Solid Right Hooks [Gabilliam]

1. Your Band Probably Sucks If You're Still Playing The Vortex Club

Anyone who knew Gabe Saporta knew that he couldn't be blamed for anything he did under the influence of alcohol.
William Beckett had no way of knowing that, though.
So when the sweaty Gabe Saporta stumbled up to the leather jacket-clad twenty six year old who was happily enjoying a drink by himself and made a few offhand remarks along the lines of "damn, girl, you're hot" William was understandably mad. Especially considering William was not a girl.
Also, anyone who knew Gabe Saporta would know that he didn't exactly have the best pain tolerance when he was drunk.
But William Beckett had no way of knowing this either.
All it took were two solid right hooks to knock Gabe Saporta out cold.
As William stared at the unconscious body lying on the bar floor, he heard the bartender lean on the table behind him, craning his neck to see the full extent of the damage done.
"You knocked out Gabe Saporta."
"I've noticed," William responded, stunned.
The bartender lifted a tattooed arm to push a strand of black hair out of his eyes. "Why'd you do it? I mean I know he can be a bit of a jerk but..."
William rolled his eyes. "First of all, he said I looked like a girl. I mean, why do people always make that mistake?"
The bartender, who's name tag read MIKEY in dark, messy Sharpie, squinted his eyes to look at William. "Wait, but I thought you were a-nevermind,"
William rolled his eyes and both he and Mikey stared at the unconscious body of Gabe Saporta on the floor.
The first thing that struck William Beckett was Gabe's height. He looked about six feet tall, and William felt uncomfortably short as he swirled around on the bar stool. The next thing he realized was that Gabe was onstage just a second ago. His band was called Anaconda- or something- and they sucked. Actually, every band who plays the Vortex Club sucks, so Anaconda wasn't the shittiest of the shitty bands. The third thing was that Gabe had a horrible clothing taste. Who would ever wear white hi-top sneakers, a long lavender hoodie, ripped blue jeans and a tie? Not to mention that besides the hoodie, Gabe was shirtless. Ugh.
Mikey and William let Gabe rest on the dusty floors of the club as another horrible rock band took the stage, this time sporting a screaming guy whose voice cracked every two seconds. The people were digging it, though, grown men pushing each other over and screaming to get to the stage. Graffiti art and dust marked the walls of the Vortex Club as the constant smell of smoke and beer stayed in the air. Mikey passed William another vodka 'on the house' as Gabe slowly twitched back to life.
As Gabe came to his senses, he locked eyes with William. "Is that... The girl... The girl knocked me out?"
Without responding, William Beckett grabbed his vodka and pushed his way past some stoned teenage girls. He turned around once to see the hammered Saporta plant a sloppy kiss on a shocked Mikey's lips, leaning so far over the bar that he almost fell into the walls upon walls of wine and beer. Not like William thought Gabe would mind.
Backstage was slightly less chaotic than the club itself- a couple of guitar techs racing around and the deafening noise of the monitors made it hard to bear, though. Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd posters graced the walls mixed in with the kind of inspirational posters you find in a middle school counselor's office.
"Where is everyone?" William muttered, staring at his watch. Their set was supposed to start at 9:30, but the horrible screamo band seemed adamant about staying on stage- all the better for William, because he was at a loss to find the other members of The Academy Is.
"Siska!" William whisper-yelled, catching sight of his bassist across the room, flirting with a sound tech who, frankly, didn't seem into him. "Where are the guys?"
"I dunno, Bill," Adam Siska shrugged, as he turned away from the girl, who seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Probably at the-"
"We're here!" The Mikes and Andy burst through the curtain. "We lost all our money to this fat guy, but-"
"Do you have your instruments?" William asked, exasperated. Mike Number One held up a guitar. "Fine, then. Let's go,"
The screaming guy of the previous band finally stopped, and his voice echoed through the monitors, causing Siska and Mike Number Two who were leaning up against it, to jump. "Thank you! We were Blood on the Dance Floor, and next we have... um... The Academy Is?" He exited backstage, and William gave a nod to the band, and they ran onstage in a clumpy formation, anxious to start the gig.
After William decided the mic was on and working, he cued everyone onstage to start with their first song, "Attention". After that came a cover of Michael Jackson's Beat It, which left William tired after running around stage trying to hit every note. He headed back to the front-and-center stand to address the sweaty crowd. "We have a new song, um, this we just wrote... It's called Check-"
"YOUR BAND SUCKS!"
William stopped his speech, and scanned the crowd, looking for who catcalled. "I mean, if your band is still playing The Vortex Club, you probably suck, so I might have to say that you're right, but I can assure you we try,"
A familiar guy in a lavender hoodie pushed his way to the stage. "Beckett, you guys are horrible. And you look like a girl,"
To William's left, Adam Siska cracks his knuckles.
"I wouldn't be talking, Saporta, considering your band- what is it, Anaconda?- plays here too," William coldly stares.
Frustrated, Gabe Saporta pulls up his hood, casting a shadow over his tan skin. "It's Cobra Starship," And with that, Gabe Saporta drunkenly stumbled out of the club, letting harsh cold air in, and slamming the door shut with a finality.
William laughed and cleared his throat, shuffling his feet. "Sorry about that guys. We're The Academy Is... and this is our song, Checkmarks."
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(an- thank you for reading! i will try to update weekly and work on this story more frequently. this may go through stages of editing; i still really have work to do. if i made any errors, please correct me! vote and comment thanks -emily)