Perfect Denial

Bill looked up expectantly as Dana strode into the studio the next day. She stopped, looking at him and then hesitantly, smiled. Bill smiled back, sweeping his hair back from his face. He stood up, walking over to her, his heartbeat quickened and he felt the urge to clamp his hand over his chest.

“Hey Bill...”Dana greeted him quietly, as always.

Bill quirked his mouth into a crooked smile “Hey Dana...” They stood for a moment in what one could only describe as a very awkward moment.

Bill looked Dana up and down and laughed loudly, breaking the tension “I like your top”

Dana chuckled; plucking at the black t-shirt she was wearing with a cartoon baby, rocking out “Thanks...I knew you’d like it.”

She blushed, and looked away. Bill reached out a gentle hand to pull her into him when the doors crashed open, the rest of the bands filing in. Georg gave Bill his coffee and winking at Dana, bumped her hip against his. Dana snorted, and punched Georg on the arm. He yelped as hot coffee spilt onto his hand and Gustav laughed loudly, greatly amused at Georg’s pain.

The bands split up then, off to separate recording rooms. It was the last week of work before their albums were finished and already, the boys were taking bets against each other about which one would come out on top. Bill had a fifty on Humanoid.
~
Bill rubbed his hands over his eyes as he walked outside with Gustav for a much needed cigarette. He thanked himself for not putting on any eyeliner; he really wouldn’t have looked good with smudges.

He looked across at Dana, who was huddled against the wall, talking in rapid English. Bill lit his cigarette, pretending not to listen...but couldn’t help overhear her annoyed voice as she talked to her father. She hung up, her face scrunched in fury and growled under her breath. Bill chuckled and she looked over at him...

“I’m glad to see I amuse you...” she poked her tongue out and shivered “Its fucking cold out here...get inside Smoky”

Bill dodged her hand as it swiped at his cigarette, barely missing it. He laughed as she gave him her finger and disappeared inside the warmer building.

“What are you doing for Dana’s birthday?” Gustav’s voice tore Bill from his thoughts.

“Birthday?” Bill frowned and Gustav shook his head

“Jesus Bill...her twenty-first? It’s next week...”

Bill swore “I didn’t know ...” he thought rapidly, he wanted to give her something special, something that would mean everything to her. He thought back to her phone conversation minutes before and smiled. He had the perfect idea.

~

“Happy Birthday Dana!”

Dana groaned loudly as the shrill voice of Cody woke her from a peaceful sleep. She smiled, burying her face into her pillow, shielding her early morning face. The mattress sunk as Cody and several other bodies jumped on top of her. She screamed as two cold hands grabbed her bare feet and pulled her straight under her duvet, until she fell into an untidy heap on the wooden floor of her apartment.

She laughed and kicked at Cody as he helped her up “Remind me to take that spare key off you!”

Cody giggled “No chance babe”

Dana stretched, her small band t-shirt riding up her stomach to show her thin body and she noticed Georg and Ace leer at her, typical men.

She frowned, looking around at her small group of closest friends and noticed her closest, was missing.

“Where’s Bill?” she asked...had he forgotten? The mere question of Bill forgetting her birthday hurt that empty hole inside of her that was slowly starting to heal.

Gustav smiled “He’s waiting with your birthday present...”

Dana grinned “I told you guys not to get me anything!”

Cody pushed her towards her bathroom “Yeah, yeah...and your smile gives away the fact that you wanted something. Now, go and make yourself beautiful.”

Twenty minutes later, they all barrelled out of Tom’s Cadillac, dragging along a very confused Dana. She stared up at the studio “Guys...we’re not working today”

Georg laughed “No shit...now just get in there, come on, come on, come one”

Dana rolled her eyes at the very impatient Georg and walked into the studio, shrugging

Cody’s hand off her arm. He led her down a corridor, stopping outside the small video room.

“In there...” he pointed

Dana smiled slightly. What was going on? This room was used to show finished clips of music videos. They hadn’t even shot theirs yet. She was so confused but walked into the room, curious.

Bill was standing by the player, a soft smile on his face. He walked over to Dana, taking her hand and sitting her down in a chair, brushing the hair out of her eyes tenderly “Happy Birthday Dana” he whispered, and Dana’s breath hitched slightly in her throat, thinking he was going to kiss her and she found herself leaning closer to him. But he pulled away, and instead walked back over to the player, pressing the ‘play’ button.

Dana’s eyes shifted to the small screen in front of her, where a familiar song began to play. It was “The Only Exception” by Paramore and she smiled. She loved this song.

Her smile slipped away to be replaced by a small gasp and a look of shock as pictures filtered onto the screen. Pictures of a very familiar woman.

She looked exactly like Dana, with long auburn hair that flowed across her shoulders and a wide smile. She possessed the same laugh, the same nose, the same sparkled. Her eyes were a heart warming brown. Dana had inherited her sparkling blue eyes off her father.
The woman, Dana’s mother danced across the screen in a small garden and laughed joyfully as she picked up a younger, three-year old Dana and swung her around. There was a perfect grace in her movements, a youth that had never left her. She had still possessed that spark of joy on the very day of her death.

The pictures shifted to those of her mother playing the piano, videos of her singing with Dana and more of her simply laughing, dancing...her mother in her prime, at her most happy and healthy.

The song ended as the pictures did and Danas eyes were blurred with tears, her hands shook with emotion and she turned to Bill, who was staring at her.

“B..Bill...h..how did y..you get those?” she asked.

“I called your dad...I know...I know how much it would mean to you”

Dana laughed through her tears, and threw her arms around him “Oh Bill...thank you...”

Bill pulled away, still smiling “And there’s one more thing...”

Dana’s eyebrows rose “Yes?”

“Me” a different voice came from the doorway and Dana turned to look at her father. He smiled at her, holding out his arms and Dana shrieked, running towards her dad.

She fell into his arms, hugging him close and cried tears of joy. Bill watched, happy at how his Danas eyes sparkled again.