The lights came down and the crowd was screaming at such a roar, people outside the bar could hear the cheering as if they were inside. None of the people pushed up against the stage dared move, in case they lost their spot. Minutes passed, and the screaming didn't die off. The lights flicked back on and if at all possible, the fans got louder. Zax smirked, his lips turning up at the edges. His stomach was exposed as his shirt had ridden up slightly over his toned abs. His neck was drenched in sweat from the exertion at putting on a good performance, but if anything it just added to his charm. Looking out at the blinding lights in front of him, he pointed at one of the fans in the front and that was when the drums began behind him. The Motor Shop was a small time bar in an out of the way town, yet Zax still returned here even though his band had grow famous enough to pull in crowds twice it's max capacity. It was a fond place for Zax to perform, and although he still wasn't "big time" his manager often roared at him about wasting tour dates on the small venue. But Zax didn't care. It held a special memory for him. "Only for you~ ... Only for you..." Zax sang, his voice belting out so loudly it managed to surpass the screaming of his fans. The lights went out and Zax hurried from the stage, eager to change from his sweaty clothes. His guitarist came up behind him and smacked him on the back. They shared a grin before they ducked into the reserved room backstage. "Be ready in 10! Fan meet and greet!" shouted Zax's manager from the other side of the door. His manager was cruel sometimes but for the most part had a soft spot for Zax and his selfish requests. Zax yelled back some gibberish before opening a bottle of water and chugging it down. His lips felt parched and his throat raw. Maybe he had overdone it this time. With no time to clean up, Zax wrestled a tight shirt over his torso and applied some faint cologne liberally to particularly offensive areas that needed it. His guitarist laughed a little. "You need a shower, man." he said. "Shut up," Zax growled and hobbled from the room, pulling the lip of his boot over his heel. The room backstage was small as well, just as Zax knew it would be. The Motor Shop just didn't have the space of some of the venues Zax had performed at before. His eyes scanned the room. Only about 20 fans had been allowed to purchase the package, and most of them were women. He smirked as the room grew hushed as he entered. "One at a time," his manager was shouting angrily at the women who had begun surging forward. "One picture, got it? Stop pushing!" Zax relaxed his smile as he stood in place. One by one the women and men came up to take a picture with him. Some of them began squealing as they grabbed his hands. Although his manager got angry at this, Zax played it off. It wasn't such a big deal. They were excited, and why shouldn't they? Zax's ego was soaring at this point, as he posed over and over for the photos. The line dwindled fast as the women were escorted from the room until the last group approached him. "Come on darlings," Zax said, feeling his confidence at an all time high. The last group was two woman. One had mousy brown hair and big brown eyes. She looked as if she was about to explode, unable to contain her excitement. The other shocked Zax. The other had jet black hair cupping her face, and piercing grey eyes that were glaring at him with such intensity the smile dropped from Zax's face. Her body was clothed in a tight green dress with a bow to one side, and Zax had to admit she looked good. Except for that glare. The two got their picture taken together and left, the brown-haired one squealing in delight. Zax stared after them, feeling disoriented. Who was that girl, and why did she look at him that way?
Zax was still fuming later as his bandmates took him out to the Screeching Eagle afterwards. It was a local dive bar that had fantastically strong drinks if not horribly rude service. "Lighten up, she was probably just on the rag or something," his guitarist said with a laugh, tipping his chair back from the table. Zax took another swig of his rum and coke, and shot an icy stare the red-head's way. "Don't patronize me, Cole," he shot back. "You didn't see her eyes." "Her eyes?" Cole said, letting his chair fall back to the floor. "Sounds like you're quite taken with her if you're already talking about her eyes." "Piss off," Zax said grumpily. "Ohh come on now, lay off him already the poor chap," came Nadia's voice. Nadia was the bassist, and she was also thoroughly drunk because she was speaking in a horrid British accent. Zax stood up angrily, swallowing the last few drops of rum as the ice cubes clattered in his glass. He slammed the empty glass on the table and stormed off a bit tipsily to the bathroom. Cole watched him go, a smirk on his face. "Stupid man." Zax felt warm as he relieved himself. His head was swimming in the alcohol as he washed his hands. What Cole said, was it true? He had never had a fan look that way at him before. Was she even a fan? Zax splashed water on himself as he looked in the mirror. Murky blue eyes stared back at him under disheveled dark hair. His body was lean and tall, with muscles rippling under the tight spandex shirt he wore. What the heck was her problem anyway? Zax's thoughts were angry and he switched off the tap. Any woman would be lucky to have him. He burst from the bathroom, confidence growing again partly from the angry rambling in his head and partly from the alcohol. He bumped into someone and apologized under his breath before he realized he recognized the person. No way! It couldn't be... It was her!
Questions sped through his head a mile a minute. Who was she? Why did she do that to him? Why was she here of all places? Zax opened his mouth to speak and that's when someone shoved past him in a hurry to get to the bathroom. Zax slipped on a spilled drink and fell to the floor, hitting his head. He blacked out. Zax opened his eyes to a white hospital room. He had no hangover thanks to the saline drip, but his head was mighty painful still and he couldn't really remember everything of last night. The door opened and Cole walked in. He looked surprised to see Zax awake. "Good, you're up," Cole said brightly. Damn Cole, always so chipper. Zax rubbed a sore spot on the back of his head. "Cole what happened?" Cole laughed and sat down in a nearby chair, taking a sip from his coke. "Really funny story actually," he drawled, smirking as he drew it out. Zax was irritated. "Stop messing around, just tell me!" "Oh, some drunk guy pushed you and you fell and hit your head right in front of a hot chick," Cole said bluntly, almost spitting his coke out in laughter at Zax's expression. Zax choked on his reply, feeling embarrassment tingeing his cheeks red. "Did... did you get the girls name?" he asked, staring down at his hands. Cole blinked, oblivious to Zax's odd request. "She seemed to know who we were, she came and got me right away. So she must know of our band. Even knew my name." Zax looked up at Cole, his expression dark. Cole had a tendency to be a bit of a player. Although Zax had known Cole for the majority of his life, he was surprised to discover he was... Jealous. "Did she know my name?" Zax asked hopefully. "Oh... Yeah she did. But she doesn't seem to be your fan," Cole said with a wink. "If I remember correctly, she said 'Zax is unconscious downstairs and you should probably help him, although if it were me, I quite prefer him that way.'" Zax's jaw dropped open. Then he snapped it closed. Nadia walked in right then, followed by their drummer. Nadia cooed over him as expected, and Zax had to swallow the nasty words he wanted to say. What an undignified way to go out. And right when he was about to find out what her problem was too. Zax gritted his teeth and slipped his sunglasses on as he exited the hospital. Of course paparazzi were awaiting his exit and tried to push forward to speak with him. Zax just smiled and waved, his manager ushering him and his bandmates quickly into an awaiting car. Zax was uncharacteristically quiet in the car, as the others chatted. His thoughts flickered back to the woman he had seen twice now. She had been beautiful in the green dress at the concert, and she had been beautiful last night at the bar in a tshirt and jeans. But her attitude? Oh, this wasn't over. Last one for today Please keep bumping.
The tour was to continue as normal as Zax was deemed okay besides some wounded pride. His band Paradoxical Angel had one last performance at the Motor Shop, before they were going to move on to the next city. Zax smirked at his reflection as he combed his hair back. He was psyching himself up for the concert. The back of his head was still sore but wasn't impossible to deal with. It seemed to come so soon when the lights went on and Zax was thrown into his performance. He strutted about the stage, belting out the lyrics like never before. The reviews of his performance skyrocketed that night. Zax flicked his hair to the side as sweat dripped over his face. He gripped the microphone with two hands and leaned over the crowd, eyes searching for those steely grey ones. The chanting of the crowd was wild at his lyrics and he paused to let them finish the line of a chorus. He was disappointed when the finale came, and he still couldn't see her in the throngs of the crowd. Maybe it was too much to expect her to have come two nights. Then for whatever reason his eyes drifted to the bar in the back of the venue. He saw the same mousy brown hair as before. It was that girls' friend! Zax continued to sing, his eyes never leaving the back bar. The lights turned off and the crowd was still screaming, wanting their finale. Zax hurried backstage. Cole noticed Zax stripping off his shirt and pulling a tank top on and looked at him quizzically. "Zax, what are you planning...?" Cole asked, suspicious. Zax always did impulsive things. Zax ignored him and once he managed to pull a hat down over his head he sprinted for the door leading into the crowd. Cole's eyes widened and he tried to tackle Zax but missed, slamming his shoulder into the swinging door. Zax caught himself on the metal cage that led to the backstage, and tried to sneakily open the gate to the thronging crowd of fans. Was this suicide?
The fans were immersed in screaming and pushing to get towards the stage for the final performance. Zax kept his head down as he made his way to the back. No one noticed as he climbed the steps to the tiny raised bar. The woman was holding two band t-shirts and seemed torn between which one to get. The man behind the merchandise booth looked harassed as if this had gone on for a while. "Get the one on the right," Zax said, slipping on a killer smile. The woman turned around to respond but when she saw who it was her mouth dropped open. She began stuttering and mouthing words but no sound came. Until she screamed a high-pitched scream so ear-piercing Zax fell backwards at the noise. Then the woman fainted. The noise had caught a few people's interest in the back who turned to look. When they saw Zax all hell broke loose. The fans rushed the merchandise booth. The previously bored looking merchant looked terrified as he was suddenly bowled over by a wave of women. Zax's eyes bugged out as he dove under the table in a mad dash for the front exit. Cole peeked his head out from behind stage and sighed. Why did it always turn out this way? He knocked on the door to Nadia's room and she answered, half of her face done up and the other half a soggy mess. "Geh," Cole said startled. Nadia wasn't amused. "What is it Cole, before I smack you? We're on in 3 minutes. I have to finish getting ready for the encore!" "No... You don't. Zax..." Nadia pushed the door open, disregarding Cole's grunt of pain. She hurried to the stage and saw that the Motor Shop was now almost completely empty. "What... No, I don't want to know," Nadia decided and went back to her room to take off all the make-up.
2 updates on this one so far. Probably at least one more later today if you like it or I write this on Notepad on my iPhone, HSotD on the computer and T5P off a website. Can you tell the difference?