"Tickle the ivorys, Ollie!" The blacksmith plunked away at the piano, while the other three men sang along. Today's rehearsal was more peppy than usual; the quartet had gotten wind that the performance night was going to be a big one. Singers and dancers, performers alike from far and wide all across ninjago were to perform going into the night. Lou thought it would be a nice change for once, being able to mingle with other groups without the motive of competing against them. Although confident that his quartet would be more than ready for the gig, he thought it would be nice to squeeze in a little more practice than usual.
"Who do you think will all show up?" Roger took a sip from his water, glancing at Jeremy who shrugged in response.
"I hope the fire-eaters show up. I'll tell you what, those women can light my cigarette anytime." Ollie swooned, causing Roger to roll his eyes.
"Fat chance, have you looked in the mirror?"
"You're only bitter that you didn't get their number last we saw them. The blonde one invited me to go out if I'm looking for a good time." Ollie wolf-whistled, smirking.
"Boys, get along now! We have a few more routines to run through before we finish up." Lou tapped the top of the piano starting a tempo. Snapping his finger, the others followed suit, walking and lining up with the beat in their step. With a hop and a skip, the quartet began to sing.

Jeremy had offered to make lunch which consisted of Fruit salad and deviled eggs. Sitting around the table, the group seemed to eye Lou curiously.
"You sure everything's all arranged for us to go there?" Roger asked the elephant question.
"Yeah, where's our manager, huh? How do we know when to show up and perform?" Ollie added. Lou creased his eyebrows in concern. Did Dareth tell him before he left? He couldn't remember. He cleared his throat.
"Dareth is currently not here… he won't be here until the day of the concert, and I have no means of contact him about these questions…" He looked around and the sudden worried look of the rest of his group, "But-! I do know when the concert starts, which is around 6. We should be there by 5 to have enough time and get ourselves situated with when we are up." That seemed to cause a great sigh of relief. Lou had trust that Dareth got everything arranged ahead of time- he seemed well organize enough. Especially with all that had started happening in his life, he seemed to be handling it well. Lou was still suspicious about that.
"How are the eggs?" Jeremy asked, his voice deep enough to be felt in people's chests.
"They're good, but a little bland," Roger pointed, "Needs ketchup." This caused multiple eye rolls.

–

Showing up early didn't seem early enough. It was as though all the other groups of performers had the same idea. Thankfully the audience had yet to show up, behind stage was chaos. Groups intermingled, laughing and talking, some setting up and others lounging around. There was a ring of a microphone over the loudspeaker. 'TESTING, TESTING, ONE TWO THREE. *ahem* attention all performers! Thank you for taking time to come and perform tonight! At the front counter, there is a pile of schedules for you all to look over to refresh your performing times. There are refreshments and snacks in the back room for you all to enjoy through the night. I encourage you to stay even after your performance to catch up with fellow performers. Have a nice night!'
Lou stepped out from behind the curtain, walking around the stage and observing the building. Outward, tables were set up with candles, booths and lattice, plants that hung from ceiling planters, the place was dim and high end. In the corner there was a bar, the tender gave him a gentle wave before going back to cleaning glasses. A few of the staff walked out and set tables, placing menus and utensils as well as number cards. 'Reservations,' Lou thought to himself, 'must be a private performance.' walking back behind stage to his quartet, he spread the news of what was waiting for them. Jeremy had gotten a schedule for them, and Lou filed through different routines in his head. It had to be something big, something they haven't done publicly before, something that wouldn't disappoint the audience….

The building was filled perfectly in front of the stage; everyone had their own place to sit and not a chair to spare. The gentle murmuring amongst the crowd barely traveled through the thick curtain backstage. Lou and his quartet whispered through their routine, watching the first group go. Then afterwards, the second. Then the third. Lou kept on glancing at the clock, waiting for more things than one. 'Dareth said he would be here, where is he?' Lou thought, glancing at the clock and then glancing at Roger's watch. Fourth group, fifth group, sixth group- he was beginning to give up hope.
"I think my bikes' clock is slow." a familiar lazy voice came from behind Lou.
"There you are! I thought you weren't going to make it! Where were you?" Lou whipped around to look at Dareth, only to be surprised. He expected him to be wearing the usual leather coat and jeans, but that was not the case. He was in a dark brown tailored suit, white undershirt accompanied by a black tie, dark brown pants and black dress shoes, hair being more slicked back than normal. Dareth gave him a cheerful smile.
"Sorry, had to part ways with an old set of friends. How's the show going?"
"The show? It's going fine. Still haven't gone up yet– the front stage area is high-end."
"Yeah, I know. I've been here once before, worked here once but that didn't last. Just wasn't my cup of tea." Dareth watched as some women dressed in deep purple velvet walk past, winking and waving over their shoulders. Ollie gave out a wolf whistle, causing one of them to laugh. Roger cut him off, pointing at the clock.

"Show time."

The Quartet filed onto stage, adjusting the microphone. Lou looked over the crowd, his eyes almost instant going to a woman with a long braid. She seemed to notice, looking over her shoulder, she gave him a gentle wave before being addressed by another person. His heart skipped a beat– or did it stop? Lou had put his hand over his chest, while ollie gave a light chuckle. "Hey brookstone, are we singing or what?" That snapped him out of it.
"Oh!- yes," he cleared his throat, "of course!" snapping his fingers to start the tempo, the group began. Though his words were clear and rehearsed, his mind wandered, as did his eyes. The woman across the room kept on giggling and looking back at him whenever she caught his gaze. He could feel his face heat up…

Dareth had found his way into the back room, where groups of performers mingled and laughed. He hovered around the snack bar, having quite a few morsels stuck on toothpicks. Pouring himself some punch, he found the flavor to be nothing that he had tasted before. There was a rough slap of tangy followed by fruity, leaving a bitter aftertaste that he masked by having another glass, and another.

"Good job tonight, boys." Lou patted the back of one of the quartet members, who had finished their performance and had gone back stage. Ollie quickly ran his hand over Lou's head, messing up his combed over hair before running to hide behind Roger.
"Comb boy!" he taunted, to which Lou laughed, while brushing his hair over again. "Hey hey, What was the slip up about?" He asked quickly, dodging Rogers attempt at a headlock.
"Slip up?"
"Yeah Lou, you turned tomatoe on stage, almost couldn't see you against the curtains." Roger added, undoing his bow tie. Lou blinked, and suddenly remembered. He knit his eyebrows, crossing his arms and looking away.
"None of your business. Just a very pretty woman out in the Crowd waved at me, that's all." He muttered. The three other boys smiled, exchanging glances.
"Some ones in love~" the trio harmonized, causing Lou to growl and shove them aside.
"Come on now, Let's just find the Manager and get out of here before you all make this night hell for me." He pushed his way into the back room, the noise of the other groups drowning out the teasing of his own. He had made his way to the back of the room, scoping around to see if he could find Dareth. As he did so, he noticed that those around were older than he was, or at least he hoped judging by the beverages. Everyone seemed to have a wine glass of some sort, and panic started to rise in his chest. Standing on a chair to get a better view, there was a thud of something hitting the table in front of him. Looking back down, he smiled. "There you are! I was starting to worry that…. Dareth?" Lou stepped down from the chair and nudged his shoulder.
"I can't go home Lou, remember? Dad would kill me.." he groggily stated, slowly picking up his head; His face was flushed with tears streaming down. Lou's gaze hardened, as Dareth plopped his face back into his arm and let out a wail. "I just came here for a good time but now I'm frikken head hurts and crying! Nothin' goes right in my life Lou, itssupid."
"What the hell Dareth, didn't your momma ever teach you to not drink anything at parties? Come on let's go–" He proceeded to pull Dareth out of the chair, who let out another wail of distress. Walking out the room, he passed by his quartet. Roger shook his head.
"Sorry Lou, I can't give you a ride home, I want to stay here with the boys. Besides, your house isn't too far away from here, you can walk him." He coaxed, to which Lou looked disappointed. He knew the truth, he didn't want to deal with anyone who was drunk. Leading(dragging) Dareth out the door, the two walked down the street, Dareth occasionally mumbling something or another in a slurred fashion. Lou ignored him, he was too busy thinking about the angel who was out in the crowd… He didn't even get to say hello.