First Kiss - A Lawson FanFic

Chapter 4 - Joel's House

"Shall I just..." I asked Joel, pointing to an armchair; the sofas were mainly occupied by the guys.

"Yeah, that's fine, wherever really," he replied, distracted by his guitar. His face was pulled into a frown as he fiddled with the strings; sat on the sofa with the guitar across his knee, I could see the muscles in his arm as he tensed. Oh, my God, he is hot, I thought.

Trying not to stare, I asked a question.

"So what's the name of your band?"

Adam looked up from his drum kit, and said;

"Andy, want to explain?"

"Explain what?" I asked, confused.

"Okay," Andy said, now facing me,"Basically, when I was 19 I was diagnosed with a brain tumour. The doctor who operated on me was called Dr Lawson. So, we decided to call the band after him. We thought it had, like, a ring to it."

I sat there, speechless, as four pairs of eyes -one pair particularly blue and dreamy- stared at me for a response.

"I- wow," I said, "That's amazing."

"Thanks," Andy and Ryan said in unison. They looked at each other in surprise, causing us all to laugh. I felt so at ease with them here, so different to how I thought. I stole a glimpse at Joel, surprised to find that he was already looking at me. I turned away, embarrassed; but he'd already seen.

"So," I said, clearing my throat to ease the slight awkwardness, "can I hear Red Sky?"

"Of course," Joel replied, a shy grin on his face. He is so cute, I thought without realising. There was a slight clash of chords and drum beats as the band got ready to play.

"Ready guys?" Andy asked. There was a chorus of agreements. And then from Andy:

"One, two, three, four."

Andy's soft Liverpudlian voice began singing, perfectly synchronised by Joel's backing vocals. The song was so sweet and innocent, and I couldn't help but smile as I listened. I kept finding myself looking at Joel, noticing the expression of concentration on his face, the tapping of his foot to the beat of the song, and the way his arm and fingers flexed as he effortlessly played his guitar. Of course, all of the boys were talented; I could see that with my own eyes. But there was something about how Joel played that drew my attention to him compared to anyone else.

The song came to an end, with Joel's note the last to be played. The four of them turned to me expectantly. I smiled, and said,

"Honestly, that was probably the best song I have ever heard."

"Really?" Andy said, clearly chuffed.

"Yes! I can't believe you guys aren't signed," I said, shaking my head.

"Yeah, we've been trying for years," Joel said looking at me intently, "We're trying to get as many people as possible to hear our music."

"Ah, so that's the reason why you brought me here," I joked, laughing. Joel immediately coloured up, blushing.

"No, no! That wasn't why! I just... I wanted to get you know you better," he concluded, stammering. The other three laughed, and Ryan nudged him in the ribs.

"Yeah I know, I was joking, Joel," I said, trying out his name on my lips. I liked it. There was a pause, as no one knew what to say. Eventually, Adam cleared the silence:

"Erm, so shall we go get some lunch? It's almost 12.30..."

"Yeah, sure," I said brightly, glad of the change of atmosphere.