( ` HEARTBREAKER ☆ !!

[daifuku]

☆ ─── 𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡 ` )

eden almost couldn't believe it when lavender and angelo began shuffling equipment around, inviting her into their space with zero hesitation. on top of that, nia herself sat down behind the drums, staring expectantly at her. eden shot the other girl an incredulous look, but it was one tinged with the teensiest bit of respect. nia certainly knew when to swallow her pride, and it was no wonder that the band in front of her earned as much success as they had.

it was almost too good to be true. it was laughable, honestly. to take angelo's analogy, it was like a rebound, one from a toxic ex that left her bitterly lost. in the aftermath came naivety, where she was so deep in despair that she grasped at any small gesture of appreciation, despite knowing she was in no place to discern the truth from delusion. sounds like song inspiration if i've ever heard any, she mused dryly. even her inner voice was mocking her at this point.

she was snapped out of her trancelike state by lavender, who offered her the microphone with an encouraging smile. eden responded with a grateful nod. with a familiar weight in her hands, she straightened her shoulders and took her spot in front of the band, once again locking eyes with nia. she dipped her head to indicate that she was ready, and four beats later, the clang of cymbals and twang of bass and guitar strings flooded her ears. her heart skipped with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation as she waited for her cue to sing.

her first line was barely audible. she was clearly unfamiliar with the amount of power she needed to match the band's energy. she was used to relaxed concerts, relying simply on her guitar and a digital track to fill the background. "like a lion's roar, guiying!" angelo called out, and with an accompanying wink from lavender, eden turned it up. her eyes flashed with fervor. it was this part of her that had earned her praise as an artist. as everyone knew, she was the type to let her feelings take her away, but raw emotion was nothing but the appeal of her artform. soaring on the high notes of her ambition, eden slid over to lavender, the two of them sharing an impromptu harmony. she dropped the mic to her side, the corners of her lips tilting upwards at angelo's bass solo. finally, as she picked up again on the next verse, she waltzed over in nia's direction ─ only to stop flat in her tracks as feedback screeched through the room.

wincing, eden immediately flipped the off switch on the microphone, one hand covering her ear. "ack, sorry! i wasn't watching where i was going," she mumbled as she shuffled away from the speaker. as silence slowly permeated the room, she was overcome with a wave of self-consciousness. breathless from both singing and the suspense, she eyed the band members in front of her. "how was that?"

[breezey]

ＮＩＡ ＦＬＯＲＥＳ ────── !!
𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒, 𝐈 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄 𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖

indentdrumming, to nia, was like breathing. the rhythmic cadences that she created was second nature to her. without drumming, she would have no purpose, as she would have no band, and no bandmates. people always came and left from her life, but her band stayed constant. there was always a singer. there was always a guitarist. there was always a bassist. and there was always nia. sure, the people changed, but the setup was always the same, and nia loved this sense of a constant in her life.
indentso even when eden not-so-surreptitiously took the mic, nia would dutifully knock her drumsticks together, looking each of her friends in the eye.
indent"one, two, three four!"
indentnia loved this song. she loved it to death. it was loud, fiery, and exciting. it was lion's cry's first hit, and the band crushed it every time they played the song. there was no other way to describe it. there was a sense of pride the band carried when playing the song, you could see it in the way lavender swung her hips a little when playing the melody, or how angelo grinned like a boy with candy when he entered with the basslines. nia would be lying if she said she wasn't excited for how eden would perform.
indentwatching the soloist, nia hit the snares for the end of the first phrase- where eden entered. she wondered what eden sounded like, if her voice would suddenly morph into suny's as she sang, or if she'd continue singing with the mellow tone she may have grown accustomed to. unfortunately, at the beginning, nia was afraid she'd been proven right.
indenther tone was too soft, no power behind her voice. nia scrunched her nose slightly, making an attempt to play softer to accommodate. despite this, with angelo's instruction, eden's voice rose above the instruments, sounding more confident with each word.
indentnia genuinely enjoyed watching eden's performance play out in front of her. the way she smiled as she sang with lavender, the way she sauntered around the little room, brightening the performance in a way nia had never seen before. she loved how the song clicked with eden's blazing spirit, and how nia could see her confidence regaining as she strutted towards the former... wait, towards nia?
indentshe looked up from her kit, palms growing sweaty. nia didn't like this feeling, the way she gripped the sticks harder and played louder, trying to drown out the song. if she could keep tempo, she wouldn't have to see eden's face, which only reminded her of her own failures to protect the band at the moment. she couldn't explain the way seeing eden's passionate and fiery attitude reminded her of the last time she saw her, and it all came crashing down with a screech.
indentit would take a few seconds for nia to regain her composition, fingers pinching the ringing hi-hat. it was not unusual for her to get lost in a song, but not in the same panicked way she'd just demonstrated. "it was pretty good. but what'd i tell you about the speaker?" she glanced at eden.
indent"coming from nia, that's high praise!" lavender interjected, clapping her hands together. "that harmony was so cool, i think we should add it to future runs."
indent"for your first time performing with an actual band, that was really good, we should do it again," angelo gave a thumbs up with his pick hand. "you definitely have potential. we could be great, just imagine it." nia cringed inwardly, sighing.
indent"if you want to walk around the stage again like that, turn up the speaker and face outwardly, towards the wall. and face us." nia pointed at the opposite wall facing away from the band. "and don't come near me," she quickly added. it wasn't that she was repulsed by eden, but she had no intentions of letting her drumming go awry like that again, even if it meant eden thinking nia hated her.

[daifuku]

☆ ─── 𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡 ` )

normally, she probably would have snapped at nia. she did already apologize about the speaker, and it was an honest mistake. but right now, eden felt like she was on top of the world. "i know, my bad!" she chirped, but she really couldn't look any less sorry. "and that was all you, lavender! you surprised me when you joined in, actually," she smiled, offering the guitarist a high-five before nodding appreciatively at angelo's words.

her veins were still thrumming with exhilaration ─ it had been a while since she last sung anything, not to mention a song completely unlike her previous style. she glowed at everyone's praise. it was a refreshing contrast to the past. gone were the days of endless criticism of her label and the countless nights she had fallen down rabbit holes of social media threads expressing their disappointment at her downfall. as headstrong and independent as she acted, there would always be a part of her that yearned for attention and recognition.

so naturally, with a small and simple instruction to 'stay away,' eden's bubble burst. she was volatile like that. the slightest things could send her mood careening downhill, whether it was the air conditioning being too high (what if she caught a cold?) or a makeup artist acting distant (what was their problem?). sensitive, her manager used to say. there's no room for emotions like that in this industry. her face fell, but her chin lifted as she stubbornly stood as far away from the drummer as possible. anyways, it'd save her ears from nia's thunderous strikes. does she always play with so much disregard for the vocalist? no wonder the old one left, she thought bitterly.

"let's do another run?" lavender suggested, feeling the atmosphere chill. eden could only nod. nia's behaviour was getting on her nerves. it was much less what she was doing, but more the fact that she was... nia. eden couldn't drop the memories of the past and all the harsh words that were thrown back and forth between them. cognitively, she knew they had both probably gone too far in the heat of the moment, but given that nia obviously hadn't cooled down about it, eden was not about to be the first to forgive or forget. she gritted her teeth, sparks re-igniting in her spirit. she didn't just need to prove that she was good enough. she needed to be better. better than their expectations. better than she had ever been. better than th-

"sounds like a plan, lav," angelo agreed, interrupting eden's spiraling thoughts. "if it goes well, we'll treat you to some low-cost, day old, but totally still good chocolate cake from the grocery store, guiying! it was half-off," he added with a wink of his own. eden couldn't help but chuckle, even if it was a bit of a obligatory (pity) laugh. the band kicked in, and she quietly cleared her throat in preparation for the first verse. it was the biggest absurdity of the day ─ who knew she'd be singing her heart out for some dessert?

[breezey]

ＮＩＡ ＦＬＯＲＥＳ ────── !!
𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒, 𝐈 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄 𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖

indentmaybe nia felt a little bad for eden after snapping at her. there were so many better ways to go about it, she could've told eden that she didn't like it or some sort of better explanation, but it was too late. eden's mood already seemed to have shifted. nia sighed, knowing that there was no way to change eden's attitude towards her now, and she should be more careful with her words. instead of worrying, she shifted her attention back to the conversation.
indent"angie, you cannot be offering people that cake! i can't believe you even bought it!" lavender exclaimed, probably scared there was something inside the cake that allowed it to be priced half off.
indent"it is to my regret that i ate it all." nia deadpanned, fully accountable for the fact she ate the whole thing before her morning groceries. "it's okay though. i restocked it with some...low-cost, five-hour-old, but probably still good chocolate chip cookies from the grocery store? if you're still interested anyways." she sheepishly smiled when angelo's jaw dramatically dropped to the floor.
indentwatching as the tension died down a little, nia felt confident enough to get back to drumming. "sure, let's go again. maybe we can turn up the mic volume a little bit."
indentnia loved playing the drums, it meant she could start the song and keep it going, and going, on and on, forever. she liked being the band's anchor. counting the band off, she lifted her heel off the drum and let the song begin.
indent the second play through seemed to go smoother, with nia playing a little softer to match the new vocalist. nia could tell that eden was getting more used to playing with a live band and their faster pace. it was admittedly impressive that she could change her style up so quickly, matching the same emotional ferocity that lion's cry was so well known for.
indentas anticipated, the bridge was the hardest part of the song, the entire song was upside down as the drums changed rhythms, and the phrases were suddenly two bars instead of four. nia liked lip syncing this part, as it was easier than memorising the rest of the song. making eye contact with lavender, she picked up the pace a little, timing her rhythm with lavender's chords. lavender made it so easy to play with, the way she could play to any beat and still make it sound good. no matter what was going on in the other parts, lavender always knew how to make the piece sound cohesive.
indentfinishing the song with the crashes, nia smiled a little, watching as angelo pump his fist in the air. "woah, that was reallllly smooth!" he grinned his goofy little smile. "nia, we're a little slow on tempo," angelo chided nia, wagging his finger at her.
indent"right, playing softer doesn't mean playing slower," lavender gently reminded nia, overextending an arm over the drumset to pat her shoulder.
indentnia sighed- it was intentional. "i thought it would be easier for eden to get used to the band, but we can go full speed for the next song, if you want. or we can call it a day."
indenton second thought, would eden even want nia to go soft on her? she seemed like the sort to take it as an offence, as if she wasn't good enough. that wasn't intentional. oh well, it wasn't as if she could take it back.

[daifuku]

☆ ─── 𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡 ` )

she shrugged noncommittally. she could settle for chocolate chip.

eden stayed silent as everyone else spoke. their conversation was comforting in a way - a sort of background hustle and bustle that she now realized was missing from her tiny studio apartment. she rushed over to help lavender with the microphone volume, then retook her spot. once again, with four counts, eden was surrounded by sound. it was like the polar plunges she did on high school camping trips, only instead of a biting chill that made her desperate to crawl out of the water, singing was a temperature so cold, it almost felt warm. like her veins were on fire from the inside out, spurring her deeper and deeper into a trancelike performance.

before she knew it, the song was over, and the final resounding crashes dissipated into silence. eden surveyed the room, catching for a moment each of nia, angelo and lavender's gazes. on one hand, she was closer to nia than she started - much closer than she would have liked, owing to her stubborn vow to a) stay still and b) stay away from the drums. but on the other hand, were they... smiling?

she was still in the midst of catching her breath as angelo's outburst began a new round of conversation. she could barely manage a grin of her own, and even gave nia a stiff nod as an attempt to show appreciation. part of her raged (a mild irritation) at nia for thinking she needed her accommodation, but it was overshadowed by a strange bout of discomfort. eden twiddled her thumbs on the mic handle, swaying awkwardly as the three of them chatted away. their banter brought out emotions she couldn't quite place. was it a feeling of belonging? maybe relief that they were pleased enough to be teasing each other without a care in the world? surely it was a good sign that they were happy. or was it precisely the opposite - that she felt out of place within such a tightknit group? she was without a doubt out of her element. she rarely had many chances to sing with a group like lion's roar.

"i'm alright to keep going, if you all would like to," she interjected softly. "any pace is fine - i'll do my best to match you guys. it is your song, after all." she attempted a smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.