ChapterEighteen:Back At The Club

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Alex and his bandmates arrived back at their house. They had to be up early for their morning show gig. UTurn, on the other hand, were allowed to sleep in as they had to do their studies.

Alex walked into the kitchen, noticing the UTurn members staring at their laptops. He figured they might have online tests and such. He was surprised Riley was typing away on her laptop. She said she was taking online college courses, trying to have some form of normalcy in her live. He didn't blame her. If anything, he admired her for trying to hold onto something while becoming an up-and-coming popstar.

Alex noticed Derrick wasn't with them. He looked at Andrew and Alyson, who were also busy on their computers. Curious, he asked, "Where's Derrick?"

"I think he's in one of the guys' rooms," Andrew said absently.

"Studying?"

"That," Andrew looked up at him, "and we just got an email from our managers. We have a second album to record later this year."

Impressed, Alex asked, "Really?"

"Yeah. So, we got more songs to write."

Alyson added, "Plus, we got Derrick on looking for a place for us to do an impromptu gig."

Alex raised an eyebrow. He asked, "You do know that was just in a fanfic, yeah? We didn't do that."

"I know, but still, it would help to get a little bit of attention to us before we go back to America."

Alex looked at Andrew, who just shrugged and said, "She's not wrong."

He sighed, "Well, at least you're in London. I'm sure you'll find some place to hold your gig."

Andrew said as he went back to staring at his laptop screen, "If you got ideas, tell Derrick."

Alyson asked, "Alex, you wear glasses?"

Alex forgot he was wearing his thin-rimmed, oval-lensed glasses. He said, "Yeah, here and there. I switched to contacts when I was eleven."

"Same here," she said with a smirk.

Alex looked at Andrew, who was now typing away. He wondered if that was the case for Andrew too. The guy just seemed like mystery. He decided to find Derrick, talk to him about setting up gigs.

He knocked on the UTurn guys' room, but the door was only slightly opened. He looked inside, seeing it was void of any people. He remembered Andrew said that Derrick was in one of the guys' rooms, so he figured maybe the Connect8 guys.

Alex walked in, seeing Derrick on his own bed. He knew his side of the room was the neatest compared to Mason's, and sometimes Jerrod whenever he was in London. It looked okay, so he assumed Andrew didn't put much effort into the appearance of it. Still, seeing Derrick on his bed irked him.

Derrick, staring at him with wide eyes, said hastily, "Look, I got homework and songwriting and searching places for UTurn's gig going on. I needed a place that that was quiet, so I chose this room. That's cool, right?"

Alex said, "Make sure you straightened that bed. I like my side of the room to be as tidy as possible."

Derrick nodded his head. An idea popped into his head, so he said, "You lot will want to perform at a nightclub."

"Okay, do you know a good one that gets crowded on a weekend?"

Alex bit his lip as he looked away. He had to think of a few that allowed pop acts to perform. Only one of them came to mind, making him hesitant to tell Derrick. For all he knew, the red-head guy could assume what Alex was. Then again, maybe he won't. There was no way of knowing. He would just have to tell Derrick.

Alex said nervously, "Well, there's this place where most pop acts perform at."

"And what's that?" he asked.

"GAY."

Derrick raised an eyebrow. "GAY? As in a gay nightclub?"

"Yeah, that's what it's called. It's a famous one."

Derrick muttered, "I can see how Andrew will react to the name."

Confused, Alex asked, "Huh?"

"Nothing," he said. "I'll tell my bandmates."

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The music blasted from the stage. The crowd seemed to enjoy the act. Alex was impressed by UTurn's performance. They performed a new version of one of their songs, along with the ones they released as singles back in North America.

Alex was with his bandmates in the club. It was considered mandatory for them to show up and support UTurn. The gig was arranged by Seth as a last-minute squeeze into the club's lineup. So much for an impromptu gig.

He still felt somewhat uncomfortable being in the club, but he was surrounded by his bandmates. He was sure no one would try to hit on him.

Soon the show was over, allowing the DJ to play their music. Alex didn't want to stay any longer. As he was walking towards the door, he heard a faint sound calling his name. He tried to ignore it, not wanting a guy to hit on him. Would that be so bad really?

He felt his wrist being grabbed, forcing him to turn to the person. It was that rocker girl from UTurn. Amanda? He wasn't sure. He just knew she was the third A-name member of UTurn.

She asked into his ear, "Can we talk outside?"

He nodded his head, not sure what she wanted from him. He led her to the hallways outside the club. He wondered why now she wanted to talk to him. Ever since both bands met, she was quiet around him. She kept her eyes away from him.

He asked, "So what did you want to tell me?"

He noticed she was staring at him, as if she was studying him. He started to feel uneasy about this, so he looked away.

She finally asked, "Do you remember that day when we both stared at each other?"

Alex blinked, confused about what she said. Did he stare at her? If he did, it was probably she looked different than the other UTurn girls.

Amanda added, seemingly nervous, "Both my band and your band were at the Worldwide Music building. I saw you, and you saw me. I mean, I don't look that much different now. My hair is now really blonde, and I got bangs."

Alex suddenly remembered that day. He did remember glancing at Amanda, but it was after he stared at Andrew. He didn't want to admit that part, so he decided to tell her the other truth. "Oh yeah, I think you had braids in your hair. Kind of like how Christina Aguilera used to look?"

She nodded her head, "Yeah, but less trashy and bronzy."

He chuckled, "Yeah, I guess so."

Amanda smiled, "So, what was that stare about?"

Alex looked away, feeling his face warm up. He didn't want to come between Andrew and Alyson. At the same time, he could tell Amanda was interested in him. So, he said, "Well, you definitely looked different than your bandmates. You still do, but I don't know."

Then he looked back at her, and said, "But I don't date fans."

"I'm not a fan," she said bluntly

Alex raised an eyebrow, and asked, "You're not?"

Amanda scoffed, "Please, that's Alyson's job."

"So, Alyson is the fan of Connect8? Just her?"

"I mean, most of us do like your music. Me? I can see why Alyson likes your stuff, but it's not something I would listen to."

Intrigued, Alex asked, "Really? What do you prefer?"

Amanda smirked, "Meet me at the back outside of the club. My iPod is with my stuff. And...is it possible to take the subway back to our place?"

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Alex saw Amanda rushing out of the back of the nightclub. She was back in her black tight jeans and a hoodie with some skeleton figure on it. It said, "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Yup, she's one of those girls.

She walked up to him, and said, "I got my iPod."

Alex smiled, though he felt slightly uncomfortable. The thought of possibly dating a rocker girl scared him. They weren't his type, then again, maybe he'll feel something for her.

He asked, "Ready to take the long way home?"

Amanda smiled, "More than ready."

"We might have the paparazzi following us," he said in a serious tone. "Will that be okay with you?"

She bit her lip, seemingly to think about that part. He knew UTurn was still an unknown in the UK, though he had noticed a few fan accounts on MySpace popping up. It seemed the band was starting to gain traction, but it wasn't much.

Amanda grabbed his hand, and said, "Let's do this."

Alex smiled, "Don't worry. My bodyguard is coming with us."

"Sounds good."

As Alex walked her towards the nearest Underground station, he asked, "Do your bandmates know about this?"

Amanda replied, "Yeah, I told them. They're carrying my bag for me."

"This'll take two trips to our flat. I'm guessing you'll be okay with this."

She shrugged, "I live in Boston. This is pretty much nothing."

He turned to face her, and asked, "You and UTurn had to go all over the place for your gigs?"

Amanda looked away. "I was in a band before UTurn."

"Was that why they were a four-piece at first?"

She raised an eyebrow, and asked, "How much research did you do on us?"

"A lot. Seth made us look into UTurn. There was a video of yours-their first performance. It was just Justin playing the guitar in some sort of sports gear, whilst Bailey, Alyson, and Andrew were the only ones singing."

"Yeah, they told me. I was there when I saw them. They worked really hard to make UTurn work. And now here we are, in London, getting ready to be launched worldwide."

Alex smiled, feeling a bit proud of UTurn for getting this close to breaking out internationally. He figured that band could do really well in both the UK and the rest of Europe. They had the sound and the concept. They would be more accepted within the continent than in America.

They entered a subway train, sitting down on an empty space on a long seat. They were lucky to find one as the train was somewhat full of people. Amanda gave one half of her pair of earbuds to Alex.

He asked, "So what are listening to first?"

Amanda smirked as she played a song from her iPod. The song sounded like a rock song with dark lyrics. The male singer sounded like he was in pain. A part of Alex wasn't surprised by her music tastes, but it didn't mean he liked it.

"Woah!" Alex exclaimed. "This is dark!"

"I like my music hard and dark," Amanda said, seemingly proud of the music.

"This is definitely not something I would listen to."

"What do you prefer instead?"

Alex looked away, trying to come up with a couple of examples. He finally replied, "Well, I currently like The Black Eyed Peas and PCD. "

Amanda said, "Well, My Chemical Romance is my favorite band. I read they're working on their next album."

"So, you prefer this rock stuff?"

"Yeah, I do. And if you heard UTurn's two albums, we have this theme that Andrew calls 'angst on the dancefloor.'"

Alex nodded his head. It made sense now why UTurn had edgy, rocker-like clothes with somewhat dark lyrics. Yet their music sounded like as if Steps had collaborated with that Russian girl group.

He said, "So that's why you all dress like rockers?"

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure you've heard our music already."

Alex smiled, "I did. It's similar to our Nightfall album, but...it's different. It's like a combination of rock and dance. But not bad at all."

Amanda leaned on his shoulder, "That's all of us combining our worlds, and it actually sounds amazing."

Without thinking, Alex wrapped his arm around her. He could feel the smile was still on his face. Maybe he was starting to gain feelings for her. She was definitely different, but at the same time, she seemed sweet. Maybe he was too quick to make assumptions on everyone; but if the mystery of Andrew taught him anything, it was that everyone was not what they seemed.

Besides, maybe being with Amanda will help keep him on the straight path. Do I really want to be on this path?