She's New to Danville | Lumbermaxes x [Shy, F.] Reader

Chapter 7 - One Last Practice

"Alright everyone," Lyle clasped his hands together, gaze scanning over the band members scattered about the room. Melvin was tucked in one of the corners, various crumpled sheets of paper at his feet as he thought frantically for the right words to put into their newest songs. Max was messing with his phone, taking notes on various information that was needed for the contest, which Lyle made a note to double check later. You and Sean were on the floor, working on putting the band posters together, "We've got one last practice to touch base with each other," he turned his focus to Melvin, "How's the song coming Mel?"

Melvin made a gesture with his hand, as if he was saying it was going, "eh."

Lyle flicked his gaze to you and Sean, "Those posters doing okay?"

"Yep!" Sean offered Lyle a wide grin, and a thumbs up, "Just doing some last minute adjustments on the lettering, and we should have all the posters ready to hang up tonight."

"The contest is already being advertised, though, isn't it?" you inquired.

"Of course it is, but we can't be too careful," Lyle replied, "The more people who show up, the better," he explained, finally turning his attention to Max, "How's the information coming? We miss anything important?"

"Doesn't look like it," Max couldn't help but smirk, pocketing his phone, "But you'll just triple check anyways," he teased.

"Well, excuse me, for wanting everything to go as planned," Lyle muttered, crossing his arms and letting out a bitter huff.

Sean stood up from his seat on the floor beside you, walking up to Lyle and gently nudging him in the side with his elbow, "He's just teasing you!" he chirped, "Stop being so serious, Mr. Grumpy-Gills!"

You briefly smiled at the interaction before turning your focus to Melvin, who had his eyebrows knitted together in concentration. Lyle, Max and Sean began their own little back and fourth banter as you stood up from the floor, walking over to Melvin and stealing a chair that was beside him, taking a seat in it, "Do you need any help?" you asked, offering a smile towards him.

"Sort of," he admitted, "I mean, for now I just changed the lyrics to one of our older songs, until I can pull out something original," he explained, handing off the notebook to you, "I feel bad about it, but, what else can you do, really?"

You nodded in agreement, taking the notebook and glancing over what he had written thus far. Just a single line that had been aggressively scribbled out, "Are you any good at poetry?" you raised an eyebrow, shifting your focus to him.

Melvin gave a small shrug in response, "A little," he rubbed the back of his neck, "The only thing I'm really good at is haiku's and limerick's," he explained.

"Then, why don't you try with starting off the song as one of those, first?" you flipped to a blank page, "Just name topics that you're really passionate about, or find some inspiration in others around you," you handed the notebook back to him, "Writing can be hard, so it's best not to force out the ideas, just try and relax!" you chirped, offering a reassuring smile.

Melvin smiled faintly, taking the notebook, tapping his pencil against his chin, thoughtfully, "I should probably make an inspirational list, first..." he muttered to himself, immediately writing various things down, "Thanks for the help, (Y/N)," he briefly glanced up at you, smile still resting on his face.

"No problem!" you chirped, "Good luck," you gave a light wave as you stood up, "If you need any more help, just ask!"

"Of course."

+

After you and Sean finished up a few more posters, Max and Lyle had finished talking things over with the concert preparations, and Melvin got a little further along in his lyrics, the five of you gathered together for one last group song.

"Does anyone have any requests for—"

Sean's hand quickly shot up, "I do!" he frantically waved his hand around, despite already having Lyle's attention, "I have a song we can do together!" he chirped.

Lyle gave a small sigh, "Yes, Sean, what song did you want to sing?" he asked, voice holding a hint of exasperation to it.

"Could we sing Little Talks?" he asked, gaze filled with excitement, "Please?"

"That depends, does everyone know that song?" Lyle asked, glancing around the room.

"Uh," you shyly raised your hand, "I, I don't know it," you admitted, guilty that Sean wasn't able to enjoy singing the song he likes, just because you had no idea what the song was.

"Then we'll have to pick a different song," Lyle flicked his gaze from you to Sean, "Did you have anything else in mind?" he asked.

"Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy?" Sean offered, glancing at you, "Do you know that one?" he asked.

You thought for a few seconds, nodding slowly, "Yeah, it's by Queen, right?" you glanced at Sean, "I've listened to it a few times, cause of my dad," you explained, "It starts like..." you trailed off, recalling the various times you've heard the song playing in the car, "I can dim the lights and sing you songs full of sad things—"

"We can do the tango just for two," Sean chimed in as you slowly began to sing.

"I can serenade and gently play on your heart strings, be a Valentino just for you," Max sang, offering you a quick wink, causing a light blush to slip on your face.

Before you knew it, Melvin and Lyle joined in on the song as well. As you sang, Lyle made it a point to fix a few people's pitches, reminding everyone the importance of harmonizing with one another.

"(Y/N), you're a bit off," Lyle had pointed out, causing the others to pause their singing, "Remember, the song picks up the pace a bit near the end," he offered you a small smile, "If you ever feel like you're singing off pace, just lip sync, until you're certain you've corrected yourself," he explained.

"Right, sorry," you muttered, rubbing the back of your neck in slight embarrassment.

"It's no big deal!" Sean reassured, "Everyone can make mistakes!"

Melvin gave a small nod in agreement.

"Alright, everyone, from where we left off," Lyle spoke up, gaining everyone's attention.

+

You let a long sigh as you felt the cool breeze from inside your house hit your face, "We're back!" your dad called from behind you, tugging off his hat and placing it on the coat rack.

"How was practice?" your mom asked from the kitchen table, keeping her face focused on the various papers scattered in front of her, "You feel ready for the competition that's coming up tomorrow afternoon?"

"It went pretty good," you replied, briefly glancing at your phone to see a text from Lyle, "And, I think we're ready for it," you quickly typed out a reply to the message, "I'm gonna practice the dance routine for a few more minutes in my room," you quickly walked down the hall, "If you need anything, just call!"

Your dad couldn't help the light laugh that left him as he took a seat beside your mom, "She's gotten a lot more confident," he noted, "Just like before."

"I noticed that too," your mom replied, making a reference note on the side of her drawing, "It's nice to see her enjoying herself again," she absentmindedly tapped the eraser of her pencil against the table, "Though, I am worried about that concert she's going to be participating in," she admitted quietly.

"You and me both," your dad muttered in agreement, "But we have to trust that she's capable of making her own decisions," he explained, leaning back in his chair and relaxing his shoulders.

"I know," your mom smiled sadly, "I just hope she'll be okay..."

"She's a strong girl, I'm sure she'll be just fine, dear."