DreamOutLoud13
Blue Crack Addict
What a week I've had! I was sick last Tuesday, which was Across the Universe day, so that sucked, but luckily I felt better enough that evening to go get the DVD... and then proceeded to watch it in the middle of a tornado 
And speaking of weather, today it's sleeting and my world is becoming covered in ice.
I meant to post this chapter a few days ago, but I kept putting it off, in favour of curling up under a blanket with my nose in a book. There are few better ways to spend a winter's day.
Anyway, let's get on with it:
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Jenny too had been confused by the sudden departure, but Heather explained it to her a little more honestly. They too continued on with their afternoon, but minus the press-on nails. They kept busy and focused on superficial things, never bringing things like relationships and unemployment into the conversation. Time went by, they had dinner, and then as the day wound closer to the hour of the concert, they took a train to the venue.
They’d arrived earlier than Heather had the night before. When they got inside, there were very few people already there. The seats they’d gotten were in roughly the same place as the night before. Heather and Jenny sat down to wait, continuing their conversation as the room slowly filled up and the excitement built.
During a lull in their conversation, Heather began people-watching. She was glad she had, because she quickly saw a pair of faces she recognized. Bono’s friends were walking together about twenty feet away. The blonde one was called Guggi, but she couldn’t remember the other one’s name.
Without thinking, Heather stood up and shouted. “Guggi!”
Both heads turned. Heather waved goofily. They both recognized her and began walking over.
Jenny stood up and looked at Heather incredulously. “Guggi?” She looked over at the two eccentric young men coming their way. “Who are they?”
“Friends of Bono’s. I met them last night. The blonde one is Guggi, obviously not his real name. I can’t remember the other one’s name.”
“Hello ladies.” The dark-haired one said smoothly.
“Pleased to meet you again, Heather.” Said Guggi.
“Likewise. This is my friend, Jenny. I brought her to see the band.”
“Hello Jenny, I’m Gavin Friday, and this is the illustrious Guggi, although I imagine you’ve gathered that already.”
“I have.” Jenny said, smiling while still looking somewhat bewildered. She reached out to shake their hands. “Nice to meet you both.”
“And how are you this evening, Gavin?” Heather said, rolling his name around on her tongue in an effort to attach it to memory. Guggi’s name was quite a bit more memorable.
“A bit mournful actually. We’ll be leaving your wonderful city tomorrow.”
“But the band aren’t leaving until Monday!” Heather said, confused and suddenly worried that Adam would be leaving a day sooner than she thought.
“Oh, we’re not going with them!” Guggi said, laughing. “We’re going back to Ireland to cut our record.”
“Yes, we were only here for a brief visit, drumming up publicity, you know.”
“Oh, you’re in a band too?” Jenny asked.
“Yes, The Virgin Prunes. We’re a bit more eye-catching than U2, as you can see.”
“Yes, we can see that.” Said Heather, laughing.
“Well,” Guggi said, glancing around at the growing crowd. “We’ll see you after the show.”
“Alright.” Heather said, sitting back down.
“Be sure to check us out!” Gavin called back as they moved away.
“We will!” Heather assured him.
“Wow.” Jenny said softly, leaning back in her chair.
“What?”
“Bono’s so nice and normal looking, I mean, aside from the random blonde in his hair. I wouldn’t have pictured him having friends like that.”
“They’re great guys, Jenny. You’ll see that tonight.”
Heather and Jenny managed to fall into relaxed conversation again, that is until the excitement of the impending show made it impossible to concentrate on anything else. Just as the night before, the lights dimmed, the band came on, and the crowd threw themselves toward the stage. Heather and Jenny were right along with them, as enthusiastic for the show as everyone else.
The performance was just as good as last night, if not better. Heather found herself feeling quite proud of herself when she glanced over at Jenny during the show and saw the look of amazement on her face. It was only then that she realized that despite having shared her cotton candy with the band earlier that afternoon, she’d never actually heard any of their music. She was hearing everything for the first time, live. Heather wondered if perhaps that made it better. She thought maybe it did. They were great on vinyl, but in person it was something else altogether. It was magic.
Afterward, Heather led Jenny into the corridor she’d followed Paul down the night before. The walls were rather unremarkable, with nothing to make any twist or turn different from the rest, and so Heather worried that without Paul to lead her she wouldn’t be able to find the reception room where the band were. But fortunately, she was spared. As they turned another corner, Heather spotted Gavin and Guggi walking several feet ahead of them. They were surely going to see the band, and so Heather followed their lead.
Once more Heather found herself in the corridor among a slightly ragamuffin crowd. There were faces she recognized from last night, and new ones. There were those younger than she was, and those several years older. Male and female, there were those dressed in the typical fashion, and those, such as Gavin and Guggi, who were dressed more extremely. But they all had one thing in common: U2.
The wait for the foreboding double doors to open was shorter than it had been the previous night, and when they did, it was Adam who opened them. Heather moved forward quickly, straight into his waiting arms. Jenny was right behind her, greeting the rest of the band. Introductions were made all around and everyone settled onto the sofas and chairs.
Conversation started with the show, then moved onto the tour in general. Heather was once more tucked into Adam’s arms on one sofa, while Jenny was sitting comfortably next to Bono on the other. As the conversation swirled around them, Heather glanced at Adam.
“I got scared a bit earlier.”
“About what?”
“I talked to Gavin and Guggi before the show, they mentioned they were leaving tomorrow, and I got scared for a second that you were leaving tomorrow too.”
Adam gave her a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry, you’ve still got me until Monday. I’m not leaving you until I absolutely have to.”
Heather smiled and pulled her cigarettes out of her purse. She’d no sooner gotten one into her mouth and begun rummaging through her purse for her new lighter when Adam reached into his pocket for his own. “Let me.” He said, flicking the lighter on for her.
Heather lit her cigarette and took the first drag before smiling at him in thanks. “This is how we met.”
“And people say cigarettes are a bad thing. Clearly they never met a beautiful girl while smoking one.”
Heather blushed and turned her head back to look at the others. Bono, Edge, and Larry were discussing the next show of the tour, in a city a few hours away, on Tuesday. Jenny, who had been following the conversation quietly, leaned forward then.
“Why don’t you have a show tomorrow night?”
Jenny’s question had been meant completely casually, but Heather saw Bono and Edge exchange a glance. However, it was Larry who spoke first.
“Tomorrow’s Sunday.”
“We have a uh, meeting.” Edge added.
“Oh.” Jenny said, clearly a bit confused, but she left it at that.
Heather on the other hand, was crestfallen. She’d imagined she and Adam would spend the day together tomorrow, but if the band had a meeting, then that would interfere. She turned to him once again. “I didn’t realize you guys had a meeting tomorrow. Will I still be able to see you?”
A strange look briefly crossed Adam’s face. It was a mixture of introspection and mild amusement. But then he broke into a full-on smile. “Don’t worry, the meeting’s not for me. You’ll have me tomorrow.”
“I’ll ‘have you’ tomorrow?” Heather asked, on the verge of laughter.
Adam held back laughter by taking a drag of his own cigarette. He exhaled slowly before replying. “That, my dear, is entirely up to you.”
“We’ll wait and see.” Heather said, turning her attention back to the room at large. After a little while, Bono produced an acoustic guitar and began strumming on it.
“I think I’ll just sit here and write a little song.” He said and fell into a clumsy, repetitive riff. “Help me out here, Larry.”
Larry slid off of his chair and onto the floor, where he used his hands to begin drumming a simple beat on the coffee table.
“Alright then!” Bono said, and began singing an incredibly silly song off the top of his head, much to the amusement of all those around him. “Oh there was a time, I called on your line. But you were not there... you were washing your hair! Oh girl can’t you see what you’re doing to me? I want you in my life, to stop all this strife. Can’t you understand, I was made to be your man, and you can be my girl...”
Bono stopped playing and swore under his breath. He looked up at everyone. “What rhymes with ‘girl’?
“Strawberry swirl.” Adam said, matter-of-factly.
Bono grinned. “I don’t think I can work that in, Adam.”
There was laughter all around at this small exchange. Bono took his hands off of the guitar and reoccupied them with a bottle of fruit juice, although he kept the guitar in his lap. Sitting beside him in the corner of the couch, Jenny was somewhat penned in by the neck of the guitar which extended in front of her. In an almost absentminded fashion, she reached her hand out and walked her fingers along the fretboard. After a moment of this Bono noticed and looked over at her.
“Do you play?”
Jenny laughed. “No, not at all. I’ve never even tried.”
“Well here, you can try now.” He said and moved the guitar over onto her lap.
“Okay.” Jenny said, scooting forward a bit so that she could more comfortably hold the guitar.
“There you go, just put your hands like that, and your fingers right there.” Bono said as he helped Jenny position her fingers on the strings, but when she moved the plectrum across them, they only made a dull thunking sound.
Jenny turned to him then, her brows crossed with confusion and annoyance. “What did I do wrong?”
Bono’s brow was just as furrowed as hers. “I don’t know. Here, try this.” He said, and repositioned her fingers, but the result was no better.
“Oh for God’s sake, Bono.” Edge said, coming over to stand behind Jenny. “Here, let me.” He said, and moved her fingers up the neck of the guitar slightly. This time when she strummed the guitar, the sound came out perfectly. Jenny turned around to face Edge, grinning exuberantly.
“There you go, your first C chord.” He said, smiling.
“Can you show me another?”
“Sure. How about a G this time?”
Edge continued teaching Jenny the basics of guitar playing while the conversation resumed around them. At first Bono looked a bit put off by Edge’s ease at teaching Jenny, but soon found distraction in the departure of one of the couples that had come to visit with the band after the concert. Bono took the time to hug them both warmly goodbye, which Heather found remarkable. How many rock musicians were that friendly with the ‘common people’? Not many, she imagined.
It wasn’t long though before more of the friends and acquaintances filling the room departed. Soon only Gavin, Guggi, Jenny and Heather were left, apart from the band. That didn’t last long however.
Guggi looked at the clock and made a face. “Fucking hell, Gavin. It’s after midnight.”
Gavin stood up, rubbing his face. “Dammit, what we’re we thinking? We’ve got an 8 AM flight.”
Guggi too got to his feet. “Hate to leave the party early, but what can you do?”
Edge too had gotten up and was busying himself stowing the acoustic guitar away in a case. “That’s alright, we’ve got to get out of here anyway. We’ve only got the room until one.”
Bono got up and shared a few quiet words with Guggi and Gavin before hugging them goodbye. Around the room everyone else was getting up, gathering their things, and preparing to leave. Heather and Adam managed to tuck themselves into a corner to say goodbye. They stood with their arms cozily wrapped around one another.
“We’ll spend the whole day together tomorrow, okay?” Adam said.
Heather grinned. “Like you have to ask.”
“We can meet for lunch, and then see what happens after that.”
Heather raised her eyebrows. “‘See what happens’? I think I like the sound of that.”
“You really are a wild one.” Adam said, amused.
“I know. Now kiss me.” It was the first time Heather had actually demanded a kiss from Adam, but other than a brief kiss at the door when she and Jenny had arrived backstage, they’d refrained from being too affectionate with one another, simply out of respect for the others around them, and it had been slow torture for Heather to be so close to Adam, but unable to give in to her desires. But he fulfilled her order now, and the kiss was everything she’d been longing for.
They broke apart and strode over to join the others who were already waiting for them at the door. Together the six of them walked outside where the men gentlemanly waited until Heather and Jenny were safely in a cab and on their way home before climbing into their tour bus.
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Is 'gentlemanly' a word? I don't know, but I used it dammit And uh.... we're gradually nearing the end, I predict only two or three more chapters after this 
And speaking of weather, today it's sleeting and my world is becoming covered in ice.I meant to post this chapter a few days ago, but I kept putting it off, in favour of curling up under a blanket with my nose in a book. There are few better ways to spend a winter's day.
Anyway, let's get on with it:
---------
Jenny too had been confused by the sudden departure, but Heather explained it to her a little more honestly. They too continued on with their afternoon, but minus the press-on nails. They kept busy and focused on superficial things, never bringing things like relationships and unemployment into the conversation. Time went by, they had dinner, and then as the day wound closer to the hour of the concert, they took a train to the venue.
They’d arrived earlier than Heather had the night before. When they got inside, there were very few people already there. The seats they’d gotten were in roughly the same place as the night before. Heather and Jenny sat down to wait, continuing their conversation as the room slowly filled up and the excitement built.
During a lull in their conversation, Heather began people-watching. She was glad she had, because she quickly saw a pair of faces she recognized. Bono’s friends were walking together about twenty feet away. The blonde one was called Guggi, but she couldn’t remember the other one’s name.
Without thinking, Heather stood up and shouted. “Guggi!”
Both heads turned. Heather waved goofily. They both recognized her and began walking over.
Jenny stood up and looked at Heather incredulously. “Guggi?” She looked over at the two eccentric young men coming their way. “Who are they?”
“Friends of Bono’s. I met them last night. The blonde one is Guggi, obviously not his real name. I can’t remember the other one’s name.”
“Hello ladies.” The dark-haired one said smoothly.
“Pleased to meet you again, Heather.” Said Guggi.
“Likewise. This is my friend, Jenny. I brought her to see the band.”
“Hello Jenny, I’m Gavin Friday, and this is the illustrious Guggi, although I imagine you’ve gathered that already.”
“I have.” Jenny said, smiling while still looking somewhat bewildered. She reached out to shake their hands. “Nice to meet you both.”
“And how are you this evening, Gavin?” Heather said, rolling his name around on her tongue in an effort to attach it to memory. Guggi’s name was quite a bit more memorable.
“A bit mournful actually. We’ll be leaving your wonderful city tomorrow.”
“But the band aren’t leaving until Monday!” Heather said, confused and suddenly worried that Adam would be leaving a day sooner than she thought.
“Oh, we’re not going with them!” Guggi said, laughing. “We’re going back to Ireland to cut our record.”
“Yes, we were only here for a brief visit, drumming up publicity, you know.”
“Oh, you’re in a band too?” Jenny asked.
“Yes, The Virgin Prunes. We’re a bit more eye-catching than U2, as you can see.”
“Yes, we can see that.” Said Heather, laughing.
“Well,” Guggi said, glancing around at the growing crowd. “We’ll see you after the show.”
“Alright.” Heather said, sitting back down.
“Be sure to check us out!” Gavin called back as they moved away.
“We will!” Heather assured him.
“Wow.” Jenny said softly, leaning back in her chair.
“What?”
“Bono’s so nice and normal looking, I mean, aside from the random blonde in his hair. I wouldn’t have pictured him having friends like that.”
“They’re great guys, Jenny. You’ll see that tonight.”
Heather and Jenny managed to fall into relaxed conversation again, that is until the excitement of the impending show made it impossible to concentrate on anything else. Just as the night before, the lights dimmed, the band came on, and the crowd threw themselves toward the stage. Heather and Jenny were right along with them, as enthusiastic for the show as everyone else.
The performance was just as good as last night, if not better. Heather found herself feeling quite proud of herself when she glanced over at Jenny during the show and saw the look of amazement on her face. It was only then that she realized that despite having shared her cotton candy with the band earlier that afternoon, she’d never actually heard any of their music. She was hearing everything for the first time, live. Heather wondered if perhaps that made it better. She thought maybe it did. They were great on vinyl, but in person it was something else altogether. It was magic.
Afterward, Heather led Jenny into the corridor she’d followed Paul down the night before. The walls were rather unremarkable, with nothing to make any twist or turn different from the rest, and so Heather worried that without Paul to lead her she wouldn’t be able to find the reception room where the band were. But fortunately, she was spared. As they turned another corner, Heather spotted Gavin and Guggi walking several feet ahead of them. They were surely going to see the band, and so Heather followed their lead.
Once more Heather found herself in the corridor among a slightly ragamuffin crowd. There were faces she recognized from last night, and new ones. There were those younger than she was, and those several years older. Male and female, there were those dressed in the typical fashion, and those, such as Gavin and Guggi, who were dressed more extremely. But they all had one thing in common: U2.
The wait for the foreboding double doors to open was shorter than it had been the previous night, and when they did, it was Adam who opened them. Heather moved forward quickly, straight into his waiting arms. Jenny was right behind her, greeting the rest of the band. Introductions were made all around and everyone settled onto the sofas and chairs.
Conversation started with the show, then moved onto the tour in general. Heather was once more tucked into Adam’s arms on one sofa, while Jenny was sitting comfortably next to Bono on the other. As the conversation swirled around them, Heather glanced at Adam.
“I got scared a bit earlier.”
“About what?”
“I talked to Gavin and Guggi before the show, they mentioned they were leaving tomorrow, and I got scared for a second that you were leaving tomorrow too.”
Adam gave her a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry, you’ve still got me until Monday. I’m not leaving you until I absolutely have to.”
Heather smiled and pulled her cigarettes out of her purse. She’d no sooner gotten one into her mouth and begun rummaging through her purse for her new lighter when Adam reached into his pocket for his own. “Let me.” He said, flicking the lighter on for her.
Heather lit her cigarette and took the first drag before smiling at him in thanks. “This is how we met.”
“And people say cigarettes are a bad thing. Clearly they never met a beautiful girl while smoking one.”
Heather blushed and turned her head back to look at the others. Bono, Edge, and Larry were discussing the next show of the tour, in a city a few hours away, on Tuesday. Jenny, who had been following the conversation quietly, leaned forward then.
“Why don’t you have a show tomorrow night?”
Jenny’s question had been meant completely casually, but Heather saw Bono and Edge exchange a glance. However, it was Larry who spoke first.
“Tomorrow’s Sunday.”
“We have a uh, meeting.” Edge added.
“Oh.” Jenny said, clearly a bit confused, but she left it at that.
Heather on the other hand, was crestfallen. She’d imagined she and Adam would spend the day together tomorrow, but if the band had a meeting, then that would interfere. She turned to him once again. “I didn’t realize you guys had a meeting tomorrow. Will I still be able to see you?”
A strange look briefly crossed Adam’s face. It was a mixture of introspection and mild amusement. But then he broke into a full-on smile. “Don’t worry, the meeting’s not for me. You’ll have me tomorrow.”
“I’ll ‘have you’ tomorrow?” Heather asked, on the verge of laughter.
Adam held back laughter by taking a drag of his own cigarette. He exhaled slowly before replying. “That, my dear, is entirely up to you.”
“We’ll wait and see.” Heather said, turning her attention back to the room at large. After a little while, Bono produced an acoustic guitar and began strumming on it.
“I think I’ll just sit here and write a little song.” He said and fell into a clumsy, repetitive riff. “Help me out here, Larry.”
Larry slid off of his chair and onto the floor, where he used his hands to begin drumming a simple beat on the coffee table.
“Alright then!” Bono said, and began singing an incredibly silly song off the top of his head, much to the amusement of all those around him. “Oh there was a time, I called on your line. But you were not there... you were washing your hair! Oh girl can’t you see what you’re doing to me? I want you in my life, to stop all this strife. Can’t you understand, I was made to be your man, and you can be my girl...”
Bono stopped playing and swore under his breath. He looked up at everyone. “What rhymes with ‘girl’?
“Strawberry swirl.” Adam said, matter-of-factly.
Bono grinned. “I don’t think I can work that in, Adam.”
There was laughter all around at this small exchange. Bono took his hands off of the guitar and reoccupied them with a bottle of fruit juice, although he kept the guitar in his lap. Sitting beside him in the corner of the couch, Jenny was somewhat penned in by the neck of the guitar which extended in front of her. In an almost absentminded fashion, she reached her hand out and walked her fingers along the fretboard. After a moment of this Bono noticed and looked over at her.
“Do you play?”
Jenny laughed. “No, not at all. I’ve never even tried.”
“Well here, you can try now.” He said and moved the guitar over onto her lap.
“Okay.” Jenny said, scooting forward a bit so that she could more comfortably hold the guitar.
“There you go, just put your hands like that, and your fingers right there.” Bono said as he helped Jenny position her fingers on the strings, but when she moved the plectrum across them, they only made a dull thunking sound.
Jenny turned to him then, her brows crossed with confusion and annoyance. “What did I do wrong?”
Bono’s brow was just as furrowed as hers. “I don’t know. Here, try this.” He said, and repositioned her fingers, but the result was no better.
“Oh for God’s sake, Bono.” Edge said, coming over to stand behind Jenny. “Here, let me.” He said, and moved her fingers up the neck of the guitar slightly. This time when she strummed the guitar, the sound came out perfectly. Jenny turned around to face Edge, grinning exuberantly.
“There you go, your first C chord.” He said, smiling.
“Can you show me another?”
“Sure. How about a G this time?”
Edge continued teaching Jenny the basics of guitar playing while the conversation resumed around them. At first Bono looked a bit put off by Edge’s ease at teaching Jenny, but soon found distraction in the departure of one of the couples that had come to visit with the band after the concert. Bono took the time to hug them both warmly goodbye, which Heather found remarkable. How many rock musicians were that friendly with the ‘common people’? Not many, she imagined.
It wasn’t long though before more of the friends and acquaintances filling the room departed. Soon only Gavin, Guggi, Jenny and Heather were left, apart from the band. That didn’t last long however.
Guggi looked at the clock and made a face. “Fucking hell, Gavin. It’s after midnight.”
Gavin stood up, rubbing his face. “Dammit, what we’re we thinking? We’ve got an 8 AM flight.”
Guggi too got to his feet. “Hate to leave the party early, but what can you do?”
Edge too had gotten up and was busying himself stowing the acoustic guitar away in a case. “That’s alright, we’ve got to get out of here anyway. We’ve only got the room until one.”
Bono got up and shared a few quiet words with Guggi and Gavin before hugging them goodbye. Around the room everyone else was getting up, gathering their things, and preparing to leave. Heather and Adam managed to tuck themselves into a corner to say goodbye. They stood with their arms cozily wrapped around one another.
“We’ll spend the whole day together tomorrow, okay?” Adam said.
Heather grinned. “Like you have to ask.”
“We can meet for lunch, and then see what happens after that.”
Heather raised her eyebrows. “‘See what happens’? I think I like the sound of that.”
“You really are a wild one.” Adam said, amused.
“I know. Now kiss me.” It was the first time Heather had actually demanded a kiss from Adam, but other than a brief kiss at the door when she and Jenny had arrived backstage, they’d refrained from being too affectionate with one another, simply out of respect for the others around them, and it had been slow torture for Heather to be so close to Adam, but unable to give in to her desires. But he fulfilled her order now, and the kiss was everything she’d been longing for.
They broke apart and strode over to join the others who were already waiting for them at the door. Together the six of them walked outside where the men gentlemanly waited until Heather and Jenny were safely in a cab and on their way home before climbing into their tour bus.
---------
Is 'gentlemanly' a word? I don't know, but I used it dammit
And uh.... we're gradually nearing the end, I predict only two or three more chapters after this 
only two or three more chapters??? woah!!!
... but I don't want it to end yet 
But it got the point across 
