"You're on stage in 10! And see if that bitch cools off!" yelled the owner of the small rock café.
"Alright, alright." muttered Robin. She tapped her drumsticks against her palm as she walked over to the dressing room.
"Nami…"
"I FUCKING QUIT!" yelled the redhead as she walked past her. Robin sighed and grabbed her by the collar.
"That's the fifth time you quit this month. And it's the 9th."
"Well, this time I'm serious!"
"We both know that's not true."
Nami gave her the puppy dog eyes but Robin was unfazed.
"Go get dressed, I'll talk to the guys."
"Fine."
Nami walked back inside, still pouting. Robin walked across the wall and opened the door.
"Zoro."
The green haired man glared at her as Sanji tried to cover his half naked body with a large towel.
"I'm not apologizing."
"Now, let us not be so hasty. You know perfectly well we cannot play without a vocalist and a rhythm guitar."
Zoro crossed in arms in defeat.
"Yeah, I get it. But she should stop being a self-centered diva."
Robin smirked and closed the door. She walked back to the girl's dressing room.
"Nami, he apologized. But you should be nicer. What would you do without a bass player?"
For the second time that night, Nami threw her the puppy dog eyes even though it had been repeatedly proven Robin was immune.
"I could learn bass."
"We wouldn't have a rhythm guitar."
"Uhm, Sanji would do that."
"What about lead?"
"Let's just cut it out."
"Our songs aren't written that way."
Nami covered her face with a pillow.
"Mfmlfmmmf."
"I'll tell Zoro you apologized."
"Mf."
"You both need to learn to behave."
She walked out and once again turned to the boy's room.
"She says she's sorry."
"Good." said Zoro.
"Sanji, hurry and put your pants on."
"Okay." said Sanji.
The club was sold out. Everybody wanted to see this great new band. It was rumored they had been close to breaking up several times but they seemed to always keep going.
Coby looked around. Helmeppo had long since disappeared in the crowd. The pink haired boy had tried to reach the stage but Helmeppo, being bigger than him, had a harder time cutting through the crowd. Coby was standing a foot or two away from the stage.
Suddenly, the lights turned off. A single red spotlight turned on, making the microphone shine.
A young woman, in her late teens, early twenties, walked to the mic and grabbed it. Her long orange hair had a black streak at front and the light reflected off the several piercings in her ears. She was wearing a skimpy outfit, obviously DIY. A red leather skirt, made from several pieces stitched together, a vest, boots and a collar made from the same material. A longer fishnet skirt underneath, a blue jacket with the elbow areas completely cut out, leaving the half the sleeves as arm warmers of sorts and black tight high stockings. A blue Fender Stratocaster hanged upside down from her back, the skull print strap flung across her chest. Two more spotlights turned on, green and blue. A low drumming started, repeating and hypnotic. The upper spotlights turned on, bathing the stage.
Two men appeared. A blond man, who was looking at the back of the stage. The back of his hair was painted bright blue. He was wearing a purple t-shirt hoodie and a dark blue loose tie. His jeans were old and faded. On one arm, he wore a single blue stripped arm warmer and a dark bracelet on the other arm. His guitar was a light blue Gibson Flying V.
The other man had green hair and looked incredibly focused. He wore a simple black wife beater and red shorts. The most eye catching part of his outfit was a blue and red arm band, with a big yellow star. He was holding an oddly colored, green and brown, left-handed Fender Standard Precision Bass. They obviously made enough money to buy good instruments.
At the very back of the stage were the drums. To Coby's surprise, the drummer was a woman, obviously older than the rest of the band. She had slick dark hair with two bright red streaks framing her face and big mirrored aviator glasses rested on her head. She wore fishnet fingerless gloves, a dark purple vest and a big ankh necklace. The drum kit was red and gold and the main drum was printed with the band's logo.
"Eternal Pose…" muttered Coby.
The bassist started hammering some notes as the drummer started a new rhythm. The guitarist quickly started some complicated tune. The singer took a deep breath and yelled into the mic.
"ARE YOU READY!"
The club exploded.
The girl started singing like a machine gun, spitting each word rapidly but very clearly. The lyrics were concise and crystalline. The bassist and the guitarist worked amazingly well together and the drummer didn't miss a beat.
Coby swallowed dry. It was true what they said about them.
It was close to four AM. Nami undressed and put on her pajama shirt, leaving her show costume on the floor. She climbed onto the gigantic bed and cuddled next to Robin.
"You know, if you're just going to sleep on me, we might as well stay in rooms with smaller beds. We'd save money."
"Okay."
"You were supposed to go to your side of the bed, but fine."
"You think Sanji and Zoro cuddle?"
"I think one of them is sleeping on the ground."
Nami giggled and hugged Robin.
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"We both know you're the only person keeping this band together. I don't know how to repay you."
Robin smiled.
"Sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow to get to the next show."
Nami muttered something about paying full price for only a few hours but she soon fell asleep.
Robin sighed as she looked at the ceiling. It was tiring keeping everything in check, handling hotels, organizing shows and calming feuds.
But it was so worth it.