We Can Make It Up Again || S-I-N Sequel

Chapter Six

Lainey's POV
Saturday, Emerald Hill Park

My lips were pressed into a thin line as I listened to the multiple conversations going on in the back of the car, noisy and chaotic.

This reminds me of the dining hall at Rosehill.

Come dinner time everybody would be talking as if they've got something they want to share with the entire room. I could say it was strangely comforting considering where the ride was meant to stop; kinda crazy but familiar and welcomed.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling nervous, to be perfectly honest I was terrified and could feel my heart beating a million miles an hour in my chest, like banging on a drum and it wasn't pleasant in any sense of the word. Saturday had come and it was the night of the Red Radio Awards, I'd gone shopping for something to wear with Bree and was properly kitted up, Summer was wearing a dress and with a bit of difficulty a pair of shoes, socks included. The limousine had just pulled away after picking up Nate, the lead singer of All The Cool Kids. Everyone had finally been collected and we were on our way to the ceremony, on time.

Because my brother's band all lived in the same area and I was Dale's guest we'd ended up in one long limo. It was loud, to say the least, five guys pumping themselves up to play for an award ceremony and an excitable three year old made a lot of noise - a lot - and the only people not talking at the tops of their lungs were me, April and the chauffeur.

"I dropped Wumpy!" Summer called out loudly when her toy turtle fell to the ground and I reached down to pick it up for her. She was the only one in the car restricted to one spot - that being a child seat - and she was fairly irritable because of it but that didn't stop Sunny from giving me a big grin when I gave her the plush toy back. "Thank you," she replied brightly and I smiled, feeling somewhat proud of myself for having taught her to be polite despite my own - at times - atrocious behavior.

"Lainey, you're looking nice tonight," Nate commented as he looked at me, this being the first time he noticed that I was actually here.

"Same to you, you're really rocking that bow tie." Out of all the guys in the band, Rick, Carson, Cory, Dale and Nate, it had been Nathaniel who was last on my list for wearing a pineapple bow tie and suspenders but I wasn't going to be the one to judge him for it.

"It's wonderful isn't it?" He asked, laughing to himself and leaning back on the bench seat, pushing his hair out of his face to see properly.

"So what's your set for tonight?" April wondered, looking up from the tattoo sketchbook in her lap and closing the cover. She hadn't been talking much tonight so I'd made the pretty obvious assumption that she was working on the tattoos she had lined up, from what I'd heard she'd ended up with a list of over twenty people to ink at the official after party.

"Just a couple of popular ones," Dale said, putting his arm around April as he talked. "Smoke Blast and Sharp Illusion. If we win song of the year then we'll play Dense." I really didn't get how they acted as if it were no big deal for them to be nominated for five different awards; I think they were more excited about going to the after party than anything else.

Although I had to admit they were kinda amped about the Song of the Year award since the band who won also got the honor of finishing up the awards with the winning song and among all the competitive bands it was a big, big deal.

"We're gonna win this time, I know it," Carson chimed in, sticking to his usually positive personality. He was the drummer of ATCK and a complete and utter optimist, he didn't just see the glass half full, he saw the glass completely full. He also happened to say the same thing about any award they were up to win and even when they lost he'd always place his bets on winning next year.