Overdue - A Rockstar Romance

Chapter 9 - Elliott

"Welcome back guys, now I have some special guests joining me in the studio today. They're the pop rock band taking the world by storm. They rocketed into the spotlight with their debut album Thieves of the Heart, yes, I'm talking about none other than True Outlaws! Welcome to the show guys." The presenter said, hand waving animatedly.

"Thanks, it's great to be here." We all called back, leaning into the two huge microphones in front of us.

"So, we've been asking our listeners to get in touch with their questions for you. Let's jump right in." He didn't pause for breath properly and I could tell the others were struggling to keep up as much as I was. "Erik, the band have been described as British BTS meets Bon Jovi. What do you think of this?"

Erik paused a moment before speaking, "Well I'm a huge fan of both so being compared to them in any way totally makes my day." He gave a winning smile that was totally lost on the radio listeners.

I nudged him, "We basically grew up on Bon Jovi too so if we're even half as good then I'd call that winning."

The presenter nodded in agreement "Totally. So next question." I doubted he was fully listening to our answers, "Hayley from Bromley says, who is the biggest heartbreaker?"

We all turned to Chris and burst out laughing. He rolled his eyes and then leaned forwards, "I think that would have to be me Hayley. Hit me up if you want to find out why."

The presenter laughed nervously, he definitely heard that answer, "This is a family show Chris so moving swiftly on. Next question, who gets the most nervous before a performance?"

We swivelled in our seats to Kyle. "Probably me." He mumbled after prompting.

Of all of us, Kyle was probably least comfortable with the fame we had found. The notoriety that came with being part of a band had really hit his introvert heart hard. We all loved the music, but Kyle was only in it for the music. The fans, the money and the fame were extras he wasn't even that bothered by.

He still drove the same car and ate the same food. When we hit clubs or attended parties, he was last to arrive and first to leave.

In some ways I felt sorry for him. He would have been happy playing the bars and pubs where our career began for the rest of our lives.

"Do any of you have ways of dealing with nerves?" the presenter prompted before I got too sucked back into my memories.

Chris gave a wicked grin, "Well you know what they say about imagining the audience naked?"

Erik snorted, "Half our fans are teen girls."

Chris kicked him, "Well I imagine all the legal ones naked." He finished with a triumphant grin.

The presenter laughed nervously again, maybe he was listening to our answers after all "Moving on, Elliott, any tips for budding musicians who might be listening?"

I shrugged not sure what response he wanted. We had just got lucky being discovered by the team we did. True creatives who were partners with us rather than managers. Not many people got that and I knew that chance discovery had been nothing more than a happy accident.

A combination of Chris sweet talking the bar staff and the talent scouts coming on just as we started our set. The power cut halfway through our first song that forced up to go more acoustic. When our set finished the power came back on and the talent scouts and fans begged for more. Luckily for us the bar agreed but the other bands had been less than impressed at being bumped out.

Who could blame them either considering the fame we had found from it?

"Don't mind him, he's in a funk because he got rejected for the first time earlier." Erik leaned forward and told the presenter in a low conspiratorial tone.

"By a girl!" Chris interjected with a laugh, slapping a hand on my shoulder as though comforting me.

"Really? Who would reject him?" the presenter snapped to attention, his eyes lighting up as he homed in on the juicy bit of gossip like a bloodhound on the trail.

I glared at Erik, but he grinned and ploughed forwards oblivious. "Well that would be telling. But it happened earlier today when we were filming the video for our next single."

Chris jumped in, "The video will be dropping in a month so keep an eye out for that."

I was fuming silently inside but knew I had to play my part, "We've got some great new music coming up including collaborations with some mystery guests. We can't wait to hear what you all think."

"And what's the name of this single?" the presenter encouraged but his eyes were still on me. He didn't want to drop the line of questioning, but the swift change of direction hadn't left him much choice.

"Overdue. I hope you love it as much as we do." I forced a smile.

"Thanks so much for joining us. Overdue, the first track of True Outlaws new album drops at the end of October." He closed down our piece and introduced the next song whilst gesturing for us to leave.

"What the hell man?" I whirled on Erik as soon as we were in the hall.

He didn't seem surprised by my outburst which annoyed me even more. He had known this was annoy me. "I did you a favour man."

"How the hell did that help me? You know what our fans are like. They are going to track down that girl and rip her to shreds." I spat.

I slammed my fist into the wall, rather that than my friend's face. Anger management had been more of a struggle since I had stopped self-medicating my feelings with alcohol. They had warned me that might happen but knowing what it was didn't actually make it any easier.

"Maybe they didn't notice?" Kyle, ever the peacemaker tried to suggest.

"Too late." Chris sounded grim as he held up his phone to show me, "You're already trending on Twitter."