No Strings Attached

Chapter 1: Damnit

A/N: Hello my friends! With "Scratch" and "City of Angels" finished now (yes I'm still considering a follow up for "City of Angels"), and "Hunter-Hunted" about two chapters away from the end, I decided to start a new fic so long. Tell me if you're interested in what's happening here...
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"Oh come on, Seng! It's not the end of the world!" Becca tried to stop the young man in his tracks as he finished packing up his guitar. She watched him walk off in anger from the garage towards his car to pack all his gear away. It was amazing how a stupid argument could fuck things up so quickly.

"No, Becca! I'm seriously done this time. I warned you guys that if Heng didn't stop his shit then I'd be out of here!" Seng spat out as he slammed the boot of his car and headed for the driver's side. Becca shot a glare over his shoulder at Heng where he stood in the garage, pulling his shoulders up innocently.

"Look, we can sort this out. You're the best at what you do and we can't go forward without you. I'll put a muzzle on Heng if that's what it takes." Becca pleaded through the window of Seng's car as he started it up, ready to go. "You're our lead guitarist. We have a big gig in a month. We can't do it without you."

"Well, Heng should have thought about that before he pulled his crap again. I'm tired of being antagonized and told I'm wrong around every damn note." Seng gave one last pitiful look at Becca and said sorry before driving off.

Becca turned around and gave Heng a death stare as she approached him at a fast pace where he stood with his base guitar, punching him hard against the shoulder upon reaching him. "You fucking asshole! Look what you've done! Now we're stuck without a lead guitarist and it's all on you!" She spat at him.

"Oh come on, Becca. He just wouldn't keep in tune or rhythm with me. We were never going to match properly." Heng said in frustration. As he unhooked his bass guitar from his neck and put it within its stand.

"That was your fault Heng! You were supposed to mix in with the the lead guitarist, not the other way around! The world does not revolve around you, despite what you may think." Becca's face grew blood red as she growled at Heng, the reason why their band had just broken apart.

"Becks, please don't make Heng leave as well." Richie pleaded from behind his drum set. As Becca's older brother, he knew her and her wrath better than anyone. Honestly, she was quick to anger and quite the firecracker. The guys long ago learned to handle her with sturdy gloves as if she was an angry wildcat.

Becca paused and breathed heavily and deeply, her one hand coming up to rest against her forehead. They had the Club Open Bandslam in a month and now she needed to find a new lead guitarist in time to learn their set and mix with the other instruments and her own vocals. She didn't have much hope. She could probably pick up the guitar herself, she had the skills, but she wasn't the best - she was no Seng, and she had to focus on her vocals.

"Well, Heng, since this is because of you, I expect you to find a replacement. You have 3 days to finish your auditions and you better find me the best. Richie, you're going to help him. Once you've narrowed it down to the top 3 I'll step in and decide." It was Becca's band after all, started in high school already and still going strong in the band circles now during their twenties.

The Sickstrings had done very well all this time and had developed quite a reputation and a local fanbase, especially in the underground of band battles and competitions. More than anything, though winning some and losing others, Becca wanted to emerge from the underground scene to the open world where they would really be recognised. She wanted a shot at a record label. She wanted to go on tour. She wanted thousands of people at her feet, chanting her name.

Becca always dreamed big and was also determined to reach her goals. That tenacity was just a part of her character and she was proud of it. She would never stop until she had reached her dream, matching the success of bands such as Metallica or the Rolling Stones. She was proud of the music they produced, she herself writing most of their songs and she knew they were good. But now she had the dilemma of having lost one of the most valuable and most difficult to replace members of their band - the lead guitarist.

Richie was her older brother and the two of them grew up in a musical household with him playing drums and her playing guitar and doing vocals. Eventually Richie's friend, Heng, joined them by playing the bass and he had brought Seng in finally to play lead, allowing Becca to merely focus on vocals and songwriting. Heng and Seng had, after a successful friendship, eventually started grating on each other. Becca suspected it was because of some girl or boy, but it blew up in any case.

At one point Heng had even tried his luck with Becca, but both she and her brother quickly made him understand that that shit was not going to fly. Richie was too protective and Becca leaned towards the more feminine gender as she had most of her life. Richie felt more at ease when Becca was dealing with girls as he knew she could handle herself, and it also turned Becca into quite the sex symbol. Who could resist a gorgeous boyish singer in a band. So Becca had bedded many a groupie but made sure she kept her heart locked away.

Becca finally shooed the two guys away to go setup their auditions while she sat down on the couch in their little practise space, which was her garage. She and Richie had moved in together into a small house when they had left their parents' home in order to chase their dreams. Their parents were definitely not happy with them not going to college, so at the very least they asked the siblings to find their own place so that the older couple would not be annoyed by their noise. Eventually they both had picked up part time jobs in order to pay rent and buy food, but their main focus was their band.

Becca rubbed her temples out of frustration as she thought about the Bandslam at the end of the month. It would be a big step in the right direction if they could win it, as she knew their would be some scouts. They needed to be noticed. As she waited for Richie and Heng to set up the auditions, she went over their set of songs they would be performing, making any changes she felt was necessary. They were all great songs, but she felt something was missing. The set lacked that one song, the main song, the song that would get the crowd up on their feet and screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs.

She took out her notepad and started writing.