When Avery heard the news, her eyes lit up with excitent.
Lila, on the other hand, wasn't eting Avery for the first ti. In a way, they were already friends, so Lila imdiately felt more at ease.
After that, it was ti for the new band's rehearsal.
But, just like in the original story, the result wasn't great. Lila wasn't used to performing in front of others, and she had no experience playing in a group. In every sense, it was a bit of a ss.
Luckily, Avery wasn't discouraged. She believed that with more practice, they'd get better.
After all, finding a band mber was tough for Avery. Hillcrest Academy was full of fighters—most people there preferred violent sports over starting a band. If Avery had been at Lila's school, Westbrook Academy, she could've probably grabbed any random classmate to be her guitarist.
Plus, from Avery's perspective, this was soone Ethan had recomnded. She trusted his judgnt—if he suggested soone, they had to be special.
anwhile, Ethan was chatting with Vivian at the drink stand.
After hearing the band's first performance, Vivian's expression was a bit complicated.
"That kid seems pretty talented."
She had clearly noticed the issues in the performance.
Ethan nodded. "Yeah, she's really good. After all, she is the Guitar Queen."
Vivian froze. "Wait, the Guitar Queen?"
Vivian was soone who acted quickly. She glanced at Lila, who had just co off the stage, and with that idea in her head, the more she looked, the more convinced she beca.
Without hesitation, she walked over, grabbed Lila, and started taking off her jacket.
Lila was completely stunned and quickly beca scared.
"What are you doing!?" she cried.
Avery was equally shocked.
But then she saw her sister tie Lila's jacket around her waist and pull out a mask, which she placed over Lila's eyes.
Avery was speechless.
"Wait a second, Lil Bunny, you're the Guitar Queen!?"
The outfit was exactly the sa as the one from the concert. There was no way Avery and Luna wouldn't recognize it.
But along with the realization ca confusion. Avery tilted her head, puzzled. "But if you're the Guitar Queen, why did you play like that?"
Her standards had shifted. If Lila was the Guitar Queen, Avery, as a fan, would naturally hold her to the highest expectations.
But the Guitar Queen's skills were undeniable, so Avery's little cowlick drooped as she ca to a shocking conclusion.
"Could it be that we're the ones holding you back?"
"N-no, that's not it…" Lila shook her head vigorously, but she didn't know how to explain. She could only look to Ethan for help.
Ethan, seeing the situation, offered so reassurance. "She's just not used to it yet. With more practice, it'll get better. You need to feel the resonance in the music."
Then, pretending to check his phone, Ethan said, "I've brought her here, so you guys should get along. Don't think of her as the Guitar Queen—just treat her like a regular bandmate. You're ant to play together."
After that, Ethan ntioned he had sothing else to take care of and needed to leave.
He had received a ssage from Elise, saying she wanted to et him.
Ethan knew that if he didn't respond to Elise's call, she might wait for him all night like a fool.
So, he went to et up with Elise.
"I'm sorry," Elise said the mont they t.
Ethan looked at her, confused. "Why are you apologizing?"
Elise explained, "I wanted to thank you, so I asked you to et up, but because of that, you ended up running into Sophia."
"That wasn't your fault," Ethan said, shaking his head. He quickly changed the subject. "So, what did you want to do now?"
Elise hesitated for a mont but then asked, "Do you have ti later?"
Ethan figured she probably wanted to thank him again, so he nodded. "Yeah, I've got ti."
Then, after a brief pause, Elise asked, a bit nervously but with determination, "Would you co ho with ?"
"…"
Ethan almost choked. Elise, are you seriously pulling this too?
But having already gone through sothing similar once before, Ethan quickly regained his composure. His last attempt to visit Nessa's place had been a bust, so he figured, why not see what happens at Elise's?
He smiled and nodded. "Of course."
At Elise's family dinner table, Ethan found himself the recipient of her mother's warm hospitality.
"Elise suddenly said she was bringing a boy ho, and I have to admit, it gave quite a shock," her mother said with a smile. "But we're really grateful that you were there to help her when she needed it."
Elise had already explained to her parents what had happened the previous day. And with Ethan's impressive qualities and his excellent communication skills, her parents were practically treating him like a future son-in-law.
Even though neither Ethan nor Elise had any romantic intentions, parents tend to think ahead. They knew their daughter's personality well, and if she could find soone as outstanding as Ethan, it would certainly ease their worries.
So, after dinner, when Elise led Ethan to her room, her parents didn't even blink. In fact, they seed quite pleased with the situation.
Ethan was honestly a bit taken aback by their reaction.
But once they were in Elise's room, Ethan wasn't sure what to talk about. After all, they hadn't known each other for long, and their conversations had been pretty limited.
Elise seed to feel the sa way, and for a mont, they just sat there, staring at each other awkwardly.
Finally, Elise ca up with sothing to do. She asked, "Wanna watch so TV together?"
Ethan shrugged, not really minding either way. To his surprise, Elise turned on Naruto. Ethan had only ntioned it in passing last ti, but Elise had actually gone and started watching it.
Ethan hadn't seen much of the early episodes himself—most of what he knew was from the later arcs. So, watching it with Elise turned out to be pretty enjoyable. They got really into it, and before they knew it, it was getting late.
Realizing the ti, Ethan decided it was ti to head out.
As she walked him to the door, Elise hesitated for a mont before asking, "Um… next ti, can we watch more ani together?"
This wasn't because of any romantic interest—Elise just appreciated how Ethan explained the show's lore and background to her. Since she knew nothing about Naruto, his explanations helped her understand the characters' motivations and actions, which made the show more aningful to her.
"Sure," Ethan replied with a smile, already thinking about how he could get the whole VIBRAMYST band together for a team-building session. Maybe they could all learn a thing or two from Naruto's "never give up" spirit—especially if anyone was thinking about quitting the band.
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