"Hey, Shaun, tell the little fan girls what you do to get ready before a show!"
"Umm, I normally do a cow; sometimes a sheep if there aren't any cows." Shaun gave a big smile to the camera.
"Shut-up, you tool!" Andy yelled before he burst out laughing.
"At least I can get a cow! All you can get is your grandma!"
"That's not true! What's wrong with gran anyway?"
"Hey guys, we're being called back stage." Bradie told the other two. He'd been standing quietly in the door way, watching his two band mates' quarrel. Shaun and Andy looked up when the heard Bradie talk. "Come on! We're gonna be late!" The trio walked out, followed by their cameraman friend. They slowly descended the steep steps to the back stage area.
"Oh my God! It's Shaun Diviney!" someone screamed out. Shaun looked around to see who had called. Looking up the stairs, he saw Andy cacking himself laughing.
"Can we move?" Bradie whined. Shaun turned to keep walking down the stairs, but tripped over his own foot, and tumbled down to the ground.
"Oh my God! Are you ok?" A little fan girl cried out, watching Shaun hurtle down the stairs. She had long, brown, curly hair, and big, brown eyes. Her face was speckled with a few freckles, and she wore a pair of black skinnys, with a Short Stack top. She scurried over to Shaun in a pair of cute, red Converse.
"Andy, you fucker!" Shaun moaned, before letting his head drop onto the ground. Bradie gave Andy a punch in the stomach, then shuffled down the rest of the stairs.
"Dude, can you get up?" Bradie asked Shaun.
"Do I look like a munchkin?"
"Well-"
"Don't say anything, Andy!" Shaun yelled up the stairs, where his friend had been about to, no doubt, insult him again. Shaun put his right hand on the floor to push himself up, but cried out in pain the second he put any weight on it. The fan girl gasped as she saw her hero hurting.
"Don't just stand there! You could do something useful!" Shaun snapped.
"Yeah, like call a doctor!" Bradie suggested, a little more politely. He knelt down, and helped Shaun up, regardless of his consistent, insistence that he didn't need help. The girl ran off, calling for someone to help. Andy finally made his way down the stairs, to where his two friends were standing.
"Andy, thank-you," Shaun said, sarcastically.
"You're welcome. What'd I do?"
"Oh, nothing much, just possibly broke my arm!" Shaun was not happy that Andy's stupid joke had probably cost them a show.
"You're just unco! Most people can walk down stairs," Andy mimed walking down a flight of stairs.
"You know you can stop filming all this." Bradie told their cameraman.
"I know, but this stuff is hilarious!" The man laughed.
"Oh, fuck off!" Shaun yelled.
"Come on, Shaun! You pussy! Suck it up, be a man!" Andy laughed, thumping Shaun on the back.
"Ow! You bitch!" Shaun attempted, but failed, to slap Andy.
"Out of my way, I'm a professional." A tall, blond, young man said. He was wearing the average doctor dress: white coat, stethoscope – very normal. Except for the pair of Converse that donned his feet, and the hobo gloves he wore. But besides that, he looked genuine enough.
"Are you a doctor?" A security member asked, interrogatively.
"Well, duh!" The man said, tapping his stethoscope.
Short Stack looked at each other, and said without words, "This guy's either fake, or nuts!"
"I don't care what he is, as long as he can tell me if my wrist is broken!" Shaun marched over to the blond guy, and held his arm out.
"Squeeze my finger," The supposed doctor commanded, holding out a finger. Shaun obliged, but cried out in pain when he tried to squeeze tightly.
"And…"
"It's broken,"
"Andy, you fucking faggot! Now what are we going to do?" Shaun and Bradie gave Andy the death-stare. They stood, staring at each other for minutes, until they heard someone talking.
"Anja, this is stupid!" A girl whined.
"Come on, Maddy! This could be our break!" Another girl said.
"Electra, you can't seriously let her do this!" The girl named Maddy whined again.
"Why not? I mean, we get to have an experience." Electra said.
"And it'll be fun!" Anja chimed in.
"Fine, but where are we even going?" Maddy continued to whinge. Three, young girls emerged into the same space as the boys. They looked over at the putative doctor, and smiled in recognition.
"Hi, Blaze. What are you doing here?" One of the girls asked.
"Anja! Shut-up!" Blaze moaned.
"What?" Anja looked confused. She had medium, straight, brown hair, and stormy grey eyes. Anja had a single purple streak, highlighting her long fringe, which flopped over her left eye. She had heavy eyeliner on, but her eyes were hidden behind a pair of thickly-rimmed, black glasses. She held, in her pale, thin hands, a guitar case. She was wearing a multitude of wrist bands and gloves, along with a pair of black skinnys and a complementary top, with Converse matching Blaze's
"Never mind," Blaze murmured
"Wait! Are you or are you not a doctor?" Shaun looked at Blaze interrogatively.
"Well…"
"Security!" Shaun yelled.
"Woah! Blaze, what'd you do?" One of the girls laughed. She had electric blue streaks almost dying her brown hair. Her eyes were a muddy brown, and she had a beautiful smile. The girl was wearing a similar outfit to Anja, with a splash of more colour, and many badges coating her clothes, with the Converse again. She, too, was holding a guitar case. Andy's eyes lit up when he noticed it was a bass guitar.
"Can you please just get your guitar so we can play?" The last girl whined. The boys assumed this was Maddy, due to her constant complaining. Maddy had thick browny-blond hair, and piercing blue eyes. She was wearing a black skirt with leggings – a much cooler choice – along with a basic tube top, and those infamous Converse. She had hobo gloves on, but no other accessories clung to her. In her hands she held two drumsticks, twirling one of them subconsciously.
"You're playing?" Bradie chirped up. The four nodded like it was plain as day.
"But this is our concert," Shaun commented.
"I'm clairvoyant, lovie. You can't play with a broken wrist." Anja patted Shaun gently on the shoulder, then brushed past him casually.
"Isn't your name Anja?" Andy asked stupidly.
"It means she's psychic," Electra explained.
"More like psycho," Blaze laughed under his breath.
"Oh, shut-up, Blaze!" Maddy snapped. "We're here, we can play, and you can't. Are you gonna stand in our way and ruin a perfectly good show?"
"Who the hell are you guys?" Shaun wondered. He seemed like he was in a daze.
"Fans," Electra smiled.
"Performers," Blaze grinned.
"Schmexy," Maddy joked.
"Your saviours," Anja added in a more serious tone.
"We don't need your help!" Shaun told them stubbornly.
"Captive Hearts won't take no for an answer." Blaze told Short Stack, just as stubbornly.
"Is that what your little groups called?" Andy asked in a snobbish, dismissive fashion.
"Let's just let the bitches play," Bradie suggested, curious to see what these guys could do.
"Ahem," Blaze cleared his throat.
"Bitches and fag," Bradie amended.
"I'm not gay!" Blaze yelled, offended by the instant assumption. Was it illegal to hang out with girls these days?
"Better believe it, Bradie." Maddy told him.
"Oo! Alliteration!" Electra said, clapping her hands enthusiastically, and Anja just laughed with her friend.
"Yeah, those two are 'an item'." Maddy continued, indicating Blaze and Anja.
"We are not!" They said in synchronization. Maddy just chuckled to herself.
"I'm going to get my guitar before someone steals it." Blaze said, pointing over his shoulder.
"I'll come with you," Anja pranced after him, having placed her own guitar next to Electra. Electra and Maddy just rolled their eyes. It was clear they liked each other; what was wrong with them?
"You can't play with a broken wrist." Electra suddenly said to Shaun, snapping out of her thoughts first.
"He's not even a doctor!" Shaun argued.
"He's a guitarist," Electra countered.
"How about this: we storm out onto the fucking stage, and play. If they like us: Hi-5! If they don't: run away!" Maddy plotted.
"I don't care! Shaun's happily rendered us incapable of successfully completing this occasion!" Bradie said, frustrated that no-one could agree on what to do, and hoping to end the issue.
"There are a lot of long words there, but we are but humble musicians." Anja quoted Barbossa, re-entering the area.
"I am disinclined to acquiesce your request," Blaze laughed, also quoting the pirate movie.
"Enough with movie jokes!" Bradie said firmly.
"But Jack's schmexy!" Maddy laughed.
"On in five," A stagehand yelled.
"Time to rock," Anja smiled. Electra, Blaze and Anja, all got out their guitars, and tuned up. When they were ready, the foursome was led backstage by the trio of boys.
"Who are these guys?" A bossy stage manager asked pointedly, as the group walked up.
"They're taking our place." Andy explained grudgingly.
"What? Why?" The stage manager exploded in hushed tones, so as not to disturb the audience.
"They play, while I get my arm in a cast." As Shaun spoke, he turned daggers upon Andy.
"This is a disaster!" The stage manager moaned.
"Think on your feet," Bradie said, as he and Andy pushed the little man onto the stage. The audience screamed, then realised it was no one important. Some of the fans booed, others just stared in confusion. After a few minutes of the guy bumbling around the stage, and stuttering on what to say, Shaun stormed out. The crowd went nuts, not noticing the way he held his arm.
"Hey, motherfuckers!" Shaun greeted the fans. Charming, Anja thought. "Here's the deal: I can't play tonight," the crowd stirred at that, "I can't explain now, but watch Short Stack T.V. for a proper explanation. Sorry to disappoint, but don't go! We have been fortunate enough, to have another band offer to stand in last minute!" the crowd weren't sure whether to be happy or pissed.
"Please enjoy the sound of…" The stage manager chirped, but too late realised he didn't know who the other band was.
"Captive Hearts!" Anja yelled, charging out onto the stage, guitar in hand. Shaun, who had also been at a loss, gave the girl an appreciative glance. It was an unorthodox entry, but really, the entire show so far had been quite unorthodox. Anja stood up to the microphone. "Hello, Brisbane! I'm Anja, and I will be lulling you into a mist of sweat tonight!" A few people cheered, but most were confused and uneasy. This didn't bother Anja, and she continued, "Allow me to introduce to you the rest of Captive Hearts! Maddy, Electra and Blaze! Are you ready to rock?" A few more people shouted out this time. "Let's get dirty, animals! This song is called Bloodlust." With that, Maddy hit her sticks to give a tempo, and Anja started to strum. Electra and Blaze joined in, and the new band smashed out a banging song.
By the end, there was a massive mosh pit, and people were all shoving to get closer to the group onstage.
"Wow!" Blaze exclaimed into his mike. "You lot are insane!" The crowd roared in response.
"Now," Anja said, "seeing as you animals came to see Short Stack, how about we get them out here?" The crowd screamed it's loudest yet. "I'll take that as a yes!" Electra and Maddy went and dragged out the boys.
"I can't play!" Shaun hissed into Anja's ear.
"You seem to be very audio." She winked. Shaun seemed to pick up on the hint, and mouthed the words Sway, Baby, at Bradie and Andy. The two boys nodded. Bradie pulled a set of his sticks out of his pants, and got comfortable. Andy checked that the bass guitar was tuned up, and gave the others the thumbs up sign. Anja and Blaze winked at each other, then waited for Bradie to give them a tempo. With the help of Blaze and Anja, the song went down swinging. The audience sung along to every word, and Shaun laughed when someone threw a toothbrush at him. He turned on Anja when the song ended.
"I'm leaving now, so no more tricks." He breathed into her ear. There were a couple of catcalls from the audience. Blaze glared at Shaun, and the motion didn't go unnoticed. Some of the more rough guys in the audience started chanting 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' Shaun then acknowledged Blaze, glowered, strode off stage. Anja looked up confused. She saw Blaze's unrelaxed stance, and scuttled over to calm him. When he looked at her, he instantly relaxed.
"Sorry," he whispered.
"It's alright, just don't do it again, ok?" Anja whispered back, rubbing his shoulder. He nodded, and the two broke apart, after Maddy cleared her throat loudly.
"You seemed to enjoy that!" Electra laughed into her mike.
"The song or the drama?" someone yelled out from the audience.
"How about you decide?" Electra suggested. "Who wants another song?" The crows roared encouragingly this time.
"You ready to get electrified?" Anja called out. The people screamed, "Sorry to disappoint. This next song is called Me Google."
The band members on stage all laughed at the title, until they realised no-one in the audience understood the joke.
"Google isn't just a search engine!" Electra slowly explained, "It's a number,"
"One, followed by one hundred zeroes," Maddy called out, hitting her sticks together.
The group played for almost two hours without a break. By the end of the concert, the audience was practically in love with Captive Hearts. If you asked them who Short Stack was, they would've shrugged their shoulders.
After four hours of songs, with one small break, Captive Hearts ended the concert. People chanted for an encore, but none was performed. The band disappeared before anyone could catch them for autographs. Short Stack wasn't even granted an opportunity to thank them. No-one ever heard or spoke of Captive Hearts after that concert.
But the strangest part was, as the fans filed out the exits, they all forgot the enjoyment they had experienced. All they remembered was Short Stack's single song; the rest was a blur. A sweaty mist…