Ink, Part 1

"Do you think she's awake yet?"
"I'm not sure... I think I saw her move just a second ago."
"She better wake up, or we're going to have to do this without her."
"I know, I know. Just give her another minute."

Amelia could hear the voices, but they felt distant to her, as if spoken through a glass wall. Muffled, foggy... Just like how the pain in her head felt.

She tried to move her legs, but it took longer than expected for her mind and body to finally become in-tune with each other. It wasn't until she heard a, "Hey, look, I think she's coming to!" that she finally managed to open her eyes--as blurry as her sight with them was.

Once she was aware she was fully concious, Amelia sat up quickly--too quickly. She just about stumbled over off the bed, prompting Katelyn to giggle and Naomi to grumble. After a quick breather, she managed to ask, "What happened?" in a groggy voice.

"You... fainted. For real," Naomi said, smirking. "We had a hard time snapping you out of it and we were short on time, so we carried you to the cab and had him drive us home."

"We..." Amelia began to stand up, but man; the fall really screwed up her rear-end, so her words were broken with a gasp of pain. "Who's we?"

"We is... well, Gwen and I," Naomi said, uneasily. "You weren't conscious so I had to make a decision, so I asked her to come back with us to do a proper audition. I called Kate on the way home, she just showed up a few minutes ago."

"Surprise!" Kate said, giggling, from behind Naomi.

"So... So she agreed to join the band?" Amelia asked, still foggy.

"Not--um--exactly," Naomi shrugged. "I wanted all of us to meet her first, this time around."

"But she's gonna!" Kate said excitedly. "Cuz we're totally awesome! There's no way she could say no!"

Naomi sent an odd glare Kate's way; it was easy to read the, 'Please, shut up,' in her eyes.

The three exited the bedroom quietly, trying to be kind to Amelia's continuing sensitivity to sound--but she had to clutch her temples when Gwen saw them enter the room and burst into, what sounded to Amelia, like a freaking jubilee.

"Oh man, you're okay!" Gwen clapped, squealing. "That's wonderful! I was so worried! I mean, I've fainted before, but never quite that... um... violently."

Naomi pressed a finger to her lips. "She's still feeling a little light headed though, so if you wouldn't mind..."

"Oh, right."

"Gwen, I'd like you to meet Amelia--" She thumb'd to her left. "And Katelyn--" She thumb'd to right. "The guitarist and bassist for the Yelling Birds. Gals, this," she waved towards the redhead in front of them. "Is Gwen Mayweather, our aspiring drummer."

"Wait a sec..." Katelyn turned to Naomi quietly with a confused expression on her face. "Aren't we all supposed to be, like... yellow? Like birds? She's sorta, y'know, not blonde..."

"Kate," Naomi hissed out of the corner of her mouth. "Shut up."

"What was that?" Gwen asked, clearly unable to hear what all the whispering was about.

"We were just saying if we shouldn't get started already!" Katelyn said, excitedly. "Why don't you pull out your drums and show us what you can do?"

"You okay with that, Amelia?" Gwen asked, a touch nervously. "With your head, I mean..."

"Yeah yeah, I'll be fine," Mia said, shrugging. If she had to, she could just plug her ears a little, right?

The air was a bit tense; all three already knew how fantastic Gwen was, but at any moment, Gwen was going to walk out the door with an 'April Fools!' The girls often got lucky, but it wasn't often that something of this magnitude just fell into their lap. They fully expected that any second, she was just going to vanish.

However, she made no motion to leave as she sat down on the seat in front of her drum set...

... and gave them a performance that definitely wasn't a joke.

Everyone was a bit frozen for a few seconds after Gwen finished. "Shell-shocked" would've been the right word; Katelyn suddenly forgot all about Gwen's hair color, and Naomi was still trying to piece together why it'd been so easy to nab such a fantastic musician for such a haphhazard audition.

"Well, I..." Amelia turned to look at her compadres, but there wasn't a sour look amongst them to question. "I think it's decided. We want you. Don't we, girls?"

"Absolutely."
"Mmmmhm."

"Really?!" Gwen clenched her hands together, bouncing a little on her two feet. "You guys want me? Before you've seen anyone else? I... I can't believe it! I'm going to be a member of the Yelling Birds! It's my dream come true!"

"Wait, you've... heard of us?"

"Of course I've heard of you! All the radio stations back home picked up your first album, you're a huge hit in Georsimtown!"

As she began to explain, the pieces began to click in Naomi's brain; so that's why Gwen didn't turn tail and run. "You guys are seriously small town idols. I mean, how many musicians from the middle of no-where end up putting out an album at all, let alone get to play at clubs in big cities like Bridgeport?! It's always been my dream for something like that to happen to me..."

"So, wait--" Amelia said, hopping up and down on her toes. "You mean... you mean we're famous?!"

"Of course you're famous! You guys are bloody amazing!"

As the two girls excitedly continued to babble, Katelyn slowly began to nod her head in understanding.

"Yooouu never mentioned how desperate we were for a drummer, did you?" Kate asked, chuckling.

"'Course I didn't, do I look stupid to you?" Naomi shrugged. "At least she seems to genuinely want in. I honestly didn't expect her to be so..."

"So much like Mia?" Kate laughed.

The two were snapped from their quiet side conversation when Gwen paused for a moment and, thoughtful, turned a gaze towards all three of their forearms.

"So... Is the tattoo, um... Mandatory?" There was a hint of worry in Gwen's voice; obviously she hadn't fully considered how 'permanent' this was.

Since the inception of the Yelling Birds, all four of the girls had gotten matching, yellow griffon tattoos as sort of a 'pact' for the band. They'd never considered that more than four people would ever have to bother getting one... So for a moment, no one was really sure what to say to Gwen's question.

"'Course it is," Amelia finally said, laughing. "It's all in, baby. Once a Yelling Bird, always a Yelling Bird. We'll give you a few days to decide if that's really what you want, but once you've said yes..."

Gwen gave a slight visible gulp; but... at least there were worse things to get ink for.

---

"Are you freaking insane? Off your bloody rocker insane?!"

Amelia cringed. She had known Rafael was going to be unhappy with the recent turn of events, but anticipating someone's response and experiencing it were two totally seperate things.

At least he wasn't blindingly angry. Rafael was clearly holding back, despite how heated his words were.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. We honestly didn't have time to tell you what happened with Marina, and we figured if we did, you'd take us off your roster."

Rafael sighed. "Yeah. I probably would have."

"And the whole fainting thing..."

"Look, Amelia, you should just really count how absolutely lucky you guys are. You managed to find a replacement before tonight, and now that's all anyone cares about. Your own personal issues are out of the spotlight.. For now."

"Yeah, I guess so," Amelia said scrunching her nose. She actually hadn't thought of that.

"But this 'Gwen' person better hold up. The papparazzi are crawling all over this place tonight, wondering if this is finally the official death for the Yelling Birds. No one's sure what to make of how quickly you guys managed to lose and gain a drummer... You better give it your best shot."

There are times when being put on the spot would've shattered Amelia's nerves. There are times when the flash of the camera, the glaring eyes of the crowd, the heat of the lights overhead would've made every strum of the strings an opportunity to fumble and fail.

But, not today. Gwen, the artistic genius, played with a flair that Marina could have never achieved, and even Katelyn, for once, felt totally at ease on the stage.

Rafael was pleased...

... the crowd was pleased...

... and, hopefully, tomorrow's review would put the Yelling Birds back in popular opinion again.

They could hope.

Perhaps Marina up-and-leaving the Yelling Birds hadn't been the tragedy they initially thought; perhaps it was just the breath of fresh air that they needed, and another chance to hit the spotlight.

They played for what felt like--and probably was--hours, playing rendition after rendition of each Yelling Bird's tune without Gwen missing a fraction of a beat. They were all tired, but impressed; so when the crowd died down and the musicians were allowed to mill off the stage, Amelia approached Gwen with what could only be a look of awe on her face.

"That was..." she tried to begin, but Gwen cut her off.

"It was amazing. It's surreal, Amelia. Back where I'm from, no one ever flocked to see a small band play like this. People were lucky to even get out of that town on a music scholarship, let alone get to go anywhere to play music." Amelia swore she could see a bit of a tear on the corner of Gwen's eye as she said it; wow, was this girl really this emotional? "My stars,  it's like... The best thing I've ever experienced."

"It takes some getting used to, but yeah... You're right. It's a great feeling." Amelia thought back to her own first stage performance, and she could see why Gwen was feeling so elated. "Seriously, though, I'm amazed at what you were able to pull off. I guess it's us small-town queens who rule the stage, huh?"

"We. Totally. Rocked it. Like, oh my gosh. I don't even know where to begin... I mean, Mayweathers always get what they want, but this--"

Amelia could see Gwen was tearing up again, so she quickly tried to change the subject.

"So, um..." Amelia could feel a bit of a nervous tingle at the back of her mind--why, she couldn't figure. "Do you think... We could hang out some time? Reminisce about old podunk towns and all that jazz?"

"Of course! I'd love to hang out with you guys. I mean, that's why I joined the band, you guys are like, my heroes..." Amelia could feel a bit of a blush forming on her cheeks.

"But," Gwen continued. "It'll have to be anytime but tomorrow. I've actually got a date tomorrow night. I know it's quick, but seriously, I think I'm in love. It's like this city, you know? It just makes things happen for you, everywhere you go."

"It really does," Amelia responded, nodding her head quickly. "If you knew how lucky I've been since I moved here..."

Gwen's eyes lit up. "You've found yourself some romance, too?! You sassy girl!"

"Romance? I, er--" Amelia paused. "Yeah.. Romance, totally. I've got a date tomorrow myself, actually. Love on every doorstep, I always say..." Ha... Ha...

... Ha.

---

"I've royally screwed myself this time."

"Hey, don't look at me. This is none of my doing," Naomi said, laughing. It was breakfast the next day, but Amelia felt so stupid that nothing looked appetizing.

"It's not funny! Our new bandmate's gonna think I'm a total idiot if I can't come up with a date by tonight. She even mentioned something about doing a double date sometime, and... Ugh. If I don't have a boyfriend..."

"Amelia, this seriously isn't that big of a deal. So you lie and say it fell through. How hard can that be?"

"You don't get it! Gwen, like, idolizes me. And she's a total sap, and... a little narcissitic. I mean, she was rubbing in my face how cute her date is. I mean, gag..."

Naomi rolled her eyes. "Well? What about one of the guys you hooked up with but never ended up calling back? You've got a pretty decent list, you know."

"Right, and which one of them is actually worth calling back?" Amelia shuddered. "There's a reason I haven't."

"What about the Rake? He's smart, he's a cop, he's--"

"A total sleaze. He kept trying to grab my butt on our first date. It was a nightmare."

"Devin Ashton, the soap opera star? You and him and... um... chemistry."

"And he's a total snob. The guy dresses better than I do--I'm pretty sure he only liked me because we somehow managed to get a bunch of celebrities to our party."

"Hamming?"

"Matthew Hamming? The Matthew Hamming? Naomi, the guy's been in more movies than we have original songs. The guy's a legend."

"And he was totally into you."

"No, he was totally into his loser ex-girlfriend and was trying to make her jealous."

"Alright, so... What about that Marsh guy?"

"Jon?" Amelia thought about it for a second. "I don't know... He's kind of a womanizer..."

"Look, Amelia, if you're going to be that picky--"

"I'm not being picky, I'm being reasonable!"

"Well... If you're really serious about having someone to go out with, you could always go on a date with m--"

But before Naomi could finish, Amelia snapped her fingers and nodded. "You know what, I think I will go out with Jon. He's cute, he's not shy with compliments, and I never did get any Woohoo outta him. I bet even Gwen would be impressed by him, don't you think?"

Naomi scowled. For a moment, she opened her mouth to object--but she closed it over again as her face continued to fall.

"Yeah..." She sighed, biting her tongue. "He's just perfect."

---

The bang and clatter of Eugi's could be heard the moment that Amelia and Jon walked into the building. It was a friendlier sort of noise than Waylon's Haunt, but with the same kind of clientelle, Mia wasn't about to jump to any conclusions that Jon was taking her anywhere nicer than a dumpster for drinks.

Still... It didn't have to be a classy date to be a date.

"It's be a while, hasn't it?" Jon's voice was smooth; it was like any words that came from his lips could melt the scenery and turn a lonely joint into a Five-Star restaurant. And those eyes...

"Yeah, it has," Amelia finally responded. Compared to him, she felt she she'd just spit up drool. He was that smooth. She was that not-smooth.

"Why don't we head downstairs, mm? This lobby's kind coooll..d.." His voice slowed down for a minute; Amelia felt a prickle at the back of her neck.

"Something wrong, Jon?"

"Nothing at all, sugar," he said with a smile as he extend his arm to her. "After you."

"Why don't you go get us a table, hmm?" Jon said with a wink as they emerged from the elevator into the sub-level floor. "Wouldn't wanna tire your pretty little legs while I'm buying us some drinks."

So, Amelia found an empty spot at the farthest reaches of the club, just beside the stage; there she sat, and... waited.

The stage was empty, tonight; it was such a shame, too. Eugi's may not be classy, but their stage was miles better than Waylon's, and it was in a busier section of town. If they wanted, Eugi's could easily host a band every night for a much higher wage than Waylon's Haunt could ever afford.

It made Amelia a little angry; here she was, sitting in a bar that would rather have music played over a loud-speaker than actually pay people to perform.

'They'll be begging us to play here someday,' Amelia thought to herself.

It wasn't until she'd thought up every dream scenario--of releasing 3 platinum records and performing at the Prosper Room every night--that she suddenly realized that 20 minutes was far too long for Jon to be getting 'just drinks'.

Yep: far too long for just drinks.

As Amelia rounded the corner, she buried her face in her hands. This seriously, seriously couldn't be happening.

"Marina, you're such a witch," she murmured into her hands.

"Jon, sweetheart," Marina said quietly as her eyes lifted from his gaze to over his shoulder. "It looks like  someone's trying to get your attention..."

Amelia wouldn't have it. There was no apologies this man could make for why it was okay to be flirting with some other broad while on their date.

"I'm sorry, I just had a date with her last week and I've been meaning to catch up with her and--"

"Whatever! I don't care!" Amelia screamed. "Just get out of here and go take her to your apartment already! I'm not going to waste my time pretending I actually care, alright?!"

"I-I-I... O-okay," Jon stuttered... and quickly disappeared, not even bothering to grab Marina before he left. He didn't need an excuse to make her any more angry than she already was.

"Man," Amelia groaned, scratching the floor with her bootheel. "I really need that drink, no--"

But she stopped.

There was someone at the bar.

Someone... with red hair...

A man... with red hair...

... red ...

... hair ...

"... Lamont?!"