This Old Hotel - Chapter 01
Chapter 1 - Questions
May 13, 2010; The Bunker, Showroom and Bar
Lights flashed brilliantly across the bar crowd as the last words of the song trembled through my body. I let my eyes close as the final bass beats swept through the energetic mass on the showroom floor. It was intoxicating. I only wished that I could be in this moment forever, but all moments have to end, and it was time to let this one go. My dark hazel eyes fluttered open as a grin spread on along the bow of my lips.
“We are Hollow Verses! You can get a copy of our newest EP ‘Fragment III’ including the song ‘Endangerment’ at the merch stand in back!” There was a cheer from the crowd as the words left my lips.
Smiling wider, I blew a kiss to the room before letting the microphone drop from my hand with a resounding burst of feedback and exiting the stage. My band mates quickly following suit after me. I could hear Alexander’s guitar clatter to the ground once I was to the wings where the main room met the backstage. That made me laugh. He would be complaining about the dents later.
The hallways in The Bunker were dark, as usual. After playing here as regulars for a couple of years, it was easy to navigate without running the risk of injury. I twirled around to face the rest of band- my jet black hair whipping around my body and the chains on my pants jingling as I did so. That sound never got old.
“Good show, if I do say so myself,” I pronounced with an exaggerated flourish of my arms for effect.
Leslie raised a sculpted eyebrow at me and let her lips form a quirky smile. “You always do say so yourself.”
“Be glad she has that much confidence in herself. She could be completely self-conscious. Then where would we be?” Keith pointed out as he nudged his sister in the ribs. He let out a good-natured laugh as the girl’s expression turned contemplative.
I crossed my arms and looked between the two siblings, giving them each a pointed look. “Okay, I think that’s enough hitting of my ego.”
Leslie pushed some vibrant pink hair back from her face and smiled wider than before. “There is never enough hitting of your ego, Alana. Plus, if anyone’s going to do it, wouldn’t you prefer they be your best friends?”
“Georgie, Alexander, why haven’t either of you attempted to defend me yet?” I gave the pair of them my best puppy dog face while twisting one of the crimson streaks in my hair around my finger.
Alexander lifted his hands to defend himself and backed around Keith for protection, which was highly unnecessary. "No offense, doll, but I stand neutral in this.”
“Traitor.” I glared at him while Georgie slipped his arm through mine. Looking up at the tall male next to me I caught a secretive, charcoal liner wink.
“I don’t think your ego’s too big, Alana,” Georgie whispered with a scheming grin as he gave my arm a squeeze.
“Thanks, Georgie.” I stretched up on the toes of my boots and ruffled his already-messy sapphire hair.
As I lowered myself back to the ground, a cough echoed through the small hallway. Alice Chance, our manager, lawyer, and- to top it off- Leslie and Keith’s aunt stood there sporting her long onyx hair, youthful yet somewhat stern face, and enviable wardrobe. “Are you guys done playing around? There’s someone who would like to talk to you.”
Leslie skipped over to her and stuck her tongue out playfully. “Don’t know. Who wants to do the talking?”
Sighing at the immaturity of her niece, Alice motioned us impatiently toward the greenroom. “Maybe someone who has a revised contract after an eight-month wait.”
“Really? Isn’t this, like, the third time his tried to sign us?” Georgie asked as we all began to move forward again. Keith stepped ahead of us to catch up with his aunt, leaving me with a view of his long, black hair. He tilted his head back toward us a little and moved to mess up Georgie’s hair much the same way I had.
After reminding the man at my side how much younger he was to the rest of the group, Keith spoke. “More like the fourth, Georgie.”
“As always, you’re right, smart-ass. The fourth, but this time I reviewed the contract and it’s amazing for a band with only local popularity,” Alice enunciated with a clipped tone; all of it to the space in front of us, not even pausing to glance at the ragtag group behind her.
She walked swiftly into the greenroom and the rest of us piled in after her. Sitting there in the corner was Harvey Smith, like all the other times he had come in the last few years. He was the producer over at Warner Brothers Records who had been trying to sign us for three years. Middle-aged with thick, square, rimmed glasses and larger than life-you could tell he had really enjoyed the eighties. If nothing else, he was a really nice guy and we all liked talking to him.
“How are you today, Harry?” Alexander was instantly next to him, acting like one of his oldest friends.
He slapped Alex on the back with a chuckle. “Doing pretty well, actually. How is my favorite band doing?”
One by one, each of us made our way over to the table Harvey had sat himself at. You could see where Alice had been going over paperwork with him. Pages were folded over and there was an open notepad at in front of her seat.
Leslie sat down on the other side of him and neatly straightened out the ruffled skirt of her dress. She spoke softly- her voice prim, but sweet. “We hear that you brought us a new contract.”
“You heard right. Your aunt was just going over the details with me.” His easy-going manner was perfect for putting people at ease. It was no wonder he had done so well at his job all these years.
Our bassist came to stand next to his sister- hands in his pockets and a skeptical look upon his face. “Why don’t you tell us what makes this one different from the others?”
Harvey seemed to be expecting this and simply leaned back in his seat, folding his hands together on the table. “You will be happy to know, Keith, that I finally convinced my bosses that you guys would be a great addition to our roster. As a band, you are doing very well for producing on an indie label. I've been showing them your fan base's strength and the last EP's sales to date. They really liked what they saw and were finally willing to let me offer you the contract that I felt you all deserve."
Alice decided to butt in at that point. “And this is quite the deal Harvey has brought. Once I’m finished going over it, I suggest that you sign. I doubt we’ll be getting another contract this good anytime soon.”
“If you feel that sure about it, Alice, we can all meet in the morning to have you go over it with us.” My words drew everyone’s attention to me. I ran my fingers through my hair out of habit, fidgeting from standing in one spot for so long.
The older woman’s face lit up when she processed my suggestion. She was always like that- stern and all business until she got excited. After that, she seemed no better than a teenager who had just heard high school was optional. “That would be brilliant. Harvey actually suggested that we meet at his office tomorrow. So, in the interest of wasting no time, we can meet at Sabrina’s for breakfast as a band around nine thirty then go by his office at about eleven o’clock. Does that work for everyone?”
“I can definitely have everything ready at the studio by eleven,” Harvey said as his eyes beamed. He must have been in Seventh Heaven knowing he was a lot closer to signing us than ever before. You could tell he was competitive and didn’t want anyone else scooping us up before he did.
Alex shrugged his shoulders in ambivalence. It wasn’t hard to read the his reluctance to wake up before noon, which was his usual habit. “Early, but I can live with that.”
“Agreed. I’ll totally be crashing at your place if we need to get moving that early.” Leslie aimed her gaze at me as she said those words.
Slightly miffed at her immediate decision to use me as her wake-up call, I stared back sternly. “Am I your personal alarm clock or something?”
She let her head tilt slightly to the side with a mock innocent expression. “What else would you be?”
I scoffed and grabbed my over-worn bomber jacket from the couch. “I’m going to choose not to dignify that with a comment.”
“Well, I need to be going. I want to finish reading before it’s too late.” I had nearly forgotten we still had Alice and Harvey in the room until she (spoke). Obviously, she had caught onto our attention being diverted and decided there was little left to say to us. Another common “Alice” move.
“I guess I should be heading out, too. I can’t wait to see you all tomorrow.” Harvey lifted himself from the chair and collected some of the paperwork on the table, making sure that Alice had everything she needed to go over.
“Bye, Alice. Bye, Harvey,” we said in unison, like a bunch of well-trained kindergarteners. He gave us all a knowing smile before following Alice out of the room.
Tugging on Leslie’s wrist, I led her to her stuff at the makeup mirror. “Come on, Les. I’ll drive you to your house before we go back to mine.”
A/N: So, this is my new Gerard Way story. I would love to get some feedback on how the beginning sounds, from both old and new readers to my fan fiction. For all the old readers there will still be updates for ‘Barely Breathing’, because that fic is my baby. This chapter has been edited by my new Beta eclecticihrin .
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