Street Cred

O N E

CHAPTER ONE: Bad Things

Violet

"Here you go, Vee" Collin handed me some beer. Although I was technically a minor, my brother was the bar keep so it really didn't get me into too much trouble. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thirsting for some whiskey though. Thankfully the little Oliver Heart scenario had been sorted and both parties have reached a compromise. I play on Oliver's band for one song and I enjoy the rest of the evening with Collin considering $200 was practically jack shit out of what they're going to make tonight. It was the right price for one song. The asshole was about to black-ball me.

"You still mad?" I asked taking a sip of the surprisingly fruity drink. 

"At you? No. At him? Always." Collin responded glaring at Oliver who was talking to some people, who I'm assuming are his band mates, by the stage. He looked pissed off. I guess I was beginning to look like a creep because Collin grabbed my chin and made me look at him.

"Be careful around that asshole, okay?" he warned. I lightly shoved him off and scoffed. He was exactly just like Gray, overprotective and annoying.

"I beat you up in second grade, I can handle myself just fine thanks" I rolled my eyes at him but smiled regardless before downing the excessively sweet drink. I didn't just wear these boots for fashion, they're also for kicking ass and dancing. I grabbed Collin's hand and danced along to the band on the stage. They were doing a cover of Anything, Anything from a band whose name I couldn't remember but it sure got me dancing.

(I imagined it'd be a whole lot like this)

Collin was dancing along but I didn't really pay much attention until the song ended and he asked me to go up front because their band was up next. I nodded and told him I had to go grab some drinks and I'll be right with him.

"Enjoying yourself little sis?" Gray chuckled when I sat at the bar stool panting like I ran mile. I laughed and nodded in approval, I'm really glad Collin invited me. One thing that'd make this night even better was the whiskey bottle he was holding. I guess Gray must've gotten the hint as he shook his head but poured me a glass none the less.

"Now I definitely am, you're the best Gray" I winked hopping off the stool and going up front just as promised. Well I almost did if it weren't for Oliver blocking me.

"Go time, babydoll" he announced before dragging me off. I furrowed my brows and pulled back my arm to steady my drink.

"I thought we play after Collin's band" I asked looking at the stage where Fiore, Collin's band, was setting up their instruments.

"Sound checks" he stated simply before dragging me backstage. Sound checks? What was to check? My guitar was tuned and there was a perfectly working amp on stage. I was about to question him but the paper he shoved on my chest was explanation enough. I nearly spilled my drink. In order to avoid the inevitable I decided to down it, earning skeptical looks from his band mates. I shrugged them off.

"Eat Me Alive?" I asked out of shock when I finally peered at the papers. I didn't know they were this type of band. I nodded in approval while Oliver did a little pep talk directed to the band's original members.

"Yes, chords are all there you don't have to sing backup vocals just listen to my drum beat and play along we'll keep the volume on the minimum so if you make any mistakes let the drum beats mute it out" he hastily explained the mechanics and I merely scoffed in response. 

"I can play Xiu Xiu, don't worry about me messing up" I smirked handing him back the papers he gave me and playing him a sneak peek of my upcoming performance by playing the intro, which was fairly easy.

"You know the song?" one of his band members asked seeming to be pleasantly surprised. I furrowed my brows. It's a good song of course I knew it, I happen to have exquisite audio-visual taste.

"She's Collin Fischer's girl, hangs out with McCoy too" Oliver stated flatly. He said in a tone laced with disgust and disappointment, not that I cared about his opinion or him in general but that was my best friend and my brother he was talking about. Besides he didn't have the right to judge me, he didn't even know me.

"Stop acting like you know me. I'm not Collin's girl and it's fairly normal to hangout with my brother" at this statement Oliver's attention wasn't the only one I caught.

"You're Gray's sister? The one from the uptown?" Oliver asked suspiciously as he came forward. He gave me another once over and turned back to his crew. He returned his attention to me and smirked while crossing his arms.

"Yeah I'm spending the last fucking week of summer with him, why is everyone in this part of town acting so damn weird around me?" I groaned genuinely annoyed by the people in this town looking at me differently. What crazy rumor did Gray and Collin start now?

"Maybe because your brother threatened half the town's population of dicks to stay away from you, the little goody two shoes princess" he mocked but after looking at me from head to toe once more he feigned a frown "don't look like a good girl to me, babydoll" he raised a challenging brow.

"Never said I was and could you stop calling me that, sweetheart" I smirked flipping him the bird before deciding to dance with the crowd while Fiore performed their set. After all I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Collin, it's the least I could do. When he spotted me in the crowd he immediately pointed a finger at me while he sang. I waved at him and continued dancing until the last song ended and a new band entered the stage. Shit.

"You're up babydoll" his condescending voice resonated throughout the room. Dickhead. I groaned and walked away before Collin even reached me, mouthing a sorry as I did. Instead of going backstage and entering through the side, I grabbed a chair and used it as a stepping stool in order to get up the platform. 

"Violet?!" I could tell Gray was pissed when his voice turned an unnatural pitch when he screamed my name. I cringed and waved at him by the bar as I strapped on my guitar. Fuck. Luckily Oliver got the cue and started pounding his drums to start the song, by the time the intro ended he discarded his drum sticks and passed it on to the audio stabilizer dude and went up to the mic. What the hell? I didn't know he was doing vocals too.

I watched Oliver sing his part and I had to admit he was pretty good. The song was coming to an end, I hate to admit it but that was actually pretty damn fun.

"One song done" Collin immediately pulled me off the stage once the song ended and I knew I'd be receiving a lengthy sermon from Gray.

"Shoutout to Gray McCoy's little sister! You did great, babydoll" I dug my grave and Oliver just buried me when he decided it would be a good idea to yell that out. I am a dead girl walking. He didn't even make a big deal out of it because he began singing their next song right after the deed. Half the crowd was too busy staring at me to actually pay them any mind. Gray was walking towards us and I subconsciously moved closer to Collin in a sad attempt to hide.

"Take her home" Gray didn't even acknowledge me when he approached us. Collin didn't even argue with him, I couldn't even speak. High-pitched pissed off Gray was way better than disappointed Gray. Disappointed Gray made me feel awful.

What made it worse was the asshole singing on stage who was currently smirking right at me. 

Fuck You , Oliver Heart