Morirp Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Name: Zack Thatcher Age: 25 Height: 6' Band Name: Heavy Soul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazuki Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Name: Joel Harland Age: 28 Height: 6'2" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morirp Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 Zack Tatcher was a strange kind of celebrity, in that he didn't do it for the money, or the fame, he did it simply because he liked playing music and the only way to pay your bills was to produce. Eventually his 'fuck the system' kind of music was heard, then played on radios, then him and his band Heavy Soul were touring nationally, they were making money. Everything wasn't snow flakes and roses though, Zack came home early form a tour once after catching a surprise flight back, just to find his lover screwing a friend of theirs. It crushed Zack, and he became reclusive for about a year, taking a break from music, the band and his life just to reflect on what had happened. The betrayal, the breathlessness, the rage, it all stuck around for a long time. Zack's ex lover was manipulative, and emotionally abusive and it wrecked Zack when taking all of that abuse and claiming the man was still a good person, just to find out that he was immature, and terrible. Finally slowly but surely Zack started reading fan mail, he was getting more of it than ever, begging for him to start producing again, begging for the band to come back, letters about how Heavy Soul's music had changed their lives, had saved their lives. It was still a while after when Zack decided to pick up the microphone and guitar again, he had gone from the short hair that everyone was used to, to long messy hair that was buzzed on one side, right now a star shape was shaved into it, and the tips were dyed acid green. All this lead to Zack relinquishing and getting a brand new album out in record time, and to sign a deal for a double world tour - twice around the world in six months. It's was a long time, but Zack didn't have anyone to go home to anymore. It was inside of the last month of their tour that the album they released hit platinum and they were inundated with more fans, bigger venues and that night they were playing close to their home town for the first time in four months, the stage was set to be huge and the concert had sold out in just a few hours. When they walked onstage that night the roar of the crowd hit like a punch to the face. Zack wore a black baseball shirt, his emerald orbs looked out at the screaming crowd reaching out to touch them. From the first to the last song the band was full of the punk rock energy they were known for. Dive bombing the crowd and crowd surfing, playing extra songs, old favorites, and a sneak peek of a new one the band had been practicing on the road. The entire time Zack looked pumped, but pained, and the songs from the new album reflected that pain. A year and a half and he was still fighting the feelings of loss. Perhaps it was because he'd been coming home to propose to his now ex, the ring he'd bought for the other man hanging as a reminder around his neck to stay on guard. To stay closed off. When the last song closed the band smiled, thanked the crowd, talked for a while thorugh the screaming and cheering and then walked off stage. That night after the show they had to go to a party for their platinum album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazuki Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Sometimes, Joel couldn't help but think that he was the biggest idiot this side of the world. Why was that, you might ask? Well, for multiple reasons really. The first mark of his idiocy was attending a punk rock concert at the age of 28. Joel had loved music from a young age; anything from jazz to rock to, rather embarrassingly, pop. If it had a strong beat and, preferably, an awesome guitar solo he was there in an instant, buying albums and vinyals and going to concerts. Luckily, his father had been there to enable his addiction, being part of the 'Old Rocker' generation himself. It wasn't until Joel had discovered the world of punk rock though, that he knew he'd found his niche, his home. From the age of 17 onwards, Joel would sneak into the concerts that often occurred in the wide array of venues across the city. Most of his fondest memories were set in the thick of huge quantities of writhing bodies, dancing and screaming their woes and joy to whoever was playing that particular show. Sometimes, Joel thought, it didn't matter who was playing. All that mattered was the feeling of community that one couldn't help but feel when they were ass-to-crotch with thousands upon thousands of other people. The feeling of family when you hugged or shook hands with long-time fans and argued for literally hours over who was better; Agnostic Front or Sex Pistols. The feeling of trust when the band would all jump onto you and leave their bodies in your hands as you guided them along during a surf. He didn't even regret the times when things had gotten too rough and left lasting scars, like the one that stretched under both his eyes. Those were wonderful memories and Joel wouldn't trade away any of them... but over the past few years, things had undoubtedly changed. Old friends had grown up, having families of their own. It was less and less common that Joel could find someone who'd been there from the beginning. The faces he saw around him were starting to become less distinct, less familiar. Teenagers looking for a good time and a rough game. Posers. Joel's father was old now, barely able to hear let alone come to concerts anymore. Joel himself wasn't exactly in the best of states either... Maybe he was just getting too old? Of course, that hadn't stopped him when Ryan, a mutual friend, had told him about the newest band that was going to be playing. Heavy Soul. That had been the second mark of idiocy. Coming to this concert in particular. Joel stood in the writhing throngs of leather-clad people, string up at the face of someone who he, honestly, had never thought he'd see again. He hadn't been involved much in the breakup a year and a half ago. In fact, he hadn't been involved much with the whole relationship at all. At the time, he'd thought it was because Duncan was just protective. After all, their circle of friends wasn't exactly the most soft around new recruits. From what Joel remembered of back then, his glimpses of Zack had been brief and only when Duncan was around. His most vivid memories of Zack had been his face on magazine covers and his voice over the radio and in concert halls. Then what was colloquially known as the 'Clusterfuck' happened. Joel would like to have said that he was there when it happened, trying to keep the peace. But in truth, he'd been almost completely put out of action by an injury. Three months and a surgery later and it had already finished. He didn't really even know why it'd happened. All he knew was that Duncan didn't want to talk about it and Joel had no way of contacting Zack. So, in the end, he'd let it go. He'd had to deal with his own problems anyway. So now he was staring up into Zack's face, face partially concealed by a large hoodie that really only left his white overlock and prominent scar on view. He listened to the music, both the songs he remembered and those that were entirely alien to him. He listened to the emotions behind the lyrics, the melodies and the solos. It sounded awfully pained. And before he knew it, it was over. Everyone started to flood out of the area, either going to bars or home or, in the case of Joel and Ryan, to the after-party. "That. Was so. Awesome!" The lithe, blond-haired man jumped alongside Joel, adrenaline coursing through his veins as chocolate eyes darted to and fro. He was gesticulating wildly, trying to convey his emotions. "Man, I knew they were good but that... that was God level!" Joel couldn't fight the soft smile that tugged at his lips as he continued walking along, hands in his black trouser pockets and letting his own adrenaline warm his up like a good beer. "Yeah... it was pretty nice." "'Pretty nice'?" Ryan huffed, chocolate eyes staring into dark grey. "Man, I hope you're not gonna start one of your old timer rants again." Joel scoffed, scowling in mock anger. It was an in-joke, as one of the oldest of the group, that Joel would always, if given the chance, go off on some spiel or other about old punk-rock bands. Ryan was a relatively new member of the group, a tender 20 year old who'd initially become involved after going to one of Joel's training classes. "I'm insulted!" Joel exclaimed, hamming it up by placing a hand over his heart and black hoodie. "You wound me Sir!" Ryan chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say 'Old Man Harland'." "That's 'Sensei' to you." Joel jabbed a finger to Ryan's chest, positively grinning now. Ryan rolled his eyes, still laughing. "Alright fine, jackass. Just take off the hood, would 'ya? No-one's gonna recognize you here." Joel drew back a little bit, twizzling the drawstring of his hood. When he was younger, being recognized wasn't so much of an issue. But now... Ryan sighed. "Oh com'on man! Look, they're either going to be too drunk to notice or too focused on getting drunk to care. You're safe here." Joel paused, considering the words. Eventually, he sighed, drawing back the hood to reveal his angular face. His skin was lightly tanned, eyes focused and hair a styled black and white. "I hope you're right, Ryan." Ryan beamed. "I'm always right. Right Ryan, that's what they call me!" "I thought it was Webber?" "Shut up, man." They both laughed, making some more small talk before the finally got to the venue. It was quite a bit smaller than the concert venue, but that was alright. They both walked in, flashing their membership cards as they walked into the main hall where soon, Zack and the rest of Heavy Soul would be making a small announcement and then mixing with the rest of the party for a few hours. Ryan started making his way to the bar, only remembering to ask Joel as an afterthought. "I'm gonna go get some shots dude, you want any?" Joel shook his head. "Suit yourself." Ryan shrugged, walking off and leaving Joel standing at the back of the small hall, waiting for the show to start. He knew this was idiotic. Idiotic that he would spend good money just to check-up on someone that hadn't even really been a friend. Oh well, might as well go with it now. And so he waited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morirp Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 The band came up to the stage. Grins, thank yous, cheers, each of them had a beer in their hands. Even Zack seemed to be in a better mood - really he preferred playing to smaller crowds when push came to shove. There was something fun and intimate about it. There wasn't more than fifty people in the crowd, all rubbing elbows and talking. Zack walked up to the mic holding up a beer in true rocker fashion "We just want to say thank you so much for helping our newest album go platinum!" A roar came from the small group and lots of bottles were clinked together. The place as a whole smelled like beer and sweat but it was a band thing. Once the celebration had quieted a bit the drummer picked up some sticks and immediately started up a song. Zack had changed - now in just a black tank top that showed off his body, the star in his hair more noticeable now. His bright green eyes looked out at the crowd and he smirked, his smirk looking a bit lopsided because of his lip ring. He let the drummer and bassist show off for a minute before he grabbed his guitar and started singing again. His voice rang out clear through the smaller amp and despite being exhausted and ready to sleep after the last week of touring the area in their own bed for the first time six months, the energy was so good they played an extra hour. When the band got off stage Zack was horse, it was the last stop on their double world tour and now they were allowed to relax for a little bit before they went back into the studio. The band had managed to write sever songs while on the road. There was more drinking, more celebrating. They shook hands, took photos, they were presented with their platinum album and finally as things started setting down the band got more comfortable with the crowd. Unknowingly Zack signed something for Ryan, and threw a wink at him before he wondered off to do this or that, shake hands, smile, photo. The after party was closed but his manager had talked the band into opening it up to six fans that had one tickets. Others had to be invited or had to know someone who could invite them by proxy, two of the fans were some of the last people to approach the band. One of the girls was all about the bassist, batting her eyes and offering herself up. He rolled his eyes as another girl came from somewhere to claim the drummer. It was then that his eyes fell on her - she was a bomb shell that was for sure, curvy, long brown curly hair, she was gorgeous, even as a gay man he could see that she was seriously attractive. But, he felt nothing for her, not a tingle. He smiled and took a picture with him but it was obvious she was -all over- him and it was starting to make Zack uncomfortable. His band mates just laughed and played along like he was just being shy when they knew that he really had no interest in the slightest. The woman wasn't taking the hint either, her face got awfully close at one point and Zack pulled back. Another few minutes of suffering through the pawing of this person who smelled too much of cheap perfume and liquor and Zack was super done, he thanked her for her kind words and went to pull away, his flash of black locks and green eyes retreating from her 'perfect' figure. He kept moving though, his body cutting through the crowd like a hot knife and that woman close on his tail. Someone handed him a beer while he was walking by and he downed it as fast as he could. It was really quite a strange scene most people didn't run from beautiful women, but here he was retreating. That was when Zack saw him, and his heart stopped, and fell, and all the progress he might have made touring for the last six months on how he'd felt about his ex dropped like a leaf in autumn. It fell like it was falling in love with the ground because gravity was just that tempting. It hit like a rock in his stomach, he knew that face. Joel... one of Duncan's best friends. They'd been introduced, they'd even gone so far to have dinners with him. Was Duncan sending the man on recon? Was he just there to check up on him. Zack's face scrunched in what was undeniably pain, and maybe a little uncertainty. That's when the woman caught up with him, in the minute that his heart had stopped and he'd eyed the man infront of him. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward her own body in Zack's shock. He didn't know what was going on - he didn't know what to do, in the moments before all of this he'd just been playing dodge-a-hoe, now he was trying not to scream at Joel, or beat the shit out of him... not that that was really likely, he did some sort of martial arts, Zack remembered. But then there was the woman, and his whole body shifted to pay her the attention she was demanding. Those big-overly lipsticked-lips coming down toward his face at a speed he didn't want to calculate - everything was happening so fast, his chest got tight and his breath picked up. Anxiety, Duncan had left Zack with severe anxiety after manipulating and abusing him for so long it was like a deer in the headlights. The poor thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazuki Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 The after-party passed by in a blur. Songs, award ceremonies, tens of toasts to all manner of different things. Occasionally, Joel would spot Ryan amongst the heaving crowd, trying to chat up girls or drinking. Ah, what it was to be youn- wait he wasn't old dammit! He could do that too, if he wanted. He just... wasn't interested in it. Joel had never been much of the lover-boy type. Not since his early Uni days anyway. He'd had some fun over the years, and even a girlfriend or two. But nothing really serious. After all, his hobbies and passions dominated his life. If it wasn't going to concerts, it was organizing the Dojo and if it wasn't either of those two things it was sitting at home, sleeping the day away. Love and 'settling down' had just never really come into the equation. Joel had really just been fine with the general companionship his friends provided with the occasional fling here and there. As the night progressed, Joel found himself staring more and more at Zack from the back of the hall. He really had changed quite a lot since they'd last seen each other. Joel remembered when Zack had just had short, black hair with barely any to no highlights. Back then Joel had kind of respected it - a sign of protest to the current trend of dying your hair whatever color was the new fad. But now he had long, flowing locks on one side of his head, a close shave on the other with a star emblazoned on his scalp. And it was all tinged with emerald green. It suited him, matching his bright eyes well. It made him look more fierce. Predatorial almost, like he was dripping poison. Slowly, the frenzy of activity relaxed and the band came down from the stage, talking to fans, signing whatever was offered to them and taking hundreds of photos. Joel even caught a glimpse of Ryan standing next to Zack, grinning ear-to-ear as he marveled at his newly signed shirt. Seeing as Ryan was so new to the group, he'd never been told much about the Clusterfuck, only gaining vague details here and there. Based on his reaction, Joel doubted he even knew that Zack had been one of the two main participants in the event. Not like Joel was holding back information from the guy. He truthfully didn't know much more than Ryan. 10 minutes later and Joel was finally thinking he should pull back Ryan and head off for the night. He didn't have to open up until the afternoon tomorrow (seeing as it was a Monday), but that didn't mean Ryan didn't have to go for his lectures tomorrow. Humming a familiar tune, Joel started to breach into the crowd, searching around for his elusive, sprightly companion. He wouldn't be happy when Joel implemented the 'curfew' (as Ryan liked to call it), but Joel was sure he'd thank him eventually, when he didn't fail his all classes. He hadn't caught the murmuring until he was in the thick of the party. "Hey, is that-?" "It is, oh my god-!" "-she really going for it?" What? Joel turned, curiosity directing him to the source of the many different voices. And that was when he saw him. Not like he hadn't seen him before, but really seen him this time. Zack. It wouldn't have been as bad if Zack's expression didn't look so utterly distraught, face scrunched up and pupils contracted like he was witnessing his own death. It was then that Joel remembered his own idiocy yet again. Why hadn't he thought that Zack, post-Clusterfuck, wouldn't want to see him? Joel wanted to reach out, to make his case, to show he wasn't an 'enemy' or whatever Zack considered him now. But suddenly a woman came up behind Zack, grabbing him forcefully by the wrist and forcing him to look her in the eye. A rock could tell that the chick was drunk off her ass. Joel expected Zack to just brush her off, but instead he stayed stock still, frozen to the spot and breath coming out in short, jagged gasps. Shit. Was he having a panic attack? He certainly didn't look normal. Joel closed the distance between them in a matter of moments, barging past a couple of people. He grabbed Zack's shoulder with one large hand, pulling back sharply as he shouted. "HEY!" The jolt was enough and the woman let go just long enough for Joel to pull Zack back, pulling him to his broad chest. Grey eyes stayed focused on the woman, who quickly gathered herself and sent him a deathly glare. "hueey... what the fuck!? what the fuck are you doing, you bitcuh!?" Joel sighed internally. His patience had since run quite thin with these sort of drunks - absolutely flawless with the stupidity to boot. There was only one way to deal with people like this. A distraction. Turning his head to the side, Joel shouted across the hall, ignoring the many angry glares directed his way. "HEY RYAN, YA HERE!?" Within a few moments, the man had awkwardly sprung towards him, standing at his side. "Aw, com'on man, why you gotta do that?" He grumbled, face red with alcohol. Joel gave him a look. A look he saved specifically for serious situations. His 'Sensei' face (as Ryan termed it). Ryan looked at him, then at Zack and then at the woman. Either he reconstructed what'd happened very fast, or he was chomping at the bit for some action, because he instantly stepped between Zack and the woman, putting on his best machismo face. "Well hello good-looking." Joel took the chance. Moving his hand down Zack's side, Joel gripped gently yet firmly around Zack's wrist, pulling him lightly towards the exit of the party. He wasn't thinking about what it looked like. He as more concerned about Zack. "Come on, we'll get you out of here safe." He said, voice low and soothing, like he was talking to an injured animal or a child. Gently tugging Zack towards the exit, he half-listened to the conversation behind him. "Hey baby, wanna see my Buzzcock?" A resounding slap followed and Joel couldn't help a small smile. It was a shame really. He knew Ryan had been working on that particular line for weeks. Oh well. Once they were outside in the cool Autumn air, Joel turned a corner, hiding them effectively behind part of the building. "Geez, those chick, amirite?" He was still holding Zack's wrist, smiling at him in what he hoped was a reassuring fashion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morirp Posted November 3, 2016 Author Share Posted November 3, 2016 Zack had felt a whole range of emotions in the time that he had disconnected from the woman and met the chest of Joel. Duncan had been friends with Joel since as long as Zack could recall them talking about stories with each other. It was a bit difficult at first to understand how they fit together, because they didn't seem like the type of people that would hang out but he supposed they had just changed over the years. Zack wasn't known to be a very emotional man until he'd been with Duncan too long. Still he didn't have it in him to push away from the help that would get him out of the awful situation with that crazy woman who wouldn't let him be. A person could only be polite for so long, and then there was Joel and he just made everything... challenging. He heard the crowd change tempo, the crash after the high as everyone started filing out. Zack welcomed the cool autumn air filling his lungs, he hadn't realized how stifiling hot the place had been until he wasn't in the thicket anymore. He pulled free off the man, allowing his wrist to hang limp in Joel's hand as he took to pressing his own back into the cold brick wall behind him. He had been sweating - maybe he really had just had a panic attack. He'd been so good, he hadn't had one in three months. Zack spent a few moments chewing nervously on his bottom lip while he processed what was coursing through his head. He really wanted to -hit- Joel, but it wouldn't be like he was actually hitting the person who had wronged him. Finally he shook his head and looked up through that patch of white hair into those grey eyes. His own emerald disks glinting slightly in the night as lights moved around in the nearby parking lot. He was going to respond to what Joel had said, but he couldn't find it in him to give a shit about that woman at the moment. A hand pushed into his face, rubbing it slightly, the rage and adrenaline were subsiding and Zack was encased in that familiar feeling of sad and emptiness after his neurons came down off of that high. "Joel... what the fuck are you doing here?" Emerald eyes darted a way before locking back onto the grey ones. "Did that bastard send you?" He had been stalked for a few weeks after their breakup, he wouldn't be surprised if a year and a half later Duncan still had people following him when he could get them to agree. Paranoia, anxiety, the list of residual issues that Zack dealt with after Duncan was growing. "You can tell him to fuck off." He avoided saying the name 'Duncan' avoided everything he could about a person he didn't claim to know anymore. Every time Zack really looked at Joel he saw that gentle smile, and wanted to hit him again, more. He had always been pretty blunt about things so he just came out and said it. "I just want to punch you." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazuki Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 "Joel... what the fuck are you doing here?" Honestly, it wasn't the worse response Joel had been expecting. In fact, considering what could have been said, the statement was quite mild, except the obvious expletive. Joel opened his mouth to answer, seeing no reason why he shouldn't tell the truth, but then he noticed how Zack was fidgeting, rubbing hand his face and eyes flitting to and fro, occasionally focusing on his own grey irises before turning away again. His muscles, from what Joel could see and feel, were neither totally lax or rigidly tense. It was more like they were in the stage just before someone decided to fight or fly. Poison eyes focused on his again, this time looking a lot less intimidating than when Joel had seen Zack on stage. They looked... scared? Maybe? "Did that bastard send you? You can tell him to fuck off." 'Bastard'? 'Him'? Joel raised a brow, thrown off balance by the barrage of sudden, vague questions. "Umm... do you mean Duncan?" He paused, the piece clicking as soon as he'd said it. His mouth formed a small 'o' shape. "Uhm, no? He didn't 'send' me... In fact that guy you just saw," he pointed to the building where they'd left Ryan "is most of the reason I found out about this concert." When Ryan told him about the concert, Joel had made a point of not mentioning the event to Duncan. For one thing, he didn't want to bring up any bad memories for his friend and for a second he didn't feel it was worth bringing up anyway; Duncan was working tonight anyway on some big project and had asked explicitly not to be disturbed. Joel tried to continue. "Anyway, what's wrong with wanting to see a-" "I just want to punch you." Joel paused, mentally processing the statement. It occurred to him then that maybe he was being insensitive. After all, he'd never seen what the breakup did to Zack. But if the facts were anything go by, it hadn't exactly been an equitable affair. "Oh. Uhm... I mean..." Joel retracted his hand from Zack's wrist, looking a little dumbfounded. For a moment, he considered just letting Zack punch him. It wasn't like the man could do that much damage to him after all. The thought was quickly shut down when Joel considered his younger days when arguments were usually settled with rough play than talking. Contrary to popular belief, punching things didn't calm someone down... it just made them angrier and more bitter. Taking a deep breath, Joel continued, looking Zack dead in the eye. "You could... but think about if that would really calm you down or not... look Zack, I have almost literally no idea what happened between you and Duncan during the Cluster- I mean the- whatever it was. But I just want you to know that me and Ryan mean you absolutely no harm." He raised his arms in surrender, exposing himself to attack. "I can't say I didn't come here partially to check up on you, but could you blame me? You practically fell off the Earth and no-one had anyway to contact you!" Joel sighed. The more he tried to explain himself, the more his words got wrapped around his tongue. There really was no way to explain this that didn't sound creepy. "Look... it's just... nice to have you back home?" Joel wanted to defuse the tension, but more than that, he wanted to try and re-establish a connection with Zack. After all, they shared a passion and friends like that were getting fewer as Joel got older. Even Duncan was listening to music less nowadays, so focused on his projects and meetings. "So... uhm... would you like a 'welcome-back' hug?" He spread his arms wide, grinning as his mind pulled away from the confusing mess of his previous thoughts and focused on a clear goal. Make a new (old?) friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morirp Posted November 3, 2016 Author Share Posted November 3, 2016 Zack let the words wash over him like an ocean, relief followed. He took another breath, like he was breathing for the first time since they actually stepped out. The cold air hit his lungs and felt like crystals. Duncan hadn't sent him - good. Not that there was any way to be sure the other wasn't lying through his fucking teeth, but.. but for now it brought him enough relief to feel human, and the agitation in his muscles slowly lestened as Joel kept talking, the adrenaline wearing off once again. Man he was going to need sleep after this night. Zack knew he was being irrational - well a little irrational, but he couldn't help be on guard all the time when Duncan was concerned. He absentmindedly touched a scar that ran the length of his left arm, it had been partially covered by a tattoo but it was from a night after they broke up when Duncan had thrown a vase at him drunk off his ass, effectively shattering it, a rather large shard had managed to leave quite the gash on his arm. It had taken stitches and the hospital staff urged him to file a police report. He never did, at that point he still loved Duncan. Once Zack's features had softened he allowed his eyes to meet the green pair, a sigh leaving his lips. He pushed a hand through his hair, the engagement ring that he'd bought for Duncan now clearly hanging around his neck since his hair wasn't hiding it, he pulled a hair tie from his wrist and pulled it back into a messy bun. He listened, and slowly worked some things out. It sounded like Joel had no idea what had happened between him and Duncan with the way the other man was talking. Friendship? Hugs? Welcome home... Zack hardly felt like he belonged there anymore, but here was Joel, so innocent. Duncan must have really wanted to preserve Joel's opinion of him if he didn't tell Joel what had happened. "Can you blame me for disappearing? I came home from a tour a day early to propose to him, despite his manipulation and abuse only to walk into my house and find him fucking some sparkly bitch in my bed. Then he comes over and assaults me, and has people stalk me for him for over a year? It took me eight months just to pick up my guitar again Joel. So no, I don't want your fucking hugs, I don't want anything to do with Duncan's circle." He spit Duncan's name like it was venom, like he was exercising a demon from his own skin. It was then that one of the band members found them. Alec, the drummer, purple and blue hair, tattooed and much bigger than Zack came into view at the side of the building. He first looked at Joel, then Zack, then Joel, then Zack. "Eyah, Zack we were just jokin, we got ridda that girl who was buggin you so its safe to come out now." He looked at Joel again, feeling the tension between Zack and Joel. "Everything alright?" Zack nodded and pushed off the wall, his eyes dragging over Joel briefly. He grabbed the chain from around his neck and pulled it off with the ring still in his palm, tossing it at Joel. "I don't need it anymore. You can give it to him or you can burry it in the ocean. He can't control my life anymore." It pulled a strange expression from Alec who waited for Zack to pass him before the drummer approached Joel. The man's low voice rumbled out from his chest like a growl. "Look man, I don't know who you are and I don't give a flying donkey shit who you are, but it took Zack a year to recover from your friends bullshit. We had to beg him just to come on this tour, he didn't want to. He's been really good up to now, almost happy..." Zack appeared behind Alec and sighed. "Alec, shuttup and come inside. You too Joel, your kid is in here drunk on the couch." When they entered the large room where Ryan was asleep Zack cocked a brow and looked down at the kid then at his band mates. "What the fuck happened?" Jacob laughed - the bassest "Oh, he tried to drink with us." Zack laughed, a pleasant sign on his face after being so angry. "Lightweight." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazuki Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Seeing Zack relax, even if only a little, was a good sign, right? Joel watched the man in front of him uncoil, shifting away from an instinctive position to a more relaxed, more human position. They weren't that far apart in height, probably only differing by one or two inches, but Joel couldn't help the thought that Zack looked quite small right now, especially as he raked his hand across his arm, tracing some line that Joel couldn't see in the dim lighting. As Zack drew back - gathering himself, Joel thought - he caught the small sparkle of something metallic. Joel's grey eyes dilated. Was that-? Zack interrupted him. "Can you blame me for disappearing? I came home from a tour a day early to propose to him, despite his manipulation and abuse only to walk into my house and find him fucking some sparkly bitch in my bed. Then he comes over and assaults me, and has people stalk me for him for over a year? It took me eight months just to pick up my guitar again Joel. So no, I don't want your fucking hugs, I don't want anything to do with Duncan's circle." ... WHAT!? Joel suddenly found himself assaulted by information, all attacking his brain at once. A proposal? An affair? Stalking? Abuse!? The air around him and Zack suddenly crystallised with tension, hard enough that a chainsaw couldn't cut through it. For a comical moment, Joel froze in place, arms still wide in offer of a hug. Then they dropped to his sides. Joel wanted to speak, to move, to hide his shame at having not known anything. But he couldn't. He couldn't do anything but feel the awkwardness that now hung heavy in the atmosphere around them. Well, a small, cynical part of his mind supplied, at least you know what happened now. He was so involved with the small breakdown he was having that Joel didn't notice when another, broad and tall man came out of the building. He stood stock still, instinct shifting his body back more than any logical thought when Zack pushed himself off the wall and away. Joel followed him with his eyes, waiting for something - what exactly he didn't quite know. It was muscle memory that allowed him to catch whatever Zack threw at him, seeing he was too dazed to actually care what he'd caught. "I don't need it anymore. You can give it to him or you can bury it in the ocean. He can't control my life anymore." Joel nodded dumbly, having no idea how else to respond. Joel had rarely ever been in a relationship, let alone an abusive one. He'd heard about that kind of thing from family members and from friends. He'd never thought that he'd see one quite so close-up though. And he wasn't liking the new discovery. "Look man," It was only then that Joel noticed the large man from before was now up in his face, giving him a strange look that seemed somewhere between the crease of worry, the set jaw of rage and the questioning eyes of confusion. "I don't know who you are and I don't give a flying donkey shit who you are, but it took Zack a year to recover from your friends bullshit. We had to beg him just to come on this tour, he didn't want to. He's been really good up to now, almost happy..." A sigh. "Alec, shuttup and come inside. You too Joel, your kid is in here drunk on the couch." All Joel could think of was, "He's not my kid." It wasn't a harsh comment, more deadpan than anything else, like at any moment he was expecting something else - a revelation, an explosion, a fucking 'to be continued' by some sick author of his life. But nothing like that occured; the reel kept playing and the pages kept turning. This was reality and reality didn't come with simple to follow climax charts. He absentmindedly stuffed whatever had been thrown at him in his trouser pocket, following Zack inside, with Alec -who Joel dimly remembered was the drummer - close behind. The hall looked a lot bigger now with only the other band members in it and Ryan, who was draped over a poorly maintained sofa, quietly snoring like a fucking baby. Lucky bastard. His head remarked snidely. "What the fuck happened?" The question echoed his own, though Joel already knew the anwr. He'd gone to enough gigs with Ryan to know what he was like drunk. "Oh, he tried to drink with us." Zack laughed, bringing Joel further out of his head and back into the reality of the situation. "Lightweight." The world kept spinning and drunkards still needed taking care of. Joel sighed, the release of breath tinted by a small growl of irritation. "Sorry about that. Sometimes a newbie doesn't know their limits... or well, just doesn't care." Joel rubbed the back of his neck (a nervous habit) and smiled shakily, surprised he could even think of making a joke right now. Hastily, Joel brushed past Zack, his eyes grazing across his figure as he passed. Approaching the couch, he tapped Ryan on the face, his voice a quiet rasp. "Hey, Webber." Another tap, harder this time. "Get up drunkass. We need to get you back." A groan and brown eyes opened. "I huate you soumetimes man, y'know that?" "Yeah, yeah. You can hate me all you want after I get you back in bed." Ryan hummed, apparently agreeing with the idea. Languidly, he flopped an arm onto Joel's shoulder and Joel took the signal, adjusting his hold on Ryan and pulling him off the couch slowly. Eventually they were both on their feet, Ryan leaning heavily onto Joel. Giving the best shit-eating grin he could, Ryan chuckled, waving at the rest of the band and Zack in particular. "Thaunks for letting me..." he took a steadying breath, trying not to vomit, "drink with you fellas!" Joel nodded quietly, avoiding Zack's eyes as he slowly started to move, Ryan begrudgingly limping with him. As they approached the exit, Joel turned his head back on the threshold, directing his gaze at Zack. "Zack... I'm..." he paused. What would being sorry do? "It's nice to have you back, man. See ya." "Ryan and crew, oute!!" Ryan chirped, splitting his own sides laughing as he made some indistinct gang sign. Out in the cold air, Joel directed them towards his car in the parking lot. It was an old thing, hardly something you'd expect someone like him to drive. But that was why he'd bought it in the first place. He maneuvered Ryan inside the old red estate with much difficulty, strpping him in and making sure the window was fully open on his side. Past experience taught him the smell of sick never quite left a car. Going around the other side, he strapped himself in. Taking the oppurtunity, he took out the object in his pocket. It was ring attached to a long chain. The chain was fairly standard, but the ring itself was what was interesting. It was platinum and relatively huge. It was banged up, scratched up and dirtied with sweat and whatever else had hit it during the last year and a half. But Joel could still see the inside inscription in the bright light of the ceiling light. 'To my one and only, for all of eternity.' Joel teared up, but quickly settled down when Ryan started to get rowdy beside him. He took a deep breath, two ticks in, three ticks out. Then he started the car. Driving back, Joel didn't play any music, deciding that the sound of cold wind blowing through the open window was ambience enough. Beside him, Ryan went between extreme lucidity, unconsciousness and singing. Right now, it was a small period of the former. "Hey, man." He tilted his head away from the window, short blond locks flying around his head as the cold breeze instilled some semblance of sobriety in him. "You never told me just how chill those guys were." "Hmm-hmm." Joel hummed, keeping his eyes firmly on the road. Yet again, he had not gotten any contact details off of Zack. Yeah, like I could have just gone 'oh hey, my best friend abused you for god knows how long and I didn't know shit. Sorry. Wanna swap numbers? Tee-hee.' "Hey, com'on, man. You're not listening are you?" Joel sighed heavily. "What is it Webber?" "I told you to stop callin' me thaut! I guess I won't tell you about the secret fan number then." Joel almost slammed the break. "What?" Ryan giggled, knowing he'd caught Joel off-guard. "Yeah, man! The band guys saw how awesome and dedicated I was, so they were like 'here dude, take this number. Special fan info' very hush-hush. Apparently it goes right through to the lead man." "You got Zack's number?" "Yeah, man." Another chuckle. "I'll give it to ya as well. You looked like you had googly eyes for that dude anyway" Joel wanted to say he absolutely didn't. But what would telling that to a drunk man do? He paused. "Thanks Ryan." "Heheh. Resourceful Ryan, that's what they call m-" And that was when the vomiting started. The acidic stench filled the car. "Out the window! Out the fucking window!" Turns out they'd termed it right. It certainly was a Clusterfuck... But now at least Joel had a lead. And he wasn't about to let it fall through his fingers again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morirp Posted November 4, 2016 Author Share Posted November 4, 2016 As Joel hauled Ryan up Alec used what in that light was an obviously large hand, to ruffle the kid’s hair. “No problem kid, you keep showing up to concerts ant we’ll keep letting you backstage. Eventually you’ll stay awake long enough for the real party.” Alec chuckled softly. Zack interjected. “You mean the real party of my bed? Because I don’t know about you but I’m sacking out hard tonight, we haven’t been home in six months.” Zack wandered away a bit, only to look back when Joel called, he let his green eyes lock onto the grey ones of man burdened with responsibility and not nearly drunk enough for the night he’d had most likely. Zack didn’t say anything for a long moment, he just watched the two retreat. Finally, and likely right before they were out of ear shot Zack yelled back “Get home safe!” Zack, despite his jagged band demeanor that usually came with being in a band like his, was really kind of a softy in some ways. The night had been a blur and the second the two of them were out of the hall Zack leaned against a wall, heavy on a shoulder. Alec was watching nearby while Jacob the bassist looked worried. They knew what was happening, they knew he was crying, and they also knew he wouldn’t want them to voice that they knew what was happening. Alec, overall, knew that Zack had to recover quite a bit from Duncan, but also the media presence that had been outside his house for the first two months, begging for an answer. Zack had never given them one, and eventually they moved on, but it left it’s mark, and it had turned Zack into a person who maintained quiet when it came to his personal life. Once Zack wiped his face with his shirt it was like giving them the all clear to approach. His black eye makeup smeared over his cheeks. Jacob punched Zack in the shoulder “Dude, you look like shit.” Zack rolled his eyes “Fuck you, douche canoe. Why didn’t you go after that walking STD that was hanging on your arm?” They were really kind of crude behind closed doors, the band, but they’d developed a lasting friendship. They got finished up with packing, thanking some of the stage hands that had stayed late. Eventually they ended up back at Zack’s place, drinking, and playing impromptu music. The night rounded out with no further incident and Alec, little to Zack’s knowledge was planning to keep anything else from going wrong if he had to disconnect the internet from the world. Monday rolled around and the band had a day off for the first time in eight months, touring was hard work too, sometimes you did two shows a day, sometimes you did six a week with five days of traveling, it just all depended. A double world tour was a big undertaking – and Zack did as he had promised the night before. He slept, in fact he slept –and got sick- not really sick, the kind of sick you got when your body flipped you the bird and told you it was too tired to handle shit. So he ordered take-out, watched TV and didn’t pay attention to a single thing he didn’t want to. It was a nice change from the grueling tour schedule. Alec had taken to updating their social media accounts with the close of their tour, the announcement of their platinum album, he posted pictures of their tour, at least a few from every place they went, and promised that they would get the music video from the Vancouver music festival posted soon. Really, they made enough money they could have –paid- someone to do this shit. Something Zack constantly reminded the big man, but apparently Alec just liked the job, or so Zack thought. The reality was that Alec was playing bumper cars, blocking and dodging people that were associated with Duncan, deleting messages he didn’t want Zack to see, apparently Duncan had had a loud mouth and had claimed to quite a few people that he thought Zack had been cheating on him while he was in other countries. Really he had been trying to save face, but there had been threats, and Alec was a bit of a mother hen. He was a few years older than his band mates and extremely protective. He wouldn’t let Zack fall so far he stopped playing music again, he swore at one point he was certain Zack would never pick it back up, it had been a miracle when he did. But no one could ignore the angry, aggressive tone some of their new songs took. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazuki Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 After avoiding what had promised to be the second-worst thing that had ever happened to Joel's car - the first being when someone first threw up in it a couple of years ago - Joel eventually managed to get Ryan back to his shared apartment, palming him off to his friends who thanked him and apologized profusely for their friend. Ian, a small stick of man, was the one who did the most apologizing, his frame positively dwarfed by Ryan's height. "Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Harland. He knows his limit... really." Joel smiled at the kid. Despite his less-than-impressive physical stature, Ian had enough brain and sass to easily outclass his peer. Sadly, the kid wasn't into music, or Joel might have been closer friends with him. "Nah, it's alright. Just make sure the bozo comes out safe alright." Ian nodded, crystal blue eyes reflecting the relative enormity of the task at hand. Joel smiled, big and bright as he walked back to his car. "And stop calling me Mr.! You're making me feel old, Mr. Kingley!" A dry laugh followed him and Joel chalked the interaction up to a victory. Driving back to his own house was a lot quieter than Joel was used to, which probably made sense considering the time and day. Still, he didn't reach over to the radio, instead letting his mind sink into his thoughts. Once they'd dealt with the situation, and Ryan had become a little more sober, he'd written down Zack's number on a stray piece of paper. The numbers were messy, but legible and Joel was sorely tempted to stop right then and call. Call Zack and then... what? Apologize? Beg? Ask for more information? No, his mind reasoned. If anything, that would just close the door entirely. A phone call could be easily blocked and if that happened what then? He'd be back at square zero. No, first he'd have to do some digging of his own. It was time that he faced this like a man. Joel parked in his garage, slowly getting out of the car and staring at the sleek, black motorbike that sat majestically at the other side of the room, almost seeming to glow with a silent intensity that beckoned him. He begrudgingly held back, instead petting the seat as he passed, humming a quiet 'good girl' as he passed into the rest of the house. Honestly, considering the sums Joel used to bring in, and to some extent still did, the house was humble. It was well-designed, giving a dignified feel while the various scattered papers, cds and other random objects made it feel lived in. It was a home, he liked to think and, apart from a concerts, this was also where some of his best memories had been made, mostly with close friends like- Joel paused. He'd been about to think of Duncan, but something about his friend's name made his mind internally twitch. The ring in his pocket felt like it was burning a hole through his trousers. He wondered if he should really do it. Slam the ring down on the table and start an argument. He felt like he'd be vindicated, seeing as Duncan apparently hadn't trusted him at all. But he couldn't. Not yet anyway. Not when he didn't know half of what was really going on and not when there was a possibility that Duncan could take it out on Zack. Luckily, the man wasn't in the house tonight, probably slaving away at whatever project he was cooking up next. Since the Clusterfuck, Duncan had buried himself in his job, skyrocketing through the ranks and reaching a senior position in less than 8 months. At the time, Joel thought it was just a way of concentrating his energy, finding a place for the hole Zack had left in his heart. But now he wasn't so sure. Despite the increase, Duncan, Joel and the others still saw each other a fair bit. And even though Duncan had a fancy apartment all his own now, he still liked to bum out in Duncan's place a few nights a week. Joel sighed, hauling himself up the stairs and collapsing into bed. He was more exhausted than he ever remembered being from a concert. His mind drifting between old memories and new, his eyes steadily closed and his breathing evened out, leading him into dream-land. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday rolled around and so did Joel - right out of his bed. Thud. "Owww..." Joel groaned, rubbing his side. I think I broke my everything. He sighed, rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling. As he started waking up more he noticed he hadn't even bothered getting undressed after yesterday. He groaned again, knowing that he'd have to get up now and wash off the sweat that had undoubtedly accumulated through the night. Crawling towards the adjacent bathroom, Joel lifted himself with agaonzing slowness into the shower, striping quickly before turning on the scalding stream. He cursed under his breath, but let the water run until it was bearable. He washed himself carefully, waking up more fully as time passed. B the time the shower was done, Joel felt just a hint more alive. Walking out into the hall - naked mind you, this was his house dammit and he could go free-bird when he wanted - he searched for a clock and found one in his room. 9:52AM. Ryan was probably dying in a lecture hall somewhere right about now. The thought brought a dry smile to Joel's lips. At least there was one thing he didn't miss about being young. After dressing in some more comfortable clothing, a white t-shirt with some band logo on it and black jogging bottoms, he whistled his way downstairs, walking first into the kitchen and then the study as he prepared breakfast and his computer simultaneously. The Dojo itself was closed on Mondays, though that didn't mean Joel was free from working. The familiar boot-up sounded as bacon sizzled in a grill. Truly, it was a good day. Cold sunlight drifted in through the wide windows, brightening the scene as Joel looked out on the neighbourhood. It was a nice place overall. Not too close and not too far. With a hearty bacon butty in hand, and more on the way, he sat at his desk - an antique number because what kind of businessman were you if you didn't have a fancy old desk somewhere? - and started working. Inevitable drama and angst be damned, he still had a job to do. He continued tapping on his keyboard, checking forms and bookings for a few hours. he didn't really know when he'd started playing Youtube videos. For a while it was the usual Halen, Bad Brains etc. And then Heavy Soul's first album started to play. Compared to what Joel heard last night, these songs were much rougher but lighter, freer. Zack's voice was less dark than he'd remembered it last night and if Joel closed his eyes he could picture what he'd used to be. A black-haired twerp with an attitude and a heart. Joel didn't remember when he'd looked up Heavy Soul's account either, starting a chronological play-list. Maybe, he thought, this could give him with something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morirp Posted November 14, 2016 Author Share Posted November 14, 2016 Zack let Monday ease into a close, sleeping, eating, sleeping more. He took a hot bath and cranked the heater up and let everything around him be warm. Winter would be settling in soon, and Zack was happy to be home in time to spend the holiday season not trecking across Siberia. After all he was a waif of a thing, thin and tall, and really the cold and him just didn't get along too well. Monday rolled into Tuesday and Zack's giveashit didn't seem to be working just yet so another day was chalked up to sleeping, take-out, and blankets coupled with terrible crime TV shows. Wednesday was the first day the singer felt human enough to do anything about his life. While his band was considered one that made enough money they could just order people to do things for them, Zack and his band mates were all fairly independent of their wealth. They didn't enjoy being bound to their money and often tended to things on their own. So that morning he drove to pick up the bassist, they both needed groceries and Jacob wouldn't fend for himself outside of the Chinese take-out place next to his apartment if Zack didn't make him. Zack had offered to pick up Alec, but the drummer declined. Alec was the responsible one, at 29 he had a small kid and a wife, and when they weren't touring the man adimately played family-man. Jacob whined when he got into the car, obviously coming off of a three day bender. Zack chuckled "Dude, you need to lay off the sauce, it's not good for your liver. I'll make you some soup when we get back to your place." Jacob groaned and put on an extra pair of sunglasses. "Just remember to turn off the sun when you leave." Zack felt like he was tending a child in the grocery store, constantly putting objects with no nutritional value back on the shelf. He rolled his eyes a final time as pop tarts made it into the basket. "You're gonna kill yourself man." Zack had managed to replace most of the food with at least semi-healthy options, including the ingredients for soup making and a fresh bag of good coffee, since all Jacob seemed to drink was that shitty instant stuff. If you were gonna drink coffee it should at least taste like coffee instead of acid water. Alec called while they were at the store, and said to be careful that there was some ruckus outside of the grocery store. Apparently the town thought it was a big deal that the band was grocery shopping. Zack rolled his eyes "An' you wondered why I didn't want to tour again - Jacob put the fucking pop tarts down, you're not getting them." Alec laughed from the other end "here I thought you were still living on pop tarts." Zack scoffed. "Fuck off, I'm making this monkey soup since he can't seem to keep from drinking himself stupid for a day." Jacob flipped him the bird and Zack hung up. "Come on drunky, apparently people are starting to line up outside, hoping to get a picture of our groceries." Jacob swore - loudly "Shit Zack, this is why I wanted to just use the ordering app and get the groceries delivered." Zack rolled his eyes - he didn't like it when he had to stay in because fans were crazy. They checked out easily enough and Zack sighed as he looked out - there were in fact many people waiting for them. A lot of them were people they'd known since they were young since this was their home town. Some of them even had signs that said 'Welcome home' there were faces Zack was happy to see, people smiling and waving. "Well at least half the high school didn't show up.... It looks mostly like these are old friends of ours Jacob." Jacob shook his head "Fuck these people. They didn't supportttuss." Zack laughed "Dude, we didn't support us." Jacob shrugged. "If you're cool we'll go out for a few minutes but.... we've got an excuse. A raw chicken you're cooking me. So.... it can't be too long." Zack nodded. "Whelp... lets go say hi..." Zack moved toward the door with a wince. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazuki Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 As Monday morning dragged into Monday evening, Joel had made his way through most of Heavy Soul’s early stuff. The music was rough-hewn, sparkling with talent not yet entirely unlocked or refined. Heavy lyrics pounded out around the room, sometimes ranting about the general injustice of the world and other time reveling in the wonder of new places, new people and new experiences. It was nice. Even at the darkest moments, there always seemed to be a light behind it, a spirit that wanted to fight against the world if not change it. The further Joel progressed, the more familiar the songs became. At some point the remembered the songs well enough that he started saying the lyrics, remembering brief conversation snippets where Zack would vividly about the new song he and his band were cooking up. He could remember the man humming to himself and mumbling whenever he thought he was alone, or well, mostly alone. The memories became more frequent, brought out of the dust of his subconscious by the riffs and harmonies and Zack’s voice calling like a siren over it all. Around 5PM, something happened. It was subtle and if he hadn’t been watching it in chronological order, he might just have missed it. He switched windows, leaving the rest of a form to die as he restarted the video, watching the film play. It wasn’t a high-grade music video, clearly taken by the band themselves while they were on the road. It was dated around the time of… oh. Fuck. It was dated a year and half ago, right around the time when Joel was put out of action. The video title read: ‘Heavy Soul Exclusive Jams - “Heavy Heart”’. The video was shot in the back of a van of some sort and all the band-members - Joel recognized Alec, off to the side of the shot - were arranged in a semi-circle around Zack. Zack was on his feet, though he looked about ready to keel over. It probably could have been exhaustion, but then the song started. And Joel understood. Zack’s voice was rough with crying, growling out ever last syllable of the song. The theme was different too. It was darker, no levity present at any point. The beat was pounding now too, but this time it pressed into Joel’s mind, suffocating him. It was nominally from the perspective of a mysterious gunman who was expressing his regret at shooting someone - a partner maybe? As the song went on, the fog cleared more and more and Joel could see past the feeble mask Zack had placed on the words. It was about what’d happened. Zack’s expression could only be called destitute, bright eyes darkened and rimmed-red with tears. The song was short, lasting only a minute or so. In the last seconds of the video, Joel thought he saw Zack’s legs start to wobble - as Joel's heart was - and Alec moved from position to come towards him. But before he could collapse to the floor, the video cut out, instead replaced by a title card: ‘Heavy Soul is on hiatus until further notice. We love you guys and will be back soon! It is with a heavy heart that we leave you with this for now. Check the description below for contacts.’ Frantically, Joel opened the description tab and stared in awe. Below the obligatory credits, there was a short list of social media accounts, all linked to the Heavy Soul name. Twitter, Facebook, P.O Box… even a MySpace account. Joel grit his teeth. Was this what he should do? He remembered Zack’s number, still written on a scrap of paper and with the ring in his room, hidden deep in the depths of his sock drawer. The rest of the day was uneventful, taken up by cooking and deep thought, which Joel had never been good at anyway. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joel woke up the next morning just as confused as before. Dressing and eating he stumbled out his house and into his cruddy car, driving it down into the city and towards the Dojo. Should I just call him? No, that’ll just look stalkerish. Maybe I should just send a text? No, that’s worse. Joel’s thoughts bothered him all the way up to the front door of the small hall that had, since about five months ago, become what everyone affectionately termed, The Dojo. A small, simple sign adorned the side of the door. Oriental symbols were burnt small on one half – “Why?” “Authenticity brings in customers” – while on the other side it read ‘Harland Judo Club’. He raised his hand to knock on the door, when the door opened as if on its own. Joel jolted, mind finally refocusing on reality. “Jesus shit!? What the fuck Joel!?” A shrill voice bellowed at him. “Good morning to you too Angel.” He put on his best smile, waving. “Don’t ‘good morning’ me! God, you scared me Joel!” In front of him stood a tall, straight-edged black woman, who glared at him with sharp blue eyes, mouth set into a dainty frown. Angel – or Angelina as she hated to be called – sighed, raking her slender fingers through curly black hair with red highlights that dropped to her shoulders. “I just wish you’d stop doing that. It’s not good for either of us.” “Hey, hey,” Joel replied, his smile dropping into something more relaxed, “It’s not my fault you have the worst timing in the world!” Angel smirked, white teeth shining as she giggled. “Oh, shut up. May I remind you of how we first met, hmm?” Angel had been around for a long time. If Joel remembered rightly, they’d been friends even before Joel had met Duncan. It’d all started one day in middle school when Joel had been tromping around listening to a band on his Walkman during the move from classroom-to-classroom. In his ecstatic enactment of a particularly awesome guitar solo, he’d accidentally closed his eyes, bumping into a girl - Angel - as she rounded the corner of the hallway. A cracked pair of glasses, a lot of shouting and a fist-fight later they’d become blood family. Well, it hadn’t been exactly like that at the time, but it might as well have been. Ever since that fateful day, Angel and Joel had stuck together like glue, all the way through education and now into their adult years, where she was his co-manager of the Dojo. Many people then and now thought that they were brother or sister or that they were a couple and they wouldn’t be entirely wrong. The second had been in fact true for a brief few months during junior year, though it had ended as a agreement by both parties. Over time, some things had changed. Firstly, she’d ditched the wire-frames, instead wearing contacts which she infinitely preferred. Secondly, she’d gotten another long-term boyfriend, Kyle, who was as whipped as whipped could be (there were rumors of an engagement soon). Thirdly, she had upgraded from being a school-ground punk like Duncan and Joel and had gotten a decent education, completing a PhD in Business with Honours and then kindly returning back about 6 months ago to help Joel set up the Dojo. In summary, she was basically the de facto Queen of the Castle. Joel chuckled. “Yeah, as I remember it, your timing was bad then as well.” Among the many things Joel there was her fierce nature, stunning good looks combining poise and animalistic fevour almost effortlessly and- “Fuck off!” The fact she could easily cuss out a boatload of grumpy sailors. Angel pivoted on one foot, walking further into the Dojo while waving behind her. “Com’on, we need to open up shop. And drop the fake smile, it hurts to look at!” Joel sighed. Well, no hiding from her he supposed. The rest of the day was normal, Joel distracted by the seeming-infinitude of classes and paperwork and more classes and brainstorming on advertisement and- you get the idea. Once or twice, Angel got that look like she really wanted to ask Joel what was on his mind. Joel politely ignored her and she, just as politely, didn’t push him. She knew she’d get it out of him eventually anyway. As the day drew to a close, Joel brought out his smart-phone, staring at the twitter app on his phone. He sighed, clawing his hair before deciding. It was worth a try, right? Thumbing in his password, he opened it out onto his home page, typing in a simple message on his feed. Joel Harland (@JHPunker): Congratulations to Heavy Soul. Hope you guys are doing well! #PunkLives Please Register/ Sign In, in order to see the links. avySoulOfficial It was a personal account, not well known by those who weren’t close to Joel himself. He just hoped something got through. ----------------------------------------------------------- Really it’d been an accident on Ryan’s part. He’d just been passing through, moseying to his lecture hall when he’d seen it. A huge ban of people were all waiting outside the supermarket, lifting signs and yelling. He was kind of even more surprised most of them were older. He couldn’t help himself (and his English Lit. lecturer could kiss his sweet ass). He wandered over, looking over the shoulders of the heaving mass. His jaw dropped open. Was that-? It was! “Zack!” He shouted out over the crowd, waving his arms like a crazy person to catch their attention as they walked towards the door of the supermarket. Ryan recognized the other man as Jacob and they were both carrying… shopping bags? Hmm. Well, celebrities had to eat too, he guessed. “Hey, look over here!” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morirp Posted November 17, 2016 Author Share Posted November 17, 2016 Alec's phone pinged while he was playing with his kid, handing his wife money to pay bills, and simultaneously trying to make a PB&J while faking getting shot by an "arrow" from his kids pretend "bow". While he was "dead" he pulled out his phone and scrolled through the many messages of support at the end of their tour, so happy to see them back etc. Then there was one that caught his attention. He read it, knowing the name, then he read it again and again and again. He didn't know what to do about it so he left it for the moment knowing the rest of the band was occupied. He rang an old friend of Zack's, one who had been around before the Clusterfuck, but after Jacob. That drunk wouldn't know his knees from his toes if the band didn't keep him steady. Kyle had once been Kylee, and part of his connection to Zack had been how accepting the rocker was. "Hey Kyle, it's Alec." Kyle's voice rumbled from the other end - he'd taken voice classes at some point. "Alec, I have had your number in my phone for ten years." Alec nodded to no one while his kid shot more arrows at him complaining he wasn't dying fast enough. "Sweet heart, why don't you go have a tea party, I'll even put on the kettle and we can have real tea." She squealed and ran off while Alec went to the kitchen to put on the kettle. "Hey, Kyle good to hear from you too." Kyle rumbled a laugh regarding the squealing child. "Whats up Alec?" Alec paused trying to figure out how to ask his question. "You remember the whole thing with Duncan? Well his best friend came to one of the shows and apparently had no idea about the whole thing... Now he's posting on the twitter---" Alec was cut off with a slam "Fuck that! Shut it down Alec, you've got primary care of that shit, delete it. It's for his own good...." Alec nodded "Thats... thats what I thought too. Hey, want to throw a party for Zack, I think he could use it." The rest of the conversation was tense as they skirted the subject of Duncan. Kyle had actually gone to jail once for punching Duncan in the jaw, Duncan had filed assault charges that were eventually dropped. ~~~~~~ Zack and Jacob left, they couldn't wave but they smiled. Zack parted the crowd so they could put the groceries in his car. Waving, shaking hands, it all happened as it had to. Zack took notice to Ryan pretty quickly, and Jacob noticed him as well. They said hi's and hellos as they walked through the mass of their friends. Jacob spoke first when the reached the kid "Hey drunkie, you up for round two?" Which immediately prompted Zack to smack him upside the back of the head. "We're sending you to rehab asshole." Zack smiled warmly at Ryan, though there was a tinge of sadness behind it, Duncan's people were connected to this kid and he couldn't feel much warmth toward them. He rustled the kids hair. "Hey, it's Ryan right?" He remembered Joel saying something about this kids name. "What're you doing here unsupervised, shouldn't you be in like... I dunno class or something." Jacob punched Ryan in the arm gently. "Yeah kid, education. It's... key." Another -smack- was heard. "GODDAMNIT ZACK STOP HITTING ME." Zack retorted with a short "Fuck you ass hole we all got our degrees, we got them on the road but we still got them." Zack sighed and pushed his hand through his hair. "Hey, I dunno when we'll be touring again or whatever, but whenever tha happens you just.... You let me know..." Jacob laughed. "Yeah we gave him your number-" SMACK "You WHAT?!" Zack looked at Ryan an awkward smile on his face. "Sorry, I wasn't awarethathathadhappenedI'llsmackhimmorelaterwhenyou'renotlookingmybad." The crowd was at this point, laughing their asses off and it brought Zack and Jacob back to earth - Jacob who was rubbing his head groaned. "Damnit, Kid come on Zack is making us soup, you're coming too." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazuki Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Ryan's grin, which was almost ever-present on his face, was nigh splitting his face as Zack and Jacob made their way through the crowd to his direction. They weren't ignoring him! Man, these guys are so cool! Not like his lectuerer, Dr. Little, whose brain and dick were almost certainly autological to his last name. As the two punkers closed in he took a deep breath or two... or he was hyperventilating, one of those was right. Okay, be cool. Be cool. Be like Joel. Like Joel, don't freak ou- He was so focused on calming himself down that when Jacob actually started talking to him he jolted, shouting an enthusiastic 'oh my god yes!' way too quickly. Shit! He fake coughed, willing his stupid fanboy heart to shut up. "Um... yeah, it is. The name's Ryan," He attempted a small, sly smile like he'd seen in so many spy movies, though it came off as a regular goofy grin. "Ryan Webber." Ryan's smile wavered a tiny bit at the mention of him going to class. Honestly, Dr. Little-Dick could go suck on The Great Works of Shakespeare for all he fucking cared, but he wasn't about to say something like that to Zack. It just seemed, stupid somehow, despite the fact Zack was clearly a punk-rocker and probably should care the least about that sort of thing. He rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling, taking the punch to the arm like a man. He'd been through worse during Joel's classes. "Nah, it's cool, it's only one lecture" so far... this week "and it's not that important anyway" except for the part where they go over that essay "so it'll be fine!" The grin was back on his face, wide and innocent. Watching Zack and Jacob fighting - well mostly Zack - reminded Ryan kinda of how Joel and Angel acted during classes. Since Ryan had only started going to Joel's classes at the start of the year, he hadn't been around long but from what he'd seen Joel and Angel had just as physical a connection as Jacob and Zack. Ryan couldn't help but admit he was a bit surprised that presumably everyone in Heavy Soul had a degree. "Wait, so what do you guys got degrees in anyway?" His eyes started to sparkle. "Please tell me somewhere offered a Major in Badassery and a Minor in Style!?" It was a vague hope, but there was always a chance right? Anything for a struggling artist-to-be like him. Ryan was this close to entirely flipping his shit right off the handle when Zack implied that they could talk even while Zack was on tour, but quickly brought himself back from the brink of spilling about Joel having Zack's number. "Oh, uhm, it's fine. I mean you don't have to hit hi-" He froze in his tracks as he processed Jacob's offer. His jaw actually dropped. "Are you kidding me!?" His eyes were sparkling again. "FUCK YEAH!" The people in the background who had been laughing only laughed harder at Ryan's overly enthusiastic display, waving his arms because he simply had nowhere else to direct his energy. "This is great! I can finally talk to some people who aren't Joel about music!" He stared at Jacob and Zack in turn, eye lingering on Zack's electric green. "Do you guys know how difficult it is to be taken seriously as a songwriter in this hick-place? It's like everyone here either listens only to Mozart or Justin Beiberlake-whoever the fuck." If Ryan were a dog, his tail would be wagging a mile a minute and his upturned face certainly showed it. "It'd be an honour!" He chuckled. "Want some help?" He grabbed one or two of the bags Zack was hauling, excitement fueling all his muscles as he looked around at the parking lot behind them. "Where to?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Joel sighed, glaring at his phone screen even more frequently now than before he'd sent the message to the Twitter account. No likes or shares. Just silence. Maybe Zack just hadn't looked at it yet? Yeah, that was probably it. Congratulations Joel, you have now officially completed your initiation in the weird part of society that stares at their phone all day. A winner is you. His head quipped sardonically. "Hey Joel, com'on!" The dainty yet commanding call of Angel pulled him up from his self-loathing. "The next class is starting!" "Coming! Geez Angel, are you trying to kill me?" It was meant to be a joke, but Angel's face pulled into a deep frown as he brow crinkled in concern. "Should we take a break?" Joel grit his teeth and forced a laugh. "Of course not! I'm not dead yet!" Angel's concern dissolved from her face, though it lingered in her eyes a moment longer. "Then hop to it, fuck-face!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morirp Posted November 23, 2016 Author Share Posted November 23, 2016 Zack jumped back a bit when the other said ‘oh my god yes’ well, that was… well, he was a fanboy, what could you expect it was nice to have such devoted people around… he guessed. “Ryan… Let’s start by not… trying… quite so hard.” Zack said gently. The high energy was a little unwelcome right at that moment, but he supposed he brought this on themselves. Jacob on the other hand was –LAUGHING HIS ASS OFF- *SMACK* “GODDAMNIT ZACK!!!” “Jacob, you’ll be lucky if I don’t put you in the fucking soup pot.” He crossed his arms – glaring at someone who was basically his brother. Jacob jabbed at Zack who hopped to avoid it. “Asshat.” Zack spoke up more professionally when asked about the band’s degrees – he actually found that you didn’t do anything well without a solid education, whether you got that education yourself playing the guitar or whatever, or you went to school. “My degree is in music development, with a second major in foreign language.” He flashed a grin “Smarty pants over here ---“ Jacob attempted to cover Zack’s mouth with wide eyes. “Is an AEROSPACE ENGINEER” This time Zack got smacked. “DAMNITMANYOU’RERUININGMYIMAGE” Zack snorted. “You’re ruining your own dumbass. Alec majored in education and math.” Zack finally got Jacob off of him with a boot and a glare. “No one gives out degrees in that shit, that all comes naturally… or it doesn’t. You can’t learn how to be something you’re not, you’ve got to embrace it, you’re either a thing, or you’re not that thing. You can only change your shape so much before you’re not you anymore.” Zack shrugged, not his deepest insight he must admit. When Jacob said the kid was coming Zack almost lost it, but then he kept listening. This kid was harping pretty hard on people didn’t seem to understand might not like their music but had been supportive. When Ryan took the bags Zack stood for a moment – stark still before calling the kid back. “C’mere kid.” Once he was certain he had Ryan’s ear he looked out at everyone, and made Ryan do the same. “Lesson number one, this ‘hick-place’ as you call it, is where we started. These people didn’t always like our music, but they still showed up when we needed support.” The crowd cheered. “You can’t ever shit on the little guy, because when you’re starting, you’re little too.” Zack patted the kid on the shoulder. “C’mon kid, groceries in the back with you.” Jacob laughed and punched Ryan again. “Woooo I haven’t seen him get all philosophical like that in a looooong time. Good job pipsqueak but for real, don’t shit on the little guy.” He let Ryan in and got in himself, adjusting the seat as it was needed for the kid in the back to have room. Zack shook a few more hands – signed a few more things, took some quick pictures and had some hugs before he got into the car and headed off with soup and apparently two rowdy teenagers. What a fucking day this was shaping up to be. On the other side of lala land, Alec made a few quick clicks of his computer while pouring tea for him and his daughter – pink crown and purple boa on as proper attire was of course required. And the twitter comment from Joel was erased, Zack would never see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazuki Posted November 29, 2016 Share Posted November 29, 2016 Once Zack told Ryan to calm down, Ryan fought with the bubbling excitement in his body and tried to keep a straight face, though his expression would habitually twitch into a small grin anyways. "An aerospace engineer? Dude, why would that ruin your image?" He laughed and turned to Jacob, still fighting his usual grin. "Better than English Literature anyway." A part of him internally sighed. So much for his Badass degree. Like a good puppy, Ryan instantly turned back and stood next to Zack as he directed his head around the group of people, telling him to not shit on the little guy. Ryan's lips flickered into a frown. "...sorry." he murmured. It was good advice and he certainly couldn't say it was entirely wrong. After all, Zack and his friends had built themselves up from the bottom, so he more than anyone else had experience of being in his position. Of course, that didn't mean it didn't hurt just a little bit to be told that. After all, it certainly seemed like it that the people Ryan had wanted to support him the most hadn't done so. Ad what kind of jype was that!? Weren't your parents meant to support you no matter what you did? Then why- Ryan halted the rapidly spiralling thought train. There wasn't any reason to get hung up on that right now. Not when he had such a rare oppurtunity to learn about what he loved from one of the best on the scene right now. What he actually loved. "Yeah, sure!" Practically running over to the car, Ryan placed the groceries delicately in the back, like he was handling the holy grail of rapidly defrosting chicken. Settling himself in after Jacob he closed the door, glancing about in his seat like an excited child going to the movies or his first concert. After waiting for Zack to get back to the car and drive off, he took a almost-comically deep breath, trying to find the first question he should ask his new- buddies? acquaintances? associates? whatever. "So, uhm... have you guys got any new songs in the works recently? I mean, I know you just came back from a tour and you're all probably busy doing... stuff." Ryan hose to ignore the fact he didn't know what 'stuff' was. "But uh, I'm sure you guys got some inspiration out there on the road right? How do you guys write your songs?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morirp Posted December 5, 2016 Author Share Posted December 5, 2016 Zack laughed. "This dumbass doesn't want anyone to know he's got a brain under that Mohawk, he thinks it makes him less of a badass. I tend to disagree." Jacob scowled, glaring at Zack as the conversation shifted. From school to other things. When Ryan mumbled his apology Zack ruffled his hair. The car was full of food, and people but it was one of the cheeriest drives Zack could remember for quite some time. Jacob and Ryan went on and on about music, at one point they were both playing air instruments and goofing off. Zack laughed and smiled here and there at their stupid antics. It wasn't a long drive to Jacob's house and Zack had a key so while the other two got the bags the door was unlocked and Jacob's house was opened up for Ryan to see. It wasn't all that big for a star like Jacob. One of the smartest things he'd ever done was sock away his money in case Zack had decided never to tour again. Last Zack heard Jacob had even accepted some free lance positions with Bowing and NASA. Mean while Zack had simply run some online courses for music developement and design and Alec had been substitute teaching. Whenever they weren't touring Alec's wife was the bread winner. They were all three well off, thanks to Zack's dedication to them all graduating college. Ultimately the groceries came in and Zack got to work - he really loved cooking and his mother, who was Vietnamese had instilled in him the importance of a good soup. He started chopping vegetables, and had gotten the meat into the pot to stew. Soup was a patients thing, it took hours and hours and hours of prep and seasoning and, well it was a good thing Zack was getting started early. Jacob managed to drag Ryan off somewhere for video games and he eyed the boy from the corner of his eye as the Xbox whirled to life and they began a game of call of duty. "So, whats with big brother Joel?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazuki Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 It was amazing just how quickly Ryan settled in with Zack and Jacob on their way back to Jacob's apartment. Well, maybe not so much with Zack because he was focusing on driving but with Jacob, well... let's just say Joel now had some competition in the 'Best Not-Actual-Brother Competition'. Halfway through their heavily choreographed of Adolescents by the Amoeba, they'd already skipped a few steps in the affirmation of broship. Trudging up the stairs with the mostly defrosted meat wasn't exactly the most glamorous job in the world - I mean seriously shouldn't these guys have PAs for this kind of stuff? - but it was all worth it when they got up to Jacob's apartment. Or at least that's what he thought was going to happen. Having seen Joel's place, which wasn't the fanciest but was easily leagues above most of the places Ryan had lived, he'd expected something with high ceilings, hundreds of room and possibly even a bit of gold trim. Instead he was met with an apartment barely bigger than a college graduate's and with the mess to match. "Wow... it's um... really--" He could feel Jacob's eyes on him, silently judging his reaction. "--homely?" He swore he saw Jacob grin just a little wider. He internally exhaled. Okay, so he hadn't majorly fucked it up... yet. They et Zack go off and do his cooking thing and as the Xbox whirred to life - those sounds weren't too encouraging - he settled in to play a good old fashioned game of Shooty-Shooty-Bang-Bang. He was on his way to the loadout screen when Jacob caught his attention. "Um..." Ryan clicked through a few options, considering his response. It was thing to talk about Joel, but another when the guy wasn't even here. "Whatdya mean 'what's with' him? He's alright I guess, though I won't know until I see him later... Why? Is there something going on?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morirp Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 Jacob nodded. "Yeah, its small. I own a building downtown where I keep all of the recording equipment and all my gear. Alec keeps a few kits there, and I think even Zack has a few things there." Zack cocked a brow at 'a few things' "I better have a few things there, my ivory epiphone and custom fender are both there. You keep the security up on that place right?" Jacob waved a hand - dismissing the paranoia. "I really hate moving, seeing my whole life in boxes trips me up, so I just stay here or I sleep in one of Zack's many rooms." From the kitchen Zack rolled his eyes "Many? I've only got four bedrooms and one of those was converted to a music room." Jacob and Zack fell into temporarily bickering like old friends often did before they split off for the Xbox. Once alone and Joel was brought up Jacob hit the button to start with his chosen load out. Jacob shrugged "I dunno, just think it's weird that he's all trying to buddy buddy with Zack and that's the fuck-tards... sorry, Duncan's, that's Duncan's best friend." Jacob's jaw noticeably tightened when he mentioned Duncan, but he tried to keep his shoulders loose as the game began. He didn't mind having Ryan around - really the kid was pretty cool considering the circle he came from - but that didn't mean Jacob wasn't going to probe to make sure that everything that might even edge the band an inch closer to Duncan was a safe move. No one wanted a repeat of Zack's breakdown, not even Jacob - the most easy going of the three of them, thought he could handle another round of that without leaving the band in search of more solid prospects. In the other room Zack continued cooking till the soup was simmering on the stove. He wasn't much one for watching video games - if he was going to be involved he was going to play damnit. So instead of joining the two (and subsequently breaking up their chat) he took to Jacob's keyboard in the front room, setting it up. He began playing, rummaging around for blank sheet music till he found some. Zack had been preparing music the whole tour, getting ready to come back and get to work on creating new things. The last album had been admittedly, very dark, and while Zack was fine with it, and the sound had carried them to a new level of stardom... he needed new things to play or he would get bored with the sound. Tinkling along the keys, ever nimble fingers would fiddle, write, fiddle, write, fiddle fiddle, and eventually he had to pull out his phone and hit record, playing and starting to sing some preliminary lyrics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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