We walked out of The Forgotten Kids with flushed cheeks and ringing ears. I couldn't speak for Michael or Luke but the few beers I'd drank had me feeling light and fluttery. Or maybe that was caused by Luke's hand brushing against mine as we walked to the parked car.
"Man, they were sick."
"They were almost as good as us," Luke joked to Michael. Although, and I didn't mean this with any disrespect to 5SOS, The Forgotten Kids were better.
"Dude," Michael scoffed. "I'd skip one of our shows to go to one of theirs."
"What'd you think, Stel?" Luke finally asked, not noticing that I'd be quiet up until this point. I thought that they were good, really good.
I'm talking, the potential to reinvent pop-punk all together, good. They had the spirit of Blink-182 with the lyrical ability of Good Charlotte and, most baffling, more musical talent than almost any young punk band I'd come across. I'd doubted Harry and I was wrong.
"The thing with pop-punk bands is they usually lack in musical ability, and make up for it with their attitude and the fact that they can put on a good show," Luke's hand brushed against mine again. "But those guys were... the kind of talent that comes around once a decade."
"So, you agree that we suck compared to them," Michael laughed, pushing his hands into his jeans pockets.
"I shook my head. "No. What I think is they're about to start a national tour and you guys need to be the supporting act."
Both boys stopped walking, their faces looking at me like I'd suggested they become a country music band. "Is that even possible?" Michael whispered. His green eyes looked at me hopefully, like I held every answer to all of his unknown questions.
"No," Luke shook his head. "We aren't ready to do that."
"Sure you are," I argued, and I meant it.
"Yeah," Michael echoed excitedly. "Sure we are!"
Maybe they didn't have as much experience as The Forgotten Kids but I'd watched the way Five Seconds of Summer interacted with their audiences and fans. They were already good, but they had the potential to be phenomenal. Still, it wasn't my place to convince them. "Maybe talk to your manager about it."
"Our what?" The boys asked simultaneously.
"You don't have a manager?" I was surprised that they somehow wrote songs and booked their own gigs while managing everything else that came with being in a band. It was impressive. Which I was planning to tell them until the pair started bickering right in front of me.
"See?" Luke groaned, "We are the worst band ever."
"You're the smart one... why haven't you thought about getting us a manager before?"
"I'm not the smart one. Ashton's the smart one. Why hasn't he thought of this?"
"Yeah. Ashton should have thought about this," Michael agreed with a nod. "Call him now."
"I'm not calling him," Luke frowned. "You call him."
"Why should I have to call him? He never listens to me, and besides - "
"Hey guys," I attempted to interrupt. "I'll just be at the car when you're ready to stop fighting like a married couple." Neither of them seemed to notice much, still bickering away. I kind of felt like the kid who thought they'd caused their parents divorce.
As I leaned against Luke's car, they kept arguing. My mind kept turning over. The more I thought of it, the more I realised that this was a good idea. Them supporting The Forgotten Kids. Their songs were good, they already had a local following who adored them. Imagine what they could accomplish after a national tour? Not to mention that first night I'd watched 5SOS perform, Harry was there so there must already be some interest. I wondered how many other labels were interested in signing 5SOS.
Harry, I kicked the ground with the toe of my shoe. The only flaw in all of this was that he could probably make this happen, but that would require me to swallow my pride and admit that I was wrong about The Forgotten Kids, and wrong about him.
Given the intensity of our past conversations, and the rejection I felt after I kissed him in the storeroom, calling him and asking him for a favour seemed kind of mortifying, but then the entire car ride back to my place, Luke kept talking really fast - a lot like he did when he came off stage - and then he ordered Michael to text Calum and Ashton for an emergency band meeting.
He was so excited by this small suggestion that I'd said in passing and knowing that I might have had a chance to actually make it happen made me realise that I could survive the bitter taste that would come with asking Harry for a favour, especially if it resulted in something good for Luke and the rest of the boys.
"I'm sorry I can't come in," Luke said as we stood outside my front door. Michael was in the car doing a terrible job of pretending he wasn't watching us. "But I called the emergency band meeting, I can't not be there."
"It's okay," I stood up on my toes, "I'm sure you'll find a way to make it up to me."
Luke bit into his lip, "Let me know where to go and I'll get you there..."
A half-laugh, half-groan emitted from my throat, "Did you really just use your own lyrics on me?"
He laughed. "You're the only who told me off for stealing your material," he rubbed the back of his neck. "The lyrics didn't work, did it?"
"Nope," I laughed. "Better luck next time, Quiff Boy."
Before he could say anything else, I gave Michael a wave, Luke one last smile and then I disappeared behind my front door, because unlike Olivia and her plethora of stupid dating rules, I'd decided on one simple rule of my own: when it doubt, leave them wanting more.
-
On Sunday, I read the email from my parents (they were in Greece, incase you're wondering) and sent a lengthy reply back. As I clicked through their most recent photos, their faces full of smiles and the shadow of my dad's finger still hovering in the corner of half of them - I realised just how much I missed them. They'd been gone for five months now, we were almost at the half way point.
Instead of sitting around feeling lonely or sorry for myself, I called Aunty Peg. "How do you feel about tacos and The Voice?"
"Not tonight, Stella," she answered, sounding tired.
"Are you okay?" Aunty Peg never turned down Mexican or reality tv. I was instantly worried.
"It's just a little headache," her voice brightened up a bit. "Let's reschedule for tomorrow night."I nodded and we said our goodbyes.
I wondered if I should go over to Aunty Peg's with food anyway. She'd probably get cross at me for fussing over her. Then I tried to call Olivia but surprise, surprise, no answer. She was probably having sex with Oliver in a hot air balloon or somewhere else equally ridiculous. I couldn't help but laugh at the thought.
In the end, I went to bed early and woke up still feeling pretty sorry for myself. I couldn't work out why the house felt so empty, usually I didn't mind my own company. Maybe I was having an off day. Maybe I was annoyed at myself for not kissing Luke before he left last night.
"See you later guys," I called out to Ringo and Penny Lane before I locked up the house. That's it, Stella. Talk to the goldfish, I rolled my eyes at myself, starting my car and turning the radio up loud.
My mood lifted substantially when Doris walked into the store. She had an iPad in a floral case tucked underneath her arm."Here for a Spotify lesson?" I smiled. Her wispy white-grey hair was held up in place with what had to be an entire can of hairspray.
Her thin lips pursed into a smile of her own, hands shaking slightly as she handed the iPad over. "Only if it's not too much trouble, dear."
"Not at all," I reassured her, praying that Grunge wouldn't find out about this because I technically, I was sending a customer away from the store. Then again, I couldn't imagine he'd be able to say no to Doris either.
Within a few minutes, Doris's iPad was connected to the stores wifi (yet another broken rule, sorry Grunge) and I'd downloaded the Spotify app. A few customers came and went but Doris didn't seem to mind the interruptions. I wondered if she had any family close by.
"Any time you have a question, come back and I'll help you," I told her after I'd made her a playlist with Buddy Holly, Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis. "Before you go, can I sign you up for our loyalty program?"
It wasn't just my way of trying to bring her back as a customer, I genuinely enjoyed talking to Doris. Once I'd entered her details into the computer, she smiled at me fondly, thanking me for my help once again.
"It's a shame your boyfriend wasn't here," she said as another customer walked through the door. "I would have liked to see him again. He's very strapping."
I laughed, still not correcting her that Luke was not actually my boyfriend. The elderly never know how many days they have left, you gotta do whatever you can to fill those days will smiles. "Believe me, he knows it."
As she walked out of the store, I turned around to see if the customer needed any help or if they were just browsing. Instead, I came face to face with a pair of familiar green eyes that I was pretty sure weren't here to pick up the latest Coldplay album.
Harry's lips twitched with an amused smirk. "Boyfriend?"
sorry if there's any typos. i tried to edit it but i have a fever and i feel like i'm dying so