Star Crossed

Gavin

"Has Lacey ever watched a child before?" Luke asks me. 

"I imagine. He'll be asleep the entire time, it'll be fine. She thinks this is a good idea." I shrug.

"Your manager thinks that another manager snatching you up is a good idea?" He sounds confused. 

"If I get noticed then it could be a way to start my career, Luke." I sigh. 

He nods slowly before backing off. 

The doorbell rings and I open it. Lacey steps inside looking around. 

"I told you it's shit." I state. Rolling her eyes at me she eyes Luke. "Kai's asleep. If you need me, call. Thanks." I say tugging Luke out the door and shutting it.

"What the hell was that?" He grumbles getting into my car. 

"Do you not realize ladies fawning over you or are you just used to it?" I ask.

This earns me a smirk and head shake. Starting the car, I reverse onto the road and head out of town. 

"I saw Nadine last night." He blurts.

"That's where you went?" I ask glancing at him. 

"Well, she can't quite ask for you, can she?" He muses. 

"She doesn't know anything." I grit out. My knuckles turning white around the steering wheel.

"She knows enough." He nods to himself. 

"You were gone for a long time." I point out. 

"We had a lot to talk about." He shrugs. 

I almost sputter at his words. Luke has always been the nice friend in the background. Seeing everything but never speaking on it. I wonder what he's playing at now. 

I pull into the bar and shut the car off before looking at him. 

"What could you have possibly talked about for so long?" I ask.

"It doesn't concern you so calm down. Let's go have a few drinks and you can belt out some tunes." He opens the door and steps out. Sighing I follow him inside. He puts my guitar backstage, and we head to the bar. 

It's crowded already for it being eight at night. Lacey told me to make it good, so I decided on a song that came to me last night. She hasn't even seen it yet. 

After my third shot Liam calls me up on stage. 

I grab my guitar and sit on the stool with the microphone in front of me. Adjusting it I clear my throat. This is the first time I've played in front of a crowd, and it is completely terrifying. 

I focus on my strings. Fingers strumming slowly at first. Then her face floods my mind as usual when I play. My muse. 

"You were the sunshine on my darkest days, loneliness was chased away. Slay the dragon, be the man in shiny armor who had a plan. Blown to bits by a selfish act. Left you unguarded for the attack. They came in and took you away. All the doubts that I left remain. Broken trust and broken homes. Broken hearts and broken bones. Bottle after bottle. Mistakes I made, will haunt me til my last day."

The bar erupts into applause when my strumming stops. I forgot where I was once I started playing. I clear my throat and stand up to make my way back to Luke. 

When I get through the crowd, I see a woman talking to him. She's gorgeous, I'm not surprised. When he sees me, he grins. 

He claps me on the back and moves.

"Gavin, this is Syd. Syd is-"

"Anna-Leigh's manager." She states. Clearly having a decent idea of who I am. Luke coughs to cover his laugh. "You're good." She nods slowly.

"Thanks." I shove my hands in my pockets. This is awkward. 

"I'm going to see sweet Annie." Luke says excusing himself. I hear Syd laugh at the name. She orders us both a whiskey and coke and sits.

"Sit." She orders me and I do. 

I feel her eyes on me while I sip my drink. I almost ask her what she sees. 

"Is she performing?" I ask not looking at her. 

"Undecided." She admits spinning her empty glass. "We came here to scoop up some talent. Imagine my surprise when we found you." She smirks and shakes her head. 

"She would never agree to that." I state.

"She has. Under strict conditions though. She doesn't wish to see you."

"She put herself in a situation to see me every day." I point out. I watch her spine straighten. 

"She is taking care of her dying mother. The circumstances aren't ideal, but we make it work."

"I was caring for her at the hospital." 

"I know. She doesn't. There's no need for her to know that." She shrugs standing up. 

"If she finds out that you knew-" I start.

"Don't. Don't pretend you know her best after everything you've done. She's not the same person she was then. I am doing what is best for her. If that upsets her then I'll deal with it later."

"Ladies and gentlemen are my eyes deceiving me? Anna-Leigh? Get your ass up here!" Liam shouts into the microphone. 

"Shit." Syd mutters. 

"Heres a tip. If you want to lie low don't come to Liam's bar. He has the biggest mouth." I tell her. 

"Friend or foe?" She asks searching his face. 

"That's her uncle." I admit. Her eyes widen and I nod slowly. 

When I look again, she's on-stage glaring daggers at him. 

"This oughta be good right?" Luke reappears sitting beside us. 

"Damn straight." Syd grins patronizingly at me. 

Sighing I order another drink and drain it. 

"Thanks Uncle Liam." She says into the mic making the entire bar laugh. 

Liam sits beside the stage with his beer completely unfazed. 

Clearing her throat, she adjusts the mic. 

"I've never heard her without a piano." Syd muses. She's in for a treat then. Luke catches my eyes and I look away. Guilt plaguing me. 

"I used to think I could fool you. Tell you what you want to hear. Hide behind all the real fear. Yeah, yeah. It only made me disappear. I had to let you go. Said goodbye and fled in the nighttime. But I'm unstoppable today. Won't let nothing get in my way. I'll win every single day. Can't break down, the days of crying out loud left me weakened. So, I put my armor on, see how I'm so strong?  So powerful and confident. I'm unstoppable in every way." 

The bar goes completely insane when she stops singing. She hugs Liam again before heading for her seat. Syd seems to snap out of her daydream and takes off towards her without a glance at us. 

I stare at my empty glass.