Marissa slid the piece of paper across the smooth counter top, giving it a tap with her perfectly manicured nail once for effect. “These are our final tour dates, it's all down. I got dad to force Maureen into giving him a copy. Thanks daddy!” she shouted.
“You're welcome sweetie!” called Mr James' silky voice from the room over.
Being too focused on the dates in front of her, Keely didn't even scowl at the voice that bothered her so. She didn't know half of the city names on the tour list that stretched across both the United States and Canada. But, to be fair, she'd always sucked when it came to geography.
Still, a few of the dates paired with the cities stood out for her. The first show would be in New York – no surprise there. There would be a show in Vancouver, but she didn't even want to think about the implications that arose with that city. Close to Christmas there was a show in Green Bay, would that mean she'd have to spend her first Christmas away from home? And the final show of their tour was in Seattle, which seemed rather eery to her.
“Here,” murmured Keely, shoving the piece back across to the other girl. Grabbing her bag from the chair next to her, she sent Marissa a distracted smile. “Thanks for showing me, and now I have to go.”
“Hey, where are you going?”
Sending a grin over her shoulder, Keely slipped the strap of the bag over her shoulder. “I've got a concert to go to.”
“Huh?”
Rolling her eyes, she leaned against the doorjamb, looking back to her still confused friend who hadn't moved from her position against the counter. “Tyler Collins, concert tonight, M James, keep up.”
She blinked, before arching an eyebrow in Keely's direction. “And why wasn't I invited?”
“Sold out,” shrugged she, “You probably could get backstage-”
Marissa interrupted by mimicking gagging. “Backstage sucks, it really isn't exciting at all.”
Chuckling, Keely shook her head, “You guys are just so jaded. Is it really that bad back there?”
“No, probably not to someone who's never been backstage before. But it's just us getting ready before the show, and then hanging around after. And, don't mind me asking, but how in the hell did you get tickets to a sold out show?”
“I didn't, Seth did, and he's going to murder me if I'm late. So I'll see you around.”
Not waiting for an answer in fear that Marissa would draw her into conversation again, Keely hastily departed the kitchen. Moving hastily through the kitchen with the private elevator in mind, wondering vaguely if there was a way to get to the apartment by stairs. She'd have to ask Marissa about that another day.
“Goodbye Keely,” said Mr James, not looking up from his newspaper at his perch on one of the tasteful couches.
“Mr James,” answered Keely stiffly.
She knew it would sound rude, but she just couldn't help it. Dashing towards the elevator, Keely was down hailing a cab in record time, although the drive to her hotel wasn't as fast, New York traffic really was a pain in the ass.
And within forty five after she'd gotten back to her room; Keely had managed to shower, do her hair and sufficiently be ready to go. Well, besides the fact that she was lacking in the clothes department. Hurrying around her rather empty closet, she tugged on a pair of dark jeans, almost falling over the legs while she tried to move as she tugged them up, and then dragging a Peter Frampton shirt over her head as she rushed around the floor. A black bomber jacket and grey scarf later, Keely was ready and sprinting down her stairs.
Very nearly crashing down to the ground on the bottom step, she managed to shove all her things into her bag before running out the door, her bag trailing behind her as she moved, slamming the door shut behind her. Checking her watch as she opted for the stairs – there was no waiting involved in that option – Keely smiled triumphantly, because, although she'd very nearly died in hurry, she was only five minutes late.
“See you Mr Englis!” called Keely easily without so much as glancing in his way, just shoving her way through the front doors.
Of course, there was Seth, always infuriatingly on time, leaning back against the side of his car, his arms folded in front of his chest. “Should I just start coming five minutes late to everything?” he asked, smirking as she descended the steps.
“I'm going to choose to ignore that comment,” Keely responded, resiting the urge to glare at him.
He just raised an eyebrow at her, running a hand through his hair as she hit flat ground. “Are you going to be no fun tonight, too?”
That time she couldn't resist the urge to narrow her eyes at him, hastily taking up the step left between him and punched him in the stomach. Only afterwards did she realise it most likely hurt her more than it did him.
“Ow,” she complained, shaking her hand.
Laughing, Seth shoved up from the car, pulling her door open carelessly before skirting around the hood.
Throwing her bag into the back seat as she habitually did, Keely fell down into the passenger's seat, dropping her head against the headrest comfortably. “Do you even know how to get to the theatre?”
Rolling his eyes, Seth gunned the engine. “I've left in this city for a few years, except that half a year in L.A, I think I can find my way around the city,” he answered confidently, putting a hand on her headrest as he looked behind them, swinging the car around with one hand as it shot backwards.
“You lived in L.A?” Keely asked, slouching back in her seat.
“Yeah, bad couple months,” Seth snorted, “I hated it there.”
Her eyebrows rose. “What happened?”
“Nothing really, just didn't like it there, at all. The lady really isn't a tramp because she doesn't like California, let me tell you. I hated the studio that UAE has there, people were way too fake.”
Keely smirked, “So it's true that the smart people go to New York and the beautiful people go to California?”
“They aren't all beautiful,” answered Seth, giving a shudder.
Laughing, she looked out through the windshield, looking at the city alight by nothing but the street lights, the sun having set long enough before that the city was given that familiar, almost eery, sheen from the bright lights. As promised, Seth found his way through the horribly congested roads, getting people to swear out their windows or flip him the finger as he cut through the traffic, only succeeding in making Keely laugh as she sang with the radio.
Almost a half an hour later, with much bickering – although it was at the least good natured – and Keely singing, Seth swung into a parallel parking spot that she would have thought would be impossible for his car to fit, but he did it anyways. She almost wished they were two minutes later, then Feel Like Makin' Love could have finished.
Shoving out of the car, Keely continued singing the song down the road, a capella this time, though.
As they joined the line she caught sight of Seth slipping his hood on discretely from the corner of her eye. Smirking, she looked forward to the door to the theater, sing more quietly now, the boy really didn't want to be recognized.
When he handed her the ticket, Keely asked, “Can you play that song on the guitar, honestly?”
He smirked broadly, his eyes slightly shadowed from an obvious lack of sleep. “Yeah, it's probably my favorite one from Bad Company.”
“I'm still all for the song Bad Company, off the album Bad Company, by the band Bad Company,” answered Keely as she stepped forward in the line, Seth chuckling behind her.
Rolling her eyes, she handed the ticket to the man at the front doors, waiting with a smirk on her face as he got searched since he apparently looked suspicious. Standing there, her arms crossed in front of her, Keely couldn't help but notice the side long looks she was receiving, she was sure she wasn't a fan of it already.
At least she wasn't famous yet – she'd been in a few magazines but that was mostly because of Seth or the boys and while her song was on the charts and radio, it was still her debut single – she wouldn't be getting stared at when she was just at a concert for the music.
When Seth was finally cleared for not having any weapons, Keely stuffed her hands into the front pockets of her jeans as they walked into the crowd, cutting through the people until it became impossible to go any further.
“Are you ever going to take off your hood?” she asked loudly, leaning towards him to be heard over the loud chatter in the theater.
“Yeah, once the show really starts going and people aren't paying any attention.”
She was about to reply, but at that moment the lights dimmed, and she focused on the stage.
The show was great.
Well, to be honest, the opening act wasn't too amazing. She didn't have the charisma that Keely had seen with artists, there was no connecting with the audience the way that Janis Joplin had always done so easily, none of the way that The Doors' – particularly Morrison's – enthusiasm had rubbed off onto the crowd or the awe that people would be doused in while watching Billie Holiday.
There was none of that, but that didn't mean the girl on stage wasn't good. She just didn't put all of herself into the music, and it made it sound more robotic than soulful. At least in Keely's opinion, music was all about emotion, so what was the point of performing if you're not going to give your music the emotion it deserved? All though, she couldn't exactly talk, she might feel like those few times she'd performed she'd given everything to her music, but she couldn't really say seeing as she hadn't seen herself play the music.
But then Tyler Collins came on, and Keely could feel the smile spread across her face as she looked towards the stage, people screeching deafeningly around her. His shaggy blonde hair was sticking out from beneath a hat, wearing a pilot style jacket, jeans and holding a Gibson guitar she knew very well was worth seventeen thousand dollars, the Super 400 CES. That was when Keely started to shout with the rest of the crowd, feeling herself jump up and down in excitement.
She also knew that without a doubt Seth would be teasing her about it, but she couldn't help herself. Keely was feeling like many of the many Beatles fan girls, although she wasn't crying yet, so she wasn't that bad.
He was amazing to be honest. Keely just loved to see people who really enjoyed performing, and you could see the chemistry between Collins and his back up band. There were some people who you just know love something, and she could see it. The way he connected to the audience, laughing during a song, eyes serious if the emotions of the song called for it; it was just perfect.
Towards the end of the show, Tyler Collins waved to the crowd, but Keely found his eyes suspiciously locked. Tipping her head to the side, she saw Seth smiling and sending a nod up to the stage. He wasn't wearing that dimple smile, but at least he didn't look as terribly sad as she'd seen him before. Seth just looked normal.
“Like the show?” he asked her, pulling his hood back on his head as the people began to mill out around them.
She just rolled her eyes, nudging him softly with her elbow in the stomach. “You know I did, you jerk.”
“Ouch, words hurt,” he joked, pressing his hands to his heart.
Shaking her head although there was a small smile working it's way onto her lips, Keely turned her head back to the stage, pulling absentmindedly on the long scarf she still had wound about her neck. The people had already half migrated away from the theater, leaving the stage crew to demolish the set in peace.
“C'mon,” Seth told her abruptly, slipping his arm around her shoulders easily, tugging her towards a suspicious looking side door.
Grinning, Keely peered up at him, “I thought we weren't going to go backstage?”
Seth snorted, jokingly dragging her closer and making Keely laugh as he whispered in her ear. “Backstage is boring as hell, you're going to figure that out after this tour. But for now, we're going to back there long enough to meet up with Ty and then head out.”
She frowned slightly, taking in his words, “We're going out with Tyler Collins?”
“Yeah,” he answered easily, dropping his arm to open the door and hold it open for her, “Get going, rebel.”
Not having to be told twice, Keely hurried through the doorway. But paused immediately after, shoving her hands into her pockets awkwardly as she looked around the dark back stage. Really, it wasn't at all like she imagined, she'd expected something glamorous or grungy like she'd seen in movies growing up, no matter what the guys had told her. But it just looked like what had been backstage at the Chrome Palace.
People were walking around hurriedly, looking like they had something to do. The artists she'd seen perform were just sitting around, leaning against walls drinking water or chatting with other people. They just looked all rather normal when they weren't showered in the light that was the stage, just normal people.
“Not so exciting isn't it?” Seth asked, closing the door behind her.
Smirking, she turned her head to look at him, not so much as blinking when she found his chest almost brushing her back, after all she hadn't given him much room between her and the door. “I was hoping you were lying about the twenty hookers.”
He just laughed down at her, “I'm sure you could put that on your writer.”
“Ha ha,” answered Keely sarcastically, slapping him absentmindedly on the stomach.
She barely had time to register that she should stop doing that, his stomach was much to hard for her to keep doing that and be able to play the guitar, before a voice called out.
“You son of a bitch!”
Eyes widening, Keely's gave swiveled around to see Tyler Collins striding towards them. He was looking as handsome as he always had on the covers to his albums, the shaggy blonde hair falling appealingly, his bright blue eyes crinkled with laughter and the angular face. It was almost a shock to see him in person, if she was being truthful, Tyler Collins had been her music crush for a long time, how could it not be? But she would never say that aloud.
Anyways she didn't believe that it held truth anymore, her stomach might have been jumping in excitement, but that wasn't because of his good looks, but because an amazingly talented musician was walking towards her. And if she'd continue to be honest, if it was all about the looks, she would be jumping up and down over Seth. Because honestly, the boy had those strange golden hazel eyes that could deepen as they looked at you, the lean yet muscular physique, that soft dark hair that was always messy and sticking up on end, plus that moment when he smiled with the single dimple was swoon worthy. Yes, he was much sexier than Tyler Collins could ever pull off, but that was only in her opinion. And while Seth was definitely the most talented musician that she'd ever met, she didn't faint at the sight of him in the studio everyday, why would she faint over Collins?
“Hey man,” grinned Seth, side stepping her to meet the other guy.
Chewing on her lip to hold in the laughter, she watched as they did that odd thing that men considered a “manly hug” the clapping their hands together and then pulling each other into the bear hug where they hit each others backs.
Although Collins had a couple years on Seth, the later still stood just a bit taller than him in the hug.
“I missed you, man,” said Collins, smiling madly as he pulled out of the hug and clapped Seth on the shoulder. “I would say come on tour with us, but if you told me to rewrite a song because it isn't good enough every day I'd punch you in the face.”
“And you'd only ever get one punch in,” smirked Seth, returning the clapping on the shoulder. “It was a good show, you might want to tell your opening act to tighten it up a bit, though.”
Standing silently to the side, Keely smirked broadly. At least she wasn't the only one to notice.
“It's the riding end of the tour, we only have four shows left. She's just holding on.”
Seth shrugged, “Your choice.”
Before Keely could blink, Tyler Collins had turned away from Seth to her. “You're Keely Staub, right?”
“That's me,” answered she, quite proud that she found her voice to speak.
He grinned broadly. “Yeah, Seth told me he was bringing you to the show. I heard your song, For You, it's great. I love the hook. And someone showed me a video of you two singing Hospital Beds, seriously, I'm pissed that I wasn't in town to see that.”
“Uh, thanks,” she replied, smiling up at him, “You had a great show.”
In her mind, Keely swore she sounded like some dumb blonde ditz from a cliche fifties television show, and she wanted to kick herself in the face for it. But the two boys didn't seem to notice, just continued on as normal.
“I've just got to grab a jacket, then we can go,” said Tyler, pointing behind him.
It was only then that Keely realized the rock star had changed out of his concert clothes. Instead he had opted for a plain Dire Straits and a pair of faded jeans. As the fell into step towards his changing room, Keely and Seth lagging slightly behind, she tipped her head up to him, seeing the slight stubble that had worked its way across his chin. “Where are we going anyways?” she asked.
“You'll see when we get there,” answered Seth evasively before smirking down at her. “So should I be switching rebel for fan girl now?”
Scowling, Keely shoved him away from her, but barely succeeded in making him move farther than a step away while he chuckled at her. “You know what? I'm fine with rebel, it's all good, I'm liking the Bowie reference now.”
“Of course you are,” Seth laughed, nudging her with his arm.
Quickly Tyler slipped a jacket over his shoulders, making Keely frown when she realized they were all wearing leather jackets. Seth had a gray hoodie beneath his open one, hers was zipped up to her scarf wrapped around her neck and Tyler was wearing his open over top of his t-shirt with a scarf falling from around his neck. That was oddly disconcerting.
“Take care of the guitar!” shouted Tyler when he saw one of the men packing away the instruments from the musicians' dressing rooms.
Snorting Seth just nudged Keely out of the side door, gripping Tyler by the back of the jacket and yanking him out of the theater before he could complain anymore. “They're not going to be any nicer to the guitar with you screaming at them every second,” Seth pointed out, shutting the door firmly behind him.
“Yeah, you're telling me that, I've seen you scare some poor guy shitless when he dropped your empty guitar case, the only reason you didn't punch him was Marco and Colton dragged you away,” pointed out Tyler, straightening his jacket.
Keely snorted, finding herself sandwiched between the two tall men as they moved down the road. “He seriously did that?”
“Yeah, your boy, he has issues. I bet that kid committed himself.”
“Well, he did quit the crew the next day,” added Seth thoughtfully.
Laughing Keely buried her face in her hands, feeling more comfortable out in the streets. Maybe the air wasn't clear – it was New York City after all – but it helped clear her head.
“Okay, you play the guitar, Seth told me,” began Tyler, nudging her with his elbow so she looked up from her hands. “Tell me you have more sense than he does, you're a Gibson girl, right? We need someone to settle this, he only has a few Gibson's in his collection. I need to knock some kind of sense into his head.”
Smirking, Keely glanced at Seth before looking back to the other boy. “Actually, I'm a Fender girl all the way, though I do want the Lennon Anniversary Casino. But still, Stratocasters and Telecasters all the way.”
“Oh, c'mon,” groaned Tyler, “I need to meet someone with some sense.”
“Yeah, do I need to remind you that Hendrix played a Stratocaster more than anything else?” pointed out Seth.
“I'm not talking about this anymore, not with both of you against me.”
Although Keely had no idea where they were going, she quite enjoyed the walk with the boys down the sometimes brightly lit streets and sometimes grungy ones. The first meeting with NSR she had known that Seth, Marco and Colton were good friends, something that was proved from them being childhood friends, and that bond couldn't compare to anything else.
But it was also obvious that Seth and Tyler were really good friends, maybe Seth didn't act as light hearted as he did with his boys, but there was still a lot of back and forth banter and joking around as they walked down the streets. It was enjoyable to be with them when they were happy to see each other after so long apart, even though it was more often than not the two insulting each other around her.
When they finally turned the corner, Keely stopped dead in her tracks. She remembered that parking lot clearly from the one time she'd bailed Seth out. She doubted that memory would ever leave her, it was just scarred in her mind for the rest of her life.
“You know I'm only eighteen, right?” she asked incredulously when they moved towards the doors of the bar.
Seth frowned, looking back at her. “Well, yeah, I know that. But you have a fake ID right? I mean, they're not going to ask you for it, not when you're with us, but still.”
Confused, she replied, “Well, yeah. But it happens to be in my bag that's sitting in your car.”
“Whatever,” complained Tyler, “Let's just go in, it's not going to matter anyways.”
Rolling her eyes, Keely quickly slipped between the boys to get in the bar first. Her eyes scoured the place instantly, wanting to know what she'd gotten herself into.
In all, she found it quite charming. There was an air of guitar smoke around her even though she knew for a fact that you weren't supposed to smoke in buildings anymore. Their was a long bar running along the wall, bar stools propped up next to it as well as tables and booths scattered across the room. There was a little staged crammed in the back, just giving enough room for the rickety old piano and the stool sitting in front of it. Pictures ran along the wall, and with a shock she saw both Seth and Tyler on the wall.
The photos were black and white, framed in simple black frames where they were nailed into the wooden walls. In his picture, Tyler was smiling broadly, leaning against the bar. But Seth, well, to be honest Seth was more or less scowling at the camera, sitting on the stool that was in front of the piano, an old Stratocaster sitting in his lap with a microphone stand in front of him.
"Why are you guys on the wall?" Keely asked when Seth stopped at her side.
He shrugged, "It's a thing they do for show. They'll just photograph anyone that plays in the bar, I mean, not many people do, it's not exactly the nicest place around."
When Seth and Tyler made their way naturally towards the bar, Keely hastened to follow, not wanting to be left alone in a bar when she was underage. While Seth was right, it wasn't the nicest bar she'd ever seen, everything looking rather rickety and old to be honest, the people in it weren't exactly dubious. They just looked like regular people, huddled around a bar on a Saturday night.
"Hey boys, I haven't seen you two around here in a while," said the barman with the thick middle and crooked noise, speaking familiarly to them.
"I'm just back in town for the night," offered Tyler.
He nodded, obviously unaffected by the fact that two of the biggest musicians around were sitting at his bar. The people occupying the bar didn't really give it too much notice, just looked over at them, widened their eyes, and then continued with their business of drinking. "Do you guys want the usual?"
"Can you just bring us a bottle of Jack?" asked Seth, leaning his elbows on the bar. "With three glasses? I think that'd be good," he trailed off, looking towards Keely.
She just shrugged.
"Yeah, be back in a second," answered the bartender, not even asking about her.
Grinning, Tyler leaned back against the counter, looking around the room with a contented look on his face. "Man, I miss the place when I'm on tour. I miss it more than my own apartment, playing here, it's like coming home."
Before either Keely or Seth could reply, the man came back with the bottle.
Without even asking a question, he placed a glass in front off all three of them, filling the glasses to the perfect amount of a shot.
"Cheers," they said in unison, tapping their glasses together before draining them.
Instantly she winced.
Oh, she hated the taste of alcohol, it tasted like nail polish remover to her as it ran down her throat. The two boys on either side of her barely even gave sign of the horrible taste running down their throats, just put their glasses down.
"So are one of you guys going to play something for us tonight?" asked the barkeep, not filling up their glasses again.
"Not me," answered Tyler promptly, "I just did a whole set. But, Seth-" he reached across Keely's back to slap the boy in question on the back "-will do a song, I'm sure."
"Yeah, sure," answered Seth, sending a pointed glare in Tyler's direction. "I'll be back after one song," he whispered in her ear, wrapping an arm around her waist as he said the words.
Smiling at him, she replied, "Take your time."
Sending one last grin at the two of them, Seth cut through the tables to the cramped little stage, a couple people clapped - she and Tyler gave him a cheer - but, for the most part, people just completely ignored his presence.
It wasn't until he sat behind the piano and began playing a tell tale song, making a smile stretch across her face.
Yes, she'd thought Tyler was great performing in front of all those people, but she'd never get over how good Seth was, whether he was just strumming his guitar carelessly, playing a classical piece on a piano or playing his new music. They could be alone, in a smoky bar, with the boys or with a club full of people; he always had that effect of connecting with an audience, the one she'd found lacking in the first performance of the night at Tyler's show.
"It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin."
"The kid's amazing when he plays, isn't he?" Tyler asked in her ear.
Grinning Keely nodded, stealing glances between Seth and Tyler as he continued to play smoothly with ease. Already gaining the attention of the occupants of the bar that had been content to ignore him before. "Yeah, he really is."
"He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes."
"You know, the first time I saw him play was here? That was the first time we talked," said Tyler conversationally, looking lost in the memory.
"Oh, yeah? What happened?" she asked, interested, still focusing on Seth in front of her, but she so rarely got to hear about anything from his past. Seth himself was never forth coming with information, and Colton and Marco would never tell something he didn't want to be heard.
Tyler laughed, "His first words to me exactly? He told me to fuck off."
"La la la, di da da
La la, di di da da dum."
"What?" Keely laughed incredulously.
"Exactly that, no joke. I'd seen him around UAE before, but I never really paid him any attention. I mean, he was this quiet seventeen year old kid."
Not able to help herself, she pointed out, "You're making yourself seem old."
Tyler just looked at her seriously. "I'm twenty five, in this business that is old, it can rip you to pieces if you're not ready for it. You get old prematurely, but if you're good enough to handle the business, somehow you stay young too, it's hard to explain. I mean, The Rolling Stones don't act like they're old, Keith Richards fell out of a fucking coconut tree a couple years ago. You get old young, but if you last until your old, it keeps you young."
"Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us all feelin' all right."
"Anyways, I was talking about the first time I really met Seth. I walked in here, and somehow the seventeen year kid had gotten in and was sitting up there with his guitar playing a song."
Keely asked, "What song?"
"Blowin' In The Wind by Bob Dylan," he answered immediately. "I mean, I'd barely noticed him before, but you kind of have to when he's up there, it's a given. He was only seventeen and he was a ten times better guitarist than me. He's one of those musicians that just has it, you're never going to be able to ignore them, because they're that good."
"Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke and he'll light up your smoke
But there's some place that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As his smile ran away from his face
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"."
"So why did you talk to him?" pressed she.
Tyler laughed, "Wouldn't you? I'd heard the new NSR single, and immediately written them off. I mean, they were crap. Just some poppy lyrics that can get you rich fast, but when it comes down to it, no one's going to remember you, not against people like The Beatles or Cash.
"But I saw him play, and seriously, I was wondering why the hell anyone would be putting music out like that when they were that good."
Glancing back to Seth, she watched as he leaned back away from the microphone set up over the piano as he sang the next words. She could remembered thinking the same thing about all of NSR when she'd seen them play good music for the first time.
"Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum."
"I pretty much asked him what was making him do it," continued Tyler, making her send him a momentary glance before looking back to Seth. "Just flat out, the moment he got off that stage and was packing up his guitar, I asked him why he was selling out his music."
"And that's when he told you?" guessed Keely.
Tyler smirked, "Yup. He stood up, glared at me, and told me straight out to fuck off."
"Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life."
"Then how in the hell did he end up as your producer?" she asked incredulously.
Tyler shrugged, pouring himself a shot from the bottle. "He didn't become my producer for a while, remember. He learnt all about producing on his first album. If I've ever met a prodigy in suck ass situation, it's him.
"Back to the point. I kept coming back here, and he did too. We didn't talk for a while, he would just come in, have a few drinks - probably more than he should have - and then he'd play a set. Maybe I would play before or after him, and we just started talking."
"And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessman slowly gets stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone"
"Did he ever tell you why he sold out?" asked Keely interestedly.
But the boy just shook his head. "He just said he had no choice, and he wasn't going to talk about it, even when he was drunk. I don't know if it has anything to do with those army dog tags that he wears around everywhere, but you know it hasn't always been good."
"Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you got us all feeling alright."
Confused, she looked back up to where he continued playing, oblivious to what they were talking about as he engrossed himself in the music. "What are you talking about?"
"Great artists never have good lives before music."
"It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about their life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnivore
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"."
"Huh?"
Tyler rolled his eyes. "The best music comes from a place of pain, we all know it. Sure, there are the few artists that had awesome lives before music and it just keeps getting better and better. But look at the evidence of everything."
“Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum.”
Letting out a sigh, Keely just propped her elbows back against the bar, looking towards the piano.
Really, nothing she ever found out about him gave her anymore answers, just more questions and it was getting altogether. The only thing she'd learnt in that conversation was that Seth had been quiet around the studio when he was seventeen, which he was far from now. But him telling Tyler to fuck off that really didn't surprise her.
“Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you got us all feeling alright.”
But it seemed that Tyler had been right about one thing at the very least, it was really hard to ignore Seth when he was playing. He was proved by the applause that broke through the run down bar easily, even through those people who hadn't so much as glanced at him when he'd begun to play Billy Joel's Piano Man.
Without so much as a wave at his little audience, he hopped off the stool, running a hand across the slight stubble decorating his chin as he cut through the crowd towards them.
“Good song,” said Keely at the exact moment Tyler proclaimed, “I need to take a piss.”
Her nose crinkling slightly, she glanced over to him, saying in a sarcastic tone, “Well, that was lovely.”
“I thought so,” he replied easily, “Be back in a minute.”
With that he shoved up from the bar, moving through the crowd while Seth – who was chuckling at her expression – took up a spot at the bar, moving so he was on end of the bar instead of on the side with her.
Turning around, Keely rested her arms on the rough wood of the bar. Letting her hair fall in front of her face as she leaned forward towards him. “So are you ever going to come out and tell your issues flat out?”
“Hm?” asked Seth, pouring the drink into two of the glasses and shoving one towards her.
Rolling her eyes, she took the small glass in her hand but didn't drink it. “I know you have them, so no point in pretending you don't.”
Tapping their glasses together, they threw back another shot. Keely didn't even have the time to check if the taste effected Seth as her eyes squeezed shut as the drink slid roughly down the back of her throat while she winced and slammed the glass lightly back onto the bar. She gagged slightly before opening her eyes.
Laughing it her, he just poured them another easily.
“So?” Keely asked pointedly, feeling that familiar light feeling spread from her mind.
He snorted humorlessly, wearing an odd twisted smirk, pushing the glass towards her again. “Well, you're not exactly forth coming with information either, are you?”
Pausing as she held up her glass, she pursed her lips, brushing her bangs away from her eyes. Well, that was true, although she doubted her issues were even half as interesting as his, but that didn't mean she was jumping up and down to share.
“My father hates me for the fact that I came here,” she said recklessly, figuring the alcohol had worked its way to loosen her lips at the moment. “He hasn't once picked up the phone, and refuses to talk to me when Joe has me on the line since I moved to New York. I don't know, honestly. I mean, yeah, I went about leaving wrong, I didn't say goodbye that morning, but he knew I was leaving, I told him and I said goodbye the night before. Still, he's my father.”
Ignoring the way the smirk had slid from his face to be replaced with one of those unreadable expression that she was getting quite used to by now, Keely clinked her glass to his signaling the time to drink the shot. When she swallowed it this time, her wince wasn't so bad, which even she knew wasn't the best sign.
Without a word, Seth poured another shot, but this time when they picked up the glasses, he spoke. ““Born down in a dead man's town, The first kick I took was when I hit the ground, You end up like a dog that 's been beat too much, 'Til you spend half your life just covering up”.”
Blankly Keely stared at him, but when his glass touched hers, Keely just hastily flung the drink back.
But as she thought about the words, a scowl came to her face. She was blaming the alcohol that was making her body feel lighter than normal on the fact she had noticed the words right away. “Hey,” she complained, “Those are Bruce Springsteen lyrics, that's not fair. I told you the truth.”
“Just because they're lyrics doesn't mean they're not true, rebel,” answered he, that twisted smirk on his face again, his eyes darker than normal. He didn't look exactly sad, but Keely couldn't help but think his expression looked far away.
She was about to speak when a hand gripped her arm, causing her to swing around.
“Hey!” the guy who stood even shorter than she exclaimed, his eyes slightly unfocused and the his breath reeking of alcohol. Although she couldn't quite complain too much, her breath would stink as well the way that they'd been drinking so quickly.
As she swung around to see the man, she stumbled slightly, and she clamped her lips tightly to stop a giggle from escaping. The shots were taking effect very fast, and if they switched drinks any time soon it wouldn't be good for her already lacking sobriety. Blinking since she got lost in her thoughts, Keely watched the man's chapped lips move as he spoke and she focused herself to listen.
All she caught were his last words, “... come have a drink with us!”
Arching an eyebrow, Keely tore her arm from his grip, feeling quite proud of the aloof demeanor she was pulling off at the moment. “No,” she answered simply, turning back to Seth. She wanted to press him for more information now, he couldn't keep being such a mystery forever, it would be unfair.
He was just shaking his head at her, his eyes not seeming so dark anymore. Sending him a sharp glare, she leaned forward, “How does-”
But that same familiar hand gripped her arm again, and she groaned. “Seriously?” Keely asked rudely, turning just her head to look at the man that smelt disgusting.
“You should just go, buddy,” suggested Seth, looking straight at the little man that continued to hold her arm, his eyes darkening slightly again, losing that familiar gold sheen she liked so much. He wasn't even looking at her, just focused on the man beside her. Thoughtfully Keely couldn't help but notice that Seth was taller than the man while he was sitting on the bar stool.
The man just tugged her arm, and Keely gave a loud, “Ow, shit.”
Having glanced towards the man when he yanked on her arm, she didn't see Seth move. The only reason why she knew he'd gotten up was when he tugged her away from him, and her eyes were wide as she saw his fist move.
Keely had never actually seen people punch each other in real life, just in the movies and although she knew that Tony and Joe had gotten in a few fights, all she saw was the results, usually a split lip or a black eye. But when Seth's fist connected with the man's face, it proved to her that the sickening crunch you hear when bone hits bone in the movies was not a lie.
Not knowing if her shock was coming simply from the moment on the alcohol flowing soundly through her system, Keely just gasped, throwing her hands over her mouth, not knowing what else she could do in such a situation.
It was as if everyone's eyes had found them beside the bar, and time – as well as the people – had just frozen, watching the moment. A pin might have dropped and you would have heard it outside of the building. The man stumbled back a step, his eyes widening as his hand flung up to cover the side of his face. With an unreadable expression, Seth simply stood, towering over the guy, shaking his hand slightly.
But then time sped up again.
With an odd shouting noise, the man shot out forward, ramming into Seth's body as he tackled him back. Stumbling back a step, he shoved the man off of him, sending a left hook that connected with the man's face again.
It seemed she was the only one left frozen, the fight speeding on in front of her but she couldn't say anything to stop it, let alone do anything when her feet were cemented to the feet. She winced violently when she watched the man's fist smack roughly into Seth's face, not that it halted the boy for a second.
“What the hell is going on?!”
Tyler's voice brought her out of the shocked moment. “I don't know!” she said, her voice edging on hysterical when a punch connected with Seth's stomach.
But it barely phased him as Seth gripped the man by the front of his grimy shirt, dragging him forward before raining hits down upon the man's face.
“Seth, Seth, stop it!” she exclaimed, stepping forward in the intention of pulling him back by his jacket.
Yet she was quickly stopped by arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her bodily back from the fight going on, dragging her back to the crowd that had gathered around her. “What are you doing?” Keely shouted, wiggling in Tyler's arms.
“Rule one,” he said, not so much as looking at her, “Don't get in the middle of a bar fight.”
Still she didn't have time to struggle more against his tight arms, because the doors of the bar were flung open. Instantly when she saw a familiar face in the the NYPD uniform, Keely stopped struggling while she looked wide eyed at John and a cop that she didn't remember, and once she stopped fighting, Tyler dropped his arms.
All the sudden Seth stopped, letting go of the front of the man's shirt and causing him to stumble back a few steps. Smirking at John, he casually spit out a mouthful of blood, making Keely slightly queasy at the sight mixing with the alcohol in her bloodstream. “I think you beat your personal record this time, John,” he said casually, shaking his hand.
John just sighed, “We were called the moment you started talking to the man, Seth.” Nodding to the cop to his side, they both stepped forward, John towards Seth and the other to the man who was looking worse for wear.
But John stopped before he could even reach Seth, his eyes training on where she stood a few steps in front of the crowd that had began to disperse the moment the cops arrived. He just gave a weary sigh, rubbing his temples. “And Keely, you're underage and in a bar. C'mon.”
Obediently she stepped forward towards him, her head abruptly swimming as her steps weaved.
He groaned again, “And you're drunk, it's not going so well for you two, is it?”
“Hey John!” called out Tyler happily.
It appeared that John's night was just getting worse and worse as he gave yet another groan. “Of course, you're here for this.”
“Hey, that hurts!”
But John didn't reply that time, just fixed a pair of handcuffs on both Keely and Seth.
Her eyes felt as if they might fall from her head as she tipped slightly to the side, unable to find her balance. She was getting arrested. Not once in all her eighteen years had she gotten in trouble with the police, at least she'd never gotten caught for anything she did, the closest she'd ever gotten was bailing Seth out.
“You could've made a run for it,” said Seth easily, grinning down at her.
“Yeah, like I could run right now,” she snarled at him. “And don't talk to me, I went out for one night with you guys, and I'm already getting arrested.”
Shoving them gently forward slightly, John ordered, “Let's go you two.”
“Oh c'mon,” replied Seth, stepping forward as demanded but continuing to talk to Keely as if their hands were not tied behind their backs in cuffs. “You need to get in trouble with the law at least once in your life, it's a rite of passage.”
“So what is it called when you get thrown in the drunk tank at least once a week?” she asked nastily as they were shoved into the back of the cop car.
Smirking, he leaned back comfortably. “That's called the results of being a fraud.”
About to reply, Keely's words were stuck in her throat as a dangerous feeling swelled up from her stomach. “Oh god, I'm gonna puke.”
- Okay, the beginning of this isn't quite a rant, this is an explanation for some people who have been asking.
Yes, this story is going to be freakishly long, I just can't seem to finish a book in just a hundred and fifty pages, it doesn't work for me, sorry. These past couple chapters have been building a relationship between Keely and everyone more than before. And no, it's not going to end any time soon seeing as I can't just wrap up all the issues between the characters in a few chapters, we haven't even bridged the surface of Seth's issues and Keely still has things to deal with.
Okay that came out bitchy, and I really didn't mean it to...
Anyways, moving onwards. Piano Man is the first song, I put Blowin' In The Wind in the external link if you're interested and the picture on the side is kind of what I imagined Tyler looking like, and beside him is Seth.
Now.
Advice. But it's not something I've done, mohahaha! Do not pocket dial someone that lives across the country from you while you sing Areosmith on the other line! Lol, okay that moment totally made me laugh, even though I was majorally confused at first.
Okay, and now some advice that you can actually follow. (I know, it's a first) Watch the movie A Hard Day's Night, it's the Beatles movie. It may be hard to understand at parts, I was so confused sometimes, but I adore that movie, and I like things that are old as you can tell from half of the music on my ipod. I'm in such a Beatles obsession now, I've been listening to them since ten last night. And, no, I haven't slept. This chapter has been screwing with my mind and I couldn't get it right, and I don't even think I got it right this time, but I'm so bloody tired I'm going to post it and then pass out.
Back to the Beatles, I could literally use so many of their songs in this story, they have songs about everything! But I do plan to use at least one Paul McCartney song later on in the story, I'll be your best friend forever and ever if you can figure it out. And no, one person is not allowed to say it, because they know about the song.
Okay I'm done, I'm going to go read two stories that I've been putting off until now and then I'm going to pass out!