Sad_Girl
Blue Crack Supplier
**Disclaimer – Though inspired in part by real personalities, this is meant in no way to represent reality or anything which has ever truly taken place. It’s just a fairy tale.
The promises we make chapter 22
“Feels like fall today.” Alex said to Larry as he met the larger, rather intimidating man on his way into the studio. “Summer just started, and it already feels like fall.”
“Living near the sea makes everything different.” Larry pointed out to the younger man as he lit a cigarette and took a long drag. His silver blue eyes narrowed as he drew the smoke into his lungs and he seemed to be considering his next words carefully. Alex felt the weight of the older man’s gaze and shifted uncomfortably beneath it. He tried to simply walk past him and slip into the studio, but Larry stepped toward him quickly, wrapping one arm around the young mans shoulders and steering him away from the door.
“Hold on a minute.” Larry said, and Alex’s already pale face lost any color it had.
“Is something wrong?” He asked, his tongue feeling fat in his mouth which was suddenly dry and sticky with nervousness.
“Well, I don’t know, exactly. I was meanin’ to ask you that.” Larry replied, his muscular arm refusing to relinquish its grip on Alex. “I’ve heard about some of the things that happened while I was away.” He continued, pausing for another puff of smoke.
Alex’s heart seemed to jump in his chest and lodge itself in his throat. His chest grew tight and his palms began to sweat. He was just as frightened, in that moment, as he had been the night Adam and Cat had caught him and Trine fooling around on the living room floor. The muscles in Larry’s arm flexed, and Alex thought, perhaps, he should be slightly more afraid now than he had been then.
“Now, I know Adam didn’t feel he had the right to butt in too much. Considering how new his relationship is, with Trine.” Larry informed the boy as they strolled slowly toward the dock. To anyone passing by, they might appear to be the best of friends. “But I’m not as open minded as Adam, really. The way I see things are very black and white. There is a right and a wrong, and if you’re wrong I’m gonna say so.”
“Listen, I…” Alex tried to interrupt, but Larry shushed him with a quick gesture of his ring clad hand.
“Trine may only have been in Adam’s life for a few months, but she’s his daughter. That makes her family to me, too. And to Bono and Edge as well. Y’see where I’m going with this, don’t you?”
“I -- *achch-hem* Uh, yeah, yeah, I think so.” Alex replied nervously, trying desperately to clear his throat. Apparently, he thought, his heart really was lodged there, and making plans to stay.
“Sixteen year old girls are --- different. I’ll never claim to understand a woman at any age, but especially a girl Trine’s age. They’re easy to hurt.” Larry said, exhaling a long, slow stream of smoke and crushing the butt of his cigarette beneath his booted foot. “You have put yourself in a very precarious position, and you’re old enough to know better. Now, you have to do the right thing. If you break her heart, cause her pain or trouble, you’re going to have anywhere from one to four very pissed off Irishmen to answer to. You understand me?”
“Yuh-uh—yeah. I mean, um.. yes. I do. I know I should’ve um.. I mean.. I won’t hurt her.” Alex stammered, backing as far away from the older man as he could, with his arm wrapped around his shoulders as it was. Larry stared at him for a long moment, watching the man squirm uncomfortably. Finally, Larry’s deep scowl subsided into his more normal frown and he relaxed his arm, releasing Alex with a nod of dismissal.
He had to fight a smirk as the young man nearly stumbled backwards in his hurry to put some distance in between them. Alex scrambled off into the studio and Larry waited on the dock a moment longer, breathing in the sea air and noticing the slight chill in the air. Fall was indeed in the air.
****************************************************
“It still sucks!” Cat exclaimed, tossing the notebook in her hand across the room in a huff. Her face was red with frustration, and she began to pace in a tight circle, her hands pressed against the small of her back and her bulging stomach sticking out.
“Cat, don’t get so worked up.” Bono said, reaching out to massage her shoulders. Cat scowled back at him and shrugged away from his touch.
“What the hell are we doing wrong?” She demanded.
“I know, but ya’ll never seem to want to listen to me.” Shane volunteered in his lazy southern drawl. He sat sprawled out on the couch, his booted feet up on the coffee table in front of him. Cat turned her scowl on him now, but after a moment of serious consideration, she sighed and sat down beside him.
“All right, Shane. Tell us. What is the secret to making noteworthy music?” She asked sarcastically.
“The stuff you’re writing is all horse shit.” He replied dryly.
“Thank you. Thanks, really. That’s very constructive.” Krash grumbled from across the room. For a moment he looked as if he were considering wielding his guitar as a weapon.
“Look, you’re trying to be all fancy and shit.” Shane continued. “Good music doesn’t try that hard. It’s honest. It’s not afraid to talk about things people really think about. That’s why Country is so popular. It’s these guys secret, too.” He said, gesturing to the members of U2 who were present.
“What’s that?” Bono asked, not sure he was following Shane’s train of thought. If he even had one.
“God. Sex. Booze and Drugs. Kids.” Shane suggested. “Politics. All the things people really care about, but which, for one reason or another, a lot of people think they can’t talk about. Don’t want to offend anyone. So they write horse shit about the kind of romantic love that I dare you to find one person who can say they’ve ever had and kept.”
The group fell silent for a long moment, considering his words. Finally Shane looked around at each of them, grinning broadly.
“What? You think they just kept me around to be the pretty face in the band?” He asked playfully. Cat swatted him upside the head, knocking his hat askew, but she was smiling as she did.
“I hate it when you make a good point.” She told him.
“I have a song I was working on that I think would be good for you guys. I know I can’t sing it myself, anymore.” Bono told Cat.
“The one about Angel?” She asked quietly, and he nodded.
“I have some things scratched down here and there we could take a look at.” Krash volunteered.
“Looks like we’re back to start again.” Cat sighed.
“Not exactly. There are a few songs worth keeping. We just have to decide which ones they are and which ones to toss out.” Edge told her supportively.
“And have the CD recorded before the beginning of November.” She reminded him.
“No problem.” Larry told her, standing and stretching. “Worst case, we’ll make you guys go on tour with us and record in the hotel bathrooms like we did when we recorded ‘Pop’.” Cat threw a pillow at him, nearly hitting him when he ducked clear with a smirk.
“Baby!” she said, pointing to her belly.
“Yes, love?” He replied playfully, making her cheeks flush red. It was a new phenomenon, Larry being nice to her. Playful even. It was nice, but a little disconcerting. She couldn’t think of anything to say in response, and so merely rolled her eyes at him. She leaned back in her seat and rubbed her belly absent mindedly, wondering just what had happened to bring about the change in Larry’s demeanor. She could only come to one conclusion, in the end. He was in love. She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, having secretly been afraid that the feelings he’d had for her might still be lingering.
**********************************************************
The fall passed by quickly, many of them involved in recording Tequila Monsters first album, or with the planning of Edge and Tessa’s wedding, or preparing for the arrival of a new baby. Some of them were involved in two or all of these things, and the autumn seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye.
Laney spent so much time at Bono’s that she eventually took a job in a Dublin hospital and moved into Bono’s house. They’d barely spent two nights apart even when she’d worked and lived elsewhere, anyway. It may have taken years to get there, but now they were nearly inseparable.
As the week of Thanksgiving approached for the Americans, the usual hustle and bustle of the holiday season loomed before them with extra anxiety this year. The men were scheduled to make several appearances in New York and Boston to promote their new album over the holiday. Cat was too pregnant to fly, by then, and so would be spending Thanksgiving alone in a foreign country.
Tequila Monsters album was finished but for some editing and mass production, then of course would come marketing. The release date had been pushed back to March of the following year, to coincide with the start of U2’s latest world tour. This would give Cat some time to recover from pregnancy and childbirth, and give them time to find a suitable nanny.
On the day the men left for the states, Cat and Trine were surprised when Simone and Pauley, Tessa and Laney arrived in a whirlwind of activity, carrying bags and boxes of groceries.
“What..? Why are you guys here? I thought you were all going with the guys?” Cat asked, glancing around the kitchen in surprise.
“We couldn’t leave you here all alone on Thanksgiving.” Simone told her, hugging her quickly before proceeding to try and find room in the refrigerator for the giant turkey.
“Who wants to spend Thanksgiving in a hotel and eat restaurant food?” Tessa offered, shaking her head dismissively. No matter how much they tried to downplay it, Cat knew what they had sacrificed by staying here to be with her rather than being with the men in their lives. She chewed on her lower lip and tried to blink away the tears which sprung into her eyes. She had not known any of the other women cared about her so much.
She glanced over at Trine and could tell that she, too, was moved by the display. The last year on Thanksgiving, neither of them had particularly had anything to be thankful for. No family to speak of, that much was certain. Now, they looked around the room at the others and knew they finally belonged to a family.
“Being an American holiday, I’ve never celebrated Thanksgiving before.” Laney was saying as she examined the contents of the bags as they were emptied. She eyed the cans of condensed milk and cranberry sauce and yams suspiciously. “But I have a feeling I know why so many Americans claim to be ‘on a diet’ for most of the year. They eat enough on the holiday to last them the whole year.”
“It feels like it sometimes.” Cat laughed, moving to help them unpack the groceries.
“Oh no!” Laney said, shaking her head emphatically. “No, no, no. You are far too pregnant to help with any of this.” She took Cat firmly by the shoulders and steered her to the nearest chair, forced her to sit down and then brought over another chair for her to put her feet up on. “Doctors orders.” Laney added and Cat raised her hands in a gesture of surrender.
“Fair enough.” She said, not minding the special treatment. She was suspicious of the due date the doctor had set for her. How could she possibly have another three weeks? Her feet were swollen, her back and breasts ached, and her belly was stretched as tight as a drum.
“Does this mean I should be sitting down, too?” Simone asked casually as she rearranged jars and bottles in the refrigerator. Every head turned to stare at her in shock, and the room fell silent. She turned back to smile at them. “What?” She asked innocently.
“Are you?” Cat demanded eagerly. Simone’s smile beamed bright and she nodded her head as everyone in the room rushed to congratulate her.
“Thank God, too. Larry was getting so frustrated…”
“Oh yeah, all that trying to make a baby must’ve been awful.” Laney teased. Simone grinned at her newest friend.
“Well, ok, that part might’ve made it worth waiting this long to get pregnant.” She admitted. “But Larry was afraid I was going to make him see a fertility specialist or something. I swear when I told him he might as well have jumped up and down and shouted ‘Yes, I did it!’” She told them animatedly, making them all chuckle.
“Men!” Laney laughed. “How did Adam react?” She asked Cat, who smiled softly at the memory.
“Well, first all the blood rushed out of his face…” Cat laughed. “Then his knees threatened to give out on him…” She continued, the others snickering now as well. “But once he sat down and had a moment to process it, he was really happy. The whole ‘look at what I did’ attitude didn’t start until I started to show.”
“I can’t blame Adam for being a little spooked.” Tessa said, “He went from single and without a family or children to having a wife and two children within the course of a few months.”
“Yeah, really. Most of the time you have at least a year between the arrival of children.” Laney joked.
“And several more to get accustomed to the idea of teenagers. No offense.” Simone added, turning to wink at Trine. Trine shrugged and smiled in agreement, knowing it had been as much of an adjustment for Adam as it had for her.
“It’s been a wild year.” Cat said with a smile, thinking back on all the changes she’d undergone and how different her life was.
- We're approaching the end of the journey for Cat, Trine, Simone, Pauley, Tessa and Laney. I have been kept away from writing the ending for this story for far too long, and I promise I will do my best to be quick in completing the final chapters of 'The Promises we make'. Thank you all for all of the positive feedback!
The promises we make chapter 22
“Feels like fall today.” Alex said to Larry as he met the larger, rather intimidating man on his way into the studio. “Summer just started, and it already feels like fall.”
“Living near the sea makes everything different.” Larry pointed out to the younger man as he lit a cigarette and took a long drag. His silver blue eyes narrowed as he drew the smoke into his lungs and he seemed to be considering his next words carefully. Alex felt the weight of the older man’s gaze and shifted uncomfortably beneath it. He tried to simply walk past him and slip into the studio, but Larry stepped toward him quickly, wrapping one arm around the young mans shoulders and steering him away from the door.
“Hold on a minute.” Larry said, and Alex’s already pale face lost any color it had.
“Is something wrong?” He asked, his tongue feeling fat in his mouth which was suddenly dry and sticky with nervousness.
“Well, I don’t know, exactly. I was meanin’ to ask you that.” Larry replied, his muscular arm refusing to relinquish its grip on Alex. “I’ve heard about some of the things that happened while I was away.” He continued, pausing for another puff of smoke.
Alex’s heart seemed to jump in his chest and lodge itself in his throat. His chest grew tight and his palms began to sweat. He was just as frightened, in that moment, as he had been the night Adam and Cat had caught him and Trine fooling around on the living room floor. The muscles in Larry’s arm flexed, and Alex thought, perhaps, he should be slightly more afraid now than he had been then.
“Now, I know Adam didn’t feel he had the right to butt in too much. Considering how new his relationship is, with Trine.” Larry informed the boy as they strolled slowly toward the dock. To anyone passing by, they might appear to be the best of friends. “But I’m not as open minded as Adam, really. The way I see things are very black and white. There is a right and a wrong, and if you’re wrong I’m gonna say so.”
“Listen, I…” Alex tried to interrupt, but Larry shushed him with a quick gesture of his ring clad hand.
“Trine may only have been in Adam’s life for a few months, but she’s his daughter. That makes her family to me, too. And to Bono and Edge as well. Y’see where I’m going with this, don’t you?”
“I -- *achch-hem* Uh, yeah, yeah, I think so.” Alex replied nervously, trying desperately to clear his throat. Apparently, he thought, his heart really was lodged there, and making plans to stay.
“Sixteen year old girls are --- different. I’ll never claim to understand a woman at any age, but especially a girl Trine’s age. They’re easy to hurt.” Larry said, exhaling a long, slow stream of smoke and crushing the butt of his cigarette beneath his booted foot. “You have put yourself in a very precarious position, and you’re old enough to know better. Now, you have to do the right thing. If you break her heart, cause her pain or trouble, you’re going to have anywhere from one to four very pissed off Irishmen to answer to. You understand me?”
“Yuh-uh—yeah. I mean, um.. yes. I do. I know I should’ve um.. I mean.. I won’t hurt her.” Alex stammered, backing as far away from the older man as he could, with his arm wrapped around his shoulders as it was. Larry stared at him for a long moment, watching the man squirm uncomfortably. Finally, Larry’s deep scowl subsided into his more normal frown and he relaxed his arm, releasing Alex with a nod of dismissal.
He had to fight a smirk as the young man nearly stumbled backwards in his hurry to put some distance in between them. Alex scrambled off into the studio and Larry waited on the dock a moment longer, breathing in the sea air and noticing the slight chill in the air. Fall was indeed in the air.
****************************************************
“It still sucks!” Cat exclaimed, tossing the notebook in her hand across the room in a huff. Her face was red with frustration, and she began to pace in a tight circle, her hands pressed against the small of her back and her bulging stomach sticking out.
“Cat, don’t get so worked up.” Bono said, reaching out to massage her shoulders. Cat scowled back at him and shrugged away from his touch.
“What the hell are we doing wrong?” She demanded.
“I know, but ya’ll never seem to want to listen to me.” Shane volunteered in his lazy southern drawl. He sat sprawled out on the couch, his booted feet up on the coffee table in front of him. Cat turned her scowl on him now, but after a moment of serious consideration, she sighed and sat down beside him.
“All right, Shane. Tell us. What is the secret to making noteworthy music?” She asked sarcastically.
“The stuff you’re writing is all horse shit.” He replied dryly.
“Thank you. Thanks, really. That’s very constructive.” Krash grumbled from across the room. For a moment he looked as if he were considering wielding his guitar as a weapon.
“Look, you’re trying to be all fancy and shit.” Shane continued. “Good music doesn’t try that hard. It’s honest. It’s not afraid to talk about things people really think about. That’s why Country is so popular. It’s these guys secret, too.” He said, gesturing to the members of U2 who were present.
“What’s that?” Bono asked, not sure he was following Shane’s train of thought. If he even had one.
“God. Sex. Booze and Drugs. Kids.” Shane suggested. “Politics. All the things people really care about, but which, for one reason or another, a lot of people think they can’t talk about. Don’t want to offend anyone. So they write horse shit about the kind of romantic love that I dare you to find one person who can say they’ve ever had and kept.”
The group fell silent for a long moment, considering his words. Finally Shane looked around at each of them, grinning broadly.
“What? You think they just kept me around to be the pretty face in the band?” He asked playfully. Cat swatted him upside the head, knocking his hat askew, but she was smiling as she did.
“I hate it when you make a good point.” She told him.
“I have a song I was working on that I think would be good for you guys. I know I can’t sing it myself, anymore.” Bono told Cat.
“The one about Angel?” She asked quietly, and he nodded.
“I have some things scratched down here and there we could take a look at.” Krash volunteered.
“Looks like we’re back to start again.” Cat sighed.
“Not exactly. There are a few songs worth keeping. We just have to decide which ones they are and which ones to toss out.” Edge told her supportively.
“And have the CD recorded before the beginning of November.” She reminded him.
“No problem.” Larry told her, standing and stretching. “Worst case, we’ll make you guys go on tour with us and record in the hotel bathrooms like we did when we recorded ‘Pop’.” Cat threw a pillow at him, nearly hitting him when he ducked clear with a smirk.
“Baby!” she said, pointing to her belly.
“Yes, love?” He replied playfully, making her cheeks flush red. It was a new phenomenon, Larry being nice to her. Playful even. It was nice, but a little disconcerting. She couldn’t think of anything to say in response, and so merely rolled her eyes at him. She leaned back in her seat and rubbed her belly absent mindedly, wondering just what had happened to bring about the change in Larry’s demeanor. She could only come to one conclusion, in the end. He was in love. She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, having secretly been afraid that the feelings he’d had for her might still be lingering.
**********************************************************
The fall passed by quickly, many of them involved in recording Tequila Monsters first album, or with the planning of Edge and Tessa’s wedding, or preparing for the arrival of a new baby. Some of them were involved in two or all of these things, and the autumn seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye.
Laney spent so much time at Bono’s that she eventually took a job in a Dublin hospital and moved into Bono’s house. They’d barely spent two nights apart even when she’d worked and lived elsewhere, anyway. It may have taken years to get there, but now they were nearly inseparable.
As the week of Thanksgiving approached for the Americans, the usual hustle and bustle of the holiday season loomed before them with extra anxiety this year. The men were scheduled to make several appearances in New York and Boston to promote their new album over the holiday. Cat was too pregnant to fly, by then, and so would be spending Thanksgiving alone in a foreign country.
Tequila Monsters album was finished but for some editing and mass production, then of course would come marketing. The release date had been pushed back to March of the following year, to coincide with the start of U2’s latest world tour. This would give Cat some time to recover from pregnancy and childbirth, and give them time to find a suitable nanny.
On the day the men left for the states, Cat and Trine were surprised when Simone and Pauley, Tessa and Laney arrived in a whirlwind of activity, carrying bags and boxes of groceries.
“What..? Why are you guys here? I thought you were all going with the guys?” Cat asked, glancing around the kitchen in surprise.
“We couldn’t leave you here all alone on Thanksgiving.” Simone told her, hugging her quickly before proceeding to try and find room in the refrigerator for the giant turkey.
“Who wants to spend Thanksgiving in a hotel and eat restaurant food?” Tessa offered, shaking her head dismissively. No matter how much they tried to downplay it, Cat knew what they had sacrificed by staying here to be with her rather than being with the men in their lives. She chewed on her lower lip and tried to blink away the tears which sprung into her eyes. She had not known any of the other women cared about her so much.
She glanced over at Trine and could tell that she, too, was moved by the display. The last year on Thanksgiving, neither of them had particularly had anything to be thankful for. No family to speak of, that much was certain. Now, they looked around the room at the others and knew they finally belonged to a family.
“Being an American holiday, I’ve never celebrated Thanksgiving before.” Laney was saying as she examined the contents of the bags as they were emptied. She eyed the cans of condensed milk and cranberry sauce and yams suspiciously. “But I have a feeling I know why so many Americans claim to be ‘on a diet’ for most of the year. They eat enough on the holiday to last them the whole year.”
“It feels like it sometimes.” Cat laughed, moving to help them unpack the groceries.
“Oh no!” Laney said, shaking her head emphatically. “No, no, no. You are far too pregnant to help with any of this.” She took Cat firmly by the shoulders and steered her to the nearest chair, forced her to sit down and then brought over another chair for her to put her feet up on. “Doctors orders.” Laney added and Cat raised her hands in a gesture of surrender.
“Fair enough.” She said, not minding the special treatment. She was suspicious of the due date the doctor had set for her. How could she possibly have another three weeks? Her feet were swollen, her back and breasts ached, and her belly was stretched as tight as a drum.
“Does this mean I should be sitting down, too?” Simone asked casually as she rearranged jars and bottles in the refrigerator. Every head turned to stare at her in shock, and the room fell silent. She turned back to smile at them. “What?” She asked innocently.
“Are you?” Cat demanded eagerly. Simone’s smile beamed bright and she nodded her head as everyone in the room rushed to congratulate her.
“Thank God, too. Larry was getting so frustrated…”
“Oh yeah, all that trying to make a baby must’ve been awful.” Laney teased. Simone grinned at her newest friend.
“Well, ok, that part might’ve made it worth waiting this long to get pregnant.” She admitted. “But Larry was afraid I was going to make him see a fertility specialist or something. I swear when I told him he might as well have jumped up and down and shouted ‘Yes, I did it!’” She told them animatedly, making them all chuckle.
“Men!” Laney laughed. “How did Adam react?” She asked Cat, who smiled softly at the memory.
“Well, first all the blood rushed out of his face…” Cat laughed. “Then his knees threatened to give out on him…” She continued, the others snickering now as well. “But once he sat down and had a moment to process it, he was really happy. The whole ‘look at what I did’ attitude didn’t start until I started to show.”
“I can’t blame Adam for being a little spooked.” Tessa said, “He went from single and without a family or children to having a wife and two children within the course of a few months.”
“Yeah, really. Most of the time you have at least a year between the arrival of children.” Laney joked.
“And several more to get accustomed to the idea of teenagers. No offense.” Simone added, turning to wink at Trine. Trine shrugged and smiled in agreement, knowing it had been as much of an adjustment for Adam as it had for her.
“It’s been a wild year.” Cat said with a smile, thinking back on all the changes she’d undergone and how different her life was.
- We're approaching the end of the journey for Cat, Trine, Simone, Pauley, Tessa and Laney. I have been kept away from writing the ending for this story for far too long, and I promise I will do my best to be quick in completing the final chapters of 'The Promises we make'. Thank you all for all of the positive feedback!
Not a problem - I've got one in the works I've titled 'Babyface' 
You may be able to guess which band member takes the center role in this particular story 
... I swear I love you more each passing day SG 
)
