Three's a Crowd

Chptr Four ☆ A Special Occasion

If Suzy thought getting them all in the same room was hard, she was about to suffer like she never had before. It proved to be an impossible task to get the boys to behave civilly, especially with them behind the wheel and therefore in control.

She was riding in the car with the boys of Def Leppard, Raul in tow with KISS, sandwiched in between a cheery Rick Allen and a sleepy Phil. The two bands were hosting Headbanger's Ball together to promote their joint tour, certain members clearly more enthused than others.

There was a car phone up front, a feature in which the boys clearly found great amusement as they'd been on the phone with each other for the past hour. Their conversations consisted of a mixture of nothing and everything, the excitement resulting in strenuously intelligible jabber. At least the two managers could be sure that there wouldn't be any bad blood during their stint of touring.

Joe was in the passenger seat, leaning over the console as he unnecessarily shouted into the telephone, repeatedly interrupting whoever it was that was attempting to speak in the KISS car. Suzy's free hand flew up to her forehead, softly massaging her temple in an attempt to help her focus regardless of the resounding mayhem that engulfed her.

"You seem a bit uptight." Rick suddenly voiced, leaning in towards the brunette.

The woman continued to click her ballpoint pen, eyes trained on the impeccable script of her schedule. She offered him a distracted hum, a nonverbal request for him to repeat himself. Despite this, she admittedly wasn't too interested in whatever it was the blond might've had to say.

"You haven't given that biro a break since we got in the car, there, lovey." He laughed with a gentle ghost of a nudge to her shoulder. Suzy finally looked over, her expression knotted in confusion.

"Biro?" The girls voiced trailed off. The drummer chuckled, his smile curiously de-aging him.

"The pen. Ballpoint you Americans call it, I think."

"Ah. Biro." The girl repeated, brows shooting up in playful fascination. She'd decided just the other day that it'd probably be beneficial for the group of them if she built some sort of repertoire with the bands as Raul had, continuing with a smirk. "What other funny British words can you teach me?" She posed.

Rick let out a guffaw that nearly woke Phil. Nearly.

"Hm, let's see. How about... crumpet. You lot always seem to get a kick out of that one."

"I know that one." She spoke. "It's an English muffin."

Rick gave her an impressed nod, poking out his bottom lip just the slightest bit.

"In one sense, yes. But in another sense, a woman such as yourself could be a crumpet."

"Why do I get the feeling that you just called me a imbecile?" Suzy joked.

This time, Rick's laugh was loud enough to get Phil to stir in his sleep and momentarily cause Steve to peer up from his novel.

"No, no, never that. Consult Merriam-Webster when you've got the chance." He winked.

It wasn't much longer before they'd reached the studio where they'd be filming. Suzy found herself surprised at just how modest it looked from the outside. Even upon entering, it just felt like any old normal building. It kind of had the vague smell of a run of the mill hotel, the ambiance reminding her slightly of a small government building. It was remarkably quiet, so much so that the receptionist seemed to have heard the cars pull in.

She welcomed them warmly, already knowing what they were there for before they'd even had a chance to speak. She lead the group of 11 down a wide hallway. Fetching an elevator for them and selecting floor number 4 on their behalf.

"There'll be someone waiting there for you to take you where you need to be." She smiled, the elevator doors closing just as she finished speaking.

"I feel like I'm in 2001: A Space Odyssey." Joked Eric, followed by a laugh from Rick and a quieter one from Paul.

The doors then opened to a young man of about 20 or so, who led them into a room filled with TV cameras and sets. There was an assortment of costumes to chose from, all ridiculous, and all catching the eye of the exuberant rockers. Suzy watched from the wall as they put on jester's hats and ruffled collars, digging around in the chest like a bunch of overexcited kindergartners.

"We're on in 5!" She heard a voice shout from around the corner, likely one of the usual hosts who'd be helping them out and interviewing them on screen.

Suzy found herself a little shocked when she saw both Eric and Rick shuffling towards her, seemingly independently of each other.

"Hey, Suz!" Eric called. It was then apparent that Rick had just noticed the brunet at his side as his blond head whipped towards the other drummer, a slight look of surprise on his features.

He decided not to make it any more obvious, joining in with a chirpy "Hiya."

"What d'ya think of our outfits?" Eric cheesed, putting his arm over Rick's shoulder.

"I think they'll look wonderful once you're seated on the couch like you're supposed to be." Suzy quipped, resulting in shy smiles from the both of them and Eric nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"We'll get right on it, Lady Cap'n." He chuckled, jogging over to join this KISS and Def boys who were scattered randomly on the almost comically long sofa.

"I'll try to make you laugh!" Rick grinned, squeezing the little horn clipped to his shirt before joining the rest of the musicians.

The show soon started, a bubbly and aptly dressed girl decked out in pleather and chains asking the scattered bands questions. It was impossible not to notice both Eric and Rick not-so-subtly looking off whenever they made a quip to survey Suzy's reaction. The girl wondered if Raul had picked up on exactly which of them it was they were looking at. She thought to herself how he'd react if he did.

Still, the brunette kept a cool façade, offering the drummers coy smiles whenever they locked eyes with her.

This would prove to be interesting.

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