One Man Band System

Chapter 33: The Ripple Effect

Without Eric knowing, the moment he finished uploading the video, the song they played instantly started echoing everywhere. At Emma’s house, Miranda, who was relaxing on the couch, noticed a notification from the streaming app.

She opened it immediately, a wide smile spreading across her face when she saw the new video Eric had uploaded. She kept listening, even turning down the volume on her TV.

Kevin, who was lying down and relaxing on his bed in his room, also opened the app on his phone. A wide smile formed on his usually stiff, expressionless face. Over at an office, Caleb was typing away when he heard the coworker sitting next to him listening to Eric’s track. He slid his chair over and looked at his coworker’s phone screen.

His eyes went wide when he saw the band, three girls and a young guy, playing a thrilling new melody, and a massive smile instantly broke out on his face. It was the same story at a hospital, where a pregnant nurse sat in a chair, watching her phone while holding her belly.

A warm, wide smile lit up her face, and without even realizing it, her hand gently tapped against her stomach, keeping time so the baby inside could hear the rhythm. Meanwhile, back in the city where Eric used to live,

"Blam,"

Jade burst into Ruby’s room, completely out of breath. Vivian happened to be in there with Ruby, and both of them turned to look at Jade.

"What’s wrong, Jade? Why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost?" Ruby asked. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

Ignoring her, Jade walked in and sat on the edge of the bed right between Ruby and Vivian. She raised her phone, tilted it sideways, and hit play. Instantly, the rhythm of the melody Eric had just uploaded echoed through the room, leaving all three of them jaw-dropped.

Vivian’s eyes locked onto the drummer, who was effortlessly commanding his instrument, his hair flying everywhere as he moved his head to the beat. But what really caught her attention was his expression, free, light, and completely unburdened. It was a look she had never seen on him the entire time she had known Eric.

Of course, Vivian wasn’t the only one; Ruby and Jade were also staring at Eric’s face. He looked so carefree, as if everything he had gone through up until now had never even happened. As the song neared its end, they finally noticed the three stunning, cheerful girls matching his energy and playing alongside him.

"Slap,"

Vivian suddenly slapped Jade’s hand hard.

"Thud,"

Jade’s phone hit the floor and the music cut off as the screen went black. Jade turned to glare at Vivian, visibly irritated.

"What the hell is your problem?" Jade snapped.

"I don’t want to watch it anymore," Vivian replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why? Regretting it now that you see a bunch of girls who are obviously hotter than you throwing themselves at Eric?" Jade shot back aggressively.

"Hey... Jade, stop, don’t be like that," Ruby interceded, placing a hand on Jade’s shoulder to calm her down.

"Shut up! Where were you when Eric was still here? The second you saw that video of him supposedly cheating, what did you say to his face? You were one of the people who ran him out of town too, so don’t give me that crap," Jade yelled, pointing directly in Ruby’s face.

Ruby opened her mouth to argue, but no sound came out. Ultimately, she just lowered her head, clenching her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white and trembled. Then, Jade turned her sharp focus back onto Vivian.

"Just go marry Jason. You’re already pregnant with his kid anyway. You’re the trash here, Vivian, not Eric. So stop thinking about him. I only came over to tell you both one thing: I’m proud of my cousin," Jade said, her voice booming.

"Oh, please. You just stood there and did absolutely nothing back then too, didn’t you? You just watched Eric pack up and get kicked out right in front of the house. What makes you think you have any right to act like you belong by his side? Besides, did you see those girls in the band with him? Every single one of them is obviously way prettier than you, too," Vivian shot back, shoving a finger right in Jade’s face.

Hearing Vivian’s words, Jade instantly flared up, even raising her hand to slap her. But as the reality of Vivian’s statement sank in, that she really had just stood by silently while Eric was driven away, failing to defend him at all, she simply gnashed her teeth and let her hand drop back down.

Jade leaned over to pick up her phone and stood up. She walked straight out of Ruby’s room, slamming the door shut behind her. Ruby could only stare at the floor, her face masked in deep regret.

Meanwhile, Vivian sat there calculating her next move, the shocked expression on her face slowly morphing into something ugly, a bitter mix of jealousy, resentment and utter disbelief.

Vivian picked up her own phone and pulled up the video Eric had just shared. She wasn’t even listening to the music anymore; her eyes were glued to Eric’s face before shifting to Priya, who was playing the guitar with an effortless, killer vibe, then to Chloe, looking completely carefree with a massive grin, and finally to Heidi, who was swaying slightly as she played the keyboard.

Ruby, noticing the fury and blatant jealousy written all over Vivian’s face, found herself completely baffled.

"Hey... Vivian, who do you actually love? Jason or Eric?" Ruby asked.

Vivian turned to look at Ruby, then looked back down at the video, her face softening into a trace of sadness. Ruby instantly got her answer without Vivian having to say a word, and her expression hardened.

"Get out of my room, Vivian," Ruby said, her voice flat and heavy.

Without a word, Vivian stood up and walked out. The moment she left, Ruby climbed onto her bed and pulled her knees tight against her chest.

"If you loved Eric, why the hell did you cheat on him with Jason... the two of you are absolute trash. I hate that I’m part of this family... Eric... where are you... please just take me away from here," Ruby thought to herself.

***

Meanwhile, at that exact moment up on the fifth floor, out on the open-air rooftop deck of Eric’s building, Emma, Priya, Chloe, Heidi, Monica, and Laura were chilling out on lounge chairs. They were gathered under a canopy around a large, solid-wood circular table, holding their sodas and taking a well-deserved break.

The six girls looked around, having already explored the entire rooftop facility and the staff-dormitory-style building in the back. A moment later, Eric came up carrying five boxes of piping hot pizza and set them down on the table.

"Let’s eat first. I’m gonna head back down real quick to grab something," Eric told the group, turning around to head downstairs.

As soon as Eric disappeared back down, the six girls moved toward the table to grab their food.

"Whoa... thanks honey," Emma said cheerfully, opening a pizza box.

"Uh... who exactly are you calling honey?" Laura asked, turning to look at Emma.

"Eric, obviously. Who else?" Emma replied.

"Haha... are you seriously that sure Eric’s gonna pick you?" Chloe chimed in.

"Yeah... sorry, Emma. At first, I was willing to step aside for you, but after what we just experienced playing music together, I have no intention of backing down anymore," Priya shot back.

"Ugh... you guys are all my enemies," Heidi added, grabbing a slice of pizza.

"Grrrr."

Ultimately, five of them began glaring at one another, growling like cats ready to pounce. The only exception was Monica, who just shook her head, looking completely exhausted by the drama.

"Hey... there are plenty of guys out there. Why are you all fighting over this one?" Monica asked.

"I was here first. Eric is mine," Emma claimed.

"Please... I was hanging out with Eric at the bar too," Laura countered.

"I’m actually in his band. We’re gonna tour together once we make it big," Priya said.

"Don’t forget, I’m in the band too, so don’t get any ideas," Chloe fired back.

"You guys better not forget about me either. I’m a band member, and there’s no way I’m letting you guys win," Heidi added.

"Hey... hey... stop fighting over a guy. We’re a girls group, we’re supposed to be inseparable," Monica pleaded.

Suddenly, Eric came back upstairs holding a sheet of music. He walked straight over to Monica and handed it to her. Surprised, Monica took the paper and looked at it; it was a lyric sheet for the song they had just played. Monica looked up at Eric, who was standing right next to her.

"Emma mentioned you can do vocals, right? Please look this over. That way, if we ever want to record a version with vocals instead of just an instrumental, you’ll be ready, okay?" Eric said, clearly completely oblivious.

"Oh... sure. But did you write these lyrics yourself?" Monica asked.

"Yep... specifically for you," Eric answered casually, since he had indeed written them with Monica’s voice in mind.

"Blush,"

Monica’s face instantly turned as red as a ripe tomato, and she immediately hid her face behind the sheet music with both hands. Eric, fanning his neck because of the heat, opened a pizza box, grabbed a slice, and turned around.

"I’m gonna take a quick shower, guys. I’m totally sticky," Eric said.

"Okay," the six of them replied in unison.

The moment Eric went back downstairs, Emma, Priya, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura all locked their eyes onto Monica, who was sitting there with a bright red face. Monica finally lifted her head and glared right back at her friends.

"Let’s fight to the death for Eric," she said coldly.