Sequel: Save Me. ›
Hollow Crown.
These are violent days for you and me.
The backstage room in Liverpool’s Barfly was filled with anticipation as Architects waited patiently for their turn on stage. Muffled music from the current band on stage along with screams pulsated the walls, the room itself filled with excited chatter and practicing musicians.
Sam was standing in the small bathroom that was attached to the backstage room, hands resting on the edge of the sink as he stared at himself in the dirty, cracked mirror. His backstage pass, dangling from his belt loop, tapping against his leg as he bounced impatiently on the balls of his Nike clad feet. He burnt out the last of cigarettes a half hour ago which was only making his stress levels rise.
A week into tour and there had been at least one fight every day. Everyone was miserable, only really happy when they were at the venues. Thomas and Sarah usually separated themselves from the rest of the group apart from when Architects were on stage, Thomas was taking photos of them and Georgia was working the merch booth, then Sarah would be off somewhere drinking with Oliver unless he was helping Georgia. It wasn’t fair to blame the strain of the tour solely on Sarah but her not being there would probably have proved easier on everyone.
“Sam?” Georgia’s voice floated into his ears, turning his head a little too quickly in the direction of her voice, he stared at her waiting for her to continue talking. She never did. She sat crossed legged on the lid of the toilet, beer in one hand, unlit cigarette, that she had refused to give to him, in the other, lightly curled hair lying around her pretty face as she stared back at him through glazed over eyes.
A loud banging on the door along with a warning of five minutes until he had to be on stage caused Sam to roll his eyes. Cracking his knuckles, that Georgia had written her name across along with a little heart in black marker, he walked towards his baby sister, extending his hand to her, waiting for her to take hold of it so he could get her out into the main room.
Oliver was the only one left in the room when Sam opened the bathroom door, Georgia attached to his thin torso, mumbling incoherent sentences. Oliver smiled when Sam placed Georgia in his lap, his arms instinctively wrapping her small frame. Sam watched the pair, a smile forming on his face when he seen how truly happy his sibling was.
“Sammy” Georgia slurred, reaching out for his body as he tried to leave the room. He walked back to the couch, crouching down in front of her so they could see each others faces.
“You’ll do pure great ‘cause I love you” she sang into his face, planting a slobbery kiss on his cheek. Leaning back into Oliver’s body she started quietly mumbling stories of the things Sam done in his life that made her love him.
Sam mumbled an ‘I love you’ back before he made his way out of the room and along the small corridor of the bar. His heart racing in his chest, palms sweating, head spinning. He worried but was not entirely sure what about. Something wasn’t sitting right in the air; something unsettling was drifting throughout the group threatening to spill over in mass amounts of hysterical drama.
Something that Sam was sure no one was up for.
*****
Thomas sat on the cold concrete floor outside the main entrance of the Barfly, camera clutched in his hands, hood up over his head, shivering every so often as the cold wind blew over his body.
Architects had been on stage for the past ten minutes. Thomas had got some photos but had given up pretty quickly, not really being in the mood for taking photos that night. He was just happy to have some time alone. The stress of the tour was starting to get a little too much to handle.
“What’s up?” Sarah soft voice asked as she stood in front of him. Dressed in a little cocktail dress and heels that looked like they were never going to end, she was the last person you would expect to see at a gig, looking more like she was going to a high school prom.
“Georgia was supposed to help me tonight” he mumbled, prying that Sarah wouldn’t hear him. He knew she had though.
Georgia was supposed to be helping him with photos that night, a sort of way to have some catch up time. Instead she had opted to start drinking, staying behind in the backstage room with Oliver. Having his brother chosen over him again was bringing up bad memories from his past.
“You know baby, maybe you don’t want to hear this but I think she’s like one of those girls you were telling me about before” Sarah said, tapping her foot against the pavement. Thomas looked up at her furrowing his brows, not entirely sure if she was really accusing Georgia of what he thought she was.
“Those girls that would use you to get your brother…”
Sarah kept talking but Thomas had stopped listening. It had never occurred to him that maybe Georgia never really was his friend, maybe she was only using him to get to Oliver like a load of other girls had previously done.
No Georgia would never do that to him. They where best friends. At least he thought they were.
*****
The drive from Liverpool to Manchester was excruciating. Everyone was hung over; no one wanted to be stuck in the hot sweaty van travelling down motorways all day. The air conditioning was blasting out cold air battling a losing fight against the sun attempting to keep the occupants of the van from boiling to death. Empty water bottles where everywhere, seemingly laughing in the face of the near dehydrated bodies.
Eventually the vans pulled into a petrol station at the side of a busy road in the middle of nowhere, partly to refuel on petrol amongst other things and partly to check they where going the right way. The last thing the group needed was to get lost a miss a show.
Georgia sat on the hood of one of the vans watching as everyone around her stretched out their legs and disappeared into the small shop to get something to eat, her eyes drifting back to the pair standing away from the group. Sarah had her hand on Oliver’s arm, laughing at whatever he was saying. Oliver kept rubbing the back of his neck out of either nervousness or awkwardness, Georgia wasn’t sure which. What she was sure of was the jealous that gathered in her body whenever the two where together.
“She is a nice person Gee” Thomas sighed sitting down next to her. Georgia never removed her eyes from the pair. Sarah had been edging closer to Oliver. Too close for Georgia’s comfort.
“You’re not even listening to me are you?” Thomas asked frustrated. All he wanted was for everyone to get on, no more arguments over stupid things, for tour to be like it usually was; a great experience for all of them.
“Fuck sake Georgia!” Thomas yelled causing her to jump, and everyone that was left in the car park to stare at them. “Sarah’s right about you. I didn’t want to believe her but its so obvious”
“What?” Georgia asked looking at him. She had only seen him made once and that was when Oliver had accidently broke his camera. Thomas wouldn’t speak to him for two weeks.
“You were just using me to get to him weren’t you?” Thomas yelled again moving towards Georgia, eyes filled with anger as his hands clenched to fists at his side.
Oliver looked over at the two, his heart stopping when he saw the look of pure fear on Georgia’s face. Not thinking twice he ran over to them, pushing Thomas back softly to put a barrier between him and Georgia.
“What the fuck is going on?” Oliver yelled over his brother. Thomas stopped shouting, staring murderously at Oliver for a minute before jumping on him, punching every part of his body he could get to.
“Stop it now or everyone who’s not in the band is officially off the tour!” Tim’s voice cut over everyone else’s. Dan and Tom held Thomas back while Sam and Ali had Oliver as he whipped the blood from his lip, Tim standing in the centre of everyone acting like a referee.
“Right, we’re going to sort this out, so what’s the problem?” again it was Tim to ask. He was always the most calm out of everyone, breaking up and fixing every fight that he had ever stumbled across.
“You took her form me,” Thomas shouted at Oliver, trying desperately to break free of the hold the twins had on him. “She’s my best friend Oliver and took her just like you do with everything else. You cant take the fact that maybe some people might want to be friends with me and not you. Fine you want her you can have her, she’s not worth it anyway” he spat at Georgia, yanking his way out of the boys grasp, walking away from the group, Sarah following him.
Sam was standing in the small bathroom that was attached to the backstage room, hands resting on the edge of the sink as he stared at himself in the dirty, cracked mirror. His backstage pass, dangling from his belt loop, tapping against his leg as he bounced impatiently on the balls of his Nike clad feet. He burnt out the last of cigarettes a half hour ago which was only making his stress levels rise.
A week into tour and there had been at least one fight every day. Everyone was miserable, only really happy when they were at the venues. Thomas and Sarah usually separated themselves from the rest of the group apart from when Architects were on stage, Thomas was taking photos of them and Georgia was working the merch booth, then Sarah would be off somewhere drinking with Oliver unless he was helping Georgia. It wasn’t fair to blame the strain of the tour solely on Sarah but her not being there would probably have proved easier on everyone.
“Sam?” Georgia’s voice floated into his ears, turning his head a little too quickly in the direction of her voice, he stared at her waiting for her to continue talking. She never did. She sat crossed legged on the lid of the toilet, beer in one hand, unlit cigarette, that she had refused to give to him, in the other, lightly curled hair lying around her pretty face as she stared back at him through glazed over eyes.
A loud banging on the door along with a warning of five minutes until he had to be on stage caused Sam to roll his eyes. Cracking his knuckles, that Georgia had written her name across along with a little heart in black marker, he walked towards his baby sister, extending his hand to her, waiting for her to take hold of it so he could get her out into the main room.
Oliver was the only one left in the room when Sam opened the bathroom door, Georgia attached to his thin torso, mumbling incoherent sentences. Oliver smiled when Sam placed Georgia in his lap, his arms instinctively wrapping her small frame. Sam watched the pair, a smile forming on his face when he seen how truly happy his sibling was.
“Sammy” Georgia slurred, reaching out for his body as he tried to leave the room. He walked back to the couch, crouching down in front of her so they could see each others faces.
“You’ll do pure great ‘cause I love you” she sang into his face, planting a slobbery kiss on his cheek. Leaning back into Oliver’s body she started quietly mumbling stories of the things Sam done in his life that made her love him.
Sam mumbled an ‘I love you’ back before he made his way out of the room and along the small corridor of the bar. His heart racing in his chest, palms sweating, head spinning. He worried but was not entirely sure what about. Something wasn’t sitting right in the air; something unsettling was drifting throughout the group threatening to spill over in mass amounts of hysterical drama.
Something that Sam was sure no one was up for.
*****
Thomas sat on the cold concrete floor outside the main entrance of the Barfly, camera clutched in his hands, hood up over his head, shivering every so often as the cold wind blew over his body.
Architects had been on stage for the past ten minutes. Thomas had got some photos but had given up pretty quickly, not really being in the mood for taking photos that night. He was just happy to have some time alone. The stress of the tour was starting to get a little too much to handle.
“What’s up?” Sarah soft voice asked as she stood in front of him. Dressed in a little cocktail dress and heels that looked like they were never going to end, she was the last person you would expect to see at a gig, looking more like she was going to a high school prom.
“Georgia was supposed to help me tonight” he mumbled, prying that Sarah wouldn’t hear him. He knew she had though.
Georgia was supposed to be helping him with photos that night, a sort of way to have some catch up time. Instead she had opted to start drinking, staying behind in the backstage room with Oliver. Having his brother chosen over him again was bringing up bad memories from his past.
“You know baby, maybe you don’t want to hear this but I think she’s like one of those girls you were telling me about before” Sarah said, tapping her foot against the pavement. Thomas looked up at her furrowing his brows, not entirely sure if she was really accusing Georgia of what he thought she was.
“Those girls that would use you to get your brother…”
Sarah kept talking but Thomas had stopped listening. It had never occurred to him that maybe Georgia never really was his friend, maybe she was only using him to get to Oliver like a load of other girls had previously done.
No Georgia would never do that to him. They where best friends. At least he thought they were.
*****
The drive from Liverpool to Manchester was excruciating. Everyone was hung over; no one wanted to be stuck in the hot sweaty van travelling down motorways all day. The air conditioning was blasting out cold air battling a losing fight against the sun attempting to keep the occupants of the van from boiling to death. Empty water bottles where everywhere, seemingly laughing in the face of the near dehydrated bodies.
Eventually the vans pulled into a petrol station at the side of a busy road in the middle of nowhere, partly to refuel on petrol amongst other things and partly to check they where going the right way. The last thing the group needed was to get lost a miss a show.
Georgia sat on the hood of one of the vans watching as everyone around her stretched out their legs and disappeared into the small shop to get something to eat, her eyes drifting back to the pair standing away from the group. Sarah had her hand on Oliver’s arm, laughing at whatever he was saying. Oliver kept rubbing the back of his neck out of either nervousness or awkwardness, Georgia wasn’t sure which. What she was sure of was the jealous that gathered in her body whenever the two where together.
“She is a nice person Gee” Thomas sighed sitting down next to her. Georgia never removed her eyes from the pair. Sarah had been edging closer to Oliver. Too close for Georgia’s comfort.
“You’re not even listening to me are you?” Thomas asked frustrated. All he wanted was for everyone to get on, no more arguments over stupid things, for tour to be like it usually was; a great experience for all of them.
“Fuck sake Georgia!” Thomas yelled causing her to jump, and everyone that was left in the car park to stare at them. “Sarah’s right about you. I didn’t want to believe her but its so obvious”
“What?” Georgia asked looking at him. She had only seen him made once and that was when Oliver had accidently broke his camera. Thomas wouldn’t speak to him for two weeks.
“You were just using me to get to him weren’t you?” Thomas yelled again moving towards Georgia, eyes filled with anger as his hands clenched to fists at his side.
Oliver looked over at the two, his heart stopping when he saw the look of pure fear on Georgia’s face. Not thinking twice he ran over to them, pushing Thomas back softly to put a barrier between him and Georgia.
“What the fuck is going on?” Oliver yelled over his brother. Thomas stopped shouting, staring murderously at Oliver for a minute before jumping on him, punching every part of his body he could get to.
“Stop it now or everyone who’s not in the band is officially off the tour!” Tim’s voice cut over everyone else’s. Dan and Tom held Thomas back while Sam and Ali had Oliver as he whipped the blood from his lip, Tim standing in the centre of everyone acting like a referee.
“Right, we’re going to sort this out, so what’s the problem?” again it was Tim to ask. He was always the most calm out of everyone, breaking up and fixing every fight that he had ever stumbled across.
“You took her form me,” Thomas shouted at Oliver, trying desperately to break free of the hold the twins had on him. “She’s my best friend Oliver and took her just like you do with everything else. You cant take the fact that maybe some people might want to be friends with me and not you. Fine you want her you can have her, she’s not worth it anyway” he spat at Georgia, yanking his way out of the boys grasp, walking away from the group, Sarah following him.