Page 137 of Before We're More Than Friends
“I didnotdrive slow,” Arielle protested as she sat beside Sienna. “You were just eager to get to yourboy.” Arielle winked at me.
I snorted. “I’m herboynow?” I grinned at Raina. “Not that I don’t like the title.”
“She’s been teasing me about it all week,” Raina said, grinning back at me. “She’s turning into Caleb whenever Oliver gets a girlfriend.”
“You get used to it,” Oliver muttered, texting someone on his phone.
“Gosh, you aren’t already talking to someone else, are you?” Caleb peeked over to see Oliver’s phone screen.
Oliver hugged his phone to his chest, his cheeks flushing. “No.”
“Who is it this time?”
“Your mom was looking like a real snack the last time I saw her.”
“I know.” Caleb took off his glasses and pretended to flip his hair. “That’s where I get it from.”
“Dang, did your dad’s genes mess it up?”
Caleb shoved him against the half-wall, and we all burst into laughter.
“Good afternoon, What Do You Beaners!” Ivan said into the microphone with his usual big smile, and we snapped our focus to him. “Welcome to the Battle of the Bands auditions. I’m happy that you’re all here today.” His gaze traveled to us. “And I’m even happier to see some familiar faces in the crowd.”
Sienna let out a soft sigh. Arielle nudged her shoulder and giggled.
After Ivan explained how the auditions would go down—each band would perform in alphabetical order, which meant we had some time—the first band went on stage. They were decent enough but didn’t intimidate us. Hayden seemed to be more relaxed with each band that performed.
But then the band he’d been shooting glares at, Joker Avenue, went up on stage. Hayden’s expression immediately hardened, and so did everyone else’s at the table. Gosh, whoever these people were, I hoped they sucked.
Joker Avenue, of course, decided to perform “Youngblood” by 5 Seconds of Summer. It wasn’t off the same album of the song we picked, but it was enough to make Hayden grumble to himself while the rest of our bandmates exchanged annoyed looks.
The lead singer, a tall guy with unruly brown curls and tan skin, picked up on their annoyance and winked at us. Justgreat. It was the guy who slammed into me when I was trying to find my English class.
Caleb saluted him with his middle finger as Hayden cursed under his breath.
Sadly, Caleb was right about their talent. In fact, they werethe best band that had performed so far. Lead Singer Guy had a record-deal worthy voice, almost as good as Ivan’s voice. The drummer captured the beat of the song while the guitarist kept up with the melody. I would’ve thought I was at a 5 Seconds of Summer concert if I’d been blindfolded.
They freaking rocked.
Which sucked for us.
At the end of their performance, they did an outro that was different from the original song. Leader Singer Guy performed a riff with his guitar that matched the riff that the blonde guitarist played. The two of them exchanged grins, like they knew they had it in a bag.
When they finished performing, a chorus of applause ripped through the café. Out of habit, I clapped, but none of my bandmates joined. I quickly lowered my hands.
After Ivan complimented them, the band walked off the stage. Lead Singer Guy stopped at our table as his bandmates went back to their booth. “Good luck,” he said, his brown gaze bouncing between Hayden and Arielle. I could feel ayou’ll need itbehind his words.
“Find a LEGO to step on,” Caleb said in the same tone.
Lead Singer Guy smirked. “Isn’t that what happened to you?”
Caleb shot up to lunge at him, but Arielle and Sienna blocked him from doing so. I swallowed, my heart thumping harder than it had been before.
“Whoa,” Lead Singer Guy said, holding up his hands. “Just a joke.”
“Like that haircut?” Sienna fired back. “Yeah, I agree.”
“And those highlights in your hair. Not your color.”
