Owen was having a good night. Usually he didn't get many people's attention, he'd be lucky if they turned their heads every now and again, luckier if a few of them stood near the stage. But that night, whoever looked at him didn't turn away, they focused and enjoyed, and he in return gave it his best. His band mates noticed it as well, he could feel how excited they got. Every now and again, he heard a missing note, string slip, out of sync play, but it was significantly less than normal. It was so good he almost believed they were half decent musicians. However, he did not know why people were especially interested that night, he owed it to the fact that it was pop-covers. As much as he hated pop music, it seemed to be the majority's main interested, plus he did promise the manager he'll do a pop night occasionally, despite it being an indie bar, since people seemed to love it.
As he stood on the stage, playing and singing away his own reinvented covers of Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and George Michael, he glanced at the bar occasionally. He noticed the bartender has taken interest in his music as well. Usually, Owen is nervous about facing the audience. His eyes are closed most of the time and when they aren't, he's usually looking down at the mic. But, this night, Owen was fully focused on the bar. It was the first time since he'd started working there, that the bartender happened to get his full shift at the same time as Owen. On other days, he'd only catch him for a few minutes before he had to turn his shift in to the next guy.
They were playing their final song and Owen was sad about that notion. He was entertaining people and that was all that mattered to him. And on this night, he was entertaining more people than usual, he felt he was closer to having "made it" than he's ever been. He was performing Skyscraper by Demi Lovato, reinvented into indie rock style. The song made him too emotional to look up, he forgot about the good night, the attention, the bartender and his band mates' occasional fuck-ups, and forgot he promised himself to never be emotionally invested in a song again. The audience noticed the pain in his voice. Everyone spoke in whispers. He gave his heart and soul into the song. His hands were steady but his voice shivered. Reflection on the past has swallowed him, taken him back to moments he thought he had forgotten, moments he has buried so deep for them to surface. As Dave banged the final note on the drums, the people started clapping. When Owen opened his eyes, he couldn't believe himself.
Around ten people were standing near the stage, many people on their tables with their eyes fixated on him, full of excitement, clapping and wooing him. His eyebrows were raised, mouth parted in surprise. He felt a pat on his back and heard a "fantastic", looked behind him and saw Carl and Dave highfiving, nudging shoulders and smiling at him. When he regained his voice, Owen said in the mic "Thank you so much". Clapping started to decrease.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much. This has been Carl Roger on the bass, David Simms on the drums, and myself Owen Matthews, lead vocalist and guitarist. You've been a wonderful audience. Have a splendid evening everyone."
He heard a loud whistle, followed by more clapping. "Thank you" he whispered to the mic.
Owen took the bass from Carl so the latter would help Dave with the drums and amplifier. They walked into the music room and dropped their instruments. Dave walked out and Owen followed him, but he was stopped by a headlock from Carl.
"Say it!"
"Dude, stop. What the fuck."
"Not before you say it."
"Say what?"
"You know what. Come on, let's hear it."
"Alright, alright. Thank you and you were right. Can you let me go now please?"
Carl let him go, laughing. "You're goddamn right."
Owen rubbed his neck. "I know I wou- we would do a good job of it anyway."
"Yeah, sure." Carl smirked. "You were great today man. We all were. Have you seen the people?"
"It was a good night"
"It was a great night. And, holy shit, have you seen the people!"
"We still need a fourth member."
"Dude..."
"And possibly a manager."
" Uh... Seriously? We had the best night since we've started here and this is what you have to say?"
Owen shrugged then nodded. He started packing away his guitar.
"Wow, hang on. Did you hear anything I said? We're staying, we're celebrating."
"You are. I won't. I need to get home before my dad starts calling"
Carl stood there and watched as Owen took the picks from his back pocket and put them in the guitar case then locked it. He was about to ask if he was okay but Dave came in.
"Boys! What are you doing here? It's fucking crazy out there, you have no idea!"
"Yeah, say that to Mr. Cynic there." Carl motioned his head at Owen, who flipped him off.
"Alright losers, drop everything. Noel said he'll get us free drinks tonight."
"Fuck's Noel?"
"The bartender" Owen said. At the same time, Dave said, "My friend" and both he and Carl looked at Owen.
"Yeah, the bartender. He's my friend." Dave said, "Do you know him?"
"No. I mean, not in person. He works here, I guess. I mean, I see him sometimes. Not a lot. But, yeah, he's"
"Yeah, whatever." Carl interrupted, "He's invited us to "guys' night" or some shit and he'll get us free drinks so let's go!"
"Owen has to go home because-"
"It's fine." Owen waved him off, "I'll stay for a while longer".
Carl shrugged and all three of them walked out to the bar. Noel was standing behind the bar, handing drinks, taking orders, and cashing clients. His eyes lit up when he saw David and the men, and he had a crooked smile on his face. He was wearing a blue shirt with the sleeves tucked back revealing his forearm, over it, he wore a red jumper with his name tag on it. Owen could see a hint of a tattoo on his right arm, concealed by his sleeve. Noel was tall and slim, had shoulder length light brown hair, deep blue eyes, thin lips, and he barely stops smiling. His crooked smile made a dimple on one side of his face.
Dave introduced him to the men, they smiled and shook hands. "You guys are really good. You make the magic happen", he addressed Owen while shaking his hand. Owen noticed Noel had a strong grip, big bony hands with long slender fingers, and immediately thought himself strange for paying attention to his hand and felt embarrassed.
"Thank you. I couldn't do it without them" he smiled and pointed at Carl and David. "I'm Owen"
"Yeah, Owen Matthews. I know."
"Oh, uh- thanks?" The three of them looked at each other and laughed.
"Alright, guys. Stop this now." Noel got three pint glasses out. "Three beers, then?"
"I'll have a coke, please." Owen said.
"Oh, you're..."
