"Next up, ladies and gents, is Edward and the Hell-Raisers!" cried the announcer, hidden somewhere behind the stage.

With a roar, the audience lit up the stadium. Quickly, they were brought back into a hushed silence as the sound of a piano suddenly gave way to a sorrow-filled, melodic voice. Together, the two sounds wove a haunted tune into the night air.

"I did everything I could to get to you,
Without telling you why.
All I needed was your heart
Here, tonight"

Breaking the soft cadence, an eerie sound exploded through the speakers as the lyrical voice took on a frantic tempo in an effort to keep time as other instruments joined in.

"You asked for eternity,
That I'd never leave your side
Now and forever, you wanted a form of guarantee

"I should have walked away
But, I longed to get inside
It's become a burning obsession
To know your every thought, your every desire

"I need to know, to ask a question
Will you be my singer, will you be my muse?
When the blackest night calls me home,
Where the moonbeams kiss the meadow
Alone, will you wait for me?

"You asked for eternity
That I'd never leave your side
Now and forever, you wanted a form of guarantee

"I wish I could hold you, safe in my arms
I wish I could promise to protect you
From the demon inside, but
When I let go and release my cares
Will you be sad when the nightmares don't end
When the nightmares don't end

"I can't promise I will heal you
With my eternal touch
But give me your heart, I can stop all time
Just close your eyes
Let me make you mine
Let me make you mine"

As the last word disappeared into the night, silence permeated the air before the crowd of sweaty bodies erupted into fanatical cheers and applause.

Emboldened by the reaction, the pianist rose from the wooden bench. With a faint kiss to his fingertips, Edward tossed his hand into the air at his fans. Internally delighted as a chorus of sighs slipped through the screams of longing, the pianist turned to the other members of his band whilst a smirk tugged at a full set of lips. Ignoring the eye-rolls he received, Edward sauntered across the stage as the curtains closed to allow the next group time to assemble.

Approaching the entrance, Edward's smirk faded into a soft smile as green eyes recognized the girl waiting at the curtain's edge. She was not much to look at in his opinion; her average height and build contained indistinguishable features, especially with her heart-shaped face and long, auburn locks, which cascaded between her shoulder blades. As a result, she easily blended in with the next fan. Instead, Edward's attraction rested on the simple fact that the girl would do anything for him, without a single thought of hesitation, and had so far shown that she would follow him throughout time.

This assumption was reinforced by the unconditional adoration that poured from chocolate orbs as he was pulled towards her once more.

Catching the girl in his arms once he was close enough, Edward pulled Bella against his lanky and muscular form. With a quick shift of his arms, the pianist slipped one extremity about her lower back whilst tilting her head up with his free hand. Dipping just faintly to compromise for their near eight inch height difference, he kissed her roughly while ignoring the cat calls from the other bands behind the stage.

"Hey, babe, enjoy the performance?" a husky tone inquired as their lips parted.

Left breathless, Bella nodded as she ignored the blush that encompassed her face. "Yes, you were fantastic!" she reassured.

"Yeah, I know," Edward replied in a smug tone as lanky, muscular fingers slipped habitually through short, auburn tresses, causing the messy locks to stand on end even more. "Come on, let's find the others." Re-positioning his arm to drape about Bella's shoulders, the pianist steered the girl through the maze of bodies.

"He was fantastic? Don't you mean we were fantastic, Bella-bear?" a voice pouted as they approached the group, who were putting away their equipment.

Turning about to reply to the voice behind her, the girl in question let out a yelp as she was suddenly pulled away from her boyfriend only to be swallowed by a set of massive arms. Effortlessly caught in a tight embrace by a man the size of a large grizzly, Bella's response came out as a squeal when the hug turned into her being twirled about as if she weighed no more than a wet feather. Clutching onto a pair of broad shoulders, Bella refused to let go until her feet touched the ground once more. Even then, she continued to cling to the immense form as she was overcome by a fit of giggles.

"Don't worry, love. You were amazing," an angelic voice answered in place of Bella's when it was evident that the girl was incapable of responding at the moment.

Glancing up in appreciation, Bella detached herself while nodding in agreement. Averting her eyes as the owner of the voice took her spot, chocolate hues discreetly watched as the blonde woman leaned in and kissed the perpetrator's cheek. Towering over Bella's modest 5'6" height, at nearly 5'11", Bella noted that, despite the heels the model wore, Rosalie still came up short to the drummer's towering 6'5" build. Despite the height difference, the pair complemented each other well. With his boyish face topped with short-cropped, dark curly hair, Emmett's hulky frame provided the right amount of protection for his runway model of a girlfriend, who appeared to be composed of nothing but electric blue eyes and soft, creamy legs that went on for miles.

Breaking her attention from the couple, Bella moved back towards her own significant other. However, her return to Edward's protective embrace was interrupted as the brunette felt another arm drape over her shoulders.

"Do I get a kiss, too, for a job well done?"

Before she could reply, Bella felt herself ripped from the grasp and pulled into Edward's side.

"Not from her, James. Go find one of your groupies to make out with," the pianist growled, green eyes narrowing at the group's guitarist.

"Oh, come now, Eddie-boy. Sharing is caring," James teased, undisturbed by the response he had received. Winking an onyx eye at the blushing brunette, the man made his way past the group to put up his guitar.

Keeping an eye on the retreating form, Bella watched as the man with light brown hair stopped to converse with the group's bass player. Standing at 5'9 with glossy black hair, Laurent stood almost on par to James' faint height difference. Even so, their bodies contrasted considerably. Where Laurent had a slight olive tone to his medium build, James sported a tanned, muscular build acquired from his time spent outdoors hunting.

"Yes, but Edward only shares with me," another voice chimed in, returning the brunette's attention to the conversation taking place around her while effectively stealing her from Edward.

Growling in frustration, Edward pivoted about only to quickly become amused as Bella was enveloped in Alice's embrace. Whereas Bella was of an average height, his younger sister barely topped 5'. Mixed with her energetic and consistent bouncing, ball of sunshine persona, Edward hardly denied the green-eyed fashionista. "Somehow I think everything I own is eventually claimed by you, pixie," Edward teased, pulling both girls into his arms.

Huffing at the nickname, Alice stuck out her tongue while returning the hug. "Of course everything is. I'm too adorable to not share with. Besides, Bella's my best friend, you have to share," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone, nodding as if to further vitalize her point. In the end, the jerky motion merely caused her black, short, spiky hair to bob in the air rather than provide any substantiates to her declaration.

About to cut in that she was not owned, nor did she have to be shared, Bella's protest fell silent as the announcer introduced the next band of the night, Wolfesbane. Excited, Bella excused herself from the argument between brother as the sound of a guitar cued the beginning of the performance. Aside from Alice, the lead singer, Jake, was her best friend. Having grown up together, Bella was ecstatic to see that the group had made it to the competition.

By the time the brunette found her way onto the stage's side lines the song was already in full swing. Unable to process all of the words due to the erratic battle between guitarist and drummer, Bella sang along with the chorus as the lyrics escaped Jake's harsh vocals.

"Come lil' lady, don't be afraid
This big, bad, wolf just wants to play
So grab your toys and grab your gun
We've gotta go, I'm on the run"

Distracted by the performance, Bella failed to register the footfalls coming up from behind until a pair of arms captured her waist. As a set of cold lips simultaneously pressed against the side of her neck, Bella let out a smalls scream. Thankful that she only received a couple of odd glances, Bella visibly relaxed as she realized Edward was her captor. Quickly returning the kiss with a peck to the man's cheek, Bella turned back round. Believing that he had come to watch with her, a slight frown formed as Edward's hands began to wander and his breath took on a lust-filled tone. Clearly he had other thoughts in mind.

"Come on, babe. Let's slip out back while everyone's distracted," he purred into the shell of Bella's ear, causing the girl to turn bright red.

"Edward, we can't. Besides, I really want to see Jake perform."

Growling at the sound of the boy's name, Edward tightened his embrace before turning the girl about. Seeing her hurt expression, Edward bit back his derogatory remarks about the Reservation Boys. Instead, he softened his touch as he lifted a hand to gently cup one cheek while his thumb brushed lightly against the girl's full lips. "You've seen him perform numerous times at his practices, Bella. I just wanted a chance to celebrate with you. You know, just the two of us," Edward explained, offering a crooked smile known to cause the brunette to swoon and cave whenever he wanted something.

About to protest, for she wanted to watch her friends perform on stage, Bella grunted instead as Alice appeared out of nowhere to tackle the quarreling lovers. "Come on, guys! This is the last group and we need to get into position. They're going to make the grand announcements soon!"

Although she was disgruntled at being denied the opportunity to watch her friend's performance, Bella reluctantly conceded to Edward's plea and Alice's reasoning. She had, as Edward pointed out, seen them perform numerous times in practice. Likewise, Bella knew that she would have more chances in the up coming month since the Battle of the Bands had changed up their style this year. Rather than a one night event, the groups would compete against one another over the next month until one group remained. Surely missing one performance would not be the end of the world.

With that thought to ease her conscious, and the fact that should still listen, if not see, Bella followed Alice and Edward to their seats. Settling down with the bubbly pixie, Bella waited as the rest of the Hell-Raisers made their way over. Along with Edward, the pianist and leader of the group, came James the guitarist, Laurent on base, and the drummer, Emmett, with his girlfriend, Rosalie. Glancing around, chocolate orbs looked around for the blonde of the group.

"Alice, where's Jasper?" Bella whispered, leaning in close to the girl.

"Looking for me, darling?" a voice inquired, his amused tone laced in a thick southern drawl.

Tilting her head back to look up at the 6'3", lanky blonde, Bella smiled at Rosalie's brother and Alice's boyfriend. "Hi, Jasper," Bella greeted as the lead singer and backup guitarist settled into Alice's suddenly vacant seat before pulling his girlfriend into his lap.

"Hello, Bella," Jasper greeted. "Did you need something?"

"Oh. No, I was just wondering where you were."

"Ah. I was fetching this," Jasper explained, pulling out a tube filled with cotton candy decorated in a flower design. Passing the sugary substance to Alice, who squealed in delight, Jasper chuckled as he was rewarded with a quick kiss. Shifting his hold, the Texan settled into the chair as Alice turned about. Snuggling into his broad form, Alice prepared herself for the sugar coma to come.

Chuckling at her friend's obvious excitement, Bella shifted in her chair to lean happily against Edward as the announcer made his final appearance.

"Alright ladies and gents! Let's give a big round of applause to each of our contestants out here tonight. A job well done, well done indeed!" The baritone voice called into the mic as he reintroduced each group.

The man's enthusiasm paralleled Alice's as he encouraged the crowd to cheer for their favorite group of the night while reminding them that the results would be based off the crowd's response and the unknown judges' opinions. As each name was called, the groups slowly shuffled into the winning order until the top five bands, who would move on to the next round, were tallied.

"Alrighty! We now have our top five contestants! Let me remind you, each of these groups will move to the next round and have a chance to show us what they're made of. In the end, the top group will not only be selected to go on tour with the delectable Denalis, but they will also be offered a record contract with the world-renowned Volturi Record Company. So without further ado, coming in fifth place we have The Yorkie Newts!"

Surprised, Bella cheered for the group. Old high school friends, Bella was happy that Mike, Eric, Ben, and Tyler had made it to the top. What surprised her even more next was the following group.

"Coming in fourth place The Diva Princesses!"

There were only two girls crazy enough to claim such a title. Sure enough, Bella caught sight of Lauren's platinum blonde hair and Jessica's brown as the girls blew kisses at their admirers. Bella was even more surprised to see them there. She had been pretty diligent about watching each group and could have sworn she would have remembered a performance such as theirs based on how they were dressed. In either case, Bella resigned herself to congratulate them later.

"Coming in third place Victoria Nyte!"

Curious, Bella looked over to see the soloist performer leaning against the fence, arms crossed over her chest. Guessing from the distance, Bella concluded the woman was about her height, but was graced with long, curly, brilliant orange hair that shone like fire even in the lamp light. The woman's pose held that of a seductive, feline grace, which reminded Bella of the woman's performance. The high soprano had contracted with her fierce appearance, but her lethal dance style exposed her agility and poise.

"And in second place we have Wolfesbane!"

Tugged out of her thoughts by the next announcement, Bella let out a loud whistle. Chuckling, she watched as the pack of men began to jump in their seats a little ways off before Jake was tackled by a couple of his friends. The obstreperous cheers slowly dissipated as the announcer cleared his throat.

"And in first place, we have the final group that will be moving forward: Edward and The Hell-Raisers!" the man concluded, causing loud cheers to erupt around Bella as her friends shouted in delight.

Elated, Bella joined the commotion until she was pulled into a rough kiss by Edward. Bella clung to his form until quickly remembering where she was. Collecting herself, Bella broke the kiss and pulled away even as the exhilaration of the announcements continued to pump through her veins. The sudden distance went unnoticed by Edward, much to her relief, as he turned to share his glee with those around them. Happy for the distraction, Bella turned to go congratulate her friends. Spotting Angela over in the distance with her boyfriend, Eric, Bella tried to squeeze between Emmett lifting Jasper into the air, arms crushed to the man's sides.

Before she could make more than a step in the girl's waving direction, Bella was spun back around. "Come on, babe! We're going to celebrate!" Edward exclaimed, unmindful of his girlfriend's intentions. Catching her hand with his, Bella was half dragged, half led out of the stadium with the rest of the band.

Sighing, Bella decided she could congratulate everyone in the morning, or perhaps afternoon. Something told her she was going to have a long night, and she still had class to look forward to in the morning.