penelope pushed her way to the bar, trying not to touch too many sweaty bodies in her conquest but failing miserably. the bar was small and therefore packed like a can of sardines, accompanied by the overpowering scent of cigarette smoke, which had also cast a light cloud in the room. none of this bothered the young girl as she had becoming accustomed to it - it was an overriding factor of student life, after all.
"just a pint of whatever's on tap please, mate," she asked the barman softly, distracted whilst she looked at the casio that adorned her petite wrist. only ten minutes until john & co would debut as a band; to say she was nervous was an understatement. she had full faith in john's abilities as a bass player, and had also seen smile perform a couple of times, but that was with tim. she just hoped this guy freddie would be better than the previous lead singer, who she had not particularly taken a liking too. she preferred theatrics and drama on stage, which tim unfortunately did not provide.
"excited? i heard smile got some new fillings."
penelope looked over her glass at the man who had suddenly spoken to her, slightly confused by his wording. "sorry what?"
"the band? smile? got new members. like fillings... because you get fillings on your tee—"
"yeah okay, i got it!" she chuckled, amused by the man's ramblings. he was tall, definitely over six foot, with a head of shaggy brown hair and a charming grin. 'well, i've definitely had worse company,' she mused, allowing her eyes to travel over him. he was good looking in a conventional way.
he cocked his eyebrow at her unsubtle attempt of checking him out. "like what you see?"
"maybe. what's your name?"
"bill peters," the brunette stated, extending his hand.
she shook his hand firmly, maintaining eye contact the entire time, and confidently said "penny heart," before turning towards the stage just as the four men emerged on stage. however, not even the presence of the handsome man beside her could deflect the quick thumping of her heart when she saw how the stage lights lit up her best friend's eyes beautifully.
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"i am so fucking proud of you!" penelope nearly screamed, not even caring about the odd looks she was receiving. she broke into a small run to get to john and embraced him in a tight, long hug, allowing him to swirl her around whilst she laughed in glee. "well done, i knew you could do it," she whispered when she returned to the ground, giving him one last squeeze and a kiss on the cheek before turning to the other men, plus the addition of a grinning woman. in her excitement she hadn't even noticed that bill had stalked off, deflated, assuming the bass player was in fact her boyfriend.
"thank you so much for making me do this penny!" john muttered, thus making her shiver slightly when his breath hit her ear. he avoided eye contact with the rest of the band, knowing that he would no doubt be getting a teasing from the other boys (whom he had grown rather close to) later due to the blush on his cheeks, which contrasted the slight smudge of penny's dark plum lipgloss that was still left on the right side of his face.
"darling, aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?"
"oh yeah, of course. penny, this is the rest of the band: roger, brian and freddie, and this is freddie's girlfriend mary."
she shook hands with the men in front of her, assessing each one, pretending not to notice that roger had held her hand longer than necessary. she couldn't believe how attractive they all were in their own unique way; roger was obviously good looking, in a way that made him almost too pretty to be a man. his big blue eyes winked at penny and she couldn't help but feel a heated blush creeping up her neck. it seemed like the blonde casanova simply had that affect on people - and boy, did he know it. brian, on the other hand, seemed far more shy; the small smile he offered her did wonders for his high cheekbones, somehow making them even more prominent and angular. though his height should be intimidating, the calm and friendly way in which he carried himself counteracted it completely, and his soft hazel eyes seemed to invite warmth.
freddie was a character of his own, taking ahold of penny's hand and pulling her into a hug; mary also gave the bewildered girl a swift embrace, beaming the entire time. she couldn't help but mentally swoon over how cute they were as a couple. freddie was one of the most extraordinary people she had ever seen; medium length, wavy dark brown hair and wide caramel eyes that added to the exotic aspect of his look. although he was smiling, he made an effort to pull his top lip over his teeth, that were definitely larger than the average person's - personally, penelope felt that they made him appear even more fascinating. he suited mary perfectly. her long, strawberry blonde hair flowed down her back and framed her delicately pale face. if she wasn't so bloody lovely, penelope might even feel threatened by her beauty.
"oh wow! your trousers are stunning! is that velvet?" mary gushed, staring at the cranberry crushed velvet bellbottoms penelope was wearing for the special occasion. "i work at biba and we don't have anything like this! you'll have to take me next time you go shopping."
"oh — of course! i'd love that, remind me to give you my phone number later and we can sort something out," she gleefully replied, radiating happiness of the thought of making a new friend - something that did not come easily to her.
john placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, signalling her to follow him. "do you want to come with me to get the drinks in or do you want to get a table with the others?"
"i guess i'll keep you company, rockstar," she smirked, grabbing his hand and yanking him towards the bar.
meanwhile, the pair were unaware of the remaining members of the group watching them.
roger rolled his doll-like eyes. "they so want to shag each other, it's ridiculous."
"i agree, they seem so happy together" brian replied, watching them joke around playfull. "although you didn't have to be so coarse about it, rog."
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literally publishing stories makes me so nervous and i already feel like this could be better but oh fucking well. thank u for reading :)))) if u don't like it then pls don't tell me because even though i'm a gemini i'm rlly sensitive.
