Self Promotion (Jade)

[Gabriel James]

It was a particularly sunny day in Pilot Ridge and Gabe wasn't going to let it get away from him. He had been in such a good mood since getting a real person job, that all he wanted to do at any point in time was sing. And today, he was going to do just that.

Gabriel dressed himself in darkwash jeans, an old pair of converse, and a pink and purple plaid shirt that matched his favorite pink sunglasses. Most guys wouldn't dare wear the shade that Gabe had picked out, but Gabriel James was confident in his fashion choices.

Once dressed, Gabriel threw his guitar over his shoulder - still in the case - and drug his amp and other equipment out of his closet. It was kind of a pain in the ass to drag the heavy equipment out of his apartment, but today Gabriel was in too good of a mood to be lazy. Just before he lef his apartment, Gabe grabbed the flyers he had made up, as well as stuffed a few business cards in his pocket - because you never know.

Gabe made his way downtown and set himself up in between some of the shops. He left his guitar case open in front of him for any potential tips (just because he had a job now didn't mean he was going to turn down some extra tax-free spending cash). He also stood up the flyers that read MUSIC LESSONS in big bold letters, and all of Gabe's information underneath. He tossed a couple buiness cards in as well before he stepped behind the mic he had set up. He quickly tuned his guitar before beginning a set that he was making up as he went along.

It wasn't too long before Gabe had drawn himself a little crowd. He was really getting into it, when he started singing Since U Been Gone - a Kelly Clarkson song that was always a crowd pleaser. The small crowd applauded when Gabe finished the song - some dispersing to finish their shopping. "Thank you..." Gabe said humbly while starting another song. "I'm Gabriel James. I'm kinda new in town. Wanted to kinda... self promote myself here. Which is kinda lame I know," Gabe said with a laugh over the strumming of his guitar. "But anyway... I give lessons and play gigs. Information's in the guitar case. Thanks for listening up! You guys are awesome." Gabe kind of felt like he was begging (more so that usual), but a man had to make money somehow.

[Jade Parrish]

Jade often walked around downtown and right now she was wandering aimlessly, but the sound of music was enough to pull her attention in towards a musician playing on the sidewalk with an open guitar case in front of him. A slight crowd had gathered around the curly haired guy as he sang his own rendition of a Kelly Clarkson song-- personally, Jade wasn't a huge fan of her but it just wasn't her in her taste.

As the crowd dispersed, the way cleared to the guy. She hadn't been able to see him so well because of her unfortunate height and even with her heeled combat boots, it wasn't enough to see over that many people. Some tossed change into his guitar case.

She moved closer reaching down into the guitar case to grab a flyer, examining it. So, she might have only sang in her free time, and somewhat knew the guitar, but maybe she could use some lessons. What the hell, right? "Hey," she said to him. So maybe he had a bit too much pink on, but hey, the guy was obviously comfortable enough to do that and that made him cool in Jade's book. "Self promoting yourself...risky...I like it." She smirked at him.

[Gabriel James]

Gabriel flicked off his mic as people approached his guitar case to take flyers or drop in some spare change. He continued to pluck a few quiet tunes as they walked by as he rocked back and forth on his feet. He thanked every person who took a flyer or dropped some change - the manners his parents had taught him had stuck, even after his years away from them. Most of the audience just scattered, not as interested in Gabe's seemingly random plucking and strumming.

One girl though, a petite girl with jet black hair and strikingly blue eyes, stopped and commented on Gabriel's advertising method. "Gotta pay the rent somehow," Gabriel said with a charming smile. "I like to live on the edge, ya know?" he added with a little smirk grin - knowing that there really wasn't anything risky at all about what he was doing. He played a little softer as he talked to the girl, stopping only for a second to extend his hand and introduce himself, "Gabriel James."

[Jade Parrish]

The guy had a nice smile and Jade was guessing he was a few years older than her. She nodded back at him. "I understand that problem," she agreed, which she did, all too well. Right now she was trying to find another roommate after hers moved out just to help afford the rent. "But it's crafty. It takes a lot of guts to go out on a street corner and play your heart out--hoping people will listen and not just walk by--but I guess they can't pass up talent, huh?" She shrugged and then extended her hand as well, clasping his in her own, worn black nail polish and all. "Jade Parrish."

[Gabriel James]

Gabe shrugged when Jade offered that people can't pass up talent. "I suppose," he said, moving his hand back to the strings of his guitar. "Either that or people just like seeing a curly haired freak make a fool of himself on the city street." Gabriel laughed at himself. He never really knew how to take people. He could barely take himself seriously let alone everybody else.

"Well its a pleasure to meet you, Jade," Gabriel said politely. He took note of the flyer that was still in her hand. Some people picked them up, and put it right back down when they realized they had no intention to get lessons. Usually it was parents with small kids who took the flyers - wanting a creative outlet for their kids, as well as something to throw on a college application. He didn't comment on it yet though, because Gabriel hated being pushy. "I'd say it takes a lot of guts to come up and talk to the music freak too," he joked, noting that people were still kind of staring in his direction, and now Jade's as well.

"So. Jade Parrish," Gabe mused, using the girls full name because he liked the flow of it, "What has influenced you to stop and talk to a lowly street performer like myself on this fine day?" He sang the question like it was a song, still strumming along to nothing in particular, wondering if he was coming off as obnoxious. Upon that thought he finally stopped, and turned his guitar around to hang on his back so he could properly talk to the girl in front of him.

[Jade Parrish]

He called himself a freak, which made Jade crack a smile. "I like you," she declared. She was always one to let people know if she disliked or liked them, except not usually so to the point. "As a fellow freak, it's nice to meet you as well." Really, Jade talked to mostly anybody. It was how they responded that decided what happened next.

"And I was going to ask you about this," she said, turning the flier to face him. "Lessons, huh? Well, I sing. I've been doing so since I was a kid, but I'd like to learn how to play an instrument as well to accompany myself. I'm not such a people pleaser so I don't know if I should rely on someone else." It was only half a joke.

[Gabriel James]

"I like you too," Gabriel said with a smile, "Then again I like most people so... I'm easy to please." He stuck his guitar pick in between the plastic of his sunglasses and the side of his face so he wouldn't loose it, because Gabriel liked to talk with his hands and he was almost sure he'd end up tossing the small piece of plastic and not be able to find it.

Gabriel smiled brighter when Jade said she was interested in the lessons. He hadn't gotten a ton of students yet, and Jade would be his first adult student. Most of the kids he taught were between 7 and 12. "Awesome, man," Gabe said with a nod. "My schedule right now is like... wide open. So I'd totally give you a trial lesson or something. Then if you decide you don't need me you can kick me back onto the street where I belong." Gabe leaned on his mic stand as he talked, rocking back and forth on his toes. It was like he always had music pulsing through him and just couldn't stand still. "What were you thinking? Guitar? Piano?" Gabe asked curiously, "I would have pegged you for a tuba girl but I don't think you can sing and play a tuba. Nor do I have a tuba. Nor do I really know how to play it."

[Jade Parrish]

"Unlike you, I'm not so sure I'm entirely easy to please, so it's a good thing you're not getting on my nerves," Jade told him honestly, offering a grin. He seemed like a goofy character, perhaps a good influence. Jade wasn't sure what to really think of him yet, other than the fact that his smile was charming and that she really needed someone's help. "I'm free in between classes and stuff. They just started up again, but I'm sure I can make some time for a lowly street performer such as yourself." After all, outcasts had to stick together.

She was about to tell him what instrument she was thinking when he'd launched into his own opinion and the facial expression she gave him was a wry one. "Tell me you're not serious," she said with a shake of her head. "If you think I'd want to play a tuba, you've got me all wrong and if you're being sarcastic, you really suck at it and maybe I should give you some lessons in the art." She smirked. "But actually--the piano. Ever heard of Amy Lee? The Goddess of Evanescence? That's kickass and her music chills you to the bone. I want to be like that." She dabbled in the guitar and had mostly picked it up on her own, but for some reason, the piano wasn't something that she'd managed so she decided to get help.

[Gabriel James]

Gabriel rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as Jade made fun of his failed attempt at sarcasm. "Maybe I could use a few lessons of my own. Nah, it was a joke," Gabe promised - knowing full well there was only the rare soul that attempted to play the tuba yet alone yearned to actually preform in front of people on one. Of course, Gabriel was strange and there really wasn't an instrument he didn't want to try.

"Dude," Gabe said after Jade went on about her inspiration, "Amy Lee is seriously one of my favorite female vocalists of this age." Gabriel wasn't great at replicating the genre of Evanescence in his own songwriting, but he loved their work. Amy Lee's voice was incredible and any musician would be stupid to think otherwise. "Give me some time and we can have you rocking just as hard as Amy Lee," Gabe said with a smiled. "And by just as hard as Amy Lee I mean like... probably only half as hard because I don't think I could be that great of a teacher..." Gabe didn't make promises he couldn't keep. Low expectations means your always pleasantly surprised. "When do you wanna start?" Gabe asked, since classes at Hammel still didn't start yet. "I'm all yours."

[Jade Parrish]

"Good. I'm glad that you're not that bad at sarcasm. Now that would be unfortunate," Jade pointed out before grinning at him. "No fucking way." She didn't seem like his kind of influence or style, but the fact that he could appreciate talent when he saw it immediately caught Jade's attention. "She's phenomenal and drop dead gorgeous." Jade would kill to sit across from her at a table even. She wasn't a typical fan girl, but Amy Lee really did it for her.

"You really like to insult yourself don't you?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head and a chuckle. "I'm sure I'd be honored to rock even half as hard as her. It's pretty impossible to measure up." Which was true. Nobody could master that elegance, taste and chilling vocals. "Any time is fine with me. I bought a keyboard--kind of an impulse buy--but it's not a classic piano, you know? I don't know if you have a place to give lessons yet or what...but we could use my keyboard." He seemed new in Pilot Ridge...at least that's what she was assuming. That's why he was advertising himself right? "Besides, you still haven't heard me sing."

[Gabriel James]

"I just like to keep a level head," Gabriel said to Jade when she suggested he hated himself. She may have not exactly been far off, but Gabriel didn't like to use the word hate. He just didn't like to think of himself as anything spectacular. Nobody ever looked at him like he was. Not even his parents. Therefore, Gabe kind of knew he wasn't that special, and just accepted it. There wasn't anything wrong with that.

"A keyboard will work until I get my piano," Gabriel said with a small nod. "I mean... my apartment is kind of small now but once I start making a regular paycheck I'll be able to upgrade I hope. Then I can move in my old upright I have in storage. But if you can play a keyboard you can play a piano." Gabe had a keyboard, but his apartment was really even too small to keep it set up all the time. The fact that Jade had one was a bit of a relief.

"You told me you've been singing for years," Gabe pointed out. "I trust in your ability." He had worked with some of the worst singers he's ever heard. Surely Jade had to be better than most of the 3rd graders he gave lessons to as well. "Either way, I'd love to hear you give it a shot," he jokingly pushed the microphone toward her, just to see how she reacted.

[Jade Parrish]

"A good idea. At least you're not a cocky asshole. Because there are enough of those in the music business," Jade told him honestly. He just seemed like a dorky guy with a passion for music. He was slightly amusing. "Yeah, I figured you were new in Pilot Ridge...your way of promoting yourself screamed newbie. And...I said I bought the keyboard, not that I really played it much yet." Which was true. She'd tried and gotten frustrated--something that happened easily with Jade. "Anyway, you can do the first few lessons at my place." She only hoped that Noa and Vera wouldn't pounce on the poor guy.

"Yeah, I'd like to think that I'm not to shabby," she pointed out. Well, she'd actually done quite well. Despite how annoying she found extra-curriculars, she'd been in choir all through high school at Hammel and enjoyed it. She'd even managed to snag a few solos and she was pretty damn proud of that.

When he pushed the microphone towards her, she merely grinned at him. "My taste in music is a bit different, but you better know this one," she told him. She'd majorly judge him if he didn't.

She went right into it, slightly shocking herself. She was singing her own cover of a song she'd known by heart since she was younger, I'm With You by Avril Lavigne.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe smiled when Jade took the mic like it was nothing. He flicked his amp back on, and adjusted the volume when she started singing. He recognized the song right away. Her taste in music was excellent, even if was a little different than Gabe's usual repertoire. Gabe flipped his guitar so it was back in front of him, and played along behind Jade, letting her take the spotlight, but not hesitating to throw in some background vocals. It took him a measure or two to catch up since Jade hadn't even skipped a beat when Gabriel offered her the chance to show her stuff.

Once again a small group of people stopped to watch on as Jade sang and Gabe played his guitar. When the song finished, there was some light applause, but the most applause probably came from Gabe himself. "Not bad, kid," he said with a smile. "Gotta love some old school Avril Lavigne." He tucked his guitar behind him again. She was good - better than Gabe may have guessed. At the very least she had the confidence to fake her way through a song if need be. "I dig your confidence. If I told anybody else here to sing they'd probably run away or cry or both."

[Jade Parrish]

As Jade launched into the song, her lips stretched into a smile when Gabe joined in with his guitar. She was pleased that he did know the song and she didn't have to be completely disappointed in his taste. She sang her heart out, as she never did anything less, her pale hands wrapped around the microphone. When she finished, she looked over at Gabe, raising an eyebrow and waiting for his opinion. He was clapping wildly.

"Thank you," she said into the microphone before turning to face Gabe again. "Of course. Her music isn't my favorite anymore, her old stuff is a lot better. I've been singing that in the shower for years." Most of the music she liked was unheard of and indie, but she did listen to some stuff that other people knew. She shrugged at his compliment. "Well, you passed me the microphone as if you were daring me to sing, so why not?" She was never one to really back down from a challenge.

[Gabriel James]

"Doesn't matter if you like the song or not, you killed it," Gabriel told Jade with a smile. He liked that she took his dare without a second look. He liked even more that she did it with a smirk. "Seriously though. Good stuff. I'd love to work with you some more. Teach you some stuff... if you're still interested."

Gabe reached over to turn his equipment off again, even though he had turned the volume down. He was just pretty sure he was done for now, especially with some dark looking clouds rolling it. "I'll tell you though, singing is a lot more difficult if you try playing an instrument at the same time, so don't get frustrated if you feel like I set you a few paces backward," Gabe added with a chuckle, just as a small disclaimer. He bent down and collected a few tips he received from the guitar case before pulling the instrument off his back and putting it away. Stuffing the cash and change in his pockets he turned back toward Jade. "So if you're free... how about this Sunday?" Gabe offered, knowing he had plans to play the Churchkey on Saturday night. "And if you decide that I suck as a teacher you can kick me and my pride out on the curb and forget I ever offered you my services." Gabe smiled, picking up his guitar case, and leaning on the top while he waited for Jade's response.