It was dark by the time they got out of the car, and Julie couldn't unclip her belt and jump out of her seat fast enough. Without looking she thrust the door open, narrowly avoiding a small group of guys in baggy pants and faded jackets. She got off with a mildly annoyed [i]”Hey, watch it!”[/i] but she paid it no heed; already she was struggling out of her ivory wool trench coat and with a carelessness that was an insult to how expensive the coat had been she threw it on the passenger seat. Her cardigan followed and soon she was shivering on the curb dressed in nothing but a skirt and her dark tank top. The night was cold, and she crossed her arms, impatiently waiting for Bryce to finish locking up the Audi. He was looking around himself with disdain; a facial expression he had carried ever since they'd left the restaurant earlier that evening. It had been a struggle right from the getgo. The fancy get-together with his parents was delayed significantly by the late arrival of Mr. And Mrs. Rushton, but that had hardly been a surprise; they were always late, and usually arrived whilst in the midst of a quiet stand-off that brought the atmosphere at any social gathering to sub zero temperatures. Julie didn't dislike the couple, but to say that they were her vision of the perfect future in-laws was a far cry from the truth. Bryce's father was a businessman with a love for all things lucrative and a disdain for those with different aspirations. Fortunately for him, his prodigal son was all too eager to follow in his footsteps and for that, George Rushton adored him. The man had a sharp sense for talent, for opportunities, although Julie suspected that Bryce was his one and only blind spot. Bryce, though very talented, had a knack for getting away with doing as little as possible with the same result. Julie couldn't blame him for it though; she'd never been all that eager to put a lot of effort into her study either. She just didn't feel a real urge to further her career in the business world; who was she to accuse him for wanting to have some off-time rather than having to spend the entirety of his days buried in work, right? Of course, his mother hadn't exactly set an example for him to follow either; the well-groomed, perfectly manicured but not naturally blonde was the picture perfect example of a trophy wife just past her prime. And oh, she made a valiant effort to counter the inevitable decline that came with growing older, but with every wrinkle a bit of her confidence seemed to crumble. Even Julie noticed her husband's wandering eye – and uncomfortably so – and she did sympathize with the woman, to whom status was everything. But pity was not something Camilla appreciated. “You're gonna catch a cold walking around like that.” Bryce, who'd finally joined the girl, shed his coat and made a gallant attempt to put it around Julie's shoulders. She shrugged it off impatiently, then regretted it immediately after and looked up at her boyfriend. “Sorry,” she apologized, “But it's only a five minute walk. I'm fine, really.” With that she paced off, and Bryce had to take a few large steps to catch up to her. “You're in an awful rush,” he commented, and Julie had to swallow a snide remark on how they would have been fine if his parents didn't consider showing up half an hour after their reservations being [i]fashionably late[/i]. “The show started five minutes ago,” she replied instead. “I promised I'd be there.” “It's not like they'll know whether you're there or not.” Bryce looked every bit like he'd much rather have been [i]fashionably late[/i] as well. It was no secret that he didn't care for Reckless Life or these types of gigs in general; he was much more one for frat parties and the occasional theater performance – you know, to keep up appearances. He enjoyed sharing his knowledge on the arts – whether it was paintings, architecture or the orchestra – and a rock band performing in a shady club in one of the city's lesser neighbourhoods was not something he considered particularly artistic. [i]”I'll[/i] know,” she protested, but there was that guilt again, and Julie sighed, briefly slowing her pace to grab hold of his hand. “Look, just do this for me, please?” she asked, utilizing that disarming smile and doe-eyed look Mother nature had blessed her with. Even Bryce didn't usually have an answer to that, and today was no exception, although he still made an effort by rolling his eyes. At least he willingly sped up after that, and it wasn't long before they were making their way through the scattered little groups of attendees who didn't quite feel like going in yet. Their loss, Julie supposed, although she couldn't help feeling a little resentful towards them for skipping on what was – as far as she was concerned – the greatest performance of the evening. Even from here she recognized [i]Here comes the next[/i], which meant that at least they weren't [i]very[/i] late. Still, there was a distinct impatience to the way she looked as the guy at the entrance checked their tickets – there was bit of a queue, to make matters worse – and by the time they'd finally made it inside goosebumps littered her light skin and a look of frustration littered her otherwise pleasant features. The music swelled the moment they set foot inside the club. The Hellcat was a place Julie had been to once before, although Mark had had to point out to her that they'd gone to some obscure band he liked together, a couple of years back. Even now she didn't recognize it, but admittedly, all these sorts of clubs were the same to the girl. They were likely the same to Bryce as well, although his opinion somewhat deviated from that of Julie – and outright opposed the way Mark felt about it – but that was a bit of a recurring theme; anything that involved her childhood friend and current roommate was sure to carry Bryce's disapproval, and the same was true for most of the other band members of Reckless Life. It had been an issue more than once, one where more often than not Julie had to be the peacekeeper. It was no secret that Bryce abhorred the fact that his significant other socialized with people he considered beneath him and although Mark would often be a bit more restrained in sharing his opinion on Julie's boyfriend of close to two years, the same wasn't true for his fellow band member Cave; the outspoken lead singer openly detested Bryce and had no trouble pointing this out; it was probably a good thing he didn't visit the apartment much for that reason, since every encounter between the two men would inevitably accumulate into a shouting match that more often than not had forced Julie to pull her boyfriend into her room whilst Mark and Cave went out for the night. He didn't seem to come around much anymore nowadays. The room was not as full as it could be, but Julie noticed that as they stepped into the main hall, people were already beginning to flock to the stage, their interest piqued by the raw sound of guitars, the talent of the lead singer's voice and the music, reminiscent of the classics but with a style so very much their own. Julie had never doubted their talent, and to see people genuinely intrigued by these unknown newcomers filled her with a giddy sort of happiness. It had her barge through the crowd, ignoring Bryce's suggestion to get some drinks first. His hand firmly clenched in hers she elbowed her way past most of the audience, her adamance to get to the front a polar opposite to her gentle nature in most other situations. She'd promised, and when it came to Mark and his band, Julie made no concessions, and she gladly offended an onlooker or two just to get a good view of the stage. Past people taller and broader than her she caught glimpses of them all; Stace, Dalton, Cave, Ren and naturally, Mark. There was something really endearing about the way he poured his heart into his music, although Julie knew better than to ever word it like that out loud. It was probably a combination of having known him from the time they still played hide and seek in Miss Applebee's back yard and knowing just how hard he's worked to get where he was now. Was it weird to feel so proud that people looked so excited to see [i]him[/i] play, to hear [i]his[/i] music? Sure, it was a team effort, but no matter how much their frontman stood in the spotlight, there was only one star to the fair-haired girl in the crowd. She didn't pause until she'd found a spot from where she could see them perfectly. Near them she noticed a few familiar faces; Vere and Simon and Matthew, all die-hard fans since the very beginning. Julie gave them a happy wave, not bothering to try and talk; the bass droned loudly, the music sent vibrations through the floor and even seemed to make the air around her reverberate. Behind her, Bryce wrapped her arms around her waist. Julie felt much more like jumping, dancing and screaming 'til her voice gave away. The club was getting more crowded by the minute, people were cheering and exchanging looks of pleasant surprise that an opening act could actually be entertaining for once. The music world was a cruel place and Julie had worried on Mark's behalf that it would reject them no matter how good their music was. Now that she looked around though, she couldn't imagine what she'd been afraid of. [i]They were absolutely amazing.[/i] ----- “You guys were absolutely amazing!” It was a bit of a challenge to make her way past the excited rock fans surrounding the band as they sat at the bar, and a few people cast Julie annoyed looks, probably mistaking her for another groupie thinking she was somehow more important than the rest of them. If Ren hadn't noticed her in the crowd she probably wouldn't even have been able to get within hearing distance of the band to begin with, but he'd made sure the girl was able to get close enough to squirm into a seat between the bass player and Mark. She didn't hesitate before wrapping her arms tightly around her friend's shoulders; he felt sticky and warm and the smell of cheap alcohol and cigarettes clung to his hair, something unavoidable in a place like this. Julie had to raise her voice significantly to make herself heard above the roar of the crowd and the excited chatter of the people wanting a moment of attention from the members of Reckless Life, which was a bit of a challenge since all the shouting and singing along had made her rather hoarse. “I told you you didn't have to worry, everyone loves you!” It was a moment later that Julie let go again, and she sat back in her seat to look up at Mark – although his emotions weren't as much on the surface as they were with Julie, it didn't take much to see that he was pleased – more than pleased, she daresay that he was outright ecstatic. “And you put on such a great performance, that solo at the end, that-- oh, and you played my favourite song!” Julie was talking particularly fast, something she was prone to when she was excited, and right now, being excited was a severe understatement of how she felt. They'd absolutely nailed every song they'd played right down to the final chord. “This must be my favourite performance sofar! Well...” she shrugged meaningfully, a smile widening on her lips, “Second-favourite, of course.” Julie pressed her hands to her lap for fear that she'd go and hug him all over again. Curiously she looked around herself, and for a moment wondered how it felt to have people surrounding you, wanting your attention, praising you for something [i]you[/i] had done. It was probably a feeling unlike any other. “I uh, got here just as you started playing. Sorry I was late. Me and Bryce got caught up at the restaurant, but we still managed to arrive on time and -- He probably didn't want to hear it, but she knew that Mark would be wondering where Bryce was right now. Or maybe he wasn't but she felt she should share it regardless. Perhaps if just because it was the only stain on an otherwise perfect evening... well, the latter half of it, anyway. “Bryce is waiting outside, he, uh... said the smoke and the music were giving him a migraine.” And that was technically true, but she was no fool, and the underlying meaning had been clear. Apologetically she looked to Mark, not really wanting to take away from this euphoric evening. Luckily, someone handed them both a beer and she gladly let it distract her. The mood around Julie was infectious and the alcohol definitely helped, too; forgetting about a sulking boyfriend for a while wasn't too difficult now. “So tell me everything,” she insisted, “How was it? How did it feel to see that entire crowd go wild? Do you think Reckless Life will get famous now?”