Louder Than Thunder

The next day, they were scheduled to be interviewed by a Glasgow-based music magazine. They arrived at the studio calmly, Kim leading them in to meet the interviewers.
“Alright, meet the Rag Dolls. This is Michelle Townshend, Mary-Jane Cohn, and Darlene Sanders,” Kim said, as the girls shook hands with the interviewers.
“It’s just Mary,” she corrected.
Kim began explaining what she wanted the interview to focus on mostly to the interviewers. She had been ensuring that the girls were asked the right questions since she became their manager and the girls couldn’t have been happier, but the events of the party still had taken their toll on them. They had been mostly quiet still, preferring to be together rather than with other famous musicians which they were running into occasionally since they arrived back in Britain.
The interviewers approached them after talking to Kim and started going over what Kim had told them, and while the girls paid attention, they seemed rather dazed.
“Has your first tour taken its toll on you? You all seem really tired?” one of them asked, sitting with the girls.
“The girls have been through a lot in the past week,” Kim explained.
They avoided the topic for the rest of the interview, respectfully, but hinted at wanting to bring it up again.
They played a concert that evening like any other show. The girls went on and played their set, they came off and the boys went on. Sidney had finally given Michelle some space, as Kim had suggested he do, and Michelle was appreciating it greatly.
The girls packed up on their stuff and then decided to watch the boys’ performance from the side of the stage. The Leatherjackets’ were playing possibly better than they had since America, mainly because of Keith. He was suddenly improvising some guitar parts, though not obnoxiously as he often did when he showed off; he did so oddly tastefully, but still quite wild.
Between lyrics, he would jump around and play beside Kurt and Sidney, making them smile with his hyper excitement. He sang the lyrics harder and angrier than usual; it was as awful as it was fascinating. The other boys didn’t seem to be even sure what had gotten into him but they enjoyed playing with him far more in this state; unfortunately, it came at a price.
Halfway through their fourth song, Keith suddenly collapsed onstage. The rest of the band continued for a few seconds, unsure of whether or not he was kidding. They went on, looking back at him every few seconds. When it seemed obvious he wasn’t getting up, some members of the road crew ran onstage and carried him backstage. The rest of the band stopped playing now and fuzz was all that could be heard through the amps.
They were visibly annoyed and worried by now. The girls watched the roadies carry Keith by them. The rest of the band followed him, distressed but with a duty. Albert followed in a flustered shuffle. The girls decided they may as well follow to help if it is needed.
Once backstage, Keith was laid out on a couch and everyone was crowded around.
“Someone call an ambulance!” Sidney yelled to the roadies.
“I’m fine!”
The yell suddenly came from Keith’s mouth. Everyone around watched, making sure the voice was his. The girls, standing near the back, looked between each other. Next thing they knew, Keith was on his feet in a wobbly stance. His eyes seemed unfocused and hazy as he started walking past the crowd, who were watching as he stumbled back over to the staircase up to the stage.
A group of roadies tackled him down right before he started up the stairs. Sidney was rubbing his eyes now, seeming tired and possibly even embarrassed. Kurt sat down on the couch, also watching the roadies pin Keith to the ground though he struggled to get on the stage.
“We need to finish the show! Why won’t you let me go on stage? The people, they need our music! Let me play!” he was yelling.
“The ambulance is coming anyways. He isn’t right,” Albert said with worry, standing between the rest of the band and the Rag Dolls.
“I never thought this would happen again,” Sidney commented.
“Oh, lad. I told ‘im though, didn’t I? I told him that if he kept it up again, with bein’ on tour an’ all, this would happen. It’s too much at once,” Eric said, taking a sip of the beer he left backstage earlier.
Keith was hospitalized that night for the doctors to pump his stomach and keep an eye on him. The next day, the boys were going to pick him up at the hospital. Sidney passed by Michelle in the hallway on his way down. She smiled weakly at him, knowing where he was going. As Sidney walked by, something took over him and he decided to go for it.
“Michelle, do you want to come to the hospital? Just to hang out, we don’t even have to talk or anything if you don’t feel like it. Just to get out of the hotel for a bit,” he suggested.
“I don’t know, Sid. I feel like it would be weird.”
“Not at all! Just come down with me. We’re just picking up Keith and driving back.”
She gazed into his eyes for a minute. She knew she wanted to hang out with Sidney again, as she did miss him, but she wasn’t sure if it was too soon for her. He was so sincere and Michelle was so uncertain.
“Alright, I’ll come.”
“You will? Great! Come on, there’s a car waiting. Albert, Kurt and Eric are already down there waiting for me.”
“Alright.”
The drive and arrival was quiet on Michelle’s part. She paid attention to their conversation and laughed when the moment called for it but she hardly spoke a word to them. At the hospital, they stood around the waiting room until Keith was released. Albert spoke with the receptionist and a doctor joined the conversation with advice to keep him on the road and off the drugs. Michelle was quite anxious during this and wouldn’t sit down, even when Sidney asked her to sit.
“Calm down, Chell. Why are you so nervous?” Sidney asked, standing up to join her.
“I don’t know,” she replied softly.
He looked back at Eric and Kurt, who were sitting around the waiting area, tapping their hands and flipping through magazines. Seeing that they wouldn’t be bothered by his absence, he led Michelle over into a hallway and she followed perfectly willingly.
“What is it?” he asked once they were in the next hallway. “You look very uncomfortable.”
Michelle glanced back down the hallway at Albert speaking understandingly to the hospital workers.
“Keith is lucky to be alive,” she said.
“Keith’s a survivor. It’s not the first time this has happened; it’s just been so long since it has.”
“Eric’s lucky too, I suppose. He’s been drinking for a long time.”
“He knows not to over-do it. If anyone ever was a master of alcohol, it’s Eric. Why are you saying this?”
“I don’t know, it worries me. I take pills but I’ve never seen anyone pass out from them. Some of us mods go really crazy on them too. I usually take three; I’ve seen people take five or more. Sometimes they don’t even know what they’re taking, they just get an assortment in their open hand and they take them all. It’s not good.”
“You don’t want anything bad to happen again.”
“Of course I don’t. No one wants anything bad to happen.”
“Especially now though.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
They both stopped talking for a moment. Michelle’s booted foot skimmed the ground as she kicked just above it nervously. Sidney noticed. He knew that, while she still wasn’t entirely over it, she was better.
“Can we talk again sometime?”
“We’re talking right now. What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. Let’s really talk.”
“Alright.”
The next day, Sidney decided to take Michelle shopping, just to walk and have something to do. The found an area in town with some boutiques.
“Look, I know you probably don’t want to hear me say it again, but I swear the guys had nothing to do with it. I’ve known those guys for years now and they wouldn’t pull the same thing twice. They were busy that night and-“
“I believe you.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I believe you. Do you forgive me for being so quiet?”
“I don’t blame you for not talking. Do you forgive me for rushing you?”
“Of course.”
“Is there anything else we need to apologize for?”
“I don’t even care. I really want to focus on enjoying what’s left of the tour from here on. Hopefully, it’s the first of many. I don’t really want to be upset the whole time.”
“As long as you’re okay. I don’t want to see you just push away your feeling either. It’s not good, you know? I just want you to be okay.”
“I will be,” Michelle said, more of a promise than anything.
Sidney smiled fondly before kissing her on the cheek. She returned the smile as she went back to looking through the shelved clothes. He observed the clothes with her.
“What do you think about this one? Not exactly like what you’d see in London.”
“It’s nice. I think it even matches your eyes.”
“It does, doesn’t it? I’ll go try it on. I bet Mary would love to see me wearing something in this colour. She’s always telling me to match my shoes, and match my eyes and everythin’.”
“Maybe she’s right.”
“Maybe, but I’m not going to wear anything if I don’t want to. I’ll try it on first.”