5 Lovely Tainted Roses

I walked behind Bash as he sauntered towards the bonfire. He had tucked his hands inside his denim jeans and whistled some tune I have no recollection of.

"Eyyy! You two finally sorted it all out?" Levi said as he waved his big hand to welcome us.

"Here you go." Alicia handed me a paper plate with cooked sausages and some corn. They popped some cans and proceeded to make merry as I squatted on the ground next to Rebecca and Ezekiel.

"Are you fine now Lizzie?" Rebecca asked me as she happily dug into her dinner. I just nodded in response to her because I couldn't speak with my mouth so full of food.

My 'present' memories told me I have eaten a fancier dinner but all I could think was the heavenly burst of flavors. This was not what I used to eat back in Shalem.

The sausage was so tender that every bite sent juices of sweet and tangy spices into my palate. I didn't realize I was so famished that by the time the boys had their third can of beers, I was already on my fifth sausage.

Bash's eyes were on me from the opposite side of the circle and I can't help but squirm with the intensity of his stare. The fire flickered and shadows danced merrily on his perfectly chiseled face.

'Focus Elizabeth! He might not have his memories but he is still William through and through!' I slapped myself.

I felt someone shuffled beside me and I saw Levi and his tall frame had towered above me despite his seated position. He handed me a plate with some delicious looking sandwiches.

I immediately remembered what Bash said about Levi's sandwiches and my curiosity sparked.

"Thanks… you're too kind really." I told him as I took one sandwich. Actually I was really scared because of his built but in respect to his kind gestures I pushed myself to be courteous.

At closer inspection Levi was a redhead with a very prominent nose bridge. His eyes were a beautiful shade of green that matched his shirt. His medium-length hair was slicked backwards which showed more of his forehead and thick brows.

As he poked at the fire with a stick, I saw what looked like drawings on his right arm depicting a catholic rosary. The beads wound up from his shoulder down to his forearm and the cross laid at the top of his hand.

He might have noticed my stares and he shifted to face me and smiled sweetly. My eyes widened and I blushed in embarrassment. I must have looked so stupid to him.

Not to mention I actually said some really weird things back at the truck before I blacked out.

"Ayt! Ice breaker!" Bash suddenly shouted which shocked and caused me to drop the sandwich that didn't even reach my mouth. Ahhh… Such a waste.

I tried to stay calm but my face probably betrayed me by now and had shown some angry emotions.

"So, I guess this not the first time every one of you went to Coachella but I am pretty sure this is the first with all of us going together." He continued as he leaned forward. "So first off, let us introduce ourselves as we started off this trip as just acquaintances of an acquaintance."

"Sureness! I'll go first." Sussanah said as she licked her plump lips from the oil of the sausages she ate. "I'm Suzanne, call me Suzy. Becky and Zeke we are classmates and that's how I got in this trip. I play percussions when I'm bored."

In her last sentence, Suzy winked at Levi to which the big guy didn't even notice. He had been busy with his jeans, rummaging through his pockets for I don't know what.

"Ali. Seventeen. Levi is my cousin and I sing in my own band. Well, used to sing. We disbanded when one of us got recruited by another band, the bitch she was." Alice said.

"Rebecca Jennings. Zeke and I have gone out for months now. This is my big sister Elizabeth. You can call us Becky and Lizzie." Rebecca introduced both of us. She might have seen that I was still in a daze and saved me from the hassle.

I turned to look at her and I smiled awkwardly to mouth a small thank you. She nodded back at me and leaned her head on Ezekiel's shoulder as he introduced himself to the others.

"Ezekiel, Zeke for short. I'm the lead vocalist and one of the founders of 'Lovely Tainted Roses' along with Bash, the talkative idiot over there." He said as he joked and threw an imaginary rock at William's reincarnation.

"Har-har so funny Zeze, am not THAT talkative." Bash retorted while he acted as a child denied of his cookies. Everybody laughed at his clown moves, save for me.

All I see was William still.

The traitor that he was.

"I'm Levi the drummer of the band. I love to cook and I design our own shirt logos." Levi's big voice resounded beside me. He had finally took out what looked like a lighter and cigarette from his pocket, then proceeded to smoke.

He puffed out a huge amount of smoke that dispersed above his head. The smell wasn't the same as the tobacco that people used to smoke in Shalem.

"And I'm Sebastian. You guys can call me Bash," He said to the girls, "That thing is my truck and for the second time around, welcome aboard to our trip to Coachella 2022!"

He clapped jovially and the rest followed suit, with the exception of Ali. Levi on the other hand clapped so hard it almost sounded like thunder was rolling.

"How did your band come together? And Zeke mentioned a while ago, is it true you guys are going to play on stage during the festival?" Suzy voiced out her curiosity.

"Well, our bass guitarist Nico, actually uploaded one of our gigs last year and quite fortunately got discovered by an organizer. He got the invite last year and we had to keep hush about it because it wasn't allowed apparently." Bash replied to her.

"Nico currently went ahead to Cali so he could arrange our stuff and all the paperworks. He's the only super rich among the four of us so we let him handle it." Levi added.

"The band name? Pretty little thing, how did you guys come up with it?" Suzy asked again, this time she twirled her already curly locks and leaned forward towards Levi.

"Oh, I got into the band when their drummer quit so I had no say in the name. Bash and Zeke could explain it for you." Levi replied to her, oblivious to the fact that Suzy was clearly demonstrating her fondness for him

Ouch. I guess reciprocation was not a thing for him. At least in the case of Suzy.

"Ahhh… the band name… actually," Zeke paused and chugged a can of beer, "Just thought that we were all tainted one way or another. But doesn't really mean we don't deserve love and respect just like how people love a rose despite the thorns it has."

"Ohhh… When you say things like that I fall inlove with you all over again." Becky said to him as she craned her neck to face Zeke's.

Zeke took a swig at his can of beer then looked down at Becky whose eyes sparkled with love for the guy. He cupped her small face in his big hands and quite suddenly, gave Becky a deep kiss.