Sad_Girl
Blue Crack Supplier
Disclaimer: Though the author spends much time pondering the subject, she has absolutely no insight to U2's true feelings and reactions. This is all a work of her imagination, reflections of her perceptions. None of it is real, true or ever will be. Not real. Fiction. Fantasy. The further along the series gets, the further it gets from reality. Should not be considered in any way a true representation of any of the people mentioned within
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Part 6: Thief of hearts
“Cat? Cat! HELLO?!?!” Genie was calling from the front desk, just 25 feet away, through the open glass doors. Cat stirred from her comfy seat behind the counter at the gift shop, not asleep but not exactly awake, either. Genie worked at the front desk at the Rock & Soul museum, selling admission passes and doing introductions for the self-guided tours every twenty minutes. Cat worked right next to her in the gift shop, where everyone emerged after completing the tour. It was a common setup in Memphis; people come in to the museum and they have no choice but to exit through the gift shop. They would still be excited and enthused about what they had just experienced and buy all sorts of nonsense they would otherwise never look twice at.
“What?” Cat asked, leaning over the counter and yelling out the door.
“Wake up, chick, we just had a huge group come through here. They’ll be hitting you in the next ten or twenty minutes.” Genie informed her. “I can’t believe you didn’t notice how crowded the lobby was. What’s the matter with you today?”
“Gee, I dunno, Genie. Maybe I was doing something important last night. Hmmm… what did I do last night?” Cat replied sarcastically. “Oh, that’s right, I performed in concert with U2 at the Pyramid.”
“Yeah, I heard they took pity on you guys and let your little band sing a couple songs.” Genie said, rolling her eyes. Genie and Cat had never particularly liked each other, and everyone knew it. Thankfully, management usually scheduled them to work different days. Working with her today was just another little drop in the bucket of her pain.
At least this was the last tour of the day. Of course, with a big group they almost always took three times as long as they ought to. The sign on the door said they closed in half an hour, but they’d be lucky to get out of there in less than two. Cat swallowed three more Ibuprofen tablets with what was left in the bottom of a cold cup of coffee and prayed for the strength and patience to get through another two hours.
Her mind kept going back to last night. She thought about each of the men, artists whom she had admired a great deal before she met them. She still admired them, they were incredible performers and each of them was so nice. Bono’s energy was even more intoxicating in person, Adam’s smile even sweeter. Edge was so much the type of person you would want on your side in any sort of situation, smart and strong of spirit. Larry was, too. Strong, solid. All of them comfortable with who they were in a way Cat and her friends had never been. Maybe never would be. There was a big part of her that longed to see them again.
Her pride, on the other hand, was glad that she would most likely never cross paths with them again. She had made a fool of herself; throwing up on Bono, making a pass at Adam… She could tell when Larry looked at her he was less than impressed, and she couldn’t blame him. No, it was a good thing that they were probably on a plane back to Ireland or wherever they were working at the moment. It was a good thing, she told herself, even if it did make her heart ache to think about it.
She patiently waited on the tourists as they filed slowly out of the museum, wishing that they would simply decide to move on without wandering about the small store, looking over every little souvenir as if they were making the most important decision of their lives. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a teenager slipping something into his jacket pocket.
“Hey!” She called out to him, and he knew immediately that he’d been caught and so he broke into a run for the front door. Cat planted a foot on the chair and launched herself over the counter, catching the thief by the collar.
“Lemme go!” he demanded.
“Empty your pockets.” She ordered him dryly, watching as the boy produced three CD’s and a harmonica from his pockets. “It’s your lucky day, I’m too tired to call the cops. Get out of here, and don’t come back.” She told him, gathering the pilfered goods so she could return them to the shelves. The boy was clearly relieved. He spun on his heel and bolted out the door, and continued to run all the way down the block.
“Remind me not to get on your bad side.” She heard an all too familiar voice say from the gift shop behind her. Her eyes grew wide and round in disbelief and her heart jumped up into her throat. No. It wasn’t possible. She was imagining the Irish accent, her mind severely hung over and playing tricks on her. She told herself all of this, yet she was afraid to turn around. Finally, strengthening her will with a deep breath, she turned to see Bono leaning lazily against the counter.
He wore a pair of his infamous sunglasses, hiding his beautiful blue eyes, and one of the cowboy hats he was so fond of. His hands were tucked up into the sleeves of his leather jacket, just the fingertips showing, giving him a boyish air despite his age. He smiled that beautiful smile at her, and she felt her own mouth turn up automatically to smile back.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, moving around him to her seat behind the counter.
“I came to see you.” He told her, and she was glad her back was turned so he couldn’t see her grinning like an idiot. For the life of her, no matter how hard she tried, she simply could not keep herself from grinning. He was here to see her. “I wanted to bring you the bill for my shoes.” He said, his voice perfectly serious. Cat spun to look at him, her jaw dropping in shock, her eyebrows drawn down in a frown.
“What? You.. I…!” She stammered, and a smile spread across his face.
“I’m only teasing you.” He said, clearly amused by his own joke. Before Cat could think of a witty remark, the door from the museum swung open and she turned instinctively to see Adam emerging from the museum.
“So that’s where that bass went.” He said. “He’s always giving things like that away without asking.” He told Cat, nodding at Bono. Cat blinked at him, unable to find her voice. In fact, she realized, she was holding her breath. She smiled quietly and looked down at the countertop. She had never been a particularly shy person, but as soon as she saw Adam, her cheeks flushed bright red.
“The museums clear.” Genie announced as she emerged from the museum, having checked for stragglers hiding inside so she could close up shop. As soon as her eyes fell on Bono, the girl became even more annoying than ever.
“Oh my God!” She squealed. “You’re…. You’re…”
“Yes, yeah. That’s right.” He agreed, and Cat rolled her eyes. Even after all these years, he still loved it when women reacted this way. He ate this kind of stuff up. Cat could hardly imagine living a life interrupted by this kind of interruption happening often.
“Wow, this is so cool!” She exclaimed. “Can I get your autograph?” She asked.
“Sure.” He told her, pulling a sharpie out of his back pocket faster than a gun fighter could have pulled their six shooter. Cat hid her smile behind her hand and looked up at Adam who now stood beside her. He smiled at her.
“Can you do me a favor?” Genie asked, turning to Adam. Cat half expected him to produce a marker as well, always ready and eager to sign autographs. Genie wasn’t really looking at him, though. Not like she was looking at Bono. She thrust her camera phone into Adam’s hands. “Will you take a picture of us?” She asked, and Cat snorted with laughter. She turned away from the scene, and specifically Genie, who was scowling at her for her outburst.
Bono graciously signed the Rock&Soul brochure Genie had decided she wanted him to sign, and Adam snapped a couple of pictures for the annoying girl. Cat noticed over his shoulder that he’d been careful to shoot too far to the left or right in each snapshot, cutting half of one or the other of them out. She couldn’t help but admire his subtle vindictiveness.
“Does this happen a lot?” Cat asked him softly. “Bono getting recognized and you being…”
“Mistaken for a lackey?” He finished her thought for her. “Once in awhile. People who don’t know anything much about our music but are celebrity conscious enough to know his mug.” He replied with a little smile, and she could tell he wasn’t particularly offended.
“So what are you doing here?” Genie asked Bono, and he turned back to the counter to face Cat. He tossed three copies of the Tequila Monsters CD down next to the cash register. Genie’s eyes narrowed in disbelief.
“I heard this was the only place I could be guaranteed to find these.” He informed her. Cat was nearly as flabbergasted as genie, but she managed to hide it a little better. There were only two tracks on the CD; Their original song ‘Black Leather’ and a cover of Patti Smith’s ‘Dancing barefoot’.
“You don’t have to pay for those.” She informed him. “If I’d thought you’d want one I would have brought some in from home. I’ll just replace these from that stash tomorrow.” She shrugged, trying desperately to be casual. Genie’s face was crimson with jealousy, and it was taking every ounce of self control Cat had not to smirk in the girl’s face.
“Thanks.” Bono said, holding out the marker he had just used to sign Genie’s autograph for Cat to take. Cat stared at it blankly for a moment before she realized what he was doing. She smiled a crooked smile at him and rolled her eyes. He was laying it on a bit thick, now. Still, she took the marker and signed the inserts on the CD’s. From the look on Genie’s face, she thought the girl might actually fall to the floor, dead of envy. Once she had signed them, Bono collected the CD’s tucking two of them in his jacket pocket and tossing the third to Adam.
Cat’s heart skipped several beats. Why did it matter more to her that Adam had wanted a copy of their CD? She couldn’t explain it, the need she felt for Adam to respect her. It was a strong urge, though, one she couldn’t deny.
“Well, if you’re closing that means you can go get some dinner with us.” Bono said, and if Cat had wanted to refuse, she couldn’t have. Between Genie’s presence and the way it seemed Bono was announcing this as a fact, rather than a request, she wasn’t about to say no.
Adam, Bono, and two bodyguards who’d been introduced the night before as Jimmy and Doug, waited patiently outside while Cat and Genie closed the museum and locked the doors behind them. For a moment, Cat expected Genie to follow them as they jaywalked across the street and made a beeline for Beale street, which was just a block away. Fortunately, she must have realized she was not a member of the dinner party, because when they reached the corner, she turned and walked the opposite way.
“Charming girl.” Bono quipped, casting a glance over his shoulder to see that she was gone.
“She’s great, isn’t she?” Cat agreed sarcastically.
“Best friends, are ya?” He teased, smiling that smile that had won so many hearts.
“Mmmm. Something like that.” She agreed as he opened the door to BB King’s club and waited for her to enter.
The bodyguards were happy to be nearby to assure the trio would manage to eat in relative peace. Bono, of course, made their jobs as difficult as possible by making his way through the room greeting people and chatting strangers up as if they were old friends. The bodyguards were used to this, even if it did make things tricky for them, they had learned to accept that he wasn’t about to change.
Cat slid into a booth seat and soon found herself pinned between the wall and Adam. Not that she would ever complain about being in such a place. It had relieved her, in fact, that he had slid into the seat beside her. After the way she’d behaved the evening before, she wouldn’t have blamed him for sitting across the table. Or in a whole different booth.
All day she’d been branding herself an idiot. He must have some woman coming on to him every time he turns around, and women far more beautiful and worldly than she was. He’d been engaged to an exotic, beautiful super-model for God’s sake! Cat was neither super-model beautiful nor exotic. She was glad he seemed to have forgotten her clumsy attempts to kiss him the night before. Even if it did make her pride ache a little that he seemed to have forgotten it so soon.
“So have you always lived around here?” Adam asked, making polite conversation as they scanned the menus.
“No, I was born up in New England. My Mother was from Boston. I was five when my dad and I moved down here. We lived in Nashville for a little bit, but I’ve been in Memphis most of my life. I think I was six or seven. It was while I was in kindergarten or first grade, anyway.” She replied while trying to find something on the menu which would settle in her sensitive stomach.
“Just your Da?” Bono asked, and Cat looked up from her menu to meet his eyes. She hadn’t even thought he was listening.
“Yeah. My mom ran out on us. I never really got to know her.” She shrugged, hoping they would simply accept this and let it drop. She didn’t want to get into the messy details of her youth. It was too much of a soap opera for her tastes. She preferred to live in the here and now.
“Sorry to hear that.” Bono told her, receiving the message loud and clear that this topic was off limits. He filed it away in his memories for further examination at a later date. “So, is it safe to assume I can’t buy you a pint?” he teased.
“Uh, yeah that’s safe to say. I’ll stick to tea tonight, thank you very much.” She agreed with a smile. The weight of her embarrassment was liftin
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Part 6: Thief of hearts
“Cat? Cat! HELLO?!?!” Genie was calling from the front desk, just 25 feet away, through the open glass doors. Cat stirred from her comfy seat behind the counter at the gift shop, not asleep but not exactly awake, either. Genie worked at the front desk at the Rock & Soul museum, selling admission passes and doing introductions for the self-guided tours every twenty minutes. Cat worked right next to her in the gift shop, where everyone emerged after completing the tour. It was a common setup in Memphis; people come in to the museum and they have no choice but to exit through the gift shop. They would still be excited and enthused about what they had just experienced and buy all sorts of nonsense they would otherwise never look twice at.
“What?” Cat asked, leaning over the counter and yelling out the door.
“Wake up, chick, we just had a huge group come through here. They’ll be hitting you in the next ten or twenty minutes.” Genie informed her. “I can’t believe you didn’t notice how crowded the lobby was. What’s the matter with you today?”
“Gee, I dunno, Genie. Maybe I was doing something important last night. Hmmm… what did I do last night?” Cat replied sarcastically. “Oh, that’s right, I performed in concert with U2 at the Pyramid.”
“Yeah, I heard they took pity on you guys and let your little band sing a couple songs.” Genie said, rolling her eyes. Genie and Cat had never particularly liked each other, and everyone knew it. Thankfully, management usually scheduled them to work different days. Working with her today was just another little drop in the bucket of her pain.
At least this was the last tour of the day. Of course, with a big group they almost always took three times as long as they ought to. The sign on the door said they closed in half an hour, but they’d be lucky to get out of there in less than two. Cat swallowed three more Ibuprofen tablets with what was left in the bottom of a cold cup of coffee and prayed for the strength and patience to get through another two hours.
Her mind kept going back to last night. She thought about each of the men, artists whom she had admired a great deal before she met them. She still admired them, they were incredible performers and each of them was so nice. Bono’s energy was even more intoxicating in person, Adam’s smile even sweeter. Edge was so much the type of person you would want on your side in any sort of situation, smart and strong of spirit. Larry was, too. Strong, solid. All of them comfortable with who they were in a way Cat and her friends had never been. Maybe never would be. There was a big part of her that longed to see them again.
Her pride, on the other hand, was glad that she would most likely never cross paths with them again. She had made a fool of herself; throwing up on Bono, making a pass at Adam… She could tell when Larry looked at her he was less than impressed, and she couldn’t blame him. No, it was a good thing that they were probably on a plane back to Ireland or wherever they were working at the moment. It was a good thing, she told herself, even if it did make her heart ache to think about it.
She patiently waited on the tourists as they filed slowly out of the museum, wishing that they would simply decide to move on without wandering about the small store, looking over every little souvenir as if they were making the most important decision of their lives. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a teenager slipping something into his jacket pocket.
“Hey!” She called out to him, and he knew immediately that he’d been caught and so he broke into a run for the front door. Cat planted a foot on the chair and launched herself over the counter, catching the thief by the collar.
“Lemme go!” he demanded.
“Empty your pockets.” She ordered him dryly, watching as the boy produced three CD’s and a harmonica from his pockets. “It’s your lucky day, I’m too tired to call the cops. Get out of here, and don’t come back.” She told him, gathering the pilfered goods so she could return them to the shelves. The boy was clearly relieved. He spun on his heel and bolted out the door, and continued to run all the way down the block.
“Remind me not to get on your bad side.” She heard an all too familiar voice say from the gift shop behind her. Her eyes grew wide and round in disbelief and her heart jumped up into her throat. No. It wasn’t possible. She was imagining the Irish accent, her mind severely hung over and playing tricks on her. She told herself all of this, yet she was afraid to turn around. Finally, strengthening her will with a deep breath, she turned to see Bono leaning lazily against the counter.
He wore a pair of his infamous sunglasses, hiding his beautiful blue eyes, and one of the cowboy hats he was so fond of. His hands were tucked up into the sleeves of his leather jacket, just the fingertips showing, giving him a boyish air despite his age. He smiled that beautiful smile at her, and she felt her own mouth turn up automatically to smile back.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, moving around him to her seat behind the counter.
“I came to see you.” He told her, and she was glad her back was turned so he couldn’t see her grinning like an idiot. For the life of her, no matter how hard she tried, she simply could not keep herself from grinning. He was here to see her. “I wanted to bring you the bill for my shoes.” He said, his voice perfectly serious. Cat spun to look at him, her jaw dropping in shock, her eyebrows drawn down in a frown.
“What? You.. I…!” She stammered, and a smile spread across his face.
“I’m only teasing you.” He said, clearly amused by his own joke. Before Cat could think of a witty remark, the door from the museum swung open and she turned instinctively to see Adam emerging from the museum.
“So that’s where that bass went.” He said. “He’s always giving things like that away without asking.” He told Cat, nodding at Bono. Cat blinked at him, unable to find her voice. In fact, she realized, she was holding her breath. She smiled quietly and looked down at the countertop. She had never been a particularly shy person, but as soon as she saw Adam, her cheeks flushed bright red.
“The museums clear.” Genie announced as she emerged from the museum, having checked for stragglers hiding inside so she could close up shop. As soon as her eyes fell on Bono, the girl became even more annoying than ever.
“Oh my God!” She squealed. “You’re…. You’re…”
“Yes, yeah. That’s right.” He agreed, and Cat rolled her eyes. Even after all these years, he still loved it when women reacted this way. He ate this kind of stuff up. Cat could hardly imagine living a life interrupted by this kind of interruption happening often.
“Wow, this is so cool!” She exclaimed. “Can I get your autograph?” She asked.
“Sure.” He told her, pulling a sharpie out of his back pocket faster than a gun fighter could have pulled their six shooter. Cat hid her smile behind her hand and looked up at Adam who now stood beside her. He smiled at her.
“Can you do me a favor?” Genie asked, turning to Adam. Cat half expected him to produce a marker as well, always ready and eager to sign autographs. Genie wasn’t really looking at him, though. Not like she was looking at Bono. She thrust her camera phone into Adam’s hands. “Will you take a picture of us?” She asked, and Cat snorted with laughter. She turned away from the scene, and specifically Genie, who was scowling at her for her outburst.
Bono graciously signed the Rock&Soul brochure Genie had decided she wanted him to sign, and Adam snapped a couple of pictures for the annoying girl. Cat noticed over his shoulder that he’d been careful to shoot too far to the left or right in each snapshot, cutting half of one or the other of them out. She couldn’t help but admire his subtle vindictiveness.
“Does this happen a lot?” Cat asked him softly. “Bono getting recognized and you being…”
“Mistaken for a lackey?” He finished her thought for her. “Once in awhile. People who don’t know anything much about our music but are celebrity conscious enough to know his mug.” He replied with a little smile, and she could tell he wasn’t particularly offended.
“So what are you doing here?” Genie asked Bono, and he turned back to the counter to face Cat. He tossed three copies of the Tequila Monsters CD down next to the cash register. Genie’s eyes narrowed in disbelief.
“I heard this was the only place I could be guaranteed to find these.” He informed her. Cat was nearly as flabbergasted as genie, but she managed to hide it a little better. There were only two tracks on the CD; Their original song ‘Black Leather’ and a cover of Patti Smith’s ‘Dancing barefoot’.
“You don’t have to pay for those.” She informed him. “If I’d thought you’d want one I would have brought some in from home. I’ll just replace these from that stash tomorrow.” She shrugged, trying desperately to be casual. Genie’s face was crimson with jealousy, and it was taking every ounce of self control Cat had not to smirk in the girl’s face.
“Thanks.” Bono said, holding out the marker he had just used to sign Genie’s autograph for Cat to take. Cat stared at it blankly for a moment before she realized what he was doing. She smiled a crooked smile at him and rolled her eyes. He was laying it on a bit thick, now. Still, she took the marker and signed the inserts on the CD’s. From the look on Genie’s face, she thought the girl might actually fall to the floor, dead of envy. Once she had signed them, Bono collected the CD’s tucking two of them in his jacket pocket and tossing the third to Adam.
Cat’s heart skipped several beats. Why did it matter more to her that Adam had wanted a copy of their CD? She couldn’t explain it, the need she felt for Adam to respect her. It was a strong urge, though, one she couldn’t deny.
“Well, if you’re closing that means you can go get some dinner with us.” Bono said, and if Cat had wanted to refuse, she couldn’t have. Between Genie’s presence and the way it seemed Bono was announcing this as a fact, rather than a request, she wasn’t about to say no.
Adam, Bono, and two bodyguards who’d been introduced the night before as Jimmy and Doug, waited patiently outside while Cat and Genie closed the museum and locked the doors behind them. For a moment, Cat expected Genie to follow them as they jaywalked across the street and made a beeline for Beale street, which was just a block away. Fortunately, she must have realized she was not a member of the dinner party, because when they reached the corner, she turned and walked the opposite way.
“Charming girl.” Bono quipped, casting a glance over his shoulder to see that she was gone.
“She’s great, isn’t she?” Cat agreed sarcastically.
“Best friends, are ya?” He teased, smiling that smile that had won so many hearts.
“Mmmm. Something like that.” She agreed as he opened the door to BB King’s club and waited for her to enter.
The bodyguards were happy to be nearby to assure the trio would manage to eat in relative peace. Bono, of course, made their jobs as difficult as possible by making his way through the room greeting people and chatting strangers up as if they were old friends. The bodyguards were used to this, even if it did make things tricky for them, they had learned to accept that he wasn’t about to change.
Cat slid into a booth seat and soon found herself pinned between the wall and Adam. Not that she would ever complain about being in such a place. It had relieved her, in fact, that he had slid into the seat beside her. After the way she’d behaved the evening before, she wouldn’t have blamed him for sitting across the table. Or in a whole different booth.
All day she’d been branding herself an idiot. He must have some woman coming on to him every time he turns around, and women far more beautiful and worldly than she was. He’d been engaged to an exotic, beautiful super-model for God’s sake! Cat was neither super-model beautiful nor exotic. She was glad he seemed to have forgotten her clumsy attempts to kiss him the night before. Even if it did make her pride ache a little that he seemed to have forgotten it so soon.
“So have you always lived around here?” Adam asked, making polite conversation as they scanned the menus.
“No, I was born up in New England. My Mother was from Boston. I was five when my dad and I moved down here. We lived in Nashville for a little bit, but I’ve been in Memphis most of my life. I think I was six or seven. It was while I was in kindergarten or first grade, anyway.” She replied while trying to find something on the menu which would settle in her sensitive stomach.
“Just your Da?” Bono asked, and Cat looked up from her menu to meet his eyes. She hadn’t even thought he was listening.
“Yeah. My mom ran out on us. I never really got to know her.” She shrugged, hoping they would simply accept this and let it drop. She didn’t want to get into the messy details of her youth. It was too much of a soap opera for her tastes. She preferred to live in the here and now.
“Sorry to hear that.” Bono told her, receiving the message loud and clear that this topic was off limits. He filed it away in his memories for further examination at a later date. “So, is it safe to assume I can’t buy you a pint?” he teased.
“Uh, yeah that’s safe to say. I’ll stick to tea tonight, thank you very much.” She agreed with a smile. The weight of her embarrassment was liftin
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