It's A Lifestyle

Chapter One: And It Begins

The final bell of the school year rang, releasing swarms of teenagers as they flooded the hallways with cheers and excitement. Finals were forgotten, summer plans were made, and most ran out of the building without bothering to look back. Everyone was excited, but no one seemed as excited as one particular group of talented students.

"Woo! Hellz yeah! And the summer torture we know as Football and Marching Band begins!" A loud obnoxious voice echoed down the hall over all the other students. "That's so awesome you're doing both as well Gil! I mean last season's show would have been epic had you stuck with it, but now that you're back it's going to be epic-er!"

The white haired boy known as Gilbert nodded proudly and opened his mouth before an annoyed voice beat him. "Will you ever stop butchering the English language, Alfred? If you must use the word 'epic,' say more epic instead. I cringe every time you open your mouth."

"Pfft! You're so funny Artie!" Alfred's sky blue eyes gleamed at the slightly smaller blond. "Looks like somebody's a little grouchie after that super easy Chemistry Final. By the looks of it, you didn't do so hot, huh? Ya shoulda let me tutor you~."

"As if," Arthur walked ahead of the boys, not noticing Gilbert making kiss-y faces at the two blonds while Alfred tried to beat him. "I mean, it wasn't atrocious, but I didn't ace it like all my other finals. I really have to wonder, however, why'd they put two freshmen in a sophomore Chemistry class?"

"Who cares!" Alfred and Gilbert settled down when Arthur turned back around to look at them with a raised, thick eyebrow. "We're just awesome enough and now we're sophomores. Woo! We're not fresh-meat anymore!"

It was Gilbert's turn to scoff at the underclassmen. "You don't know what awesome is. Wait a few more years before you deem yourself so." He snickered as he watched the Briton's frown deepen while Alfred remained unfazed. To distract the smaller boy, Gil nodded over towards a crowd of band kids surrounding the music office. "What's happenin'?"

"Votre père will post zis zeazon'z Drum Majorz in a few minutes," another blue eyed blond waltzed out of the band room followed by a brunet with emerald eyes like Arthur's.

"We all wondering who it'll be between Vash e Elizaveta," the brunet smiled. "It is so obvious dat Roderich will be one ov dem, but de other is a mystery. Francis is betting on Vash y yo on Eliza. What about vosotros?"

"You guys!" Alfred pointed at the Spaniard. "Alright! I know that one! I think I did pretty good on my Spanish test!"

Arthur groaned, "But obviously not on your English."

"Huh?" All four boys cocked their heads.

"I give up," he huffed away to stand next to Elizaveta.

Antonio grinned back at the other three guys next to him. "Looks like Arthur picks Elizaveta, what about you, Gil, Al?"

The American tapped his chin. "I dunno... Vash is great at keeping order, but would probably drive us all insane while Elizaveta is nice, but firm when she wants to be. It'd be cool to have Eliza as the very first female Drum Major in the history of Sekai Academy, but Vash could really whip us into shape along with Roderich. Hmm and they both get along with him..."

"Extremely too well if you ask me," Red eyes adverted away from his friends.

Francis smirked as he draped his arm around the German's shoulders. "Ah, mon ami. Do not be jealouz. Juzt zink of it zis way: Roderich really azked you back becauze 'e mizzed you."

"True, True," his grin returned. "Roddie couldn't live without me!" Gilbert detached himself from Francis to push through the crowd and into the office. "Hey vattie! Guess what? I'm back~!"

"Hmm?" The blond band director turned away from the printer with a paper in his hands. "Where did you go?"

"No!" His son proudly puffed up his chest. "I'm marching again!"

A look of dread briefly flashed across the man's usually aloof face. Luckily his son blinked at the time and missed it. "What about American Football?"

"I'm doing both like Al! If he can do it, then so can the awesome me!"

"Why?" His face read no real curiosity, but he was.

"Eh...," the son didn't really want to admit that Roderich basically batted his pretty little eyelashes to convince him. He opted for the more manly, yet one hundred percent accurate description.

It was after lunch when the Austrian strutted towards the jocks' table. He pulled out a chair beside Gilbert, leaned his back against table, crossed his arms then legs, before he looked at the stunned-and oddly turned on-teen. "Gilbert, you should you come back to marching band. We need more flutes."

"What's wrong Little Master? Miss me already?" Gilbert was shocked at the confidence in his voice compared to how he felt. "Do you forget I'm on the football team?"

Roderich simply blinked up at him.

"I'm not giving it up."

A sexy, as Gilbert would describe it, smile appeared on the usually stoic teen's face appeared. "Your point? Alfred did both and he was only a Freshman and made it to varsity." He redirected his gaze at the younger boy, laughing at Arthur's blush, a few tables away then back at the albino. "What? Are you not awesome enough? We'll be juniors, I'm sure you can handle both sports."

"Damn right I can!" The German took the bait. "I'm as awesome as they get! Of course I can do both! I can even run the Ornithology club at the same time without breaking a sweat. Challenge accepted Little Master!"

"Good. See you next week, two o'clock sharp," he pushed off the table and sauntered off, leaving Gilbert staring at his ass.

"So I couldn't reject the challenge," Gilbert finished. "That'd be totally un-awesome!"

Mr. Beilschmidt nodded once, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He knew his eldest son couldn't resist the music prodigy. "Take Ludwig home. I'm working late to finalize everything."

Gilbert removed the keys from his pocket and spun them on his index finger, "Got it. See ya later, vatti."

He followed his son out the office only to find his students all looking at him expectantly.

~1~

"Like, I totally didn't see that coming!" A mix of Polish and Cali girl accent squealed. "I mean, three Drum Majors? We've never had three, let alone a girl as one! Let it be known, Toris, that today makes history! I wonder like why three, though."

Toris flinched as his friend's yelling in his ear. "I heard we'll have about 120 students in band this year and according to Al, who found out by Arthur, two new students, aside from the freshmen, halfway through next week. That's another new record for our school. At most we've only had 88 and that was last year. Do you think we'll get more guard members, Feliks?"

"Oh we better, or I'm not going to be happy," the teen crossed his arms as his medium length hair swished back and forth. "And if you think you can get out of guard this year, you're sadly mistaken. Come on! Let's go see this year's uniform for us! I hope it's cute!"

"What's the show even called?" He couldn't keep up with his friend so he let him just drag him wherever.

"One, Two, Three, Steps," Natalia, a girl with long, light hair glared at her classmates.

Slightly startled, the light brunet stuttered even more with the girl around him, "W-wh-why are y-you so upset, N-Natalia?"

She swiveled on the balls of her feet right in front of them, causing the anxious adolescent to crash into her. "Why? Because it's a show about dances, which means more flags than rifle or saber! What kind of show are we going to have without rifle or saber? If it wasn't for Katyusha, I'd have quit. Now get out of my way! I only have the weekend away from you before I have to spend my whole summer with you freaks." Natalia whipped back to the front, slapping her long locks across Toris's face. She only took a few more steps before she stopped and sighed heavily.

"Would either of you know Ivan's whereabouts?" The change of tone was so drastic, Toris could only gape like a fish.

"No, we're not his stalkers like you are," Feliks placed a fist on his hip.

"H-he hightailed it out of the school," Toris confessed, then gasped. "You don't think he's the one who trashed guys' locker room, do you?"

~1~

A tall and light haired, almost white, blond glanced around the corner before he briskly walked towards one of the many exists of the school. He looked apprehensive and Ivan Braginski was never one for such emotions. The Russian teen was usually the one to instill such expression onto others, but only one person in the world could cause him such affliction: Natalia Arlovskaya. No matter how many times he had tried to be civil or abusive, the girl wouldn't take no for an answer. She's taken it to a level beyond creepy.

That is why he had though he was in the clear when he made it to his coal black cadillac in the student parking lot. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't go unnoticed.

"What is it you running away from, aru?"

"дерьмом!" He whirled around to face the small Chinese teen scowling at him. "You scared me, Yao. Don't do that. Please?" Ivan decided to play it nice with the slightly older teen. He's already been given the "respect your elders" lecture by him and wasn't quite in the mood or had the time to listen to it again.

"Why did you do it?"

Completely misunderstanding him due to lack of elaboration on the question, Ivan shrugged. "It wasn't me who trashed the locker room, although I did like the new decor." He unlocked his vehicle, opening the passenger's side for his friend. "Would you like a ride?"

"Not that," the Asian thanked him for the offer with a slight nod of the head as he entered. "You are quitting band, aru? "

The tall Russian revved the engine before pulling out of the parking lot. "Ah, that, da. I don't think I can handle Natalia's, ah, stalker-ness do you call it? And freshmen are annoying, but mostly its Natalia. She kind of scares me. How did you find out, Yao? I talked to Vargas and Beilschmidt before the last final exam."

Yao crossed his arms, entangling his long sleeves. "I have eyes and ears all around the school, aru. However, that is not up for discussion, we were talking about you and band. If you drop it, the Principal Bonnefoy will make you join something else to ensure you stay out of trouble and I know you liked band last year. Are you really going to stop just because we get new students and Natalia's in Color Guard? You shouldn't be talking."

He continued to ramble, but Ivan didn't stop him even though he knew everything was true. "You were a freshman and Iwas able to tolerate you. And you know, you and Natalia are so similar that you shouldn't judge. Besides, you can't quit."

"Oh?"

"You're one of the few tubas remaining."

"Still quitting," Ivan said it in a joyous sing-song-y voice. "Unless you make it worth while, da?"

The small Chinese adolescent looked up at his friend, a very loose term of friend that is. "Oh I know! You'll be admitting that Alfred better than you, aru!"

"Not what I was looking for...," he chuckled darkly, "but you're right. I can't let that happen, then."

~1~

"Achoo!"

"Bless you Alfred," Arthur walked alongside the taller blond toward's Alfred's car and his brother's vehicle parked next to each other.

"Thanks man! So what'cha think about this year's show? You excited? Can you believe it only a year a go we were freshmen and freaking out over our first parade? Now we get to show the rookies the ropes and have lots-a-fun in the freaking hot sun, spending time with our big happy band family for hours and hours in a week and-"

"Breath you bloody git!" He punched the other's gut. "If you're this obnoxious already, I highly doubt anyone would want to be part of the 'big happy band family.' It's bad enough, all of my brother will be in it, let alone my cousins as well. It literally is a big family and no, I'm not looking forward to being stuck with all of them in the sweltering sun for hours on end. In fact, I'm dreading it." Arthur leaned back on his eldest brother's car and banged his head on the car's roof.

"Not only that, but I'm not looking forward to the show either," he looked back and forth between the Alfred's gorgeous sky blue eyes and the authentic blue sky behind him. "Sure, the Color Guard will look and be amazing, but Roderich admitted to me that there'll be dancing among us as well! Half of the bloody band are guys!"

"Really?" Alfred sounded a little too excited. "But Artie, the judges can't tell our genders."

"No, but we can," his accent thickened as he uncharacteristically whined.

"Ah, quick your crying!" The oldest Kirkland sibling, Liam Scot, appeared with James behind him. "I know you two lovebirds are excited to dance with each other, so don't cry if you're not paired with Al, Art. Now come on, let's go pick up Peter!"

Arthur tried to punch and kick Scot, but the brother got into his car to avoid his wrath.

James elected to stay out of it, but couldn't stop himself from chuckling. "See you on Monday, Alfred. Let's go Arthur, you know how Peter gets."

"Bye guys!" Alfred waved adorably idiotically until Arthur couldn't see him anymore.

If the teenager was honest with himself, he'd wish the weekend would quickly pass by.

Eh... Yeah, sorry another new story! And a confusing Marching Band story with everyone in it! So obviously multiple pairings, but USUK more likely the dominate one because it's what I mostly write.

I was only in Marching Band for two years, but those 2 years were wonderful! I'll attempt to explain in case I get readers who weren't in band and actually find the story interesting, but keep in mind that every school is different. If you have any questions, please ask because sometimes I get carried away with getting things down.

THANK YOU FOR READING! (I'll get right back to mi other stories right away... after work and stuff...)

Show- It's what the marching band performs

Practice/rehearsal- usually begins the first week after the end of school, sometimes earlier(?)

Drum Majors- those students standing on a podium waving their arms, conducting the band

Color Guard- people with the flags, rifles, sabers, and anything else really

Directors- the teachers

Anything else I miss for this chapter?