The Bass Player » [cashton] √

0.1

[24th of October - Glasgow]

"Okay, we need to check Nia's second guitar, so 'Baby Girl' from the top, then we're finished," Angel called over her shoulder; she was caressing the microphone stand, casting a look over the others as she waited for the series of nods she needed to start.

Dressed in her usual skater skirt and tucked in blouse, with the same boots she wore every time they performed, more often than not she would have sticky tape stuck to the bottoms, and usually, you could tell where it was from based on the colour. She'd been wearing a denim jacket when they'd arrived, but it now lay across the edge of the stage. Her hair was a freshly washed head of tight black curls. She was practically already ready to go on stage. Already wearing makeup as well, her thick eyebrows and sharp jawline well defined. She was much more prepared than Calum thought he could recall her ever being for a show. As Calum looked around, he realised that was true for all of them, he guessed it must have been the excitement of their first show, and if anyone they knew from college were there, they might have been embarrassed.

Rachael was dressed similarly, except her shirt was Green Day, and her skirt was form-fitted, not to mention she was a serial Converse wearer. She, too, had done her makeup and had her soft, tight curls freshly washed. Somehow she was still wearing her jacket while drumming, which Calum quietly thought was crazy, but she didn't seem to be sweating at all.

It must have been colder than he thought because Lesedi too, was dressed warmly, wearing a pair of flare overalls which would have been fine with a t-shirt underneath, but they had a thick sweatshirt instead, and he could hear their rubber-soled converse tapping gently against the floor as they played. This was a habit of theirs as well as bobbing their head, unlike the others though their thick hair stayed in place along with a big goofy grin.

Nia was the complete opposite; her face was a mask of indifference whenever she was playing but would swirl and turn with the guitar in her arms. Her long box braids whipping around behind her as she went. She didn't seem to be bothered by the cold, and when Calum had offered her his jacket earlier, she'd told him 'a hoe never gets cold', which made sense seeing as everyone else was layered up, and Nia was in a crop top and no shoes on the cold floor. But then again, that was how she always dressed, so he shouldn't have been surprised she was fairing better than them.

Calum realised he'd played the entire song without paying any attention whatsoever, which wasn't a massive feat considering it was a pretty simple bass part but still concerning. Maybe it was his nerves over analysing everything they were doing and wearing. Would the audience think they were trying too hard? Or not enough?

Calum wasn't dressed yet and was still in a sweatshirt and jeans from the flight. They'd only arrived in Glasgow that morning. The others had gotten ready, and Calum had immediately taken a nap. But because of that, it meant they hadn't had a chance to meet the main band Tempted Timeless. None of them had said anything under the guise of professionalism, but Angels and Trinkets had been a Tempted Timeless cover band before they'd started writing their own music.

The excitement though unspoken, was bubbling beneath the surface of all of them. It hadn't been that long ago that the only thing they posted to their YouTube channel was Tempted Timeless covers. Now they had an assortment of original songs to call their own and a record deal in the works. And, of course, that they were now touring with the band whose music had gotten them their start.

The excited energy still hadn't dissipated by the time they'd packed up their stuff, so they found themselves in the stands toward the back of the venue. Finally, dropping their foe confidence and openly talking about how they all felt.

"I'm so nervous about performing tonight; this is gonna be the biggest show we've ever played," Lesedi said excitedly, hands gripping the seat they were sitting backwards, looking up at Angel and Nia, who were sitting on the row of seats behind them.

"I know! It's going to be ridiculous!" Rachael cheered, tapping excitedly on the back of her own chair.

"I wonder when we'll get to meet them and if we'll actually get to talk to them a bit," Angel wondered aloud.

"Well, if you look over there," Nia pointed over toward the left-hand side of the stage, "that's Luke and Angus right there," her eyes were locked on the pair, who seemed focused on a tense conversation.

The group fell silent as Lesedi, Rachael, and he turned to look back at the stage to watch the two men; if Calum were to be honest, it looked as though they were arguing. Which wasn't a great first impression, but it might have been nothing. He guessed the others must have been thinking the same thing, but before any of them could voice this, Luke realised they were being watched and looked up, waving happily and grinning up at them. Angus left while he had his back turned, and when Luke realised, he followed him backstage and disappeared as well.

"Guess it'd still be cool if we met Ashton and Michael," Calum said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I guess it would be pretty cool to meet me," a voice sounded from behind Calum.

He whipped around and saw Michael behind him with a cheeky grin on his face, and Ashton a few steps behind, sipping unaffectedly on an iced latte.

"Well, that's embarrassing," Calum said, a blush coating his cheeks.

"We've been meaning to come and find you since they told us you'd been picked up from the airport; I'd like to pretend we're usually more organised than this,"

The band laughed in response, "That's okay; we'll have plenty of time over the next month to annoy you," Angel said with a cheeky smile.

"And plenty more time for Calum to embarrass himself," Lesedi added with a laugh bubbling out of them.

Calum flushed deeply again, "You all know I blush at anything; this isn't fair!"

"Don't worry about it, man; you'll get worse from us over the next few months, I'm sure," Michael chuckled.

"I don't know, we're pretty hard on him," Rachael chuckled as she reached across to jab Calum in his side.

They all chuckled and continued talking like that for ten or so minutes, with Ashton only smiling and nodding in agreement when the boys were called away to do their soundcheck.

Angel & Trinkets left to get ready, well touch-ups and Calum getting dressed. The excited buzz was still running through the group as they spoke in hushed voices about their hopes to meet Angus and Luke and how nice they'd hopefully be. Calum wondered about Ashton and his quiet demeanour, Michael had seemed friendly, almost overly so, but Ashton had appeared to be considering them carefully. Did they seem like the silly amateurs they were? Or was that just how he was.