New story! This is one of many that I will be uploading over the next few months.
Enjoy :))
(P.S. I've designated the wonderful Tessa Violet who is in the video above as the soon to be Harper Hemmings. You don't need to watch all of it, 10 seconds will be plenty so you know what she looks and sounds like!)
Chapter 1
"Let's try one more time before we call it a day."
The band in the studio groaned but the singer grabbed the mic and I pressed the replay button on their backing track, leaning back in my office chair and praying with all my might that they'd get it right this time. Sure, Mason was great at singing, but he was so fucking stubborn and wanted everything to be his way, even when he was wrong.
Finally, they got it right and I clapped, standing up and stretching my legs. It had been a long day in the studio, nonetheless good fun though. Music was everything to me, and I couldn't be more grateful for the fact that my job revolved around it. I was a music producer for Hi or Hey records, a label run by my best friend Mikey, and we currently had five bands on the roster – all either pop rock, punk or metal.
"Thanks for everything, Luke," their drummer Jackson thanked, twiddling his drumsticks in his hands. I nodded with a smile as they left raucously making a lot of noise. Ah, the beauty of youth.
As if on cue, my phone rang and without needing to check the caller ID, I picked up. "Luke, you done yet?" the familiar voice of my fiancée Harper said through the phone. I smiled.
"Yep, we just finished. Where should we meet?"
We decided on a place for dinner and I grabbed my car keys from the desk, turning off the lights before heading out and locking the door. I waved goodbye to Mikey on the way out and walked to my car which was parked a little further away, hopping in and driving to the restaurant.
My eyes met with the light brunette beauty, her make-up fully done and a flower crown holding back loose strands of hair. I rushed over and kissed her cheek, our hands immediately finding each other.
"How was work?" she asked.
"Good, it was decent! I think these new guys can go really far, if they stop being so stubborn. Well, all kids these days are... I'm not really surprised."
She raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really? How old are they?"
"Sixteen, seventeen."
"Weren't you that old when you started your band?"
I nodded, grinning as I reminisced. Those were the days... "Yeah... I don't remember us ever being that rude though. Anyway, did you book the table?"
"Nope... they said they don't take reservations. We just have to turn up and hope there's an empty space," she replied desolately, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and adjusting her black framed glasses as her high heels clicked against the concrete pavement. We arrived at the Italian place and entered, and were taken to a small table near the back.
~
"Aw, but I'm tired..." she complained, swinging our hands back and forth whilst we stood in front of the restaurant. It was now dark and Mikey had just texted inviting me for a drink. "Can't you just say no? We were gonna have a film night, remember? With the new sound system we just bought?"
I sighed with a sympathetic smile. "How about I drop you off, and we watch a film tomorrow night?"
She shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Have you forgotten? I'm going out with friends tomorrow."
"Oh, so it's okay for you to go out, but not me?"
I know I sounded bitter but it was the truth. She wasn't like this usually – the pregnancy was messing a bit with her mind, so I brought her in for a tight hug, suddenly apologetic.
"I'm sorry Harp. I promise, we'll have our film night. I just haven't caught up with Mikey in so long, is it okay if I go out just tonight?"
She pressed her lips together and nodded. "Fine. Don't be home too late though, okay?"
"Thanks!" I exclaimed, unlocking the car door and driving us back to our apartment, which was situated just outside New York but in a relatively central area. It was a decent size, with three bedrooms. We'd bought it recently with the hope that our future son or daughter could grow up there, instead of our old dingy apartment that had bad lighting and mould behind the paintings.
Once we'd arrived home I pecked her lips and changed my shirt into something more bar appropriate; a crisp ironed shirt didn't tend to be the way to go. Not that I was interested in picking up any more girls; I had Harper and I was more than grateful for that. I went for a Nirvana top and grabbed some sunglasses too, knowing that there would be some people who still recognised me from my old band, 5 Seconds of Summer.
We hadn't been very famous, just a small band from Sydney who uploaded awful covers onto YouTube. After about three years, we disbanded after releasing a major song because one of our bandmates disappeared without reason, and none of us had heard from him since. We assumed he was dead; murdered, assassinated, one of the two; we'd even held a funeral, but I had a hunch he was still out there somewhere, probably a feral adult in the mountains by now.
I caught sight of Mikey in the bar near my apartment, who was sitting at the bar chatting up the bartender; a young woman, probably in her twenties, with bright pink hair and multiple facial piercings. "Hey Mikey," I said, looking at them both.
"Oh, Luke! This is Eva, she recognised me, can you believe it?" he exclaimed, giving me a quick hug before taking another sip of his beer. "I mean, we're not even a band anymore... you're awesome!"
I smiled and agreed with him, sitting down and ordering a beer too. "So, how's it going?"
"Amazing; I met a guy today who wants to be a solo artist. His band has been treating him like shit, so he wants to get away from that and do something with his life. I applaud him man, he sees something wrong and does something to change it rather than sitting there twiddling his thumbs. You?"
"Yeah, good. That band though... with Mason... they're beginning to drive me a bit nuts, not gonna lie."
He chuckled. "They're a bit mad, aren't they? Remind me of our younger years, back when careers didn't matter. Those were the days – drinking underage, partying with random girls, waking up in random hotel rooms... Ah well. Listen, I'm gonna head to the loo – watch my coat, will you?"
I nodded as he ambled over to the toilets at the back of the dimly lit bar, taking a moment to look around at the booths filled with people in their mid-to-late-twenties, and university students downing shots in a corner. A middle-aged couple were sharing a bottle of champagne, and a cellophane wrapped rose was laying on the table between them. I smiled, thinking that in ten years' time, that could be me and Harper.
~
After saying goodbye to a half-drunk Michael I headed back home and slumped onto the sofa, absolutely knackered after a long day. All I wanted to do was crack open a few beers and listen to music, falling asleep to the likes of All Time Low or Panic! At the Disco. I didn't want to wake Harper though, so I sat down and looked through some work stuff with a glass of water. The cat, Pip, sauntered across the paperwork I had strewn across the sofa, and fell asleep on my lap, radiating warmth to my body.
Harper came out at around midnight, asking me to go to bed with her, so sleepily I put down my things, moved the cat (who hissed at me for interrupting her nap) and let her drag me to our bedroom, take off my jacket and jeans, and slide me into bed next to her. I was on the verge of falling asleep when I heard a knock on the front door, which scared the shit out of me.
"Hmm... Luke just leave it, it's probably just a bunch of kids annoying people..." Harper groaned, putting her arms around me tighter.
But the knock came again and now that I was fully awake, there was no chance I could leave it. I slithered out of her grasp, much to her dismay, and walked into my slippers, yawning as I went out of the bedroom.
I peeked through the little hole and saw a hooded figure who looked seriously dodgy, so dodgy I was almost going to leave it and go back to bed; but then I opened the door and saw his face.
It was Calum.
Calum Hood.
The guy who was supposedly dead, the guy who used to be in my band; the guy who once had my heart.
***
Okay, there you go, hope the first chapter was okay :)) This was mainly to introduce Luke's character, and his fiancee Harper. Unlike usual fanfics, she's actually gonna be really nice ^-^
Story starts properly in chapter 2. Look forward to it XD
Vote+comment for chapter 2
Kimmy xx