Battle of the Bands

As the music faded, Trent found himself panting and breathless and, to his surprise, grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat. He couldn't help it - that was exhilarating, and Kyte was incredible! Trent's expectations had been pretty high from what he'd heard so far - but that performance had shattered them all. His friend was something else! One of the best singers he'd ever heard for sure. In fact, maybe even better than Luke... Though he wouldn't admit that out loud.
"That was awesome!" He gasped, laughing, as the crowd cheered. Kyte winked back at him.
“Thanks for tonight Trent, I had a good time.”
"Yeah, me too." He grinned, taking the hand Kyte offered as they stumbled off the stage. "I think we make a pretty good team, don't you? You were amazing!"
They rode the high a little longer, laughing with Allison and her friends, congratulating each other, and dancing wildly between rounds of champagne, but before too long, it was clear that the long night was getting to Kyte's head. Trent had had to catch him a few times when he stumbled, so he was not exactly surprised when a soft head leant against his shoulder, and mumbled, “I’m pretty drunk now… Sooo before I pass out, I better head home. We still have class tomorrow.”
"Yeah, I know Kyte." He chuckled softly, ruffling his friend's hair and wrapping a supportive arm around his shoulders. "C'mon, let's get you home."
With his free hand, he pulled out his phone to hail an Uber, then waved goodbye to Allison and her friends, and walked Kyte outside.
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." He said with a smile as they waited for their car, "thanks so much for coming - it was really cool to get to hang out and dance instead of working the whole night. Though my bank account will regret it." He pulled a face jokingly, then looked up to see a black Toyota pulling up. He checked the number plate against his phone, greeted the driver, and then pulled the door open for Kyte.
"Hop in."

"C'mon, let's get you home."
Waving goodbye to Allison and the girls, Kyte left the club and followed Trent outside. His friend had been kind enough to call him an Uber.

As they waited on the side walk, Kyte took a moment to enjoy the quiet, dimly lit streets. He could smell the damp scent of rain hanging in the air.
Trent smiled at him. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Thanks so much for coming - it was really cool to get to hang out and dance instead of working the whole night, Though my bank account will regret it."
Kyte grinned, “Yeah! I had an amazing time. It’s been way too long since I’ve been out like this. Thanks for tonight Trent”
Drifting off for moment, the boy suddenly remembered something, “Oh Right!… I forgot to give this to you.” Taking an envelope out of his pocket, Kyte pressed it into Trent’s hand. He winked peevishly “I told you we would win the event... I wasn’t really doing this for the cash, so if it will help you out then I want you to have it.”

Seeing a black car pull up beside them, the boy piped curiously, “Is that for me?” Trent walked towards the car to check the licence plate; it appeared to be the correct car. Opening the car door for Kyte, he gestured for him to climb in.
To this Kyte happily obeyed. “Thanks Again! I’ll see you at the summer festival Trent. Don’t be a stranger kay?”
Closing the door, the driver then started the engine and slowly drove off towards Kyte’s apartment. The boy mulled over the incredible time he had had with Trent. He had needed a good night out, something to reboot his senses and inspire him.

………………………….

The next two days passed by slowly, allowing Kyte time to prepare for the festival. He had made a promise to Allison to have ‘Sugar Pill’ ready for the weekend, and worked diligently on memorizing the lyrics as well as getting in enough practice with band. He felt relatively confident with song and was keen to see which lovely lady Allison had written the song for. She had been rather secretive about it.

When Friday afternoon came, the band packed up their equipment and headed out towards the venue. The Summer Band Smash happened at a different venue every year. This year the event had been set up at the Euroyoto Sports Stadium.
When they finally arrived at their destination, Kyte couldn’t help but gawk at the festival preparations that lay inside the stadium. He was met with holographic projections of oceanic waves, sandy beaches and coconut trees. The stage, stalls, bars and tents were all made up in a similar theme. It looked amazing.


Once the band had located their room and finished unpacking their bags, they headed out for lunch. On their way towards the food court, Kyte noticed some of the other bands arriving at the venue. He was excited to meet them, and kept an eager eye out for the members of ‘Heroes Never Die’
Unfortunately his cheerful demeanour diminished rather quickly when Allison pointed out the band ‘Mugshot Magpies’. They were well known metal band with a bad attitude, especially towards other bands. Kyte had had a few run-ins with them before while tour; it hadn’t been pretty, just drama and bad publicity.
Riven, The vocalist from ‘Mugshot magpies’, made his way towards them.
“Why if it isn’t my favourite little rainbow sprinkle…What’s wrong? Did you run out of children’s birthday parties to perform at?”
Allison and Keizo looked ready to fight, but Kyte responded sweetly, “Hey Riven, I wasn’t expecting to see you guys here. How awesome is this venue?” There was something about Kyte that annoyed Riven to no end. He crossed his arms and responded smugly, “it’s way too small, I’m used to bigger venues with bigger names”
Tilting his head curiously, Kyte smiled, “Bigger names? Oh? You mean bands like Thunderclan and Cutthroat…didn’t you play with them on your last tour? No wait, that was us wasn’t it?
Grabbing Kyte by the scruff of his neck, Riven growled, “You have a smart mouth, pity the rest of you ain’t so smart.”

(Not too sure where I'm going with this, but lets see what happens XD)

Trent drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, and glanced in his side mirror. He could just see the edge of the band's logo stuck in vinyl on the side of the black van - bold white text reading 'Heroes Never Die', with wings and a halo on top. He smiled, and started humming quietly to the music on the radio.
"You're in a good mood!" Look commented from the back, hurrying forward and leaning over the back of his chair. "Excited?"
Trent glanced back at him and flashed a grin, "Duh. This is only the coolest festival of the year."
"And this year you get to actually perform!"
Luke elbowed him in the side, and Trent chuckled. "Yeah yeah, as long as I don't outperform you, right?"
"You got it!" Luke ruffled his hair, and Trent swatted at him with mock irritability, muttering something about distracting the driver.

It was a long drive, but a fun one. The band laughed and chatted, consumed way too many snacks, and finally arrived perky and in good spirits - except for Trent, who was exhausted from the drive. He leaned heavily on Luke's shoulder, whining and moaning dramatically, while the rest of the band unloaded their gear, and started looking for their accommodation. As they passed by the stage, Trent heard a familiar voice, and perked up immediately.
"Kyte?"
"Huh?" Luke frowned at him.
"Go on ahead. He's a friend I met the other day - I wanna say hi. I'll catch up with you."
"Okay then. Don't get lost."
They exchanged a brief hug, and then Trent started making his way towards the familiar pixie-like hair poking out of the group before him. Just as he reached them, the interaction turned sour, and he heard one of the strangers growl, “You have a smart mouth, pity the rest of you ain’t so smart.” The guy had grabbed Kyte by the collar.
"You're not so smart either if you're going to assault another musician." Trent cut in casually, pushing through the group, and lightly slapping the stranger's hand away. "Let's not make this ugly, man. We're all here for the same thing and we want to enjoy ourselves, right?"
He glanced at Kyte, and flashed a friendly wink. "Probably a better idea to leave this on the stage." His eyes flicked back to the stranger, "You wouldn't want to be kicked out of the festival."

"You're not so smart either if you're going to assault another musician."
Kyte tilted his head back attempting to see who the familiar voice belonged to. To his delight Trent suddenly came up from behind him. The man slapped away Riven’s hand, causing him to release the boy’s collar.
"Let's not make this ugly, man. We're all here for the same thing and we want to enjoy ourselves, right?"
Riven’s gaze grew venomous, but instead of looking for more trouble he took a cautious step back. Allison, Kenzo and Markus backed Trent; they all looked ready for a fight.
"Probably a better idea to leave this on the stage, You wouldn't want to be kicked out of the festival."
Riven wrinkled his nose, “Fine, we’ll leave this for the stage...Perhaps then you will see why you lot don’t belong here. Stages are for real musicians who don’t take outs from their Dads” The comment was clearly aimed at Kyte, but he didn’t react.
Taking his leave, Riven returned to his own band. The tension in the air immediately began to dissipate.


With a sigh of relief, Kyte flung his arms around Trent and exclaimed happily “Trent! I am super happy that you are here...you really saved my butt back there.”
Kenzo, Markus, and Allison all seemed rather thankful to Trent as well, without him there the situation would have definably turned in a fight like last time. Offering out a Hand to Trent, Kenzo grinned pleasantly, “Thanks for saving our vocalist. He is terrible when it comes to picking fights.”
Puffing up his cheeks, Kyte whined defensively, “So mean Ken-chan. You know I hate fighting; I’m just tired of putting up with Riven comments... I’m sure I could have taken him”
Allison grabbed Kyte under her arm and held him there playfully, “Yeah sure, you’re just lucky you had Trent here to save your Bacon this time. Look at these arms they are just bones.”
Markus laughed, then chipped in, “Okay guys, let’s get out of here and grab some chow. I’m starving” With a nod, Kyte wiggled free from Allison’s grip and stood in front of Trent, “Why don’t you join us Trent, I think that I saw your group down at the lunch Vans too?”

Riven made a few more nasty comments, but it was pretty clear that he wasn't going to try anything. The tension in the situation dissipated, and Trent waved him off with a sweetly sarcastic smile, only to get tackled from the side by an enthusiastic Kyte.
"Oof!" He grunted, laughing, as Kyte threw his arms around him. “Trent! I am super happy that you are here...you really saved my butt back there.”
"Oh, it's no problem." He said, grinning, and patted Kyte awkwardly on the back, then carefully removed himself from the hug, his face flushed slightly. "Sometimes guys like that just need a reminder that consequences are a thing, before they get too hot headed. I've got one of those too." He chuckled. Yeah. Luke could be pretty hot headed. Couldn't hurt a fly, but you'd better believe he'd insult its whole family of maggots.
“Thanks for saving our vocalist." Kyte's friend extended a hand, "He is terrible when it comes to picking fights.”
Trent shook his hand, grinning, and again brushed off the thanks with a 'no problem'. The group chatted and laughed a minute longer as Allison teased Kyte, and then the other band member, Markus, piped up, “Okay guys, let’s get out of here and grab some chow. I’m starving.”
“Why don’t you join us Trent, " Kyte added, "I think that I saw your group down at the lunch Vans too?”
"Yeah, that sounds good." He smiled, "I wouldn't be surprised if they're getting food already. I'll shoot Luke a message to bring the guys and join us."
He took out his phone, and quickly composed a text to Luke as he followed Kyte's band toward the food vans. It only took a few seconds before Luke had shot back a 'see you there' - and Trent's eyes located a familiar beanie in the crowd. "There they are." He said, pointing to Adam's skull beanie bobbing over a few heads clustered around the taco truck. He waved, and from a table next to the truck, he spied Envy's bright green hair as she waved back, and nudged Luke to turn around.
"C'mon, I'll introduce you guys," Trent said with a grin. "I hope you like tacos."

(Apologies that this is so short XD)


"There they are. C'mon, I'll introduce you guys…I hope you like tacos."
“Tacos are the bomb!” Kyte commented excitedly following Trent towards Luke’s table. Alisson, Kenzo and Markus were close behind and they chatted animatedly about what food they wanted to order.

When they arrived, Kyte was greeted by the pleasant sight of 3 band members; a girl with bright green hair, a boy with a skull beanie and the lead vocalist who he assumed was Luke.
Keen to make a good impression, Kyte grinned and greeted the table in a friendly manner, “Hey There, I’m Kyte. I'm a big fan of your music, It's nice to meet you guys”

"Oh, hi." Luke smiled, and extended a hand to shake Kyte's. He didn't bother introducing himself. Anyone who knew the band knew Luke. "Trent, is this the guy you told me about?" He cast a glance to Trent, who rolled his eyes and looked aloofly into the distance, saying nothing. Luke snickered. "Apparently I've heard about you." He added to Kyte with a grin. "Trent can't say enough good things."
"You make me sound like a fucking fangirl." Trent muttered irritably, " I just said that Kyte's a good guy and that he can sing, and that's true." He shrugged defensively.
Luke shot him a knowing smile. Trent pretended not to notice, but there was a clear darkening of his expression, and his arms folded automatically across his chest.
Not seeming to notice his friend's standoffish behaviour, Luke continued his chat with Kyte, while the other band members munched on tacos in an antisocial huddle in the corner. "So, you can sing?" He asked, "Does that mean you're here with a band? Anyone I might have heard of?" Luke flashed a friendly grin, but his gaze was sharp, like a trained hunting dog watching a duck. It was pretty clear that Luke was competitive. And if Trent said that Kyte could sing, then he was pretty sure he would not be appreciating this competition.

"Apparently I've heard about you, Trent can't say enough good things."
Shifting awkwardly, Trent grumbled something incoherent before adding defensively, “I just said that Kyte's a good guy and that he can sing, and that's true."
Shaking Luke’s hand, Kyte chuckled shyly at the compliment, “You really think that I’m good? Haha! …I’m blushing, Thanks Trent”

The three men took a seat at a picnic table near their bandmates. Luke seemed keen to chat more and Kyte was only too happy to entertain his company before the busy evening started. He doubted that they would have much time to chat once all the festival goers had arrived.
"So, you can sing? Does that mean you're here with a band? Anyone I might have heard of?"
Tilting his head thoughtfully, Kyte nodded, “Yeah! We’re still pretty new in the industry though. You might have heard of us, I’m here as the vocalist for Pocket Virus.”
Glancing at the stage in the distance, Kyte felt his eyes widen excitedly,” I’m keen to see how many people will show up to this festival. I heard that the tickets sold out”

The warm scent of food wafted through the air, it was followed by a voice calling to them from the other side of the table. Kenzo waved at them, “Oi! You guys! Your food is ready, Catch!”

A moment later a paper bag came whizzing through the air towards them. Kyte barely managed to catch it, but once he did he scolded Kenzo for throwing it so high. It was clear that their friends had gotten tired of waiting for them to order and had instead just ordered for them.
Opening the bag, Kyte removed the contents and passed Trent and Luke their orders. “Bon Appetit Gents!” Holding up a weird Taco concoction of Nutella, marshmallows, and gummy bears, Kyte happily munched down on his sugary meal. He was not really a fan of meat, vegetables or anything non-candy related.