andromeda // matty healy au

I Like Myself (Most Of The Time)

The new floor of the stage was a black and white checkered tile pattern. Normally, there was a heavy red curtain ran along the back wall during the performances, but Matty begged Sammy to put up a white one instead.

"It goes with the set better," he would say when Sammy asked why he wanted to change it. "Looks better black and white." And he was right, it did look better.

The lights were dim when the boys got in their places. But within a few moments, the stage lights came on and made their instruments glisten. Rae waited on stage left, while Alysa, a dancer I didn't know very well, and I waited on the opposite side.

Adam started off with abrupt, snappy chords on the guitar. It sounded uncharacteristically upbeat for this group, but once the lyrics started, a melancholy tone spread through the song. The patrons didn't really care about the music anyway.

Bite your face to spite your nose
17 and a half years old
I'm worrying about my brother finding out

Matty's mouth hung open as he looked directly at me beyond the curtains.

What's the fun in doing what you're told? 

He held onto the microphone stand as he sang and shook his head around. The music picked up and it was our cue to sashay on to the stage with them. When the lights hit us, we earned some hoots and hollers from the crowd. Alysa and I got into our positions by the poles on either side of the stage, while Rae took the center. We waited for our the next section of music as we watched her move in the spotlight.

She had done some improv before actually making contact with the pole, shaking her sparkly hips and swaying her chest from ogling man to ogling man. It earned her some good money from the front row, and it made me proud. Alysa and I worked hard on our background routine: step around, step around, climb up to do flying legs, rotate hips into a flag, attitude one leg inwards, bend both legs to bring them around into a tucked position around the pole, then lengthen legs into a fireman slide down.

At first, Alysa and I could never stay in sync, but when we finally got into our rhythm, it grew to become an easy set for us. Besides, Rae was the real star on this verse, I could never wrap my head around the fact that she was so flexible and strong. She was the best dancer I had ever seen; and I saw every man in the club fall in love with her glittering legs.

Matty continued to sing the chorus as the stage with pink and yellow lights. The new neon strip lights around the bar were incorporated into the act as well, and even the bartenders were surprised to see the show make their way to the back of the club.

They're just girls, breaking hearts

This lyric stuck with me. The drums and guitars continued playing, but all I heard was They'rejustgirlsbreakingheartsThey'rejustgirlsbreakingheartsThey'rejustgirls

I turned around while I stood in front of my pole. Matty's guitar now hung low around his body as he sung the next verse. He was belting every word as he clung to the microphone. I let out a 'whoop' and clapped to get the men in the front row to be more involved. They would do anything I asked, so I thought the boys would like to hear some cheers from their audience - even if they weren't really there to listen to their music.

His eyes sprung open after the verse and his eyes glistened as he saw me egging on the crowd. He tried to keep himself from smile-singing, but he gave in and eventually shot me a wink.

Well, shouldn't you be fuckin' with somebody your age instead of makin' changes?
Wrestle to the ground
God, help me know

He sung about 'just girls' as he stomped around like a child on stage. He didn't care that nobody was watching the band, but I could tell he appreciated my efforts.

Glancing at Rae by the front of the stage, I saw a mischievous look in her eyes. She gleamed at me then stepped back into the spotlight and signalled to Alysa and I. She pointed both hands to the boys at the back, and then crossed in front of me towards stage left, where Ross was standing. Alysa walked toward to Adam, which left Matty and I to partner up.

I followed Rae's lead, and walked around Matty, as she did with Ross. As I walked around him, my hand trailed around his shoulder and back, which tensed under my touch. But it was probably from playing guitar.

Are you sure about that?

Rae reached over Ross' grip on the guitar and placed a red kiss on his cheek, then looked at me smugly.

"Do it," she taunted through her gaze, "you know you want to."

I held onto the collar of Matty's shirt and smacked my lips onto his cheek. it left a large red smear across his face, but he continued to play as if it didn't faze him. Without looking up from the fretboard, his mouth formed a small smirk, that made me want to hit him. Just lightly.

The boys strummed as he song was about to finish, on the last note, the three of us posed at the front of the stage, where the roof was almost blown off the club. I had never heard such a vivacious crowd. They shook the ground, drinks were being clinked and I could barely hear Rae tell me to move off the stage over the yells from the seats. We scurried off the stage and celebrated a job well done with a clink of our water bottles.

I heard Matty's voice through the mic. He introduced the band, the last song and the three of us.

"They were just wonderful, weren't they?" he asked the patrons, all too drunk to remember what they were cheering for. "They really were. Anyway, we've got a couple more songs for you guys to hear before the shows done, and there will be plenty more dancing before the end of the night."

"You know, they're really good!" Rae exclaimed excitedly as she grabbed my shoulder.

"Anyway, this one's called The City," Matty said before George's hard drum beats kicked in.

I watched him from the curtain for a moment or two or three. I couldn't really tell because of how slowly he moved. A glowing crown of perspiration started to gather by his hairline - he was giving it his all. He drooped his shoulders as his hips started to sway to the music. His guitar was on a stand next to him now, and he held onto the microphone with both hands.

Yeah, you wanna find love then you know where the city is