DreamOutLoud13
Blue Crack Addict
This chapter is a little bit longer than some of the previous ones I think, but I doubt anyone's gonna complain 
So in this chapter, Heather finally gets to see Adam in action and makes a bit of an impact on him in doing so. Also, I am such a tease for where I ended the chapter, but deal with it 
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Somehow the hours of the afternoon passed for Heather, and now she was slowly washing the few dishes she’d used for her small single-person’s dinner. As she washed, her eyes kept wandering to the kitchen clock, and her excitement grew as the hands ticked ever closer to the time when she would leave to make her short trip to the concert venue.
Jenny had never called her back, which probably meant she’d been too busy, or even if she wasn’t busy, that her boss was hovering too closely for her to talk. But Heather was anxious to speak to her just once more before she left, and so after drying her hands on a dishtowel, she went over to the phone and dialed the familiar phone number.
The phone rang twice, and then Jenny’s voice came right on cue. Haliburton and Associates.”
“I’m assuming you still can’t talk, right?”
“That’s correct, ma’am.”
“I won’t bother you long, then. I just wanted to let you know I’m leaving soon, but I’ll call you when I get back. Wish me luck.”
There was a pause on the other end, and Heather imagined Jenny was trying to figure out how to fit ‘good luck’ into what she was purporting as a business call. Ultimately, however, she failed to think up a way to fit it in, and said the next best thing instead, “I will, ma’am.”
“Thanks.” Heather said, and then paused as an excited, but thoroughly wicked grin spread across her face. “Although with the best of luck, I’ll be too busy tonight to want to make any phone calls.”
On the other end of the phone, Jenny made a slight choking sound as she stifled back laughter. “I hope that works out for you, ma’am.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get a full report in the morning at the very least. I’ll let you go now. Bye.” Heather waited for Jenny to give her a ‘professional’ good bye, and then hung up the phone. She let the wings of her excitement carry her all the way to her bedroom where she began getting ready to go out.
Getting ready didn’t take long, but still managed to kill off more of the slow-moving minutes. Her makeup was the last step. Heather leaned in toward the mirror and applied her eyeliner delicately. She was putting on more makeup than she usually did, but felt that as she was going to a rock show, she should at least try to look cool. The amount of creams and coloured powders she was applying to her face would never do in the corporate world.
Heather finished off with a coat of creamy pink lipstick and then paused as she puckered her newly-coloured lips at the mirror. The tube of lipstick was still in her hand, uncapped, she looked from the mirror to it, and then back again, before lifting it up to the mirror. Writing on a steamed up mirror with your finger was a bad enough habit, but writing on a clean one with lipstick had to be a horrible one. But Heather’s feelings for Adam made her feel young and adventurous, like a schoolgirl, and so she pressed the tip of the lipstick to the clean glass and began to write his name at the bottom corner of the mirror.
She’d gotten no farther than the first stroke of the ‘A’ when she caught herself and stopped. Despite her suggestive joking with Jenny, she had no idea what would happen between her and Adam tonight, nor even any real assurance of what she really wanted to happen. But there was a chance that Adam might end up in her apartment tonight, and if so, he’d probably find himself standing in front of this mirror (there was, after all, only one bathroom), and she imagined that it would be a bit bizarre for him if he popped in here, only to find his name jotted across the mirror in pink lipstick.
So instead, Heather turned the single diagonal stroke she’d made into a small pink heart, and then, almost as an afterthought, leaned in and kissed the surface of the glass right next to it, leaving behind a puckered lip-print. She knew that she was being silly, and that tomorrow she’d have to clean the entire mirror to get rid of the waxy residue and would regret ever having done it, but for now she was satisfied and pleased with the design she’d made.
Heather looked at the time again and decided she could finally leave. It was still a bit early, but being early was better than being late, and besides, you never knew what the subways in this city were going to do. Heather rarely took the subway, as most places she went to on a daily basis were well within walking distance (although when she got a new job, that might be changing) but she’d lived in the city long enough to know that the subway system, albeit cheap and convenient, was not the most reliable form of transportation.
Fortunately, the trip went without incident, and Heather arrived at the station only a little early, and no worse for wear. As Heather approached the venue on foot, she felt nearly overcome with anticipation. It wasn’t just the excitement of attending a rock show, it was that this was Adam’s show. She would be excited enough just to see him, but to see him on stage performing was going to be amazing, she just knew it.
Although she had arrived a bit early, Heather saw that she wasn’t the only one, there were already several people milling about outside, many of whom looked to be a bit younger than Heather, and dressed much, much cooler. But feeling out of place never crossed Heather’s mind. She was here by personal invitation of a member of the band, and how many of these young folks would be jealous if they knew? Smiling to herself, Heather approached the box office to get her ticket.
Once inside, Heather found that her seat was just two rows back from the front, and four chairs over from the right side. There were already several people filling the seats around her and chattering about the band. Heather could tell by everything they were saying that these people were real fans of the band. She herself knew very little about them. She’d listened to the albums, and had been told some things by Adam, but that was all. This, however, seemed like the perfect learning experience, and so Heather sat back quietly in her seat and listened until the show began.
The show turned out to be more amazing than Heather believed anything could have been capable of being. As the minutes ticked down until the time when U2 would take the stage, the excitement among every body filling the room grew and grew in intensity, and then right on cue, the lights went down, and the band came on stage. The crowd was already on its feet, but as soon as the band entered, they surged forward like a wave, Heather, caught in the current, went right with them.
As the band got into their positions on stage, Heather saw that Adam was almost right in front of her. Seeing him again made Heather’s heart pound and her breath stop. But then the music started and Heather’s eyes were pulled away. Bono had rushed forward to the very edge of the stage and was leaning out right over those lucky few close enough to reach out and grab him by the boots. His singing was so passionate, and everything he did was absolutely captivating. It was incredible.
Heather was momentarily distracted by a group of very pretty girls that had edged their way in front of her. They hadn’t been there before, she was sure of that. Now Bono moved a step closer to that end of the stage, and all of the girls squealed and shouted his name, but Bono seemed to be too involved in his singing to pay them any attention. Heather looked up at Adam, but he was looking farther out into the crowd behind her. She had no idea if he’d spotted her yet.
“ADAM!” She shouted, jumping up and down.
Adam’s head jerked down toward her immediately, and as soon as his eyes had locked onto hers, a smile spread clear across his face. But something else happened too, something about the music changed. It only took her a moment to realize what had happened. Adam had been so pleased to see her that he’d completely stopped playing. Heather quickly looked at the other members of the band. Larry was staring at Adam in horror, Edge was looking at him more bemused than surprised, Bono, however was completely oblivious. Heather’s eyes got back to Adam just in time to see him realize what he’d done, or rather, what he wasn’t doing. Turning red in embarrassment, he turned his back on her and took several steps back toward Larry, who was still looking at him in incredulity.
Heather could feel heat in her own cheeks and knew that she must be blushing a little herself. She hadn’t expected that calling out to Adam would have had that effect, and she was sure she’d probably gotten him into hot water with Larry, but she was thrilled all the same. She didn’t think she could stop smiling if she tried. Her heart once again pounding because of Adam, Heather glanced around her and realized the girls in front of her that had been shouting at Bono were all staring at her, shock, awe, and jealously etched across their faces. Heather brought both hands up over her mouth in embarrassment, but behind them, her smile only grew wider.
The euphoria of that moment carried her through almost all of the rest of the show. Sometime toward the end of the show, the crowd began to dissipate a bit, and as it did, Heather noticed a gentleman several years older than herself standing off in the aisle, wearing a suit. His age and attire made him stand out enough, but more than that, he seemed to be staring at her. Heather averted her eyes and tried to focus on the band again, but she couldn’t seem to shake that feeling of being watched. She chanced another glance at the strange man, and was relieved to see that he was now staring at the band, not her.
Soon the show reached its conclusion and Heather was left completely awestruck. She couldn’t believe it was already over, and she didn’t want to leave yet, but the crowd around her were already shuffling toward the aisles, and once again Heather was carried along with them. She wanted to see Adam again, and soon, but wasn’t sure how to go about that. She didn’t know if he expected her to meet him there or what. They’d both been a bit too distracted with each other last night to discuss it.
Heather was just stepping out into the aisle and trying to decide what to do when she felt a hand grab her by the arm. In this city, a girl learned fast how to react to such a thing, and on instinct Heather wrenched her arm free and spun around, taking two steps away from her assailant. She bumped into people, but that hardly mattered now. She saw that the man who’d been watching her before was the one that had grabbed her. Now he stood with both hands held up in front of him in an apologetic manner.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m Paul McGuinness, the band’s manager. You’re Heather?”
“Oh!” Heather said, happy to find out that he was the band’s manager, and not some creep. “I mean, yes, I’m Heather.”
“Adam sent me to collect you.”
Heather was unable to suppress the joyful grin that formed. It was so wide that she felt like her face would break from it. “Oh good! I wanted to see him.”
Paul chuckled. “Well come along, then.”
Sometimes Adam thought that concerts were like drugs. They made you high and it was a great feeling, but too often the high endured after you left the stage, and it became very uncomfortable. Adam was in that state now, too high to come down, despite being sprawled tired and sweaty in an armchair. He was also anxious to see Heather, and worried about how Bono and Larry would react to her, which wasn’t making him feel any better.
As Adam was once again wiping his face and neck with a towel, one of the double doors to the small room swung open and Adam quickly dropped the towel into his lap and slipped his glasses back on. When he had, he saw Paul shutting the door behind him before looking over at Adam and smiling. “She’s waiting outside, Adam.”
Before Adam could open his mouth to thank Paul, Bono spoke up. “Who? Who’s waiting outside?”
Edge sighed tiredly. “Bono...” he began, but Adam cut him off and cut to the chase.
“There’s no Roger E., Bono.”
“Actually, there is a Roger E., but he was never expected at tonight’s show.” Edge added.
“I wasn’t talking to Paul about Roger E. today at lunch, I was talking to him about Heather, the girl I met yesterday. I invited her to the show, and I was making the arrangements with him.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Bono asked, pouting.
“Because I didn’t want you to embarrass her!” Adam was raising his voice, all the while wishing he wasn’t, wishing he could just calm down, but it wasn’t that easy. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and shook his head. “I’m sorry, it just seemed easier this way.”
“Well you could’ve told me.” Larry said, joining the argument for the first time, but with humour in his voice. It was an obvious, and much needed attempt to lighten the mood.
Adam clapped Larry on the shoulder appreciatively and glanced around. Bono was standing near the door with his arms crossed, still looking put off. He opened his mouth to say more to Bono, to try and clear the air a bit, but they were interrupted by a noisy banging on the door.
Paul had led Heather through a winding corridor until they reached a pair of double doors with several people loitering around it. Paul instructed her to wait and then disappeared through one of the doors. Heather leaned against the wall and did so. There were seven others waiting here, most of whom seemed completely comfortable with the situation, as though they hung out with rock bands every night.
Of the others in the hall, two young men stood out. They were both dressed eccentrically and wearing eyeliner. One had dark hair, and the other blonde, but both men wore their hair wildly. They stood about 5 feet away from Heather, laughing and talking loudly with Irish accents. Heather observed them for a bit and thought about joining in on the conversation (which had become very interesting, indeed), but instead looked at the door again and wondered how much longer she’d have to wait to see Adam.
She wasn’t the only one wondering when that door would open. The two young men she’d been listening to went over to the door, and the larger dark-haired one began banging on it with the side of his fist. “Hey! Let us in already! We’re your mates!”
Everyone else in the hall were laughing and cheering, Heather included, when Bono jerked the door open, glaring. His two mates standing closest to the door appeared not to notice, or perhaps thought his anger to be put-on, as they immediately rushed forward and lifted him up bodily. Perhaps his anger really was feigned, as he immediately began laughing.
“Gavin! Guggi! Put me down!” He said in a mildly scolding tone, but they did no such thing. Instead they carried him clear across the room, before dumping him unceremoniously onto a sofa.
Around Heather, everyone else was streaming into the room. She hung back in anticipation, and was the last to step over the threshold. As she did, she saw Adam standing near the door, waiting for her. At the sight of him, Heather forgot about everything else, and rushed forward into his waiting arms. Their mouths met and she kissed him unashamedly, as she had on the streetcorner the night before. When their lips finally broke apart, she lay her head contentedly on his shoulder and closed her eyes. If she’d never felt true bliss before, she was certainly feeling it now. Until a voice tore her away from it, anyway.
“Well look at that, it’s Adam’s girlfriend!”
Heather whipped around and glared at Bono. “Look at that, it’s The Edge’s boyfriend!”
Bono’s jaw dropped open, and the room around them broke into laughter and amused sounds of goading. Heather glanced around and caught Edge’s eye. “No offense, Edge.”
He smiled and moved forward to shake her hand. “None taken. Pleased to meet you. You seem to have made quite an impact on Adam.” He glanced behind him to where Bono was frowning. “And on our singer, here.”
Heather made a worried face. “I hope I didn’t upset him.”
The man with the wild dark hair stepped up and put an arm around her. “Ah, Bono’ll be okay. He’s just used to being the center of attention, but right now everyone’s looking at you. You’re much prettier than he is, anyway. I’m Gavin, Bono’s best mate.”
“I’ll thank you to get your hands off of my girl, Gavin.” Adam said from behind Heather, as he lifted Gavin’s arm off of her and pulled her back to him.
Heather looked up at Adam, smiling. “‘My girl’? I like the sound of that.”
Guggi came up to introduce himself next. “Gavin only wishes he were Bono’s best mate. I’m pretty sure I hold that title. I’m Guggi.”
“Pleased to meet you, Guggi.” She said, shaking his hand. He had an odd name, but she barely thought about it. After all, it wasn’t any stranger than ‘The Edge’. Heather suddenly realized she hadn’t introduced herself. “I’m Heather, by the way.”
Larry came up to her, arms crossed. “I take it that you’re the reason Adam completely stopped playing for two bars during our second song.”
Heather covered her face with her hands. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know that would happen.”
“It wasn’t two bars!” Adam said indignantly, and laughter broke out again.
By this time Bono had recovered from his encounter with Heather and stepped forward to pat Adam on the back. “You’ve got yourself a real firecracker there, Adam.”
Further introductions were made, and everyone retired to the generously cushioned furnishings. Heather was tucked tightly into Adam’s arms and found herself surprisingly comfortable hanging out with all of these strangers. The conversation flowed easily from one topic to the next and Heather never hesitated to share her opinion.
Heather was slightly amazed with herself, two days ago she never would’ve expected to be in a situation like this, not only hanging out backstage with a rock band, but curled intimately into the arms of one of their number. Until yesterday, Heather had never even heard of U2, but it was clear that they already had a following and were going places.
Going places. As soon as the words surfaced in her mind, Heather felt a sinking feeling in her chest, as though a lead weight had been inserted into her heart. They were going places alright. They would be leaving in just a few days. Adam would be leaving.
She must have stiffened up, because the next thing she knew, Adam was rubbing her upper arm gently and whispering in her ear. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head slightly.
“What’s wrong?”
“I..” She paused. “Can we go outside and talk?”
“Okay.” He said, concern clear in his voice. They stood and Adam excused them, then led her by the arm out into the hall, which was now empty. Heather leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and sighed.
“I’m sorry. I’m ruining your evening. I’m ruining my evening.”
Adam put a hand warmly on her shoulder. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
She gave a wan smile. “I really, really like you, Adam.”
He cracked a smile. “There’s nothing wrong with that. I really like you too.”
She shook her head slightly. “I had a great time at the concert. Everyone out there did. People like your music, and you’re all very professional about it. And I was just thinking about that. You’re going places, and that’s the problem. Not for you, for me. For you it’s wonderful, who doesn’t want to be a rock star? But to me, I just think ‘My god, he’s leaving in a few days, and when will I ever see him again?’”
Adam sighed slowly and turned to lean against the wall beside her.
“I’m being melodramatic, I’m sorry.”
“No, I understand, believe me, it’s done more than cross my mind. I’ve just been trying my hardest not to think about it.”
Heather looked over sideways at him. “It’s a fine mess we’ve gotten ourselves into, eh? The first guy I’ve really, really liked in who knows how long, and you have to turn right around and leave. I can’t even wish that you could stay, because that would be selfish of me, and I don’t wish that we’d never even gotten involved, because I’ve had such an amazing time with you already. But dammit, why couldn’t you just be an ordinary guy? This would be so much simpler.”
Adam stepped back around so that he stood in front of her. “We’ll work it out.” He punctuated the statement by giving her a brief, but warm kiss.
Heather slipped easily into his arms and leaned her head on his shoulder. She felt better, but didn’t want to return to the cheery conversation of the inner room. She didn’t want to let go of Adam yet, either. “I want to go home.” She said softly.
Adam took a step back from her and looked down the hall for a moment before turning back to her. “Okay, I can get you a taxi.”
“Okay.” He said, pulling away from her a bit and looking down the hall. “I can get you a taxi.”
Heather looked up into his eyes. “I want you to come with me.”
He looked at her, long and hard, and she knew he was thinking about all the implications of that statement, all the possibilities, and all the possible consequences. Then he turned away and glanced at the door behind which his bandmates were still socializing with their friends. Finally he looked back at her. “Alright.”
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I, quite evilly, leave it there.
Also, I want to note that I'd never written Gavin and Guggi before, but I found it rather fun
So in this chapter, Heather finally gets to see Adam in action and makes a bit of an impact on him in doing so. Also, I am such a tease for where I ended the chapter, but deal with it ---------
Somehow the hours of the afternoon passed for Heather, and now she was slowly washing the few dishes she’d used for her small single-person’s dinner. As she washed, her eyes kept wandering to the kitchen clock, and her excitement grew as the hands ticked ever closer to the time when she would leave to make her short trip to the concert venue.
Jenny had never called her back, which probably meant she’d been too busy, or even if she wasn’t busy, that her boss was hovering too closely for her to talk. But Heather was anxious to speak to her just once more before she left, and so after drying her hands on a dishtowel, she went over to the phone and dialed the familiar phone number.
The phone rang twice, and then Jenny’s voice came right on cue. Haliburton and Associates.”
“I’m assuming you still can’t talk, right?”
“That’s correct, ma’am.”
“I won’t bother you long, then. I just wanted to let you know I’m leaving soon, but I’ll call you when I get back. Wish me luck.”
There was a pause on the other end, and Heather imagined Jenny was trying to figure out how to fit ‘good luck’ into what she was purporting as a business call. Ultimately, however, she failed to think up a way to fit it in, and said the next best thing instead, “I will, ma’am.”
“Thanks.” Heather said, and then paused as an excited, but thoroughly wicked grin spread across her face. “Although with the best of luck, I’ll be too busy tonight to want to make any phone calls.”
On the other end of the phone, Jenny made a slight choking sound as she stifled back laughter. “I hope that works out for you, ma’am.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get a full report in the morning at the very least. I’ll let you go now. Bye.” Heather waited for Jenny to give her a ‘professional’ good bye, and then hung up the phone. She let the wings of her excitement carry her all the way to her bedroom where she began getting ready to go out.
Getting ready didn’t take long, but still managed to kill off more of the slow-moving minutes. Her makeup was the last step. Heather leaned in toward the mirror and applied her eyeliner delicately. She was putting on more makeup than she usually did, but felt that as she was going to a rock show, she should at least try to look cool. The amount of creams and coloured powders she was applying to her face would never do in the corporate world.
Heather finished off with a coat of creamy pink lipstick and then paused as she puckered her newly-coloured lips at the mirror. The tube of lipstick was still in her hand, uncapped, she looked from the mirror to it, and then back again, before lifting it up to the mirror. Writing on a steamed up mirror with your finger was a bad enough habit, but writing on a clean one with lipstick had to be a horrible one. But Heather’s feelings for Adam made her feel young and adventurous, like a schoolgirl, and so she pressed the tip of the lipstick to the clean glass and began to write his name at the bottom corner of the mirror.
She’d gotten no farther than the first stroke of the ‘A’ when she caught herself and stopped. Despite her suggestive joking with Jenny, she had no idea what would happen between her and Adam tonight, nor even any real assurance of what she really wanted to happen. But there was a chance that Adam might end up in her apartment tonight, and if so, he’d probably find himself standing in front of this mirror (there was, after all, only one bathroom), and she imagined that it would be a bit bizarre for him if he popped in here, only to find his name jotted across the mirror in pink lipstick.
So instead, Heather turned the single diagonal stroke she’d made into a small pink heart, and then, almost as an afterthought, leaned in and kissed the surface of the glass right next to it, leaving behind a puckered lip-print. She knew that she was being silly, and that tomorrow she’d have to clean the entire mirror to get rid of the waxy residue and would regret ever having done it, but for now she was satisfied and pleased with the design she’d made.
Heather looked at the time again and decided she could finally leave. It was still a bit early, but being early was better than being late, and besides, you never knew what the subways in this city were going to do. Heather rarely took the subway, as most places she went to on a daily basis were well within walking distance (although when she got a new job, that might be changing) but she’d lived in the city long enough to know that the subway system, albeit cheap and convenient, was not the most reliable form of transportation.
Fortunately, the trip went without incident, and Heather arrived at the station only a little early, and no worse for wear. As Heather approached the venue on foot, she felt nearly overcome with anticipation. It wasn’t just the excitement of attending a rock show, it was that this was Adam’s show. She would be excited enough just to see him, but to see him on stage performing was going to be amazing, she just knew it.
Although she had arrived a bit early, Heather saw that she wasn’t the only one, there were already several people milling about outside, many of whom looked to be a bit younger than Heather, and dressed much, much cooler. But feeling out of place never crossed Heather’s mind. She was here by personal invitation of a member of the band, and how many of these young folks would be jealous if they knew? Smiling to herself, Heather approached the box office to get her ticket.
Once inside, Heather found that her seat was just two rows back from the front, and four chairs over from the right side. There were already several people filling the seats around her and chattering about the band. Heather could tell by everything they were saying that these people were real fans of the band. She herself knew very little about them. She’d listened to the albums, and had been told some things by Adam, but that was all. This, however, seemed like the perfect learning experience, and so Heather sat back quietly in her seat and listened until the show began.
The show turned out to be more amazing than Heather believed anything could have been capable of being. As the minutes ticked down until the time when U2 would take the stage, the excitement among every body filling the room grew and grew in intensity, and then right on cue, the lights went down, and the band came on stage. The crowd was already on its feet, but as soon as the band entered, they surged forward like a wave, Heather, caught in the current, went right with them.
As the band got into their positions on stage, Heather saw that Adam was almost right in front of her. Seeing him again made Heather’s heart pound and her breath stop. But then the music started and Heather’s eyes were pulled away. Bono had rushed forward to the very edge of the stage and was leaning out right over those lucky few close enough to reach out and grab him by the boots. His singing was so passionate, and everything he did was absolutely captivating. It was incredible.
Heather was momentarily distracted by a group of very pretty girls that had edged their way in front of her. They hadn’t been there before, she was sure of that. Now Bono moved a step closer to that end of the stage, and all of the girls squealed and shouted his name, but Bono seemed to be too involved in his singing to pay them any attention. Heather looked up at Adam, but he was looking farther out into the crowd behind her. She had no idea if he’d spotted her yet.
“ADAM!” She shouted, jumping up and down.
Adam’s head jerked down toward her immediately, and as soon as his eyes had locked onto hers, a smile spread clear across his face. But something else happened too, something about the music changed. It only took her a moment to realize what had happened. Adam had been so pleased to see her that he’d completely stopped playing. Heather quickly looked at the other members of the band. Larry was staring at Adam in horror, Edge was looking at him more bemused than surprised, Bono, however was completely oblivious. Heather’s eyes got back to Adam just in time to see him realize what he’d done, or rather, what he wasn’t doing. Turning red in embarrassment, he turned his back on her and took several steps back toward Larry, who was still looking at him in incredulity.
Heather could feel heat in her own cheeks and knew that she must be blushing a little herself. She hadn’t expected that calling out to Adam would have had that effect, and she was sure she’d probably gotten him into hot water with Larry, but she was thrilled all the same. She didn’t think she could stop smiling if she tried. Her heart once again pounding because of Adam, Heather glanced around her and realized the girls in front of her that had been shouting at Bono were all staring at her, shock, awe, and jealously etched across their faces. Heather brought both hands up over her mouth in embarrassment, but behind them, her smile only grew wider.
The euphoria of that moment carried her through almost all of the rest of the show. Sometime toward the end of the show, the crowd began to dissipate a bit, and as it did, Heather noticed a gentleman several years older than herself standing off in the aisle, wearing a suit. His age and attire made him stand out enough, but more than that, he seemed to be staring at her. Heather averted her eyes and tried to focus on the band again, but she couldn’t seem to shake that feeling of being watched. She chanced another glance at the strange man, and was relieved to see that he was now staring at the band, not her.
Soon the show reached its conclusion and Heather was left completely awestruck. She couldn’t believe it was already over, and she didn’t want to leave yet, but the crowd around her were already shuffling toward the aisles, and once again Heather was carried along with them. She wanted to see Adam again, and soon, but wasn’t sure how to go about that. She didn’t know if he expected her to meet him there or what. They’d both been a bit too distracted with each other last night to discuss it.
Heather was just stepping out into the aisle and trying to decide what to do when she felt a hand grab her by the arm. In this city, a girl learned fast how to react to such a thing, and on instinct Heather wrenched her arm free and spun around, taking two steps away from her assailant. She bumped into people, but that hardly mattered now. She saw that the man who’d been watching her before was the one that had grabbed her. Now he stood with both hands held up in front of him in an apologetic manner.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m Paul McGuinness, the band’s manager. You’re Heather?”
“Oh!” Heather said, happy to find out that he was the band’s manager, and not some creep. “I mean, yes, I’m Heather.”
“Adam sent me to collect you.”
Heather was unable to suppress the joyful grin that formed. It was so wide that she felt like her face would break from it. “Oh good! I wanted to see him.”
Paul chuckled. “Well come along, then.”
Sometimes Adam thought that concerts were like drugs. They made you high and it was a great feeling, but too often the high endured after you left the stage, and it became very uncomfortable. Adam was in that state now, too high to come down, despite being sprawled tired and sweaty in an armchair. He was also anxious to see Heather, and worried about how Bono and Larry would react to her, which wasn’t making him feel any better.
As Adam was once again wiping his face and neck with a towel, one of the double doors to the small room swung open and Adam quickly dropped the towel into his lap and slipped his glasses back on. When he had, he saw Paul shutting the door behind him before looking over at Adam and smiling. “She’s waiting outside, Adam.”
Before Adam could open his mouth to thank Paul, Bono spoke up. “Who? Who’s waiting outside?”
Edge sighed tiredly. “Bono...” he began, but Adam cut him off and cut to the chase.
“There’s no Roger E., Bono.”
“Actually, there is a Roger E., but he was never expected at tonight’s show.” Edge added.
“I wasn’t talking to Paul about Roger E. today at lunch, I was talking to him about Heather, the girl I met yesterday. I invited her to the show, and I was making the arrangements with him.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Bono asked, pouting.
“Because I didn’t want you to embarrass her!” Adam was raising his voice, all the while wishing he wasn’t, wishing he could just calm down, but it wasn’t that easy. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and shook his head. “I’m sorry, it just seemed easier this way.”
“Well you could’ve told me.” Larry said, joining the argument for the first time, but with humour in his voice. It was an obvious, and much needed attempt to lighten the mood.
Adam clapped Larry on the shoulder appreciatively and glanced around. Bono was standing near the door with his arms crossed, still looking put off. He opened his mouth to say more to Bono, to try and clear the air a bit, but they were interrupted by a noisy banging on the door.
Paul had led Heather through a winding corridor until they reached a pair of double doors with several people loitering around it. Paul instructed her to wait and then disappeared through one of the doors. Heather leaned against the wall and did so. There were seven others waiting here, most of whom seemed completely comfortable with the situation, as though they hung out with rock bands every night.
Of the others in the hall, two young men stood out. They were both dressed eccentrically and wearing eyeliner. One had dark hair, and the other blonde, but both men wore their hair wildly. They stood about 5 feet away from Heather, laughing and talking loudly with Irish accents. Heather observed them for a bit and thought about joining in on the conversation (which had become very interesting, indeed), but instead looked at the door again and wondered how much longer she’d have to wait to see Adam.
She wasn’t the only one wondering when that door would open. The two young men she’d been listening to went over to the door, and the larger dark-haired one began banging on it with the side of his fist. “Hey! Let us in already! We’re your mates!”
Everyone else in the hall were laughing and cheering, Heather included, when Bono jerked the door open, glaring. His two mates standing closest to the door appeared not to notice, or perhaps thought his anger to be put-on, as they immediately rushed forward and lifted him up bodily. Perhaps his anger really was feigned, as he immediately began laughing.
“Gavin! Guggi! Put me down!” He said in a mildly scolding tone, but they did no such thing. Instead they carried him clear across the room, before dumping him unceremoniously onto a sofa.
Around Heather, everyone else was streaming into the room. She hung back in anticipation, and was the last to step over the threshold. As she did, she saw Adam standing near the door, waiting for her. At the sight of him, Heather forgot about everything else, and rushed forward into his waiting arms. Their mouths met and she kissed him unashamedly, as she had on the streetcorner the night before. When their lips finally broke apart, she lay her head contentedly on his shoulder and closed her eyes. If she’d never felt true bliss before, she was certainly feeling it now. Until a voice tore her away from it, anyway.
“Well look at that, it’s Adam’s girlfriend!”
Heather whipped around and glared at Bono. “Look at that, it’s The Edge’s boyfriend!”
Bono’s jaw dropped open, and the room around them broke into laughter and amused sounds of goading. Heather glanced around and caught Edge’s eye. “No offense, Edge.”
He smiled and moved forward to shake her hand. “None taken. Pleased to meet you. You seem to have made quite an impact on Adam.” He glanced behind him to where Bono was frowning. “And on our singer, here.”
Heather made a worried face. “I hope I didn’t upset him.”
The man with the wild dark hair stepped up and put an arm around her. “Ah, Bono’ll be okay. He’s just used to being the center of attention, but right now everyone’s looking at you. You’re much prettier than he is, anyway. I’m Gavin, Bono’s best mate.”
“I’ll thank you to get your hands off of my girl, Gavin.” Adam said from behind Heather, as he lifted Gavin’s arm off of her and pulled her back to him.
Heather looked up at Adam, smiling. “‘My girl’? I like the sound of that.”
Guggi came up to introduce himself next. “Gavin only wishes he were Bono’s best mate. I’m pretty sure I hold that title. I’m Guggi.”
“Pleased to meet you, Guggi.” She said, shaking his hand. He had an odd name, but she barely thought about it. After all, it wasn’t any stranger than ‘The Edge’. Heather suddenly realized she hadn’t introduced herself. “I’m Heather, by the way.”
Larry came up to her, arms crossed. “I take it that you’re the reason Adam completely stopped playing for two bars during our second song.”
Heather covered her face with her hands. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know that would happen.”
“It wasn’t two bars!” Adam said indignantly, and laughter broke out again.
By this time Bono had recovered from his encounter with Heather and stepped forward to pat Adam on the back. “You’ve got yourself a real firecracker there, Adam.”
Further introductions were made, and everyone retired to the generously cushioned furnishings. Heather was tucked tightly into Adam’s arms and found herself surprisingly comfortable hanging out with all of these strangers. The conversation flowed easily from one topic to the next and Heather never hesitated to share her opinion.
Heather was slightly amazed with herself, two days ago she never would’ve expected to be in a situation like this, not only hanging out backstage with a rock band, but curled intimately into the arms of one of their number. Until yesterday, Heather had never even heard of U2, but it was clear that they already had a following and were going places.
Going places. As soon as the words surfaced in her mind, Heather felt a sinking feeling in her chest, as though a lead weight had been inserted into her heart. They were going places alright. They would be leaving in just a few days. Adam would be leaving.
She must have stiffened up, because the next thing she knew, Adam was rubbing her upper arm gently and whispering in her ear. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head slightly.
“What’s wrong?”
“I..” She paused. “Can we go outside and talk?”
“Okay.” He said, concern clear in his voice. They stood and Adam excused them, then led her by the arm out into the hall, which was now empty. Heather leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and sighed.
“I’m sorry. I’m ruining your evening. I’m ruining my evening.”
Adam put a hand warmly on her shoulder. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
She gave a wan smile. “I really, really like you, Adam.”
He cracked a smile. “There’s nothing wrong with that. I really like you too.”
She shook her head slightly. “I had a great time at the concert. Everyone out there did. People like your music, and you’re all very professional about it. And I was just thinking about that. You’re going places, and that’s the problem. Not for you, for me. For you it’s wonderful, who doesn’t want to be a rock star? But to me, I just think ‘My god, he’s leaving in a few days, and when will I ever see him again?’”
Adam sighed slowly and turned to lean against the wall beside her.
“I’m being melodramatic, I’m sorry.”
“No, I understand, believe me, it’s done more than cross my mind. I’ve just been trying my hardest not to think about it.”
Heather looked over sideways at him. “It’s a fine mess we’ve gotten ourselves into, eh? The first guy I’ve really, really liked in who knows how long, and you have to turn right around and leave. I can’t even wish that you could stay, because that would be selfish of me, and I don’t wish that we’d never even gotten involved, because I’ve had such an amazing time with you already. But dammit, why couldn’t you just be an ordinary guy? This would be so much simpler.”
Adam stepped back around so that he stood in front of her. “We’ll work it out.” He punctuated the statement by giving her a brief, but warm kiss.
Heather slipped easily into his arms and leaned her head on his shoulder. She felt better, but didn’t want to return to the cheery conversation of the inner room. She didn’t want to let go of Adam yet, either. “I want to go home.” She said softly.
Adam took a step back from her and looked down the hall for a moment before turning back to her. “Okay, I can get you a taxi.”
“Okay.” He said, pulling away from her a bit and looking down the hall. “I can get you a taxi.”
Heather looked up into his eyes. “I want you to come with me.”
He looked at her, long and hard, and she knew he was thinking about all the implications of that statement, all the possibilities, and all the possible consequences. Then he turned away and glanced at the door behind which his bandmates were still socializing with their friends. Finally he looked back at her. “Alright.”
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I, quite evilly, leave it there.Also, I want to note that I'd never written Gavin and Guggi before, but I found it rather fun
nice chapter... but yea, abrubt ending! 
i need more. 
As well as my little jabs at Bono 
