The Fall of the Fainthearts

Chapter Thirty: So, Where Are They Now?

Bentley: Well... London Revival never got back together. It would've been in poor taste, really. As much as we loved that band, it was tainted more than once and we had to bury it with dignity.

Vince: Me and Dahlia became a duo for a while, as you probably know... it didn't end very well.

Dahlia: Oh, that band was doomed from the beginning. We had no idea what we was doing alone and our relationship was far too rocky to spend every waking moment in each other's pockets.

Vince: Yeah, you shouldn't work with your partner. I'm quite the advocate for that now.

Bentley: When Vince and Dahlia's stint as 'The Clarity' ended terribly, I took him out for a pint at a local bar. It was kinda like The Underground, just a bit more upmarket.

Vince: There was these two guys performing, one drummer and one guitarist who doubled as their vocalist. They reminded me of us.

Bentley: We were very, very drunk when we decided that was our sign to start a new band. But hey, worked out in the end, didn't it?

Vince: Not all decisions you make five shots deep are terrible ones. Most of them are. Like, ninety percent of them, probably. But we got lucky.

Bentley: We scouted a singer and we found Devon. Man, that guy can sing.

Vince: Axel or Devon? Oh, that's fucking cruel.

Bentley: You can't choose. You just can't. Two very, very different voices, very different styles. Both are great in so many ways. And, Axel will always be my man.

Dahlia: After The Clarity went tits up I guess I just decided that it was time to step away from the spotlight. I still have a real passion for music, that kind of love doesn't just disappear overnight, but I don't need to be the one sharing the stage anymore.

I started to write songs for other artists, instead. The music we made in our days as London Revival was always over-shadowed by Axel, so it felt amazing to write for my own taste for once. It didn't have to fit his style anymore, it could fit anybody I wanted it to.

Some of my most successful? Let me think... 'Verge' by Giovanni Brave is one of my personal favourites. 'Closed Doors' by The Peonies is another great tune, them ladies did a fantastic job on that one.

I do miss the boys a lot. I see Axel almost every week for a coffee and a catch up, Bentley every now and then for special occasions...

Vince: We haven't kept in contact, no. Well, we both have very different lives now. Some people just drift apart.

Dahlia: I would love to catch up with Vince again after so long, of course I would. He'll always mean a lot to me, what ever that means at any given point of my life.

Vince: I'd see her again, yeah. We've got a lot of unresolved conflict, I think... it would be nice to close the chapter.

Dahlia: Yeah...

Florence: We named her Jade. She is the most gorgeous, wonderful girl. She loves music, just like her daddy. Of course she does, she's always been such a daddy's girl. Those two are attached at the hip, always writing songs and recording them in his studio together. She's fifteen now, and she's got her heart set on being a 'rockstar' one day, just like him. She makes Axel so proud every single day.

Axel: I'm determined to be the best dad I can be if it's the last thing I ever do. My relationship with my own dad ruined me when I was a kid. I never want her to feel like she could ever disappoint me. She's perfect, and that will never change. I'll make sure she knows she's perfect for as long as I'm breathing, so that when I'm not anymore, she won't doubt it even for a second.

After the noise eventually quietened and just before people started to forget about me, I started up my own music production company, A.F.H. Records. I don't like to say I followed in my father's footsteps - I don't want to give him the credit. But, it made sense after the whole thing. I couldn't make my own music anymore, but I could mentor the next 'me' into making the best record he physically could.

I've actually got a kid in the studio at the moment who really fucking reminds me of when I first started out. I try to just stick to the music side of things, but I also think it's my job to keep them on the right track. There ain't no way that someone signed to my label is going to make the same mistakes that I did.

I know exactly what you're going to ask me next. And the answer is - I don't know.

Dahlia: We haven't seen her since Axel filed the restraining order.

Bentley: What a miracle.

Axel: I'd like to say that I never think about her, but I'd be lying to your face. There isn't a day that passes where she doesn't cross my mind. Every time I see someone with the same big wild blonde hair on the street, my heart sinks down to the pit of my stomach and I hold my breath until I'm sure it's not her.

Dahlia: She's probably not even in the country anymore. In my head she took herself off, changed her name, cut all her hair off and is on a beach somewhere with a new victim by her side.

Axel: One day... London Revival might just make a come back. Today isn't that day, but I wouldn't write it off completely.

Vince: It isn't something I'd say no to.

Bentley: I mean, it'd be hella fun getting back onstage with that lot again.

Dahlia: Who knows? Maybe one day.

Axel: I'm glad that people want it. Maybe I have made a positive mark on the world, after all.

Fin.