They approached the door and it opened as if they arrival had been anticipated at that exact moment. A short man on the plumper sider with tattoos and five or six facial piercings emerged in the doorway.
They two sisters exchanged a nervous glance. Even Rev had to admit that this was a little more than creepy and she was having second thoughts a little too late.
"Hey guys," he greeted the trio. He had to be Benny, the one matt mentioned. "Come on in." He pulled the door open wider and they followed him through it.
Both Rev and Heather hung back a moment, unsure of whether they should enter. After a moment, Rev grabbed Heather by the hand pulled her along. She felt her younger sister tense up as she did so.
They followed Benny into a dimly light hall. "Here are your no-alcohol bands." He held up the bright orange strips of paper. Reves offered her arm and he wrapped it around her wrist and secured it with an adhesive under a piece of peel-away wax paper. Heather reluctantly followed suit. "I don't expect to see you doing any drinking," he said firmly.
"Thanks for this man," Jeff said to him.
"No problem. Just so long as they don't cause any trouble," Benny replied, then disappeared.
"How'd you manage that?" Reves asked them.
"We hook him up with free merch. And tickets sometimes," Matt shrugged.
They emerged from the hall into a wide room with a small stage on the far wall. They lighting was barley any brighter than the hall and various colored spotlights pointed in different directions.
They noticed someone waving at them from a table in the left corner of the club. They approached the corner to see Adam, Jason and Trish sitting at the table.
"Mark actually let you out?" Jason asked in amazement.
"Well, I'm sure if he knew we were coming here he would have reconsidered." Reves casted as fake glare at her friends.
Apprehensively Heather stretched her lips into a sliver of a smile as they sat down at the table.
"Must be rough not having anyone your own age to hang out with," Trish said sympathetically.
Heather nodded in agreement, while Reves responded, "What's rough is having a dad who doesn't listen to anything you say and wants to keep you locked up like a damn animal."
Trish looked a little perplexed and shocked by the statement that came from Reves's mouth. "I'm…sorry," she said, at a loss of words.
"Well, at least he is giving you a little freedom," Adam stated unknowingly.
Reves simply replied with, "Yeah." Before looking away. Her eyes scanned the vicinity. When her gaze fell upon the back corner the breath caught in her chest. She stared at the figure a moment before her attention was driven away.
"Rev, what are you looking at?" Amy asked.
"Nothing," she smiled as convincingly as she could manage.
Amy chuckled. "Whatever."
Heather sat with her head lowered and her arms folded over her chest. She hadn't uttered a single word aside from the meek hello she gave when they first arrived. They others were chattering, but she was vaguely aware. She sighed. She wanted to go back to the hotel. She felt odd in this place and she was too frightened of their father discovering their activities. Uneasy, she shifted in her seat, regretting her choice to chase everyone down and tag along.
I thought Kid said this place was the shit?" Scott griped with his elbow propped on the table like a bored schoolboy.
Kevin turned towards his friend, his blonde hair falling off his shoulder. "No offense, you're really going to trust Kid's judgement in this? I'm sure he meant it was the shits."
This place was the shits. They should have turned around and went somewhere else when they saw the kids in from of them getting slapped with neon orange wrist bands indicating they couldn't drink. What kind of bar let in underage kids? Well, they were eighteen and up, at any rate. Must be what Kid was going on about, because the beer tasted like warm piss.
Kevin's eyes roamed the area. His gaze shifted to the far corner across the way. He recognized the Hardy brothers and some of their crew. He laughed caustically to himself. Of course, they would frequent a place like this. He took in the sight of two unfamiliar females. Fangirls or rats obviously - they were one in the same really.
His eyes zeroed in on the pair, narrowing once he got a clear view. No fucking way those two ankle-bitters were old enough to be there. Who the hell were they trying to fool? He wasn't sure why he even cared. Perhaps, he was damn tired of having to look at they everywhere he went.
Unintentionally, he growled low in his throat.
"Ya alright, big man?" Scott questioned his friend.
"Guess this place really is for kids." He nodded in direction of the young sisters.
Scott followed his gaze to the table in the far-left corner. His eyes immediately fell on that rebellious blonde. Painted dark red, her lips were stretched in a Cheshire grin as she laughed at a statement made by one of her companions. For whatever reason, he enjoyed seeing the smile on her face verses that permanent scowl. It was apparent she was enjoying herself too. It had to be relief to get out instead of being cooped up in the hotel.
Reves felt a pair of eyes on her and searched the room for their owner, whom turned out to be none other than The Bad Guy. Her bright blue orbs locked onto his deep browns from across the room. She willed her heart to stop racing as she tried to maintain her impenetrable demeanor, both before him and in the presence of her friends. He grinned back at her and she sucked in a sharp breath as she nervously toyed with a lock of her cascading tendrils. She broke the gaze as the blush spread across her cheeks, causing her to curse at herself.
Kevin looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow. "You ok, there buddy?" he asked Scott.
The goofy grin faded from Scott's face. "Yeah Chico,"" he replied, but Kevin as scarcely paying any mind once he noticed Matt and Jeff heading up to the bar.
Kevin got up from the table and sauntered over towards where Matt and Jeff were standing, waiting for the bartender to deliver their drinks. He approached them from behind and slapped them both on the back. "Well, hey boys! How the hell are ya?" His hands came up, clenching the back of their necks.
With an air of aggravation, they glanced behind them. "Oh. Hey Nash." Jeff paused, looking past Kevin, "What's up, Hall?" he said to Scott who was now standing beside Kevin.
"Can we help you?" Matt asked, his fist clenched. He had half a mind to turn around and clock Nash in his face, but he wasn't in the mood for a fight let alone getting his ass kicked. Though he knew if it came to a brawl Adam and Jay would have their backs.
"Now what do you think Mark would do if he knew you had his precious daughters hanging out in bars?" Scott asked, in a contrite voice.
"I don't know. Are you going to be tattle tails now, just like you're bullies, apparently?" a voice interjected before either Hardy could answer. Reves stood leaning against the bar. Her eyes came directly to meet Scott again.
"Ah, Chica now we didn't mean any harm. Did we Big Kev?" Scott asked as Kevin released Matt and Jeff.
Reves felt a shiver involuntarily streak down her spine when he called her that. It was bad enough that being in such proximity to him put her body on edge.
"Wow really? We know we're a couple of scumbag assholes, but even we wouldn't bring a couple of underaged kids to the bar and let them drink," Kevin said defensively.
"Um, hello," Reves held up the arm that bared the orange band and twisted her wrist for emphasis.
"We ain't letting 'em drink!" Jeff replied, incredulously.
"We just wanted to let them get out to their room," Matt added.
Suddenly Reves let out a squeal that sounded positively alien coming from her as she jumped up and down and clapped her hands. She smiled and faced the small platform that made up the makeshift stage toward the back of the club. "She's gonna do it!" Reves cheered.
All four men followed her gaze and their eyes fell upon Heather's petite form.
She stood awkwardly, her arms down at her side, fists curled into nervous balls. She stared out with that apprehensive "deer in the headlights" expression in her eyes. People in the vicinity continued to chatter, paying no mind to the pixie-like creature as she cautiously approached the microphone stand and closed her eyes.
"Hmph," Kevin shook his head. That poor girl was going to make an absolute fool of herself up there and her so called friends were going to stand and watch. Call it pity, but he didn't want to stick around to witness her inflict such embarrassment on herself. He tapped Scott's arm and canted his head toward the door.
As the two were making their way to the exit the opening riff of Bush's grunge hit "Glycerin" pervaded the club.
Heather, eyes still closed, swayed her hips slowly with her feet planted firmly in place. Her head bobbed to the sound of the distorted guitars. This was one of her favorite songs, therefore, she had no use for the prompter. She kept her eyes closed to block the sight of the people and focused on the music over their chatter. She took a deep breath and began to sing, making certain to project her voice.
By the time Heather began the first verse, Hall and Nash were nearly at the doors. This took Kevin by utter surprise as he found himself stopped in his tracks. He was nowhere near prepared for the ethereal voice that carried out over the din. Her voice had a quality that was innocent and angelic, but marked with a sadness. He turned to with her with fascination as her body slowly met every note.
By the second verse, her striking green eyes opened cautiously, taking in the collection of people. Some of them were now focusing their attention on the petite girl, others continued on, oblivious. Heather's eyes roamed the room finding her sister and her friends. They looked on approvingly. It gave her a certain type of courage and peace. She had had and immense amount of apprehension and fear about getting up on stage after what had happened at school. Yet, the melody and the emotions took her over. Maybe she was getting better after all, or at least better at swallowing it down.
"We going big guy?" Scott asked Kevin as he stood behind him.
"Yeah, in a minute." He didn't turn to look at Scott, but began moving further into the room. He wasn't sure if her was more intrigued by the angelic voice or the fact that she was up there at all, singing with such passion.
He stood and watched her with an attentive curiosity. The way she gripped the microphone stand as her body responded to every note. He had to admit he was a little shocked. The kid actually had talent and a lot of potential.
Her eyes closed again as the breakdown of strings entered the fold during the bridge. When her eyes opened again, they shifted across the room and were caught by his piercing gaze. As their eyes locked onto one another's, her heart thumped against her chest and she jumped inside her skin, but didn't faulter in her performance. She continued sing her passionate lamentation as the heat crawled to her cheeks, rendering a crimson mantle across her visage.
Feeling overwhelmed by his studying gaze, she finally looked away while the song was drawing to a close. As the music faded out, she let go of the stand. Her stance became awkward again and the shrinking violet began to reemerge. It was as if she was in a trance while singing and the spell was wearing off.
Her entourage erupted into a frenzy of cheers, whistles and clapping. A handful of the other patrons did the same. Kevin clapped for her as well, the corners of his mouth tugging into a grin. Heather smiled weakly and stepped off the stage.
"Woah, pretty good," Scott commented, now standing at his side.
"Not bad," Kevin shrugged.
They watched her approach the group as her sister embraced her. "You did it you, dweeb!" she teased affectionately.
Heather rolled her eyes, but grinned shyly as she pushed her glasses up on her nose.
That bashful smile worked inside Kevin. She was strangely beautiful with her elated expression and the kid should have been proud of her performance. He wanted to congratulate the kid, but decided it was best not to after the scene with the Hardys.
"Alright, it's my turn!" Reves announced throwing her hands in the air.
Scott and Kevin looked at each other, curious as to what song she would choose and if she sounded anything like her sister.
Reves took the platform with an air of confidence. She seemed to make her presence known and command attention without speaking. After a moment of waiting, she said into the mic, "Hit the damn music. Jeez guys!"
Reves sung "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol.
Heather's voice was ethereal and haunting, whereas Reves had a voice that was like ka powerhouse with a bluesy tone. She harkened to the vibe of women like Joan Jet and Lita Ford.
She was good at playing to the crowd, pumping her fist and headbanging. Every now and then, she looked directly at Scott as she belted the rock anthem.
Scott watched her up on stage as she moved like she owned the damn thing. Her voice was phenomenal and she certainly was a looker in her short skirt and leather jacket.
As she finished her song, over half the bar erupted into cheers. Some even gave a standing ovation. Reves grinned widely as she took a bow, her cascading blonde hair sweeping forward and flying back when she stood. She left the stage and rejoined her friends.
Heather hugged her sister in return. "So good," she murmured with a smile.
"That was awesome," Jason said.
"I guess you could say it reeks of awesomeness!" Adam quipped and they high-fived just like their characters used to do.
Reves rolled her eyes, but smirked, "Spare me." She looked around the semi-circle everyone had formed. "So, who's next?"
"Where'd you kids get the pipes?" a smooth voice asked before anyone could say more.
Everyone turned to the left to see Hall and Nash, now standing beside them. The voice belonged to Scott.
Heather's eyes widened while everyone else seemed mildly annoyed.
"I thought you were leaving," Reves snipped folding her arms over her chest.
"Damn, you can't take a compliment, can you?" Kevin barked back.
Her devil may care expression waved momentarily. They like their singing? Damn her heart shouldn't bee beating like this; she shouldn't be having the blood rushing through her veins. Saving herself, she retorted her defense, "Well, you laughed at us when we said we were recording a song. What now?"
"Still haven't heard that one," Amy grumbled.
"That doesn't matter right now," Reves responded to her friends teasing.
"Alright. They were trying to be nice," Trish put a hand on Reves's arm.
As the conversation went on, Kevin watched the little one with the black hair standing there squeamishly, her hands behind her back. She looked completely out of her element her. (Never mind the fact that she certainly was. Yet, her big sis seemed to be playing the role with ease). This whole time, the only moments where she didn't look like a frightened cat were when she was up there singing. Even now, staring at the floor she inched back from the group.
"Ok guys, who is going next?" Reves demanded again, returning to ignoring the two outsiders.
"What do you say Ams, you want to give it a go?" Trish asked a she nudged Amy's arm.
"Yeah, why not?" Amy smiled.
After taking a turn, they all pushed the sisters back on stage.
"But we've already done a song," Heather protested.
"Yes, but everyone loved you two," Trish told her. "Besides, this is about you guys having fun for once."
Heather was certain whether that was so. They had already made plans to come out. They merely invited her and her sister to tag along. Heather didn't mention it however.
Reves was tugging on her sister's arm. "What should we sing?" she questioned.
"Ohhh, Africa, by Toto," Heather smiled shyly.
Reves narrowed her eyes. "You know I don't know that song."
"That's why there's a prompt-"
"Nope. Sorry, I l don't think so."
Heather sighed.
"Like a Virgin," Reves grinned wickedly.
"Eww, no way!" Heather's face flared and she glanced around quickly, wondering if anyone had heard them.
Reves cut her eyes towards Heather. "What do you say to Reaper?"
"Yes, that would do fine," Heather agreed.
"Alright, cue the cow bell," Reves stepped to the microphone and spoke.
They two girls took turns, making it into a duet they must have put a little work into at some point.
Heather seemed to be a little more confident when she was sharing the stage with her sister. Their voices were and interesting dynamic and they actually complimented one another quite well.
When they returned to their friends, they realized that Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were still there as they approached them.
"I'm kind of surprised you know that song," Scott said.
"Why?" Reves narrowed her eyes.
"Well, it is super fucking edgy," Kevin nudged Scott.
Reves glared at him.
"Aww, I love the mushy parts. Especially about Romeo and the broad," Scott teased.
"Actually, Romeo was an arrogant narcissist whose devotions were fleeting and fickle, at best. And poor Juliet by the way, was naive and too trusting. They attraction to one another was both toxic and volatile. Conclusively, Romeo and Juliet is a tale of how everyone needs to – for lack a proper term – chill out." It was Heather that had spoken up, until she realized everyone was staring at her.
Kevin's eyes were trained on her, "Is that so?" he asked.
"Well, y-yes," Heather's eyes were down casted and her voice shook.
"No one cares, dork," Reves teased her.
Matt looked at his watch. "Shit, we better get you two back," she said to the teenagers.
The bid goodbye to the men known as the Outsiders and left.
When they returned to the hotel, they had scarcely been in the room five minutes before they heard the door open, indicating their father was back. Shutting out the light, they scrabbled into bed with their clothes still on and pretended to be sleeping as their father opened the door to check on them.
