The Fall of the Fainthearts

Track Three: When There's a Will, There's a Way

Florence: That night after the fight in the bar, I was washing down tables and still sweeping up tiny shards of glass from inside every nook and cranny. Every little piece was a reminder that somehow this was all my fault. They had quite literally just lost the deal of a lifetime and it was because I was slacking on the job - if I had served that man on time then they might have been signed to a record label by none other than Kian Cash.

You know, there was always that possibility that maybe they were never going to get that deal anyway, and I was beating myself up for nothing. I think I was just so moved by the music and it resonated so much with me that I never stopped to think that they might not be what Cash was looking for. No doubt ever crossed my mind.

Kian Cash: They definitely would've gotten my card that night - they blew me away. Or, they would have at least gotten the napkin with my details on it because I forgot my business cards at home. Boss told me at seven he wanted me to check them out and they came on at eight, so I didn't have much time to prepare. That mistake would cost me a lot more than I realised at the time.

Florence: I remember I left Cash's table right till last to clean. I still didn't want to face it and I wanted to avoid thinking about it in any way that I could. The guilt was already eating me alive and I didn't think I could handle any more.

Just walking up to the table took me an age, and the cleaning even longer. Once the table was scrubbed I noticed a couple napkins scattered on the floor around the seat. Blank, unused, obviously. So I picked them up and tossed them into the black bin bag. I didn't think much of it at all.

It was only when I went to toss an empty cup into the same bag that I looked down and saw writing on one of the napkins. I squinted and couldn't make it out but something inside me that day told me I needed to look at this napkin. It was just a silly gut feeling but my curiosity got the better of me, and I'm glad it did.

Kian Cash: I didn't even realise I'd left it behind when I left the place. Guess I'm not used to leaving sensitive information lying around on something you wipe up spilled beer with, but hey, that night something was in the cards for London Revival. They either have disgustingly good luck or someone's looking down on them from above and pulling the strings, because despite the shit show their frontman caused, they were still getting a lucky break.

Florence: I dove my hand into the bin without thinking much more about it and pulled out the napkin. Cash had written down his name and the address of his recording studio. No contact number, nothing to say what it was for, what day to turn up. I figure this probably would've been an in person conversation he was going to have with them, but the address was all I had to work with since I'd messed that all up.

I couldn't believe it. The relief that I felt once I realised what I was holding in my hands made me weak. I felt like I had the power to make something so wrong right again. The guilt that was weighing down my shoulders lifted and my stomach turned with excitement.

I had so many questions, naturally. How will I get this to them? How do I know that it was meant for them? How did I know that it was real, honestly? It could have all been some sick prank from a jealous person in the crowd that night. It was packed with all walks of life and everybody knows Kian Cash, so it wasn't too far-fetched of an idea.

But that napkin was all I had to go off and it made me feel better. I wondered how I was going to find London Revival again, whether they'd agree to Pops booking them for another night after such a dramatic exit. I didn't have to wait long to see Axel again, though, so I wasn't sitting on it for long.

Axel: I went back to The Underground a few days later when I'd collected my thoughts about the whole situation. Something made me feel like I needed to make sure Flo was alright. After all, it may have been us who missed out on a chance to impress Kian Cash, but it was her who was threatened by a drunk asshole with a broken pint glass in his hand. It may not have felt like it at the time, but we were a lot better off in that whole situation.

Dahlia: We gathered pretty quickly that Axel was attracted to Florence. He spent days wondering out loud whether she was okay, asking our opinions whether he should go back and apologise, whether he had anything to even apologise about - which caused a number of arguments. Then he started to ask whether he came across as aggressive, or chivalrous. Whether either of those were a good or a bad thing, as well. Such a twat.

Vince: They'd literally only spoken once - in the dressing room before we went on. She showed us around, helped us set up and told us to break a leg. That's all it took for Axel to fall in love. But hey, I guess when you know, you know.

Florence: When Axel came back he apologised for how he acted that night, but said he was glad to see that I was okay. It was sweet of him. I'd half-expected him to be asking for another chance on next week's line-up, to make it up to his bandmates.

I, of course, followed up with how he had nothing to apologise for and that it was all my fault, actually. We must've gone back and forth like that for a good few minutes, debating who was to blame, before I realised I had Kian's napkin out back.

For a moment I'd completely forgotten myself and almost didn't show him. I was over the moon to see him - my stomach was twisting and turning with these terrible but good nerves. I desperately wanted to impress him. Why? Well, I didn't know at the time.

I can still remember how he looked when I handed over the napkin. I can just picture how the realisation set in his face. It was like new hope had dawned on him, like he'd lived his entire life believing it'd never be okay just for someone to give him a new lease of life when he least expected it. His hands trembled and so did mine and we both just stared at the napkin like it was some foreign object until he could finally get his words out.

Axel: How I felt that day is completely unmatched. Flo had just handed me the key that unlocked what we had been searching for for years and I had so many questions but they just didn't matter. I knew that we would figure it out, no matter what. All the days of talking about what we wanted and suddenly that all might become a reality. It didn't matter that I fucked up, because I had the chance to redeem it.

I wanted to just grab ahold of her and squeeze her, scream from the rooftops that I'd finally got a break. But I didn't. It was much more quiet than that, actually. We just smiled at each other and shared the moment. A million words were said in none at all. There was something in her lips as they quivered, in her eyes as they blurred over with tears. It was relief.

Florence: We shared this magical moment where he just stared into my eyes in disbelief. It was slowly but surely sinking in that he had a chance again, you could almost see the cogs turning. He would get to share the news with everyone: Bentley, Vince, Dahlia. He was going to be able to tell them that it was all going to be okay.

I wanted to kiss him. The air between us sparked like electricity. But along with that air between us stood the bar and a whole lot of excuses why that would be totally ridiculous and unprofessional. So, we let the moment pass and after a few times of going over how we both 'couldn't believe it', he left.

I could've melted down into the floorboards with the rush of everything I was feeling in that moment. I felt lighter and heavier at the same time. The guilt washed away and with the tide brought in a confused adoration in it's place. I told myself that it was just the rockstar charm, that it didn't mean anything. I was one of many who felt that way about Axel Faintheart. I'm glad that I didn't listen to that train of thought for too long.

Bentley: I really thought he was out of his mind when he told us. All I could think was he was having us on, he was delusional, there was just no way. It was too unbelievable, why on Earth would Kian Cash not even have his own business card?

Dahlia: Some of us took a long time to come around to the idea that Axel wasn't pulling some kind of sadistic prank. Others, not so much.

Vince: That day changed our lives forever. I thought, why do we get a second chance? But there it was in all it's glory - a screwed up old napkin with Kian's scrawly address written on it in leaky biro. This was happening whether we thought we deserved it or not. Or rather, whether Axel deserved it.

Dahlia: Talk of quitting the band was over as quick as it started and suddenly we were all practicing into the night like our lives depended on it again. The energy in the room was just like the old days, before the failed record deal with Faintheart Records. We had hope again and more importantly we had the perfect chance to make something awesome.

We were gonna give it everything we had. What else was we gonna do?