Emily, or 'Rachel' as the few friends of her own that she still had, had to admit that she had been wary of entering 'Mad Hatter' when she and her sorority sisters (well, that is some of them, as neither she nor Mark would have been ever able to afford enough tickets for the fifty or so girl comprising the Upsilon Theta Lamda sisterhood currently in campus with both her student's finance nor his limited salary) had piled out of Marion's fancy sport car two hours ago. That reserve turned to disgust once she took a good look at the interior of the place, stains and all, and she had started to regret her decision to come and support the band for Mark's sake despite knowing how Terrence would react if he ever found out. That doubt, compounded by the guilt she felt at having lied to her boyfriend about where she was going tonight, nearly had her turn right back out and forget about the whole thing.
That was until she saw Mark from the corner of her eye as the guy was setting up the set for what she now remembered could really well be the jig that would bring Reckless Life with the big fishes of the music industry, the thought and the eager hope she could see even from here on his face giving her pause. Fortunately for the remainder of her flagging resolve, Marian found a liking to the place when she noted the well stocked bar and the small army of various rock bands' promotional posters proudly displayed on nearly every last inches of the dirty walls, making her escape route pretty much gone for.
With their unofficial leader's apparent approval, the small group of sorority girls slowly made their way to the bar, ordering various drinks and making small talk to get over any nerves each may or may not have about being seen in a place with such a wild reputation. Alcohol and superficial talk soon had them all relax enough to start to enjoy themselves, and it was with a pleasant enough state of mind that they cheered for their sister's roommate’s band when they were announced.
What started as a polite attempt to be supportive soon changed to awed shock, however, for while none of them were that much of a rock fan, they could all admit that these scruffy guys were good. Really good... good enough to make the whole room, themselves included, start to cheer loudly once the shock let place to the strange and feral feeling of euphoria the powerful sound generated. Rachel felt a wide grin stretch over her face, wide enough so that she had the idle thought of being grateful for her habit of favoring hydrating lipsticks over the more shiny effect of gloss.
The following couple of hours passed in a blur, Rachel feeling most of her usual inhibitions melt away under the nearly electric atmosphere of the bar. Helped with a generous dose of the strawberry daiquiri she favored, the strawberry-blonde soon was right up there shouting and jumping along with the rest of the band's spectators. She was sweating, her hair was now a mess and her makeup was surely ruined by now yet she could not bring herself to care, could not bother with anyone's opinion at the moment as she let the heady beat and wild wails of the music blasting through the speakers on the stage take hold of her body, her soul.
She didn't even notice how her legs became sore from all that jumping around, how her arms started to tire from being kept in place high over her head for so long. Nothing mattered but what she felt, the music in her ears and the glowing, exuberant look on Mark's face. She was here to enjoy herself and support her friend as his dream became reality, and she would not let any doubt or stray thought get in the way of that tonight!
As the last note sounded and the crowd came down from their music-induced high, Rachel let herself slump against Marian, the two girl laughing freely as they leaned they sweaty brow against the other, panting hard and a bit unsteady from the adrenalin slowly laving their bloodstream. Trying to keep each other upright and more or less on course, the two friends made their way to the bar, giggling once in a while whenever their admittedly tipsy selves stumbled before the other caught them. The place was packed full of bodies, and so it took quite a bit of time and effort for the two tiny scrap of college girls to reach the bar, both sighing in relief when the rest of the path was suddenly cleared for them by Mark and that bulky friend of his.
At the brunet's eager inquiry about what she thought of their performance, the young woman gigled a bit to herself, wiping sluggishly a few stray stands of strawberry blond hair from her own sweaty and flushed pink face. Baby blue eyes sparkling in a rare show of mischievousness, Rachel made a show of thinking it over, her lips pursed as she looked at her shirtless friend up and down.
“I'm pretty sure none of us will be able to hear properly for a week, if that's what you were asking,” she drawled in a fake whine before laughing again at the guitarist's expression. “You guys were amazing, Mark! With tonight's show, you'll have that break you're looking for, for sure!” She said, grinning and bouncing slightly in place, attracting some lustful glance from nearby males as the small scrap of midnight blue fabric tied with satin ribbons to her back and trying to pass itself as a proper halter top hid little of the interesting result of the movement on her breasts, the tight, tiny denim cutoffs and tight-high black stockings on her shapely legs not helping them from looking away.
The rest of the night passed in good cheers and hope-filled excitement... that is until Rachel had to go outside to make a call away from the loud noises of the bar and was met with a rough hand tightly gripping her shoulder, harshly turning her around to meet furious dark-green eyes. At the sight and the slow realization of the eyes' owner's identity, Rachel felt all her good buzz drain from her to leave place to an ugly, awful mix of shock, horror and guilt.
Terrence had found out...
That was until she saw Mark from the corner of her eye as the guy was setting up the set for what she now remembered could really well be the jig that would bring Reckless Life with the big fishes of the music industry, the thought and the eager hope she could see even from here on his face giving her pause. Fortunately for the remainder of her flagging resolve, Marian found a liking to the place when she noted the well stocked bar and the small army of various rock bands' promotional posters proudly displayed on nearly every last inches of the dirty walls, making her escape route pretty much gone for.
With their unofficial leader's apparent approval, the small group of sorority girls slowly made their way to the bar, ordering various drinks and making small talk to get over any nerves each may or may not have about being seen in a place with such a wild reputation. Alcohol and superficial talk soon had them all relax enough to start to enjoy themselves, and it was with a pleasant enough state of mind that they cheered for their sister's roommate’s band when they were announced.
What started as a polite attempt to be supportive soon changed to awed shock, however, for while none of them were that much of a rock fan, they could all admit that these scruffy guys were good. Really good... good enough to make the whole room, themselves included, start to cheer loudly once the shock let place to the strange and feral feeling of euphoria the powerful sound generated. Rachel felt a wide grin stretch over her face, wide enough so that she had the idle thought of being grateful for her habit of favoring hydrating lipsticks over the more shiny effect of gloss.
The following couple of hours passed in a blur, Rachel feeling most of her usual inhibitions melt away under the nearly electric atmosphere of the bar. Helped with a generous dose of the strawberry daiquiri she favored, the strawberry-blonde soon was right up there shouting and jumping along with the rest of the band's spectators. She was sweating, her hair was now a mess and her makeup was surely ruined by now yet she could not bring herself to care, could not bother with anyone's opinion at the moment as she let the heady beat and wild wails of the music blasting through the speakers on the stage take hold of her body, her soul.
She didn't even notice how her legs became sore from all that jumping around, how her arms started to tire from being kept in place high over her head for so long. Nothing mattered but what she felt, the music in her ears and the glowing, exuberant look on Mark's face. She was here to enjoy herself and support her friend as his dream became reality, and she would not let any doubt or stray thought get in the way of that tonight!
As the last note sounded and the crowd came down from their music-induced high, Rachel let herself slump against Marian, the two girl laughing freely as they leaned they sweaty brow against the other, panting hard and a bit unsteady from the adrenalin slowly laving their bloodstream. Trying to keep each other upright and more or less on course, the two friends made their way to the bar, giggling once in a while whenever their admittedly tipsy selves stumbled before the other caught them. The place was packed full of bodies, and so it took quite a bit of time and effort for the two tiny scrap of college girls to reach the bar, both sighing in relief when the rest of the path was suddenly cleared for them by Mark and that bulky friend of his.
At the brunet's eager inquiry about what she thought of their performance, the young woman gigled a bit to herself, wiping sluggishly a few stray stands of strawberry blond hair from her own sweaty and flushed pink face. Baby blue eyes sparkling in a rare show of mischievousness, Rachel made a show of thinking it over, her lips pursed as she looked at her shirtless friend up and down.
“I'm pretty sure none of us will be able to hear properly for a week, if that's what you were asking,” she drawled in a fake whine before laughing again at the guitarist's expression. “You guys were amazing, Mark! With tonight's show, you'll have that break you're looking for, for sure!” She said, grinning and bouncing slightly in place, attracting some lustful glance from nearby males as the small scrap of midnight blue fabric tied with satin ribbons to her back and trying to pass itself as a proper halter top hid little of the interesting result of the movement on her breasts, the tight, tiny denim cutoffs and tight-high black stockings on her shapely legs not helping them from looking away.
The rest of the night passed in good cheers and hope-filled excitement... that is until Rachel had to go outside to make a call away from the loud noises of the bar and was met with a rough hand tightly gripping her shoulder, harshly turning her around to meet furious dark-green eyes. At the sight and the slow realization of the eyes' owner's identity, Rachel felt all her good buzz drain from her to leave place to an ugly, awful mix of shock, horror and guilt.
Terrence had found out...