There was always a table reserved for Monica and the other girlfriends close to the stage. Performance time was approaching and the tavern was full to the brim with customers and fans alike. The table only had one seat left.

"Hey, lady," crooned a girl draped in a silver kimono dress.

Pearl got up from the table to greet her. She had been with Toby, the drummer, for almost as long as Monica had been with Owen. Though she was the girlfriend that looked as if she had walked straight out of a fashion magazine, she never acted like it.

"Hi, Pearl," Monica walked up to her and gave her a hug.

Both of the girls quickly sat down. Pearl began to speak louder as the crowd's noise intensified. "Jane is upset with me."

Jane, the bassist's girlfriend, rolled her eyes and took a sip of her margarita. Her deep burgundy lips matched the color of her hair.

"What's wrong?" Monica was always last to know about the dramas between her friends.

Pearl and Jane worked at an Italian restaurant downtown and spent a majority of their time together without her around.

"Jane is just PMSing. You know how it is, girl," Pearl bellowed with a wicked little grin on her lips. She slicked her fly-aways back and made sure her high ponytail was nice and tight. She brought her bottle of beer to her plump lips and scanned her eyes over the crowd. "My God, the whole damn town must be here tonight."

Jane's eyes flickered over the crowd and she nodded her head in agreement. Scooter did not have a girlfriend. He had girlfriends. There was no way Roxie's Tavern had a table large enough for all of them.

"Monny, I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to your party last night," Jane said. "Eric and I had a fight and I just didn't want to look at his stupid little face all night in such close quarters. I hope you can understand. I wanna take you out shopping next week. To make it up to you."

She sat her drink down and waited for Monica's response. Of all the girls, Jane did not even have to work. Her family bought her a brand new car last year and she's had her own bank account since the age of fourteen.

Monica was not going to say no. She mostly searched in the clearance sections of stores and bought a lot of her stuff second-hand or from outlet shops. It wasn't the first time Jane had treated her to such a day.

"I'd really like that a lot."

"Let me know what day is good for you and I'll come by and pick you up."

Monica smiled and nodded as the band was about to come on stage and the crowd cheered. The girls got up from their seats and held up their drinks in salute to their demi-gods now gracing the stage.

As he always did before every show, Owen kissed the air in front of him while his eyes rested upon Monica's. His little display drove the girls crazy in the crowd.

At first, all the attention Owen got was unsettling to her. Over time, however, she got used to it. Yes, they were only a cover band, but he was by far the most talented person in the band. At least, that was how Monica saw it. He deserved all the fits he caused.

Some of the highlights of that night's set were the new songs Scooter was so bent on adding. He had the girls giggling a bit to themselves at first when he and the band started in on Pearl Jam's "Black". He closed his eyes while he sang it.

Pearl actually leaned forward during it, making sure he got every lyric correct. If not, she was going to bust his ass. Even the crowd looked as if they were witness to some sort of frontman reawakening. That feeling was soon thrown overboard when the boys went full-speed into a new cover of The Beastie Boys song "Sabotage".

After almost an hour and a half of playing, the band abandoned their microphones and instruments. The crowd still wanted more. The boys disappeared to the talent-only bathroom backstage. A couple minutes later, Owen greeted their table and Monica had an ice cold bottle of water waiting for him. He chugged it down and gave her cheek a chilly kiss before he and the boys got back on stage for one more song.

She could not believe her ears at first. Owen's grin did not leave his face once, nor did his eyes leave Monica's while he and the band did their rendition of Peter Cetera's "Glory Of Love".

Even Jane's mood changed. Monica spotted her blowing Eric a kiss during it. Pearl got up from her seat and joined a group of girls next to the stage as they waved their hands back and forth.

Monica was pleasantly surprised. Yet again, Owen had given her a gift no money could buy.