___________No One's POV_____________________
"I can't believe we won!" Rose squealed, jumping up and down while clutching the certificate.
"I can, you dudes rocked tonight!" Nino grinned, shredding an air guitar.
"It's cool I guess," Julika muttered, but even she was smiling wide.
"We should celebrate! How about we all go out to eat somewhere?" Eden said, and everyone cheered.
"Yeah!"
"Definitely!"
"Where should we go?"
"Let's try that new sushi place!"
"Yeah!"
"No! Let's go to the karaoke place!"
"YES!"
"We should!"
"Where is that?"
Silence.
Finally, Alya held up her phone to show a GPS map leading to Joe's Karaoke and Dining. Nino snatched the phone away from her, sending the link to himself.
"Uh, guys, we have a problem. My car can only seat seven, including me, so we won't all fit."
Eden quickly counted everyone in the group aloud. "Shoot, you're right, there's eleven of us." She looked around for a moment, trying to come up with a solution that didn't involve four people sharing seats before her eyes settled on a shop across the street. A car rental shop. She smiled evilly before turning to the group.
"Aside from Nino and I, does anyone else have their driver's license?" She asked, and no one raised their hands.
"Seriously?" She asked, dumbfounded, "Eleven teenagers and only two of us can drive legally?"
Myleen shrugged, "We live in Paris, the traffic usually sucks, so we just walk everywhere. We've never needed a car."
Nino scratched his neck.
"Yea, I only got my license so I could move my DJ equipment from place to place easier..."
"France is so much different than Arkansas," She muttered, before turning to Adrien.
"Do you think your dad would mind if I rented a car for the night?" She asked, and Adrien shrugged.
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," He smiled, and Eden smirked.
"That's the spirit! Okay, who's riding with me?" She asked. Understandably, no one raised their hands.
"Okay, rude, I'm not that bad of a driver. I'll have you guys know I've been driving my siblings around for almost three years now. How long have you been driving, Nino?" She challenged, and he smiled.
"Four months."
Eden groaned, but Alya stepped up to save her.
"Mari and I will ride with you, El," She said, and Eden's smile returned.
"Adrien?" She asked, but Adrien laughed and shook his head.
"No thanks, I know you too well and at this point, and I want to live."
Eden scowled at him, but Nathaniel took one for the team and volunteered.
"Your funeral," Ivan smiled, and Eden rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, I'll be right back to pick you guys up," Eden said, making sure she had enough cash (courtesy of Gabrial) and then slipping across the street to the rental dealership. The group took the time to offer up a few silent prayers for the volunteer passengers.
About ten minutes later, while everyone else was piling into Nino's Honda Pilot, Alya was staring at Eden through the passenger's window.
"Absolutely not."
"Aww, come on! I've always wanted to drive one of these!" She pleaded from the driver's seat.
Nathaniel cheered when he saw their ride.
"Aww yeah! We got a Mini Cooper!"
Eden opened the door for him to get in, sliding the passenger seat forward so he could fit into the shiny blue car with black racing stripes.
"Not just any Mini Cooper," She told him excitedly, "this baby's a Cooper S and she's supercharged!"
"Heck yeah!" Nathaniel cheered, sliding into the back seat.
"And she's a stick shift!"
"Heck no," Nathaniel cried, struggling to unbuckle himself and escape the little car.
"Oh come on! Alya, I've been driving a standard since I could drive! I'm a total pro, plus no one can steal our car since no one drives manuals anymore. Get in the car, please?" Eden said, her eyes glinting with hope.
"Fine."
"YAY!"
Marinette slid in after Nathaniel and Eden slid the passenger's seat back into place so Alya could sit. As soon as they were situated, Eden connected Alya's phone for navigation and music and pulled up beside Nino's parked car. Everyone was still filing in, and it took a second for Nino to notice the Mini next to him.
"Hey cutie, ready to head out?" Alya called to him once he got his window rolled down.
He blushed slightly, nodding, "Okay, we'll meet you guys there-,"
Nathaniel cut him off by reaching across Marinette to roll down the window and yell at Luka.
"You ready to race?" He demanded, and Luka quickly rolled down his window.
"Us against that? Come on, it's not even a fair fight!"
Eden opened up the sunroof and unbuckled her seatbelt to stand up through it.
"Why, you guys scared to lose?" She taunted, and Adrien leaned across Nino to answer her.
"Of course not! We can take you guys any time, right Nino?"
"Uh-,"
This time it was Rose who interrupted him.
"Of course, we can win! It's not like you can beat us in a standard," She smirked, and Eden's eyebrows raised at the challenge.
"Is that so? You're on then, pal! Prepare to eat my dust!" She yelled, slamming back down into her seat and raising the volume in anticipation of the music to come.
"Buckle up, buttercups, we're hitting the road," she sang, before smirking over at Adrien.
"Try and keep up, bro, if you can!"
And with that, she put the car in first and took off faster than anyone knew a clutch could. After much haggling from his passengers, Nino quickly followed her and the map off onto a side road.
***
The brightly lit signs quickly became fewer and farther between as the side road took them farther away from town and onto a highway. Eden's Mini flew through the winding turns with such grace she didn't even need to speed to leave Nino far behind. Still, she couldn't resist speeding a little bit, just enough to freak Alya out for a second or two.
"Eden, I swear if you don't slow down to the speed limit!"
Eden grinned madly, turning up the blaring music but slowing down nonetheless.
From almost a mile back, Nino desperately tried to catch up to the blue blur that was Eden Spiel. Adrien was laughing wildly as Ivan held onto Myleen for dear life. His Honda didn't corner nearly as well as a Cooper S. Still he put up a good fight.
___________Luka's POV________________
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVrG07UrddjfwZEKMlI8cOYb1kP0yvJdH&si=5IY7STFm3dORit8n
--- above is the link to a playlist I made of all the songs that the gang will sing, in case you guys wanted to listen along to them as you read ;) ---
As Nino finally pulled into the parking lot of the diner, I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Honda Pilots were not made for street races, especially against crazy people. Nino pulled into the parking spot next to Eden's crew, who hardly noticed. They were preoccupied with singing and dancing along to Freddy Mercury. From the window, Eden caught my eye, and she began to mouth the words to me, grinning widely.
"No time for losers, 'cause we are the champions of the world," She pretended to sing, winking after she finished, before turning to Alya and finishing the lyrics. When the song finally ended, the crew filed out of the car, and Eden bounded up to Adrien like a viper.
"Good thing you didn't bet the barn on Nino's driving skills, because you would've lost it all!" She said, lightly punching him in the arm.
"Whatever, El, we were gaining on you guys, we just needed a longer track!" he claimed, and Eden rolled her eyes.
"Oh yeah, I think I saw you guys...in my rearview mirror! Accept it, bro, I'm the better driver!"
Alya intervened.
"No, you're the faster driver. There's a difference," She told Eden, crossing her arms.
"Yeah? And what's the difference?"
"The state of my stomach."
"Whatever, Mari will back me up," Eden claimed, and Mari just shook her head, smiling.
"Come on, Alya, even you were having fun," she said, after a moment, and Alya sighed, but didn't deny it.
"Let's eat, I'm starving!" Ivan proclaimed, and everyone quickly followed suit.
After finding a booth and ordering, the girls quickly ran off to find the karaoke stage. In the corner, an older couple was performing Purple Rain by Prince & the Revolution, terribly I might add. I settled into the booth next to Nathaniel as the lights dimmed for the next song.
"Who do you think is singing first?" I asked him, and he shrugged before pointing to the stage. Rose stood proudly, with Myleen and Julika cheering her on from the crowd. A disco ball began to swirl a rainbow across the stage and a single spotlight hung centerstage. Rose settled herself beneath it, waiting for the music to start. Behind her, the lyrics began to scroll. Shoop by Salt-N-Pepa, and she started to rap to Julika.
"Okay then, chillin', chillin', mindin' my business, yo, salt, I looked around, and I couldn't believe this..."
Together, Nathaniel and I busted out laughing, meanwhile, Eden, Alya, and Mari were almost rolling on the floor in hysterics. Adrien suddenly appeared on stage to sing the next couple of verses.
"S and P wanna kick with me, cool, uh-huh..."
He was absolutely tone-deaf. It was awesome. For a moment, I saw him and Nino lock eyes, and Nino almost spit out his drink, trying his best not to laugh. The rest of us weren't so lucky.
"Luka, we're going next!" Nathaniel said, grabbing my arm, but I was already following him over to the stage.
"What song are we doing?" I asked him, and he shrugged.
"Oh wait, I got one," He said and whispered it to the DJ.
The screen lit up behind us with lyrics to Now That You're Gone by the Raconteurs, and I quickly grabbed the mike, handing the other to Nathaniel. Now, fair warning, there's a reason I play guitar in the band and not vocals.
Still, it was super fun singing along, and I hardly noticed when I messed up a note. Surprisingly, Nathaniel had a great voice, though he occasionally pushed it too far. From the crowd, Eden cheered, singing along, but I couldn't hear her over the music and Nathaniel. Apparently, she loved this song.
Next up was Mari and Alya, singing Tango by L.E.J. When the music started, the crowd went wild. Both Alya and Mari had sweet voices, and they harmonized fairly well with the music. Eden lost it when she heard them sing, though she admitted she had no idea what they were saying in the song.
Ivan and Myleen were next, and they decided to sing a duet together. They sang along with Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta to You're The One That I Want. Only Myleen could hold a tune, but it was sweet all the same.
Next up was Nino, who looked incredibly nervous, but masked it with his sunglasses and a smirk. When the opening to My Type by Saint Motel started up, he'd overcome his butterflies and was singing his heart out to Alya with Adrien as a backup.
Eden took to the stage, eyes gleaming with excitement. Adrien looked over at me, for some reason, before flashing Eden a thumbs up. COIN filtered through the speakers and Eden started to sing.
"Caffeine, small talk. Wait out the plastic weather. Mmhmm, uh-huh, discussing current events..."
I was taken by surprise by her voice. It was melodious and energetic. She was no Rose, but a close second. In short, I was awestruck.
"Wow," I muttered, and Nathaniel nodded.
"I know, that's what I said when she was singing in the car on the way here. She should join the band!"
I could only nod as she pranced around on stage, belting out the lyrics without a care in the world.
"You know I talk too much! So, honey, come put your lips on mine, and shut me up!"
She had been singing to everyone in the group in turn, and soon her eyes found mine.
"Stay cool, it's just a kiss! Oh, why you gotta be so talkative?" She sang, winking before moving on to sing to some random person in the crowd.
For some reason, it made my heart race. I wondered for a second what that could mean, but in the end, I chalked my heart rate up to the pound of the music. The song ended all too soon, and Eden passed the microphone to another couple.
By then, our food had arrived, and everyone crowded back to the booth.
"Eden! I didn't know you could sing!" Rose yelled, shaking the girl senseless after she sat down.
"You should hear her when she sings in the shower," Adrien chimed in, and Eden rolled her eyes.
"You should hear Adrien when he sings in the shower."
"Seriously girl, that was awesome! I heard you singing in the car, but that was so much better. Are you in the choir or something?" Alya asked.
Eden shook her head.
"No, I only sing for fun occasionally. My sisters and I like to sing on the rides to school."
"You have sisters?" I asked, and Eden nodded.
"Two of them, and a brother. There's a lot you guys don't know about me yet."
"Like your crush," Marinette smirked, and Eden's face went red.
"Mari!"
"Sorry, sorry, I'm just saying," she said, but she was smiling nonetheless.
Despite my best efforts, I was suddenly fully alert to the conversation.
"Why don't we talk about your crush, huh Mari?" Eden backfired.
That immediately turned Marinette into a blubbering mess, and Eden relaxed, with the attention diverted from her.
In the background, a young man was belting out Everybody's Lonely by Jukebox the Ghost.
Eden hummed along but stopped when something caught her eye.
"No way!" she said, jumping out of her seat and rushing off.
"What's that about?" Adrien asked, and I shrugged. From across the diner, Eden excitedly approached a tall guy about our age dressed in a tuxedo with curly hair.
"Oh, it's that guy from the show," Nathaniel said lamely.
"They know each other?" I asked, and Nathaniel rolled his eyes, grinning.
"They met at the show. He was in the band that got 2nd, Écho, I think."
"Oh, that must be the new friend she was talking about," Rose said, and Julika nodded.
I looked over at them, and they seemed to be chatting along happily, him somewhat awkwardly. But he seemed to be quickly warming up to her. Huh.
Then, she was dragging him over to the stage, smiling mischievously.
I could hear her now, pressuring him to sing a song with her. He seemed pretty adamant about sitting it out. So, rolling her eyes, she whispered her request to the DJ and took center stage again. Seconds later, CAKE filled the diner with their song Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps.
Despite the song being in a lower octave, Eden took it in stride, only missing some of the lower notes. She had quite the range. And the way the lights glistened around her hair and reflected in her eyes, it was mesmerizing.
"So if you really love me, say yes, but if you don't, dear, confess. And please don't tell me, 'perhaps, perhaps, perhaps'..."
It may have been the disco ball, but I could swear the boy she was singing to was blushing. For some reason, I was a little bit bothered by that.
________________________________________________________________________________
A/N-
Word Count: 2,572
Hello, been a while! Anyway, this is the first part of the crew's karaoke experience! And I tried to add in a link to a playlist I made with all the songs they sing, but idk if it worked or not... Hopefully it did! Anyhoo, you guys are awesome, love ya!