Chapter Text
If there was one word to describe Clay, competitive might just fit the bill.
Clay grew up working hard at sports and school, hoping to best anyone going against him. After much practice and gained skill, he proved himself a worthy competitor.
While sports came and went, Clay couldn't help but fall in love with one thing - music.
Now a senior in high school, Clay had managed to find three guys who also shared this love and decided to join together as a band. He wouldn't say it out loud, but it seemed pretty obvious who cared the most for their makeshift rock band. He loved his friends, but their passion just could not match his.
Despite this, the four boys stood outside shivering in place. The line for signup was a lot longer than any of them expected, causing some nervousness to creep up on them.
"You didn't say there would be this many people Clay, do you think it's even worth doing all this?" the drummer of the group asked, looking around at the many performers waiting their turn.
"Obviously there would be a lot of people, Karl, it's a competition." Nick, the bassist, groaned. Karl rolled his eyes and rubbed his hands together.
"We'll be inside soon, guys, I'll buy lunch to make it up to you all." Clay crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to keep himself warm.
"Fuck yeah!" Alex exclaimed at the mention of lunch.
The line moved foreword as the boys had a new lunch-driven excitement buzzing around them.
Things were fairly calm until the boys heard commotion a few groups behind them in line.
"Why does it sound like a buncha fans just came out of no where back there? Can you see who it is? Is it someone famous?" Karl stood on his tiptoes trying to get a look at who the crowd surrounded. Alex turned his head and attempted to get a look, "Oh don't bother Alex, if you want a good view you should hop on Nicks back." Karl grinned.
"SHUT UP WE'RE THE SAME HEIGHT!" Alex fumed, earning a loud chuckle from Karl and an amused laugh from Nick.
Clay quietly looked back, wondering who was back there and if they were better than his own group. The line moved forward without him, forcing a break in his trance to follow his group up. This band meant a lot to him, winning would mean even more. Putting them on the map has been Clay's #1 priority for a long time and a first place prize would do just that. He was willing to do anything for their talent to be recognized. He was tired of being a nobody.
"You okay Clay? You seem kinda spacey." Nick questioned his friend, the other bandmates were too busy bullying each other to notice the side conversation.
"I really want this, Nick," Clay paused, "for all of us. Maybe a trophy would get peoples attention finally."
Nick patted his friends back, giving a smile of reassurance, "We'll just have to give it our best shot."
"I'm not calling you that!" Karl playfully argued with Alex, drawing the attention of Clay and Nick.
"C'mon it's a cool stage name you have to admit!"
"Quackity? What kind of stage name is that?" Karl seemed frustrated.
"Better than Nicks stage name!"
"That was a joke, Alex. I'm not gonna have people call me Sapnap, obviously." Nick mumbled, avoiding eye contact,
"Well I'm not joking. Quackity is funny and I'm forcing you to call me by that name from now on." Alex narrowed his eyes at the others.
Clay laughed at his friends ridiculousness. All joking aside, he knew his friends had talent and an overwhelming amount of musical chemistry that gave them a shot at winning. He glanced toward the back of the line, surprised to see a small crowd still gathered around someone. If that popularity was any indication of skill, the boys may have their work cut out for them.
"Next group up!" The four boys moved towards the desk, finally thawing from the freezing outside. "Hey guys! Please write your band name and individual band mates on this sheet. Also include some simple contact information."
Clay took the pen and did all the paperwork for his group. "Um, we don't exactly have a set name for our band yet, can I contact you guys about it later?" Clay asked feeling a bit embarrassed.
"No problem! There is a deadline for all final group details though, so please get back to us in the next three weeks." The lady handling the paperwork smiled.
He nodded, finished writing their information, and the boys left the sanctuary of the warm building.
"Free lunch! You can't take it back, Clay, you promised." Karl pointed at the blond boy.
"Alright, a deals a deal." The four guys walked out but Clay decided to get a good look at the competition before leaving for food. He noticed a brown haired guy surrounded by smiling girls. Beside him, he saw another brunette looking a bit uncomfortable at the crowd around them. His eyes shifted nervously from their faces to the ground. The fans seemed interested in the curly haired man while the four, presumably other bandmates, talked amongst themselves.
The nervous brunette seemed to notice Clays gaze, which he quickly averted. He shook the thought of that group from his mind and joined his friends on their pursuit for food.
"We really need a name, guys, I mean we've been playing together for over 2 years now." Clay said to the boys.
"Quackity and the-"
"SHUT UP!" Karl quickly interrupted Alex's input.
The four boys were sat at the local diner, chowing down on burgers, fries, and sandwiches. Clay, while excited for this chance to show off his bands hard work, couldn't hide from his fear. What if they didn't win? There were a lot of people there to sign up, who's to say all those groups don't have what it takes? Would the loss ruin their friendship? Karl's parents were never fond of his involvement in the band, they were worried he'd be distracted from his studies. A loss could be a good enough excuse to pull him out from their group. It was Clays idea to compete, maybe he just ruined everything.
"Hey, when we win, do you think girls will crowd around us like that one guy?" Karl excitedly questioned.
"We'd have to beat that guy to win, Karl, I'd just be happy with top 5." Nick sighed, aware something was occupying his friends mind. "Clay? You've been out of it all day what's going on?" With this, all eyes landed on Clays now flushed face-he'd been caught.
"I don't know, you guys. I guess signing up made everything-real. Now I can't stop thinking about if we lose or get humiliated or have to disband or-"
"Hold on, hold on, aren't you overreacting just a bit dude? We just wrote our names down, no need to stress so early. And who said anything about breaking up? I know I'm staying; you guys would be no where without my guitar skills, I can't leave you hanging."
"Alex you're really getting on my-" Alex gave Karl a look, "Oh my god, fine, Mr. Quackity, you're really getting on my nerves."
"Yeah, don't get so down before we even started Clay. I have faith in us." Nick smiled, taking a sip from his drink, "And guess what; even if we lose, who cares? This is just for fun and some experience playing for crowds, Clay. So what if we don't get an award? The fact that we even have the confidence to get up on stage and play in front of people is cool enough."
"Yeah but we will win" Karl deadpanned.
The boys all shared a laugh, helping Clay forget about his nerves for a while. Interestingly enough, what lingered in his mind after wasn't the nerves, it was the brief eye contact he shared with that boy from the sign up line. The thought of seeing him again gave Clay a strange and unfamiliar feeling.