Samantha looked as Lucas stood up on the stage; he was bathed in applause from the crowd.
Then she saw that Lucas was approaching her.
"Here's your guitar. Thank you for lending it to me for a short time," Lucas said gratefully to Samantha as he returned the guitar to her.
"Not at all. I think your performance was great, so I don't mind if you want to use it for more," Samantha said as she took the guitar. Then she said, "The song you just performed... It's your original, isn't it?"
When Lucas heard that, he shook his head and said with a confused expression, "No, it's not my original— I mean, don't you remember? That song was composed by the band Oasis—"
"You needn't deny it with such a reason, Mr. Lucas," Samantha interrupted Lucas, crossing her arms over her chest. She said to him, "Not your original? Composed by what? Oasis? Almost everyone here knows such a band didn't exist, let alone the fact that the song you just performed was good enough not to go unnoticed by the many music enthusiasts present."
"I..." Lucas couldn't help but feel genuinely confused. He thought, 'Doesn't everyone here know about the popular English band Oasis? Are they living under a rock or... Does it really not exist, and the same goes for their songs...'
As Lucas pondered, he realized that he was technically in a different world, right? He had transmigrated into the body of Lucas Knight, whose father was a WB director, and had an older step-brother making a name in Hollywood. Now that he thought about it, Lucas couldn't recall anyone like Melvin Knight, his current body's step-brother, being famous in his previous world.
Maybe Lucas in his previous life hadn't heard of such a person before, but what about his roommate and friend, Paul Sterling? The more Lucas thinks about it, he never heard of an actor famous enough to even be granted the opportunity to audition for 'Marshall Dylan' of "Modern Family," right?
And now, Oasis band and their songs don't exist in this world? Well, Lucas thinks that they may really not exist in this world, as it seems this world isn't the same as his previous one...
"Well, what do you think of m-my song?" Lucas said, knowing that it's not his song, and he couldn't help but feel kind of uncomfortable claiming such a song as his.
Meanwhile, Samantha didn't mind Lucas stuttering slightly; she just said, "Your song is great! I felt that such a song should be known! Why don't you record your song and release it?" She looked at Lucas with a bit of a twinkle in her eyes as she thought about it.
Lucas felt a bit overwhelmed seeing the young and beautiful Samantha looking hopefully at him. But he said, "I'll think about it."
While Lucas and Samantha were talking, the patrons in the bar shouted:
"Hey, will you perform once more?"
"Just flirt later, please perform again, Lucas!"
"Please perform more!"
Lucas couldn't help but turn to the crowd and exchange glances with Samantha. He smiled helplessly and said, "I'll only perform for a short time, so..."
Samantha smiled and said, "I understand. I apologize for our patrons."
"It's okay," Lucas replied. Then he saw Samantha calming down the crowd, and he turned to Paul and the others in the distance. Paul was seemingly encouraging him with gestures, the same for the two Chrises. They probably think that he was hitting on Samantha, Lucas thought.
Lucas then turned his attention to Samantha, ignoring his friend and the crowd shouting for more. He saw that Samantha was also looking at him, and feeling a bit shy, Lucas excused himself.
Samantha wanted to stop Lucas but held back. She didn't have any reasons to stop him, so she just watched his back as he departed.
'Oh, Samantha... You don't need to feel so complicated about a guy leaving.' Samantha shook her head to shake away distracting thoughts.
As Lucas walked toward his friend, he noticed people praising him along the way.
"Great song there, buddy!"
"Yeah! But a pity you're not a singer of this bar, or I'd make you sing at the stage all day."
"Hahaha!"
Lucas just smiled and then returned to Paul and the others.
"Hey, I didn't know you had such talent!" Paul patted Lucas on the shoulder and praised. He then said, "You even have the guts to hit on that young woman there! Haha!"
Lucas sighed and said, "I'm not hitting on anyone, Paul."
"Sure." Paul whistled as he said.
"That's such a beautiful song! I hope I could listen to more!" Rachel exclaimed, genuinely impressed by the song.
"Not gonna lie, but I also liked it," Chris Hemsworth said.
"If I knew someone like you existed, I'd be more than happy to work with you instead of Paul," Chris Evans said, teasing Paul at the same time.
"Hey, you're going too far," Paul chuckled as he nudged Chris Evans.
Lucas noticed something in the words and said, "Oh? Are you currently working with Paul?" He asked, curious about the project Chris Evans and Paul were collaborating on.
"Well, I'm working on a project named 'Loser,' and Paul has a side character role in that film. We're actually about to start filming in about a week," Chris Evans explained.
"Side character? Really?" Paul chimed in, "You might as well say I'm just an extra or something."
Lucas observed Paul and Chris Evans in a playful bickering, but he couldn't help feeling kind of envious of Paul. His friend was already involved in a film project, while he didn't even have an agency yet.
While Lucas was lost in thought, a woman in her 30s approached their table, drawing the attention of Paul and the others. They watched as the woman looked at Lucas.
"Mr. Lucas, I saw your performance just now, and I must say, I can see the potential of a singer in you," the woman said with a faint smile.
When Paul and the others realized the woman was here for Lucas, they turned their gaze toward him.
"Thank you," Lucas replied.
"I'm Elena Rhodes, the manager of this bar," the woman in her 30s introduced herself, extending a handshake to Lucas.
Lucas gladly accepted Elena's handshake and introduced himself, "Lucas Knight."
Elena nodded and greeted Paul and the others before turning her attention back to Lucas. "I am very impressed with your performance. Would you like to work as a singer at this bar?"
Lucas and the others were a bit surprised that the bar manager was offering Lucas a job, but he politely declined, saying, "I apologize, but I must decline. I already have a job, and I am pursuing my own goals."
"Oh? It's alright. You don't have to apologize. If your thoughts change, this is my contact card," Elena said, handing Lucas a card. She added, "I really loved the song you just sang on stage. If you're interested in having your song recorded, just contact me. I know someone at a professional recording studio."
After saying that, Elena didn't continue to disturb Lucas and the others and walked away.
After Elena walked away, Paul and the others looked at Lucas more admirably and teased him.
As time passed, a few attractive and fit women approached Lucas. Paul and the others watched as Lucas politely declined the women who were essentially throwing themselves at him. Watching Lucas decline seemed painful in the eyes of Paul, Chris, and Chris.
Afterward, Lucas, Paul, along with the two Chrises and Rachel, walked out of the bar. Lucas and Paul bid farewell to the two Chrises and Rachel, then hailed a taxi to return to their apartment.
In the taxi, Lucas talked with Paul and learned that Paul would be quite busy and might not even return to the apartment for a few weeks or even months. He was working on a film project with Chris Evans on a film called "Loser," and Paul was part of the main cast.
Lucas knew that movie, and its rating or box office results didn't go that well compared to Chris Evans' "Captain America." However, what Lucas noticed was that Paul was actually included in the movie "Loser." Lucas knew there was no one named Paul Sterling as part of the main cast at all.