come back, be here, EDDIE ROUNDTREE.

TRACK 03 / BEAUTY QUEEN.

Sitting around at Manny's was a frequent occurrence for them all, most of the time it was easy enough for them to go there after the band's gigs, but that wasn't always the case. Sometimes Odette would be locked away in her studio, only to be interrupted with a single phone call, always at the same time that it had reached the point where Odette had forgone her formal greeting─ and she would deny it had anything to do with Eddie's teasing even though it was very much that─ and it only lasted a few minutes.

But she didn't always say yes, as the months went on, she had become more and more busy, spending hours locked away in her studio and completely oblivious to the world around her, even going as far as to unplug the phone from the room to be able to concentrate on her work. This had caused some worry to those unaware of her habits. Karen would often come over to check up on her, making some comment about how Eddie and Warren were complaining about her disappearing on them. That was what prompted her in plugging her phone again and going back to answering them when they called and while she rejected their invitations to go out, she spent the time talking to them over the phone.

When Warren had called her on that night, he had admitted that it was getting boring with her being around, especially considering it had been over two weeks since she had seen them─ excluding Karen who had dropped by─, but in Odette's defence, she had been dealing with a commission she was desperate to get done, but now she couldn't use it as an excuse since it had already been finished and delivered. It had been Eddie that had managed to finally convince her, practically grabbing the phone and threatening to pick her up.

She hated the fact that it had worked, that it was how she found herself practically squished between both of them as she mindlessly drew on a napkin, something she often did whenever the conversation shifted toward anything related to the behind the scenes of the band─ a subject that Odette knew she was no help with and would always remain silent unless someone, mainly Eddie, would attempt to get her input on it, but it Billy always brushed her off.

"You might want to save half that toast for tomorrow, Eddie," Camila commented, pulling Odette out of her daze. "This is barely enough to cover the rent."

"I can─"

Multiple people protested before she could put the offer out there and Odette was convinced the only person who didn't was Karen. She then looked up and sat up straight, hands falling into her lap.

"Seriously it's fine," she stated. "It's nice not spending my money on just art supplies."

"Only you would say that," Karen said, smile on her face.

Odette shrugged. "It's not a lie, my aunt pays for everything else so most of the time any money I get just. . . Sits there. And I would feel extremely bad if you guys were struggling while I was just sitting here comfortably."

Camila opened her mouth to respond but Karen spoke before she could. "There's no point arguing."

Odette nodded. "Besides, means you can focus on the rent.'

Warren groaned at the reminder. "Fuck it, man, maybe. . . Maybe Old Chuckie was right, huh? Maybe. . . Maybe this was all just a big mistake and that we should have just stayed home with our moms, saved money on rent and become dentists."

Camila placed her hand on top of the money. "I mean, I've sent out hundreds of photographs and not a single fucking paper has responded. I mean, should I just quit? No one said it was gonna be easy."

"I think your problem is that you're trying to get them to invest in a band that hasn't even gained the attention of any producers yet," Odette stated, perhaps a little too bluntly. "Because no offense to anyone here, but if you're trying to sell photos of these idiots─"