Cola 25: Genesis
Title: Genesis
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Cola 25 (we bring good things to life), My Treat (Lars and the band make progress), pocky chain, malt (darkfaerieclaw's birthday prompt: "We don't have to make a big fuss about being the best, sir. We just know." - Terry Pratchett, "Night Watch"), fresh peaches (Today is a great day to move forward, Cancer... this is a good time to set a plan in motion that will put you one step closer to your greatest fantasy).
Word Count: 800
Rating: PG-13 for some f-bombs.
Summary: Bedrock Drift gets its start.
Notes: So this became more of an origin story.
Sometime in sophomore year, Lars decided he was going to start a band.
He'd just started playing the bass, and a band seemed like a fantastic idea, for practice if nothing else. Still, Lars knew his ideas weren't always the best, so he told his best friend about it immediately. Aaron would talk him down, or at the very least poke holes in his idea until he had a much more solid plan.
He didn't expect Aaron to blink at him slowly, then say, "Well, I've always wanted to play the drums."
Lars blinked back in surprise, and then smiled.
--
The stoner dude from down the hall turned out to play guitar well, and Aaron brought along a tall, slim dreadlocked girl from his HTML class who took one look at the three of them, rolled her eyes, and said, "You losers aren't going to get anywhere without me. I'd better join." Lars wasn't sure he liked Penny, but give her an instrument and an hour and she could fake it with reasonable accuracy, so she was unfortunately irreplaceable.
They still needed a lead singer. In that light, meeting Russell was a miracle.
Lars wasn't sure from which side, though.
--
Penny summed it up best. "He's an arrogant son of a bitch," she said, after the open mike night where they'd found him, "and he seems to think he's God's gift to women, which, by the way, he definitely is not, and he's probably an alcoholic, but sweet Jesus, can that boy sing."
It fell to Lars to try and lure him into joining. He tried bribes of beer at first, but Russell just took them with an oblivious "thanks, dude." Subtle hints went unnoticed.
When he finally came clean, Russell blinked, and said, "Dude, why didn't you just ask?"
--
Surprisingly, it wasn't Russell who quit in a huff, but Wade. Not that Lars was unhappy about that-- Russell had ten times Wade's talent-- but he'd pegged Russell for the prima donna type. Wade he'd always seen as the laid-back stoner type, the kind of guy everyone thought was from California. So when he threw down his guitar during practice (snapping a string and making everyone wince) and dramatically declared that he was fucked if he'd stick around one more day before storming out...
Well, it was surprising.
It was less surprising when Russell shrugged and said "Well, we're fucked."
--
They went on holding practices for a little while in a desultory way, but they really needed another guitar. Someone who sang for preference, not that Lars was going to be that picky. He needed this band to succeed. He hadn't expected to feel that way, but it felt like something now, something important and good, if he could only make it work.
Aaron said nothing when he told him that over lunch, just chewed and swallowed thoughtfully.
Finally, he said, "You know, I've got this friend named Jay. We went to elementary school together. I think he plays guitar."
--
Jay did play guitar. Jay played guitar extremely well. Jay was also very mild-mannered and not likely to storm out in a huff. Lars inducted him on the spot.
It did curtail their practice and performance time; Jay went to college upstate and was only in the city on weekends. But those weekends were put to good use, practicing in the afternoons, hanging out in the evenings, becoming closer and tighter-knit. A little too tightly-knit sometimes-- especially when Penny and Jay turned up to Sunday practice in the rumpled clothes they'd worn the previous night-- but it all worked out.
--
"So where are you going with this?" Aaron asked, at yet another lunch date.
Lars blinked. "What do you mean?"
"The band. Bedrock Drift. Where are you going with it? We're pretty good. Have you got a plan?"
"Huh. Good question." He rested his chin on his hand. "Well, I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the next Backstreet Boys or anything."
Aaron snorted. "I should hope not."
"I mean I don't want to make it big," Lars said. "I just want to... be good at what we do."
"Congratulations," Aaron said, and smiled. "Mission accomplished."
--
"Testing," Russell said. "Testing. This mike is a piece of shit. Testing."
"Yeah, yeah, we hear you," Lars said. "Penny, give us an A?"
Penny shook her head. "I'm not plugged in."
"That's what she said," Russell deadpanned.
Aaron, adjusting his hi-hat, rolled his eyes. "Yes, Russell. Yes it is."
"Actually," Jay began.
Penny pointed at him. "Finish that sentence and you're on the couch for a week."
"Shutting up."
"An A, Penny," Lars said, in his no-more-nonsense-now voice. She sighed, but tuning commenced.
"All right," he said, when they'd finished. "Are we ready? Let's do this."
And they did.
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Cola 25 (we bring good things to life), My Treat (Lars and the band make progress), pocky chain, malt (darkfaerieclaw's birthday prompt: "We don't have to make a big fuss about being the best, sir. We just know." - Terry Pratchett, "Night Watch"), fresh peaches (Today is a great day to move forward, Cancer... this is a good time to set a plan in motion that will put you one step closer to your greatest fantasy).
Word Count: 800
Rating: PG-13 for some f-bombs.
Summary: Bedrock Drift gets its start.
Notes: So this became more of an origin story.
Sometime in sophomore year, Lars decided he was going to start a band.
He'd just started playing the bass, and a band seemed like a fantastic idea, for practice if nothing else. Still, Lars knew his ideas weren't always the best, so he told his best friend about it immediately. Aaron would talk him down, or at the very least poke holes in his idea until he had a much more solid plan.
He didn't expect Aaron to blink at him slowly, then say, "Well, I've always wanted to play the drums."
Lars blinked back in surprise, and then smiled.
--
The stoner dude from down the hall turned out to play guitar well, and Aaron brought along a tall, slim dreadlocked girl from his HTML class who took one look at the three of them, rolled her eyes, and said, "You losers aren't going to get anywhere without me. I'd better join." Lars wasn't sure he liked Penny, but give her an instrument and an hour and she could fake it with reasonable accuracy, so she was unfortunately irreplaceable.
They still needed a lead singer. In that light, meeting Russell was a miracle.
Lars wasn't sure from which side, though.
--
Penny summed it up best. "He's an arrogant son of a bitch," she said, after the open mike night where they'd found him, "and he seems to think he's God's gift to women, which, by the way, he definitely is not, and he's probably an alcoholic, but sweet Jesus, can that boy sing."
It fell to Lars to try and lure him into joining. He tried bribes of beer at first, but Russell just took them with an oblivious "thanks, dude." Subtle hints went unnoticed.
When he finally came clean, Russell blinked, and said, "Dude, why didn't you just ask?"
--
Surprisingly, it wasn't Russell who quit in a huff, but Wade. Not that Lars was unhappy about that-- Russell had ten times Wade's talent-- but he'd pegged Russell for the prima donna type. Wade he'd always seen as the laid-back stoner type, the kind of guy everyone thought was from California. So when he threw down his guitar during practice (snapping a string and making everyone wince) and dramatically declared that he was fucked if he'd stick around one more day before storming out...
Well, it was surprising.
It was less surprising when Russell shrugged and said "Well, we're fucked."
--
They went on holding practices for a little while in a desultory way, but they really needed another guitar. Someone who sang for preference, not that Lars was going to be that picky. He needed this band to succeed. He hadn't expected to feel that way, but it felt like something now, something important and good, if he could only make it work.
Aaron said nothing when he told him that over lunch, just chewed and swallowed thoughtfully.
Finally, he said, "You know, I've got this friend named Jay. We went to elementary school together. I think he plays guitar."
--
Jay did play guitar. Jay played guitar extremely well. Jay was also very mild-mannered and not likely to storm out in a huff. Lars inducted him on the spot.
It did curtail their practice and performance time; Jay went to college upstate and was only in the city on weekends. But those weekends were put to good use, practicing in the afternoons, hanging out in the evenings, becoming closer and tighter-knit. A little too tightly-knit sometimes-- especially when Penny and Jay turned up to Sunday practice in the rumpled clothes they'd worn the previous night-- but it all worked out.
--
"So where are you going with this?" Aaron asked, at yet another lunch date.
Lars blinked. "What do you mean?"
"The band. Bedrock Drift. Where are you going with it? We're pretty good. Have you got a plan?"
"Huh. Good question." He rested his chin on his hand. "Well, I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the next Backstreet Boys or anything."
Aaron snorted. "I should hope not."
"I mean I don't want to make it big," Lars said. "I just want to... be good at what we do."
"Congratulations," Aaron said, and smiled. "Mission accomplished."
--
"Testing," Russell said. "Testing. This mike is a piece of shit. Testing."
"Yeah, yeah, we hear you," Lars said. "Penny, give us an A?"
Penny shook her head. "I'm not plugged in."
"That's what she said," Russell deadpanned.
Aaron, adjusting his hi-hat, rolled his eyes. "Yes, Russell. Yes it is."
"Actually," Jay began.
Penny pointed at him. "Finish that sentence and you're on the couch for a week."
"Shutting up."
"An A, Penny," Lars said, in his no-more-nonsense-now voice. She sighed, but tuning commenced.
"All right," he said, when they'd finished. "Are we ready? Let's do this."
And they did.