the music in me (the band)

[Deleted]

Zanders best friend Brandon was in the hospital and Zander was grateful for that. Why? Because the alternative in that situation was Brandon being dead, and this was much better than that. Zander had contacted Bern and Lance, wanting to get the soon to be band together to see their buddy. Brandon was not doing well emotionally, as far as Zander had heard, and he needed some badger buds pick me up.

Badger Buds. Not a bad band name.

Zander waited out front for Lance and Bern so they could all go in together. He saw Bernie first and waved him over, "Bern! Hey!" he hadn't seen Bern or Lance since coming back to England! A small reunion would take place before seeing Brandon, of course.

@bern(next)
lancelot ray linley
@brandon (hi sickie)

[Deleted]

Bern Sanders was a true example of a Hufflepuff and as soon as he got the news that Brandon Fisher, one of his own kind, was injured in an explosion that left so many others dead, he knew he wanted to come and see him as soon as he could. He wasn't surprised when he got the letter from Zander Lloyd, a friend and fellow badger who graduated a few years ago. Bern knew he was heading back to London, but he didn't know he was back so soon. The last time Bern saw him was before he left for Brazil and it would be good to see him again, it would be better though, in lighter circumstances. 

"Hey! There you are!" The Hufflepuff heard his name being called down the hall after he turned the corner, trying to follow the directions that the nurse at the end of the hall had given him to the proper wing and ward in the hospital. Bern had never been here before and hoped to never be back. It was so sterile and kind of freaked the boy out. However, he obviously wanted to be here for his friend. "It's goo to see you, man! Welcome back!" he smiled, offering a hug to his friend. "Lance not here yet?" he asked.

lancelot ray linley
@brandon
@zander

[Deleted]

@zander @bern @brandon

A band. He was probably joining a band. Lance had never thought those words would be running through his head. There had been plenty of times where he had hoped that he could someday by his own instrument and actually get a band together, but money issues and the need for more important necessities split between him and Georgie came first. Saving wasn’t really an option either, since there was the unknown of income coming it. Everything had always been at the whim of the orphanage and the government. Now they had money. Enough that things he had dreamed of having once he was out of school and working were now easily within reach. Upon finding out about the bank account and apartment being left behind by Barb, Lance had decided that the one hobby he was finally going to get into was music. It just so happened that his former housemate, Zander, remembered Lance’s love for it, and sent him a letter about it.

The last few months of discussion had gone by quickly, accelerated exponentially by school ending sooner that it was supposed to. That also put Brandon, who had been attending Durmstrang, in the hospital. He was one of the lucky ones, from what Lance understood. All those other students that he had seen wandering the corridors or eating next to for the past year were gone. But Brandon wasn’t, and that was why they were meeting at the hospital, and to check up on their friend. Upon arriving at Mungo’s, Lance made his way to the room that Brandon was in, turning the final corner only to see Zander and Bern already there. “Not late, am I?” Lance spoke up, grinning at the two of them as he approached. “How’re y’all doing?”

[Deleted]

Brandon felt lonely. Adonia was released the other day and he was still here. Granted, his prospects were seeming much better now. His spine regrew and such, but getting his mobility back was slow. At the moment he could turn his neck slightly and move his fingers. It was good, but definitely not as much progress as he wanted. Brandon wanted to be able to move again. He wanted to play his music, go for a walk, hold Rosie's hand. ANYTHING except stay in this ridiculous room on this stupid bed. Brandon wanted out. Each day he spent here, he found his spirits dwindling. He knew he was improving, he knew that he'd be allowed out eventually, but he hated it here, which was surprising and understandable at the same time. He glared at the empty wall in front of him, missing Adonia again. At least when she was here she didn't let him brood too much. She made him talk, pulled him out of his moods. Right now, he was stuck in one. He closed his eyes and tried to think of other things, to get his mind on something else. The problem was, what else was there to think about?

@zander
@bern
lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

Bernard welcomed him back and gave him a hug in greeting, one that Zander returned with gusto. "It's good to be back, man. Lance should be here any minute," he said. They were just a few doors down from Brandons, and Zander was anxious to get inside. Lance arrived and Zander nodded at him in greeting, grinning right back. "Lance, our resident gentleman," Zander teased. "I'm good. Well, as good as can be expected. Let's go!" Zander led the last two doors down to Brandons room and gently knocked once before opening the door.

"Surprise!" Zander said, ignoring the nurses advice earlier to go easy on Brandon. Zander wasn't the type to do that, come on. He pushed the door open all the way and crossed to his friends side. "Brought some hobos off the street to say hi," he said, gesturing to Lance and Bern.

@bern
lancelot ray linley
@brandon

[Deleted]

Lance appeared very shortly after Bern had got to the meeting place and the three of them all greeted each other before Zander took the lead and brought them into the hospital room. Bernard was a fairly cheery and friendly person, however, being in the hospital freaked him out a little. Despite that, he followed Zander into the hospital room, eager to his their friend, no matter what sort of shape he was in. He was still Brandon. He was still a member of their group and a part of their lives. “Hey mate.” Bern said with a smile. “Hope you don’t mind us just crashing in.” He added. Bern moved to make himself more visible to the man lying on the bed, he wasn’t completely up to date with Brandon’s condition, but he knew that a spinal injury probably meant that he couldn’t move very well, if at all.

lancelot ray linley
@brandon
@zander

[Deleted]

@zander @bern @brandon

Greetings out of the way, Zander rallied him and Bern towards the room that Brandon was apparently in. He hadn’t really processed the intensity of the situation until he found the other two. Most of it was still in that surreal sense, where they were all happy to see Brandon, yet the reality was that he was injured. Badly. That was obviously better than the alternative here, but it was still weighing at the back of his head as Zander pushed the doors to the hospital room open. Lance had no idea what condition Brandon was going to be in, other than that he was apparently well enough to receive visitors. That could still mean a ton of different things.

Lance chuckled as Zander called him and Bern ‘hobos’ that he had found on the street, and nodded his head as his fellow Hufflepuff said he hoped Brandon didn’t mind them being there. Hospitals were a completely different thing for him. Seeing as neither he nor Georgie had ever needed to go to one, he wasn’t sure what the proper protocol was for talking to someone that was injured. Was it the same as if someone was really sick, or after a family member had died? He knew what the latter was like, and didn’t exactly want to treat his friend like he was dying. That was the last thing the poor guy needed right now. Instead of doing anything out of the ordinary, Lance kept his mouth shut and waved at Brandon. That was easy, and got the point across.

[Deleted]

Brandon's body tensed when the door opened, though there was no outward indication of that. Then Zander walked in, followed by Bern and Lance. A smile covered his face instantly as Zander started talking, saying he brought some hobos in to say hi. "Hey guys," he answered, looking at all of them, wishing once again he could move. He wanted to give them a hug or shake their hands or even just nod at them. No, he wouldn't dwell on that now. "Nice to see you all." He looked at Bern, "Of course I don't mind. I get bored in here all on my own, you know." He looked at each of them again, not really knowing what to say. "So how've you all been? How's your summer going?" He really wanted to know, but he also didn't want to give them to ask him questions. He didn't really want to talk about his condition at the moment.

@zander
@bern
lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

Zander walked over to Brandon as Bernard spoke and Lance waved. He went to stand by his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder as Brandon asked how they were about about their summers. "Only been back a few days, myself. Got a girl you should all meet sometime," a wife. He had a wife, and a fake back story that was silly and would make him look like a fool, but he didn't care. It meant he and Bay got to be back.

"Brazil was hot and fun, but I'm just glad to be back here with some people I know, not that my uncle isn't great," he chuckled. He turned toward Lance and Bern, giving them a chance to answer now.

@bern

lancelot ray linley

@brandon

[Deleted]

It was still weird standing in the hospital room while one of their own laid in the bed. Bern couldn’t help but think about how weird it felt for Brandon to not be in his normal energy. Brandon normally had such an infectious personality, and while he was still in full voice and seemed to want to talk just as much as he always did, Bern couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for his friend to not be able to jump up and greet his friends with handshakes and hugs, especially after not having seen Zander in such a long time. Brandon insisted that he didn’t mind them coming to see him and then asked them all about their summer so far. To be honest, Bernard had been doing nothing of note. Zander talked about Brazil and said that he had a girl that they all should meet and Bern laughed. “I’ve just been working. You guys should come by, I think I could score you a free lunch.” Bern said with a smirk, really playing up his gig. The food was good, really good, even if Bern hated working there. The food was a perk.

lancelot ray linley
@brandon
@zander

[Deleted]

@zander @bern @brandon

It was fun listening to what everyone had been up to, especially Zander. Lance had kind of known what Bern was up to, but he had yet to visit the restaurant that was mentioned. Free lunch sounded great because it meant saving money. That was what this summer was all about after all, saving money. “Was Brazil hot and fun because of the weather or because of the girl?” Lance teased the older boy. He thought it was a valid question though, and the way both statements had been aligned, it was a perfect way to dig at the oldest of the group. Zander was probably the one that he had interacted with the least while in school, then came Brandon, and Bern was easy because they were roommates. Not much interfered in their discussions.

“I’ve been moving into my apartment…” Lance started, somewhat dreamily despite all of the pain and aches it had already caused him. “Yeah that’s a long story. I’m not sure if y’all want to listen to me explain that one right now.” That was an understatement. There were times where he still didn’t even understand the return of Barb, the death of Art, the apartment and money that followed, and that he now also had an older brother. Processing all of it had been easier with Georgie there, but these guys didn’t need to hear him drone on about his silly family issues.

[Deleted]

Brandon was glad his friends came. It was a nice distraction from the monotony of the hospital and he really did miss them. He'd hoped that they would spend most of the summer playing and getting their band out there, but with the way things were going with him ... he wasn't going to be much good for anything except singing. At least he could still do that. He smiled when Zander said he had a girl they should meet, though it brought a tinge of sadness to his thoughts. He was so sorry that his best friend lost the girl he'd loved at school, Braelynn. He was about to say something about that when Lance teased Zander about why Brazil was hot. Brandon started to chuckle a little bit, unable to help himself. It was nice being with his friends. "Can you tell us anything else about her?" Brandon obviously wanted to hear more about the girl. 

Bern spoke a little more softly than the others, talking about his work. Brandon winked at him, "Once I get over here, I'll be sure to head over." And he would. Brandon wanted to see what his friend was doing.

He nodded when Lance said that he was moving and that it was a long story that didn't need to be explained. His eyebrows furrowed a little. Lance knew he could talk with them, right? "Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I don't mind listening," Brandon told him, somewhat softly. He didn't mind at all. Listening to a story would give him something to do, at least.

@zander
@bern
lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

Lance asked if Brazil was hot because of the weather or the girl and Zander grinned, laughing. Brandon asked more about her. "Well, Brazil was hot for both reasons... mostly the girl," he chuckled, winking at Lance and then shaking his head. "Yeah she's... great. She likes to create things, very smart, good dueler - unlike myself. We - erh - got married, actually," he corrected, he wasn't sure if everyone in the group knew that bit

At the mention of free food, Zander nodded vigorously, but didn't speak further. As for Lance and his apartment, Zander just raised a high eyebrow at him, but wouldn't make the kid talk if he didn't want to.

He chime back in when there was a moment of silence. "SO! Yes, Brandon, we know you're having some trouble. But that doesn't mean you can't sit here and help us all come up with our band name," he encouraged, "I'm thinking 'Honey Badgers'. Cuz they are, well, badgers. Though, they're kind of scary badgers..." he trailed off.

@brandon
@bern
lancelot ray linley

[Deleted]

@zander @bern @brandon

He wasn’t exactly sure how he expected Zander to respond to his question about Brazil – but the easy answer was the one his bandmate gave. Lance chuckled along with him, stopping it abruptly when he said that they were actually married. He could feel his mouth fall open slightly. Here he was, excited to tell the story about how he and Georgie had acquired an apartment from their mother (or lack thereof one), and Zander was dropping bombs about getting married. That totally eclipsed anything he was going to say today. If he could even say anything more important than that now. “Congrats!” he said automatically, his mouth finding its way shut and turning into a smile. “Man, you work fast…” Lance started to chuckle again. It had to do with the music. That was the only explanation.

Lance nodded his head in agreement as Zander brought up the fact that he could help them come up with a band name. The older boy offered up the name ‘Honey Badgers’, and Lance stared at him as it was explained that it would work, despite them being somewhat scary. “The ‘Not So Scary Honey Badgers’ then? I’m not as good at this as y’all are, unfortunately.” His own creativity was limited to being able to replicate songs he had heard perfectly. Why no one at the orphanage had handed him an instrument earlier in his life was beyond his knowledge. The love for music had always been there, he was simply lacking the proper outlet for it. There was no telling if this would have been discovered had he stayed in South Carolina, but Lance liked to think that he would have noticed it eventually. “Also, what kind of audience are we aiming for? I don’t know of many adults that would really get the whole honey badger thing…”

[Deleted]

Brandon listened with interest, grinning when Zander admitted that Brazil was mostly hot because of the girl. Good! After everything he'd been through, Zander deserved some good in his life and Brandon wanted it for him. His eyes widened when he said that he married this girl. "Good for you, man," Brandon said, making sure his friend knew he had Brandon's support. Not that he needed Brandon's support to be happy, but Brandon gave it to him all the same. 

Zander brought up the fact that they needed some help coming up with a name and Brandon listened to his comments and Lance's. Honey Badgers could work. He laughed, "So are you saying we're scary and we all came from Hufflepuff," he teased his friend, unable to help it. His eyebrows furrowed as he started to think. He wasn't really good at naming things either. He loved writing music and coming up with lyrics for it, but when it came to naming his songs, he always struggled a little bit. He got distracted by Lance's next question and then shrugged. "I'm thinking more people our age. Students and young adults? What are your thoughts?" he asked, completely distracted from the first question by the second.

@zander
lancelot ray linley