Chapter Text
Why? Oh Lord, why do I have to suffer this cold air? The sound of the wind hitting your fingers as you owe them money was terrible, to say the least. You grabbed a flier and started stapling. Humming to forget the cold.
You were only here to see a new concert with your sister in your small sleepy town. But your sister wrapped you into one of her little schemes. She's in love with the new Idol group that came out. And as usual, she wanted to spread the word about their latest concert to whoever was willing to hear. Sadly, you were always the one close to her so she spilled her heart out for the idol group.
It was normal for her to love one idiot- I mean Idol group one day and then fall in love with another. She always says it's gonna be different this time with whichever group she crushes on. And you pretend to believe her. You just know better now. Or at least your wallet knows better.
Rest in peace, wallet. But you knew it made Riley happy so you smiled. Internally you were crying for your beloved money. Oh gosh, you could've saved up for a laptop with all the money.
“Hurry up, we gotta finish up before the sunsets. Be careful!” Riley ushered as she had a pep in her step as she danced to the music in her headphones. Oh great she must be listening to that new monster group that's been playing on TV and social media.
What were they called again?
Chaos? Bone brigade? Crap, what were they called!??
It's been a few years since you heard monsters had been unleashed from some sleepy mountain. You honestly didn't know where but it was what came out that was a huge surprise. Like the whole mountain burst, revealing monsters. This caught people's eyes. It wasn't their flashy colorful clothes that caught their attention, it was how a giant spur of music came out of the mountain the moment they came out. Like they were freaking rock stars. And everyone ate it up.
The world was just learning about K-pop and it was thriving all over the world. So when monsters introduced their own group. It was a huge hit with people. The fan girls came rolling in droves. Like damn. Once their music hit the streets. It was like the old black Friday times. Every time their music hits a store. Girls were fighting to get their album. You had to punch a few girls to get one of their albums last week because your sister begged you. Crap you still have the bruises from one bitch who thought she could punch your eye to get the jump. Heh, she messed with the wrong girl. The girl got well acquainted with your right hook. Good times~
“uhh, can we finally get a cup of coffee after this my hands are freezing!” You groaned as your sister looked back at you. And let out a sigh. “Fine but just let's do 10 more fliers and I'll buy you coffee”
“And a muffin?” you added.
“Hmm fine”
Sweet! You happily kept stapling fliers. The fliers flashed as they told the time and address where the monster group was being held in Ridgefield. You're not sure how your sleepy town got the chance to get the up-and-coming monster group to come here. In your opinion, you think your mayor has threatened a few people to get them to come. Probably to appease the community and bring sales into town.
“Dang it, you! You're supposed to focus on passing out fliers. Don't keep stapling them to the tree!” your sister shrieked as you looked at your handy work. The tree was indeed covered in paper. In a morbid way, you gave him back the clothes of his peers. Dam.
“Oops”
She was right. You had been so stuck in your head lately that you honestly didn't notice. You shrugged and started to walk over to her. Riley was forgiving as she shook her head but pulled you toward the coffee shop. Oh, thank heavens!
“Steven, I need two lattes and 2 muffins!” Riley screamed at their brother. The tall butthead was on the register as he focused on the lady in front of us. Riley was shuffling in her feet waiting to get a response. You nudge her to keep her voice down.
Steven only got this job a week ago so you guys tried to visit him as much as you can for the discount and to haze him. There's barely anyone that goes to it so there was plenty of time to torment your precious baby bro hehehe.
You didn't mind waiting but you still liked to tease him. So you made faces at him as he looked at the two of you irritated. He was never any fun when he was working. Steven did act like a tool at times…for your amusement. Heh.
“Don't forget everyone the Idol group UNDERPANDMIC will be performing their 5th anniversary at the Blue Gardens next month! Don't forget to get your tickets before they are all gone!” You look over to your sister's phone to see her looking at the news following her favorite monster group. Uhhh why.
You have nothing against the monster group. Their music was honestly up your alley but something always felt off about them. Especially the main guy. Who the hell picks Killer as their stage name? Like is he trying to become a bigger target for the anti-monster community?
Uhh, you don't want to think about it. That guy was sadly Riley's favorite in the group. Not sure why. The guy seems to charm his way into all the girls he comes to contact but honestly, you didn't like it. He seemed a bit much.
Personally, you prefer Error. His voice was always so crazy good! You were impressed by how they use their magic strings to make the concerts look so magical as they lift the magic bones into the air and make them explode into fireworks. The dude was just so cool and chill. Like a grumpy dad of the group. Unlike the flirt.
“Are they stupid? Don't they know Underpandemic is playing here tonight? Or I know our town is a bit small but it's still in the list of places they are coming to play! Don't worry killer I'll see you soon! My poor hubby” Riley held her phone close as the lock screen had the monster's photo. Of course, your sister had him as her lock screen. You couldn't even judge you had Error playing guitar on your lock screen.
“Riley no. He's like my age. Maybe 22 or something. You're still in high school” You frowned “And anyway you can't marry them. Not until I marry Error first!” You teased your sister. The dude was hot and won your affection with his voice and totally not because of his impressive guitar skills. He says it's a hobby but you've seen his hands in videos. They looked pretty brittle from all the hard work so you fell in love. And he was hot.
“Also doesn't Killer have a girlfriend?”
You were just messing with her. Always teasing her about the rumors of that big flirt having tons of girlfriends. It always got a rise out of her. It was fun to watch. Except it was different this time. Riley was prepared for your teasing. She flipped her phone into a different app and made you look at it. It was the fan community for the band. It followed their moves and lives. Kinda scary if you think about it.
“Nope, he's the only one who's still single. The rest of the team either is with a girlfriend or just recently broke up” Riley puffed up in pride that she thought her love interest was still single. You almost wanted to burst her bubble and remind her that social media can't always reveal the truth about the boys. You could already imagine that guy probably has tons of girlfriends.
Crap, Error is seeing someone. That sucks.
“Lattes!”
Your little sister paid for the drinks while you lifted the food and started chomping down on one of them. Mmmm, the food is so good.
“Enjoy it now. We still got to walk home to get ready for the concert” Riley called as she handed you the drink. Aww, why did she have to remind you?
“Uhhh fine but you're gonna let me sing my song. I gotta practice” You added as Riley rolled her eyes. “Honestly I get you want to practice but why? Your band broke up last week”
“I know but it's my song that I haven't finished. It's the last song that's mine. The rest of the band has the rest of my old songs” You muttered as you sipped your drink. You reached over to your drumsticks and felt them in your back pocket. It was the only thing you could take with you when you left the band.
Yeah, your band broke up because your friends invited their friends to join the band. That sadly was the first problem. They weren't that good with music and got on your nerves with all their dumb questions. But you still gave them a fake smile to keep the peace with your bandmates. They were happy but that didn't last long.
For some reason, the new guy didn't like your style of music and wanted to change the band's style from punk rock and turn it into pop. Most of the band was against it. Except once that friend of theirs spread rumors about you. Making you out to be a toxic person. Shitty move honestly. But it stung. A lot. They kicked you out of the band because they believed the guy. You couldn’t even fight back the accusations. Everyone's minds were made up. So you left.
What a joke.
“I'm glad I got out. I think this song is gonna be special. Sweet Chaos is gonna be a giant hit!! I just need to finish the lyrics and maybe it might be a nice song to play on MeTube! Who knows people might like it” You try to put on a happy facade. This song was indeed special. You could imagine the song perfectly. Just begging to be discovered. So you sang.
“The world I'm living, because of you it's been ”
Riley didn't seem convinced but watched as you sang. The streets looked pretty clear as you saw a giant bus pass the two of you by. You didn't pay it any mind as you continued your song. Even pulling out your favorite drumsticks and hitting the melody as you sang.
“ Reversed and overturned, right is left, and left is right~”
You kept singing as you got to the chorus.
“IT'S A SWEET CHAOS!
Since you entered the stage! My life, dream, future, and everything has been changed!” You added your own dancing moves as you looked at Riley. Wagging your eyebrows as she smiled at your dumb moves. You didn't care. The world was your concert and hell you were gonna give them a show. It's not your problem, it's the world's problem if they listen.
“ but I look forward to tomorrow and the days are changing! I like them! It's sweet Chaos!!!” You added a swagger to your step as you continued with your song. You got stuck at one part and you restarted the song adding new lyrics as you tried to find a fit for it all.
Failing to see that the giant party bus had stopped the moment it heard you sing. Or that there was a certain monster listening to your music.
☆☆☆~~~~~~☆☆☆
In the night you tried to hurry over to the football field. Crap you promised Riley you would go to the merch station while she would get your seats. You didn't mean to oversleep but the pillow was so comfy and you're suckered for warm sunspots. Uhhhh, curse your inner feline instincts!!!
You ran over to see the line of merch. Shit, you weren't gonna make it. Sorry, Riley, maybe you could find a scalper and he could give you fake merch. Honestly, you've gotten pretty nice fake merch before that beat the original with how artistic it was. And a nicer price too!
You look over to see the concert and it has already started as you get closer. Huh, the turnout was still pretty big. But you could tell this band had seen bigger turnouts as you could see the group waving their hands as the music slowly started to play.
The music was catchy as you see the group dancing to the beat. Their form was spot on as every typical idol group but the difference was their magic was the light show. You could imagine their manager saved up some money with their magic.
“WE LOVE YOU RIGGFIELD! THANKS FOR HAVING US!” The main guy killer yelled as he blew kisses to the fans. The rest of the group were waving around. The girls screamed in pure happiness at the affection.
Uh, somehow they seem to ignore how Killer had messed up on the place. But no one seems to care. You walk over to your seat as your sister waves at you. With luck, you guys managed to bid for close seats. You could see from where you were in the band. Oh my gosh, you could see Error as he winked your way. Oh, your heart couldn't take it.
“Dang it, I know he has a girlfriend. So I wish for all the happiness in the world for him” You say as you watch the monsters dance and sing.
There were 5 of them. Killer, Dust, Error, Horror, and Nightmare. They had the same outfit just in different colors. They reminded you so much of the old punk look with the ripped leather jackets and fingerless gloves. They knew how to pull it off as they swayed in the field. You're still not sure how they can dance so well when they are on grass. It almost seemed like they were floating just a bit from the ground. Could magic do that?
You decided against it as you saw them have fun as they sang their song. And for a bit, you couldn't help but smile. Killer was a giant flirt but when he was on stage you couldn't help but look at him. His dance moves were always hypnotic. As if they were begging for everyone to look at him and only at him. Even you couldn't look away once he got into a nice rhythm.
“I LOVE YOU KILLER!!!” Riley screamed as she lifted a poster. Wait what did it say? You look at it as it says Marry me.
Wait, what is the poster board you were gonna use for your college project? You just bought it yesterday. And you were gonna use it tonight so you could turn it in tomorrow early. Uhhh Riley whyyy?.
“Riley uhh nevermind”
You wanted to scold her but the smile on her face as she screamed a love confession to her idol stopped you. Nah, you can buy another one tomorrow. You were like her once. Crazy in love with music. Only you followed bands like crazy a few years back. Loving the vibes and music they played. Idols weren't all that different. Well, they have more personality and merch.
“ERROR!!! YOUR AMAZING!!” You scream as the crowd grows in excitement. Two hours passed as they danced. And the crowd was still dancing and playing. Your voice was practically gone with all your screaming. Your sister left a bit ago for a bathroom break. You held her sign as she left.
“Thank you so much, everyone! Since you've all been so lovely~ we will give you a sneak peek into a song we are working on” Killer winked as this got the crowd getting louder in excitement. Huh, you didn't think they had any other song left.
You look to see that everyone looks confused. Was this still part of the concert? You look over to see Error summoning a guitar and Dust with a base as they start to strum a bit. Wait, you recognized this melody. You're hoping you were dead wrong. And yet your nightmare was realized as the melody was too familiar.
They began to play. Killer signaled for the lights to be on him as he started singing a bit. No no no no no.
“The world I'm living, because of you it's been~”
Killer sang the song you were singing just a few hours ago. Given that it sounded so much different wasn't what made you mad. No, he fricken butchered the chorus. It's Sweet Chaos, not Sweet K-On. You weren't gonna let this go. That was your song and this idol group somehow got a hold of it and was pissing you off.
The song was cut short. As they waved at the fans as they cheered. You knew why they stopped. You haven't finished the song so you knew they stopped at the part you kept ad-libbing.
“Thanks for coming, everyone. Stay lovely my cuties” Killer blew a kiss as the fans roared louder. The group made their exit as they walked out. Aww Error blew an air kiss. Wait no you can't get distracted by the handsome skellie!
“S t o p!”
You ran down to the bottom of the bleachers as you tried to signal them. This doesn't make sense how they could have heard your song. Almost all the lyrics were word for word yours. You tried to use Riley's board to catch their attention. You waved it around to get some glances.
Security was making its way towards you as they saw you. Crap the dude was beefy and had a scar on his eye. That wasn't gonna scare you away as you jumped over the fence and ran. You looked over to see the sound booth. Perfect! You jumped over the fence and ran over to the sound booth as you could see a familiar person. Their manager.
Their manager was a human lady who had been with the band from the beginning. In most interviews, you've heard the band talk good things about her. So maybe she might listen to you.
“Excuse me” You croaked as you poked at the lady. She was on her phone as she signaled for you to hold on a minute. You waited but she kept screaming into the phone.
“I know we went over time but you know how Idol is when he gets in one of his moods. Honestly, at least this song was more thought out than most of his shenanigans. !” The lady yelled. You waved at her as she glared at you.
“Let me call you back. Yes yes bye. What do you want?” The lady said flat out. The light tapping of her feet gave you the hint to hurry up and not waste her time.
“That song they sang. That's my song. I know it by heart and I just want to know how you guys took it” You said as you tried to keep your eyes on her. The whole thing sounds bad. Some nobody was accusing the most beloved monster group that they stole her song.
Ouch, that sounds bad. But you're not crazy. The look on the manager's face didn't help with your uneasiness. She let out a sigh and just looked at you squarely.
“So what do you want an autograph or some t-shirt or something?” Her sharp tone made you wince. That's not what you wanted but your stomach was knotting and you were at your wit's end. You just wanted an apology. Then, find Riley and go home.
“No, I just want to know how they got ahold of my song and maybe an apology” You stammered but the manager just chuckled. It wasn't that funny but the lady looked at you as if you were joking. And then her smile vanished as she rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, no. You're lucky I haven't called security and kicked you out of here. Just run along and go home” The lady barked as she went back on her phone. And back to her screaming match continued. But…your apology.
Dejected, you walked over to the parking lot. You could see Riley as she looked so excited. “oh my gosh their music was so good today! Sorry for missing the end so what did they sing?”
“My song…let's just go home” You whispered. This felt wrong but you couldn't fight this. You threw the poster board on the floor. Riley began to tell you about her excitement. You could barely hear it. Your song was stuck in your head. So much for posting it online. Again you won't get a chance to defend yourself. Maybe you should just quit music. Music was to express and get your voice out. But honestly, it seems to just keep silencing you. Maybe it's for the best…you kill music from your life.
Yeah, leave the music to the idols….
“Hey, Riley. Could we stop at the donut shop before we go home? I need something sweet right now” You didn't want to tell her you just wanted comfort food. Just something to ease your pain. Your sister nodded as she grabbed your sleeve and walked with you in the direction of a sweet escape.
|||♡||||||♡|||♤
“What do you mean you didn't write the song?!” Stacy screamed at the skeleton crew.
Killer chuckled as he shrugged. Once they got into the party bus the rest of the group was impressed with his song. He laughed it off as he knew that was his plan.
He was getting tired of playing all these shows and not getting a chance to play his songs. Once they got out of the underground he thought maybe he could have a chance to dance and sing to his music. Just like back home. It was freeing.
But the surface was so picky. They say they loved his music but after a while, they were asking for what's next. Making him change his music. His look. And even his persona. Everything was starting to feel so fake. And he was getting tired of all the pushing and getting what they wanted. He wanted to stick to his manager. The media. And just all the humans.
So the moment he heard her voice. Everything felt different. Her voice was a bit off but he could immediately connect with the song. It felt raw. It felt different but so familiar to his old underground. And the moment he heard it. He couldn't get it out of his brain. Like a parasite. Digging into his mind and staying there ever since. It's been driving him crazy. Her voice just felt so much like his underground he couldn't let go.
So when he sang the song out loud. The song was catchy and he couldn't help but grin when he sang it. The rest of the crew liked the song. Heck, they gave him the idea to sing it at the concert. It's a small town, perfect to test out a song. No one would remember anyway. And wow did the crowd eat it up? But he did feel bad. He couldn't do the song justice. It just needed something.
“I didn't write it. I heard it when we were in that town. So what? I've done plenty of shenanigans before. Aww darling! Don't you like cleaning my messes love~?” He leaned close to his manager as he gave her the usual wink and air kiss. Her hand was on his face and pushing him away.
He whined as he could see she was seriously pissed this time. Normally his charm could ease her anger a bit. Guess he might've made a bigger mess than he thought.
“Killer you know fully well shenanigans are fine. I laughed when you took your shirt off and gave it to the crowd or when you pantsed all the security guards during the concert. But those were all harmless. It was a song that the fans want now. Fuck killer why couldn't you just behave!”
“ Oooo killer fucked up again. Error put it on the board” Dust hollered to Error. The skeleton pulled down on one of the blinds revealing a tally mark of all the guys and their screw-ups. He was still on the top leaderboard with 54. Everyone else was still in the single digits. Heh
“Killer, do you still remember the song?” nightmare asked as he tried to recall the song.
Huh. Ever since he sang the song at the concert. He couldn't recall the song anymore. The song was catchy. Uhh, why couldn't thing song stick? He's had a stupid mattress jingle stuck in his head rent-free for days at a time. Why couldn't this song have been the same?
“Sorry, I can't remember it much. Wait, why not get the song from videos from my fans? Those guys film everything!” Killer got hopeful as he turned to Nightmare for some backup. The dark monster laughed maniacally as he gave him a fake pout.
“ Your fans are shitty as video. The audio sucks, they just show off your moves. Wow, you're screwed. And I love the taste~” Nightmare chuckled as he made disgusting slimy noises using his mouth. Barf.
Curses his fans were his last lifeline. So now he's screwed. He turned to his manager who was still ignoring him as she texted on her phone.
“Can't we just hire a songwriter and be done with it?” Horror growled as his mouth was stuffed with snacks. “We got plenty of those idiots to do it”
“it won't be the same sound dude. I'm sorry it was a fun song. I overheard it when I heard a girl singing the song when we stopped because Nightmare needed a fricken snack” Killer exclaimed as he pointed at the culprit.
“Wait, you said you got it from a girl. Huh so that means what the fan was saying is true…interesting” Stacy looked at the killer as she made a quick call.
The glint in her eyes was never a good thing. He could already tell she was thinking of something. Whenever the band had messed up somewhere during their tour. Stacy was very much their handler when it came to the human world. So her words were law. And if they got out of line that smile and evil glint in her eyes would come up with the most sick punishments.
Poor Dust could never see smoke the same after Stacy made him smoke 20 packs a day. The guy could never see a cigarette the same ever again. It sucked. And now he was on the chopping block.
He tried to use his best flirty smile in hopes she might reconsider his punishment. Stacy got off her phone and chuckled.
Oh no.
“Well, good news. The tour will be following the schedule. But you sweet killer will be going back to that small town and looking for that girl. I'm done cleaning your messes. You need to take responsibility” Stacy smiled as she whistled at the bus to stop.
Wait what?
“Wait, mommy no, please. Can't we talk about this?” He whimpered but it was too late. Stacy had his bags and was pushing him out of the bus. The rest of the boys were waving him goodbye as they blew kisses his way or cackling at his bad luck.
“Yeah no. Mommy ain't gonna baby you no more. You fucked up” Stacy frowned as she looked at him in disappointment. Killer kept reaching out. Wait he doesn't have to do this alone!
“Fellas…? No one is coming with me?” He cried out as Stacy pointed at a car driving their way. “You got this Killer. Just find the girl, get the song, and leave. Just do what you do best and you can meet us at the concert in December. Pshh you won't even need the month but seriously. And I better not hear that you did something in that town. I got ears everywhere you monster” She growled as she closed the bus.
Killer looked at the bus dumbfounded.
“Shit”
Killer looked up at the sky and let out an internal groan. Uhhhh why couldn't he keep his trap shut? He got in the car as he looked in the distance at the small town. The moment he meets this girl he's planning on kidnapping her.
She's probably a fan so she might even like it. He just needs the song he can give her tickets to their concert for the anniversary and if that doesn't help. Heh, he can always sweet-talk her and kiss her on the cheek.
“This should be a piece of cake” He sighs as he chuckles to himself. “Wait did Stacy at least rent me a room to sleep?”