Calypso's heart felt like it was about to break through her chest and fly far away.
She stood infront a growing crowd. Most of them looked to be in their early twenties, and most of them looked like the typical writer or aspiring artist. There were a few girls who looked unbothered by her performance, and she nervously chewed on her bottom lip till it hurted.
"Relax, Cal. We're doing good,"
One of her bestfriends, Angela, whispered in her ear. Angela had a bright smile on her face, always being the positive one of the group.
Calypso only nodded her head, and turned around to the rest of her bandmates. Jack, the drummer and her bestfriend since second grade, threw her a quick thumbs up. She looked at Avery, a blonde who winked and nodded at her.
Her group of friends were her safe haven and as she received nods of approval and reassurance from them, she felt her muscles relax and a little of her anxiety slipped from her.
"Folks, this next song might hit home for some of you. It's originally written by me about a recent heartbreak I got. So, enjoy my heartbreak, I guess,"
The crowd broke into soft giggles at that, and when the soft thumping of the drums started, Angela's voice wafted through the air in soft melodies.
Calypso then got the silent signal from Angela - a nod. She strummed the strings on her guitar, and suddenly felt all her anxiety melt away. Calypso's soft voice added to Angela's raspy but gentle one, and Avery joined in on the bridge.
Angela's voice then broke, and all eyes snapped to her. Calypso watched as her bottom lip quivered while she sang the song of her ex-girlfriend who cheated on her.
Avery then appeared behind her and held her shoulder, never being one for physical touch but she and all of us knew this was the hardest thing for her. Avery and Angela were sisters, twins, actually. They were bestfriends, two of the closest people Calypso has ever met.
Angela looked at Calypso for support, and she meakly nodded. Calypso loved being lead singer of the band, but it was times like these that she despised. The always felt puney to Angela, her being short and blonde, skin tan and kind. Calypso was the opposite, dark purple hair and acne scars, stood at a tall five foot seven. Her voice was nothing compared to Angela's. It was soft and she had to push herself to sing louder so the crowd could actually hear her, while Angela's voice made a statement wherever she went. It wasn't the deepest, but it had a rasp to it.
Calypso took over from Angela while her sister turned her back to the crowd, shielding her from the curious gazes.
"Now, that was Traitor by Angela. We actually have a new single we'd like you to hear, and it's quite the song. Thanks to the sisters and myself, we put our teen drama into a very lovely song, if I do say so myself. Everybody, I'd like to present you Brutal, by The Dreamers,"
Once the crows started clapping, Calypso locked her lips and walked to the two twins.
"Okay?"
Angela only nodded, and took a sip from her water bottle. When Avery found her spot at her own mic again, Calypso switched her acoustic guitar to an electric one, the one her father bought her when she was ten.
It was a crisp white, with blue swirls everywhere. She smiled at the crowd, and she followed behind the two twins when they started playing.
Meanwhile, someone in the crowd could take his eyes from Calypso. Her purple hair made her stand out from the group. James took a sip from his whiskey on rocks, purely captivated by the girl. Her face contorted in pure ecstacy as her voice rang through his ears. She smiled while she sang, and her voice. God, her voice.
It made his head swirls, and he made sure it wasn't the whiskey. She sang with confidence that radiated from her petite figure, and when she stopped and met his eyes, he felt his heart skip a beat.
Her friend, Angela, he guessed, smiled at her as she sang the chorus of the pop song, and she smiled back. Her shorts were light blue, rfectly matching with the long white shirt she whore and her guitar.
Then, she stopped playing her guitar, and gripped the handle of the mic, her soft voice melted as she sang, and then the song ended.
The crowd clapped loudly, screaming words he couldn't make out. When the group stepped down from the stage, he knew he had to talk to the girl. To his surprise, she headed straight for the bar he was seated at.
Calypso's heart still felt like it was going to explode, and when she made eye contact with a very tall, very attractive man, she begged her voice to not give her shyness away.
She was a timid girl, shy and usually silent in conversations. But when she was on stage, she let herself go. She smiled at the bar man, and told him her order. It consisting of advil and a cold water, then a tall brandy on rocks. She threw the pill down her throat, chuckling water behind it. She smiled at the bar man once he placed her other order infront of her. As she took a much needed sip, she met the eyes of the stranger again.
He probably looked to be a tall six foot four. His hair was dark brown from what she could make out under the strobe lights. A neatly detailed beard hugged his strong jaw nicely. She only smiled at him, and when he merely raised a dark brow at her, she rolled her eyes and took another sip.
He smiled at her as the crowd made their way towards her, praising her and giving her compliments.
His friend, Adam, came up behind him. James turned to the blonde man, "Who are they?" He asked over the soft rock music that filled the bar. His friend smiled, "Calypso and The Dreamers, I think. They're good, aren't they?" James nodded, completely focused on the beautiful girl.
"She's young too, maybe twenty two."
James nodded again, and his friend continued talking. He tuned him out, something about a girl Adam hooked up with in the bathroom leaving him uninterested. He watched as the girl smiled kindly at everyone paying them compliments, telling them it wasn't just her, that her group were the best. She was humble, he thought.
Calypso smiled at the girl who came up to her and gave her a big hug, telling her that they were her favorite band. Calypso sighed tiredly, and took another sip of her drink.
"Buy you another one?"
A deep, baritone voice suddenly filled her ears. She felt the hair stand up on her arms, and she chewed on her lip before she spoke.
"I'm alright, thank you. I'm not actually supposed to be drinking," The girl laughed softly, leaving James completely limp at the wonderful sound. He didn't know why she peaked his interest, being older than her by twelve years. His lips quirked up by a fraction, "That's too bad then,"
She nodded softly as a response, feeling her throat close up as she looked at the man.
"James," He said as he extended a large, tattooed hand out to her. She looked at it momentarily, noticing silver rings and beautifully detailed ink on his knuckles and hand.
"Calypso. Or just Cal, whatever,"
She put her small hand in his, watching the way it nearly swallowed it up. The man was large, and he definitely took up a lot of space. A dark jumper rested comfortably on his broad shoulders, a light blue shirt hung loosely from under the jumper.
He raised a brow, "Calypso? That's-" She smiled, "Different? Yeah, it is definitely." James locked his lips, watching her intently. She was the definition of angelic, and he nearly wanted to tell her that. He almost felt ridiculous; thinking about a young girl like that. But he couldn't help himself. Her shoulders were pushed back, letting him know she was confident and probably very sure of herself. Her green eyes beamed under the strobe lights as she looked at him.
The air suddenly felt very thick around her, and she was eternally grateful when Avery called her from upstage. The man smiled, or smirked, at her as she bid him a goodbye, and she looked down at her black Converse, making sure she wouldn't trip and fall, embarrassing herself.
"Folks, this is the last one for tonight, okay? Some of us-" Avery looked at Calypso, a playful scowl taking over her face, "Have work tomorrow. So, here's Jealousy by the Dreamers. If you relate to this, I'm so sorry,"
The crows bubbled into laughter again, and Calypso gripped her guitar tightly. She suddenly felt more nervous than always, seeing as that a pair of steely, icy blue eyes bore into her skin like flames.
James watched as Calypso sang gracefully, it looked like she used little to no effort at all. Her smile was intoxicating, the way she scrunched her nose when she hit a high note, the way her small, dainty fingers bled over the strings in the most elegant and professional manner.
Adam tapped him on the shoulder, motioning to the door. James downed the last of his drink, and when he caught the eye of the beautiful angel, he gave her a nod and she gave him one back.
As his figure walked through the door, she breathed deeply. Her nervousness had vanished as soon as he did, and she could finally sing how she was supposed to.
She smiled at the crowd once the song ended, bid them a kind goodbye and thanked them for coming, and when she went backstage, she told Avery all about the man. Avery could only grin at her, loving the way her bestfriend ranted about the unknown man.
While Jack drove her back to her apartment, she couldn't stop thinking about him. She wished she could see him again when she saw a shooting star out of the car window. When she waved Jack a goodbye and opened the door to her apartment building, she found herself smiling.
She tsked at herself, and opened her apartment door.