“Please Steve,” Robin pleaded while she leant over the counter to get into Steve’s personal space, “we need you!”
“You don't need me, Robin. You could get any other singer in this town.” Steve replied as he ignored Robin falling back to her feet and started walking around to get impossiblely closer.
“But you are the only singer that I know that hasn’t already signed up for it. I can’t just walk up to a random person on the street and ask them to join my band.”
“Robin, I’m not even that good of a singer, and—” He started before being interrupted by Robin, “Yes you are! I’ve heard you sing before, and I thought an angel was ascending me to heaven.”
“I was in the shower; everyone sounds good in the shower.”
"Well, I sure as hell don’t, and as much as I love her, Vickie doesn’t either.” Robin explained, “And before you even ask,” she said when he began to open his mouth, “we did ask Nancy, but she's too busy with school and college shit.”
Steve stared at her for a moment as he thought it over.
Robin has been asking for a week now if he would join her band so that they could enter a band competition at this old bar in Indianapolis. He didn’t even know she was in a band, just always assumed when she said she was going to band practice that meant marching band, but apparently, she had been in a band since freshman year. Though he doesn’t understand how they could have a band without a singer in the first place.
It had never been a problem for them before; as Robin explained, they were just kids having fun playing signs without words. But now, it has become an actual problem. See, they weren’t allowed to sign up for the competition without a singer. And this could be their big break. So they were in desperate need.
And who is he to let her down?
“Fine, I’ll join your little band, but only for the competition, after that, I’m out.” Robin squealed and dragged Steve into a tight hug as she thanked him over and over again.
"Okay, okay, I get it.” He said when she finally let him go and got back to putting the movies away. “What song do you even want me to sing?”
He turned around to Robin when he was met with silence and saw her standing in the same position as when he had looked away. He was able to figure out what the silence meant when he said back to her, “I assume that means you don’t have one in mind?”
“We've never written a song before,” Steve opened his mouth to ask her a question before she interrupted him a second time, “and we aren’t allowed to do covers. They all have to be original.”
Steve stared at her for a second while she stared back, starting to fiddle with her work vest.
“I assumed you might have written a song before since that song you were singing in the shower, I had never heard before.”
He had. And still does sometimes as a healthier way of expressing emotions.
“Okay, fine I can also write a song for your band as well.”
“Our band now, right?” She said trying to calm her nerves after realizing he wasn’t going to leave her stranded.
“Yes, Robin. Our band. Now will you please help me put these movies away already?” He said back, hoping that they can leave it at that and get back to work so that they don’t both get fired.
“Oh right, help is on the way.”
It was the next day that Steve finally met the band that Robin had been hyping up the past week in Robin's basement. He already knew Vickie since Robin never stopped talking about her, but he had never met any of the others before.
Robin was the drummer, Vickie was the bass guitarist, a girl he had never seen before named Olivia was the keyboardist, and another girl named Amelia was the rhythm guitarist. And true to Robin's word, there was no singer.
“Alrighty guys, as a few of you know, this is Steve.” Robin said as she walked over to her drum set that had the words “Dead Roses” painted on them.
A chorus of ‘hellos’ and ‘heys’ filled the room and Steve waved over at them while he stood still in the doorway not really sure where he was allowed to sit.
“So he will be the singer and songwriter for us to get into the Golden Hideout competition. Oh and you can sit on the couch.” Robin informed them all.
“Cool, so do you have any song ideas that we could try out?” Vickie asked, putting on her guitar and watching Steve sit on the couch while he pulled out a notebook and pencil out of the bag he brought.
He opened it to a new black page and said, “Well I was expecting to get more of an understanding and feel of what you play to figure out what songs would go well. If you don’t mind I was just going to kinda watch today.”
“Oh yeah that's cool, I was wanting to practice more of the song we finished yesterday anyway.” Olivia replied, standing up from her spot in a very comfortable looking chair and walking over to her keyboard.
“Yeah we can do that.” Robin said as she grabbed her drumsticks.
Steve watched as they all got situated and Vickie started them off with an Am chord, then E then G and so fourth. They continued to play and Steve got more of a sense that they played more soft and quiet music, which was perfect because he knew how to write that type. The song went from just vickie playing a solo and then Robin started playing along and Amelia and Olivia entered as well. Amelia having a more intense part towards the end.
“So what do you think?” Amelia asked after taking a big gulp of water from her water bottle.
“It was great, I don’t think I have a song in my book that will go with it right now but I can definitely write one.” He answered back.
Robin stood up quickly and started picking up everything that she had brought with her and grabbed Steve by the shoulder. “Shit shit shit Steve we’re late to work.”
“Oh shit.” He said as he grabbed all his things and yelled out as he ran up the stairs, “Thanks for letting me hang out!"
Lucky for them, when they finally got there, there were no people, and it wasn’t Keith’s turn to watch over them, so they managed to keep their job for another day.
It had been over an hour since they opened and they had no customers, which is normal but at least they had each other to talk to pass the time. But Steve had been unusually quiet with his head in his book writing non-stop. Robin understood but she was getting really tired of doing nothing for an hour.
“So how’s the song going so far?” She asked to finally start a conversation.
“It’s going.” Steve answered without looking up from his notebook. He had scratched out the last few words and started over on that verse, as it looked from Robin's perspective.
“Anyway I could get a preview?” She looked over his shoulder to see what he had been writing but he quickly closed it so she couldn’t. “Oh come on, you have been working on that for over an hour and you’re going to sing it in front of me and a lot of other people anyway.”
Steve set his notebook and pencil down on the counter and turned towards her. “You will see it when you see it just like everyone else.” he answered back.
Just then the door opened and rang letting them know that someone had just walked in. Steve spun around to say hello in his usual customer service voice before the customer walked straight to the horror movie section and just completely ignored him.
“Rude.” Steve said to himself under his breath at the same time the customer walked back over seemingly to have found what he was looking for quite quickly.
Steve checked him out as quickly as he could so he could get back to writing while the song was still fresh in his mind. “And how was your time spent?” he asked his usual service questions he was complied to do.
“I’m going to be honest, it wasn't the best. Could have had better customer service.” He answered back in a jokey way that Steve would have found annoying if he wasn’t too preoccupied with scanning the movie.
“Oh no too bad.” Steve said when he looked up and got a good look at the man in front of him.
He had dark brown curly hair that sat on his shoulders and just as equally dark brown colored eyes. He had a big smirk on his face as he stared at Steve, and was wearing a short sleeved shirt that had a picture of a devil on it and the words ‘Hell Fire’ on the top. He had on ripped black skinny jeans and a denim vest with a lot of pins and drawings on it. But the most noticeable thing he had on was a guitar bag strapped to his back.
“You play?” Steve asked while he handed the man his tape of ‘The Gremlins’ in a Family Video plastic bag.
“No no, I just like to walk around with an extra 8 and a half pounds on me at all times for fun.” He answered sarcastically, leaning over the counter in a similar way that Robin had the other day.
“Oh ha ha man, why do you actually have one?”
“Well if you must know, pretty boy, I’m on my way to my band's practice for the night. We gotta practice real good for the competition we’re entering next week.” He said, bouncing back and forth on his heels.
“The competition? You mean the one at the Golden Hideout?” Steve asked him, taking the space that the man had just left behind to lean on the counter.
“Yeah, how’d you know ‘bout it?” the man leaned on the counter right in front of Steve, getting back into his space.
“My friend dragged me into her band and we were planning on entering ourselves, what music do you play?”
“Why’d you wanna know, trying to sabotage the competition?” he didn’t wait for his answer before continuing, “Well, it won’t work cause we are pretty good. And we have more of a rock/metal genre.”
“First of all, I’m not trying to sabotage anyone.” Steve started, “Second, I couldn’t care less about the competition, I’m only doing this cause my friend needed a singer and songwriter. And third, I think we’re pretty good too, so don’t go around thinking that you got it all in the bag, okay?”
“So you do care a little about the competition? Well, then it looks like you got yourself a rival then.” He extended his hand out for Steve to grab. “Don’t expect me to go on easy on you though just cause you’re pretty. And my name’s Eddie by the way.”
Steve reaches out and grabs his hand to shake and says, “Then I won’t go easy on you either, and my name’s Steve, not ‘pretty boy’.”
“I know who you are. We used to go to the same high school together, though I didn’t expect you to remember me anyway, I wasn’t as popular as King Steve.”
“Oh, sorry.” Steve said as he dropped his hand next to his side. He knows what he was like in high school and regrets the way he acted everyday, he thinks he will forever.
“No need. All I need is to win against you and we’ll be all good.”
“I’m not going to just let you win, even if I was an asshole before. The only reason I’m even in this is for my friend.”
“Yeah I thought so, but I’m not worried much. Now I do have to go since I’m already late for practice.” he said as he grabbed the bag he had placed on the counter and walked out the door, but not before winking at him and proudly exclaiming, “Till we meet again, Pretty Boy!”
“Jesues Christ…” Steve whispered while watching the man, or Eddie, standing outside of his van pulling out his keys, then dropping them, then grabbing them off the ground, fiddling with them, then dropping them again and watching the cycle continue before he finally got into the car and drove off. Almost hitting the curb on the way out.
Robin had come back from the back room a while ago with more movies in hand but had decided to stand back and watch the hell of a conversation that just took place right in front of her. “So…”’
Steve jumped back as he had not seen her coming proclaiming a second “Jesues Christ!”.
“What was that about?” she said, sounding amused and curious at the same time she ignored Steve’s heart attack as if it were a normal occurrence.
“What do you mean? It was a normal conversation between a customer and service worker, what else would it be.”
“Kinda looked like flirting to me.” Robin explained as she went and put the movies into their places on the selves.
“Flirting? Robin I wasn’t “flirting”.” he said, placing quotation marks around the word flirting as if it were insane that he would ever flirt with the guy named Eddie.
“I don’t know Steve, I’ve seen you flirt with a lot of people and that looked like it to me. Or at least, he was definitely flirting with you.” Robin hadn’t even turned in his diereaction to talk to him and instead was focused on making sure all the movies looked neat and clean and weren’t out of order.
“He wasn’t flirting, he was being mean. And besides, he’s the enemy here, okay Robin? We can’t be flirting or hanging out with the enemy.”
Robin seemed to completely miss his point as she then decided to say, “Oh! You guys can have an enemies to lovers story line. Oh that would be so cool and sweet!”
“Robin we aren’t-” but before he could finish what he was going to say the door rang as a new customer came in, a new one he hadn’t seen before so he decided it was best to save the rest of the conversation for later.
Eddie knew that Steve had been working at the Family Video store for awhile, it was the main reason he rarely ever went to the store in the first place. But he had been late the past three times in a row, so that meant that it was his turn to get the movie they would watch after their band practice. I mean, they had too, it was tradition by now.
His plan was to walk in, get the movie, buy it, and leave as fast as he could (hoping to god that just maybe the other worker would ring him up instead of him).
So he walked in (check), ignoring Steve as he was about to talk, picked out the movie (check), walked over to the counter, and placed it down, waiting for him to pick it up and scan it so that he could give him the money he had and walk out.
“And how was your time spent?”
“If I’m gonna be honest”, god I never think before I speak, “it wasn't the best. Could have had better customer service.”
He had managed to keep his cool for the remainder of their conversation. Even flirted a little here and there, just normal Eddie behavior, he supposes. He wishes he got out before he was late to band for the fourth time, if Steve didn’t keep talking. He realized now that he shouldn’t be pissed about their conversation, he was the one to start it. But he did get some important information out of it too.
Steve motherfucking Harrington was joining the Golden Hideout’s band competition, something he never dreamed of or had a nightmare over. Eddie wasn’t even sure if Steve knew how to play an instrument or if he even knew how to sing.
He was just lucky that he managed to keep calm and actually act cool throughout the whole thing, until he was outside and could feel Steve’s eyes on him as he struggled to get his keys right.
But it was all worth it when he finally got to Gareth’s garage and could tell them what just happened.
“You’re late again, Munson.” Gareth informed him as Eddie stepped out of the van and walked into the open garage.
“Really? Are you sure? I had no idea.” he said sarcastically as he threw the bag on the ground and picked up his bass from the couch that Jeff had laid out for him and started tuning it.
“Did you get the movie?” asked Adam while he was plugging in his guitar into the amp.
“What do you think was in the bag?” Eddie started strumming the first chord to their newest song, ‘Seasons In The Abyss’.
Eddie was the lead bassist and lead singer, Gareth was the drummer, Jeff was the lead guitarist, and Adam was the backup guitarist and backup singer.
Gareth started playing as well, and the other two started as well. Sure, it was loud, and they got complaints from neighbors all the time, but hell did they sound good. The song was about 6 minutes long, which might sound long to a lot of people, but in Eddie’s humble opinion, that's the perfect length for a song. And the perfect song to get them past the first step of the competition.
At the end of the song, they were sweating and huffing out breaths from the fast pace and intensity of it.
“Oh yeah, and Steve Harrington is in the competition.”
“What?”