Anything (Van McCann | CATB Fan Fiction)

3. Houston Street, NY

|Vienna|

Mike and I sat at the table at Fools Gold after I said my hellos. I caught Larry and the lead singer, Van, whispering to each other while Van shot a quick glance my way, laughing and shaking his head. I thought that was slightly crude, but I quickly shrugged it off.

"A G and T, please. Thanks," I told the waitress.

"And I'll have a pint, thank you," Mike said.

"Have you thought about the offer?" Dan leaned in next to me animatedly while the boys chatted over beer.

Nodding, "Yeah, I was just about to talk to you on that. I'm on board," I happily smiled. I decided to go with the offer because the band and crew seemed like a bunch of laid back people. And I was not booked for anything else for fall, so I decided why the hell not.

"Ahh, that's a relieve to hear. I'll email you everything you need first thing tomorrow. Also, I know this might sound a bit of a rush, but, is it okay if you start immediately tomorrow?" Dan asked.

"Tomorrow?" I shot a glance at him, surprised. I might have spoken too loudly since the boys suddenly shifted their heads to look at me.

"I know. It's too soon. But they have a recording with Letterman tomorrow. I used to get Larry to do all of the photography part but I'd appreciate any additional help that comes my way," Dan explained. "We kinda have too much on our plates right now," he sighed.

"No, Dan. Tomorrow's fine," I throw him two thumbs up.

"Ahh, you're an angel," he exhaled.

"Oh, you took the job?" Van asked, his blue eyes glistened against the lighting. Van had a George Harrison's 'Arthur' haircut that looked really cute on him.

"Yes, I did," I warmly smiled.

"Welcome on board," Mike squeezed my arm. I animatedly thanked him and sipped on my drink.

"The lads are excited that we finally have a young lass added to the crew," Larry sheepishly smiled.

"You'll bring balance to the force," Benji, the bassist with an afro chuckled. I noticed that he had the sweetest smile. I found it amusing that he reminded me of Albert Hammond Jr of The Strokes. It was probably the haircut.

"You and your Star Wars reference, mate," Bob shook his head, smiling, exposing his dimples. He was the quietest and the most laid back of the bunch.

"Sorry, he's still not over the fact that we met Obi Wan for breakfast," Johnny, whose nickname was Bondy, laughed.

"No, shit?" I exclaimed.

"Shit!" Bondy laughed again. "He said he likes the band."

"That explains why you had his face on your drum kit," I told Bob.

"Yeah," he grinned.

"He wanted us to put him on the guest list, so, Van put him on as Obi "Plus One" Kenobi," Benji laughed.

"Can't believe I got the man laughing. I used to sit and watch his films with my girlfriend and now I'm hanging out with him. I'm already a legend ," Van proudly laughed, throwing both of his hand in the air. Everyone at the table scoffed and laughed at his statement but I could see that each of everyone of them were beaming proudly that their band were getting the recognition.

So, Van had a girlfriend...

"No way, that's so rad! Wait, was he here tonight?" I asked with furrowed brows.

"No, he was at last night's gig at Baby's Alright," Mike explained.

I nodded and continued drinking.

"So, Vienna, you're from here, right? I bet you've met a bunch of famous people," Benji muttered.

"You're on a roll aren't you tonight, mate?" Larry laughed. "He's usually very quiet around strangers. I'm surprise he's all chatty around you," Larry told me.

"What? Can't I have a proper chat with our crew member?" Benji shrugged. I couldn't help but flushed at the teasing.

"I used to intern for Julian Casablancas at his label. So, I kinda met him plenty of times. Since he's my boss," I immediately changed the topic. They all looked at me, with all of their jaws wide open. "He's the only famous people I've ever sat down with."

"No, he's not the only one. You're sitting with us now..." Bondy joked. Everyone started laughing, but Van. His mouth was still wide open like an overly excited child.

"Do you realize you're talking about the man who influenced me the most? You have no idea how cool that is!" Van's voice cracked a little as he gasped at a high pitch.

"Yeah, Van used to tell us, we got to keep our hair long, we got to wear leather jackets..." Benji began mimicking Van, adding, "That's because he wanted us to look as cool as The Strokes when we were kids," Benji laughed. I immediately looked at his hair, holding in a laugh. He noticed that I was looking at his hair and he began to laugh through his nose.

"I mean... If it's not obvious already," he pointed at his hair. The entire table then erupted into a laughter.

"Vienna fancies Julian a lot and she just wont shut up about it," Mike said.

"He's the ultimate man in my book," I proudly announced.

"Yeah. And she wont date guys if they don't look like him," Mike laughed.

"That's a bit untrue and true at the same time!" I muttered, smacking Mike's arm.

"Ahh! You're obsessed, Vienna," he laughed.

"In my defense, I have a new level of respect for him. So it's not just about fancying him because he's cute and in The Strokes now, okay?" I looked at Mike and back to the guys.

"There goes my chances," Benji animatedly said.

"What?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Nothing," he shook his head, laughing to himself.

Van was eyeing me, then over at Benji and then back at me weirdly. He raised his eyebrow and tilted his head, with a huge grin plastered on his face, raising his eyebrow. I knew he was teasing me about Benji so I shot a frown at him, making a face like I was telling him to shut up.