"Playing all the bars, sleeping in our cars, and we practiced right on out in the street"

Rock & Roll Band

Kaen sat in the front seat of Kaguya's DeVille, her arms crossed sulkenly as she stared out the window. The car was completely silent. No one spoke, and not even the radio was playing, which was unusual considering the fact that none of the girls could stand silence.

Kaen sighed petulantly, then when she noticed that no one was paying attention she sighed again, even louder and more dramatically.

"Oh, for the love of God..." Kaguya mumbled under her breath. "Look, Kaen, I'm very sorry for not being rude to the boys for no reason. Next time I see 'em, I'll make sure to be extra mean and petty for no reason, just like you are, okay? Does that make you feel better?"

"It actually does," Kaen stated. She unfolded her arms, giving Kaguya a side-eye as she tossed her hair. "And I suppose I'll forgive you. If you buy me takeout on the way ho-"

"No."

"Kags, c'mon, I'm starving! All I had for breakfast was a piece of toast and some shredded cheese-"

"We have food at home, Kaen."

"Just a little KFC snack? Please?"

"No."

"Hardass!"

"Brat."

Lilliana stifled a laugh, looking back at Byeol who was openly giggling.

You could really tell those two had grown up with eachother.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Lisa was back at the apartment, humming to herself as she typed away at her computer. She was busy trying to book an event for the girls, which was especially difficult considering that their bank account was almost in the negatives.

She jumped suddenly when she heard a loud knock at the front door.

"Oh great... What is it now?" She muttered, marching quickly over to the door. She paused quickly, brushing her curtain bangs out of her eyes and putting on her customer-service face. She swung the door open, smiling. "Hi, there! Can I help you?"

Their landlord, Mr. Kim, was standing in the doorway, scowling. "Heating's late."

Lisa felt her heart drop to her stomach as she cocked her head. "Sorry?" She asked, feigning ignorance.

"Your heating bill is late. It'll be shut off if you can't pay it by tonight."

Lisa swallowed. "Can you give us a few more days? We'll be able to pay you the day after tomorrow, but now really-"

"I can't."

Lisa frowned as she was interrupted. "Okay, well, I can pay you half in advance, then. Does that work-"

"No."

She huffed loudly, her eyes narrowing as all the fake pleasantries faded from her voice. "Fine. Shut it off then, since you clearly don't want to make any compromises."

She shut the door hard, turning away and going back to her computer as she mumbled to herself. "Effing leech- As if I didn't give him other options- what an ass..."

She flopped into her seat, dialing Kaen's number on her phone as she tapped her foot anxiously.

"Hey! You've reached Kaen Takahashi's voicemail. I'm not here right now, leave a message at the beep!"

"Damn it, Kaen, damn it!" she hissed. "I knew I shouldn't have let her handle the banking... Damn it!"

Lisa buried her head in her hands, trying to calm her angry breathing. Remember what your therapist said, Lis... In through your nose, out through your mouth...

She raised her head, her heartbeat returning to normal as she calmed herself down. "It's fine, actually- it's all okay. I can fix this. I can fix this..."

She picked up her phone once more, looking through some of Kaen's papers as she dialed the bank. She was gonna find a way to solve this problem, one way or another, no matter what.

Lisa had been raised poor, living paycheck to paycheck, for the last 24 years. She was not going to let herself, or the girls, live that way for the next 24 years.

She was better than that now. They were better than that.

Lisa was on the phone with the bank for the next 40 minutes or so, or at least long enough for the girls to finally get home. She tried not to give Kaen a dirty look as she walked into the room, but the urge was strong.

Later that night, the girls all sat together on the sofa, huddled under a heap of blankets. Despite it being the middle of summer, the nights in their apartment were freezing, especially with the heating shut off.

Byeol took a bite of her instant ramen as she flipped through the magazine that sat on her lap, trying to avoid Lisa's angry gaze. Kaen had already gotten an earful when they got home, and Byeol wasn't wanting any of that.

Lisa shifted her long legs, sighing uncomfortably.

"Don't start, Lis, I already know," Kaen stated, curling further into Kaguya's side (against Kaguya's will, might I add). "I know what you're gonna say and I don't wanna hear it!"

"You didn't pay our utilities bill for three weeks, Kaen. Three weeks, do you really expect me to not get angry about that?" Lisa asked, her mouth pressed in a thin line. "You can't be irresponsible like this anymore. Do you want us to get evicted?"

"It won't come to that!" she replied, clearly not worried at all.

Lisa sighed, shaking her head. "Whatever. I'm going to bed. Try not to burn the house down or something..."

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Byeol woke up the next morning to the sound of air whooshing by her ear and a sudden weight falling onto her face. She flinched, sitting up in her bed as she untangled herself from her blankets.

"Wakey-wakey, Byeol!" Kaen cried cheerfully. "Got a big day ahead of us!"

Byeol finally pulled the... thing off her face, revealing it to be a slinky black party dress. "Uh, hey, Kaen? What's this all about?"

"Oh, that's the dress I picked out for you! For our photoshoot!" Kaen said, going over to the other bed to wake Lily in a similar manner.

"W- Huh? What photoshoot? Kaen, what are you talking about?" Byeol asked. However, Kaen was already breezing out of the room with an armful of similar dresses, on her way to wake the older girls in the next room over. "Kaen, what photoshoot?!"

Byeol opened her phone, sighing when she saw that it was 7 in the morning.

Lily was stretching in her bed, looking down skeptically at the lilac club dress that sat in her lap. "...I'm not wearing that..."

"What photshoot?" Byeol mumbled.

The two girls exited their bedroom, finding their other bandmates in the living room. Kaguya was examining the sequined mini dress in her arms, her eyes annoyed. "Kaen, I can't wear this, I'm gonna spill out of it-"

"You'll be fine! Maybe that'll help score you a date finally," Kaen said cheerfully.

"What? No-"

"I have too much respect for myself to go out wearing that," Lisa said, chucking her assigned dress over the back of the couch. "I must say, though, this photoshoot is actually a good idea. I'm impressed, Kaen. You even managed to hire a professional."

Kaen laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, Kei's super professional! Mhm, yep. Okay, now go put on your dresses! Get ready, we don't wanna be late!"

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

The 'super professional' photgraphy session Kaen had promised the girls, actually turned out to be a one of her cousins with a cheap handheld camera and a white sheet taped to the wall of his basement.

The girls were pissed to say the least.

"This is effing gross," Byeol mumbled through a smile, posing with her bandmates in front of Kaen's cousin. He quickly snapped another photo, signaling for them to switch positions. "It smells like mildew down here..."

"Just be greatful!" Kaen cried. "We're getting these done for free, y'know. Don't complain or Kei might kick us out."

"We've been here for, like, eight hours," Kaguya muttered. "How long does it take to take some pictures?"

"He's being thorough!"

"I think that should be enough! You girls wanna see the results?" Kei's voice pulled the girls from their conversation.

They walked over to where he was standing. Lisa stood behind him, looking thoroughly upset at the setup. She was tapping her foot angrily and gripping the strap of her purse in a death grip.

Byeol took the camera from Kei's hands. The pictures were actually pretty good, if not a bit grainy. Byeol had to admit, the colors of dresses Kaen had picked out for them actually worked good together and complimented each girl pretty well. She rubbed her eyes, passing Kaguya the camera so she could look at the photos.

"Thanks, Kei-Kei!" Kaen was crying cheerfully, bouncing on her feet as she spoke with her cousin. "Wanna go out drinking with us tonight? We're going to the Vieux Carre!"

Lisa blinked. "When did we decide that-"

"Nah, that's okay," Kei said. "You guys go have fun, though!"

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

The Vieux Carre was bustling as usual tonight. Music was thumping loud enough for the girls to hear as they walked through the parking lot, and the air was hot and humid enough to make Byeol's bangs stick to her forehead.

"Pretty wild tonight, huh?" Kaguya said, her heels clicking against the cement as she brushed her blue and pink bob out of her eyes. "Wonder what's going on."

Lisa tugged the door open, letting the girls into the building in front of her. Inside the club was all lit up; the ambient lights cast blue, purple and pink streaks across the black walls and tiles. The dance floor was filled with people, dancing as close to their partners as possible as live music played from the stage. It was too crowded for Byeol to see what band was playing.

Lily was not a fan of the noise. She frowned deeply, hooking her arm with Byeol's as she scooched close to her.

"You okay?" Byeol asked worriedly. Lily nodded, her bangs falling in her eyes.

"Yeah... I just don't like loud places."

Kaguya set her hands on the back of their necks, leaning between them to speak in their ears. "Let's head to the bar. Lisa and I want drinks."

She guided them through the crowd, her hands still on their necks as she looked out over the top of the crowd. She was taller than them, making it easy for her to get over to the bar. As the girls took their seats on the barstools, Lisa sat up on her knees and squinted over to the band that was playing on the stage.

"Can you see 'em?" Kaguya asked, opening her purse to retrieve her wallet.

"Not really. Hold on, I'm gonna go check the set list," The manager stated, sliding off her seat and heading back into the crowd.

Byeol glanced to the stage as Kaguya began to order. She still couldn't see the band, but the lead's singer's voice was masculine and vaguely familiar. She squinted past the crowds, trying to get a glimpse of the performers as they began to play 'Girls, Girls, Girls'.

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned, looking up into Kaguya's eyes as the older girl leaned down to speak in her ear. "Hey, what drink do you want?"

"Oh, um, something cinnamon-y," Byeol said, looking back at the stage. "You can pick for me."

She finally managed to catch a glimpse of the band as the crowd on the dance floor shifted, a familiar head of golden hair catching her eyes. She smiled and leaned forward, waving as she caught Xander's eye. He shot her a wink, his face breaking into a cute grin as he played on his drums. Byeol felt her ears warm as Lily passed her her cocktail, looking down in her lap.

"Is that the boys?" Lily asked incredulously, her eyes fixed on the stage.

"Who?" Lisa asked, straining her ears against the noise of the club.

"Those are the guys we share our studio with," Kaguya said, taking a long drink of her Midori sour.

Lisa nodded slowly, swirling around her glass of sangria as she listened to them perform. "Hmph. Not bad at all..."