Legacies

1

The band members were all gathered in the dressing room after the show.

The room was a mess with clothes strewn about, empty cups and bottles littering the floor, and half-eaten food abandoned on the tables.

Riley was sitting on one of the couches smoking a cigarette, his arms crossed, and his expression bored.

Neveah was pacing back and forth, her hands wringing together, an expression of nervousness on her face.

Virgil was sprawled out on the floor, a half-empty bottle of whiskey by his side, his face flushed, and a lazy smile on his cheeks.

Riley took a drag of his cigarette and blew out a puff of smoke. "Hey, Neveah," he said, his voice gravelly from all the smoking. "What's got you so anxious?"

Neveah stopped pacing and looked up at him with a nervous smile. "Oh, you know, just the aftermath of a show and all that."

"Yeah, I can relate," Virgil grumbled from the floor. He took a swig from his bottle and belched loudly. Riley rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Neveah walked over and sat down next to Riley on the couch. "So, what did you think of the show?" she asked.

Riley shrugged. "It was alright. We went over the same old stuff." He took another drag off his cigarette. "But that's what you do when you're on tour, right? Same set list, same jokes, same banter between songs."

He laughed and leaned back onto the couch. "Oh well, at least we make good money. That's really all that matters."

Neveah sighed and rested her head on Riley's shoulder, her blonde curls falling in front of his face.

Riley glanced over at her and smiled. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired. All this traveling has finally caught up to me." Neveah said, her voice soft and sweet.

"Yeah, I hear ya. Tour can be a real drag sometimes." Riley said, rubbing her neck. "But we gotta keep going, otherwise we'll have no gigs to do."

As Riley kissed Neveah's forehead to calm her down, Virgil grumbled from the floor. "You two get a room, will you? Enough with all this PDA."

"Aww, poor Virgil's jealous," Riley said, leaning over to kiss Neveah's cheek. Neveah laughed and kissed Riley back.

Neveah smiled up at Riley as they continued to kiss. Virgil groaned and rolled over to face away from them. He was clearly feeling like a third wheel.

After a few moments, Riley pulled away and leaned back on the couch. "Well, it's getting late. We should probably get going."

Neveah nodded and stood up, brushing herself off. "Yeah, you're right. I am exhausted."

Riley stood up as well and put out his cigarette in an ash tray. "So, should we head back to the hotel?" he asked.

Neveah nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready to crash. I'm sure Virgil is too."

Virgil grumbled again, but didn't argue. He was clearly tired and just wanted to get back to the hotel room so he could get some rest.

The three band members started walking towards the door, Neveah leaning on Riley's arm.

Virgil was lagging behind, slightly drunk and stumbling. "C'mon, Virgil. Keep up, buddy," Riley said, gesturing for Virgil to hurry up.

Virgil stumbled forward, trying to catch up to the other two. Neveah looked back at him and smiled.

"How many drinks did you have tonight, Virg? You're stumbling all over the place."

Virgil smirked and replied, "I can handle my whiskey, thank you very much." He took another swig from his bottle and nearly lost his balance.

He waved his arm dismissively as he finally reached them. "Let's just head back to the hotel," he said. "I'll be fine."

Neveah and Riley shared a look as Virgil staggered out the door with them. "Well, let's hope he doesn't trip on his way to the room," Neveah said, a hint of concern in her voice.

They walked towards the elevator, Virgil staggering and nearly dropping his bottle of whiskey.

Finally, they arrived at the hotel room and walked in. Virgil went straight for the bed and collapsed onto the mattress, seemingly ready to pass out.

"Virgil, you feeling okay?" Neveah asked, going over to check on their bandmate.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Virgil responded in a drunken daze. "Just needed a few drinks to get through the night."

He sat up and took another swig from his bottle. "Now if you don't mind," he said, "I'm gonna get some rest." He laid back on the bed and closed his eyes.

"Alright, we'll just let you sleep," Neveah said, turning away from him. Riley and Neveah soon lay down on their respective bed as well.