"john, will you just go already? it's bloody freezing out here!" penelope hissed, pulling her mustard coloured, fluffy jacket closer to her trembling body. the pair had been standing outside of the back entrance to a small, dingy pub for almost twenty minutes, although it felt like an eternity. penelope watched as john nervously nibbled at his fingernails - she was starting to grow impatient at the young man in front of her.
"i can't, penny! what if they don't like me, or i mess up, or they laugh? i'll be so mortified."
"but none of those scenarios will happen! look, this is what's going to happen—" she lifted cold hands up to the sides of his face, forcing him to look at her. "you're going to go in there and play that damn bass so brilliantly that they'll be begging you to join smile. you've got this. i believe in you."
john practically beamed at her kind words, his nerves finally calming as he stared into her dark chocolate eyes. "this is why you're my best friend."
"yeah, and don't you forget it! now, go!" she laughed, pushing him towards the door. with a shaky wave, john clutched tightly onto the neck of his beloved bass and pushed himself into the building.
neither of the two could have ever fathomed that penelope heart had just helped bring together one of the greatest rock bands in history.
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as per usual, the record store rocket vinyls was quiet on the thursday afternoon. the busiest days were unsurprisingly fridays and the weekend. the only sound at 2pm on the chilly afternoon was the soothing vocals of abba, the occasional crackle of one of the old speakers and the consistent scribble of pencil on paper. penelope was idly sketching a costume design that had been playing on her mind for weeks - the nineteen year old just wished that she had an opportunity to display her undeniable talent in places other than her battered college scrapbook. she had been waiting for over a half hour to hear whether john was successful in his conquest to join smile or not, and the anticipation was practically eating her alive.
the ferocity in which the entrance door was opened was enough to jar penelope in such a manner she leaped off her stool in fear she was about to be in the middle of a burglary. she exhaled a frustrated huff when she realised that the boy standing in front of her wasn't an intimating thug, just a sweet man who looked like he'd ran an entire marathon moments prior.
"john! christ, are you trying to give me a heart attack? wait, shit, what happened with the audition—?"
"i'm in the band." he whispered, not quite believing the words he was saying.
"you are?!" his best friend screeched back, unable to contain her excitement.
"yes! i'm in the fucking band, penny!"
with a swift leap over the counter, penelope tackled the giggling male into a bone crushing hug. "i'm so proud of you!"
"best part is, they're all so friendly! i was chatting a bit to this guy - roger - and usually i wouldn't get along with someone like him because he's really confident and loud and basically the opposite of me, but we actually had so much in common; freddie was hilarious too, you're going to love him! and brian, i can imagine brian and i being really good friends!"
"oh john, i'm so so so happy for you!" she exclaimed, watching as his eyes grew in animation and enthusiasm the more he talked. when she looked at him like this, she truly felt overwhelmed with the appreciation and love she felt towards him as a friend - whilst also trying to ignore the niggling butterflies in her stomach when she realised his hands were still on her waist and her's resting on his chest from the hug they had shared.
'this is weird' she thought as she tried to focus her attention on his words. 'why am i feeling like this. he's my best friend, this doesn't mean anything. come on penny, you're probably just lonely or something... right?'
it just so happened that she was unaware of john having almost the exact same thought process as penny whilst he talked too, the rapid beating of his heart no longer being a result of the run he endured from the pub, but actually from something else entirely.
