Heart Strung

Summary: Iron Weasel is looking for a awesome vocalist to harmonize with Derek Jupiter, but the lead singer would have none of it so Ash, Burger, and Tripp set up a secret arrangement with young music-star Lavigne Haertstrung; Derek's in for a surprise.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my OC and imagination

Derek JupiterxOC

Chapter 1: Explaining the Situation

In the home of Iron Weasel - or more like the home of high school student Tripp Campbell where three grown men sleep in one guest room and a bunk bed - lead guitarist Tripp, drummer Ash, and bassist Burger all stand behind the kitchen counter, looking at the lead singer Derek Jupiter, who sat snuggly eating spaghetti.

"Ash, you tell him." Burger nudged with his shoulder.

Ash just nodded his head. "The No! I remember the last time I passed bad news to Derek."

Flashback:

In the garage, the long haired singer placed his spiky-haired drummer in a headlock on the couch.

Derek loosened his grip slightly for Ash to breathe. "Now, I'll ask again," he started slow-like. "Who did E! News say has the best hair in Iron Weasel?"

"Uhk! - cug! T-Tr-T-Tripp-Uhk!!" Ash gasped, and Derek immediately tightened the strangle hold. The singer managed to grab a mustard bottle and juice it all over the drummer's face. And Ash shrieked like a little girl all the while.

End of Flashback

"That was a fun time." Ash just kept on nodding his head, eyes set on empty space while his two fellow band members just looked at him. "My neck still hurts, but my face has been smelling like hotdog sauce for two weeks." Ash covered his face with two hands and took a deep intake of breath. Once he exhaled, he sighed with blissful content "Oh, yeah….."

"Yeah…" Tripp said. "I'm surprised he didn't kill me for that, now I missed all of the excitement." He pats Ash's shoulder and displays a sarcastic smile. "I'm so jealous of you, Ash."

"It wouldn't be the first." Ash grinned.

"Anyways…" Tripp starts. "I'll tell Derek, I mean, how mad can he get?"

"Mad." Burger mutters as the youngest of Iron Weasel makes his way around the kitchen to the circular table in the middle of the room; he and Ash followed behind.

Derek sat on the small chair, eating his small meatballs on a small plate sitting on a small table. All the while, Tripp gave small stares in between.

"Hey, Derek." Tripp began, his fingers lounging in the front pockets of his jeans. He balanced himself on the balls of his heels.

Derek looked up from his food. "Hey, kid." He flashed a toothy grin. Ash shrieked! The other three just stared at him with a fixed expression and furrowed eyebrows.

"We haven't told him yet, idiot!" Burger scolded.

"Oh, yeah right." Ash shrugged with heavy eyelids.

"Haven't told me what, exactly?" Derek asked with mellow curiosity.

"Uhh - about that gig we did last night! How awesome was that?" Tripp gestured, and Burger and Ash went along heartily, giving each other high fives and what not.

"Oh, yeah! That party at the District Library." Derek pointed out, laughing all the way. "That certainly was a wild ride - rockin' out our songs with college students, tearing out the pages of those boring books, running away from the security guards."

"And their dogs!" Ash cheekily added.

Flashback:

Three members of the Iron Weasel hid behind the bushes in the park a few blocks away from the library.

"Did we lose them?' Burger asked.

"I think so," Tripp stated, barely catching his breath.

Derek looked around their surroundings. "Oi, where's Ash?" Derek questioned.

Suddenly, the guys heard the rough growls of large dogs and one girlish scream. The drummer quickly came into view - or at least the upper half of him was; the rest of him hid in the bushes.

"Hey, guys." Ash greeted wearily.

Tripp rushed to him in concern. "Ash! Are you okay?"

"The Yeah! Those dogs hardly laid a paw on me."

"Atta' bro." Derek proudly slapped Ash's shoulder. "C'mon, lets split while the coast is clear."

"Wait, guys. I may need to borrow someone's pants." Ash said right when the other three stood up.

"Come again?" Tripp double-taked.

"Those dogs bit my pants off." The drummer confessed.

"I thought you said they didn't lay a paw on you." Tripp accused.

"Yeah! And they didn't lay a paw on me, thank you very much." Ash gloated, Tripp just gave him a weird stare.

"Well, its late at night. Just run in your boxers." Burger suggested.

The drummer paused for a bit. "They went with the pants." Ash nodded disapprovingly. "And I was counting on those rainbows to lead the way."

All the while, the other three just looked at him with a fixed expression and furrowed eyebrows.

"Alright, here's the plan: the three of us run to the house and come back for him with a new pair of pants." Derek planned.

"Right." Burger and Tripp agreed in unison. And so the three ran off into a different direction in the night while Ash waited patiently.

End of Flashback

The four continued to daze off into space, remembering the good times. "Yeah…" They all sighed.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Ash said. "You guys never did come back for me."

"I was the one that got the pants," Burger began "but I gave them to Tripp." And so Burger and Ash looked at Tripp.

The young guitarist held his hands in defense. "I had a huge test today and I needed to sleep in last night, so I gave the pants to Derek." And so Burger, Ash, and Tripp gave Derek the staring treatment.

Derek just looked at his plate, hardly feigning innocence as he played with his food. "I saw myself in the mirror." Derek confessed. "And my hair was fantastic!" He laughed off looking at them, but the other three just gave him a squinting glare. Derek's humor died off. "In your face, Tripp!" He quickly muttered.

"Okay, anyways!" Tripp said. "The gig last night was great. I rocked some good guitar, Burger rocked some good bass, Ash rocked some good drums, and you - Derek - rocked some awesome lyrics."

Derek laughed, leaning back on his chair haughtily. "Oh, stop! You're flattering me."

"No, no, no! I believe I say it for all of us here that you Derek are the best rocker in this band." Tripp continued to sprinkle the vocalist with compliments.

"Ahh… I know," Derek bluntly smirked.

"But…"

"But?" The smirk disappeared.

"Now don't get me wrong, Derek," Tripp began to explain as soothingly as he could, but he could already see the icy, hot glare in the singer's eyes. "The kids at my school saw the performance online and they loved every second of it - they loved you - but they think that Iron Weasel could really make it over the top of the list if we got someone to harmonize with you."

"What?" Derek stood on his feet, back straight, muscles tense. "Are you proposing we get another vocalist?!"

The three just stood back just a bit, arms bent in what little defense they know against Derek's growing fury. The lead singer gaped with consternation back and forth between the three.

"Is that what you're all suggesting!?" Derek accused, his british tone astonished and betrayed. "I don't believe this, you actually think my vocals are not good!"

"No, bro!" Burger said.

"That's not what we're saying at all!" Ash added.

"A'ight. What are you saying then?" Derek questioned, folding his arms out and tilting his head, giving a small, but hard glare at his fellow band members through his long, wavy chestnut locks.

"What we're saying is…" Tripp explained in defense, a little shaken. "We think that we should give the people what they want. And they want someone to harmonize along with your umm… godly voice - your gift of music." He saved.

"More like a blessing." Derek cheeked, all mushed from the few flattery that Tripp fed. The other three began to relax just a bit.

"So does that mean, you're in?" Ash asked.

Derek humorously chuckled. "Of course…" The other Weasels smiled and gloated in fleeting celebration. "Not!" He dropped.

"What, why?" Tripped asked, almost ready to complain.

Derek just nodded off in response. "Look, we don't need another guy in Iron Weasel. We're plenty of awesome rock as it is."

"Well, yeah, but-" The three began in unison.

"-but, nothing!" Derek pointed at them to cease begging. "Iron Weasel doesn't need another singer. Now you three must promise me that you won't get another dude for our band."

"Ehh…." The guitarist, bassist, and drummer just sulked at the floor in utter silence.

"Promise!?" Derek emphasized threateningly.

"We promise." The three chimed with no much enthusiasm.

"Alright, good." Derek said, and then he smiled his winning smile again. "Great talk with you guys."

Tripp, Ash, and Burger watched Derek as he walked out of the kitchen and left the room, probably heading off into bed. Once he was clear out of sight and out of hearing, they began to talk amongst each other.

"Now, what're we gonna do?" Burger frowned.

"I don't know guys." Tripp shrugged. "How would you explain to someone like Derek that I've already set us up an interview with another vocalist tomorrow night?"

"Man…" Ash shook his head, his expression a bit grave but mostly loopy. "On the bright side, dude, at least your face will smell like hot dog toppings once its all over."

And so Tripp and Burger looked at Ash with a fixed expression and furrowed eyebrows.

iRockStraightEdge: Alright First Chapter is up, just started and finished it today. It's basically just for fun but it'll be great if I got some good feedback. Thanks in advance.

'Why, Derek?' You make ask, well I believe its mostly the accent if not the charisma of the character.