Work Text:
The Spicy Six is the next big band in the name of alt-rock, those in the music sphere are saying. The band had existed for nearly three years, creating a few songs at a slow pace, basically when they just happened to be done. It wasn’t until a year ago that they started picking up traction in obscure rock circles. And from there, a few viral songs later, they have the potential to become one of the most popular bands in the country.
There are six members of the band, all of whom have their own niches and talents that gel with each other. Nancy Wheeler is the main signer with backup singer Robin Buckley, who knows her way around a bass guitar if needed. Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson are the rhythm and lead guitarists, respectively. Argyle, who no one knows the last name of, is something of a jack of all trades, able to play bass and keyboard, and even has a talent for rap. The last member of the band is Billy Hargrove, the drummer.
All members, except for Billy, knew each other in high school, mostly starting the band for fun. It started with Steve and Robin performing duets in one of the living rooms for fun, which interested Eddie. Nancy was an observer until she was caught singing along in a near-angelic voice and was dragged in too. No one is sure how Argyle heard about their ‘band,’ but he just came up to them one day, listed his skills, and asked if he could join.
Billy came about later when the group started getting serious about releasing a song. They needed a drummer, which none of them were, and they posted an ad to which Billy was the only one to respond.
After the band started to take off a little, it brought in enough money for the group to quit their jobs and focus on it entirely. And now, after months of planning, the group will go on their very first tour. Of course, they advertised the hell out of it, but they still didn’t expect the call they got about a month before the tour was set to begin.
Rolling Stone magazine themselves are very interested in their success, especially getting a piece of it. So they made an offer. They will send a reporter to go with the band, getting exclusive interviews and pictures that the magazine will use. The band will get a cut of sales, which would be high for such exclusive content. The band said they’d get back to them with their choice to go through with it.
The band was split. That deal has the potential to bring in a shitload of money and exposure, which the band could definitely use. But it would require this stranger to be with them at all times, being more like a seventh member than another staff member. And there’s the distinct possibility they would release some pretty sensitive information. Billy, in particular, was against it, citing that they don’t need anyone poking around in their business.
But the band ended up saying yes with the concession that they get to review whatever is sent back. The magazine said yes, and that was that, and they started to prepare for their unknown 7th member.
~~~
A few days before the band’s first show in Maine, they are contacted by Rolling Stone. They have their reporter ready to be picked up, being flown into Maine from New York. They get the information about what flight they’ll be on and when it should be there. The magazine apparently feels no need to tell them anything about the person they’ll be picking up other than what gate they’ll exit.
Argyle volunteers to get them, and Steve is voluntold to go with him, mainly to ensure he doesn’t crash and kill this reporter. But Steve had kept his comments to himself.
Steve is not looking forward to their guest. He gets the need for money and such, which is why he didn’t fight it, but he would rather not have someone throwing a wrench in their grove. It can already be hard for the band to find a flow and work well together, and a stranger breathing down their next isn’t exactly going to help things. But he’ll learn to live with it. He definitely isn’t as livid about it as Billy is, that’s for sure.
Argyle swings into the right spot, promptly getting out and sitting on the hood of the van, his own personal van, as they didn’t exactly feel like taking the tour bus. Steve wanders beside him, leaning against the vehicle and checking his watch.
After about a 10-minute wait, a small swell of people exit the gate. Some go straight to waiting cars or cabs, and others walk towards the rental car areas. Only a few are left standing there, waiting for transportation.
Steve scans the crowd, a few meeting his eyes and looking away when they realize he’s not waiting for them. But then his eyes stop at a young man hovering near the edge of the people. He’s looking down at a folder in his hands, a suitcase next to him, and a bag slung over his shoulder. Steve’s been to enough interviews to recognize a camera bag when he sees one.
Steve nudges Argyle, who looks in that direction at the same time the young man looks up, meeting their gaze. The man perks up, closing the folder and making their way to them.
“Hello, my name is Jonathan Byers, and I’m with Rolling Stone. I believe you are expecting me?” the young man introduces himself politely.
“Right you are, my dude,” Argyle says, pushing himself off the hood of his van and walking over to Jonathan. Steve isn’t surprised at all when Argyle hugs the other man, who freezes, eyes wide. “I’m Argyle! It’s awesome that you’re tagging along, man.”
“Uh, y-yeah,” Jonathan stutters, that professionalism thrown by the oddness that is Argyle. Steve just watches with amusement.
“Steve Harrington, at your service,” Steve finally jumps in, saving Jonathan from his odd friend.
As far as first impressions go, Steve is pleasantly surprised. Granted, his expectations were pretty damn low, but he is glad to have someone around their age, and Jonathan seems polite and quiet. If nothing else, he won’t cause that much of a disruption.
For the drive back to the band, Argyle dominates the conversation, rambling about anything and launching several questions at their new reporter. Jonathan makes an admirable effort to keep up with him, but that’s a difficult challenge for those who know Argyle. But it makes the trip quick, thankfully, quickly reaching the bus, which is nearly ready to go, the rest of the band waiting for them.
“Here we are, mi amigo! Welcome to the fam!” Argyle says grandly as he hops out, Jonathan following behind him with shaky legs and a slightly pale face. There’s a reason that, at no point, is Argyle allowed to drive the bus.
“Thank you…” Jonathan mumbles, and Steve smirks, patting him on the shoulder. But he’s soon shoved out of the way by Eddie.
“Eddie Munson. Lead guitarist. Best looking one on the band,” Eddie says rapidly, grabbing Jonathan’s hand roughly.
“Jonathan Byers,” the reporter manages. Eyes wide and shell-shocked.
“Between you and me. My best side is my right, I think, so if you could focus there…” Eddie says, trailing off with a smirk.
“Fuck off, Munson,” Billy growls, standing a few feet away.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jonathan Byers,” Jonathan starts, holding out a tentative hand, but Billy just scoffs.
“Billy Hargrove. Stay away from my things.” With a frown, Billy promptly turns, walking away. Jonathan just blinks after him.
“Don’t worry,” Steve says, “He’s always a bit of an asshole. Just… keep your distance, and you’ll be fine.”
“He says that because Billy almost beat his ass last week,” Eddie helpfully adds.
“Eddie!” An unknown voice calls, “Don’t tell the reporter that!” Robin and Nancy approach together, Nancy glaring at the guitarist.
“Don’t worry. It is in my contract that I will let you all look over what I send out before I send it,” Jonathan quickly says, raising his hands.
“Good,” Nancy says, “Nancy Wheeler.”
“Jonathan Byers.”
“Robin Buckley!” Robin helpfully adds, which Nancy rolls her eyes at, but there’s a grin tugging at her lips.
“Alright, now that introductions are over, I’m going to show Jonny-boy around,” Steve volunteers with an award-winning smile.
“You’re just doing that to avoid helping move stuff,” Robin dryly points out, but Steve is already walking away, grabbing the photographer’s shoulder.
“Can’t hear you!” Steve shouts back, already disappearing.
The tour is relatively quick and straightforward. It mainly consists of showing Jonathan the bus, one of two. They were going to see if they could get away with one, but with 6, now 7, people, even doubling up on beds would be a tight squeeze that no one would want, and two smaller buses are cheaper than upgrading to one large one. There will be Steve, Eddie, and Billy in the first, and in the second, there will be Argyle, Robin, and Nancy. Both have an extra bed, so Jonathan is able to pick which he’d rather be on.
After a bit of deliberation, Jonathan decides to go back and forth to get a better perspective on the whole band and see how the band members operate. He’ll change after every show, starting on the bus with Argyle and the girls. Steve did his best not to be offended by that.
Jonathan also took the time to whip out his camera, explaining that, while he did both, he was much more of a photographer than a writer. Often on assignments, he’ll take the pictures and give enough info and quotes to someone else to actually write it if he can. The first pictures of what will be the Spicy Six tour consist of the layout of the, as of now, pristine bus and Steve. But Steve also convinces him to take a picture of the two of them together.
“They don’t want to see me,” Jonathan says softly when Steve asks. “I’m just the guy who takes the pictures.”
“Oh, come on,” Steve says, “Don’t they also want to see us be people? And I want pictures with the guy who’s gonna be on our trip with us.”
“Alright,” Jonathan agrees with a shrug. “I doubt they’ll use them, but it can’t hurt anything.” He promptly turns around with Steve throwing an arm over him, and Jonathan has to really try to keep a casual face as he presses the button.
Jonathan then scampers off to capture pictures of the rest of the band with Steve watching. He even offers to help load things, a camera dangling around his neck, which would basically become part of his person, with Jonathan seeming naked without it.
Day one with a random reporter is a success.
~~~
Jonathan would set up a routine, basically writing journal entries about the band and what he’s seen, uploading the photos from his camera onto his computer. And after every few weeks or after a show, he would show it before he submitted anything. But the band rarely had to change anything, and if they did, it tended to be minor details like wording and how specific something was.
After the first show in Maine, they head down to Boston, Massachusetts, barely a three-hour drive. Later in the show, the distances will get longer, but they’re pretty short when they’re on the coast. The show itself went well, with no significant problems or anything, with Jonathan sending off the first part of his work.
There are some hiccups, of course. Billy’s been touchy and brought up several issues with Jonathan’s work, especially the pictures, saying they’re too private, even when everyone else disagrees. Jonathan accommodated Billy to an extent, removing some of the photos but not deleting them.
Otherwise, the reporter is mending well with the band, and the magazine is more than happy with his work. It wasn’t even a week before Robin and Nancy somehow roped Jonathan in on their movie nights, watching romance movies most of the others wouldn’t dare to. Argyle has also been dragging Jonathan around wherever he goes, talking about everything and nothing, but the reporter isn’t annoyed or anything, listening with a grin.
Steve isn’t going to lie and say he’s not looking forward to having Jonathan stay on his bus. He’s curious about the guy and could use someone who isn’t as loud as Eddie and Billy. So he’s right there to help Jonathan load up as they’re getting ready to leave Boston.
Like with the girls and Argyle, Jonathan integrates quickly, often watching as they practice, snapping pictures, or shooting videos. Billy continues to have issues, only allowing the documentation in the middle of practice. But Jonathan finally starts to understand why, every night, liquor bottles appear out of thin air and always disappear less full than they were,
But it’s one night when Steve and Eddie are practicing together with Jonathan as their audience of one that Steve becomes curious. At some point, he notices Jonathan tapping along on the ground in front of him. And he’s not just tapping the beat but the whole drum rhythm, even mimicking hitting different drums in different spots perfectly in time. Steve watches him for an entire song, never noticing him faltering.
“Hey, Jonathan, do you play?” Steve asks, and Jonathan shakes his head.
“Not a guitar, no. But I sometimes play the drums in my free time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I don’t do it as much now, but I wasn’t bad,” Jonathan says with a smile.
“Well, reporter of hidden talents,” Eddie pipes up, glancing at the empty drum set. The girls and Argyle had gone to explore town, and Billy disappeared sometime earlier to who knows where. “Wanna help out?”
“Oh, I couldn’t,” Jonathan immediately says.
“Just for a song or two? You seem to know the music,” Steve adds, liking the idea. Jonathan considers for a moment.
“Alright, just one.”
Jonathan carefully gets behind the set, observing for a moment before grabbing the drumsticks and getting a feel for them. Everything is set for Billy’s comfort, so it’s a little awkward, but he doesn’t dare touch anything else.
“If it isn’t good, I warned you,” Jonathan says before Eddie starts them off.
It’s one of their slower and easier songs, and Steve half expected Jonathan to fumble out of the gate. But he didn’t. He kept up, and while he’s not as good as Billy, he’s more than passable, especially for a first try.
While Eddie focuses on his guitar, Steve doesn’t even hide how he’s staring at Jonathan. The reporter goes from pure concentration to relaxing and letting the music guide him throughout the song, wincing whenever he misses or mistimes a beat but always recovering quickly.
“Well, shit, Jonny,” Eddie says as the song fades out, “You’re actually pretty damn good. With a bit of practice, you could give Sunshine there a run for his money.” Jonathan blushes, waving it off.
“I’ve been doing it since I was young,” Jonathan explains, “I’ve always loved music so much, and I thought for a while that I was going to be a musician. But then I realized I loved photography, and then I decided to do that while also continuing my love of music.” Jonathan shrugs, “That probably sounds stupid, I know.”
“It’s not stupid,” Steve says, stepping close, “I mean, why do you think we’re here? We loved music so much that we committed to it.”
“Hargrove’s here for the check,” Eddie buts in, and Steve pauses before nodding.
“You just committed to your passion like we did,” Steve continues, “And you basically got the best gig you could get to get the best of both worlds.” Jonathan blinks at him, cheeks cutely pink.
“Sometimes, though, I think about what if I had joined a band,” Jonathan says thoughtfully, gazing into the distance, “If I’d joined a band and did photography on the side instead. I think I would be happy with that too. But that’s just a thought.”
“You still think that this far in?” Steve asks wryly, and Jonathan rolls his eyes.
“Yeah, It’s stressful, but so is every job,” Jonathan counters, “Even the best job has things you’d rather not do. But being on the road performing… it’s something else.”
“I get that, my man,” Eddie says, “How ’bout another song?”
“Alright, fine,” Jonathan grumbles, but it’s with fondness.
~~~
It becomes a thing. Jonathan plays the drums when Billy can’t be found. This is happening more and more often as the drummer often vanishes with no warning for a random length of time, which is slowly becoming more frequent and longer. And whenever Billy is around, he tends to be either hungover or drunk.
More than a few fights have happened over it, with Billy denying that he’s doing anything wrong but still refusing to say where he goes and why. At several points, Billy is nowhere to be found when the whole band is practicing together, something they often plan well in advance.
The second time this happens, Steve volunteers Jonathan to take his spot. At first, Jonathan tries to refuse, saying he doesn’t want to step on Billy’s toes, but they convince him eventually, and Steve is pretty sure he secretly wants to anyway. The reporter gets better as he does it more, rarely missing any notes and easily keeping up with the band. The synergy isn’t lost because of Jonathan, with things often moving smoother without Billy barking reprimands at anyone who slightly messes up.
Jonathan tries his best to keep the info about Billy relatively safe, not hiding what’s happening but also affording him the benefit of the doubt. And it’s not like he’s ever around to vet any of Jonathan’s work anymore.
But it’s in Kansas City when shit really hits the fan.
As soon as the buses arrived in Kansas City, Billy took off to get smashed or whatever. He didn’t show up to any of the team practices or the set-up, not even returning at night. At first, this is pretty par for the course, so no one worries about it too much, with Jonathan filling in. But then several days go by with only the occasional vague text letting them know he isn’t dead.
Robin is about to call the cops to go find him when Billy finally shows back up, absolutely reeking of alcohol and weed, dirty and grimy after such a long binge.
“Hey, Hargrove, where the hell have you been?!” Eddie immediately asks, the rest of the band fuming as they watch, “In case you haven’t noticed, we gotta fucking show tomorrow!”
“Oh fuck off,” Billy grumbles, “We’ll be fine.”
“Will we?” Steve asks, “Because you haven’t touched your drums since Chicago!”
“I know the fucking songs! I don’t get why we have to practice so damn much!”
“You sure you haven’t washed them away?” Eddie taunts, “I’m pretty sure your memory is pickled at this point.”
“Shut the fuck up, Munson!”
“ You shut up! You think we don’t notice that you’ve been doing shows hung over or even drunk?!”
“Fucking fine!” Billy huffs, “You want me to play? Let’s play!”
Billy takes a staggering step before he freezes, eyes locking on his drumset, the set that is currently occupied by Jonathan Byers. No one had even thought to hide him away or move him, with that seeming to be Jonathan’s natural place, but by the time they see their mistake, with Jonathan scrambling to get off, it’s too late.
“What the fuck?!” Billy screams, stomping over to the reporter. “What the fuck are you doing touching my drums?!” Jonathan steps back, swallowing dryly.
“I-I, uh,” Jonathan stutters, Billy inching closer.
“I knew it was a fucking mistake to let you on! Nothing good comes from people like you! You just want to replace me, huh?!”
“Leave him alone, Billy!” Steve shouts, stepping between them, “We asked him to fill in because you weren’t here! We are a team, a band, and we need all our members!”
“You asked him?” Billy repeats lowly, “Is that what this was? A ploy to kick little old me out?” Steve goes wide-eyed.
“We couldn’t find you, Billy, but we couldn’t just sit here and do nothing.”
Billy chuckles lowly, swaying on his feet. Without warning, he swings his right arm, landing a hay-maker on Steve’s jaw, and Jonathan can almost hear the crack. No one can do anything but scream as Billy takes Steve to the floor, wailing on him as the guitarist feebly tries to fight back.
Jonathan doesn’t think as he launches forward, grabbing Billy and using the momentum to knock him back and off Steve. He can’t win in a fight, he knows this, but he can’t do nothing either. Billy quickly recovers, face cherry red as he huffs at Jonathan, swiftly kicking him in the gut. Jonathan catches a few more hits before Argyle and Nancy finally reach them.
Argyle efficiently uses his bulk to get Billy away and pinned to the ground, and Nancy stands above him, tazer poised and ready to go. Billy thrashes and fights for another few minutes before he tires himself out.
“Fuck you all! I’m never coming back, and you’re gonna be sorry!” Billy curses as Argyle finally releases him. Eddie is more than happy to throw all of Billy’s shit out of the bus, most of which isn’t even unpacked, calling a cab to get him to the nearest airport and away.
“Shit,” Nancy breathes, going to Steve and using part of her shirt to clean him up. Thankfully, nothing seems to be broken, and Steve is fully conscious, if in a lot of pain. Jonathan goes right to his side, hovering over him.
“You okay, Jonny-boy?” Steve mumbles and Jonathan scoffs.
“Says the guy covered in his own blood,” the reporter retorts, “Why’d you do that? You didn’t need to.”
“Yes, I did,” Steve says casually, “I don’t like people I like getting hurt, and he’s a dick.” Jonathan chuckles softly.
“True, but I’m not the one who is showing my face on stage.” With that, Robin has a thought.
“Shit, the show!” She cries, “That’s tomorrow. What are we going to do?”
“Don’t worry, dudette, we’re good,” Argyle says with an easy shrug, leaning over to pat Jonathan on the back. “We got an extra drummer right here, man.”
“Me?” Jonathan whispers, eyes wide. Eddie sighs.
“I hate to say it, but it’s either that or cancel. We can’t find someone that fast,” the guitarist says.
“You don’t have to say yes,” Nancy jumps in, “We know this isn’t what you signed up for, and we’ll completely understand.”
“If you’re worried that you’ll suck, don’t,” Robin adds, “You know our stuff, and we’ve already played with you a few dozen times.”
Jonathan is quiet, the sheer weight of the choice in front of him. A part of him wants to say yes, too, even live that rock-star dream for a bit, but the wave of anxiety that splashes over him nearly makes him throw up. He wouldn’t be performing in a garage but in a massive concert hall in front of thousands of people.
Jonathan flinches, broken out of his thoughts, as a hand pats him on the arm. He glances down, seeing Steve smiling up at him with slightly bloody teeth, hand gripping his arm.
“You’ve got this, Jonny-boy,” Steve says softly, staring up with absolute confidence, and that’s what pushes Jonathan over the edge.
“A-Alright, I’ll do it,” Jonathan whispers, earning a loud cheer from those around him and near-instant regret.
~~~
“Hello, Kansas City!” Eddie screams into the microphone in front of him, a loud wave of cheers following. “How y’all doing tonight!?” Another, more deafening wave of cheers happens.
It feels so surreal for Jonathan. He’s seen the show several times from the front, the spot reserved for the press, but now he’s in it. Eddie and Nancy are at the front of the stage, doing the introductions as always, with Steve, Robin, and Argyle a bit behind them. Jonathan is in the very back and on a slightly lifted stage, giving him a birds-eye view of everything. He’s in full costume and make-up with everyone else, who all have a variation of tight, punk clothing with a lot of black, leather, chains, and fishnets with wild and bright make-up and accessories. Everyone has a slightly different style to fit them, with Argyle having on leopard print pants, and a red leather jacket over a tie-dye shirt, for example. Jonathan is in borrowed clothing, in black, ripped jeans from Eddie with a matching short denim skirt, a black tank top from Argyle, and a glittering, sheer shall from Nancy. His hair is pulled gelled back with bright purple make-up on his face.
“Good, good, I’m glad. We’re here to have fun,” Eddie says, a rumbling laugh coming from the crowd. “Now, before we get started, I’d like to introduce the ones that are the reason we’re here at all. Staring with me, I’m Eddie Munson, lead guitarist.”
“And I’m Nancy Wheeler, lead singer,” Nancy jumps in. There are short, subdued cheers after both introductions. “The lovely woman to my left is my fellow singer Robin Buckley.” Another cheer. “And to the far right is Argyle on the keyboard.” The crowd cheers, and someone shouts that they love him.
“Love you too, fan!” Argyle shouts, pointing in the direction it came from, the crowd laughing again.
“The giant head of hair behind me is our bass guitarist, Steve Harrington!” Nancy continues, and Eddie steps forward, Jonathan’s heart leaping into his throat.
“Now, those of you who weren’t dragged here by your friends might have noticed a little something about our drummer.” Eddie pauses, “Our usual drummer, Billy Hargrove, is not with us tonight. So please give lots of love to the man who, frankly, did not ask to be here but is so kind to help us out, Jonathan Byers!” The applause and cheers are loud, much louder than Jonathan would suspect for a nobody. He spots a few of those in the press spots pointing at him, but the noise from the crowd soothes some of his worst anxieties.
Eddie talks a little more, thanking the crew and drivers before the music starts. Steve gives Jonathan a thumbs-up right before they start, and Jonathan takes a deep breath.
Once the music starts, the fear and lingering paranoia fade into the background as Jonathan is taken adrift by the music. He barely even has to think, just enjoying the moment and the scale of the stage. Even with the earplugs, he can feel the power of the beat through his bones, and before he knows it, it’s over.
“You did great, Jonny!” Steve gushes as soon as they walk off stage, running over and hugging Jonathan tight.
“Thank you,” Jonathan says as well as he can with the air squeezed out of him.
“You’re already trending, dude,” Argyle remarks, glancing down at his phone and chuckling. “‘ Who tf is this guy and why is he so hot, and how have I never heard of him? ’” Argyle reads, and Jonathan blushes.
“Oh, whatever,” Jonathan says, rolling his eyes, “I can only imagine that my boss wants to talk with me.”
“You always got a place with us, Jonathan,” Nancy adds, which warms Jonathan’s heart.
“Thank you.” Steve finally lets Jonathan go, throwing an arm over his shoulder as he walks out.
~~~
The next few weeks are more than a little hectic. There’s a buzz online over the new drummer and the disappearance of the former. The band was planning on holding off on details, but Billy already came out online saying that they kicked him out and generally misleading people.
But that didn’t last long as Jonathan promptly released all of the evidence of Billy’s drunkenness and the fight with Steve, which Billy had no idea was being recorded, including the part where he left of his own volition, which promptly shut him up and turned much of the fanbase on him.
Jonathan continues his work with Rolling Stone , and we will continue it till the end of the tour. Still, he’s also going to play for the band, going on stage for each of the remaining shows as they move to Denver and then down to Vegas and through a few towns in California, ending up in Portland and having their last concert in Seattle.
Jonathan has gained something of a fan base, with people curious about him, especially as he appears in the various articles and shows, especially with the backstage content that Rolling Stone is releasing. And there are talks about whether he will stay with the band or just go back to his job once the tour is over.
“So,” Steve says only a few hours before their last show, “I’m really glad you came with us. I think we’re really gonna go out with a bang, y’know? And, hey, we could spend a little time after just celebrating-”
“Steve,” Jonathan says, cutting off Steve’s rambling.
“Yeah?”
“I’m staying.”
“You… You’re staying,” Steve repeats, and Jonathan nods.
“I’ve never had as much fun with a job before, and I feel more in tune with all of you than I ever did with my coworkers before,” Jonathan explains, “I’ll miss it, but I won’t regret it.”
“Oh,” Steve says, pausing, “Well, in that case, you wanna go out sometime?” Jonathan bursts out laughing.
“Sure, Steve,” Jonathan agrees. “I’d love to.”
“Yes!” Steve cheers, “Wait! Do the others know?”
“Argyle does.”
“So, it’s only a matter of time before everyone knows.”
“Exactly.”
“Y’know… at first I was kinda worried that you’d want to go out with him,” Steve admits, “I mean, Argyle’s great, but I want you.”
“He is, but he’s just a friend,” Jonathan says with a smirk, “And he didn’t get his face pounded in to protect me.”
“Hey, if that’s what it took to get that dick kicked out, then I’m happy with it. We definitely got something much better in exchange.”
“Shut up, Steve.”
“Make me.”
Jonathan leans forward and does just that.