WHAT YOU WANT!
TITLE: What You Want (The Prologue)
AUTHOR: Jessie, The Princess of Purple
RATING: The Prologue is "G" but may change later...
TIMELINE: Completely A/U. No Aaron and no Island.
SUMMARY: Charlie wants to be famous. How far will he go to make that happen?
DISCLAIMERS: Charlie, Claire and Liam all belong to the creators of ABC's LOST. The bandname Jonny Was is propery of Shane West's band of the same name. I just couldn't think of one...
FEEDBACK: Yes please? I need it to live!
DEDICATION: This is dedicated to Ezboard's Peanut Butter Shipper's for giving me somewhere to post it and the inspiration to write it. It's good to know I'm not the only one who believes in C/C.
Charlie Pace sat at the long counter of a corner coffee shop. He looked haggard after a long night of drinking and rehearsing. He stared blankly up at the TV that was mounted high in the corner above the counter and sipped his black coffee. An extremely pretty blonde girl with beautiful blue eyes graced the screen, crooning one of those dime a dozen pop songs and dancing her little heart out. Charlie grimaced in disgust and frustration. He worked long and hard to get the few bad gigs that his band could manage. This girl was probably just picked up off the street because she had a pretty face and sweet voice. He loved writing and playing music, she probably didn't even write the horrible songs she was singing and had the personality and intelligence of a toaster. The music industry is going down the bloody toilet he thought to himself bitterly.
He drained his coffee mug, threw some coins on the counter and stalked out of the cafe, fuming. He walked along the streets of Los Angeles, which were bustling with business people heading to work. He arrived at his apartment that he shared with the members of his band. It was a horrible, tiny hole. The appliances rarely worked, paint was peeling off the walls and one of them, John their drummer, had to sleep on the couch because there just wasn't enough room for another bed. Seeing the squalor in which he was forced to live only made Charlie more angry and resentful. He sunk forcefully on one of the chairs in the kitchen and put his head in his hands.
They were good, very good. He just couldn't understand why they couldn't make it. He wrote good songs and all of them were excellent musicians, and yet they had to make do with unsteady work at seedy dives. All they needed was a
big break, to be noticed...
TWO WEEKS LATER
Liam made a racket as he stormed into the apartment. He yelled out to Charlie, who responded hesitantly, thinking that his brother was in another one of his diva moods. When Charlie slunk out into the kitchen he saw that Liam was
wearing a big grin and relaxed.
"I've got some good news little brother," he said with his prominent British lilt.
"Oh yeah," Charlie replied skeptically,"What's that?"
Liam's grin grew even bigger and he threw his arm around Charlie's shoulder, putting his head close to his as if they were conspirators.
"I may have just got us the big break we need to make it," he proclaimed.
"Oh really?" Charlie said intrigued.
"You remember how we opened for the band called Jonny Was a few months ago?" Liam asked, sitting down at their kitchen table. Charlie joined him, now listening intently.
"Of course, that was the biggest gig we've ever had," Charlie replied.
"Well, remember how I got on well with the lead singer?" Liam continued.
"Er," Charlie said slowly,"Vaguely."
"I just met him downtown and we had a few drinks and a chat. Jonny Was has signed with Fame Records," Liam said.
"Fame records? They run the music industry. Bloody hell. We're twice as good as Jonny Was," Charlie spit out.
"Right," Liam interrupted, eager to continue,"Anyway, they're required to make an appearence at this big VIP party this weekend and make nice with the bosses."
Charlie cut in,"That's all very nice for Jonny Was but I don't see what this has to do with us..."
"I'm getting to it," Liam snapped,"Jonny asked if we'd like to make an appearence as well and he can introduce us to some people as a favour."
Liam waited for Charlie's reaction. Catching on, Charlie began to grin too.
"This is just the sort of thing we need to get our music heard," Charlie said amazedly.
"Screw the music," Liam yelled in joy,"This could be our chance at fame and money, little brother!"
Charlie gazed at his brother for a second before they both erupted in celebratory shouts.
Charlie and his bandmates, minus Liam, stood around stiffly. They felt very out of place at the Fame Records VIP party. They were all dressed in new suits with the tags hidden out of sight so they could return them the next day.
They stared idly around, holding drinks. Liam was mingling, it was what he was good at. Charlie felt very akward. He wrote the music, he didn't know very much about promoting it. His charisma only shone through when he was trying to charm a lady, not while kissing up to a bunch of oily record executives. People just walked by them, not giving them a second glance because no one recognized them. Everyone flocked towards the famous people, people who could give them something.
Charlie glanced around for the millionth time. His eye was drawn to a very pretty blonde girl who had just entered the room. He cocked his head to the side as he stared at her hard. She looked very familiar, but he just couldn't place it. Suddenly when she raised her eyes and looked right at him from under her thick lashes he remembered where he'd seen this glowing blue eyed girl before. She'd been the pop princess on television that day in the cafe. Their eyes connected and they gazed at each other for mere seconds before she was ambushed by half the party. Just then Liam also came up in front of him. From the look on his face, his mingling had not attained the desired results.
"How did that go?" Charlie asked anyway.
"Wonderful," Liam said in a voice that screamed sarcasam,"They all just stared down their noses at me as if I was nothing. Wankers."
Charlie looked thoughtful for a moment. Suddenly a brilliant plan, fuelled by greed, bitterness and frustration, sprang fully formed into his mind.
"Don't fret big brother," Charlie said, a smile crossing his features,"I just got a better idea."
To Be Continued...
Sorry it's so short but I didn't have anything else to add for the prologue...This is also my first LOST fic so please report any observations!
ps- Commas are my friend. :P