Melody 5 - Rising Stars

13 (ii) - Rhian

--- RHIAN ---

Psylence was swaggering straight towards Rhian.

“Don’t worry,” said Molly, grabbing her hand.

“We’ll see him off,” said Amy, grabbing her other hand.

“Well, lookey who we have here,” grinned Psylence, as he slouched against the bar in the Soundscaper Festival VIP tent.  “Long time, no see, Rhian.”

“Get lost, Psylence!” said Jadine.

“That’s no way to greet the guy who’s trebled your views in one week.  All the guys who saw Rhian’s cute little arse in my vid, headed over to check out your shit.  You should be thanking me.”

“We should be calling the police,” spat Jadine.  “After what you did.”

“What?” said Psylence in mock innocence.  “I didn’t force Rhian to do anything she didn’t want to.  In the video or afterwards.  Isn’t that right babe?” winked Psylence at Rhian.

Jadine took a step forward and Rhian thought she was going to knee him in the crotch again. 

“Hey,” said Amy.  “Remember we’ve got a special performance later.”

“Yeah, I was thinking of checking out your set,” smirked Psylence.  “See if any more of you lovely ladies have got what it takes to get with the Psylence.” 

Jadine rolled her eyes.

“Cool,” smiled Amy. 

“Yeah,” said Molly, playing along.  “We’ve got a new track you’ll enjoy.”

“Looking forward to it,” said Psylence, winking at Amy.

As he was about to leave, he leaned into towards Rhian, making her recoil.

“Shame you couldn’t finish off what you started, babe,” he smirked.

“Don’t push your luck Psylence,” warned Jadine.

“I just meant it’s a shame we couldn’t do a little duet today,” he grinned.  “We could’ve made great music together – if you know what I mean.”

This time Rhian wanted to knee him in the crotch – if only she had the nerve.

“Arsehole!” said Jadine, as Psylence finally sloped away.

“I need to be sick,” groaned Rhian.

“Oh, great,” said Jadine.  “We finally cure Rhian of her stage fright and this happens.”

“I’m sorry I’m such an inconvenience,” snapped Rhian.

“You’re not,” soothed Molly.

“It’s not Rhian’s fault,” added Amy, glaring at Jadine.  “It’s Psylence who’s to blame.”

Rhian wasn’t too sure about that.  When she’d told the girls what had happened to her that night, they’d all assured that she hadn’t done anything wrong, but she could tell they were disappointed that she’d gone behind their backs to sing with Psylence. 

Either way, Psylence was right about one thing – the controversy around the video, coupled with coverage of Amy’s recent dates with Jake Miskew had sent a staggering amount of online traffic their way.  But, it was a mixed blessing.  Because of what they’d seen in Psylence’s video, guys were disappointed that they didn’t get their kit off in their videos and girls were branding them as sluts.  Rhian knew this irked Jadine the most – she wanted them to be judged solely on their music.  Fortunately not all the comments were bad and the girls were picking up genuine new fans along the way.

As she’d known it would, the storm surrounding the video reached Wales and her mother had immediately been on the phone demanding Rhian return home.  But Rhian stood her ground.  She might have almost been forced into doing something she didn’t want by Psylence, but she wasn’t going to be bullied by her mother anymore.  Rhian told her that she was staying in the band, whether her mother liked it or not.

Even so, Rhian wasn’t sure she’d made the right decision.  Surely it would have been easier to slink home and hide-away in Penarvon for the rest of her life, than get up and perform in front of Psylence.  Although she knew no matter where she was, she’d still have to endure stares and whispers – mainly from judgmental girls and horny guys.  At least here she had the girls for support.  They kept reminding her that it would all blow over and as Amy put it, “The only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about!” 

Rhian tried to remind herself of that as she caught another group of guys looking over at her with cheeky grins.  She quickly looked away and wished she could grab a drink to calm her nerves, but she didn’t think the girls would approve of an alcoholic pre-show soother.

“I’m sorry, Rhian,” said Jadine eventually.  “I’m just wound up about Psylence.  And where the hell are Kat and Lena?  They’re late!”

“I think you should cut Kat some slack,” said Amy.  “After all, her dad is in a coma.”

“She said she’d be here by two thirty,” said Molly.

“It’s almost that time now,” said Jadine.

“Then they aren’t late yet,” said Amy.

“But we should go over the routines again,” fussed Jadine.  “And we’ve got the interview at three.”

“We’ll be fine,” said Molly.

“Let’s go and see Olivia’s set,” said Amy.  “She’s on soon and I want to check out the competition. 

“Not that she’s serious competition,” said Jadine.

“Finally,” joked Amy.  “Something we agree on.”

“I’ll meet you backstage for the interview,” said Rhian.  “I want to go through some affirmations first.”

“I’ll come with you,” said Molly.

“There’s no need,” said Rhian, feeling annoyed that the girls thought she needed a chaperone.

“Rhian, if you’re going to spew your guts up, you need someone with you,” smiled Amy.

How come they thought they knew her so well?  Yes, throwing-up was part of her plan.  But the other part was to have a drink or two to calm her nerves.  How else was she going to get through their set knowing Psylence and his motley crew would be in the audience?

“I’ll be fine,” said Rhian.

“It’s no bother,” smiled Molly.  “We’ll go through some affirmations together.”

“Great,” smiled Rhian as a waiter carrying a tray of champagne passed by.  She wanted to reach out and grab one, but resisted.  Maybe if she could distract Molly for a second or two?

“Come on,” said Jadine.  “Let’s go and check out Olivia.”

“And let’s keep our fingers crossed, she falls off stage,” added Amy.

As Jadine and Amy headed out of the VIP tent, another waiter passed by.

“Would you like a drink?” asked Molly.

“Yes, please,” gasped Rhian.

Molly handed her an orange juice - it wasn’t quite what Rhian had in mind, but for now it would have to do.