Falling Down(30)

"Fuckin' A we do," Xander exclaims.
"I know it, but honestly, can you see it, Xan? These two up front, Jace in the middle."
He nods as do the rest of the guys and Cage.
"I see it and I’m liking it," says Kennedy who never speaks.
"Oh my God! He speaks!"
He scowls. "I'm a man of few words. It'd be cool if you could get one more chick in the band. Doesn't matter if it's guitar or drums. It'll even out the guy-to-girl ratio. We've got so many chicks at our shows there are no tickets left for the f*cking guys unless it's their boyfriends."
"True that," Ethan says.
"I’m sure none of you complain," I say with a pointed look to Jesse. His brows lift and I look away, jealousy flooding me at the thought of him f*cking the long line of groupies he's gone through. My teeth grind together in irritation. Fucking groupies. Fucking rockstars. Jealousy does not look good on me.
"So we need lead guitar and drums?"
"Sera, why aren't you taking lead?" Jace asks.
"It's been too long."
"Yet you were willing to tackle drums?"
She huffs.
Ben stands up. "Come on. Let's go see what she's got."
"What? No," she protests.
"Suck it up and let's go. You should be lead," I whisper, "and you know it."
We get to the part of the set that is a faux stage and Xander hands Sera his sticks. "Let's hear the drums first so we judge correctly."
She nods. "What do you want to play?"
The band picks up their instruments. Xander taps his chin with his index finger. "You up for a challenge, doll?"
She narrows her eyes and he grins. Sera's always up for a challenge and calling her 'doll' will only make her more determined to win.
"I thought so. Let's see how much stamina you've got. Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold."
"Oh boy," I say to Jesse with raised eyebrows. He just shrugs. "I can't really sing this one with you. Ethan's better for this one."
"That's why you're not backing me up. You're singing it with me. I've heard your rasp."
"Whatever, I can't sing like a dude," I say, knowing I'm going to sound like shit singing this song. This is a total guy song. I'm all for equal rights, but there is no way a woman's voice can compare to Matt Shadows.
"Let's do this."
Sera whips her long brown hair up into a messy bun and takes a seat, adjusting for the height difference. She looks up and counts it off on her sticks and we're rocking.
Jesus, I think to myself. She's still incredible. She looks amazing, so natural and a pang of guilt floods me. If it hadn't been for my acting, we'd have already been playing and Sera wouldn't have had to settle for modeling when music is her.
I close my eyes and lose myself in the lyrics, the music, the beat. This feels incredible. This makes me feel. This is what I'm meant to do. Not acting. I open my eyes and see Jesse's are closed as he sings the f*ck out of this song. God, he's incredible. He's beautiful, truly, in a very rugged, rough, bad-boy way. Maybe it's the bad boy thing that is attracting me to him. It wouldn't be the first time.
My voice does nothing for this song. His--well, his challenges it in different ways than the original. He opens his eyes and winks just as the song ends.
"Fucking killer," Ethan shouts and fist bumps Jace. The two bass players were having a good time it seems.
Xander nods at Sera, his grin wide. She hands him his sticks. "You kicked ass. How do you feel?"
"Like I could keep going."
"Could you keep going for two hours solid? Maybe with a couple small breaks."