Gil had never had pre-show jitters. Even for the show that night, he wasn't that nervous. He had gotten to the coffeeshop early for this sole purpose, but for some reason, he felt the buzz of nerves in his system.

It was his turn at the counter. The same barista from the other day was waiting for his order.

"Do you remember this girl who's been coming here lately?" he asked.

"You're going to have to be a lot more specific," she said.

"She's got long blonde hair?" Gil said. He tried to be all nonchalant, but the girl wasn't catching his drift. "Pig tails, glasses, blue eyes, usually by herself, doesn't talk a whole lot?"

"Oh, I think I know who you're talking about. What about her?"

"Do you think she's coming by today?" he asked.

"Maybe. Why? You're not stalking her, are you?"

"No, geez, I just..." he sighed. "I want to pay for her coffee. That's all."

"Oh. Just that, or do you want something for yourself as well?"

"Just a small coffee for me," he said.

"$6.37 is your total."

Gil paid for it and went and sat at a table with a good view of the door. All he had to do was wait. He put headphones in and pulled up his music. Five songs in, she appeared. It was like a movie scene in Gil's head. He watched for her reaction when she went to place her order. She looked confused at first. Her eyes met his then averted down to the floor. She tucked a stray curl behind her ear. He spied a trace of a smile.

Gil's heart was pounding. He wondered if she would come over straight away to thank him or maybe even sit with him at his table. He took one headphone out of his ear so she didn't get the impression that he didn't want to talk. At the same time he wanted to look cool and make it seem that his whole day didn't hinge on whether she came to talk to him or not, so he looked at the wall. And he waited. And he waited. But she didn't come over.

Gil scanned the shop coolly, in case she was looking at him. She had grabbed her own booth, sitting by herself as per usual.

He tried not to let himself get irritated. There was probably a reason that she didn't come over. Maybe the barista didn't tell her that it was from him. Maybe she wasn't interested, but Gil didn't believe that option. Either way, he had tried to be subtle, but obviously that was not going to cut it. He was just going to have to man up and tell her outright.

So, he got up and approached her booth. She didn't see him, but he thought he'd just start talking anyway.

"You know, I'm the one who bought your coffee earlier." He said.

She didn't move.

"I know some people do that as some sort of pay it forward kind of thing. I didn't. Not that I don't think that's cool or whatever, but I was hoping that maybe we could meet and talk and stuff..."

She was ignoring him, completely blowing him off. Gil was starting to think that he had the wrong impression of her. He thought she looked nice. He thought she might even like him back, but this was just plain rude.

"Look, if I'm bothering you, you can just tell me. I'm not trying to be creepy or anything. I thought I'd do something nice."

Still nothing. Gil put his hand down on her table a little harder than he intended.

She flinched. She turned towards him. Her mouth formed a little "O" of surprise, and her eyes went wide.

Gil was kicking himself for scaring her. This is what he was trying to avoid in the first place, but she was starting to get on his nerves. "Are you even listening to me?"

"No," she said. Something about her voice seemed off to Gil. Like she was out of tune or couldn't control her volume. "Sorry. I'm deaf, but I can read your lips."

It took a moment for that to sink in. Everyone at the shop was looking at them. Her face flushed from embarrassment. Gil still needed to process. He had just acted like a complete jerk. He could feel everyone judging him.

He took his hand from the table and stepped back. He didn't know what to do or say now. The only other option was tactical retreat.

"Wait," she said, but her warning was too late. Gil ran straight into the barista. Her tray tipped and spilled coffee all over his jacket.

"Damn it," Gil cursed, ripping off the jacket so that the coffee didn't burn him. "Sorry," he said to the barista, looked back to the deaf girl, and then fled.

"Stop, stop, stop! God damnit, what is wrong with you, Gil?" Arthur interrupted the sound check. The bar was starting to set up for the night. The band would be on in a little more than an hour.

Gil ran his finger down the strings. He was frustrated, and Arthur's attitude was not making it any better.

"No really, are you trying to sabotage us?" Arthur continued to rant.

"Lay off him. That's not helpful," Francis said.

"No, you know what would be helpful? You getting your shit together. You're playing like absolute garbage!"

"Can we take a break?" Toni asked.

"Hear that? The new guy wants a break!" Arthur yanked out the cord on his guitar and stormed off the stage.

Gil shook his head and unplugged his base, he grabbed his water bottle and downed the rest.

"Hey, what happened?" Francis asked.

"I'm just... I'm not feeling the music today." It was an event that had never happened to him. He had no idea how to snap out of it.

Francis and Toni shared an understanding look.

"Gil, did you by any chance talk to that girl?" Toni asked.

"Yeah," Gil said, completely defeated.

"See? Never let your heart get run over before a big gig," Francis preached from his soap box.

"How did it go? What'd you do?" Toni probed some more.

"I didn't do anything wrong. She's deaf."

"So?" Toni said.

"So, I ran away," Gil confessed. "I looked like a complete idiot."

"That's it? She didn't turn you down?" Francis asked.

"No? I mean, I don't even think she even realized I was flirting with her," he said.

"Then, dude, you're golden! You still like her, don't you?"

"Yeah..."

"So learn some sign language! Chicks dig that sort of thing. Show the tiniest bit of effort, and you're in," Francis said. "You can't just give up."

Gil strummed mindlessly as he thought. Sure, he felt really stupid today, but he'd only be a coward if he didn't go back. He was starting to get his optimism back. He was sure she liked him, but things were getting lost in translation.

"Can you play now?" Francis asked.

Gil plugged his bass back in and churned out a bass line.

And the crowd went wild. This was probably the best reception the band had ever gotten. Gil was dripping sweat and grinning. He got a high from the applause and attention.

"Thank you! We are The Vindicators! Come see us again!" Arthur shouted into the mic.

Gil winced slightly at the name. Still not a good one. They'd have to come up with something better by the next show. He was smacked on the back of the head as he exited the stage.

"What was that?" Arthur asked, visibly irritated.

"What?"

"You threw off the rhythm on 'Not my Problem.'"

Gil shrugged. "My fingers slipped. It still sounded cool, and it only took us like a beat to recover." Gil personally thought it sounded pretty awesome.

Arthur pointed in his face. "If this costs us the gig, I'm blaming you."

Arthur shoved past him and put on a smile to greet the fans. Gil was about to join him when he got smacked on the ass.

"Hey, that was a pretty neat riff you did on 'Not my Problem.' Surprised me a bit," Francis said, leaning on Gil's shoulder.

Gil beamed. "Think so?"

"Yeah. Next time, I'll back off a bit to give you more room to improvise. We could probably even make it a bass solo."

Gil's confidence had never been higher. Arthur had no idea what he was talking about.

The band found out when they were paid that they really would get booked for the month.

"Great job guys," Arthur said, visibly happier with a wad of cash in his pocket. "Drinks on me." That got a whoop from Francis and Toni. Gil started for the door.

"Hey, are you going to drink or what?" Francis called after him.

"Nah, I've got to learn some sign language!" Gil called out enthusiastically.

"What the fuck is he talking about?" Arthur said.

"Ah, don't worry about him. He's got better things to do," Toni said with a goofy grin. Several groupies started to visibly swoon.

Gil rolled his eyes. Sure, there was a time when he would have been insanely jealous. He'd kill for his own groupies. There was an appeal in finding someone who loved the music as much as they loved the musician, but those loves weren't always mutually exclusive. Sometimes, neither of them were actually love, but lust for attention.

Still, this was going to be new for him. He never imagined he'd fall for someone who would never be able to listen to his music. This girl could never be a fan, but he supposed it was the feelings that mattered more.