Nightriders The Battle Continues Part 2

    “I’m gonna give Mr. Dewey a piece of my mind for this horrendous booking,” fumed Rolf while heading for the exit. “I knew it was going to be like this!”

            “Wow, what a grand exit!” mockingly applauded Nick Neil from the Backstage Boys. His band mates quickly joined him in laughter.

            I hate these guys! Axl thought to himself as he glared angrily at the four young members that made up the famous singing pop sensation, the Backstage Boys. The few times they had crossed paths before in their careers, they always struck him as being young, arrogant brats.

            “Don’t waste your time on these air heads. Just keep walking,” advised Rolf in a low voice as he stormed out of the room, completely ignoring Nick and his band mates.

            Axl, however, was not going to leave without giving the Backstage Boys a piece of his mind. He knew all too well from Rolf, who had attended the same university as them, of their infamous reputation, before the media had crowned them as pop stars.

            Nick Neil was recognized as one of pop culture’s favorite music stars. Of course, Axl attributed this to him being every girl's dream boy and the person every teenage boy wanted to be with; his blonde flowing hair and handsome youthful canine features. Unfortunately, all of this was accompanied by an extreme arrogance and narcissism in his personality that really had a way of getting underneath Axl’s scales.

            Billy Parker, believed to be Nick’s close friend growing up, both shared the same background, having come from wealthy families with a history of success in music. Both Nick and Billy won a Musical Performer Talent Contest on a reality TV show which pop culture remembered as the break out moment of their careers.

            However, their quick journey to success was not without controversy, as it was common knowledge that some of the judges on the show were good friends of the families and suspected of bias in their judgment.

            Barry Brown and Jimmy Ward met Nick and Billy at the BCMA and quickly became friends. Although their futures appeared promising, they found themselves expelled from the school by the dean for cheating on their tests along with countless charges of using intimidation and harassment against students they viewed as competition. Despite the Academy’s intentions, the boys used the controversy to their advantage and proudly flaunted the incident by twisting the truth of their circumstances. With the financial help of Nick’s family, they were able to hire top writers, producers, and marketers, which led to their first breakout album, loaded with hits.             They were corporate made, nothing more in the eyes of Axl and Rolf.

Axl flicked his tongue and gritted his teeth at Nick as he leaned forward to confront him.

            “Say what you want, pretty boys, but in the not so distant future when your fans have  grown out of the fad, you are, you’re gonna be nothing more than a footnote in music.”

            “Well, that would be more than you losers can say for yourself,” scoffed Nick.

            “At least we made it in a genre that’s actually relevant,” chimed in Barry snickering.

            At this statement, Axl began to feel his cold reptilian blood begin to boil with rage. Despite his metal appearance, Axl was generally a patient, easy going person. Heck, he put up with Rolf’s condemning attitude day and night, but his patience was conditional on three lines you do not cross. You do not insult his family, his friends, or heavy metal.

            “What did you say?” said Axl in a low voice.

    With a mocking smile, Nick stepped closer to Axl, looking him directly in the eyes.

    "C’mon, Axl! Its obvious metal was invented for musicians who are too ugly for pop.”

            Axl felt his scowl begin to intensify with his fist clinching ever tighter.

    Before he could deliver a comeback, one of the managers interrupted the heated conversation.

            “Nick? What are you guys doing? The fans are growing impatient!”

            “I’m sure they are,” answered Nick, still smiling smugly at Axl. “But it will just make our entrance all the more dramatic.”

            “Is everything alright?” asked the manager, appearing concerned over the tense demeanor of Axl and Nick.

            “Never been better,” answered Billy combing his slick brown hair.

            “We’re ready to save the show!” announced Jimmy enthusiastically, giving the manager a fist bump while heading up the stage steps.

            Still smugly grinning at Axl, Nick followed the rest of the Backstage Boys to the stage.

Illustrations by Bluepisces97 

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