Louder Than Thunder

Though it continued to drizzle, Michelle and Sidney decided on a walk through Central Park. They caught a taxi and had it drop them off at one corner of the park. They began to walk into the main green part of the city. As they entered the park, Michelle felt more at home. One thing she missed about home was parks, which were definitely more frequent in London.
“Oh yeah, I wanted to talk to you about Keith and Eric. Ruining that party, I mean.”
“What about it?”
“Look, I know you probably don’t want me to bring it up again, it’s water under the bridge and everything, but I am going to give you permission to get back at them for it. For that and for messing with the lights and sounds on that one show.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I would actually feel better if you got back at them. They deserve it.”
“What if that just makes matters worse though? I really don’t want to fight, you know?”
“Just a fun and healthy prank, though. No one has to get hurt. Besides, maybe that’s what they need: a band that’ll put up a fight rather than ignore them.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“I’m sure. If they even think about trying to get back at you, I’ll put a stop to it. After all, I’m sure that whatever you do won’t be as bad as sending a gang to crash a party. It won’t be, will it?”
“I’m not sure what ‘it’ is yet, but probably not.”
“Alright.”
Things went quiet for a moment. The only noises were the rain falling and the murmurs from conservative adults about the length of Michelle’s skirt. Sidney and Michelle didn’t mind them.
“I’ve never seen them try this hard to come out on top before.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“Well, it could be the fact that, all our lives, boys are told we gotta be better than girls.”
“Yeah, might have something to do with it.”
“Yeah. I hate it. They’re giving you girls all this trouble that you don’t deserve. When we were the opening band, we weren’t treated like this.”
“Who did you tour with then?”
“They weren’t really famous. Fell off the face of the Earth after that tour.”
“Oh.”
“What about you? This is your first tour, right?”
“Yeah. We were playing the clubs back in London - almost a year of that. Not good clubs either. I mean, it was fun to play, but when there’s constantly a group of boys wolf-whistling in the back, or smashing bottles, it gets redundant.”
“Oh yes, I have vivid memories of bottle smashing from when we first started too.”
Michelle chuckled along with him.
“You made quite an impression on Kurt the other day, by the way,” Sidney said with a boyish smile.
“Right, about Kurt, is he okay?”
“Hmm? Yeah, he’s fine. He’s just, you know, quiet.”
“Okay. Anyways, what do you mean?”
“Well, he likes you.”
“Really?” Michelle laughed.
“Really. He was already talking about asking you to marry him.”
“You’re joking!”
“Nope. Kurt’s like that though. He dreams a lot. He’s very optimistic.”
“That’s adorable.”
“That’s the problem though.”
“What do you mean?”
“He doesn’t feel like his ideas are taken seriously sometimes, you know? He feels like people treat his dreams like jokes. He probably would marry you, and cherish you, and be proud that he did.”
“He tells you all this?”
“Yeah. He’s probably more open with me than anyone else. Then again, maybe I’m the only one cares.”
“I can’t imagine Keith or Eric asking Kurt what he’s thinking about, for some reason.”
“You’re right. They never ask. It’s just me.”
Michelle nodded understandingly. The two were approaching one of the lakes of the park. Ripples moved outwards from every inch of surface area as the rain hit it.
“I love the rain.”
“Reminds you of home?”
“Yeah.”
“Miss it?”
“Of course.”
“Do you have family there?”
“Yes. I haven’t spoken to them for a while. I mean, don’t get the wrong idea, it’s not like we don’t get along or anything like that, they just don’t like my decisions - particularly not ones revolving around rock ‘n’ roll.”
“Oh. I see.”
“I never even told them about touring. I’ll just see if they hear about it on their own.”
“Rub it in their faces?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“Nice,” Sidney chuckled.
It went quiet after that as they walked around the lake. They decided to cut their walk halfway through the park as it began to pour. Instead of reaching the opposite corner, they cut through the middle to the road. They hailed a cab and put the driver en route for the hotel.
“What about you? What’s your family like, then?”
“I haven’t spoken to them for years. They’re alright, but I’ve been busy. We write each other sometimes. I have a younger brother and sister. They’re in their last few years of school now. I mean, unless they decide to drop out, like I did.”
“You didn’t finish?”
“No. Why do you think I was a bartender? I mean, the job was alright and I was near performers a lot, but not my first choice.”
“Oh, I see. Yeah, I worked at a record shop for the past two years. I didn’t mind it. Always got to ‘ear about new records first.”
“That does sound great.”
Michelle’s hand sat on the seat beside her, cold and pale, as she looked out her window into the cold rainy world she was enjoying. Sidney noticed it. It was waiting for a move. He knew he had to do something. He breathed into his hands, trying to warm them up, and then placed one gently on top of hers.
She jumped slightly, not expecting him to even touch her, but she realized how warm his hands were and didn’t want to turn him away. He entwined his fingers between hers, holding her palm under his. She looked up at him and smiled with pleasant surprise. He smiled back, his cheeks turning a brighter red than their normal colour, causing even more contrast between the rest of his face than usual.
“Chicago tomorrow,” Michelle reminded him, looking out her window once again.
“Right. Should be good.”
The plane ride to Chicago, only lasting around two hours, was much more relaxed than their first. The boys didn’t bother the girls once this time. Kurt and Sidney sat near the middle with the girls, while Eric and Keith sat a few rows ahead of them. Kurt still didn’t say much, and what he did say was said as shyly as ever, but his words were always directed at Michelle. Sidney acted as an older brother to Kurt, looking proud of him when he said anything.
They landed later in the afternoon and brought their luggage to their hotel, basically trusting the bellboys to carry it up as they immediately left to play their first Chicago concert. This time, they all traveled in one car together – a luxuriously-sized limo.
Darlene started an early round of drinks with Keith and Eric, as Mary tried to read her novel, Kurt reading over her shoulder, and Michelle continued her conversation with Sidney.
“Do you have a prank?” Sidney whispered, brushing back a few strands of Michelle’s hair.
“Yeah. We discussed it last night.”
“What are you gonna do?”
“Well, I couldn’t go around tellin’ you about it, now could I?”
“Alright, I guess not.”
The car stopped then and Paul came to the door, which was right beside Michelle. He opened it and looked down the row at his band.
“Girls, we’re going in first. Come with me,” he said, leading the girls through a crowd and into the door at the back of the building.
The crowd was excited and began cheering when the Rag Dolls exited, thinking it was the Leatherjackets, and stopped disappointedly when the three girls piled out. They hurried from the limo to the door, leading the way for the main act to make an entrance.
They were rushed through the backstage to their dressing room and started finishing up their hair and makeup. The Chicago crowd was really excitable and cheered loudly and proudly when the Rag Dolls stepped on stage.
Once their set was done, they prepped their prank backstage. The Leatherjackets went on and started to play as the girls snuck around to the side of the stage. Their arms were full of small white packages and white cotton with strings.
“Ready, girls?” Mary said with an eyebrow cocked.
“Boy, am I ever ready!” Darlene said, smiling brightly.
“Alright, begin the toss!”
With that, the girls began to toss feminine hygiene products onto the stage. Darlene snickered as she aimed for Eric’s lap; Mary aimed to get a few in the audience, give them a chance to understand what was happening, and then tried to get a few at Keith, while Michelle tossed them into the air, letting them fall like hail.
The boys looked confused before noticing the girls on the side, who were bouncing with sidesplitting laughs.
Sidney simply smiled, glad they’d found a clever way to get back at them. Kurt looked around as though confused. Keith looked back at the girls as if prepared to kill. He turned back to the crowd to continue the song. Eric just sort of laughed and brushed it off, maybe too drunk to care.
Once their set was done and they returned backstage, Eric and Sidney offered a sense of deference. Kurt didn’t seem to understand or mind what happened. Keith, however, was not amused.
“Alright, I didn’t see that one coming,” Sidney admitted.
“Clever, clever,” Eric said, pointing at them.
“You like that?” Darlene asked.
“Yes. It was mildly embarrassing and unexpected: two of the best things a prank can have goin’ for it.”
“It was all Chell’s idea.”
“Thank you, thank you. I’ll be ‘ere all tour.”
“It was alright,” Keith said, utterly unimpressed.
Just then, Paul burst in between the bands, rambling as they finished their conversation.
“Calm down, Paul, we can’t hear you!” Mary yelled over the overlapping voices.
“There’s someone here who would like to talk to you,” Paul explained, breathing heavily between words. “It’s important.”