Sequel: Even After Everything ›
Ever So Slightly
Pride & Prejudice
‘So you’re Hannah,’ says Bianca nonchalantly, and it’s more of a statement than a question. Her voice is unmistakably English, her accent reminding me of Judy Dench’s - only less plummy.
She sounds as though she’s be brought up in the right area of London, with doctors or dentists for parents.
I nod, unsure of whether to join her on the left side of the couch, or sit opposite her - what if she has intimacy issues?
They say doctors daughters often do.
She slides along the couch and pats the area beside her. ‘Come, sit,’ she says. Her voice is neither friendly nor unwelcoming, but I find myself unable to relax.
I pick my way over to her and sit down awkwardly, knees together and hands clutching onto the leather of the couch.
‘So you and Will are together then?’ she asks, raising her left eyebrow, catching me totally off guard.
‘Oh! No, we’re not - we’re just-’ but I have no idea what to say. What are we?
‘Staying in the same hotel room?’ she offers, without the slightest trace of humour in her voice.
What is she suggesting?
‘No, well…yes.’
Her right eyebrow joins the other, arched in distrust.
‘So where did you meet?’
‘At - At a party.’
‘The Vodkata opening?’
‘No - just my friends nineteenth.’
Yes, I’m aware of how pathetic I sound.
‘You’re nineteen?’ she asks, but she says it like she’s saying, ‘You’re only a little girl?’
‘…Eighteen,’ I say reluctantly. ‘Yourself?’
‘Twenty one.’
‘Oh.’
There is an awkward silence.
‘So you must LOVE The Academy Is, huh?’
‘I haven’t heard that much of their stuff actually…’
‘Then you must have heard loads about William in magazines.’
‘No…I never knew him before like, a few days ago.’
I’m growing agitated. This isn’t how you treat someone you don’t know. Didn’t she go to finishing school or something to learn that?
‘…Really?’ she asks, seeming genuinely surprised. ‘So you didn’t know who he was?’
‘No - I’m not really that much of a music person. I’ve been listening to the same compilation album since 2001.’
She looks at me for a few moments. The hard frown she’d been wearing appears to dissipate and she slouches back onto the couch.
‘I believe you,’ she says finally.
‘Good for you,’ I think.
‘Uh, ok,’ I reply - unsure of what to say.
‘I didn‘t mean to sound so…standoffish,’ she says - though something tells me she did, and this wasn’t quite an apology. ‘Only, you can’t be too careful. William is famous - there are a lot of girls who would do anything to be either one of us right now, you understand?’
I nod, though whether I did understand or not is a bit past me right now.
‘He is a very nice guy, very trusting, and nice guys get hurt. Isn’t that the way of the world?’
My fist clenches ever so slightly. These two certainly seem to have a lot of good things to say about each other. ‘She’s a nice girl - he’s a nice guy, blah blah.’
Or maybe I’m being a little irrational - I think that part of it’s down to the rocky start we got off to.
‘But I believe you,’ she clarifies. ‘I can see that you’re a genuine girl.’
There didn’t seem to be much to say after this, but I visibly relax. She smiles at me.
‘So how did you and Gabe meet?’ I venture, emboldened by her sudden lack of frostiness.
She smirks. ‘At a party. About…two years ago, before he was involved in Cobra Starship. He was in a band called Midtown, but they weren’t really going anywhere.’
‘Cool,’ I say. I can her the faint tuning of guitars.
‘That will be Ryland,’ she chuckles. ‘He’s the only one who leaves tuning until the sound check - it’s ‘cause he uses a different guitar for live shows.’
I nod.
‘Ryland is just SUCH a funny guy - have you seen TAITV?’ she asks.
I shake my head and furrow my brow.
‘It stands for The Academy Is TV - he has a show on there called Guy Ripley’s true things. It’s hilarious. He puts on this Queens-English accent and interviews people, I can’t get enough of it.’ She laughs uproariously as if to prove this correct. ‘You should take a look on YouTube some time.’
I take note.
The backroom door swings open, and man pokes his head round the door.
‘Shows about to start,’ he says irritably. ‘This way.’
Bianca stands up and I follow suit, heading towards the door, chest clenching in apprehension.
You know what? This is my first gig.
And I’m going to get slaughtered.
She sounds as though she’s be brought up in the right area of London, with doctors or dentists for parents.
I nod, unsure of whether to join her on the left side of the couch, or sit opposite her - what if she has intimacy issues?
They say doctors daughters often do.
She slides along the couch and pats the area beside her. ‘Come, sit,’ she says. Her voice is neither friendly nor unwelcoming, but I find myself unable to relax.
I pick my way over to her and sit down awkwardly, knees together and hands clutching onto the leather of the couch.
‘So you and Will are together then?’ she asks, raising her left eyebrow, catching me totally off guard.
‘Oh! No, we’re not - we’re just-’ but I have no idea what to say. What are we?
‘Staying in the same hotel room?’ she offers, without the slightest trace of humour in her voice.
What is she suggesting?
‘No, well…yes.’
Her right eyebrow joins the other, arched in distrust.
‘So where did you meet?’
‘At - At a party.’
‘The Vodkata opening?’
‘No - just my friends nineteenth.’
Yes, I’m aware of how pathetic I sound.
‘You’re nineteen?’ she asks, but she says it like she’s saying, ‘You’re only a little girl?’
‘…Eighteen,’ I say reluctantly. ‘Yourself?’
‘Twenty one.’
‘Oh.’
There is an awkward silence.
‘So you must LOVE The Academy Is, huh?’
‘I haven’t heard that much of their stuff actually…’
‘Then you must have heard loads about William in magazines.’
‘No…I never knew him before like, a few days ago.’
I’m growing agitated. This isn’t how you treat someone you don’t know. Didn’t she go to finishing school or something to learn that?
‘…Really?’ she asks, seeming genuinely surprised. ‘So you didn’t know who he was?’
‘No - I’m not really that much of a music person. I’ve been listening to the same compilation album since 2001.’
She looks at me for a few moments. The hard frown she’d been wearing appears to dissipate and she slouches back onto the couch.
‘I believe you,’ she says finally.
‘Good for you,’ I think.
‘Uh, ok,’ I reply - unsure of what to say.
‘I didn‘t mean to sound so…standoffish,’ she says - though something tells me she did, and this wasn’t quite an apology. ‘Only, you can’t be too careful. William is famous - there are a lot of girls who would do anything to be either one of us right now, you understand?’
I nod, though whether I did understand or not is a bit past me right now.
‘He is a very nice guy, very trusting, and nice guys get hurt. Isn’t that the way of the world?’
My fist clenches ever so slightly. These two certainly seem to have a lot of good things to say about each other. ‘She’s a nice girl - he’s a nice guy, blah blah.’
Or maybe I’m being a little irrational - I think that part of it’s down to the rocky start we got off to.
‘But I believe you,’ she clarifies. ‘I can see that you’re a genuine girl.’
There didn’t seem to be much to say after this, but I visibly relax. She smiles at me.
‘So how did you and Gabe meet?’ I venture, emboldened by her sudden lack of frostiness.
She smirks. ‘At a party. About…two years ago, before he was involved in Cobra Starship. He was in a band called Midtown, but they weren’t really going anywhere.’
‘Cool,’ I say. I can her the faint tuning of guitars.
‘That will be Ryland,’ she chuckles. ‘He’s the only one who leaves tuning until the sound check - it’s ‘cause he uses a different guitar for live shows.’
I nod.
‘Ryland is just SUCH a funny guy - have you seen TAITV?’ she asks.
I shake my head and furrow my brow.
‘It stands for The Academy Is TV - he has a show on there called Guy Ripley’s true things. It’s hilarious. He puts on this Queens-English accent and interviews people, I can’t get enough of it.’ She laughs uproariously as if to prove this correct. ‘You should take a look on YouTube some time.’
I take note.
The backroom door swings open, and man pokes his head round the door.
‘Shows about to start,’ he says irritably. ‘This way.’
Bianca stands up and I follow suit, heading towards the door, chest clenching in apprehension.
You know what? This is my first gig.
And I’m going to get slaughtered.
♠ ♠ ♠
Hmmmm. This is not the last we will be seeing of Bianca!You know what? as soon as i get those ten stars, i may start updating twice a day again. Maybe. I haven't decided yet.
Perhaps on short chapters. It feels as though i'm breaking rules by saying that....oooh REBEL!
And guess what. I'm going out with my aunt [the cool one] tomorrow night, and she's giving me her old phone to use! It's the same one as i dropped down the toilet, though white, so all i can say is YESSS. CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD!
I love you and your comments. You know what? The day i either get 100 comments, or ten stars [oooooh] I'm going to put up three chapters. Maybe even four if i have time, just to say thank you =D