Friends of mine.

Chapter Two.

I raise my hand to knock, and to my surprise I watch the door unlock before I can even meet it. I raise a brow, confusion flooding my head, I'm quite easily confused if I'm being honest.
The door swings open, I look up to meet eyes with a tall and quite lanky young lad, he's skin and bones, probably skinnier than I am, with dark hair and dark eyes, not exactly helping how pale he is- thick, black rimmed glasses to top off his look.
Yet he's definitely an attractive guy, that I'm sure anyone can see.
There's no way he's apart of the band, right? Probably just the man at the door who lets people in.
He looks me up and down, giving what seems to be an approving nod.
He studies me closely, what is it with these Brummies? They clearly don't mind a good stare.

"You must be Andy, am I right?"

The man says, I definitely wasn't expecting that, so he must be apart of the group, weird.
I straighten myself up, clearing my throat as I snap out of my thoughts.

"Uh- that's me, yeah."

I stutter, I really hope I don't come across nervous, that's just embarrassing.
The man nods, eyeing me up once again before he steps aside to let me in.
I step in, the place stinks of smoke and alcohol, which I was expecting- more so very glad of.
I look around, crooked posters of things I can't read, although I spot a few David Bowie posters, which makes me smile slightly, that's good enough for me.

"Come on in, just through here."
The man says, he still hasn't told me his name, this all feels very sketchy. I hope I have the right place, I better not get murdered.
I walk in to a big room, circular booth seats along with velvet walls and dim romantic lighting- quite a lot of mess around the floor, I'm guessing this is the main place, where the fun happens. I wonder how they are allowed to stay in here while it's closed, it's a question I'll keep for later if there's any awkwardness.
Suddenly I hear a few glasses clink together, causing me to jump slightly, I hope it went unnoticed by the stranger I'm with.

My eyes are met with a man behind the bar, cleaning up glasses with a tea towel over his shoulder, why is the bartender still here? I thought it was closed? God, I have too many questions in my mind.
He shoots me a small smile, which I give him the same in return, trying to cover up the clear confusion on my face.
He has thick black hair, completely perfect with not one hair out of place, which I have to admit I'm quite jealous of.
He's not as pale as the other guy is, a little more tan and he seems to be toned, his button up shirt showing his very clear muscles, which is a bit odd to me from where we are, you don't see much like him; unique really, which is good to see.
I wonder why the bartender is here anyway, I keep my stare on him unconsciously.

"Rog, get him a drink."

The man quips from behind him.
Rog... Roger I'm guessing, they must be friends with the bartender, quite good to know since they can get as much free drink as they want.
Roger nods slightly, getting a glass out from behind him.
I hesitate slightly before I walk over to where Roger is, leaning against the bar as I tap my fingers on the wood.
I watch him look at me, an eyebrow raised and a small smile on his face- and suddenly I feel a bit self conscious without knowing why.

"Do you want anything?"
Roger asks, carding a hand through his jet black locks.

"Just a beer, thanks mate."

I mumble, looking around myself, this is not what I was expecting, I thought I was going to walk into a room with four other guys waiting for me to play, then I'd play, they'd tell me if I'm in or not then that would be it.

"Thank you."

I whisper, before lifting the cold glass of beer to my mouth, gulping as much as I can, satisfaction as the cold liquid runs down my dry throat.

"So, you friends with the group?"

I ask, trying to make some small talk, this would be my first actual conversation in Birmingham, I hope I remember this in years to come, no matter what is really happening.
The bartender laughs softly, rolling up his sleeves and leaning beside me.

"I'm the drummer of the group you're auditioning for, actually."

He says with a smile on his lips, again surprising me, this place is full of surprises it seems.

"Oh? I'll be honest you look like a drummer, you suit the part."

I say as I look him up and down, maybe that's why he's quite buff, I hear drummers always have strong arms.
He laughs again, looking me up and down with a smirk, I wonder why they all keep doing that, is there something on my face?

"I'll take that as a compliment, I suppose you look like a guitarist. It's Andy isn't it?"

Roger asks, wiping down the sides, I lift my drink up as he wipes where my arms rested.

"I- Yeah, that would be me."

Fuck, why do I keep stuttering? The guy probably thinks I'm terrified of him, I hope my behaviour goes unnoticed.
As I finish the remainder of my beer, I set down my glass to realise Roger isn't behind the bar anymore, my eyebrows furrow before I turn around.

"Want me to take this for you?"

The taller man says to me, I thought he would sound like a complete geek, he looks like one, but he has a simple strong brummie accent, not so deep, just a little raspy, and by the sounds of it he's far more confident than I am right now.
I look down to see what exactly he's talking about, I soon come to the realisation when I see him holding my guitar and amp, waiting for my response.

"If that's alright, thanks."
I say with a small smile, getting up from my seat.

"I'm the bassist, name's John- John Taylor."
He says with his hand out so I can shake it.
Taylor, same surname as me, interesting.
I take his hand into mine, shaking it quickly.

"Andy Taylor."

I say with a smile, in which he returns the same, both of us sharing the same thoughts on our matching surnames.

"That's Roger Taylor, incase he didn't tell you."

John says as he motions towards him.
I give John a sort of: 'is it really?' sort of look, and he responds with a simple nod.
Three Taylors, huh?
I walk up the rickety steps with John and Roger in front of me, I've already almost tripped up twice, this place doesn't feel so secure, but there's something homely about it, I like the vibe it has, even without the people and music in it.