Meanwhile at The Smouldering Hog; Nathan Hendrickson was busy working on his dad's old motorbike. Besides helping out his family out at the pub and spending practically almost every single day at rehearsals in Central London and getting ready for the band's US press tour; Nathan spent a vast majority of his time fixing up the motorbike. To Nathan; working on his dad's old motorbike was the perfect distraction not only from his already busy schedule with his family and his band mates but also from her. It had been several months since Nathan had last spoken to Roxie and it had been hard for him to move on since then. Every day was a constant reminder of what Nathan had lost since Roxie's return to New York and Nathan had the choice to either go back and get drunk at some night club or at least take what he had learned from his experience with Roxie and try to be somewhat responsible. So far the fact that Nathan was helping out his family and working on the motorbike were somewhat a good distraction from thinking about Roxie, however; Nathan still felt an emptiness in his heart that he couldn't shake away.
When things had finally ended between Nathan and Roxie; Nathan couldn't get the feeling that there was a very good reason why his relationship with Roxie had suddenly ended when the relationship was just blossoming. It seemed odd to Nathan that Roxie would do this to him when it was obvious to him at the airport Roxie did feel the same way about Nathan. He just couldn't understand why; after only talking to each other for 2 months since she had left the UK, Roxie would treat him this way.
After a while had passed, Nathan was starting to get a bit thirsty. So Nathan reluctantly stopped what he was doing and started walking back towards the back entrance of The Smouldering Hog. Now from a stranger's perspective it would seem odd for someone like Nathan to spend most of their free time at a significant place from a previous relationship. Usually an average person would simply avoid any significant area or place that his or her previous relationship spent the most time at. However, Nathan wasn't your average 20 year old male. Despite his dashing good looks and somewhat rebellious demeanor; Nathan rather enjoyed his time at his aunt and uncle's pub and inn. Despite it being the place he had met Roxie and also where his mom died; The Smouldering Hog was also Nathan's first home; where he got his first job and the only place where Nathan can be his true self. You see, to the public's eye; Nathan was portrayed as "the bad boy" of Fifth Avenue Square. With his rebellious "rock star" image, Nathan did whatever he wanted, with whoever he was with and didn't give a damn about what everyone else thought about him. However, whenever Nathan was around his family at The Smouldering Hog; that rebellious side was rarely ever brought out because to his family; Nathan was just Nathan. There were no gimicks or games and Nathan liked that he could at least be his true self in one particular place that meant the most to him.
As soon as Nathan had entered the back entrance of the pub; he greeted all of the recently hired staff members and walked to the bar area in the pub's lounge area. Once he had made it to the bar, Nathan noticed his cousin Tom cleaning up a case of pint glasses.
"Need a hand there Tommy boy?" Nathan asked his cousin.
"Usually I would say no; but since we're a bit short on staff you might as well grab a washcloth and wipe that box of pints over on that side of the bar." Tom said as he pointed out to another box that was on the other far corner of the bar.
"You've got it. Speaking of staff members; how's it coming with training the new recruits?"
"According to Annie it's a bit better than last week. Some still need a bit more work on handling everything during the rush hour, but other than that the new employees are basically doing just fine. Dad is hoping that they'll be ready by the time you and the lads are ready for your world tour." Tom explained.
"That's good to hear. That must be one huge relief for your parents to worry about." Nathan stated.
"Yeah; I guess you can say that. Mum is still trying to convince Dad to hire some workers for when we travel with you guys on tour, but I highly doubt Dad will agree to anything. You and I know how stubborn he is when it comes to agreeing to something." Tom said.
"Tell me about it. It took what 2-3 months for him to finally agree with your mum to hire more pub staff here for the restaurant. There has got to be an easier way to get him to realize that you and Annie need some help in running the family business." Nathan remarked.
"Not unless you can try to convince Scott and Lexie to bring us along with you lot for the US press tour then maybe that will help. Other than that; we're screwed." Tom chuckled.
"I'll try to do my best, but with the press tour being two weeks away, I'll highly doubt Scott will even consider bringing you guys along." Nathan sighed.
"It sounds like you're not that excited. Usually you couldn't wait to head back on the road." Tom pointed out.
"Yeah, I don't know why I'm feeling this way. Maybe it's because I'm already used to the whole 'touring schedule'; but lately I've just been really nonchalant about everything."
"Look; if I were you, I would at least try to at least show you are excited about the tour otherwise everybody is going to assume something's wrong." Tom suggested.
"I'll do my best. Any way it looks like Cassie just texted me that she's on her way over here to the pub which means I've got to leave. You think you'll be good or should I have someone out here to assist you?" Nathan asked.
"You better bring someone out here to help me. I've got a feeling it's going to get crowded in a few hours. Anyway; have fun at rehearsals." Tom said. Nathan then nodded his head, went to the back of the pub and asked a few servers to go out to the front to assist Tom and grabbed his jacket and the keys to his dad's old motorbike so he could leave to make it right on time for band rehearsals.