Johnny joined me to record the vocals. No need for a break. Iwas so dialed into the song, the memories, and the motivations behind us writing it, that I just wanted to get it down. Johnny was of the same mindset, which always made it easy to just slip into the zone with him. We sang it like we intended to perform it, with every ounce of passion and raw energy, even if there wasn’t any jumping around.
We knew when we nailed it. We never needed anyone to tell us that, hugged, and headed straight for the lounge and a cold bottle of water.
“Ready for the next song?” I asked Kit, who was already on his way in.
“Now that I’ve gotten a taste for what it’s like, hell yeah,” he replied, looking far more confident now.
I was glad he’d gotten over his initial hesitation. His playing was brilliant, with quirky little flourishes that never failed to excite the crowd.
“You can pick your tongue up off the ground now,” Johnny said.
“Huh?”
“You’re still staring at the door Kit walked through like, a minute ago,” Johnny pointed out.
“Mind your business,” I grumbled and finally went and got that drink.
Of course he followed. It was Johnny.
“Don’t start,” I muttered as I pressed the cool bottle to my forehead before uncapping it.
“Total change of topic,” Johnny said.
“Thank you.”
“We have officially been challenged to take part in a bubble cannon war at Rocktoberfest this year,” Johnny announced.
“By whom?" I asked.
“Well, remember last year when me and Jagger were running around trying to drown one another in bubbles?” Johnny asked.
“And anyone who had the misfortune of being anywhere near you,” I replied. “Yeah, I remember that.”
“Well, we accidentally blasted Winter, who took it uponhimself to put a team together to challenge us at Rocktoberfest.”
“Who does he have on his side?”
“See, that’s where things get interesting,” Johnny said. “Winter posted about it on social media, and other people we blasted got wind of it and decided to put teams together too. It’s up to eight teams now, from almost twenty different bands, twenty-two if we accept the challenge.”
“And if we don’t?” I asked, because I knew Winter, and he wasn’t one to leave anything to chance.
“Open season.”
“So basically, we’re in for a bubble cannon war whether we want one or not,” Dash groaned as we joined him on the couch. “How do you always get us into these things?"
“How was I supposed to know Winter would take it so far?” Johnny squeaked.
“Because it’s Winter!" I said, throwing up my hands. “Whether you meant to blast him or not, you had to know he’d find a way to get you back.”
“And drag the rest of us into your chaos,” Dash said, rubbing his hands together. “Guess we’d better start shopping for the biggest bubble cannons we can find.”
“Uh-huh, admit it, you’re happy to be hauled into the fray,” Johnny said.
“Hell yeah! In that heat, the only thing better than a bubble cannon war would have been super soakers,” Dash said.
“And no one is going to waste precious water on that,” I pointed out before one of them got it in their heads to suggest it.
“Talk about the perfect sendoff for Ozzy,” Dash mused. “Knowing him, he’ll find a way to strap a spare cannon on his back just so he doesn’t have to waste as much time with refills.”