don't | n.s

you did great babe

The next night Niall happens to lift his head from his bass just in time to see Harry order at the bar. Luke falls into the bridge then, singing about driving along at a speed as fast as her heart and Niall has to concentrate on not slipping off the strings. He's hot and sweaty and that feeling he gets every time they perform is swelling up inside of him making everything seem that much brighter. He holds onto it, forgetting all about Harry until the end of the set when he looks over at the bar again and the only faces he recognises are Zayn's and Liam's.

"You did great, babe," Zayn says later when it's only them left in the building.

Luke leans back from where she's perched on the bar -- every time Niall tries that he gets told he's breaking safety regulations; Zayn is playing favourites -- and pecks his cheek. "Thanks. First time trying out that second song but it worked alright, didn't it?"

"Well a guy in the front row tried to take his top off halfway through it which I'm taking as a good sign," Niall says, sliding his arm past Luke's waist to steal her glass. The water is cool as it runs down his throat. He takes another swallow then allows it to be tugged out of his hand, back into Luke's.

"A very good sign," Jade agrees. She picks up a couple of CDs from the pile that has been getting smaller every week. "Should we add it to the demo?"

"Maybe we should try it a couple more times, along with that one we started the other day."

Jade nods, chewing at her lip as she goes over the list again like they don't have the songs and their order memorised. "Nice ad-libbing on Friends Included, Luke."

"You know that one's my favourite," Luke grins.

Niall's favourite is Magic Doesn't Work because it's fast and catchy but it's sad, too, and isn't that the best combination. Dancing around your room to a song about losing the one you love is something Niall wants every person in the country to have the opportunity to do.

Liam locks up the front door, pulling down the blinds, then ushers everyone into the back hallway towards the side door. "Just remember who gave you free drinks when you were starting out," she grins, stepping back to let Liam pull the door shut.

"Free CDs for life," Jade promises, sticking out her tongue when Liam aims a half-hearted swing at her. "Come on, let's go home."

[i made some changes cause I realized things weren't adding up, so I hope it's not confusing. anyways, this book is dedicated entirely to pastellemalik because bottomzaynzquad ]