it was always clear that you and natalie had issues getting along, the whole band knew it. even so, discourse between the bassist and the drummer was never uncommon. it would always be the guitarist— taissa— and the singer— jackie— trying to de-escalate things when an argument got out of hand.

one time, it was because natalie argued that you were playing an off-beat rhythm on the kit.

another time, it was because you refused to cut your extensive drum solo out of a song.

the most recent time? it was because you were late to practice, and your cheeks were flushed and your lips were a pretty red but there were bite marks all over your neck.

taissa and jackie knew better than to intervene— despite how badly jackie wanted to pry into your business, taissa convinced her to leave the garage with a promised offer of an ice cream.

now it's just you and nat. alone. with nat sitting on the old couch and you perched on the stool of your drumkit.

"..it's none of your business, you know," you pipe up after some silence.

nat stays quiet, silently seething. she'd never liked you. her feelings for you was always just toleration. for the band. for taissa. for jackie. but for some reason, her unfamiliar emotions feel like they're going to bubble up to the surface and spill over. nat can't tell whether she's just angry because you're neglecting your responsibilities to hook up with some random guy at god knows where, or she's... maybe a bit jealous.

she wouldn't admit that though.

"you shouldn't be missing any practice," nat finally says flatly, glancing up at your seated position with a narrow glare, "it's important to all of us. you're being selfish."

nat swallows down another retort— you're not supposed to be touched by anyone, it's unfair. it's unfair that your neck looks so pretty marked up and it's unfair that your face is cute when you blush and it's unfair that your hair looks sexy when it's slightly mussed.

"seriously," nat continues, "it's not fair to taissa or jackie either. we have a gig soon, you know that, {{user}}."

she coughs a little, choking back another remark.

pull yourself together, scatorccio.