Hey! Rebecca came up with this! She's a bit of a genius really, I hope you like it! Love you!
Enjoy!
Jerome relished it.
And why wouldn't he? Who wouldn't? The brilliant, basking glow of a thousand spotlights, the flashing of a billion cameras staining his eyes with glitter, the roaring and cheering of an audience who had never heard a song as brilliant as the ones they were singing. All he could see was banners, some with his names written on them, some with his band members, about how they loved him. And he could see everyone, everyone singing along and he wondered as he sang...they knew it off by heart. Adrenaline, love, excitement, all pumped through his body, and he was jumping up and down on the stage, his bangs flicking on and off his forehead and the girls, and the women were screaming for him. His fingers expertly plucked and flicked the guitar strings, a powerful, electric beat was coming through the roaring song, that was brilliant for any party or disco, and whose lyrics reached out to all those lost souls. The rhythm and the beat, Jerome supposed, doubled with the lyrics, and the fact that the band was incredibly good looking, was why this song, out of all the songs they had written and sung, was climbing its way up the charts.
He sang the last line of the song, and looked around at his fellow band members, and he thought he must look like them right now. Faces, covered in a light sheen of sweat, huge smiles on their faces, eyes alight and proud, as they raised their left hand into the air, and clenched their fingers into a fist, the crowd, of 100,000 in this huge arena, all copied, and it looked so fantastic.
"Good night, London! Good night! It has been, an honour!" Eddie called into his microphone, they bowed, and were cheered away.
Line Break
"More water..." Jerome pleaded, Alfie snickered, tossing him another bottle. "Man...singing really takes it out of me,"
Eddie chuckled "You wanted to be the singer,"
"So?" Jerome chuckled "I'm the only one who can sing, Alfie plays the ukulele, why? Because he can. You play the guitar, because you can. Fabian's on the piano-"
"I think we get in Jerome," Fabian smiled, sifting through his fan mail. Mick frowned, setting down his drum sticks
"Do you actually respond to that fan mail, Fabian?" the brunette nodded and Mick looked dumbfounded, he sat down, mulling it over. "Why?"
"They were nice enough to write, I can be nice enough to reply."
"But we're famous now!" Mick jeered "We're no longer some small time band playing for your cousins wedding! We're in the charts, we have a manager! We have posters! We are making millions-"
"Hey, jerk-face," Jerome snapped him out of his pig-headedness, Mick turned to look at Jerome. The two were friends, but it was the most strained relationship in the band. Though when it came down too it, they loved each other. Kinda. "If he's gonna be a loyal and smart person, for them to look up too, let him respond to his stupid fan mail."
"Like you can talk," Mick muttered
"Yeah," Alfie laughed, leaning back on the plush sofa "You burn you're fan mail."
Jerome waved him off "But I'm not criticising Fabian for replying. I burn them, because I'm just another obsession, I never, never burn repeat letters, if someone sends me three letters, three, I will reply, because they care. To those one letter fans, I'm one obsession they have until they get onto someone else." He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair.
"I think..." Eddie frowned, looking at the computer screens "I statistically get the least amount of fan mail in the group..." Mick and Jerome burst out laughing, Fabian tried to stifle his laughter, but he couldn't. "Why on earth is that?! I am by far the most good looking!"
"Relax Eddison," Jerome laughed "It's only because we're in Europe, when we get to America, you'll drown in pink and purple letters from teenage girls and their mothers,"
"I better be."
Line Break
Their tour was going brilliantly, nearly everyone knew his name, Banished! Their band name, forbidden, but wonderful.
He walked into the small pub in the village, Eddie, Alfie, Mick and Fabian were off sight seeing some other areas of south London, but he wanted to relax, go somewhere less well known. A few people had recognised him, but the village was so small, he walked through the streets, and there was no one there to rush over to him and beg him for a selfie and his autograph.
The pub was nicely furnished, and there was only one customer. A man, asleep in a little booth, a pint of larger, untouched, in front of him. Jerome sat down with a sigh, admiring the décor, when from the back room came a woman.
He had to stop, and stare. For a little while. Just like one of the many, many love songs they had written about, acting as though they knew it all. She was beautiful. Long, dark hair, tanned flawless skin, a slim waist, which around it was tied a black apron. Her eyes, sparkled a beautiful brown, and she smiled at him, slightly startled. "Hi," she grinned, and Jerome felt his whole body flood with warmth. Her happiness was radiating right onto him and he found himself smiling as widely as she did. "Sorry, didn't hear you come in," she shot the door a look "What can I get you? Although I advice against everything but water."
He laughed, taking the menu she was handing him. "How incredibly, a bar tender that advices her customers not to drink." She laughed with him, managing a small shrug.
"I wanted to be a doctor," she confessed "Biology, and finding cures..." she looked off for a moment, but then snapped back "But dreams change, things happen, and now the only way I can make a difference is by telling those with problems to go to a shrink, not a bar,"
He raised his eyebrows "No wonder business is slow, you're scaring everyone away." She rolled her eyes, and he lowered the menu "I'll have uh..." his lips turned up slightly "I'll have some water, heck, you can even charge me for it,"
She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling "Perfect." and she disappeared. Jerome watched her, everything she did, struck. And he was suddenly very glad none of his friends and his bandmates were here, god, he could just imagine Eddie, hitting it off with her, and flirting. And though he hated to admit it, Eddie was better with the ladies than he was. "So, what's your name?" She asked, as she slid over his glass of water. Jerome was frozen for a moment, it had been so long since he had to tell anyone his name, they always knew. She giggled and he fought the urge to blush
"I'm Jerome, Jerome Clarke," he held out his hand which she shook
"I'm Mara Jaffray,"
"Jaffray," he nodded, smiling, and he ran a hand through his hair. "Um...d-do you..." he didn't want to seem big headed, so he dropped his voice, so it hovered just above a whisper. "Do you know who I am?" She frowned, shaking her head slightly. "Okay..." he frowned, leaning back, and then sang, in perfect pitch, the chorus of their most successful song.
"No..." she whispered, something in her head clicked "You're...you're from that band...oh what's its name..." she frowned, her fingers circling in the air to mirror her thought process. "I heard it on the radio the other day...bandits?"
"Banished." He corrected with a small smile "You not a big music person?"
She grimaced for a fraction of a second, and then was overwhelmed with guilt. "I'm sorry-" she gushed "-I don't mean it like that, but of course...well, I'm just not a big fan of music..." she shrugged "I've never really...well I can't play any instruments so I just..." she looked around for straws and Jerome reached out, touching her wrist gently.
"It's fine." He insisted, blue eyes burning into hers "I don't mind that you don't listen to our music...but you should listen to music." He smiled as she rolled her eyes, and pulled her towards him slightly "And...you should go out with me some time,"
"Ah, so you're not only a singer, but a therapist, brilliant, just my luck," she clucked her tongue on the word luck and leaned down over him "That'll be £3.50," she smiled. His eyes widened
"For a glass of water!"
She shrugged "You're a millionaire, and I'm struggling to get by," she gave him a teasing look, "Also..." she rummaged under the desk, and produced a red tin "You are strongly advised to donate, this goes to natural disasters occurring all over, it's a charity-"
"Fine, fine, fine," Jerome relented, sensing he would loose this argument no matter what he said. "And...you'll go to dinner with me," he handed over 500 hundred pounds and stuffed it into the red tin, and then handed her a five pound note, catching the time. "Maybe even come a see a conce-"
"Dinner." She said quickly, blushing "Um..."
"My numbers on the money," he shrugged, somewhat bashfully, before rushing out the door.
Line Break
THREE WEEKS LATER
"No..." Jerome laughed again, his head falling back in exhaustion "It's AABCCD,"
"Isn't that what I did?" Mara asked, frowning at the grand piano. Jerome laughed
"Did it sound like it was supposed too?"
"I don't know..." she hedged. She saw him sigh, and lie on the wooden flaw of the bare practise hall. He was about to give up. With a strengthened sigh, she placed her fingers how she told him, and tried one last time, this time, it was fluent, and she hit all the right notes. Jerome frowned, sitting up, as he watched her fingers work, she had memorised everything, she just hadn't been playing fluently...but this...this was good...he laughed in wonder and came to sit beside her, he was nodding eagerly
"Do you see?" he whispered, eyes bright with wonder "Do you understand?"
She could only nod, as the notes echoed through her head, and she experienced the glory of music, that came naturally to most everyone else.
Line Break
"I'm coming out of my cage, and I've been doing just fine!" Jerome cried into the microphone, the beautiful notes and the beats, as Mick attacked the drum kits with such grace. Mara was standing in the audience, in complete awe. Her first ever concert, and she didn't really understand the cover of the song they were doing, but she kept hearing the words "Mr Bright Side,"
And he was just so handsome, his hands caressing the guitar, as he jumped up and down, and his eyes were closed as he serenaded the microphone. She could only stand there in awe. The rest of the band was invisible to her
"Choking on your alibi!"
"I'm Mister Brightside!"
Everyone around her was singing, but Jerome's voice rang true over them all.
She was in love.
Line Break
"Good to meet you, finally," Fabian laughed, shaking Mara's hand, she blushed, nodding, smiling shyly. Eddie crushed her in a bear hug, Alfie was...something completely foreign to Mara and Mick was smirking at her.
"So you're the girl that's caused Jerome to miss half the band rehearsals." Mick drawled, Mara bit her bottom lip, and Mick looked her up and down. She hugged herself, slightly self consciously and wished she knew where Jeorme had wandered off to. "Not bad," he winked at her, and held out his arm "Come on," and she followed him. She had no idea where she was in this recording studio, but she walked by people she had seen on TV, but it didn't faze her at all. "Listen." He said quickly, and suddenly, she was pressing up against the wall, and Mick's arms were caging her in.
"What are you doing?" she said quietly, trying to duck out of his grip
"Listen to me," he pressed, Mara looked up at him, his arms were muscled, incredibly so, and she knew those hands had destroyed many a drum kit, though he was talented, Mick Campbell was scary. "You don't want Jerome," he shook his head "You want-"
"Yes Mick," Jerome called, clearing his voice, he was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, but Mara could have sworn he wasn't there before. "What does she want?"
Mick muttered something under his breath, but then smiled, and Mara was overwhelmed, he looked so friendly, and innocent, and impossibly kind. He dropped his arms from around Mara and stuck them shyly into his pocket "Hey mate, nothing...we were just taking, weren't we Mars?"
Mara swallowed, and she gave a small nod, Mick smiled, and walked down the corridor, but Jerome jutted out his arm. "Mick, Mick, Mick, Mick," he shook his head with a sigh, tutting "You were scaring her. You're scary," Mick said nothing, maintaining the innocent look "But I'm not afraid, and you better leave her alone."
Line Break
"People have posters of you...on their wall," Mara whispered. Jerome hummed, only half aware of her voice as he trailed a path of butterfly kisses down her neck, and then back up to her jaw. "Jerome...people...they, they ideolise you, they imagine themselves with you," she grimaced slightly "You should see some of the websites they have-"
"Jaffray," Jerome cut her off, his smile was dazed, and breathless "Are you going to keep talking about how famous and awesome I am, or are you going to kiss me?" Mara frowned, and his hands gripped his shoulders very tightly. He pressed his lips to hers, and she kissed him back for a few moments, those familiar flutters getting her stomach going, but she pulled away again
"It bothers me," she whispered, shaking her head "I know it shouldn't, but it does." Jerome looked at her
"So? So what they think about me? I know Mick thinks about you..." he growled slightly "In fact, I once had the pleasure of over hearing the things he would do to you," Mara shivered in disgust "And it bothers me too, but you're not gonna run off with him, are you?" she shook her head and he smiled
"So how can you possibly believe me to run away with a stranger?" and his lips were on hers again
Well, Mara couldn't argue with that.
Review?
EDDIE - guitar
JEROME - guitar + singer
MICK - drums
FABIAN - keyboard
ALFIE - ukulele
Jerome is a member of a band (a proper one where they don't just stand around and sing, they actually play they're own instruments and stuff), it doesn't matter which member of a band, you can choose that, like which instrument he plays. And this band is doing quite well, they're working they're way up, and Mara just really randomly meets Jerome and doesn't even know who he is because she's not really into music but then they get really close and Jerome teaches her to love music and it ends happily ever after.
Yay!