Your Love Is Standing Next To Me

Chapter 15 - When the sun goes down

Rehearsals became part of my daily program. Laura loved them too. She was already our biggest fan. We started to do more Arctic Monkeys covers and sometimes I was the one singing vocals as well. It was obvious that Donna hated this.

One day, she didn't show up anymore.

- What happened to Donna? I asked Elyse.

- She's out. Evelyn said briefly. I guess you are our new singer now!

Me?! I was stunned. I was doing it just for fun and now things got serious.

- So we are still playing tonight, right? Karina asked.

- Of course! It'll be our first gig! Aren't you excited, girls? Evelyn was exploding with happiness.

- You need a name! Laura proposed immediately.

Things were happening so fast. Already our first show and I hadn't told Alex anything. I wanted to do that.

- What about The Equatorial Penguins? I asked.

- It sounds amazing!

- I love it!

- It's like The Arctic Monkeys only that is the opposite! It's perfect!

Everyone was content with our new name. It was going to be a damn good gig that night!

***

I stepped on the stage holding my guitar. I was trembling with both fear and excitement. I'd told Alex I'd go somewhere with some friends that night and that there was nothing for him to worry about. We were getting more and more distant, especially since I started the band.

It was extremely hot. I felt the sweat sliding my forehead and messing my make up. My hands were holding tightly the blood red PRS and my mouth was swallowing the cold microphone. The audience was cheering, clapping and singing along with us (maybe because we were girls, but i didn't care). For the very first time in my life, I was completely proud of myself. I didn't want to ever leave that stage.

The gig was great! I haven't had that feeling in such a long time. We played five covers and a song composed by us (mainly by me). Everything had been perfect!

***

We had two gigs per week. Alex was never coming home before 3 am and that was giving me time to go to venues outside the city. I felt like Cinderella. Leave when the sun goes down, play, have fun, but come home before 2 am, or else the prince will find out your secret (ok, it wasn't exactly Cinderella), take a shower and go to sleep before Alex shows up so that he won't suspect anything.

I've had a couple attempts to tell him about my band, but he was always busy and tried his best to change the subject every time I started a sentence with "I have to to tell you something".

We were getting more and more popular as a band, we started to be asked to play different places, we were selling tickets, band merch, we already had eight songs composed by us, songs which the people already knew from YouTube (yes, we were posting them on YT and we were promoting ourselves mainly through Facebook and Twitter).

It was all I've ever dreamed!

I was trying to keep Alex close but didn't always succeed in that. But we were ok. Or at least that's what we were saying.

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Hope everything's alright with this one. I've been writing the last chapters from my iPod (as I've broken my laptop - badly).

I used the names you suggested, girls!

Tell me what you think! :D

Have a great day! ^.^

(and thank you so so much for reading my story!!!!)