An Unlikely Team-Up

It wasn't going to be a big gig by any means and even though MJ was annoyed they weren't allowed to play any of their own stuff, the rest of them were happy for the chance to play for a sizable crowd. Even if that crowd was a bunch of little kids and their parents. Though Gwen was sure most weren't going to really pay them any steady attention with the game, food, and prize stands all around. She was actually pretty relieved about that. Gwen actually felt a little embarrassed that she'd gotten her bandmates into this. She should have insisted her dad tell her more about the "police thing" he wanted her and her band to play at when he asked if she thought they'd like to.

Gwen had her head propped on the heel of her hand while she watched her bandmates tune their instruments and fiddle with their microphones. Abruptly, her attention was drawn away by her spidey-sense informing her of an incoming projectile. Turning, she was able to catch Miles as he flung himself at her just in time. She threw him up in the air a moment before setting him down on her knee. "Hey, Miles," she said. "Are you excited for the fair?"

"Yeah!" he enthused as he reached for one of her sticks. Picking it up, he looked at her with big, brown eyes and asked, "Can I play with your drums for a little bit?"

Gwen looked around the slowly growing swells of people. "Where's your mom? Or did your dad bring you?"

Miles looked away from her drums and scanned the crowd with narrowed eyes. Finally, he pointed off to the right where hidden by an awning of a food truck, you could just barely make out Rio and… Aaron? What was he doing here? A police outreach program didn't seem to really be the kind of thing he'd be into even as a civilian. "Mom's buying us water!" he told her.

Gwen sighed and decided to get them to their feet. "I bet you didn't tell your mom or uncle you were coming over here, did you?"

He pouted. "No…"

She grabbed his hand. "Let's get you back to them before they start to worry."

"Chill, Gwen!" MJ called, twisting around to look at the two of them. "I'll just announce he's over here and then you can let the cutie rock out on your drums for a couple of minutes," she said, winking at Miles, who grinned back, overjoyed he wouldn't have to go back to his mom just yet.

Gwen, however, wanted to sink down to the floor behind her drums. This just felt kind of embarrassing. She didn't want Rio and Aaron coming up to the stage to see her behind her drums or even really pay her to much attention. It was one thing playing for what was essentially all strangers versus people she liked (well, maybe that was too strong a word for Aaron, but… She definitely didn't dislike him).

"Attention! Attention Mrs.— Um, Miles's Mom! He's over here on the stage with the band!"

Rio stepped out from beneath the food truck's awning and put her hand above her eyes as she looked straight over at the stage. Upon spotting them, she let her hand fall to her hip and gave a shake of her head before apparently saying something to Aaron, because he was suddenly laughing after just staring at them all with his arms crossed. A moment later, Aaron had a hand on Rio's shoulder and the two of them began to quickly make their way over to Gwen, her bandmates, and Miles.

"They heard," Miles said, "so can I play now?"

Gwen sighed and handed over her remaining stick. "Jam away, kid," she replied.

Miles wasted no time and immediately began to wail on the drums, creating a cringe-inducing cacophony as he tried out all of the different drums. Unable to take any more noise after only a minute, Gwen grabbed his hands and suggested, "How about I show you how to do the beat to 'Another One Bites the Dust'? You know that song, right?"

"Yeah!"

Relieved, Gwen took one of the sticks and said, "You can play the snare while I do the rest, how's that?"

"Okay!" Miles agreed.

As Gwen took him through the steps and played it with him, Rio and Aaron reached the stage where they were then intercepted by her bandmates who made conversation with them as she wrapped up her impromptu lesson. When done, she lifted Miles off her lap and gave him a little poke in the back with one of her sticks to prompt him to head toward his mom.

"Mijo!" she exclaimed, opening her arms to her son and catching him as he hopped off the stage.

Stoked from his little music lesson, the kid said, "Mom! Mom! Did you see me? I played the beat to 'Another One Bites the Dust!'"

Rio placed a big kiss on her son's cheek. "I saw and you did such a good job, Miles!"

Gwen chuckled before she jumped off the stage to join the trio. "Is Mr. Davis going to be here later?" she asked them.

Rio shook her head. "No, he had to work today, but he told Miles you would be playing and well…"

"I wanted to see you play in your band," Miles finished, grinning.

Gwen ruffled the kid's hair. "Aw, thanks. It'll be great to have a fan in the crowd." Of course, that was a lie. But Miles didn't need to know that. He was just trying to be nice she knew and really, he wasn't the one who was going to make her nervous as she played. That honor went to Aaron.

Miles puffed out his chest and Gwen giggled into her hand, only to catch the gaze of Aaron, who smirked at her. "Is this your girls first gig?" he asked.

"No," Mj answered for both of them. "But this is our biggest yet!"

He whistled and stuck his hands in his pockets as he looked around. "Yeah? Good for you, ladies."

Gwen rolled her eyes as MJ and the rest flushed with pleasure and began to whisper amongst themselves. She wasn't even surprised they were so affected by a little compliment from Aaron. Miles obviously got his charm somewhere and as nice as Officer Davis was, it wasn't him. He was way too dad to get a bunch of teenage girls gossiping and crushing. "I'm surprised you're here," she said, "a police outreach event doesn't really seem your… style."

Aaron narrowed his eyes for all of a second before he grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? I'm not gonna pass up an invite from my little nephew," he replied as he reached down to ruffle Mile's hair, who now stood between him and Rio.

She nodded. She kind of wanted to needle him a little more about being out of place at a place like this, but that'd be mean and weird and put her at risk of revealing all her cards before she was ready. "Miles is persuasive," she agreed, smiling.

Aaron looked like he was going to say more when one of the event-planners walked up and started to wave his arms at Gwen and the rest of her band. "Hurry, hurry!" he exclaimed. "Finish warming up, you guys are supposed to be playing for real in ten minutes!"

MJ and the other girls gave small shrieks and cries of dismay before scrambling back up on the stage and to their instruments. Gwen, though, reached down to hug Miles and told him, "Our first break is in a couple of hours. Do you want to meet at the face paint station then and get matching spiders on our cheeks?" she asked.

The boy gave an excited whoop. "Oh yeah!" Looking up at Rio, he begged, "We can stay that long and do that can't we, Mom?"

She smiled down at her son. "Of course, papá."

"It'd be my treat, by the way," she decided to add as she got back to her feet and brushed off her knees. "You gotta show love to your fans who support you, you know?"

Rio grinned. "That's very kind of you, Gwen, but I can pay for Miles. I know you kids aren't getting paid to be here."

"Really, Mrs. Morales—"

"—Naw, how about I pay for it? To thank you both. You, for inviting me, Rio, and you for playing for us, Gwen?" Aaron broke in, voice firm in its decision and, really, leaving no room for argument.

"Thanks, Mr. Davis," she replied as Rio echoed a similar sentiment

Aaron clicked his tongue and said, "It's Aaron, girl. And it ain't nothing to thank me for."

She was going to express her gratitude again, but MJ yelled into her mic, "Gwen! Get up here! We're going to start any minute!"

Gwen cringed at the chastisement. With quiet exhale, she waved at the Morales and Aaron before clambering up the stage and getting back behind her drums. From her position on the stage, she smiled when she saw Miles wave one last time at her before he took Rio's hand and let himself be led over to some game nearby as she turned her attention to her bandmates, looking for the cues she needed to know when to start.

Well, this will be the series's first foray into a multi-chap. Not a long one, mind, but still. How'd you like the first chapter?

Thanks for reading :)