Appassionato

Amy woke up to the welcoming smell of coffee and the sound of her kitchen fan rotating. With a tired smile, she stretched amidst the disheveled bed sheets, basking in the warmth of the sun on her bare skin. She laid there for a few moments more, enjoying the lazy day and not wanting to get up. As she was starting to drift off again, the sound of bare feet on wood and a faux-exasperated sigh caused Amy to slowly open her eyes. Sitting up, the blonde was greeted to the tanned body of Piper, who was only clutching a cup of steaming coffee.

"Now I know you're not going to fall back asleep on me before even having breakfast, right?" Piper remarked, her playful voice filled with an undercurrent of lust. As she stalked over to Amy, Piper made sure to showcase her lean muscles, grinning as she saw Amy's body react ever so slightly. Placing the cup of coffee on the end table, Piper soon connected their bodies, quiet laughs echoing in the room.

A few hours later, a phone rang, taking Amy's attention away from the screen. Piper made a noise of protest as the blonde got up, pouting at her as she walked to the phone dock. Smiling, the bassist answered the phone.

"Hey Shane, what's up?" Amy asked, slipping her jeans on as she placed her phone in the nook of her neck.

"The manager from Royally Screwed called Oliver. He said that he wants to talk to one of the members of our band. He didn't really specify, kind of monotonous when he spoke, so maybe it's our pay?" Amy frowned as she put on a t-shirt, soon followed by a pair of boots.

"So… Why do I have to go? Kind of busy right now," Amy questioned, staying silent as Piper came up behind her.

"Well, Oliver and I are busy, Liam's probably fucking girls, so that leaves you. Regardless of whether you're with your fuck buddy right now." Groaning into the phone, the blonde slid into a sweatshirt and gently slapped Piper's hand when she tried to prevent the article of clothing from being worn.

"Fine. I'll call you when I'm done." Hanging up, the bassist turned around and smiled at Piper's pout. "You're pouting again. I thought tough journalists don't pout?" With that, Piper's face rapidly changed into a reluctant smile as Amy chastely kissed her. Stepping around the brunette, the blonde grabbed her keys and walked to the door.

Fixing her hood, Amy smiled at Piper before closing the door and heading down the flight of stairs to get to her car.

The drive to the bar was relatively short, giving Amy some quality time to belt out the lyrics of whatever song was currently playing on the radio. Upon entering the bar, Amy was greeted with the low voices of the few patrons who were currently there. Swinging her arms uncertainly, Amy made her way over to the first door she saw, going around until she came upon the door labeled Manager. Just as she was about to knock, a person spoke up. "He's not available right now. He's talking to the cook."

The blonde turned around, looking for the owner of the voice. She was met with the mahogany haired female bartender from last night. Amy nodded, clapping her hands together and walking towards the counter. "Right. Karma, right?"

The brunette nodded, wiping down her side if the bar, once again. "Queen Amy," she stated. The bartender grinned when Amy opened her mouth to say something and then promptly shut it once she understood what Karma had said. "So what brings you back here? Did our energetic vibe and booming music entice you? Or was it the paycheck?"

Amy grinned, leaning against the bar. "The money's good, but the view's better." Karma laughed at the cheesy line, dismissing it as a serious attempt to flirt. Amy's smile faltered slightly with the laugh, and moved to take a seat. "So." Amy stated, unsure of how to proceed with a conversation after a shutdown.

"So," Karma repeated, a smile still on her face. "What actually brought you back here?"

The bassist fiddled with her thumbs. "The manager called one of my band members, and they called me. The manager didn't say why, or at least Shane didn't tell me why… I kind of figured that it's just our payment for the gig. In-out type of thing," Amy shifted her fingers to tapping on the countertop quietly.

Karma nodded, looking up when a door opened up, followed by a rather loud huff of anger. "Well, look's like you don't have to wait that long. Gerald's now free." Amy shifted so that she could see the open door of the manager's office.

"You were an excellent company for that short amount of time. See you around Karma." With that, Amy got down from the bar stool, walking towards the manager's office.

The metallic clink of cymbals being set up, the fuzz from an electrical device being plugged in, idle chatter, and the tuning of strings greeted Amy as she walked down the steps of Oliver's rather large house. Her boots thudded on the carpeted stairs, careful to not swing her bass guitar's case too much. Upon entering the large basement area, her three band member's looked over at her expectantly. Laughing at their usual reactions, Amy took out three envelopes from her sweatshirt's pocket, handing one to each. The blonde walked over to the wall where the other cases were lying and knelt down to place and open her bass guitar's case.

"So the manager wants us back in two weeks. He says that the owner liked us and is giving us a chance to perform again once the others have had their turn. When it gets closer to the two weeks, he'll send us the exact date and time." Amy got up, putting her strap over her head as walked over, smiling as her other band members excitedly acknowledged the information.

Once Amy was set up, Liam initiated the tempo their newest song. The other three mentally counted the measures until their entrance, each person trying to make sure that the song went as smoothly as possible in order to prevent frustration.

"Why don't we take a break? Liam, look over that solo. You have to make sure you stay with the initial tempo, okay?" Liam nodded, leaning and grabbing the music sheet. Amy started walking up the stairs, asking if anyone wanted drinks. With their responses repeating in her head, the blonde strolled into Oliver's kitchen, grabbing four bottles of water. Balancing the bottles in her arms, she made her way back downstairs again, hearing Liam start to talk.

"I need to get this right," He voiced, running a hand through his hair.

Shane cocked an eyebrow at his obvious worry. "Is there some girl you want to impress instead of undress tonight?"

"Yes!"

"He has a date with the bartender from last night. Apparently he has some charm." Oliver answered. "He told me when he got here," Oliver responded when Shane peered at him curiously.

Amy handed out the waters before opening her bottle. "Really? Did you use the 'I don't care about someone being gay. I only see the person.' bullshit since Piper and I were all over each other last night?" The blonde felt her body tense up as the conversation continued, with Liam denying it, and then correcting the line, as well as Oliver and Shane asking how he managed to get Karma to go on a date with him. Fingers squeezing the bottle, Amy put it down before water spilled out, rubbing her hands on her jeans and deciding to check her phone.

She could only place her tension from taking enough of Liam's fake crap, not thinking more of it. The blonde figured that this response came from hearing about Liam's love life way too much, and that enough was enough for her. Of course, she didn't think about how hypocritical that was, considering that she, too, has a long list of former lovers and one night stands.