Rock Starz

2| James

"Okay, James. What the hell are you on about?" Nathan asked, confused by his approach. James grinned and took a drag on his cigarette.
"It means I'm your salvation. Your only hope." Nathan remained silent as he stared competitively and confused at the young man standing in front of him. James seemed suspicious. The kind of words he used and in a strange order, there was just something about that. Nathan did not trust him one bit.
"Wow, are you some kind of volunteer, from church?" Lynx pushed Nathan aside to get a better look at James. James laughed sheepishly.
"Almost," he walked over to Lynx "it means I'm going to make you famous. All of you. If you want." Lynx hung on his every word as Nathan looked suspicious towards him. Isaiah looked up with interest and Devon seemed interested as well.
"How are you going to do that?" Nathan asked in a serious low voice. James smiled at him.
"Oh Nathan, don't be so mean to your future bandmate." Nathan's eyes widened and his mouth fell open.
"Bandmate?! What do you think you're doing, invading our band, mate?" Nathan stood up from the bench and walked towards him to stand threateningly opposite him.
"Wow, calm down tiger." Devon also stood up and pulled Nathan back by his shoulder.
"I agree with him. Explain, what do you have to offer us?" Devon nodded towards Nathan to show James that he was on his side.
"I wanna F you, I wanna effing, effing F you. Hey girl! Let me F you, please let me F you. Let me effing effing F you!" The four Funkey Monkeyz stood there, staring blankly.
"You're hired." Isaiah said and held out his hand which James shook gratefully. Nathan glared at Isaiah.
"What?! Someone sings a little in a hoarse voice, looks sexy and does a good pose and you immediately hire him?!" He shouted.
"Relax, it's not like I'm going to  overshadow you or something." James said immediately in his defence. As if it was because of Nathan's insecurities.
"Nathan, he's literally doing what you wanted Lynx to do on stage, well Lynx can't do that because that's not who he is but James is and you're not even considering it!" Devon shouted indignantly. Nathan rolled his eyes.
"We've been a band together for four years now. Why would you want to hire a complete stranger as the fifth member?" Isaiah looked away and took another drag on his joint while Devon thought for a moment.
"He's exactly what you're looking for, Nate." Nathan sighed and looked from Devon to James.
"Do you play any instruments or something?" James grinned broadly.
"Guitar, specifically electric. Why don't you, as the boss of the band, come over tomorrow? To talk things over?" James handed Nathan a note with an address on it.
"Do it Nathan, this could really save our band!" Lynx said softly but still enthusiastically. Nathan sighed again and he put the note in his pocket.
"Tomorrow, three o'clock." James smiled broadly.
"Great, will I see you at my place then?" Nathan plopped back down on the bench and he looked up at James.
"Yeah, fine." James nodded with a satisfied smile on his face, he nodded briefly to the other band members and then walked away. Devon bit his lip.
"Looks like you saved our band mate." He said and he patted his shoulder. Nathan looked up a bit stunned.
"I don't know what I'm doing anymore." Lynx laughed and he sat down on the other side next to his friend.
"Can you imagine? That we're going to perform on those stages where all our idols once stood. Or that we get to record something in the same studio where The Beatles recorded their albums." Nathan sighed dreamily after Lynx's story.
"Yeah that sure sounds good." Isaiah looked at his friends smiling.
"If we're going to record an album, can Bright So Bright be on it?" Nathan thought for a moment.
"Lads, if we're going to record an album, none of the songs we have now will be on it. We'll write much better ones together that are worth releasing." Devon clicked his tongue.
"So not I Wanna F You?" Nathan laughed and he playfully pushed Devon's shoulder then shook his head.
"No, I never want to have anything to do with that song ever again." Devon started laughing. After a while the bus pulled up. All four band members got in and sat down tired from the day.
"I don't trust James." Nathan mumbled then as soon as they were on their way home.
"No me neither, but it's worth a try. What's the worst that can happen?" Devon asked and Nathan thought for a moment.
"That he's using us for him to get famous and then run off with all the money to start a solo career himself?" Devon let it sink in for a moment.
"Yikes," Isaiah grumbled. The Funkey Monkeyz remained silent.
"Hey, am I the only one or did James look familiar?" Lynx then said. The band looked at him in surprise.
"What are you trying to say? That you've seen him before or something?" Lynx thought.
"No I don't know, his face just reminds me of something, but I don't know what." Devon sighed tiredly.
"Maybe you just saw him in the audience." The bus stopped and Isaiah got out, waved goodbye to his bandmates and disappeared into his house.
"It still hurts so much that Bright So Bright is about a lava lamp." Nathan mumbled in disappointment as he put his face in his hands. Devon laughed and eventually Lynx got out of the bus as well.
"Hey, I'm just saying, but shouldn't we change our band name if James joins?" Nathan laughed and nodded immediately.
"I still can't believe you guys liked that name the moment my dad suggested it." Devon nodded.
"Four years ago, we could still feel that magic." As soon as they reached the next stop, Devon and Nathan got out together and walked towards the woods.
"Four years ago, I escaped from the army." Devon said with realisation in his voice. Nathan looked at him.
"That still bothers you, doesn't it?" Nathan took the key out of his pocket and opened the door.
"Would you be okay with it if your dad decided you weren't good enough for him and you just had to go to the army?" Nathan sighed, the two boys walked inside.
"No, of course not." It was around 10:30 at night when the two boys got home.
"Hey guys, how did the gig go?" Nathan put his guitar case down in the hallway and immediately walked upstairs with Devon, ignoring his father. The two ended up in Nathan's room and Nathan started changing.
"You know, it's actually kind of weird that you wrote a song called I Wanna F You while you're sleeping in my room." Devon kicked off his shoes that hit the dresser.
"We all have lives outside of your bedroom Nathan." Nathan climbed into the top bunk and looked over the edge at his bandmate.
"Who's this about?" Nathan grinned at Devon. Devon lowered his gaze to the floor.
"That's none of your business." Nathan laughed and plopped down on his bed.
"If I find out it's about my sister, I will fucking kill you myself." Devon sat down on the bottom bunk of the bunk bed and rolled his eyes.x
"Good luck finding a new drummer." Nathan ignored what Devon said and he opened a book he was reading.
"What do you care what I do to your sister?" Nathan shot up.
"You're not doing her, are you?" There was a moment of silence between the two.
"That's none of your business." He said again. Nathan sat up with his mouth open.
"You're not going to be my brother-in-law!" Devon chuckled and threw a small ball at the light switch.
"We're already living as brothers so who cares at this point?"
"Devon you better not be screwing my sister!"

The next afternoon, Nathan was dropped off by his father in front of a huge house. Both of them stared open-mouthed at the building in front of them.
"Are you sure that that new band member of yours lives here?" Nathan looked at the note he had received from James, he showed it to his father and his father nodded approvingly.
"This is it." He got out of the car and Nathan's father helped his son with his guitar and amplifier.
"I'll pick you up at five, okay?" Nathan nodded and walked to the big gate. His father drove away and there he was, standing all alone, in front of a huge gate. He pressed a button that he assumed was a bell. Was this a joke or something? It couldn't be that his future bandmate lived here? Why would he want to be in a band, If this was where he lived?
"Nathan?" Nathan startled when he saw a man standing behind the gate.