The Rock Rollercoaster

4. There, There

Picture of William over there --------------------------->

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Psychedelic Disadvantage.

That was the name of William's band. Personally, I didn't think it was the easiest to relate to, and just sounded like they'd come up with a cool sounding word and added 'Disadvantage' on the end to give it a negative, grunge effect, but hey ho. It would do.

I was slowly helping the band out. It had been a week since that first meeting, and things had gone kind of smoothly. They'd at least agreed to be less obvious with their song choices. But I still had a long way to go before they were a band I was willing to be associated with.

OK, that sounded petty. But really, they were a bit of a joke at the minute. And not a good one. Taylor and David were alright, really. Taylor was actually really friendly, and could play better on the drums than he'd originally let on. David was surlier, but he was nice enough.

William was another story. He seemed to constantly be near me when I went to the shed. Everywhere I looked, there he was. From winks to offers to walk me home. From unnecessary hugs to resting his arm on my shoulders if we were sat next to each other. If he were a cute, honest guy, I really wouldn't mind too much. In fact, I might actually enjoy a little light flirting. But although he was supremely good-looking, his intentions were nothing short of repulsive. It was in the leer behind his smile. It was in the scowl he pulled whenever I told him outright that he was crossing the line. And I didn't like it.

We finished playing one day, and I flopped down on the beat up sofa. "Hey, Lyra." Taylor called from his guitar stand.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Are you still living in that hotel?" He asked.

"Um, yeah?" I answered.

"How long have you been in NY now?" David said, snorting. "You need to find somewhere to live."

I scowled. "The hotel is perfectly adequate. I like it there."

Alicia sat next to me. "Don't you want a real place to call your own?" She said.

I shrugged. "Maybe some day. But I'm fine where I am for now."

William sauntered over and leaned suggestively on the arm of the sofa, right where I was sat. "You could stop at our house for a bit. I wouldn't mind."

"I bet you wouldn't." I muttered. "Guys, I'll find somewhere when I'm ready."

I was finding the band difficult. I mean, I loved making music. But it was difficult to sing as though I meant it when William insisted on staring right at me during a song about particularly...strong...emotions. He made me uncomfortable. And that's the understatement of the century. I always thought that when I joined a band, it would be something that filled me with happiness - that it would be the thing I lived for.

This was not what I wanted out of joining a band. Creepy band mates aside.

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Psychedelic Disadvantage's first gig (well, first gig including me) was at a smelly, dirty bar down a back alley of a road somewhere off Times Square.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely wasn't a qualified band producer or anything. But this was not the best way of starting up a band and trying to get it well-known. However, I wasn't in charge and so William, it seemed, was calling the shots. Still, I thought he was going about becoming 'famous' the wrong way. He was always going on about how we were going to make it big, but he didn't have the first clue about how to make it happen.