The One To Remember: Chapter 1

Ian fiddled nervously with the strings of his bass as he sat on the concrete wall outside of the garage. He hadn't been to an audition in months, and he was so nervous that he felt like passing out.

Don't you dare, he told himself. You need this band. You can't afford to fuck up another opportunity. It was true; paying the rent without a job wasn't getting any easier. It had only been a little over a month since he left the other band - his band – and he was already halfway through his savings.

The little door in the side of the garage opened, and a guy walked out, carrying a bass. It was nicer than Ian's. The guy smiled at him. "Good luck!" he said.

God, that guy seemed so confident. They're probably going to choose him. Maybe I shouldn't even try out. Ian shook his head. No, I will. I'm already here, there's no point in backing out now. I can do this.

The door opened again. Another guy stepped out, and all the breath suddenly seemed to disappear from Ian's lungs. The guy was tall and thin, dressed in ripped skinny jeans and a tight V-neck that clung to his chest in a carelessly sexy way. His dark hair sloped gracefully across his forehead, casting a shadow over his deep brown eyes. He was gorgeous.

"Ian Hecox?" the guy asked politely.

Ian realized that he must have been staring. "Um, yeah, that's me." He stood up shakily, clutching his bass.

"We're ready for you," the guy said, smiling, and his smile was as beautiful as the rest of him.

"Great," Ian said. He took a deep breath and stepped inside the garage.

---x---

By the time Ian finished the audition, his heart was pounding. Most of his anxiety had disappeared, though; it just felt good to be playing again.

The three existing members of the band sat on folding chairs in front of him. They'd introduced themselves when Ian had stepped into the garage; the skinny, blonde-haired lead singer and rhythm guitarist was Kyle, the muscular drummer with the shaved head was Aaron, and the gorgeous guy who he'd met outside was Anthony, the lead guitarist. It had taken all of Ian's willpower not to stare at him during the entire audition.

"You played well," Kyle said, breaking the silence that had fallen. "Mind if we ask you a few questions?"

"Not at all," Ian said.

"How many bands have you been in?"

Ian counted on his fingers. "Uh… four, I think?"

"Can you tell me the name of the bands and how long you spent with each of them?"

Ian listed off the answers. He hadn't been with most of the bands very long, except for the last one. "…And I was with them for two years," he finished.

"Two years?" Aaron piped up. "That's a pretty long time for someone who's only…" he briefly checked the sheet Ian had filled out earlier, "…twenty-three years old."

"It was a great band," Ian said.

"Why did you leave, if you don't mind me asking?" Kyle questioned.

Ian ran a hand through his hair. "I… I kind of got romantically involved with one of the other band members. It didn't end well. I left before it could cause any permanent damage to the group."

"Well, no worries about that here, I guess," Kyle replied. "There's no girls in our band."

"Yeah," Ian said, laughing nervously. There were no girls in my old band, either, he thought. He wished he'd come up with a better story; now they could just look up his old band and see that there were no girls in it. It wouldn't be the first time he'd lost a great music opportunity because he was gay; most guys weren't too eager to sleep next to him in a tour van after they found out.

Calm down, Ian, he told himself firmly. Right now, just worry about them rejecting you because you suck at bass. Then you can find other potential reasons.

"Alright," Kyle said, tapping his pen against the pad of paper he was writing on. "That's everything we need. We'll call you tomorrow and let you know our decision." He smiled. "Thanks for coming by, Ian."

"Thanks for having me," Ian replied. He grabbed his bass and headed for the door.

He was halfway down the driveway before a voice behind him called, "wait!"

He turned around to see Gorgeous Guy – Anthony – running toward him.

"What's up?" Ian asked, nervous.

Anthony smiled at him. "I just wanted to let you know that you did great. You know, in case you were worried."

"That's great to hear," Ian said. Especially from you…

"And I'm sorry about your other band, dude," Anthony added. "I know what it's like to date a bandmate and have it go badly."

"Glad I'm not the only one," Ian replied, because he wasn't sure what else to say.

"We've all done it once or twice," Anthony said. "For me, more like six or seven times." He paused, and glanced thoughtfully at Ian. "I've never been with a bassist, though." And with that, he turned and walked back to the garage.

Ian stared after him, slightly confused. When he was out of sight, Ian walked in the direction of his car, his bass slung over his shoulder. Tomorrow he'd get the phone call telling him whether he'd made it or not.

It suddenly seemed like the most important call of his life.