Melodies & Madness

Stay

David's POV

"Haven't you earned enough money to pack this all in yet?" one of my oldest mates Frank joked, sipping his gin. We all laughed but in all honesty I would never have earned enough money to pack this in, I love it too much.

"Never mate" I chuckled, sipping my martini.

"Good job you still look like that then innit, how do you do it?" Louisa, Frank's girlfriend commented, making me feel shy. The group swallowed the comment up with laughter and little comments while my mind drifted to Violet. I glanced down to my watch. 6:04. Theres still plenty of time for her to come round. For some reason I really hoped she would, I want her to bond with the group a bit more, she hasn't had a chance yet since starting with us.

"Hey Dave" a voice pulled me from my daydream. I glanced over to Vince who sunk into the seat beside me, "fancy a bit of this before the show?" he subtly flashed me a baggy in his jean pocket.

"Vince fuckin'ell" I was taken aback, I hadn't taken any drugs for a good few years now. Vince just grinned back at me like a child in a sweetshop "I don't do that shit anymore".

"Yeah but its only a little bit, it'll relax you" he tried to reason, but my mind was made.

"No more!" I simply said before pushing myself to my feet, I needed a fresh drink. I busied myself making up a fresh and very strong martini and distracted myself by chatting to the crew hanging around the drinks table. As I turned around and took the room in, sipping my refreshing concoction, I noticed Violet wander in. She looked overwhelmed by the room. Immediately I strode over to her with a big grin on my face.

"You made it!" I beamed, struggling to hide my happiness.

"yeah I did" she smiled back up at me.

"what do you want to drink?" I led her over to the drinks table, "anything you want but remember you do have to mix the show tonight" we both chuckled.

"Vodka lemonade please, not too strong though" she smiled sweetly. I quickly put it all together and handed it to her. We sipped our drinks as I explained who my friends were and what to expect when we went over to them and how the rest of the night was going to work.

"So guys, this is Violet, she's our latest addition" I introduced her to the group.

"Hiya, well you can call me Vi, it's quicker" she chuckled as we got sat down.

"How old are you Vi, if you don't mind me asking? Your skin is flawless" Louisa quipped, making Violet's cheeks flush slightly.

"I'm 22, my birthday is next month though actually" she explained. And so the conversation began to flow and my plan was working. My friends were helping me get to know her subtly and without being a creep. It turns out she graduated from uni with a first and is actually a bit of a brain box when it comes to live sound and mixing. Violet gets on really well with Louisa which is nice to see, it must be quite daunting for a young girl to be surrounded by men all the time.

6:45 soon rolls around and my dressing room slowly empties, all except my little group on the sofas. "I should probably head off too now" Violet finished the last of her drink and placed it on the coffee table.

"You don't have to yet, do you?" I hoped she didn't, I quite enjoyed her company in all honesty.

"Don't you need to be getting ready soon?" she frowned out of confusion.

"Well yeah but you can stay, these guys will be" I explained, "I'm not shy" I chuckled, trying to break the seriousness.

"David, Shy?!" the others piped up and all erupted into laughter once again and the chatter reconvenes.

"Ah ok then but I do need to be back before the show actually starts" she explained.

"Good girl, you're learning" Frank joked as Vince came back with another round of drinks for everyone. We soon enough polished those drinks off too while I began to piece myself together for the show. With 20 minutes to go I had to let Violet head off to do her job, leaving me with my loony mates.

"She's not bad you know, she's funny" they declared once the coast was clear.

"It's refreshing to have a woman on the crew for once" I admitted, choosing an eyeliner.

"She's pretty too, she's sweet" Louisa added, "be careful with her, she's young Dave" her tone turned slightly serious.

"What? She's lovely, and young I know. She won't be interested in me anyways" I pretended to be more interested in applying my eyeliner than the conversation.

"Hmm" the group responded, unconvinced by my statement.

"Right, I'm ready to go now, let's head off" I pushed up from my knees, all suited and booted ready for the show. With a deep breath I composed myself and headed down the corridor towards the stage.