Anything (Van McCann | CATB Fan Fiction)

4. Ed Sullivan Theater, NY

|Van|

I was dragged out of bed by Larry the next morning after the tenth time I hit the snooze button.

"Come on, mate. We are going to be late!" He said, pulling both of my feet to the edge of the bed.

"Five more minutes, mate," I groggily muttered underneath the comforter.

"No! We need to go! I need to go and load your instruments in the van. See you downstairs in five," Larry murmured, pulling my body harder.

I groaned as he pulled the luxurious comforter away from me. Stretching sumptuously, I pulled myself up and yawned.

"Van! You have five minutes to get ready mate!" Dan yelled from the living room our service suit. It was miracle that nobody had complained about the noises that we made yet.

I quickly dragged my feet to the bathroom to shower and get dressed. I couldn't even bother to look at myself in the mirror after I was done since I was late. I was the last one to leave the room, so I hurriedly made my way downstairs.

I stopped my tracks, in front of the hotel entrance when I saw Vienna leaning against the van, watching the boys loading our instruments into the van. She was smiling and murmuring stuff to Mike and Benji. I got to say, she was even more beautiful under the morning sun. I started seeing things in slow motion from then on.

Her chocolate brown hair was wavier than I remembered, with a few strands being blown by the wind. The green flux of her hazel eyes were glistening like emerald and her cheeks were rosy against the chilly wind. She had the nicest skin colour; not too pale, not too tanned. Her style was relaxed and effortless. And her smile, it was so infectious that....

"Yo, Van! What are you doing standing there mate? We gotta go!" Dan yelled from the front sit. My head was literally playing a tyre screeching sound when my thoughts of Vienna was derailed by his voice. Everyone was looking at me, including Vienna. Shit.

I hoped nobody noticed that I was watching her. "I was just trying to recall if I forgot anything," I lied, pretending to look for my wallet at the back pocket of my jeans.

"Everything is in the van," Larry waved at me.

Knowing that my face was bright red, I immediately walked towards where everyone was standing.

"Mornin' Van," Vienna smiled.

"Mornin'," I smiled back. She smelled so nice that everyone around me was starting to smell like her too.

"Ed Sullivan Theater, here we come!" Benji animatedly said, while pulling the vehicle door shut.

"I saw you," Larry whispered from behind me, laughing and poking my shoulder blades. I threw him stare and brought my index finger to my mouth.

Everyone was aware that Benji was attracted to Vienna. He was being flirty and followed her around like a sick puppy. It was no surprise to anyone at all since she's pretty at first glance, and even more beautiful after a few more glances. I was beginning to think that the more I looked at her, the prettier she'd get and it was making me very uncomfortable.

I really shouldn't be thinking about her. At least, not in that kind of way. Because firstly, I have a girlfriend back home. And secondly, Benji liked her. "Always mates before lasses," was my principal.

"You okay, mate? You zoned out quite a lot today," John muttered next to me.

"Absolutely. I am just running on a low amount of sleep," I lied.

"Is it just me or is it really freezing in here?" Vienna asked, rubbing her palms together.

"Aww, you're cold? You can have my jacket," Benji offered, grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm good, Ben," Vienna shrugged as she continued recording us goofing around on her device.

We were all waiting for the cue to record our first US television debut on The Late Night Show with David Letterman. I have always thought that the performances were a live tv kind of thing, but it turned out to be pre-recorded.

"You're on in fifteen," Dan said, knocking on the door for our attention.

"Okay, let's do this!" Bob threw a punch in the air, while holding onto his drumsticks in the other hand.

"Good luck," Vienna muttered from behind the camera as each of us darted out of the changing room.

"Thank you," I smiled at her.

Our instruments were already waiting for us when we got to the set.

"David and his support band wont come on till 11am. So we need to do a double take for the ending of your song, if that's alright with you guys?" said Jerry, who was the producer and director.

"That sounds alright to us," I gave him two thumbs up. We were then given the cue to start and proceeded to play Kathleen in front of the studio audience.

I was starstrucked when I saw David entered the set. We were shooting the scene where he said plenty of encouraging stuff about our band and music for the ending scene of the show. I hoped he really meant it when he said, "Well done. You passed the audition!" He looked thrilled about our band. It was just crazy to think that our little band from Llandudno finally debuted our music on the American television.

"Alright lads. Let's start packing. Our bus will leave for Philadelphia after lunch," Dan reminded us in the changing room.

"So, Vie, are you excited to embark on a journey with us?" Mike murmured next to me. Vienna was sitting in front of us in the changing room, munching on a pack of Cheetos.

"Uh huh," she mumbled while munching. "I can't believe I am finally leaving this city."

"Me too. You've been stuck here for too long!" Mike chuckled.

"I just hope Seth wont leave my studio in shambles by the time I come back," she murmured.

"Who's Seth?" I asked.

"Seth's my boyfriend," she smiled. So, Vienna has a boyfriend...

"Your boyfriend? No...." Benji tilted his head, playfully pouting over the fact that his crush was actually taken.

"Sorry..." Vienna mouthed.

Benji then playfully buried his face onto my chest, hugging me tightly as a display of his disappointment.

The rest of the lads then piled up on top of us, making us tumbled to the floor, leaving me squashed on the floor, underneath their bodies.

Vienna shook her head and laughed at our antics. She looked like she was getting used to us goofing around like that.

"It's okay, Ben. I'm here for you, mate. But, please, get off of me! Argh!" I murmured under John's backside.