A soft knock of the oak door broke Jen from her weary, work-fuelled stupor. "Come in!" She called, taking a sip of her fourth coffee of the day. The door opened slowly, revealing a woman wearing a tight green dress and a cheery smile. "Hey, Jen. I was wondering if there was anything you guys needed me to do, cos I've done all the tasks Piper set for me. But, um, that seems less important right now... Are you okay?"
She gave a weary smile and waved away her concerns. "I'm fine, Sammy. Don't worry about me. As for the work, I think you've earned a break. You can go explore the city if you like, just make sure you're back two hours before the performance, you know what Piper's like. If anyone gives you any trouble, just tell them that... I... sent... you." She trailed off toward the end, already staring back at her computer screen with an exhausted expression, biting her thumb nail absentmindedly. Sammy's brow creased, taking in the dark circles under Jen's eyes, her creased blazer, the empty coffee cups scattered around the office. "Uh Jen, can I make a request?" When she nodded, only half hearing her, Sammy continued "Come with me? You deserve a break, too. You can't just work till the point of exhaustion." That caught her attention. Her eyes widened and she laughed in surprise "It's nice of you to offer, but I'm sorry I've got a load of work to do. Maybe another time."
Sammy smiled teasingly. "Nope. I'm not taking no for an answer. It'll only be an hour or so out of your day and we'll be back in no time, then you can get on with the work with a fresh perspective and some actual food in you. If you're so worried about the work, you can tell me about it on the way and I might be able to help." Before Jen could protest further, Sammy smiled sweetly at her, a smile she just couldn't resist. "Please." Almost imperceptibly, she nodded, knowing that she'd probably come to regret it. Together, they walked to the door, passing security with ease.
Sammy winced slightly as sunlight from high in the sky grazed their backs with a gentle kiss, venturing forth into the bustling streets of Madrid. "So, where are we headed?" Jen laughed, feeling giddily happy for the first time in a long while. "Well, there's a little restaurant around the corner. Its a little fancy, but its the closest place."
"Hey what makes you think I can't do fancy? I can clean up okay." Jen replied, pushing her shoulder playfully. Sammy smiled sweetly, leading her around the corner to a restaurant called 'Casa Botin'. Smells wafted from inside, making their mouths water and their eyes widen with excitement. They stepped inside and Sammy stepped up to the counter to talk to the staff as Jen looked around in amazement. The beautiful oak panelling blended with the rustic stone of the walls delicately. Entranced in a net of wonder, Jen stared in awe of the intricate handiwork, barely noticing the waiter leading them to their table.
They sat down at a mahogany table, covered with a laced tablecloth. Sammy ordered them some water and a small bite to eat. Once the server had left, Jen turned to her with an expression of shock and wonder. "You weren't kidding about this being fancy. I feel underdressed for this." Sammy chuckled under her breath. "Hey, don't worry. You look perfect. And, uh, don't worry about the cost, its my treat." She whispered, with a crooked smile and a wink. Jen beamed back at her. "So what you been working on that's got you looking so burned out?"
"Well I'm not supposed to say anything to the rest of the staff till its confirmed, but Piper's had me scouting for places to shoot the videos for a couple of the new songs while we're here in Spain." She stated with a secretive smile. Sammy's eyes widened, gaining an excited glint in the bright lighting for only a moment before she carefully composed her features back to a neutral expression. "So... does that mean you'll be staying long here?" Jen giggled, noticing the change in her features, even if it was only for a moment. "Like I said, its not confirmed yet, but if this goes ahead then yes. We should be here in Spain for another few months." She shook her head with a guilty expression. "I shouldn't even be telling you this, though. Piper would kill me."
"What Piper doesn't know won't kill her..." Sammy looked her in the eye pointedly, deliberately ambiguous about the topic of her statement. A light blush rose to Jen's cheeks as she dropped her gaze, stuttering profusely. "Well... I- I suppose that's, uh- Well that's um- Well true, I... I guess." At that moment, the waiter appeared plates of food and Jen heaved a sigh of relief as the conversation eased onto a lighter topic.
After the meal, Jen glanced at her watch and her eyes widened with shock. "Wow. This was amazing and I hate to say this, but we should probably head back."
Sammy nodded solemnly, already calling for the check. "Say no more. Piper'll probably have a whole list of tasks for both of us by the time we get back."
Outside, the sun wasn't nearly as high as when they came in, but it was still bright in the sky, shining its light on them. For a moment, they walked in companionable silence, but it wasn't long until it was broken. "This was nice, Sammy. Thank you, I- I'm glad we did this." She said softly, a guilty expression plain on her face, contradicting her statement. "And that makes you sad because...?" Sammy asked, her brow creased with concern. Jen stopped walking for a moment. She turned to Sammy, conflicted. Her eyes raked over her body, and then dropped to the ground sheepishly as she hesitated, weighing her words carefully. "Sammy... I-" Just at that moment, her phone rang, cutting her off. She cursed under her breath and answered. "Hello... Yes Piper... Sorry Piper... I was just- Yes... I'll be there in a minute." She sighed as she pulled the phone away from her ear and turned to Sammy with an apologetic smile. "Duty calls." She said dejectedly as she started walking again.
* * *
In his dressing room, Kaide was pacing the floor again, not because of the stress of the show, but his mind kept racing over what he'd seen that afternoon. He couldn't believe it. The way the scene had changed in an instant. It baffled him. He glanced at the time on his phone for the tenth time. He still had half an hour before his set. But luckily for him, the crew would want to prep the sound and lighting before the show, so his mind wasn't completely out of it. At the moment though, he couldn't think about that. All he could think about was the moment the crowd disappeared without so much as a flash, and the moment the statue's ears elongated to points. He jumped when Wrenn's head popped through the door. "Didn't mean to scare you, there. Piper says you need to be on stage for the sound checks." They said, already leading him up to the stage.
As they approached the stage, backstage was a wild mess of wires and people running to get things done in preparation. As Kaide passed, Jen offered him a quick, tired smile before running over to an open laptop next to another harried intern. Kaide paced slowly up the steps to the stage, finding his bandmates already waiting for him. "Hurry up, slowpoke." Jeered Beck as Kaide took centre-stage, mic in hand. He rolled his eyes as the test commenced.
The tests went on for a long while, draining everyone's energy and not helping to alleviate the stress of the crew in any way. When they were finally finished, Jen shouted up to them; "I think that's enough for now, guys. We'll get the setup ready. Sammy will take you down to hair and makeup to get you sorted." She said, gesturing for her to lead them down. She nodded, her neutral expression transforming into a sweet smile. "Shall we?"
The door to hair and makeup opened with a creak, revealing a jovial, purple haired woman smiling at them as they entered. "Strip." She giggled as they entered. Sammy's eyes widened in shock. "How many times? You can't just greet everyone by telling them to take their clothes off, Fatima." Mal chuckled.
"What? I'm a stylist on a tight schedule. Oh, Sammy, hun. You can head back to the production team now if you like. I'll take care of these ruffians." She smiled, still laughing at herself and sitting Asura down in a chair to start on. Sammy nodded, relieved to head back to her duties backstage.
Half an hour later, the band members filed out one by one onto the stage to the cheers of the large crowd gathered around the stage. "Hey everyone! We're the Clockwork Infernals and this is Heart of The Damned!" As they launched into their first song, Kaide's eyes ran over the crowd and locked in with a pair of grey eyes, shining up at him with excitement. Strands of midnight black and streaks of shining silver hair fluttered in the wind as she caught his eye and winked at him knowingly. He smiled back and closed his eyes, leaning into the lyrics with his all.
"Call me the end of your world,
Call me your genocide,
Cos I'm venomous,
Just like a spider bite,
I'm a relentless machine with no emergency brake,
To stop me,
I'll start by crawling inside,
Like a parasite,
You'll feel your heart skip a beat,
Just a couple times,
You'll think that you've found the one,
But it's your mind coming undone,
Ripping slowly,
Although I'm beautiful,
Like a perfect dream,
Inside my soul,
There's a murder scene,
I'm a creature who's up to no good,
I'll love you like a vampire would,
I've been fang-using,
Heart-bruising,
It feels so good,
To love you like a vampire would,
I've been pray before, now I'm predator and I'm cold inside,
Like a vampire,
He was an animal with such a mad disease,
They said to stay away, but damn he wanted me,
And that was the day that my blood became infected,
And I learnt it was kill or be killed,
Although I'm beautiful,
Like a perfect dream,
Inside my soul,
There is a murder scene,
I've been pray before, now I'm predator and I'm cold inside,
Like a freezer door was left wide open,
Frostbite crept into my veins,
Crippled by a life so tragic,
I can never love again,
Run away cos I'm contagious,
You know that I can't control this,
Instinct to feed,
The hunter in me,
I've been fang-using,
Heart-bruising,
It feels so good,
To love you like, love you like a vampire would,
I've been pray before, now I'm predator and I'm cold inside,
Like a vampire."
* * *
As their song, 'Heart of The Damned', started, Sammy froze in place, her hand hovering over a keyboard. Her eyes widened and glanced around furtively. Her leg jiggled nervously. Her teeth held her lip in a constrictive grasp. She didn't realise how hard she was biting until she felt a trickle of liquid seeping from her lip. "Sammy, are you okay? You don't look so great. I-is that blood?" Jen asked, turning to her and noticing her worried expression and the dark droplet threatening to spill over the edge of her lip. Before Jen could see any more, Sammy curled her lip inwards, sucking on the wound for a moment. When she pushed it out to the normal position again, the blood and even the cut was completely gone. "I'm fine. It's just, uh... this song... never mind. I'm fine." She said, plastering on a smile for her supervisor and getting back to work, trying to ignore the song blasting through her ears.