Played like a Guitar

Chapter 23 : The Calm Before the Storm

"Sounds exciting. I bet lots of Irish and Spanish celebrities will be attending. Oh, what if you meet Liam Neeson or Salma Hayek? Can you take their autograph for me, pretty please?" - the thirsty blonde begged.

"I'm not going there to make friends, El." - to which she returned a glum face. "Although now that I think about it, I could cross meeting Shakira off my bucket list." She threw one of Leo's chips onto my face, jealous that she wasn't invited. He, on the other hand, stared sadly at the chip that had gone to waste on the wooden floor instead of circulating through his digestive system. "What can I say? You should've hooked up with Jessie when you had the chance." - I taunted her.

"Who's Jessie?" - Leo intervened rather aggressively, already forgetting about the tragedy of the fallen chip.

"One of Jamie's band mates, the former lead singer. And nah, he's a total douche bag." - she commented, caressing the back of Leo's hair in hopes of calming his sudden jealousy. I tried disguising my smile.

Scanning our surroundings, I had the distinct feeling that he was somewhere nearby, expecting to see his figure observing me among these empty faces. Also, the greater number of gingers didn't exactly help the situation either. It felt weird traveling to his hometown without informing his sister beforehand, but I had no access to Malory's phone number. Ringing his was never an option.

The lively ambience pulled through and we came face to face with a few locals studying here, sitting on the adjacent table. So many different nationalities, cultures and fields of knowledge sitting in one place, yet we were compatible enough to spend the evening together. They were also kind enough to offer Leo and El help for tomorrow's trip.

"You guys are familiar with the Midnight Blues, right? That singer, Jamie O'Dea, is getting married tomorrow with some rich Spanish model. I heard it's going to be the wildest party to take place in Galway." - a student from Dublin notified us. Ha, if only she knew...

"Really? Never heard of them." - I lied, wishing to see my friends' reactions and boy were they trying not to burst in laughter.

"Yeah, he lives nearby, around a thirty-minute walk from here. He's very kind, always carrying a bunch of autographs and hand-written notes for his fans. Sometimes he walks around town and leaves signed copies of his book to however is lucky enough to find them. Even after what happened to his sister..." - a French girl noted with her surprisingly good English pronunciations. That does sound like something he would do.

"My younger brother went to school with her, claims she changed completely after the car crash, some of the students call her a freak. You know how kids can be mean sometimes." - the Dubliner added before changing topics. The bullying never stops, does it? Well, this is supposed to be her last year of high school as far as I know, so things can only improve from now on. I hope so, at least.

A few Guinesses and root beers later, the live music lit the place on fire, bringing the guests on their feet, moving to the combined sounds of the fiddle, accordion, pipes and flute. Thankfully I remembered a few tricks from the club, since Elektra pulled me in for a dance next to the band, stealing everyone's hearts. Her unpredictable trouble-making self climbed on top of a table, pushing the drinks onto the floor with her feet in an effort to grab one of their traditional kilts hanging from the ceiling. Although she was close to slipping and breaking her neck, Leonardo managed to catch her in time. She simply shrugged off the near death experience and proceeded to put it around her waist. She had a few screws loose that one, and I enjoyed every second of her company. Leo treated himself with some extra shots, so when a group of old-timers pulled him in for some Irish step-dancing, he wasn't sober enough to decline their offer, awkwardly failing to reproduce their moves. No words could describe how wonderful life was for all of us at that moment, with music bringing us all together anew. I even forgot for a hot second the reason we traveled here in the first place.