Gravity

Chapter Five

After a few weeks, it had been evident they still needed a drummer. Chris was so focused on finding someone to join them; he had asked everyone if they knew of someone who could play drums. One of the first ones he had asked had been his friend Will. It was him that had arranged a rehearsal with his flat mate, who was a drummer. Chris thought Will was a bit scary, but he admired the young man greatly, not only was he an extraordinary sport man, he was also a keen musician and a very talented one at that. They would usually improvise jam sessions but it had not crossed his mind to invite him to join them because there were already two guitarists. However, when the Southampton man’s friend did not turn up for their meeting and Will offered to step in for him for a while, the four friends had clicked so well, they had forgotten all about Will’s elusive flat mate.

From that day on, they would usually hang out at the pub after lessons and they would later head straight home to his and Jonny’s flat to rehearse. It was such the chemistry that they had when playing together, that they soon formed a band and with the help of his dear friend Phil, who had believed in them from the beginning, they started playing local pubs and venues. Chris could not be happier; his dream was becoming more tangible with every day that went by.

They were committed to their project and worked very hard to write and improve their songs. The four friends would spend hours and hours rehearsing, locked up in Jonny’s bedroom, which was where all their instruments were already set up, it had become their headquarters. The young man from Devon never stopped writing. He’d usually spent the nights working on new lyrics, or a new tune which he would present to Jonny and they would work at it for hours until they were both satisfied enough to show it to Will and Guy. Every early morning, when Chris would finally lay his head on his pillow, exhausted, he could not believe how amazingly rewarding all this process was.     

Making music was his greatest passion and so Chris put all his energy in their band. Even when Will, Guy or Jonny would go on dates and some of them even be in relationships, Chris could not find any girl he liked enough to call his girlfriend. Despite the success of his still very young musical career, his love life was a disaster, one date here, one date there, but nothing more. He was not satisfied about that; he longed to find someone to fall for. As far as he was concerned, he had never been in love. Seeing Will with his girlfriend brought an uneasy feeling in his heart. He wholeheartedly believed that his other half was somewhere in the world, they were just really good at hiding. He wondered if that special girl he was hoping to meet was out there, waiting for him. Guy would often mock his bad luck when it came to romance and his solitary habits. He urged him to go on dates, be more sociable and all that, it was easy for someone as handsome and cool as Guy was, but Chris considered himself far too shy and awkward around women to go around asking random girls out. It seemed a waste of time when there was so much to write and rehearse anyways!

By the time they were studying for their final exams, their band had already been signed by Parlophone and they had recorded two EP’s. It all had happened so fast, Chris and the guys could hardly believe it. Despite a few bumps in the road, the four friends became closer and what had started as four friends making music was now a gang. Chris could not imagine doing this with anyone else. Family aside, Jonny, Will, Guy and Phil were the most important people in his life. Every now and then, he would look at Jonny and his heart would explode with bliss in a unique way but he would quickly remind himself it was just admiration, nothing else.

Chris was utterly relieved when during one of their first promo tours around the country; he got a crush on a girl after a few dates. She was smart and quite pretty. She had a lovely smile and bright blue eyes and a petit body, but it was her sense of humor and wittiness what had really drawn him to her.  She seemed quite interested in him too.