my eyes immediately landed on Oliver, who looked away fast.

Asshole.

''We heard a little, you guys did good. But I am sure we are better.'' Lars told them jokingly.

''We'll see the results tomorrow,'' Oliver told him smugly with a grin.

I scoffed. ''Piss off Parker, we have a performance to deliver.'' I brushed past them without another word and stormed out towards the stage, before anyone could say anything. Rhodes caught up on me and tapped my shoulder.

''What's going on with you?''

I refused to glance at him and walked on, ''Nothing!''

''He was just kidding Violet, and you too um...hostile.''

''They are mean Rhodes, and that's how you talk to mean people. Now, can we forget about them and go in?''

Rhodes dropped the subject and the five of us piled up on the stage.

I stared at Mr. Flynn and a few new people that sat there; Mr. Flynn had told us that one lady was a vocal trainer and the other ran a music academy in Chicago. I stared at the ladies with nervousness and apprehension. Chris Reed...that was the goal.

If we won, we would be able to sing with Chris Reed, a legend made in this very town. Rhodes would get the money he needed to attend those classes. My mind reeled back at the night when we saw a crew singing outside the club. They had seemed happy at that moment, and I had wondered why.

Music was my happiness, and I wouldn't let Oliver, or anyone ruin it for me.

Fuck Oliver Parker and his lavender favored soap and the stupid kiss. We had a competition to win and we had a band to defeat.