CHAPTER FIVE

BOYS AIN'T SHIT — SAYGRACE
If you want me, act like it

HARMONY LANE WAS the pride of Los Feliz High School. Consisting of four popular kids, half of which were on the lacrosse team and the other half who were cheerleaders, really solidified their status in the school. Jason Cummings played bass, Megan Hardy played guitar, Josh Harrison played drums, and Christa White sang. The four grew up on the same street for which they were named, Harmony Lane, and didn't associate with anyone outside of their little group until high school. If you asked Olivia, she blamed their bad attitudes on that. Ignorance was bliss after all, but that didn't explain why Luke turned out to be so normal, considering he used to hang out with them all throughout middle school.

The band was established two years ago in the ninth grade, but they didn't start booking gigs until recently. Mill's Warehouse was a big deal for them and Olivia could remember how happy Jason was when he called her after they landed it. The venue was small, but a lot of people in the music industry liked to recruit new talent there.

Olivia walked through the doors and saw the band setting up. There was no stage, only an area sectioned off by floor lights and a riser for the drums. Off to the side, a backstage was created by a barricade made with the band's cars. Sitting on the roof of his classic Mustang was Jason. He was tuning his bass and looked up when he sensed someone lean on the car beside him.

"Hey," he greeted, stopping what he was doing. He didn't sound too excited to see her. "You made it."

"I did." Olivia nodded. Her eyes travelled the venue, searching for the rest of Harmony Lane. Each of them seemed off, like they weren't focused on the gig they were about to do. "Are you okay? Is it the nerves?"

"No, we're just all fucking pissed." Jason slid off of his car and walked over to place his bass on a nearby guitar rack.

Olivia followed him as he beckoned her over to the drum riser where he chose to sit. Her bag slid off her shoulders and she watched as Christa shouted at one of the venue workers across the room. "Why?"

"Lovett told us we don't get the full set at the Halloween dance anymore," he grunted, watching as his bandmates complained in a circle without him. "Apparently some other band signed up to play and Miss Taylor's in on it. It's ridiculous."

Olivia froze. "Do... Do you know who's in the band?" She knew that she'd have to tell him about the band eventually, she just hoped it wouldn't be so soon.

Jason shrugged. "They're probably nobodies. I wouldn't be surprised if Patterson was one of them."

Olivia moved away from him and shifted so she could look at him better. "I don't get what your problem is with him," she confessed. Luke was a great guy and she couldn't understand why Jason viewed him as the root of all his problems. "Didn't you used to be friends? Didn't all of you?"

He scoffed at her sudden interest and stood up. "That's not the point, the point is that this band is taking half our stage time." He paced in front of her, looking up at the ceiling to keep his composure. "God, once I find out who they are, I'm taking them down."

Olivia slowly stood up. She pulled the sleeves of her sweater down and fiddled with her hands. Telling him she was a part of the band who cut their gig short would definitely lead to an argument. After a moment of contemplation, she faced him. "It's me," she blurted out, immediately regretting her decision.

Jason stopped pacing. "What?"

She took a deep breath before clarifying and kept her head high. "I'm the lead singer in the new band," she stated, finding her confidence in the protectiveness she felt about her new friends. "I play piano sometimes too."

"Are you kidding ?" He looked at her in disbelief. "This has to be a joke."

"It's not." She shook her head and looked off to the side. "We're actually pretty good—well not pretty, we are good, really good. We met in detention and—"

"Look, Olivia, that's great you wanna be in a band," he interrupted, ignoring how her face fell, "you could've sung back up for Christa or something. But joining a rival band? Stealing half our night from us? How could you do that? You know how important my music is to me."

Olivia could feel her heart sink. She had spent years supporting his music despite being hated by the people he made it with, and the first time she showed any interest in something for herself, he just had to make her feel bad about it. "Maybe my music is important to me too."

"Oh, please," Jason scoffed with a humourless laugh. "You can't sing in front of three people without throwing up, what makes you think you can sing in front of the whole school? You'll just embarrass yourself. And me."

"Wow, okay." Olivia bit the inside of her cheek and raised her eyebrows quickly. She picked her bag up from in front of the drum riser. "You know what? I think I'm gonna go."

She turned to leave and Jason reached out to stop her. "Wait, Liv."

She looked up at him and gave him a tight lipped smile. Her hands gripped the strap of her purse and she shook her head. "No, I don't want to steal more of your night from you." Her gaze fell on the three teenagers watching them from a distance and gave them a small sarcastic wave. "Have a good show."

Jason huffed as she walked out the door, eyes never leaving where her figure was even when Christa walked over to check on him. Her hand met his shoulder, but instead of shrugging it off like he probably should, he looked down at her.

"What was that about?" Christa asked, nodding her head towards the door.

Jason shook his head in disbelief and anger.

"She's the lead singer in the band that stole our set."

OLIVIA WALKED INTO her house to find her mom and brother sitting in the living room watching Dirty Dancing. She let out a long sigh and greeted her dog before falling onto the love seat beside the couch. Solo made himself comfortable on the ground beside her and his tail wagged back and forth rapidly as he looked up at her.

Olivia's mom, Sylvia, looked over at her in confusion. It had only been half an hour since she dropped her off at the venue. "Hi, mija, what are you doing home so early?"

"Jason and I had a fight." Almost as if Solo could feel her distress, he jumped onto the small couch and sat beside her, laying his head on her legs.

Sylvia leaned forward and passed her daughter her a bowl of popcorn. "You know, I never liked him."

"Me neither," Mikey added, putting his own bowl of popcorn between him and his mom. "He smells weird."

"So you've told me."

Mikey looked over at her and paused the movie. He shifted in his seat so he could face her fully. "What'd you fight about?" Sylvia looked equally as interested.

Olivia's hand fell on Solo's head and she scratched him behind the ear. With her other hand, she tossed popcorn into her mouth. "So I'm in a band—"

"You are?" Sylvia interrupted. She always wondered why Olivia never wanted to do anything with her music and was surprised to hear that she had joined a band after insisting that she was fine sitting on the sidelines as Jason took centre stage. "That sounds like fun."

"Yeah and we're good too, like insanely good," Olivia said, feeling like she could finally get excited about it without someone getting jealous or being mean. "Jason was a little mad because we signed up to play the Halloween dance and Harmony Lane had to give up some of their stage time for us. He said some things that weren't that nice about it so..."

Mikey let out a dramatic groan and threw his head back. "Just break up with him already!"

Olivia gave him a look. "Mikey."

"What?" He asked defensively, turning his head to look at her again. He pointed at the golden retriever beside her. "He doesn't like Solo! What kind of person doesn't like dogs?"

"I agree with your brother," Sylvia said with a supportive nod. Her arm found the back of the couch and she rested it behind her son. "If he can't put aside his own feelings to support you and your talent, then I think you're better off without him."

Olivia didn't want to admit it, but she knew her mom was right. She always was.