First rule of being a Band Aid: never fall in love with them… she'd broken the first rule without even knowing what a band aid was.
One shot about the life of a Band Aid
She found herself by the side of the stage once more, looking out at the man she loved. As usual he resided towards the back of the stage, an integral part of the band, yet shying away from the limelight his fellow band mates so enjoyed. It was this shyness that had first attracted her, a talented guy, but without the ego of a front man. She'd berated herself the night she'd met him. Having gone to a gig simply because she loved the band, she'd ended up catching the eye of the singer who'd later sent a roadie down to the front to give her a pass for the meet and greet later. What had started as a simply fan greeting, had ended up as an all night party. From meet to dressing room to pub to tour bus. She'd spoken to them all but him… having caught the singer's eye at the gig he'd soon lost interest when it had become clear she was no groupie, yet his fellow musician hadn't been able to let her go. A simply hello had become a talk lasting into the small hours of the morning. When the driver told the band it was time to head off to the next venue, she hadn't been able to make herself leave the bus, telling herself she'd just get a train back home tomorrow. But tomorrow had stretched on for three weeks, only arriving with the end of the tour. Tired and poor she'd kissed him goodbye and headed for home.
The next few weeks had been hell. Having returned home to find she'd been sacked, she'd got a temping job over the Christmas season, but her mind wouldn't stay on the job, how could it? She'd spent three weeks on tour with one of her favourite band, falling more and more for a man she should never have known. Then had come the phone call. One tour, one month, twenty three cities around Europe. Forget her job, all she had to do was go with them, they'd provide the rest. She'd argued with herself for the next week, how could she do it? Go on tour again, follow him around, forget her life? Her arguments had been futile, by the time the departure date came around she was sat in his living room with a packed bag waiting for the bus. Things had changed when they'd arrived in Germany, she'd found other girls there, the hotel room she shared with the roadies was invariably shared by others too. Always girls. Always young. Never groupies. That's when she'd first heard of Penny Lane. Band Aids they were called. Inspire the group, support the group, never sleep with them. She fit in well, she was a perfect Band Aid except for one small thing. She'd broken the first rule of being a Band Aid before she'd even heard of them. Never fall in love with the band. Of course she was doing better than Penny Lane had, at least her guy was single… Not that it made any difference, he brought her on tour, eventually she did sleep with him, she still couldn't class herself as groupie though, there were too many feelings involved, and yet she knew she never had a chance. Not really. At the end of the day, she was never sure how he felt about her, only one thing was certain, whatever he felt, it wasn't enough to want to be with her.
So here she was again, one album and two world tours later. Standing by the side of the stage with Amber, a fellow Band Aid who'd broken the same rules she had, although she'd gone for the singer. They both stood, watching their respective men. A girl in the front row caught her attention, a sweet little thing, no more than sixteen. She saw the girl throw something on stage. A bracelet. The singer ignored it and so Amber could relax, but she couldn't. She watched her man pick it up and slide it over his wrist, raising his hand to his mouth to blow a kiss at the girl in the audience. A shiver passed through her as she watched her man with the unknown child, but it wasn't through jealousy, she'd given up on that a long time ago, she was simply remembering that first night, when she'd first spoken to him, felt her heart race as he asked her name, taken her hand, kissed her… Too many memories, too much pain. Her musician might be single, but in the end, she was no better off than Penny Lane. She was still a Band Aid. She was still alone. That's why they were there wasn't it? Her, Amber, Penny? They were there, so they didn't have to be alone by themselves. So they could convince each other this was what they wanted. To stand by the side of the stage. To watch the men they loved. To be alone… together.