A few days had passed, and the boys had found themselves in the studio with a half eaten box of pizza and several coffees strewn about. Darren had all but worn himself to a pulp as he laid on the couch next to the drum set. He wanted to help with composing the music as best he could, but that day seemed to only drain him of all his creativity. He couldn’t quite place why exactly. When he first agreed to be in the band, he was meant to do dual duty by drumming and singing, but when the task was becoming too much, Leo brought Johnny in. The rest would become history.
“Darren, Earth to Darren.” Leo called as Darren glanced over at him.
“Yeah?” Darren asked.
“I have some new lyrics if you want to try and work something out.”
Darren gave a soft nod and sat up as Leo handed him a small piece of paper. Darren wasted no time grabbing the paper as he read over the lyrics carefully, his gears turning ever so slightly as he read, re-read, and re-re-read. He could begin to feel an arrangement building inside, but it was still very much in the early stages. He hummed softly as the lyrics had looped in my mind ever so slightly. He wanted to make the song as great as possible. However, as quickly as he was able to create an arrangement in his mind, his thoughts had crashed and burned.
“THIS IS HOPELESS!” Darren cried, making the other two boys look over at him and Leo.
“Hey, it’s okay, man. We can pause for now. I know we’re all worn out from the day. Let’s just call it, and we’ll pick it up tomorrow.”
Darren gave a nod as Eric and Johnny began to clean up the studio.
After the boys left, they found themselves back in their apartment, trying their best to relax. For three of the four, it wasn’t very difficult, but for Darren, all he could think of was how to keep on composing for the band. He wanted the song to be great. He couldn’t quite place the why behind the urge to make the song near perfect. He knew it didn’t have to match the caliber of Motzart, Bach, or even Beethoven, but the song had to be good. And the simple fact it wasn’t nearly there yet, even though it was at the early stages, infuriated him. He sat with his friends while they watched what looked like one of the Final Destination movies. Darren couldn’t even focus on that.
With a small sputter, he stood up, earning a confused look from all the boys.
“I’m gonna clear my head. Cool if I take the van?”
Leo gave a soft nod while Eric and Johnny said their goodbyes. With that, Darren grabbed the van keys and went on his way.
Now, for most, driving aimlessly would be a waste of time. Not for Darren. Even when he lived in Chicago, he would drive around to clear his head. Although, when he lived in Chicago, he could also walk from place to place. A luxury not found in Houston without paying a parking fee. So he settled for driving until he could find somewhere to stop.
After a few more minutes of driving, Darren found himself at a local music store called Cactus Records, where he decided to stop in hopes of finding something to inspire him. When he entered, he was greeted by the familiar smell of dust paired with old carpet. Music that sounded like David Bowie’s Life on Mars only muffled and hard to distinguish due to the old speaker system. He greeted the cashier with a polite smile but only got a short grumbled “hello” in response. Darren gave a small shrug and began to wander the store.
After what felt like twenty minutes, Darren had slowly filled a bag with various albums ranging from Frank Sinatra to The Ramones. He had started to scan another aisle when he heard the doorbell ding, followed by some footsteps.
“Hey Joey.” A voice greeted.
“Hey Anna.”
Darren froze slightly when he heard Anna’s name. He quickly turned his head, seeing her bundled up in a jacket with a scarf and beanie. It reminded him of home, strangely enough. The way most people in Chicago would often do everything they could to stay warm. Hats and coats lightly covered in snow. Her appearance was familiar to him - she was comforting that way. Much like the previous times he had seen her, there was always something about her that left an impression. He quickly went back to scanning the albums in front of him as he took note of how her footsteps sounded.
A quiet rhythm resembled a soft drum beat. With his eyes fixated on the albums, he kept listening to her steps, hearing a soft melody. He listened closely to how she moved around the store. Taking mental notes on how she would stop every so often to flip through the albums, which also sounded very rhythmic to him. The song slowly came together in his mind. He knew he had to follow her. As he did, he slowly began to watch her. He observed how she would bite her lower lip when in deep thought and scrunch up her face ever so slightly as she dug through the plastic cases. He would also see her eyes move up to peek just under her eyelashes, making him quickly duck down, fearing she would think he was stalking her.
A few moments of this went on until she wandered into the same aisle as him. At first, she didn’t seem to notice him, to which Darren took the chance to slowly back away only to freeze midstep when he heard her begin to speak.
“You know, if you’re going to follow someone around in a store, you can at least breathe through your nose.” She said as Darren’s eyes widened and his face became beet red.
“I - uh - sorry…” He said with a small, nervous tone in his voice. He slowly kept his gaze down, fearing he had really done it and had lost his newly found friend. Well, to him, at least, they were friends. She was always vague when they would contact each other, but that alone was enough allure for him to want to spend more time with her.
“It’s fine… it’s a free country, right?” She shrugged ever so slightly, grabbing an album from the shelf. “So, what made you come out here?”
“Oh, I wanted to clear my head…long day at the studio, you know?” Darren chuckled as Anna gave a soft hum in response.
“So you decided to raid a local record shop and blow your paycheck?”
“Uh, something like that. What about you?” He asked.
“Today’s my day off. Just wanted to see if I could find anything. Looks like I did.” She said, making her way up to the register.
“Huh, I - wait!” He called. Anna turned around, wondering why he would want her to wait so badly.
“Yeah?”
“Uh, what album did you grab? Sorry if I’m being nosy, I just…clearly I’m indecisive. Figured maybe seeing what you picked would help narrow my options?” A nervous chuckle left Darren as he waited for her response, only adding to his anxiety. Anna, however, felt stunned by the request. Almost as if it was mildly invasive. On the one hand, she could show him, allowing him to see a small glimpse into her world. On the other, she could just keep the mystery alive and well.
With a small breath, she turned the album to face him, revealing (What’s the Story?) Morning Glory by Oasis as the album in question. He noted how an album from 1995 seemed to have high significance to her.
“That’s a great choice. I guess that means I should just leave with a couple of these then. Um, if you don’t mind me being forward, I’d be happy to buy it for you.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m good.”
“Oh…okay. So I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah.” With that, Anna made her way to the register and then out the door.
Darren watched every step of the way, again noting her movements. He shook his head to snap himself out of his emotions and made his purchase.
When he arrived back at the apartment, it was around 6:30 P.M. and Leo was sitting on the couch watching TV still while Eric and Johnny were screaming at each other down the hallway over what sounded like a lost game of Mario Kart.
“Where the hell have you been?” Leo asked, not moving his eyes from the screen.
“Driving and then to a record shop.” Leo gave a soft nod while Darren set his bag down onto the table.
“Cool. You put gas in the van?”
“I always do.”
“So what’d you get?” Leo asked, hearing the bag rustle around.
“Just some old Bowie, Ramones, and Eagles CDs. There any food?”
“Yeah, we got some Chinese. There’s some left over for you if you want.”
“Thanks Leo.”
Leo gave a soft wave as Darren went to reheat the food, noting how the band had left a pile of paper plates near the sink and groaning softly. Though he didn’t bother to complain. He knew how tired they all were and figured at least one of them would want to clean it. If not, he would remind them of the chore chart Eric had made for all them.
When his food was ready, Darren sat by Leo in the living room with a breath.
“Any luck finding a group yet?” Darren asked. Leo gave a small huff and shook his head. “Leo…I know I sound like a broken record but remember what Mr. Costello said? You have to find a group here or else we take everything back to Chicago.”
Leo rolled his eyes as his friend’s words landed on his ears.
“I told you and money bags that I’m working on it. As soon as I find one, I’ll tell you. But for now, just drop it.” Darren gave a sad look but decided to not push any farther. He sighed, giving his friend a side hug before he began to eat his food.
“I ran into her today…” Darren said quietly as he munched on his food.
“Who?” Leo asked, raising a brow at his friend.
“Anna.”
“The girl from the concert? What, you ask her on a date?”
“No!” Darren cried as Leo only grinned in response. “I only said that I ran into her. How did you get, ‘ask her on a date,’ from that?”
“Hey, it’s a fair question seeing as she cut your hair…what, a week ago? Maybe try seeing her in person instead of waiting by your phone like a little lost puppy?” Leo replied, crossing his arms.
“You don’t get it.”
“Then help me get it. Because right now all I’m seeing is my best friend falling head over heels for someone who barely gives him the time of day.”
Darren gave Leo a slight glare as he shoveled some food into his mouth.
“She’s… she’s just different. Something about her just drew me in. I can’t fully explain it. If I could, I would, I can’t. The only thing I can kind of explain is how much I want to get to know her. When she cut my hair, it was like she was a completely different person. Her smile, her laugh…I saw her.”
As Leo heard his friend's explanation, he couldn’t help but think of how much this girl who they only knew for a short time had such an effect on Darren. He felt a slight ache for Darren pinning the way he was. However, at the end of the day, this was his best friend. They supported each other in every aspect. From the moment they met, they were like brothers. Even when they got on each other's nerves, they were practically inseparable. With a soft breath, Leo finally said,
“Okay, I’ll make you a deal. You find a more functional way to get to know this girl, and I’ll find a group so we don’t have to go back to Chicago early. Sound fair?”
Darren stopped chewing on some chicken in his mouth and swallowed quietly.
“Promise?”
“Promise on a stack of bibles and all that shit. Womb to tomb?”
“Birth to Earth and I’ll live to regret it.” The boys clapped their hands together as they made their promise to one another. Darren, with a promise to be brave and Leo, a promise to get better.