Read Online More Than Music by Elizabeth Briggs - Free Book Online Page B

me. Not that he’d need to because one boy smiling at me one time did not equal “hordes of horny guys.” Nor did it mean that this one guy was interested in me that way. Sean just seemed friendly.
    Jared didn’t seem to think Hector’s comment was amusing at all. “You said it was a bad idea to let Maddie join because I’d—how’d you put it?—‘bone her and then break her heart?’”
    “Oh, god, you said that?” I asked Hector.
    His face turned almost purple. “You have to admit that is your style.”
    “Give me a break,” Jared said. “One time with Becca and—”
    “Knock it off, you two,” Kyle interrupted, giving them each a warning look. “This is so not the time for this.”
    “I wouldn’t do that to Maddie anyway,” Jared muttered.
    “We’ll see,” Hector said, leaning back and crossing his arms.
    Jared turned away but didn’t say anything else. Tension created a concrete wall between them, with me and Kyle stuck in the middle. I was relieved Jared wouldn’t do that to me, but also a tiny bit disappointed he didn’t see me that way, even though I knew it was for the best. I didn’t want to mess up anything with the band, and getting involved with Jared would do exactly that.
    The last band arrived, with hair spiked into mohawks and chains hanging from their leather jackets. Definitely Angel’s type. The one girl in the band wore a chainmail bikini and very short shorts, and I recognized her as one of the people Jared had talked to before our audition. She caught his eye and winked, and I almost threw up in my mouth a little. The rest of her band glared at everyone and sat down.
    While we waited, Kyle and I quietly discussed the other bands and tried to figure out what kind of music they played. I started to wonder if Angel would ever show or if we’d all been given the wrong time or what.
    Hector was lost in his sketchbook, and I leaned over to ask, “What are you drawing?”
    “Just working on ideas for my next graphic novel.”
    “Can I see?” Kyle had once mentioned Hector went to art school, but I didn’t know much else.
    “Sure.” He passed me the sketchbook, and I flipped through it. There were lots of random doodles, but also rough sketches of comic panels with lots of action. He was good—like professional-level good.
    “Wow, this is awesome,” I said. “What’s your graphic novel about?”
    “It’s called Misfit Squad, and it’s about a group of teens who have really uncool superpowers, so they band together after the other superhero groups won’t let them in. Like the main character accidentally breaks things, and at first it seems like a curse, but then she learns to control it.” As he talked, Hector’s face lit up in a way I’d never seen before, even when he was drumming. “The first one just came out, and we’re planning to do two more.”
    “Okay, I definitely need to read that.”
    “I’ll give you a copy later.”
    “Hector designed the Villain Complex logo, too,” Kyle added. “And did the quote wall in our studio. He’s amazing.”
    Angel finally walked in, nearly an hour after our scheduled time, with her stringy blonde hair and caked-on makeup trying to cover up her wrinkles. Back in the day, she’d had a voice that could go from screaming to sweet to sexy in an instant. But after one of the band members committed suicide, Dark Embrace had broken up, and she’d started bouncing in and out of rehab. Now she was just a washed-up celebrity trying to relive her former glory days. Still, my mom had played her songs all the time, and I’d grown up with her raspy voice and scratchy guitar, so I was a bit star-struck being in the same room with her. Almost enough to forgive her very late arrival.
    “Good, you’re all here,” she said, like she hadn’t made us wait. “Let’s get this over with.” She gestured to the two assistants who had walked in with her, and they began passing papers out to all of us. “Here’s your schedule,