"Going under
Getting close to what we cannot recognize
Floating face down in the lies
Here we are without a trace
But the lies we used to blame." -Swim in Silence

"Let's run it one more time." Gabriel said raspily into the microphone.

Audible groans echoed through the soundproof room, but ceased immediately when Gabriel fixed a hard stare on all of us.

"Again." he ordered, and I sighed, counting off the song for the twelfth time before the rest of the band entered at once.

Although we were lacking the energy from the first rehearsal, our passion still shone. Or was that sweat?

Gabriel closed his eyes and tapping his foot, he began to sing our chosen song for auditions. I kept up my consistent rhythm, falling into the pattern that I've gotten used to. My eyes shut too, listening to the melodic voices interwining to create one gigantic sound.

When I opened them, I saw Drake bobbing his head with a stern look on his face, keeping his gaze on the frets of his guitar as he spun into the solo. Xander's rhythm guitar took over silently behind the wailing of the first guitar, keeping the original melody alive as Zac continued to promote a rumbling, deep repetition on his bass that helped me keep the tempo.

When the time came, I opened my mouth and added back-up vocals along with the others, my voice getting lost behind the set. After all, I wasn't miked, but Zac assured me that during the auditions, professional would set up the equipment for me.

I felt the music trap me in its clutches, and for a second I forgot that my arms were about to fall off. I just listened to the lyrics and melody, not paying attention to my drumming. It was second nature to me; I rarely messed up. A few times I winced inwardly though. We were far from perfect, but the few slip-ups we made often made my ears want to bleed.

"A riot!" Gabriel finished the song, drawing us to a close as Drake's guitar fizzled into the silence.

Panting, the guitar players stretched their fingers and I placed Rev on the snare drum in front of me, circling my shoulders to release the tension.

"Any better?" Zac asked, as Xander threw him a bottle of lemonade while the rest of us took a swig from our water bottles.

"Much." Gabriel nodded, clearing his throat to get rid of the gruffness. "I still think we keep rushing the last chorus though. And the bridge into it is a little rough."

I nodded and decided to add in my own findings, "By the way, Drake, watch your fingers in the second verse. They were slightly off and the chords weren't as clean. Xander, keep the rhythm steady during Drake's solo; listen to Zac. And Zac, you're fine, I just think the intro was a little rocky since your part's much more independent. And Gabriel," I ignored his arched eyebrow. "You accidentally switched keys during the second verse, your pitch wasn't right back then."

The other four gaped at me and I felt like shrinking back from the attention. "Perfect pitch, remember?" I added uneasily, rubbing the back of my head.

". . .Right," Drake mused, regaining his consciousness. "Still getting used to that."

Gabriel scoffed, pretending as if what I said wasn't correct. "Anyway. Let's run it from the second verse and finish it. Then we're done for the day since you're all a bunch of wimps and obviously don't care that the auditions are on tuesday. Which is only two days from now. It's sunday today, guys."

"Dude, we know that!" Xander exclaimed. "It's just that we've been practicing the same song for like three hours. Our time slot is almost up anyway."

Gabriel sighed but turned back to his microphone, wrapping a hand around the body. "Yeah, yeah. It's just... We all really want to at least make it in, right? What if we're not good enough? That's why we need to keep practicing. Xander, Lacey, I know you guys might not feel it yet, but this is all that me, Drake, and Zac want. We want Chasing Avenues to be a success; it's our dream. This contest is a huge deal. So we should be as close to perfect as we can be. It's better to try and not succeed than not try at all, right?" We all fell into an awkward silence, taking in his words until Gabriel spoke up again quietly, "Lacey, just count us off again."

Picking Rev back up, I adjusted my hold on my sticks before tapping off, "One, two, one, two, three, four."

And with that, the thirteenth session of Riot started again. But this one was definitely different from the others. I felt a spark as soon as the melody started up, lighting up the energy we all seemed to miss before.

I found my movements to be less robotic as I played as if I were in front of an audience. The rock and roll sound wafted through my ears, making me play with even more spirit.

The others were affected too. Drake was jumping up and down, a small, tired small on his face as he strummed the riff along with Xander's harmony. Zac was bobbing his head, something I noticed he only did when he was completely in the music. Meanwhile, I pounded away, replaying the lyrics in my head.

Gabriel noticed it too; this was what he was waiting for all day. I saw him smile a little to himself before he dove right into the first verse.

"If you feel so empty, so used up, so let down. If you feel so angry, so ripped off, so stepped on. You're not the only one refusing to back down. You're not the only one, so get up!"

He grabbed the microphone with a fierceness as he belted out the chorus, the other four of us screaming along the back-up vocals. "Let's start a riot! A riot! Let's start a riot!" The dark, haunting and rough tone of the song sent shivers up my spine.

"If you feel so filthy, so dirty, so fucked up. If you feel so walked on, so painful, so pissed off. You're not the only one refusing to go down. You're not the only one, so get up." Gabriel sang in his gruff voice, and I echoed the verse, giving the song a unqiue spin due to my higher-pitched voice.

"Let's start a riot! A riot! Let's start a riot!" We all sang once again, jumping around and playing to our heart's content. Instead of using the original transcription, our instruments faded out in a grand pause, waiting for Gabriel's cue.

"If you feel so empty, so used up, so let down. If you feel so angry, just get up!" He sang acapella, growling out the last word. And with a crash of my cymbal, we all entered the song at once, producing one loud lemody in unison.

"Let's start a riot!" Gabriel screamed the final note, as Drake's vibrato on his guitar emitted feedback, but the kind in a good sense, and then echoed until all sound stopped at once. We were all breathing hard, and Xander shot me an exhausted grin which I returned with a small twitch of my lips.

But a round of soft, slow clapping made Chasing Avenues jump in surprise. Startled, I switched my glare to a shadowed figure on the other side of the glass, whose features were disguised by the darkness of the other room.

"Who's there?" Drake called out, narrowing his eyes as he unstrapped his guitar and placed it on the stand against the wall.

The lights flickered on, and a man in his early forties was revealed. His features were defined by a light remnant of a five o' clock shadow, and from where I sat, I could at least tell he had dark brown hair, and chocolate brown eyes. He wore a casual business suit, with a tie the obscure color of magenta. The unidentified man pressed a button on the soundboard and spoke into the microphone, "Relax, kids. My name's Mike. I have the room booked after you."

How did he get in? Oh, yeah. Charlene. Keys. This place really needed better security.

"Oh, are you Mike Vaughn?" Zac asked, slipping off his bass and grabbing his bottle of lemonade off the table. The man nodded and gestured to the door keeping him from meeting us in person, "May I?" He asked. Xander nodded and hustled to the door, opening it as Mike slipped in, a small smile on his face.

"Are you guys entering the competition we're hosting?" Mike asked curiously, leaning against the table with both hands braced behind him for support.

"How could you tell?" Xander asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"I kind of overheard his big speech." Mike admitted sheepishly, jerking his chin in Gabe's direction. The latter flushed a bit, mumbling incoherently. "So, I'm guessing you are?"

"Yeah, we are. Do you work here?" Drake mused, cocking his head to one side.

"Technically. I help sponsor the company; like provide money and advertisements. I actually booked this studio so I could work on some last minute things for the Judges before tuesday."

I got up from my spot, holding Rev in my hand as I crossed my arms. I was soon joined by Drake, Zac, Xander, and Gabriel as we stood in front of Mike. Gabriel nodded, "That makes sense. Are you sponsoring any bands too?"

"Not at the moment, but hopefully I'll find the perfect band to manage during the competition. Honestly, I think you guys might have a shot." Mike grinned. Drake rolled his eyes, "But then you'll be biased." The guitarist countered.

"Not exactly. I've just listened to you play, and I must say that you all have extreme talent. You're definitely going to go far if you continue a musical career." Nodding, Mike crossed his arms too, mimicking me. I caught Drake, Zac, and Gabriel look a bit triumphant, a pleased look in their eyes.

"What's your band's name?"

"We're Chasing Avenues." The four of them replied in unison, looking proud. Mike switched his gaze to me, and I saw a hint of confusion when he realized that I wasn't as enthusiastic and I didn't reply.

"Individual names?"

"That's Drake, over there is Zac, that's Xander, this is Lacey, and I'm Gabriel." Gabriel introduced as all, and again the other four members gave small waves when their names were announced but I just kept my posture indifferent. Mike noticed this again, and I narrowed my eyes at him, but he said nothing.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all. And I'm sure that I'll be seeing more of you and your wonderful talents soon. Best of luck in the competition!" Mike smiled, giving us a polite nod of the head.

"Yeah, we'll be on our way now." Drake added, checking his watch. "It's past eight anyway, sorry for taking up so much time."

"Oh, it's no problem. You're a good batch of kids." Mike chuckled as we all started to pack up our belongings. "Oh, and by the way. If you guys have your forms, you can just hand them to me right now. It'll be less of a hassle, and I'll give them to the judges tomorrow morning so you won't have to worry about forgetting them on tuesday."

"Really? That would be great!" Zac smiled and reached into his book bag, taking out the pieces of paer that held our permissions. My heart stopped and I found posture tensing even further. The observant one he was, Mike flickered his gaze to me before taking the forms out of Zac's hands. He skimmed the signatures curiously, and my heart deflated, sinking into the depths of the darkness. I saw him read Xander and my forms twice, his brows furrowing in confusion.

I exchanged a glance with Xander, my blue eyes hiding my panic as I gave him a blank stare. His face paled slightly, but luckily he kept his composure. I kept my eyes on the carpet, ignoring Mike's scrutinizing glances in my direction. I could almost her the cogs working in his brain as he tried contemplating whether Xander and I were siblings or not.

"Is there a problem?" Drake asked curiously, hauling his backpack over his shoulder and picking up his guitar case.

"No, not at all," Mike replied slowly, and my blood froze. Whether it was out of relief or fright, I didn't know. "Thank you gentlemen, and lady." He added after I sent him a small scowl. "I'll see you guys on tuesday. I'm not judging, but I will be there to check out the bands from Washington state. See you then!"

"Bye." Zac chirped before Gabriel ushered us out. I was the last to leave, and I chided myself for panicking when it wasn't even a big deal. Mike wouldn't know the difference between fraud. Xander and I don't look that different from each; we could pass as siblings. As I passed by Mike, our shoulders brushed and I couldn't help but shudder. He noticed this and gave me one more calculating look before I hurried to the door.

"So tell me, Lacey. Which is your actual last name: Carson or Corradino?" His smug voice called after me and I gasped, slipping past the door and almost running into Xander.

"What's wrong?" Xander asked at once, looking so concerned that my panic was almost over-ridden by surprise. I glanced behind him, not wanting to have this coversation if the others were there. "Don't worry, they're all waiting in the lobby. I told them I was going to wait for you and that we'll meet them down there. So, what's the matter?"

Feeling like a weight was being pressed down on my chest, I glanced behind me at the door and took a deep breath. Grabbing Xander's hand, I yanked him farther into the hallway, ignoring his questions. My mind was reeling. Would I get kicked out of the contest? Would Mike tell the judges and would I be disqualified? Would Chasing Avenues be disqualified? Oh, God.

"Lacey, stop." Xander stated, a firm finality in his voice. He dug his heels in and made us skid to a stop, and I didn't dare turn around to face him. After all, I was the one who dragged him into this mess. If the authorities found out. . . Oh, God.

"Tell me what's wrong." He demanded, setting his jaw. I saw the familiar nerve on his jawline tick, something I noticed he did whenever he was irritated.

"Xander, I was so stupid." I muttered, my voice rising a little. I forced it down, aware that people were passing by around us.

"Look, if you're still worried about people finding out about the form-"

"That's the problem. I was so stupid, Xander," I repeated. Before he could scold me again, I cut him off, "I put my actual last name down instead of writing yours like we planned. So now, we're in a bit of a pickle."

As my words ran through Xander's mind, his eyes widened and he swore, "Oh, shit."

"How am I going to explain that we're 'siblings' without the authorities, the band, my d-dad, and your parents finding out? I can't be adopted; they'll just resort to calling your parents to make sure! And what about the competition?"

"Okay, okay. How do you know for sure that we're busted?"

"Mike. I think he knows."

"Well, shit. "

--

So yeah. The next chapter or two might be fillers. I'm kind of upset about how slow this storyline is going. But I don't to go right into the action without it feeling too rushed. So for now, please just bear with the slowness.

Stay lovely,
Isabelle