The Day the World Turned Blue

Lotta Lovin'

Lisa was sitting at the concert with her hands on her lap. She felt so uncomfortable. There were quite a few people in the hall. It wasn't even that big of a concert hall. Lisa felt out of place.
When she was a teenager rock and roll concerts felt so natural, but now they felt so awkward. She was jammed in a room with a bunch of people, and for some reason no one asked anyone else to dance. People just stood around and clapped.
Gene Vincent once again performed with the same fury and power as before, but the audience still didn't seem to respond. Then he got to a ballad. It was Over the Rainbow... Lisa remembered him playing this song on the jukebox a little more than three years ago. His voice was gorgeous on it. It was full of longing. Just perfect... It was nearing the end of the concert. Gene went into Be-Bop-a-Lula, and the crowd went wild. People were dancing and screaming. It was such an abrupt change. It frightened Lisa slightly. One song could change an audience so dramatically. Then the concert was over. Gene retreated from the stage with slow steps and heavy limping.
People began to slowly leave the concert hall. Lisa left slowly. She was stuck in the flow of people. Then she was outside. She felt a little sick, like someone was pressing down on her chest. She looked for a bench to rest herself. She found a bench and sat down. She was having a little trouble breathing so she began to control her breathing.
In, one, two, three, four... Out, one, two, three, four... Lisa thought as she breathed with her counting. She did that for a few minutes, until her heart stopped beating so quickly and the pressure on her chest wasn't so tight. She raised her hand to her forehead and brushed her dark hair out of her face.
"Are you okay?" Asked a soft voice.
"Yeah," Lisa said turning her head towards the voice. Her eyes widened as she looked up at Gene.
A sweet smile.
"How long has it been?" Gene asked. His hand went to his hair to slick it back.
"A little more than three years," Lisa said.
Gene shook his head. "Why'd it take you so long to see me again?" He asked smiling.
"All your tours seem to be in England these days," Lisa said laughing.
Gene scooted closer to her. "They like me better there," He said.
"When did the black leather become a thing?" Lisa asked.
Gene laughed slightly. "It was sort of a thing they thought up when I got to England. See, apparently I was too polite so they made me into a greaser with black leather and everything," He said.
Lisa frowned slightly. "Was that during the same tour that Eddie Cochran..." Lisa started to asked, but she couldn't bring herself to say the rest.
Gene looked really sad. "Yeah," He said quietly.
Lisa put her hand on his shoulder. "I shouldn't have brought that up," She said.
"No, it's alright," Gene said.
Lisa still felt pretty bad. Gene snuck his arm over her shoulders while she wasn't looking.
"Aren't you married?" Lisa asked suspiciously.
"Yeah," Gene said. "Me and Darlene didn't work out, I travelled too much. But I married again, and it isn't a very easy marriage..."
"Oh, why?" Lisa asked. She was so self conscious about his arm over her shoulder.
"I don't know... I don't trust her very much," Gene said. "I just have this feeling she's cheating on me..."
Lisa patted his knee. "I bet nothing's going on, you're just paranoid," She said.
"I probably am, but I don't think she likes me too much because of it," Gene said. "I love her, I really do, it's just so hard to keep my cool."
Lisa nodded her head slowly. Gene looked at Lisa.
"What about you? Are you married?" Gene asked.
Lisa laughed slightly. "No," she said, "but I'm only twenty-one so I have plenty of time."
"Gee, the first time I met you, you must have been only sixteen," Gene said.
Lisa nodded looking over at a light post.
"And you hitchhiked all the way to Ohio?" Gene said after a moment of silence.
Lisa shrugged. "My parents didn't want me to go," She said.
"How did you ever go to the other concert?" Gene asked.
"I got a summer job and saved everything," Lisa said. "Now I live on my own so money is a little harder to keep."
"So, how did you get to my concert this time? You've taken a bus, you've taken a train," Gene said smiling.
"I live here right now," Lisa said.
"How did you move from Texas to Portland, Oregon?" Gene asked.
Lisa frowned. She started messing with the hem of her dress. The blue fabric felt odd on her fingers. "I moved here because of a mistake," She said. "Because I'm an idiot."
Gene raised an eyebrow. "Oh, why's that?" He asked echoing how he greeted her three years earlier.
"Because I trusted a man that made big promises, and he left me all alone in Oregon without anyway back home. So I made the best of it," Lisa said shrugging.
"That's terrible," Gene said.
Lisa shrugged. "Oregon's not that bad," She said. "It isn't Texas, but it's nice."
Gene smiled. "It's good that you like it here," He said.
"I like it well enough," Lisa said. "Like I said, it isn't Texas."
"Why do you love Texas so much?" Gene asked.
"I don't know, it's something about being born there, it's home," Lisa said. "Do you get what I'm sayin'?"
Gene nodded his head. Silence lapsed between them. Lisa began to mess with her hands. She felt so fidgety, and she didn't know what to say.
"Do you want to get something to eat?" Gene asked breaking the silence.
Lisa looked at him again. "I'm not particularly hungry," She said.
Gene frowned. "I'm a little hungry," he said, "and I want a drink."
Lisa smiled at Gene. "Would you like to go to a bar?" She asked.
Gene broke out into a large smile. "I'd love to," He said.
Lisa's chest felt weird as she looked at Gene's smiling face. She couldn't help, but think of how attractive Gene looked when he smiled. Gene stood up and held his hand out to help Lisa up. She took his hand and stood up. Gene held her hand as they walked towards the closest bar. Lisa could feel her face burning up because Gene was holding her hand.
Gene and Lisa entered a small bar with a green door. They both took seats on stools in front of the bar. The bartender was cleaning a glass slowly like a scene in an old western. He was even wearing a tacky old vest and a flimsy old bow tie. He seemed to avoid looking at Gene and Lisa.
"I want a beer and a..." Gene said then he turned to Lisa to find out what drink she wanted.
"A brandy," Lisa said.
The bartender leaned down to grabbed the two drinks that Gene and Lisa ordered from under the bar. He poured Lisa's brandy into a glass then handed Gene his beer and Lisa her drink. Gene took a large gulp of his bottle of beer. Lisa slowly sipped on her brandy.
Gene finished his first beer and ordered another. Lisa was having trouble drinking her brandy. She didn't drink a lot, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to finish her drink off. She got drunk pretty easily. By the time Lisa finished her first drink Gene was already done with his second and halfway through his third. He turned to the bartender.
"Get the lady another," He said.
Lisa opened her mouth to argue, but the bartender had already started to pour her the drink and she didn't want to seem rude. Gene smiled at her again. Lisa could feel her cheeks burning up. She was probably blushing. Gene finished his third beer and went on for his fourth. Lisa sipped on her second drink. She was already starting to feel tipsy.
"I thought you were hungry," Lisa said. Her speech hadn't yet begun to slur.
"I'll eat later," Gene said smiling.
He has such a pretty smile, Lisa thought.
"Thank you," Gene said smiling even wider.
Lisa felt stupid. She had said what she was thinking out loud. She had admitted he had a pretty smile. She shouldn't be this drunk this quickly.
Gene poked her shoulder playfully. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"I feel stupid," Lisa said looking down into her drink. "I am stupid. I just keep being stupid."
"You're not stupid," Gene said. His brow furrowed. He looked worried for her.
"I am stupid. I'm so stupid that sometimes I imagine that I have a chance with you," Lisa said.
Gene frowned. "What's so stupid about that?" He asked.
Lisa knew she was drunk. She was having trouble thinking clearly. She kept looking into her drink. She didn't want to answer his question so she was silent.
Gene tapped her shoulder again. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked.
Lisa nodded her head then took another sip of her brandy. She knew she should probably stop drinking her brandy, but she couldn't stop. She was so nervous and the drink seemed to ease her tension. She was slowly starting to lose her sensibility, and it was getting harder for her to regulate what she was saying. She started to ramble on and on.
Gene noticed her drink was empty and the bartender was about to refill it at Lisa's request. "No, don't give her another," Gene said. He moved the glass away from Lisa. She looked over at him.
"But I want another drink," Lisa said quietly plucking at a string on her dress sleeve.
Gene smiled at her. "You don't need another drink," He said.
She nodded slowly. She was still messing with the string. Gene leaned forward and plucked the string off of her sleeve. She looked up then looked back down at her lap. He finished his beer and paid. He led her out of the bar. She was walking fine.
"Now, let's take you home," Gene said. "Where do you live around here?"
"I can find it on my own," Lisa insisted.
"I want to walk you home," Gene said smiling.
"Why?" Lisa asked.
"Cuz it's my fault you're drunk and I don't want you to get hurt," Gene said. "Just walk to your house and I'll walk with you."
Lisa ran her fingers through her hair to get it out of her face. They walked together to an old apartment building. Gene stared at the building. "This is where you live?" He asked.
Lisa nodded her head as she walked towards the building. "It's all I can afford," She said.
Gene frowned. "You must not have a very high paying job," He said.
"Nope," Lisa said opening the door to the apartment building and stepping inside.
Gene followed her to the stairs. He looked at them. "How many flights up do you live?" He asked.
"Only one," Lisa said while standing between the second and third step.
Gene nodded his head and started to walk up the stairs slowly. Lisa walked beside him. She wanted to help him, but she wasn't sure how.
When Lisa and Gene reached the second floor, she headed towards her room at the end of the hall. She felt a pang of guilt as she made Gene walk step after step. She unlocked her room's door and leaned on the door frame.
"You want to come in?" Lisa asked leaning her head on the door frame.
Gene smiled at her. "I better not," He said. "I probably should go back to my band."
"Oh."
Gene kissed her softly on the lips. "Goodbye," He said.
Lisa felt her cheek burn bright. "Bye..."
She stepped back into her room and slowly closed the door. She was still blushing. She retreated to her couch and sat down. Her heart was beating quickly. Gene's kiss kept playing in her mind.
Over and over.
It was such a short kiss...
But it played in her head over and over...

(The video attached to this chapter is Lotta Lovin', the video with the music is actually for a song called Dance in the Street and is from the movie Hot Rod Gang. Johnny Meeks plays very well on the record. This story I'm really working hard on so the updates will not be as regular as my Monkees Fanfiction, but I am trying very hard. Until next chapter!)