Love Bites | Joe Elliott x Reader

Chapter 2

Y/N sat at the small mirror in the back room of the pub Ultraviolet were performing at. She applied her makeup, much heavier then she usually wore off stage and turned slightly to see Tammy coming towards her.

"So?" The bassist asked with a smile on her face. Tammy had her hair made up to perfection and her makeup light so as not to take away from her stage clothes. She wore leather trousers with a leather jacket and added a lace top underneath.

"So what?" Y/N asked her, pretending not to know what her friend was talking about.

"Don't play dumb with me Y/N/N, you know exactly what I am talking about." Tammy continued, giving the lead singer a playful glare. It had been two days since the 'Photograph' video and Y/N had been giddy ever since. She hadn't had much time to talk about it though as Doug had been with her at all of the rehearsals.

"It was great. You're gonna love them, they're good guys." Y/N told her whilst the bassist played with the singer's hair. When Y/N finished putting on her makeup, she rose to face the girl behind her. Tammy could see the way that Y/N blushed that there was more to it than Def Leppard being 'good guys'.

"Which one?" Tammy asked.

"What?"

"Which one do you like?" Y/N was taken aback by the bassist's question and went to respond. However, as soon as she opened her mouth she was interrupted.

"Don't lie to me Y/N Y/L/N. Which one of them has you blushing like a teenager?"

Y/N looked down at the floor. "Joe."

"Who?"

"Joe, the lead singer. Joe Elliott."

*

The five members of Def Leppard arrived at the small pub in London. Once again they were thankful that they weren't overly recognisable yet. They had already seen Ultraviolet perform but now they had met the lead singer, they were all the more happy to watch another performance.

They bought a round of drinks and found themselves a table to sit at. Next to them, Joe noticed that there was a man sitting on his own, a small scowl on his face as he glanced at the stage every now and again. It was clear to Joe that the man did not want to be there, leaving the singer to wonder why the grumpy bloke would bother showing up in the first place.

Taking his attention away, Joe turned to the stage himself and noticed the band make their way out.

Joe could not take his eyes off of the lead singer who, to him at least, seemed perfect. The four members of Ultraviolet worked together on stage creating a unique and incredible performance. It was clear to anyone that the band were doing what they loved as they gave their all to the maybe thirty people in the pub.

Sav watched his best friend watch the stage and smiled to himself. It was clear to anyone that the man had a crush as if he was a schoolboy and the bassist couldn't be any happier for him.

*

After the performance, Ultraviolet made their way backstage where they were met by Def Leppard. Introductions were made between the two bands whilst Joe and Y/N couldn't take their eyes off of each other. The two bassists shared a look as they noticed their lead singers not-so-subtly staring at each other.

"That was incredible." Phil told them all as Ultraviolet started to get a drink of water and calm down.

"Yeah it was." Sav backed him up.

Y/N started to take some of her make-up off as she had become quite hot wearing it. As she was doing so, she heard the rest of the group making plans to have a drink at the bar.

"You coming Y/N/N?" Benji asked as he was walking with Steve and Phil.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Y/N smiled, still hyper from performing. Just as they were all leaving the room, Doug came round the corner, making his way straight to Y/N.

He had his usual sneer on his face as he wrapped his arm around Y/N. It was obvious to almost everyone in the room that Y/N didn't want to be wrapped up in someone's arms at that moment and Joe felt his heart sink to his stomach.

'Of course she has a boyfriend.' He thought to himself as he left the room to go back to the bar. Sav quickly followed him and so did the others. Y/N watched him go with longing eyes as she felt even more uncomfortable in her boyfriend's grasp, earning a sympathetic look from Tammy, who knew everything that she was thinking without any words being said.

It was no secret between the band members of Ultraviolet that Y/N was no longer in love with Doug. Not only that she wasn't in love but the fact that she was positively miserable. The others couldn't understand why she moved in with him but they remained silent. They knew it was best to let Y/N come to them rather than push her.

The rest of the group made their way out into the bar area where they found their new friends sitting. Sav offered to get a round in and requested Joe to help him. The two men took everyone's order and made their way up to the front.

"So." Sav looked expectantly at Joe,

"So what?" Joe raised an eyebrow.

"I saw your face fall when her boyfriend walked in."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Joe told him as he waved over a bartender.

"Joe..." Sav started before he was interrupted by Joe ordering everyone's drinks.

"Joe." He tried again after the bartender started making them.

"Joe nothing. Look, she has a boyfriend and that is that."

"Exactly. You're like my brother and I don't want you getting hurt alright."

"Right. No one's going to get hurt." Joe then picked the drinks up off of the bar and made his way back to the makeshift long table the group had organised for everyone to fit at. A few moments later, Sav arrived and handed out the rest.

As everyone settled down, chatter arose between the two bands with plans for the upcoming tour.

"Are you excited to film the next video Y/N?" Rick asked her as he was sitting opposite her.

"Oh definitely." Y/N grinned, ignoring the frown that took place on Doug's face.

Steve who had still remained fairly quiet, only speaking up occasionally until this point quickly chimed in. "Well, it'll be on Phil's birthday this time." He grinned and nudged the guitarist that he was referencing to.

Everyone laughed as Phil went slightly red. Even though he was usually confident, he was still fairly new to the band.

"When's that?" Doug asked Y/N, not bothering to look at anyone else at the table.

"Wednesday." Y/N told him with a stiff smile.

"Why do you need to film two music videos so close together?" Doug asked, earning a look from Y/N and a scoff from Joe.

"Because we're releasing it as a single and that's when the studio is booked." Joe told him in a flat tone, adding more evidence to Sav's theory of him being jealous.

The atmosphere turned awkward as a few of them sipped on their drinks.

"I think it's time to go babe." Doug told her, Y/N knew in his tone though that it was a demand.

"Uhh, sure." Y/N reluctantly stood up as she glanced at Tammy. "I'll see you lot tomorrow." She told her band before turning to the others. "And I'll see you all on Wednesday," With that the two walked out of the pub, their half finished drinks being the only clue that they had been there.