Authors: Kat Green
A great idea?
September 2013
‘That’s awesome!’
T
oby was showing off his artwork. His entire back was one big piece of art, and Melissa was admiring the fallen angel which was arched over a girl who looked lost and scared. Her head was down, causing her long hair to flow over her face. It was a beautiful wave of hair and very skilfully drawn with an impressive level of detail. Her head was at a slight angle so that you could only see one eye. The wings were those of an eagle, and they arched over as if to shield the girl with their strength. It was breath taking and beautiful.
‘It is pretty cool, isn’t it?’ Toby was very proud of it. It had taken weeks of planning and several long and painful visits to the tattoo parlour to create it, and he showed it off at every opportunity. Melissa noticed that the entire piece was painted in the most vibrant colours and there was a hint of black shading, like a shadow, around the angel. But one detail stood out – the girl’s hair and eye had no colour at all. Melissa pointed it out, intrigued.
‘They’ll be coloured in when I find ‘the one’,’ he said without a hint of jest. It was a small insight into the real character of Toby. Only a few people ever got to see this side of him. He was a lovable and caring giant, and behind the public façade, he took care of his own. He had a fun-loving and carefree attitude to life, but beneath that, he had an emotional side and he was looking for a special girl to settle down with. He would not normally have given this sort of honest answer to someone he barely knew, but Melissa’s disarming personality had caused him to let his guard down. He didn’t mind though - he liked her and felt as though her friendship with Luke and the band would not be a fleeting one.
They were all in good spirits, having played to a packed bar in Chichester earlier in the evening. They seemed to have been well received by the crowd of mainly university students. They were again paid only a small fee for the gig, and it was already being handed back across the bar, where Tom and Toby were attempting to drink it dry. They’d hooked up with a small group of girls who were all giggling every time either of them cracked a joke, regardless of whether it was remotely funny or not.
Melissa thought again to herself that there was definitely something about this group of guys, and it wasn’t put on or forced. They were just being themselves, and people liked them. The same was true when they were on stage. But unlike most men she’d known in the past, she felt as though she genuinely wanted to talk to them and listen to what they had to say. She smiled to herself, feeling very proud that they seemed to be her new friends. Beth and Dale were all over each other again, and might as well have just left to get a room, and Luke was having a heated discussion with someone he had met at the bar about guitarists, their opinions differing on who was better. Luke was clearly a Jimi Hendrix fan and the other guy favoured Van Halen. After a while Melissa got bored listening to the discussion going round in circles. She couldn’t care less either way; they were both good, so why did it matter? She headed to the bar and found Toby lining up more shots. He passed her a Sambuca.
‘Hey, get this down you!’
Melissa took it and knocked it back, immediately wondering whether it was wise. She’d struggled to get through work today, and had to go in again tomorrow. Luke found her at the bar when he too had finally got bored of what he’d eventually decided was ‘the most fucking stupid argument ever’.
Melissa realised that she was now on her fourth large glass of wine, and the shot she’d just downed was not her first. She’d been attempting to keep up with Toby and had been carried along by his infectious enthusiasm. But it was clear that she was lagging badly behind, and so she decided it wasn’t even worth trying. ‘Have you finished talking about that Jimi Halen guy?’ Melissa slurred her words as she threw her arms round his neck.
He laughed loudly. ‘Yeah.’
She knew she must have said something wrong by the way he laughed. ‘What's so funny?’
‘Nothing, nothing at all,’ he said and kissed her forehead. He didn’t want to explain; it would just embarrass her.
‘I need to go soon. Working at the weekend should be made illegal,’ she complained.
‘Really, you’re leaving me again?’ Luke made a sad face as he looked down at her. How could she abandon him two nights in a row? He was only joking but he was disappointed to be parted from her again. Melissa assured him that if she had a choice, she would stay. Luke had put a few drinks away himself, and felt confident to ask whether he could go home with her. Not yet, she told him. She never took a guy home until she knew him well enough to feel comfortable about it. That was her rule, and she never broke it, even though this time it was very hard to resist.
She was wearing a body-hugging short purple dress which showed off her perfect petite figure. Luke couldn’t stop looking at her for the second night running, but he respected her for not jumping into bed with him, frustrating as it was. She’d almost put him off again while he was playing, and it was exciting but slightly unnerving for him. Nobody had affected him like this before. It was very different to the beginning of any other relationship he’d had.
Melissa gushed about how good the gig was, saying that seeing them for the second time was somehow better than the first. Probably because she knew some of the songs now. He just nodded and smiled, trying not to seem big-headed. But he liked hearing her say it; his last girlfriend never had anything positive to say. Then, as if to back her up, a group sitting at a table next to them got up and came over, saying they’d really enjoyed the gig and thought The Black Eagles had bags of potential. You should be selling CDs, they said. If they were, they would have sold six right there an then. That would have paid for another round of drinks for starters, Melissa joked. The idea of making an EP was something Luke was working on, but the problem was that you needed money up front to pay for a studio, production etc. With their current lifestyle, they woke up the morning after each gig night with nothing but a pocket full of change and a headache.
The good wishes were very welcome, and with her idea in mind, Melissa had been making mental notes all night about how the gig went down with the paying punters.
‘See, I’m right … you’re amazing!’
He smiled broadly, and she could tell it had made his night.
Beth stumbled over, and threw her arms around their necks. ‘Come and dance with me, lovers!’ She didn’t give Melissa a choice, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her to the front, where another band had taken the stage.
‘Just one song. I have to work in the morning!’ Melissa said.
‘Work, shmirk!’ Beth dismissed her weak protest, and carried on regardless.
Beth was happy, which was nice to see because she’d been a bit down recently. Dale was taking her mind off things and they were having fun, so maybe another hour wouldn't hurt, Melissa thought. The girls danced together, becoming the centre of attention as always. If there was one thing Melissa and Beth did well, it was take over a room. With Melissa in her little dress causing men to almost pass out, and Beth in an equally short yellow dress, also looking stunning, it wasn't a surprise when several chat-up lines came their way. They usually wore more comfortable outfits, but they were out to impress tonight. One very drunk man was quite insistent that Beth danced with him, and his friend was finding it difficult to understand the word ‘no’ from Melissa. Neither advance was welcome. Luke was outside with Tom, and missed the entire incident, but the two guys’ faces were a picture when Toby and Dale appeared from nowhere and told them in no uncertain terms to back off. They practically wet themselves at the sight of Toby towering over them, and the girls found it hilarious. He was one of the nicest blokes you could ever meet, but with his bald head, ear piercings, and tattoos, he looked pretty formidable. He made Melissa look even tinier than she was, but he was very reassuring to have around.
‘Thanks, Toby,’ Melissa said, and gave him a friendly hug.
He smiled. ‘No problem. They needed telling, couple of idiots. I don't like that sort of thing anyway, but even less so when it’s my mate’s girlfriend.’ He was clearly very fired up, and had surprised himself by how quickly he’d become protective of these two girls. They had slotted into their group so quickly and effortlessly, and they were a lot of fun to have around. It didn’t feel like an intrusion as far as Toby was concerned, as it could easily have done.
‘Oh …’ Melissa wasn’t sure what to say. It had thrown her a little to be referred to as Luke's girlfriend.
‘That’s what you are, right?’ he said, smirking a little because she was blushing.
‘I-I don't know.’ She didn't actually know where things with Luke were going; she hadn’t really had a chance to think about it given that they had only met twenty-four hours earlier. It was true that the way they’d been getting on, it looked like it was going that way pretty quickly. If that’s what people already thought, she certainly wasn’t going to argue about it.
Toby laughed. ‘He hasn't shut up about you all fucking day! Melissa this, Melissa that. Melissa is so great, blah blah blah!’
She went even redder. ‘Shut up, you idiot!’ She was embarrassed, but very pleased at the same time.
‘It's true, I haven’t heard him talk about a girl like that in the time I’ve known him.’ he said, turning back to the bar to order more drinks. She smiled again.
Melissa turned down another drink, and decided to finally head home. Luke protested again, but she insisted that she had to go, and she’d already stayed out longer than she should have. The taxi driver wasn’t impressed at having to wait an extra ten minutes while they kissed each other goodnight, but they didn’t care.
‘I’ll speak to
you tomorrow, if you can wait until then.’ Melissa joked. Finally, released from Luke’s hold, she got into the waiting taxi and apologised to the grumpy driver. It was after two o’clock and her groggy mind was turning to the prospect of dragging herself through another day at work. But after the fantastic evening she’d had, it was definitely a price worth paying.
*****
On Sunday night, once Melissa had finished her shift, she lay on the sofa at home with a bowl of strawberry ice cream – her hangover food of choice – and reflected on what had been an incredible and totally unexpected weekend’s events. She was feeling the effects of having had a combined total of only eight hours’ sleep in two nights, but she’d enjoyed every moment of their evenings out, and she wouldn’t have changed a thing. Apart from having to work, maybe.
After a very long and at times funny phone conversation with Luke and his three mental bandmates, she was feeling
much better. They were at Toby’s, having some beers to round off the weekend, and congratulating themselves on two very successful gigs. Luke hated his day job too, but he confidently assured Melissa that one day, when they were selling out arenas on their world tour, she wouldn't have to work. It made her smile, especially when he referred to her as his girlfriend.
‘If you want to be, that is?’ he asked, realising that he’d better not sound like he was making assumptions.
‘Of course I do. I don’t go around saving guitars for just anyone, you know.’
After hanging up, Melissa looked at the piece of paper she’d picked up at Ruby's on Friday. The name ‘Amplified’ jumped off the page. It was a ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition to be held in Hyde Park, London, and she noticed that the closing time for entries was midnight that night. Only twenty bands would be chosen to compete, but she thought the Black Eagles would have a great chance, and she couldn’t help feeling that it could be their big break. She debated the pros and cons in her mind for ages, thinking back to the audience reaction she’d seen. In the end, she decided that yes, they were definitely good enough, and they just needed a push in the right direction. Thinking that Luke wouldn’t do it without some encouragement, she grabbed her laptop and fired it up. She looked at the application page and then nearly talked herself out of it before starting to fill it in. As well as the usual information, the organisers also wanted at least four minutes of footage from a gig, or even just a practice session. She’d got that much the previous night on her phone, so she uploaded it and watched it a couple of times, just to remind herself, and to make sure it did them justice. She tried to look at it from a neutral perspective, to make sure she wasn’t just being biased (which was difficult), but she was convinced that they were too good to be playing to dingy bars forever – it just seemed like a waste of their talent. They needed to find their big break, and she felt excited that this could be it. She filled in the form, then hovered her finger over the ‘submit’ button, again agonising over the decision for what felt like hours. What if they thought it was a terrible idea and hated her for doing it behind their backs? But what about the possibilities if they were selected?