Girls Who Play Guitars

•don't lose that mojo of yours•

Ellie, Kim and Meg hurried through the corridor when Ellie remembered she'd left her favourite leather jacket hanging on the back of the dressing room door. She also realised this would be the last time she would have to tell Daniel he couldn't come to Port Lagan.

She had to see him or it would be too late.

It would only take five minutes.

She shrugged the bag strap off her shoulder, handing its heavy weight to Kim. "I-I have to go back - forgot my jacket."

"Hurry up, Lachy needs to get going," Kim called over her shoulder as Ellie skipped back along the busy corridor, the way they'd come. The Glue crew were still prepping for the gig around her as she darted along the white-washed corridors, her mind worrying over how and when the hell she could tell Daniel to cool his jets.

Dreading it.

As she neared the Glue dressing rooms, she heard a raw cough and, when she rounded the corner, she found Daniel huddled in a doorway, one arm around his waist, forehead resting on a scratched up door.

"Dan!" She hurried over and wrapped a hand around his shivering back. "Are ... are you okay?"

Daniel's face was white and beads of sweat covered his pale forehead. His eyes were rimmed with a watery red. He tried to smile at her but it fell flat as he let out a groan, one hand on the doorframe for support.

Ellie glanced around, looking for help in the empty corridor as she felt him shudder under her arm. "Do you need a doctor? What? What's wrong?"

"No. I ... I ..." Daniel tried to take a deep breath and stand up, but Ellie saw him struggle. "I ... need to sit down."

"Where's your dressing room?" Ellie asked under her breath, not wanting to draw attention to him, knowing he wouldn't want anyone to see him in this state.

Daniel nodded across to another door and Ellie helped him over, pushing the door open so he could scuffle inside clutching at stomach. He flopped down on the couch, resting his head back, arms wrapped around his middle before he twisted his head to gaze at Ellie with watery eyes. "Can I ... I think I need water."

Closing the door, Ellie looked around the room for a sink. A line of identical crisply ironed checked blue shirts hung on a rack by the wall near a side-table overloaded with fresh-cut fruit and bottles of champagne. A guitar rested on the coffee table. An array of magazines, newspapers, bottles of water and a tiny TV were on the dressing table and a full-length mirror hung on the wall. The black leather couch with its grey velvet cushions looked comfy and, with freshly painted walls, the lights around the dressing-table mirror all working, and no unidentifiable smells wafting from the floor, Ellie realised how hard Daniel must have worked to get this level of plush dressing room compared to Slider's dingy dive.

She focused back on Daniel and went to the gleaming sink. "Will you be okay to go on stage? Do I need to get Gav? Or Brenin?" she asked over her shoulder as she found a crystal-clean glass, filled it with water and brought it to him.

Daniel sipped at the water, eyes closed, long lashes resting on his pale cheekbones as he caught his breath. Ellie sat beside him and watched as the colour returned to his cheeks, his lips becoming pinker. He peeked at her before lowering his eyes to the glass of water.

"Thank you," he said, with a shy smile. "I ... I'm sorry. I try not to let anyone see me in that state. Thought I was fine, but obviously not."

Ellie creased her forehead; took the glass of water from his hand. "What state? What is it? Are you sick? Drugs? What?"

Daniel took a long breath in before exhaling, and Ellie clocked a faint acrid smell on his breath. She held the water out to him but he shook his head.