In The Van With Angels

Sapphire stretched her arms above her head, as she stared down at the letter in front of her. Her boss had handed each one of her work-mates one, before giving one to her.
A notice about the shop.
She sighed, reading it over again.
In less than a month, the shop was going to close, which meant she was going to be out of a job.
She knew Rivers and Scarlet were receiving similar letters over at the CD shop, all because of this giant American style Mall that was opening in the centre of Cardiff.
Everything under one roof, connivance for shoppers.
Sale signs were appearing everywhere in Cardiff, many of the smaller shops knew there was no way they were going to be able to compete with the Mall, even if half their regular customers stuck with them.
She rubbed the back of her neck; looking around at the guitars, the keyboards, the drum kits…she would miss this place, once it was gone.
Amy appeared in front of her. Amy was only about 17, a young, nosy girl who loved to gossip about anyone and anything. She grinned at Sapphire now, before questioning her about what she was going to do once the shop closed.
"I'm going to finish college, need to find another job but I'm not too bothered, I've already applied for the coffee shop in the Mall…"
Neither Rivers, nor Scarlet, nor Sapphire wanted to find a job in the Mall. They viewed it as betraying the owners of Castle Music and Shack's CDs, both of which they had known since they were teenagers. Both owners had supported the three within their band, and the owner of Castle always encouraged Sapphire to show off her guitar skills to customers, often prompting them to ask whether she was in a band.
All over both shops, posters for Fallen Angel's upcoming gigs could be found, and they sold copies of their CDs in both Castle and Shack's.
They'd all be sad to see the shops go.
"Look, Amy," She smiled at the girl, who gazed up at her with wide eyes. As annoying as the girl was, she was full of admiration for Sapphire – she viewed her as a great guitar player, she loved the Angels and, especially, loved Rivers. "I'll go deal with this customer. Can you just check over stock?" Amy nodded, and Sapphire smiled – she'd do anything Sapphire said.
She moved away from the counter, and towards the tall bloke who was looking uncertainly at the guitars.
"Hey, can I help?"
He turned around, and she felt her knees slightly weaken. He was handsome, in a sort of tall, dark, old-fashioned way. His hair was light brown, reached to his ears, and his eyes were a striking blue. He smiled at her.
"Yeah, actually, I'm looking for a guitar, beginner's, for my brother."
"Ah, well, I can show you the catalogue, if you like…" She led him over to the desk, where she pulled out a catalogue and started to show him the best ones for a beginner in there, demonstrating with the ones in the shop.
And so began Sapphire's relationship with Corey.

Over in Shack's CDs, Rivers and Scarlet had indeed had similar letters to Sapphire's.
The pair of them left Luke, their own annoying 16 year old, in the shop, as they marched into the office of Peter Shack, their boss and owner of Shack's.
"What’s going on Pete?" Scarlet asked, as they stood there, staring at him. "I thought we were going to fight!"
"We were, Scarlet." Pete sighed. "But the truth is, we can't. There is no way we can compete with this Mall," He spoke with bitterness. "Plus, I'm 57 this year. It's time for me to retire."
"You said you didn't want to retire." She replied, and as Rivers glanced at her, he could see the confusion evident in her face. "Didn't he?" She whirled on Rivers, and he nodded.
"I believe your exact words were," He smiled at Pete. "I couldn't stand sitting around doing sod all, all day every day." Pete chuckled. "Plus you said you'd rather make sure the kids of Cardiff were getting the right amount of good music, and local bands were getting enough promotion, and that a major capitalised corporation wouldn't be able to do that."
"Your memory astounds me Rivers." Pete gave them both a gentle smile. "But if I sell this land now, those who own the Mall are offering all who sell up now a settlement-" Rivers and Scarlet both opened their mouths to speak, but Pete raised a hand, silencing them. "Which means I'll be able to give you guys a bit of extra cash to leave with, instead of wasting money keeping this place open, fighting a lost cause and then you leaving with nothing."
They left the office, feeling dejected, depressed, and beaten.
Scarlet soon cheered up, however, when Nick turned up at the start of her lunch hour.
"Where you off?" Rivers asked, glancing at Nick.
"Nick's taking me out for lunch." She smiled, as she and Nick left the shop.
"I don't think he likes me." Nick muttered to Scarlet, who shook her head.
"He's having a hard time with Mel at the moment, that's all."

Jade had, like Scarlet and Sapphire, given up on University, but her dad had managed to get her a job at the Art section of the University where he worked.
She did the odd errand for the teachers, worked on the college displays, and often ended up doing clerical work in the main office.
The day her friends received their letters explaining they would be out of a job by the end of the month, she was hanging paintings in the entrance hall, ready for the new term.
She stepped back to look at the display, and after a few moments was approached by one of the Art Students.
"Hey." The student smiled at Jade, who glanced over her shoulder and smiled back.
The pair knew each other by sight, and the occasional small chat. Jade knew Lucy was rich, and that she had a massive house – things she had heard from other students. She also heard she threw awesome house parties, and there were rumours about her, a lot of harsh rumours. She was sleeping with a teacher, she was sleeping with a married man, and the last one, the one that most guys seemed to like; her boyfriend had dumped her because she was sleeping with his ex.
Jade tried her best to ignore these rumours.
Lucy was beautiful, blonde with sharp blue eyes.
"So you up to anything this weekend?" Lucy asked, and Jade shrugged.
"Not much, you?"
"Party, at my house." She grinned. "Wanna come?"
"Sure."
"Cool, bring some friends yeah?"
"Will do."

When Scar returned from lunch, she was over the moon. Quickly she told Rivers that Nick was taking her out for a meal the following night, at a new restaurant in town, followed by a trip to the Theatre to see Guys & Dolls.
"Why?" He asked, scanning a CD in for a customer. "That'll be 8.95 mate."
"Why not?" She replied, peeling off sale stickers and sticking them on the stack of CDs in front of her.
"It just seems pretty random." He took the money, before handing over the change and receipt.
"Because he love me?" She suggested. "It's nice, you know, to do random things for the one you love." She stared at the CDs, a smile tugging at her mouth. "You know, something like flowers…or a mix tape!" She sighed happily, her eyes lit up. "Or something big like a meal and a musical." She smiled at Rivers, and he watched as she gathered the CDs and moved away to stack them.
Scarlet was, to put it bluntly, a hopeless romantic.
Rivers thought about her words, thinking how much he'd love to be able to do that for Mel, a fancy meal and a trip to…well, not the theatre. Not for a musical anyway. Rivers hated musicals. But something else, perhaps.
A big gesture.
That's what he needed, really, to save their relationship.
The truth was, though, he couldn't afford it. He wished he could, but he couldn't.
After all, wasn't it money that was the root of all their problems?

Rivers looked up at the tall block of flats. They loomed over him, dirty and dark against the clear blue sky.
He entered them, walking through the hall and towards the lift. It stank. Everything was run down, most of the flats were empty, boarded up and difficult to get into, though god knows how many of the local kids had tried and in most cases, succeeded.
He held his breath as he pressed the lift button. The smell was a mixture of vomit and piss, and he had to step carefully to avoid empty beer bottles.
The lift was broken.
Swearing, he started to climb the stairs. He reached the fourth floor and walked along the balcony, until he was standing outside the right flat. He unlocked the door, dumped his bag, and called his brother.
Every time he came here he was strongly reminded why he spent most of his time at Scarlet's, they never asked him to leave but he would, now and then, if only to check on his good for nothing brother.
Tonight he had come here, not to check on his brother but because he knew Nick was staying over, and he wanted to give them some alone time. Scarlet, knowing how much he hated this flat, had insisted he stayed, but he had declined, coming up with an excuse that he needed to see his brother anyway.
Even though, at the moment, the one thing he wanted to do was punch Nick's lights out, hurt him the way he knew he was going to, very soon, hurt Scarlet.
He could have stayed at Melody's, he knew that. He could have turned up unannounced, taken her in his arms, kissed her until she led him to her bedroom.
But he didn't want to.
Not after their last argument.
So her band members stayed at her flat sometimes, so what? It didn't mean anything.
But when Rivers got pissed, that is to say, he drank too much, he got jealous, possessive, and he didn't like Will being there, with his girlfriend.
He was also too stubborn to apologise for it.
As was she.
What should she apologise for?
He cursed himself as the small, rational voice spoke up inside him, but it was soon crushed by the part of him that took over when he was pissed.
She shouldn't have them staying there, they don't need to be there…
"Joe!" He called again, after waiting for a reply.
He frowned, before going towards his brother's bedroom. He opened the door, and saw his brother lying there, eyes fixed on the ceiling above him.
"Jesus." He muttered, stepping around a pool of vomit, before lifting his eyes to look at his brother.
His eyes were blood shot, surrounded by dark, black marks. His skin was pale, no, white. His hands were shaking, and slowly, he rolled his eyes to look at Rivers.
"What are you here for?" He muttered. "Going to take something?"
"I'm your brother Joe." Slowly, he lifted his head. "I'm not going to steal something from you."
"Yeah right." He scoffed, moving his eyes to stare again at the ceiling, where Rivers noticed a dark patch, possibly a leak from upstairs. Of what, he didn't want to know. "How do I know I can trust you?"
He was coming down, paranoia filled his brain, and Rivers knew no matter what he said at this point, his brother wouldn't believe him, wouldn't trust him.
"What do you want me to do?" Rivers muttered, crossing his arms across his chest and raising his eyes to stare at the ceiling.
"I want you," He closed his eyes. "To leave my flat."
"Our flat."
"Yeah, right."
"You wouldn't be here it if wasn't for me!" He replied, eyes narrowing as he dropped his arms. "You wouldn't have a home!"
"I don’t need you." Joe turned over, so his back was to Rivers.
"Fine." He sighed. "There's food in the fridge if you need something to eat." He turned away from him. "See you brother."
There was no way in hell he was going to stay here tonight, not with his brother in this state.
He grabbed his bag, and, as he left the flat, the took out his phone, and called Jack.

It was gone two in the morning when Sapphire returned to the flat.
She found Scarlet watching TV on the sofa, curled up in her pyjamas.
"How was Guys and Dolls?" She asked, rubbing her head. She was slowly starting to sober up.
"Good." She muttered, smiling weakly at Sapphire. Her friend lowered herself onto the sofa, studying Scarlet's face.
"What's wrong?"
"Rivers didn't come into work today." She muttered, tilting her head back. "He was supposed to be staying here tonight…"
"He'll be fine." She hugged her friend. "He can take care of himself."
"I know." She smiled. "How was your date?"
"It was good." She stretched, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Like really good…oh Scar, he's so sweet, he took me to this cheap little restaurant but it didn't matter because he knew the guy there and he was really nice. The food was great too."
"Awesome. What about after?"
"What do you mean after?" She blushed even more, and Scarlet laughed.
"I mean after the restaurant Sapphire! You couldn't have been there until half one."
"Well we went into town and then I went back to his…"
Scarlet grinned, laughing as her friend's skin now turned very red.
"Come on." She stood up, pulling her friend with her. "We should get to bed."

By Friday, Rivers still hadn't turned up.
After work, Scarlet paced the flat, Jade watched from the stool she sat on, Corey and Sapphire sat on the sofa and Nick leant against the door, car keys in his hand.
They'd gone to Joe's every day, they'd checked with Jimmy, Scarlet's brother who owned a skate park on the outskirts of Cardiff. He told them he hadn't seen them, but said he'd phone if he turned up.
Scarlet stopped pacing, snapping her head around to look at Sapphire.
Suddenly, with that swift, small movement, everyone in the room grew tense. Jade's body straightened, Sapphire leaned forward, and Nick stood up straight, gripping his car keys in his fist.
They had a gig in a few hours, and unless they found him, they would have to pull out. Any ideas Scarlet might have would be useful.
"Jack." Scarlet spoke, looking at Sapphire.
"I'll go." Sapphire stood up, as Scarlet shook her head.
"No." She stepped towards the door. "No, I'll go. I can't stay here doing nothing." She turned to Nick. "You'll take me, won’t you?"
He nodded, silently opening the door.
Scarlet grabbed her jacket.
"You sure?" Sapphire stepped forward. "Corey will take me – I know you…"
The door shut behind them, as Sapphire sank back to the sofa.

The reached Jack's door about twenty minutes later. Scarlet glanced at Nick, who was looking at her with narrowed eyes.
"Are you alright Scar?"
"Yeah." She had been quiet since leaving the apartment. "I just…I just really don't like Jack." She tilted her head back.
"How come?" He asked, sliding his arm around her waist as they stood outside the flat.
"He went to the same Uni as me, we kind of…hooked up at a party one night, then he dropped out and since then he's been convinced I like him." She rolled her eyes, glanced at Nick, before she kissed his cheek. "He's a slimy git."
"Ah." He lifted his hand, and knocked on the door. "Don't worry…"
Before he could finish his sentence, the door opened, and a very drunk Jack stood there. Immediately his gaze landed on Scarlet, and his grin widened.
"I knew you'd be back."
"I'm not here to see you." She replied. "Is Rivers here?"
"Why would Rivers be here?" He asked, swaying in the door. "Seriously Scar, you know I'm always up for it with you…"
Nick pulled his arm back, ready to punch Jack, but before he could do so, Scarlet had slapped him, hard, across his cheek. It was red now, as he held it in his hand and mumbled quietly "he's in there."
Scarlet pushed past Jack, Nick following. She frowned at the state of the apartment, and felt an urge to see it clean. Not that she would do it herself, but it really needed it.
There were beer cans everywhere, all over the floor and on the sofa. Overflowing ashtrays filled the table, and a few split ones lay on the floor. Dirty clothes were scattered everywhere, and she saw a few men lying, topless, on the sofa, the floor…passed out from drinking.
She grabbed what she recognised as one of River's t-shirts, and walked swiftly towards the bedroom. She could hear his ringtone inside, and opened the door. This room was almost as bad as the others, but less so. She saw Rivers on the bed, his Mohawk flat and covering one side of his head. She grabbed his mobile and saw it was Melody who was ringing him. A quick check revealed he had six missed calls from her, seven from her and the others, and five text messages, some from her, some from Melody.
She saw Nick come into the room, as she started to shake Rivers awake. Slowly he opened his eyes, saw Scarlet, and grumbled something inaudible.
She pulled him up, and he locked his eyes on her, before seeing Nick.
"What's this bastard doing here?"
"He helped me find you, idiot." She threw his t-shirt at him, as he gazed at her with blood shot eyes.
"Why?"
"Because you disappeared for three days!" She snapped. "And we have a gig tonight."
"Shit." Slowly he pulled his t-shirt on and stood up. "What's the time?" He was slurring, and Scarlet looked at him, disgusted.
"Just gone six. We phoned Melody, Rivers, she's worried shitless about you."
He shrugged, walking out the door and towards the main door of the flat.
"See you Rivers." Jack called from his armchair, lighting up a cigarette.
"Cheers Jack."
Rivers stepped out, followed by Nick. Scarlet turned to Jack. "Where's he been?" She asked, and Jack grinned.
"Drinking binge."
"Why?"
Jack stood up, the grin gone from his face. "Honestly Scarlet, I can't tell you, but if I were you, I'd find out from Rivers; it defiantly concerns you."
"What do you mean?" She asked him, as he stepped towards her. Instinctively she backed away, stumbling out into the corridor.
"Ask him." With that, Jack shut the door on Scarlet, leaving her in the corridor as Rivers and Nick waited by the stairs, glaring at each other