"Ok Tay, I'll see you on stage!" I called as I hopped out of his car (he'd driven me there) and ran to the back-stage enterance.
"Break a leg!" He called with a smile. He started up the car and went around to the front to park. After he parked, he walked up to the enterance of Reality Squared.
"Sorry, but the doors don't open until 5:30." A man said, standing in front of the building.
"Oh, I know, but I'm here with Andrea, the girl providing the entertainment, and I just dropped her off at the back-stage enterance." Taylor explained.
"Oh yeah, that's fine, go on in." The man said, giving him a nod.
"There will be two more girls coming, Shirley and Katie, and they're friends of Andrea too. They should be here to deliver something that Andrea needed really soon." Taylor said, glancing at his watch and then at the enterance to the parking lot.
"Ok, when they get here I'll send them in." The guy said.
"Thanks." Taylor pushed open the door and walked in. It was pretty much a typical performance cafe, with a small dance floor, a bar, some plush chairs, and booths lining the walls. There was even and upstairs part that had little tables for four or two people. That was a nice touch. He wondered how much of a crowd Andrea could bring in. Or if she had some sort of underground following in the area. He walked over to the stage in the front and looked at it. There was a stool with a mic in front of it on center stage, a drumset in the back, and a baby grand piano to the side. Not too shabby, but someone would definitely trip on the wires on their way out. Taylor winced at the thought Andrea walking on stage and falling flat on her face. He took a seat and turned around to see two girls walking up to him. He smiled and extended a hand.
"Hey, I'm Taylor."
"Hi, I'm Shirley and this is Katie." Said the girl, shaking his hand and nodding. Taylor grasped hands with the next girl and smiled as well.
"So, do you guys come down here to see Andrea play a lot?" He asked them as the three sat down in a booth towards the front of the cafe.
"I've been here a few times, but I've never heard Andrea play. I've never even met her, but Shirley says she's great." Katie said. "Have you ever been here before?"
"My brothers and I have been here twice I think, but that was with our friends Tristan and Chris. They had some friends that were playing and asked us to come along. The second time we came by ourselves, but we've never heard Andrea either." Taylor explained.
"How do you know her?" Katie asked as she fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist.
"She's in my composition class and we're partners for this project. We've been spending our free time together to get it done because I only have two days during the week when I can get out of the studio." Taylor said.
"Oh, are you guys making a new album? That's cool!" Katie said brightly. Taylor's eyebrows shot up. Well, that was a surprise. She didn't even let on that she recongnized him. He gave a slight cough.
"Yeah, we are. Isaac and Zac should be coming here tonight too. You can meet the whole band!" He said, smiling.
"Oh, that's cool," Kaite said, smiling once again. She turned to Shirley and raised her eyebrows, "isn't it Shirley?" Taylor glanced over and noticed the shy smile and slight flush rising up on her cheeks.
"What? What's so funny?" Taylor asked, already having an idea.
"Nothing!" Shirley blurted quickly. "I mean, I don't know, I don't think anything is funny." She said and let out a shaky breath.
"Omigosh Shirley, you are so obvious!" Katie said, starting to laugh.
"I am not! Shut up Katie, we'll talk about this later!" She said between gritted teeth. Katie laughed harder. By now Taylor knew exactly what was going on.
"So, which one do you like?" He asked, smiling broadly at Shirley.
"I'm not telling." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You'll never know."
"Shirley, I'm serious now. I mean, you like one of them and you're talking to his brother. He could tell you what kind of things his brother likes, you know? Maybe you'd have more of a chance. And if you didn't have a chance, Taylor could tell you that too so you wouldn't get hurt in the process." Katie reasoned. Taylor nodded emphatically.
"She speaks the truth. Come on, you can tell me. I swear I won't tell my brother unless you tell me I can. I promise." Taylor said.
"Guuuyyss..." Shirley whined. She looked around the table. Both Taylor and Katie were nodding at her, silently prodding her to fess up. "Ok, Taylor, why don't you tell me who you think I'd be better with, and if you get it right, maybe then we can talk about it."
"Well, I just met you so this won't be very accurate, but from what I've seen, I think you'd be better for Ike than for Zac. I'm talking personality and age right here. How old are you, 20, 19?" Taylor asked.
"I'll be twenty in a month." Shirley said, smiling in spite of herself.
"So it's Ike then," Taylor concluded. "right?" There was a silence at the table. Katie seemed to be bursting from the inside out, wiggling like a little puppy with excitement and Shirley was starting to smile.
"Yeah. It's Ike. I like Ike." She said with a laugh.
"That's really cool that he's coming tonight then, isn't it? You'll get to meet him and I'm sure he'll talk to you and Katie a lot, and if I somehow hint to him that you like him, maybe something could happen."
"No!! I'd die of embarassment. If anything happens, I don't want him to feel pushed into it. And really, I've never even spoken to him. I just like his stage presence and personality and stuff. And his voice. But I could totally hate him in real life. So don't say anything to him." She paused for a second. "Yet."
"Ok, I won't say anything to him." Taylor said truthfully. A little grin spread across his face. He turned to look at Katie. "What about you? Do you like Zac?"
"Um...can't say I do. I mean, I don't NOT like him, but you know, I'm not really that big of a fan, actually, I'm not a fan at all, and I have no idea what he acts like. I don't even think I know what he looks like, now that I think about it." Katie said, scrunching up her eyebrows and placing her index finger to her temple. Taylor laughed. "What?" Katie asked defensively.
"Nothing, you just would be so perfect for Zac, it's almost scary. Like that over-dramatic-finger thing you just did. That's like, Zac to the core. You guys should talk to each other tonight. Even if nothing happens, he could always use a female friend, you know?"
"You are such a little matchmaker Taylor!" Katie exclaimed, laughing out loud and throwing her head back.
"Well, you know, I've got Andrea now and I want my brothers to be happy." Taylor said.
"So, tell us about you and Andrea. Are you together or what?" Shirley asked.
"No, we're not together at all. I mean, we met like, a week ago. But I like her and I'm pretty sure she likes me too. So I guess we'll just see what happens."
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Oh look, the doors are opening." Shirley said, pointing to the doors to the venue over Taylor shoulder. He turned around and looked.
"I think I'm gonna go up there and meet Ike and Zac. I'll be back with the guys in a minute." Taylor said, standing up from his seat and walking over to the enterance. He waited for a few minutes when he saw Isaac pull up in his car with Zac in the passenger's seat. He jogged out to them and waited for them to get out of the car.
"Hey guys."
"Hey Tay." Zac said. Isaac nodded towards Taylor.
"Why didn't you drive yourself Zac?"
"Oh, I didn't think Ike and I would be splitting up or anything so we came together. No need to waste fuel." Zac explained. Taylor nodded and looked over at Isaac. He smiled to himself. Isaac was dying to ask about the two girls but he didn't want to look too eager. Taylor decided to save him.
"So, there are two girls in there pretty anxious about meeting you. I decided to come out here because I already promised them I wouldn't tell you how they felt about you, so no signal. Anyway, they're really nice, and one of them likes one of you." Taylor said in a sing-songy voice. Isaac whipped his head around.
"Which one?" He asked.
"Can't tell, sorry. But there are two there, and two of you, so I'm sure the one that likes you will somehow gravitate your way." Taylor said.
"Aha! So one of them likes me!" Isaac said. Taylor looked around meekly.
"Oops. That just slipped right out of my mouth!" He said. Isaac and Zac both started laughing. They were almost to their table when Zac started whining.
"Why doesn't anyone ever like me?" He asked, putting on his pout face.
"Zac, if I have good instincts, you and one of the girls there will get along great, so don't worry about it. Here we are, so stop talking. You know nothing about them." Taylor instructed.
"Hey guys! This is my brother Isaac. Isaac, this is Shirley and this is Katie."
"Hi Isaac." Said Katie happily. A few seconds later she was followed by Shirley.
"Hey, nice to meet you." She said. Isaac reached over and took her hand.
"Nice to meet you too." He said smiling.
"And this is Zac." Taylor said.
"Hey Zac, how goes it?" Katie said, smiling brightly at him.
"It goes well, how are you?" He asked.
"I'm great."
"Hi Zac, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too...Shirley, isn't it?"
"Yeah." The three brothers sat down around the booth and started talking. Meanwhile, I was backstage pacing. I always got a little bit nervous before I go on. And today the pressure was a lot more than normal. Usually I'm playing to people that I don't know that I'll never see again. But tonight, my friend from school and her roommate, and of course, a famous band credited with reviving pop music at the end of the millennium were going to be in the audience to see me. And one of them happened to be the guy that I liked. I really had to stop thinking about things too much. I took a sip of my water and sat down on a little chair in the corner. I was about to pick up my guitar to tune it (again) when there was a knock on my door. Startled, I walked over to the door and opened it. Taylor was standing before me.
"Hey!" I said brightly. "What are you doing here?" I asked, smiling in spite of myself.
"I just wanted to come back and wish you luck before your show." He said, entering the room. We both walked over to the couch and sat down.
"Aw, Tay, that is so sweet of you! You didn't have to do that!" I said, starting to blush. I never blush, but Taylor seemed to bring that out in me.
"No, but I wanted to." He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed happily. "You nervous?" He whispered into my hair.
"A little..." I mumbled. He unwraped his arm from my shoulder and sat up.
"Listen to me." He said, putting his hands around my face. "You are going to do so good tonight. You're going to walk out there and be a star. And you're gonna make me proud of being your friend and more." He stared into my eyes deeply. I nodded my head.
"It's just, there's a lot of pressure on me tonight. There might be a scout out there, and then I have five people here just to see me, and I'm so scared that I'll let everyone down if I mess up." I admitted.
"You won't let us down, and you won't mess up. You'll be great."
"Thanks." I whispered. I glanced up at Taylor. He started moving his face towards mine, his hands still around my cheeks. Our lips connected for a second of pure bliss. I felt that feeling in the pit of my stomach that I always get when I see movies like Titanic or read books about love. Taylor slowly pulled away from me.
"For good luck," he whispered, before leaning in once more. My hands found the back of his neck and linked my fingers together as our lips pressed against each others. We kissed each other again when Taylor stopped suddenly and seperated from me.
"Did you hear that?" He asked softly. I shook my head and tried to sit up. Taylor rolled off the couch and walked over to the door. I closed my eyes and leaned back, trying to calm myself before I had to sing. Taylor opened the door and looked out.
"Is Andrea in there?" I heard a voice ask. My eyes flew open and I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I stood up and walked over to the door. It was Dave, the manager.
"Hey Dave." I said. "Is it time?"
"Yeah, the place is getting a little demanding. Will you be ready in five?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll be ready."
"Ok, thanks." Dave shut the door and Taylor turned to me.
"That was close." He said, grinning. I nodded solemly.
"As much as I wish we could pick up where we left off, I've got to calm myself down. I can't go out there with this little grin on my face and my lipstick smudged." I told Taylor. He nodded.
"Is there anything I can do?" He asked. My heart jumped. He was such a great guy!
"Just wish me luck and get out there so you can see the show."
"Ok. Good luck Andrea. I know you'll do great. Knock our socks off!" He said enthusiasticly. He kissed me quickly and the cheek and left for the booth where he was supposed to be. As soon as the door shut, I let out a shaky breath. I got my guitar and tuned it quickly before I headed to the side enterance of the stage. I motioned to Dave that I was ready and he came on stage.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we here at Reality Squared pride ourselves on the ability to find unknown talent and make it big. Tonight's performer is a regular here, you can catch her every Tuesday night at 6:00. Please join me in welcoming AAANNNNDDDDRRRREEEAAAA HANCOCK!" He said. He motioned to the side of the stage as he walked off and I walked on. I took a seat at my stool and looked around the cafe. One of the best things about Reality Squared is the fact that from the stage I can't see anything; the lights are too blinding. This was great because I had no idea how many people were there, which people were there, and what their reactions were. Sure, I liked knowing what people thought, but whenever I watch somebody in the audience as I play who isn't smiling, I worry about what they're thinking. When I can't see them, I can't worry. I adjusted the mic.
"Hey there! I'm Andrea Hanckock, and I'm here tonight at Reality Squared to play for all you fine people. Thanks for having me Dave!" I said, pointing to the back of the cafe where I knew he'd be. The people in the cafe clapped. "This first song is called "Wait For Yesterday", and I wrote it when I was feeling pretty down about a relationship a coupla years back. I hope you enjoy it." I glanced down at my guitar and started playing.