Runaways

Many thought the life of a musician was all glamour, instruments, booze, women, and some occasional music. And to a certain degree, they were right. Unfortunately though, it also meant getting up at six a.m. two days in a row and trudging to your recording studio because some random producer was being an asshole. It also means ignoring said asshole for the next four hours while he yabbers on about how he knows your music better than you do. Even when you are the one to actually create it. Not him.

“How much longer before Till kills him?”

Paul slowly blinked, having been halfway towards a nap, and glanced at his right. Richard was openly scowling at the producer now and even leaning over to whisper to his friend didn’t stop it. “Soon I hope. I’m starving.”

Richard snickered but chose not to voice his comments of possible cannibalism. “It’s been four hours. I’m starting to think it won’t happen.”

“We could always do it for him.”

Despite the image their singer portrayed on stage and during some interviews, Till was a gentle soul who was more inclined to help you than kill you. Even if you were someone that was getting on his nerves. Unless, of course, you do something like insult someone he cares about. That tends to change things. While he’d stand there and listen to you berate him until the sun went down just to avoid conflict, he wouldn’t so much as let you finish a sentence when it came to those he cared for.

While this was, to a certain degree, an admirable trait, there were plenty of people on this earth that liked using it to their advantage. And with the way he was currently talking, this producer was about to be added to that list.

“If you don’t I will,” Christoph growled from their left. He had just about enough of all this. The moron of a producer had been going on about the way Till sang for the past fifteen minutes and he was ready to ring his neck for it.

But before the three could start discussing how to hide the body, their bassist put an end to things.

"I believe that's enough for today," Oliver said while slowly rising from his chair. The producer opened his mouth to comment but was silenced by the much taller man holding up his hand. "We are going to have lunch and when we come back, I expect you to have a much different opinion on the new album." He then motioned for the others to go and, with a gentle grasp, helped Till to the door and whispered a few reassurances along the way.

They chose a small nearby restaurant to eat and relax at. It was a hole in the wall kind of place that would keep them from being noticed. And should anyone actually recognize them, they probably looked too tired and annoyed for someone to actually approach. As much as they loved the fans, today was not a good day.

The men sat around a large wooden table as they ate and talked, just trying to decompress from four straight hours of criticism and harsh words. They all had half a mind not to go back to the studio at all today. What they had been through already felt like enough.

“So,” Richard hummed, “how is that new neighbor of yours?”

Paul raised an eyebrow and loudly slurped his soup in an effort to both annoy his friend and stall in answering. After four more spoonfuls and some open scowling, he relented. “She’s nice.” A glare and a huff made him chuckle. “I think we are going to try being friends.”

His fellow guitarist blinked in surprise and frowned. “Friends? I thought you were going to ask her out.” She was all he could talk about lately and they were going to be just friends? “Is she dating someone else?”

“No,” he shook his head, “I tried asking her out but she said no. Apparently she is recently divorced and doesn’t want to date yet.” Well, that was probably the least complicated way of putting it.

“Oh.”

Paul laughed. “Oh? Is that really all you’ve got? I was expecting a big speech.”

Richard huffed and took a drink before speaking, “What am I supposed to say? For the past two weeks you have done nothing but talk about this girl and now you are only going to be friends. I want to tell you how stupid that is, but here you are, doing things for the right reasons. I can’t fault you for that.” He himself was divorced and understood not wanting to date right away. Even though he kind of did it anyway. He had waited. Just not as long as he probably should have.

“Exactly! I’m not going to pressure her into something she doesn’t want. She’s probably had enough heartbreak in her life and I don’t want to add to that. So we’re going to try being friends instead.”

“You need to make sure you aren’t being her friend for the wrong reasons,” Flake suddenly piped up.

By now the rest of the band was interested in their guitarist’s conversation. Despite being relatively quiet, it was easy to hear what they were talking about considering they were all at the same table.

“Flake is right,” Till said. “If you are only doing this because you want to eventually date her, then you will just cause her pain in the end. You said she is American, yes? She probably has no friends here. And right now, that is what she is looking for. If you are simply waiting until she lets her guard down and trusts you to then start something else, you are betraying her trust.”

Paul frowned and sat back in his chair. While he had considering this, he had not considered it to that extent. He knew he wanted to date her but he also wanted to be her friend. And he knew that he was perfectly fine with them staying friends as well. If she simply needed a friend, then that is what he would be. But he had not thought about betraying her trust in such a way.

“Just think about it,” Till advised gently. “You don’t want to ruin the young lady, right?”

He nodded and scrubbed a hand across his face with a sigh. “Alright.” He definitely needed to think about his motives.

“Good,” Till nodded. Deciding to leave his friend to his own thoughts, he turned his attention to their lead guitarist. “Now, when will we meet your new girlfriend?”

Richard groaned in annoyance, having heard this question far too often over the past two months. “Not this again.”

“I for one would like to meet this young lady,” Flake said with a slight grin. “She has you traveling back and forth just to see her.” Normally it was the other way around.

“Is she a fellow musician?” Oliver inquired. “Is that why we haven’t met her yet?” Beside him, Christoph snickered.

Richard scoffed. “She couldn’t play an instrument to save her life.” No matter how many times he tried teaching her the guitar. Per her own request, of course. “And there will be no meeting until she is ready.”

In truth, they both weren’t ready for that step. Because they were both busy people they felt like they were still getting to know each other. And you didn’t bring someone to meet the family during that phase of a relationship. Because that’s what Rammstein was to him. An extension of his family. Hell, Till and himself were practically blood at this point.

“Perhaps she will tame you,” Till teased, which only added to the snickers.

He grumbled but made no move to deny it. She truly was a wonderful woman who he could see a future with. But he had that same thought with others in the past. Right now they were taking things slow due to their busy schedules and both of them guarding their hearts. Besides, he actually enjoyed taking things slow for once. It was a nice change of pace. But he didn’t have to tell them that.

Their conversations for the next hour remained light and teasing. They were having too good of a time just enjoying themselves. In the end, they all agreed not to return to the studio today. Any calls asking why would immediately be redirected to Christoph. Who was more than happy to explain the situation.

After going their separate ways, Paul ended up back at the apartment complex, intent on taking a nap. But that thought was momentarily put on hold when he spotted Lydia exiting her apartment.

“Good morning,” he greeted with a tired smile.

Lydia returned an equally tired one. “Good afternoon.”

They stood in the hallway, just staring at each other in borderline awkward silence until he asked, “Heading out for the day?”

“Sort of,” she murmured with a slight shrug. “I was planning on looking for a few record stores and maybe getting some more paint.” She was out of slate blue and light grey already. “How about you?”

He nodded at her answer and replied, “Nap," which made her chuckle.

“Long day already?”

“Oh yeah. Six a.m. two days in a row.”

She frowned and tilted her head ever so slightly in thought. “Have you had lunch yet?”

Paul nodded. “A little bit ago.”

“Oh.”

“Just a light soup,” he hastily added. “I could eat again, if that’s what you’re getting at.” He hoped she was asking what he thought she was.

“A little,” Lydia admitted with a blush. Her attempt at being confident around him wasn’t working that well. “But I don’t want to pull you away from your plans.”

“It’s just a nap,” he assured. “Nothing that can’t wait until later. And I could show you some record shops.” He’d lived here long enough to know where every one of them was at this point.

She gnawed at her bottom lip for a moment in thought before nodding. As long as she wasn’t being a bother, she was okay with getting him to come along. Just as long as she didn’t have to explain why she needed those particular paint colors. Or why she was out of them for that matter.

He couldn’t fight a grin as he motioned for her to head toward the elevator. “Where would you like to go first?”

“How about those record stores?” While she would of prefered food first, she didn’t want to bombard him with it so soon after already eating. Even if it was just a light soup.

“Record stores are good,” Paul nodded while pressing the elevator button. “Are you looking for anything special?”

“Not really,” Lydia admitted while entering the elevator when he motioned for her to get in first. “I thought I might expand my collection. Maybe look for some inspiration while I’m at it.”

"Do you gain inspiration from the cover art or the music?"

"Normally it's the music but the artwork might kick start some ideas too."

After exiting the building they took a left and Paul looked to her and asked, "Is it alright if we walk?"

"That's fine. I figured I'd be doing a lot of walking today, anyway." Mentally she was patting herself on the back for thinking to wear her more comfortable flats. Even if her mother would of been screaming at her for so much as purchasing something other than a heel, let alone wearing it out in public. Pushing those thoughts aside as best she could, she questioned, "do you have a lot of places in mind?"

He flashed a charming grin as he replied, "I had a few." The soft laugh he received in return was breathtaking. Not wanting to be caught staring, he cleared his throat and focused on where they were walking. "How did you start collecting records?"

Lydia grinned at the memory it instantly brought forth. Or rather who it brought. "My best friend, actually. She took me on a trip to celebrate my upcoming wedding, sort of like an early bachelorette party." Well, that was the more pleasant version of the story. Jet had taken her away not for celebration, but rather to get her mind off the day her worst nightmare began.

Paul nodded and said, "You haven't been collecting very long then."

"Well, kind of. Not as long as a lot of people, sure, but it's been a few years."

"How old were you then?"

"Twenty three."

Paul froze, coming to a stand still in the middle of the street. She was what? There's no way he heard her right. "What? That's-that's so young!"

Lydia nodded slowly. Apparently he had not been prepared for that answer. "A lot of people get married young though."

"Sure, in my time! I even got married fairly young. But you guys just don't do that anymore. Don't you wait until at least thirty now? Or just not get married at all?" To him, people only married that young for two reasons. They were actually that stupidly in love with each other or they wanted out of a bad situation.

She frowned and crossed her arms. This was not how she expected this to go. Lydia thought they'd continue with the light hearted conversation and fun. But if this was going to happen on only their first outing together as friends, she wasn't sure she wanted another one. "I got married young and that's just what happened. It was very clearly a mistake as it ended in divorce. I don't understand why you are making a big deal about this."

He sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face. "I'm sorry." He hadn't meant to go off on her like that, but learning she married so young was a shock. And all he could think of was all the worst case scenarios as to why she did. "May I ask why?"

"No," was her immediate response. "You don't know me well enough to learn that kind of stuff. And I honestly don't think I want you to if that reaction was anything to go by." It was a startling reminder that her sweet neighbor Paul was not completely sweet after all if he could blow up so easily at something so simple. And that thought was making it hard for Lydia not to associate him with Alexander.

Paul flinched but nodded. His reaction had definitely hit a nerve. "I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to act that way. It was just such a shock that I," he shook his head with a sigh," I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," she murmured. "But if it happens again, I walk."

"Of course!"

"Let's be on our way, then."

As she followed Paul down the street, Lydia began contemplating whether or not giving him one more shot was a good idea. She desperately wanted this to be a fluke or a random occasion where his emotions got the best of him. Perhaps the thought of her marrying so young had brought back some unpleasant memories. But, she decided, no matter what the reason was, if he ever did it again, she was packing up and moving to live with Jet in Paris. And officially giving up men for good.

Their walk to the first record store was short but painfully silent. Both of them too caught up in their thoughts over what just happened to attempt to talk. While in this store they went their separate ways, looked for a bit and then met back up at the front and went on to the next. This went on at three more places before the relaxed atmosphere they had before slowly came back into play. Two more and they were looking through rows of records together, showing one another different finds and suggesting music to look into. Paul was even holding up random records with artistic and different looking covers to help Lydia with her quest for inspiration.

He’d end up giving her a few ideas.

While she paid for a few of her new finds, Paul took a moment to think and observe. He knew that he had a lot of making up to do for his outburst earlier, but he hoped he was at least on the road to it. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he had scared Lydia and pushed for more information than she was ready to give. And that was something he vowed not to do again. No matter what his own thoughts on the matter were.

And while this friendship was still terribly new, Paul knew he wanted it to last. Yes he still wanted to date her. But right now, he wanted her friendship. He wanted to help her heal from whatever it was that was still plaguing her from her previous marriage. A relationship didn’t have to be in the cards for them. And he was okay with that. Just as long as Lydia was happy, he’d be okay with just about anything.