Title: Backstage
Authors: ChicaFrom3 and the Shea
Rating: PG-13, drug use and drinking, sex, the whole rockstar bit
Disclaimer: We do not own Charlie, Liam, Karen, or Megan. They belong to JJ Abrams or someone else not us. We also do not own Sinjin, Patrick, Melissa, or Zap. They belong to the lovelies over at Second Tour of Finland (www(dot)driveshaftband(dot)com). We do own Catherine, James, Mrs. Murphy, Naomi, Zap's family, and the poor desk clerk in Dresden.
Note: The majority of this story was written before Fire+Water aired, and as such is slightly AU.
Thanks: Thanks to Niki, for beta-ing even while you're sick and amid ten hour shifts at work.
CHAPTER ONE
Sometimes, Julian "Zap" Quinnell absolutely loved his job.
Not always. A lot of the time, being a roadie-slash-tech for a rock band was not exactly the easiest job in the world. Especially when you factored in drunk and stoned musicians, Sinjin's fondness for blowing out amps, and the fact that very few fangirls gave a damn that you were, after all, the head roadie for DriveSHAFT.
And then there were days like today. When the musicians managed to stay reasonably sober through the show, none of the equipment broke, the concert went well from both a technical and musical standpoint, and a large number of very pretty young women were eying Zap appreciatively after discerning his proximity to the band when Sinjin yelled, "Zap, mate!" and gestured him over. The two of them promptly got lost in a complicated discussion about sound levels, which degenerated into planning how best to trash the hotel room.
So now the fangirls knew he was in with the band, which raised him considerably in their eyes. He contemplated them, considering; the equipment could wait, the band was partying backstage, and when the rare opportunity to pick up a star struck DriveSHAFT fangirl came up, well, he wasn't the type to just let it pass.
As he looked over the birds casting him appraising glances, one in particular caught his eye.
Young. Probably about Charlie and Pat's age. Tall and blonde and with legs to die for. She caught his gaze and gave him a small, shy smile.
Zap let his grin broaden. Yeah. There were definitely bright spots to being a DriveSHAFT roadie.
Getting over to her proved a bit difficult, but he made it. A few yelled questions and answers, another darling smile, and a suggestive look later, and he was escorting her backstage.
Her name was Karen Murphy and she was from Sydney, a local girl, and she adored DriveSHAFT and she and her best mate had had such a hard time getting tickets but it was so worth it and, oh my god, do you really know the band, like actually know them, I mean?
"Sinjin and I have been best mates since we were small children," he told her, and was amused when this received a true fangirl squee! "I've even played with DriveSHAFT," he added. "On stage, I mean. Bass. A couple of songs."
"Oh my God! You're kidding! That's so amazing!"
"I'll introduce you to everyone." He always enjoyed the fangirls who were so absolutely thrilled to be with anyone connected to the band, himself included. He intended to milk this for all it was worth.
He spotted Charlie coming out of the dressing room, a groupie on his arm, and promptly started maneuvering Karen towards them, swearing she'd love Charlie, everyone did.
Charlie and the girl both had drinks in their hands and Charlie's arm was around her. She was medium height, brunette, she wore glasses, and she was all over Charlie. She was smiling and saying something. By the time Zap and Karen had made their way across the room, they'd both been given drinks and Karen almost spat hers out when Charlie said hello.
Karen said hello, almost shyly, completely unlike how she'd been when talking to Zap. Charlie and Zap chatted for a few minutes and Karen looked around the crowded backstage. Mostly fans, and mostly girls among them. Then her eyes landed on Liam, who was talking and laughing with another guy, one of the techs.
"Oh my god, there's Liam!" Karen made a noise that could only be described as a squeal, and tugged on Zap's arm. "Introduce me, please?" Her eyes sparkled and Zap, of course, couldn't resist.
He smiled and nodded to Charlie and headed with Karen over to Liam.
"Zap! Hey!" Liam greeted Zap. "And who's this?" Liam touched Karen's shoulder.
Karen smiled her cute shy smile and said her name. "I loved the show tonight," she added, awe in her voice. She finished her drink, and held the empty glass, unsure of what to do with it.
Liam slipped his hand into her free hand. "Let's go get you another one of those, luv."
Karen's face lit up and she followed Liam through the crowd.
Zap sighed, he wasn't particularly surprised. Liam was charming, after all, and he meant that in a purely platonic way. It still disappointed him though. Zap grabbed a drink from the nearest random person and downed it in one gulp.
"Hey!" the person protested.
"Oh, sorry," Zap apologized, not really paying attention. He turned around and went back in the direction they'd come from, to see if he could catch up with Charlie.
Karen held her glass as Liam poured her another drink. She took a sip and Liam put his arm around her. Karen's heart did a little flip.
"So, um, how long are you going to be in Sydney?" Karen asked.
"A couple more days," Liam said, smiling charmingly. "Have two more shows, and then it's back on the road."
"Oh." Being in Liam Pace's presence was like being pleasantly drunk, she decided. Her mind was buzzing slightly, she was having difficulty forming complete sentences, and she had never been happier.
"And you, luv?" Liam asked.
"Oh! Me? Um…I'm, I'm, I'm from here, actually. I live here. In Sydney." Karen could have kicked herself. She sounded like an idiot.
But Liam just kept smiling. "Really? You like it?"
"Yeah, um, it's…its great." She held her breath and ventured, "Not as exciting as it must be to be a rock god."
Liam nodded, as if in agreement. "Come, let's sit." Liam led Karen over to an empty sofa and they sat down.
"So. What was it like growing up in Manchester?" Karen ventured.
Liam shrugged, arm still around Karen. "It wasn't bad."
Several hours and drinks later, Karen and Liam were still on the couch, his arm around her.
"Favourite colour?" Liam asked.
"Green," Karen answered. "Favourite teacher in secondary school?"
Liam sighed. "Hated school—"
"Oh my god!" Karen had glimpsed her watch. "I have to go or I won't get a bus until morning!" she started to stand up and Liam stood up with her. "I had fun tonight." Karen smiled.
"Come to the show tomorrow night," Liam said, not as a question.
Karen nodded. Liam leaned down and kissed her. Karen blushed, smiled, and turned to leave.
She took the bus home, the last one on her route for the night, and she'd barely caught it. Each bus stop one or two people would get on, and Karen willed the bus to go faster. She had to get home and call Rachel, and tell her everything that happened.
Finally, the bus stopped at the stop down the street from her house, and she nearly ran the half block. The house was dark, it was nearly three in the morning, after all, and she let herself in as quietly as she could. She went up to her room, flicked on the light, and dialed Rachel's number.
It rang a few times, and then Rachel's voice answered. "Karen? Why are you up so late?" Rachel sounded to have been woken up. Karen felt sort of guilty.
"I just got home. I was backstage! One of the techies got me in, and I spent the whole night with Liam Pace!" Karen tried to keep her voice soft as not to wake her mother.
"Oh my god! What did you do?" Rachel sounded far more awake.
"Rachel! We just talked, is all. And he drank a lot. More than me," Karen said. "And, I'm going to the show tomorrow night! It's across the city, but I'll take the bus."
"Karen, is that such a good idea?" Rachel's voice sobered.
"He asked me to go! He wants to see me again!" Karen exclaimed. She cringed when she heard her mother's bed creak, but not another sound, so she must not have woken up.
"Hey, Karen? I have to work tomorrow. I'll talk to you tomorrow or something, okay?" Rachel gave up on the convincing-Karen-not-to-go-or-at-least-not-alone thing and hung up.
Karen hung her phone up and crawled into bed. She drifted off to sleep, mind still buzzing with excitement and, of course, the alcohol.
After the concert the next night, Karen merely had to flash a smile at Zap and he waved her through security, a bemused, resigned smile on his face.
Liam saw her and beamed, motioning her to come over. When she reached him he kissed her and shoved a glass in her hand and said, "You made it! What'd you think of the show?"
"It was amazing," she said, still slightly in awe of him, and drained the glass to try to bolster her confidence.
Liam looked amused and called for someone to get her another drink. When it was in her hand, he slid an arm around her, smiled encouragingly. "So you liked the show?"
"Brilliant," she told him, took a gulp of her drink, and smiled back at him. "You were brilliant."
"Thank you." She had the feeling that he was laughing at her but the alcohol was already making her brain buzz, and she didn't really care.
Distracted, she examined her drink, pulled out the tiny little umbrella, and showed it to Liam. "You know, I've never understood the point of these," she told him earnestly. "Why does the drink need an umbrella? It's not raining."
"That, luv, is a very good question. Have you ever had one of these before tonight?"
"Uhm…no," she admitted.
"Ah. That explains it."
She was playing with the umbrella now, moving it around and watching with wide eyes as it seemed to fly. But she looked up at him when he said that. "Explains what?"
Liam smiled. "Never mind."
Impulsively, she leaned over and kissed him quickly. "You know, you're Liam Pace," she told him solemnly.
"Am I?"
She nodded.
"And you…" He tapped her on the nose, "Are Karen Murphy."
"I am," she agreed.
He took the little umbrella from her hand and tucked it in her hair, behind her ear. "You know, luv," he said. "It's pretty loud in here. What do you say we go somewhere quieter?"
Liam was already kissing Karen by the time they'd managed to find his key and get into his hotel room. She giggled and shrugged away from him and said primly, "I hafff…I have to go freshen up."
"Awww," he complained, and threw himself down on the couch dramatically. "Well, hurry back, luv."
She stumbled into the bathroom, wondering why the room was spinning, and then decided that she rather liked it.
She was in DriveSHAFT's bathroom.
Liam Pace was waiting for her in the next room.
She couldn't stop smiling.
She ran her fingers through her hair, tried to straighten her clothes, and studied her reflection in the mirror, but couldn't quite seem to focus.
Liam was waiting.
She giggled again, smiled at herself, and went back to where Liam still lounged.
He nearly pounced on her as soon as she was out the door. He covered her with kisses and murmured something about locking the door, his hands sliding under her T-shirt to undo her bra…
Karen opened the front door and stepped in, thankful to be out of the sunlight. Her relief lasted only a couple seconds, until she looked up and saw her mother, standing there in her flannel nightgown, curlers in her hair.
"Karen! Where were you!" her mother said, in a tone that was half upset and half concerned.
"Can we talk about this later, Mum? My eyes are bleeding." Karen started towards the stairs.
"Hold it right there, missy." Mrs. Murphy's voice was stern and had lost the concerned tone of before. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me where you were."
"I was out," Karen said and offered no more details.
Her mother just stared at her. "We'll continue this later. You go sleep. And you better call Rachel; she called about midnight last night."
Karen made a grunting sort of noise, and went upstairs.
When she came downstairs, her mother, now dressed, was sitting at the kitchen table. Karen knew as she came into the room that it was too late to turn around and hope her mother hadn't seen her.
"Sit down, honey." Karen sat. "Would you now care to tell me where you were last night?"
"I told you. I was out. At a concert. I told you that's where I'd be when I left last night."
Mrs. Murphy shifted in her chair. "Mhm. And where you after the concert was over?"
"I was… with some friends." Karen decided that lying to her mother was the best option in this case.
"I see." Mrs. Murphy stood up. "Are you going out tonight?"
"I plan to," Karen said and stood up to pour a glass of water.
Mrs. Murphy sighed, but said nothing.
Karen had called Rachel a bit later, knowing she'd be home from work. Rachel realized she couldn't talk Karen out of going to that night's show, and had instead decided she'd come along.
And that was why Rachel was clinging to her arm, standing on her tiptoes, and looking around, as though looking for people to protect her friend from, or something.
Karen, on the other hand, was trying to ditch her, so she could get backstage, and back to Liam. It wasn't easy with Rachel practically glued to her, but she managed, yelling something to her about using the bathroom.
The night went somewhat like the previous night, drinking, going back to the hotel with Liam. When she woke up the next morning, she dressed and started to let herself out.
"Karen. Wait." Liam got out of bed, wrapped the sheet around himself, and stumbled over to the door. "Hey, we're leaving Sydney today, for the tour. Come with me, it'll be fun, and I want you around."
Karen paused, and drew her hand back from the doorknob. She smiled. "I'd like that." She opened the door. "I'll come back, I need to get some things from home."
Liam nodded. "Okay."
Karen smiled again. "'Kay."
Karen was numb the entire bus ride home. It was starting to sink in. She was going, with Liam, for the next two months, give or take, on the band's tour! She contemplated calling Rachel when she got home, but remembered that she'd ditched her the night before and felt guilty.
When she got home, it was quiet, her mother was in bed, hadn't stayed up for her. She grabbed the things she'd need- clothes, hairbrush, etc. Her mother still hadn't woken up, so Karen ripped a page off the pad by the phone and wrote a note to her mother. She told her mum the truth about everything that had happened over the past couple of days, and where she was going. Satisfied, she left the house, and went back to the hotel.