Don't Stop The Music

- five -

CHAPTER V

- because you think you're cooler than me –

[Liam]

Listening at the door to room 8B, he could just make out sound, muffled slightly but still discernible. His watch read 5:05; he was a little late, but this way he could hear what he was getting into before he walked in. The blend of voices beyond the door, a smooth blend of melody and harmony, slow, wistful and mellow, made his breath catch in his throat for a second. 

They sounded really, really good. 

Excited now, he carefully pushed down on the handle and let the door swing open, walking into the room. Everyone broke off abruptly and looked at him, their expressions a mix of startled and confused. 

For a second there was a tense, awful silence.

"Hey, you're here!" Dom said happily, coming over to him and nudging the door shut with his foot. "Guys, say hello to Keats."

"Huh." Someone said, disapproving: a boy, slightly taller than Liam was, with brown curly hair and dark eyes. Arguably, not quite the reception he'd been expecting.

"Wait, Dom," someone else asked loudly, raising a finger. With tanned skin, hair half-hidden under a fedora and a tartan scarf around his neck, Liam was getting pretty strong hipster vibes from him. "You just asked someone here and didn't tell us?"

"I thought you said we needed a sixth person."

"Yeah, but I figured you'd be responsible enough to talk to us first," he answered. "I didn't sign up for this just to let you go around behind our backs and make decisions for us. What if he rats us out?"

"Well, why would he do that?"

"Why wouldn't he? When did you meet him?"

"Like, last Tuesday..."

He threw his hands up in the air. "Well. That's just great."

Dom shrugged. "Well, either we take him or we don't. If anyone else has anything against him, say so."

There was a short silence. The guy who'd spoken earlier looked annoyed, but didn't raise any further complaints. Finally, the only girl in the room, a tall anglo-chinese girl, spoke up.

"To be honest, I'm totally fine with getting a new guy," the girl said. And then, to Liam: "Don't worry about Wolfgang. He acts like a dick, but secretly, he's a dick."

Some of the guys laughed, and immediately the tension in the room eased off. Liam smiled. "That's reassuring."

"So, Keats, looks like you're in," Dom said, ruffling his hair. Liam blinked; the gesture was oddly affectionate, and threw him off guard for a second. "Let me introduce you to the gang. Of course, you know me. And then we have Chen," he pointed at the girl, "who is in charge most of the time, so you have to listen to her."

"Most of the time?" Chen asked, dismissively. "Please."

"Aaand then we have Scottani, Tweety and Wolfgang, who sing accompaniment, bass and vocal percussion respectively."

"Vocal percussion?"

"He doesn't even know what it is," Wolfgang said, exasperatedly. "Why is he here again?"

"Wow, give the poor guy a break," Chen said, and then to Liam: "It's basically beatboxing. We sing acapella, so we don't use instruments."

"Though Wolf is basically a drum kit, so feel free to hit him at anytime," Tweety put in, punching him in the shoulder. Wolfgang scowled at him.