"drunk on something stronger than the drinks in the bar"
IN A SMALL PUB ALONG THE OUTSKIRTS OF OXFORD, PHOEBE FAIRER ADJUSTED THE MICROPHONE SHE WAS STOOD IN FRONT OF. This was a usual experience for her, she never had gigs more than once in a single month, but here she was, final night of playing three consecutive shows at the same pub.
It was like heaven.
She cleared her throat before she spoke into the microphone. "Good evening guys!" she said, being greeted by a fairly large cheer from the almost full pub.
Phoebe smiled at all the people in front of her. "How are we all doing this fine spring evening?"
Again, she was greeted by a wave of "good" from the crowd and she smiled again. "Good! Now, I hope you don't mind me tonight, I'll be here until 12 so, if you're gonna' stay, you're gonna' have to put up with the sound of my voice." she joked.
There was a collective laugh from the people, before she began to fiddle with the strings of her guitar, tuning them. "Whilst I'm making my guitar sound less like a dying cat, is anyone here celebrating anything?" she wondered aloud, attempting to reduce the awkward silence that would have bubbled.
"Yeah our mate is!" a shouting voice from the depths of the crowd.
Phoebe searched for the voice before a hand was spotted waving in the air. A few people moved out of the way so she was able to see who had spoken up.
On a small round table in the middle of the pub, sat three men, all around the same age.
One, clearly taller than the rest had what looked like to Phoebe under the lights, back hair, and had a defined face.
Who looked like the youngest out of the three, a blonde boy with bright blue eyes, that Phoebe could see from halfway across the room.
The middle one, was holding his hand up, and seemed to be the one that had spoken when she had asked a question. He had shaggy brown hair, and his eyes were a golden hazel colour. His accent from when he spoke sounded to Phoebe either American or Canadian, she could never tell the two apart.
She smiled at him, telling him to continue and he smiled back, pointing at his blonde friend. "Our mate here just got a new job." he explained.
The blonde buffed his friend in the ribs slightly giving him a 'seriously?' look. The tall boy on the right laughed at his friends before placing a hand over his eyes, shaking his head slightly.
Phoebes eyes widened at the news. "That's great! Congratulations! You have a real job, what's that like?" she asked the blonde, making a small joke at herself.
A few people in the pub laughed, including the three at the table. The blonde sighed before answering. "Stressful." he answered truthfully.
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Oh- Do you mind me asking what you do?"
The blonde looked scared at her question and turned to face his two friends, silently asking if he was allowed to say. The friend who had originally spoke up nodded, giving him a reassuring look before he looked back up at Phoebe. "We're all racing drivers."
Phoebe's jaw went slack. "Oh so you're like- cool. Okay. Uh-" she began to jumble her words up, and paused, clearing her throat. "I'm gonna' sing now, before I embarrass my self in front of the three cool guys."
Everyone let out a small laugh at her expense, and as she turned around to make sure her equipment was working properly, she missed the shaggy haired boy at the table looking at her.
PHOEBE was packing up her guitar, waving goodbye to the bar staff who were making their way out. She slung the guitar across her shoulder and walked out of the pub, and towards the bus stop across from it.
Under the fading light of an old street lamp, she scanned the bus schedule for the day, checking the times of the last few buses. There were a few at 10 or 10:30, but when she checked her phone, the bright white numbers made her heart sink.
12:21
"Damn it." she muttered to herself. Running a hand through her hair, she ran a hand through her slightly curly hair. She bit her lip, thinking of a possible solution, before she heard a voice call out in the cold night air. "Hey!"
She turned around, to see the shaggy haired boy that had spoken up in the pub walking towards her. "Hey, you're the singer from the pub right?"
Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, I'm Phoebe, you were the racing driver right?" she introduced herself.
He smiled at her, "Yeah, I'm Lance. You were, great by the way. You've got an amazing voice." he complimented.
Phoebe had the usual comments now and again about her voice, and she could tell who was serious, and who was just being polite. She could tell his words were genuine, and it made her smile even more. "Thanks. I really appreciate it." she thanked him. She frowned slightly when she remembered that he had been sat with two others in the pub, but was now alone, "Where are you're friends?"
"Oh, they went home a couple of minutes ago, I had to take a phone call so I stayed back. But what are you doing here after hours?" he asked her back, teasing smile on his face.
"I had to pack up my stuff, and now," she gestured towards the bus sign. "I've missed my bus." she said, a half smile on her face. "Which is great."
Lance looked at her for a few moments, biting the inside of his cheek as he went through his options in his mind. "Do you, want a ride?" he asked.
She turned her head towards him, her hair bouncing slightly in the wind. "Seriously?" she asked, surprised that he didn't really know her and was offering her a ride in his car.
"Yeah." he tilted his head when he realised how it sounded. "That probably makes me seem like a serial killer, I'm not, to clarify." he assured her, his accent still something Phoebe couldn't quite pinpoint.
The Fairer girl chuckled slightly before she nodded her head. "If you wouldn't mind- I don't particularly fancy walking at this hour."
Lance smiled. "It's okay, I didn't like the idea of you walking home when it's this dark. Thought I'd ask. C'mon, my car's this way."
Phoebe had learnt in school at a very young age, to not get into strangers cars, especially alone. But, she had two options :
1) get in Lance's car and pray
2) walk home, alone, in the dark
At that moment in time, option 1 was more inviting to Phoebe.
She followed Lance to the car park, and scanned it, looking for a car she thought could belong to a racing driver.
She got her answer very quickly.
In the middle of the now almost empty car park, there was a large white Mercedes GTR, almost glistening in the moonlight, making the other cars look rusted and old.
Phoebe's mouth dropped open in shock, and she stopped in the middle of the car park. "Woah." she breathed out.
Lance noticed that she had fallen behind, and turned around, smiling slightly at her reaction. "Hey." he called out to her. Her eyes flickered from the car over to him. He gestured his head towards it, "Do you want to stare at the car or do you want a ride in it?" he asked, taking his keys out of his back pocket.
Phoebe's lips turned up into a small smile. "Sorry, I've never seen a fancy car before." she explained.
Lance shook his head, "It's alright."
Phoebe walked back towards him, as he unlocked the car. They both got in, and Phoebe was in awe of the fancy interior the car had. "Oh my god, maybe I should ditch singing and become a race car driver."
Lance laughed at her. "No, please stick to singing. You're great."
Phoebe smiled at him, as she did up her seatbelt, Lance pulling out of the car park slowly.
"So where am I taking you?" Lance asked.
Phoebe looked over to him. "Oh uh- I rent a place on Cornelia Street. It's this really small apartment, one bedroom, smallest kitchen in the world, smallest living room." she let out a small chuckle. "But it works for just me."
Lance smiled. "See, I'd love to have a place like that. I've always lived in massive houses and apartment complexes. But sometimes I just feel like I have too much space for one person." he explained.
Phoebe frowned. "Really?"
Lance nodded. "Yeah. When I'm not at races and I get to stay in my apartment, I have like four rooms to myself. Some of the room are full of my race stuff, simulators or racing gear, trophies and what not. But, it can get kinda' lonely."
"That sounds- horrible." Phoebe said honestly.
"It can be." he sighed. He shook his head slightly. "Sorry- that was really deep."
Phoebe smiled. "It's okay. sometimes you just need to tell people stuff." she shrugged.
To both of their surprises, they had arrived at the end of Cornelia Street. The large apartment complex that Phoebe lived in. "This is me." she said, pointing to the building.
Lance pulled up beside it, pulling up the handbrake. "It was nice meeting you Phoebe." he said, looking over at her.
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you too."
She unblocked her seat belt, and went to get out of the car, when she stopped. Lance frowned slightly, worming why she was hesitating. After a few seconds, she turned back to him. "You're not doing anything now right?" she asked. It was a stupid question, but she asked it anyways.
Lance shook his head, a curious look on his face.
"No, why?"
"Do you-" she paused, "Do you want to come inside?"
Lances eyes widened slightly at the question, but smiled. He didn't know why, but Phoebe intrigued him. She had the voice of an angel what she sang, and she was easy to be around.
It was weird to him. He hadn't been able to feel comfortable around new people his entire life, it usually took him a while to become comfortable with others, but with Phoebe, a woman he had met a couple of hours ago, he was comfortable.
"Yeah sure." he answered her question.
Both of them stepped out of the car, and walked towards the door of the building.
————
HEY GUYS
so meet phoebe!
and lance but you knew who he was anyways lol