Owen was having a good night. Usually he didn't get many people's attention, he'd be lucky if they turned their heads every now and again, luckier if a few of them stood near the stage. But that night, whoever looked at him didn't turn away, they focused and enjoyed, and he in return gave it his best. His band mates noticed it as well, he could feel how excited they got. Every now and again, he heard a missing note, string slip, out of sync play, but it was significantly less than normal. It was so good he almost believed they were half decent musicians. However, he did not know why people were especially interested that night, he owed it to the fact that it was pop-covers. As much as he hated pop music, it seemed to be the majority's main interested, plus he did promise the manager he'll do a pop night occasionally, despite it being an indie bar, since people seemed to love it.
As he stood on the stage, playing and singing away his own reinvented covers of Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and George Michael, he glanced at the bar occasionally. He noticed the bartender has taken interest in his music as well. Usually, Owen is nervous about facing the audience. His eyes are closed most of the time and when they aren't, he's usually looking down at the mic. But, this night, Owen was fully focused on the bar. It was the first time since he'd started working there, that the bartender happened to get his full shift at the same time as Owen. On other days, he'd only catch him for a few minutes before he had to turn his shift in to the next guy.
They were playing their final song and Owen was sad about that notion. He was entertaining people and that was all that mattered to him. And on this night, he was entertaining more people than usual, he felt he was closer to having "made it" than he's ever been. He was performing Skyscraper by Demi Lovato, reinvented into indie rock style. The song made him too emotional to look up, he forgot about the good night, the attention, the bartender and his band mates' occasional fuck-ups, and forgot he promised himself to never be emotionally invested in a song again. The audience noticed the pain in his voice. Everyone spoke in whispers. He gave his heart and soul into the song. His hands were steady but his voice shivered. Reflection on the past has swallowed him, taken him back to moments he thought he had forgotten, moments he has buried so deep for them to surface. As Dave banged the final note on the drums, the people started clapping. When Owen opened his eyes, he couldn't believe himself.
Around ten people were standing near the stage, many people on their tables with their eyes fixated on him, full of excitement, clapping and wooing him. His eyebrows were raised, mouth parted in surprise. He felt a pat on his back and heard a "fantastic", looked behind him and saw Carl and Dave highfiving, nudging shoulders and smiling at him. When he regained his voice, Owen said in the mic "Thank you so much". Clapping started to decrease.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much. This has been Carl Roger on the bass, David Simms on the drums, and myself Owen Matthews, lead vocalist and guitarist. You've been a wonderful audience. Have a splendid evening everyone."
He heard a loud whistle, followed by more clapping. "Thank you" he whispered to the mic.
Owen took the bass from Carl so the latter would help Dave with the drums and amplifier. They walked into the music room and dropped their instruments. Dave walked out and Owen followed him, but he was stopped by a headlock from Carl.
"Say it!"
"Dude, stop. What the fuck."
"Not before you say it."
"Say what?"
"You know what. Come on, let's hear it."
"Alright, alright. Thank you and you were right. Can you let me go now please?"
Carl let him go, laughing. "You're goddamn right."
Owen rubbed his neck. "I know I wou- we would do a good job of it anyway."
"Yeah, sure." Carl smirked. "You were great today man. We all were. Have you seen the people?"
"It was a good night"
"It was a great night. And, holy shit, have you seen the people!"
"We still need a fourth member."
"Dude..."
"And possibly a manager."
" Uh... Seriously? We had the best night since we've started here and this is what you have to say?"
Owen shrugged then nodded. He started packing away his guitar.
"Wow, hang on. Did you hear anything I said? We're staying, we're celebrating."
"You are. I won't. I need to get home before my dad starts calling"
Carl stood there and watched as Owen took the picks from his back pocket and put them in the guitar case then locked it. He was about to ask if he was okay but Dave came in.
"Boys! What are you doing here? It's fucking crazy out there, you have no idea!"
"Yeah, say that to Mr. Cynic there." Carl motioned his head at Owen, who flipped him off.
"Alright losers, drop everything. Noel said he'll get us free drinks tonight."
"Fuck's Noel?"
"The bartender" Owen said. At the same time, Dave said, "My friend" and both he and Carl looked at Owen.
"Yeah, the bartender. He's my friend." Dave said, "Do you know him?"
"No. I mean, not in person. He works here, I guess. I mean, I see him sometimes. Not a lot. But, yeah, he's"
"Yeah, whatever." Carl interrupted, "He's invited us to "guys' night" or some shit and he'll get us free drinks so let's go!"
"Owen has to go home because-"
"It's fine." Owen waved him off, "I'll stay for a while longer".
Carl shrugged and all three of them walked out to the bar. Noel was standing behind the bar, handing drinks, taking orders, and cashing clients. His eyes lit up when he saw David and the men, and he had a crooked smile on his face. He was wearing a blue shirt with the sleeves tucked back revealing his forearm, over it, he wore a red jumper with his name tag on it. Owen could see a hint of a tattoo on his right arm, concealed by his sleeve. Noel was tall and slim, had shoulder length light brown hair, deep blue eyes, thin lips, and he barely stops smiling. His crooked smile made a dimple on one side of his face.
Dave introduced him to the men, they smiled and shook hands. "You guys are really good. You make the magic happen", he addressed Owen while shaking his hand. Owen noticed Noel had a strong grip, big bony hands with long slender fingers, and immediately thought himself strange for paying attention to his hand and felt embarrassed.
"Thank you. I couldn't do it without them" he smiled and pointed at Carl and David. "I'm Owen"
"Yeah, Owen Matthews. I know."
"Oh, uh- thanks?" The three of them looked at each other and laughed.
"Alright, guys. Stop this now." Noel got three pint glasses out. "Three beers, then?"
"I'll have a coke, please." Owen said.
"Oh, you're..."
"Nineteen." He showed him his wrist with a tag around it.
"Well. I don't want to lose my job. Coke it is, then." Noel winked.
"No, I'm serious. I don't want to drink any alcohol."
Noel shrugged and brought them their drinks. The bar was busy so he couldn't keep his attention focused on them, and they were very distracted themselves. Owen saw a couple of girls walking towards him. They told him how good he was, took photos with him and asked what days he goes there. They left, giggling to each other, and others were next. David and Carl were socialising but Owen got most of the attention, followed by Carl, who was dragged by hand to some table full of girls that were too nervous to go and meet him.
Owen had no chance to drink his coke, by the time people have calmed down and stopped harassing him, his drink was already flat.
"Dude, where did your friend go?" Carl said to David. Owen looked at the bar and Noel was replaced by a different bartender. He didn't notice how long it's been, and felt disappointed.
"I don't know, man. He was just right here."
"That's rude, he can't leave. I haven't had enough free drinks yet."
David laughed. "I don't know. He's a bit wayward, that guy."
Owen checked his watch. Five minutes and I'll go, he said to himself. He had said to his father he'll go meet him the week before but kept making excuses. That night was when he said he'll go, and he promised. Although he couldn't bring himself to leave without saying bye to Noel, but Noel was already gone.
"Miss me?" Owen heard a sound from behind him and looked. He failed to hide the excitement in his face. Noel was out of uniform, wearing a v-neck half sleeved grey t-shirt, enough of his tattoo was showing for Owen to know it was a snake.
"I missed the free drinks really." Carl said. They all chuckled.
"Please, have as many as you want!" Noel said, laughing. "Sorry I took off without saying," he addressed Owen, "it was the end of my shift and I needed to get out of those clothes."
Owen waved him off.
"By the way, your voice is mesmerising."
Owen looked at him with his eyes wide open, flabbergasted. Noel smiled, which made Owen blush immediately.
"'Thank you' might be the word you're looking for."
Owen cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, thank you."
Noel chuckled and patted Owen's shoulder. He noticed a necklace around his neck, tucked under his shirt. He grabbed it and slowly pulled it out, asking what it was. Owen moved his hand away instantaneously and tucked the necklace back. He then apologised for his reaction and Noel apologised for his intrusion, and they both sat in silence.
The bar was slowly filling up with young men. Generic dance music was playing, not too loudly, in the background. It smelled of beer, sweat and testosterone. Owen felt dreadful as he never mastered the art of small talk. He didn't want to apologise again so not to seem too worried, and didn't want to let it go so not to seem rude. He hated his brain and his awkwardness. Noel was exchanging a few words with many different people. He spoke like he knew everyone for a long time. He started chatting with David, who was sitting on the other side of Owen, making the latter feel like a third-wheel.
Owen checked his watch again. He listened to the two guys talk about the bar, about work, about life. They talked about how this guy called Jacob was an absolute asshole. Although Noel got a bit defensive, trying to come up with excuses for the Jacob's behaviour. Owen felt excluded and unwanted. After circling the rim of his glass for the 30th time, he decided to take his leave.
"Hey, where to?"
