Melody 5 - Rising Stars

5 (iv) - Rhian

--- RHIAN ---

Rhian smiled coyly as she handed over the £20 note to the pizza delivery guy.  He was tall, good-looking and had a naughty twinkle in his eye.

“Is that all you want to give me, darlin’?” he said, with a saucy grin and a cheeky raise of his eyebrows.

Rhian bit her bottom lip.  She wished she could think of a captivating response for moments like this, instead of just blushing like a schoolgirl.

“Well, I think there’s definitely something you could give us?” said Molly, as she appeared behind Rhian at their front door.

“Oh yeah,” smirked the delivery guy, suggestively.  “What’s that?”

“Our change!” said Molly smartly. 

“Oh yeah,” said the delivery guy, as he fumbled in his pockets.  Molly smiled and rolled her eyes.

“I finish in a couple of hours,” he grinned.  “If you girls need a bit of company later on, I could always pop back…”

“No thanks,” said Molly, grabbing the change and shutting the front door in his face.

“Ohhh, Molly!” moaned Rhian.  “He was really nice.”

“He was a sleaze!” said Molly, as she made her way to the lounge.  She put the pizza on the coffee table, grabbed a slice and sank into the sofa.

“I think he wanted to be friends with us,” said Rhian, as she nabbed a slice too and plonked herself on a beanbag.

“Oh Rhian, he wanted to be more than friends,” chuckled Molly, as she tucked into her slice. 

It was just the two of them in the house tonight.  After a jam-packed and exhausting first week, Amy had gone to her parents’ in Woking for the weekend, Jadine had gone to see how her family was coping without her, and Olivia had to attend an important event at her family’s ancestral home.  Olivia had gone on and on about it at length, but Rhian had tuned out after the first 10 minutes.  It was something to do with horses, a fancy marquee and a cousin who was half-related to Prince William – or something like that. 

Rhian hadn’t admitted it to any of the other girls, but she was a bit scared of Olivia and spent most of her time trying to avoid her - which considering they were living and working together wasn’t actually that difficult.  Olivia pretty much kept to herself, and Rhian much preferred it when it was just the other girls. 

Molly was super-lovely and Rhian was glad she was sharing a room with her – although sometimes she did spoil Rhian’s fun.  Like her chat with the pizza delivery guy.  Or the other morning when a guy on the tube had innocently rubbed up against her - Molly had soon seen him off too!

Jadine and Amy were even feistier characters, but were still bags of fun to be around.  Plus they were really patient with her in rehearsals – which was especially nice of Amy, considering she was so experienced and had been in a couple of bands already.  Rhian didn’t know exactly how old Amy was, but figured she was probably about 19.

“So tell me about your boyfriend,” said Rhian, helping herself to a slice of garlic bread.

“Josh?” said Molly.  “Well, he’s a DJ for a radio station in Huddersfield.”

“Is he like a local celebrity then?” asked Rhian. 

“A bit,” smiled Molly.

“I bet he’s good-looking,” grinned Rhian.

“Well, I think so,” laughed Molly.

“And doesn’t he mind you being away?” said Rhian.

“Well, he encouraged me to follow my dreams so…”  Molly trailed off and Rhian noticed a sad look cross her eyes.

“Do you miss him?”

“Yes, but it’s not just him,” said Molly.

“You miss your family?”

“It’s complicated,” sighed Molly.  “What about you?”

“Oh, I don’t miss my lot,” said Rhian.  “Well, maybe my dad.  But only a little bit.”

“I mean, do you miss your boyfriend?” asked Molly.

Rhian smiled uncertainly.  “I’m not sure he is my boyfriend.”

Molly raised her eyebrows.

“Kyle said he’d stay in touch, but I haven’t heard from him since the first night I got here.”

Molly reached over and squeezed Rhian’s hand. 

“It’s probably because I’m not sophisticated enough for him,” said Rhian.

“What do you mean – sophisticated?”

“Well, he usually goes out with older girls and he’s used to…”  Rhian let the sentence hang in the air, before finishing with “…getting his own way.”

“So he’s miffed you won’t sleep with him?” said Molly, cutting to the chase.

“I’m not a prude,” asserted Rhian.  “I mean I have done some stuff for him.”

“For him?” asked Molly.

“With him,” said Rhian, quickly.  She could feel the colour rising in her cheeks.  “You know what I mean.”

“But only because you wanted to, right?” asked Molly.

“Yeah,” said Rhian.  “Well, most of the time.”

“Rhian, sweetie.  You do know that you don’t have to anything for a guy unless you want to.”

“Of course I do,” said Rhian.  She could feel Molly staring at her, so she took a bite of her slice and decided to change the subject.  “So what do you think of Derren McKenzie?”

Molly rolled her eyes.  “Not much.”

“I think he’s gorgeous,” cooed Rhian.  “Do you think he’s too old for me?”

“Definitely!” said Molly.  “He’s 24!”

Rhian pouted.  “I don’t know.  I think he might be tempted.”

“Not if he wants to keep his job.”

Molly really was putting a dampener on everything this evening.

“So shall we watch a film?” asked Molly, picking up the TV remote.

“I’ve got a better idea,” said Rhian.  “Let’s go into town!  We could go to Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus.  Maybe even go to a club.”

“Rhian, you’re underage.”

“With make up on, I look at least 19.  Or even 20.”

“Even so, I think we should stay in,” said Molly.

Rhian sighed.  Her first Friday night in London and she was going to be stuck in watching a film, just like she would have done, if she was back home in Penarvon.  Molly must have noticed her disappointment.

“Look, let’s wait until Jadine and Amy are here.  They’ll know all the cool places to go.”

Rhian perked up a little at that prospect.  “I guess so.”

“So,” said Molly, as she rifled through the DVD selection on the shelves.  “What do you fancy?  The Hunger Games or Breaking Dawn Part One?”

What Rhian actually fancied was a text from Kyle, another flirtation with the pizza delivery guy or a hot date with Derren McKenzie, but she guess she’d have to settle for a film.

“The Hunger Games,” she said, as she clambered on the sofa next to Molly.  Staying in wasn’t so bad, but Rhian was determined to have a wild night out soon.  Very soon.