Nemesis: Soulmates Never Die - 12. Chapter Twelve: Twentieth Century Boy

CHAPTER TWELVE

Twentieth Century Boy

‘I have some really excellent news for you guys!’ Stuart was beaming like Father Christmas, rubbing his hands together in true super villain style.

‘Go on, then,’ said Matt and stopped plucking his bass. Both he and Nick looked up at Stuart expectantly.

‘So, there’s this place here in town called Café Underworld. It sounds cheesy, I know, but it’s just a sort of youth café place, booze free, non-profit, for teenagers to hang out and stuff. Anyway, I went by there the other day and had a chat with the proprietor, and she offered us a gig!’

‘What, seriously?’ Nick felt his eyebrows retreat into his hairline. ‘Just like that?’

‘Well, I used to hang out there so she knows me, and she knows Bob as well, so I might have name-dropped a bit, but yeah. They can even pay us some. They get funding to keep them up and running, so they can spend any surplus on getting people to come in and play. They have a stage and everything, and an in house volunteer sound tech. It’s a proper gig! We can play forty-five minutes!’

‘Have we even got forty-five minutes worth of songs?’ asked Matt hesitantly.

Stuart waved a hand dismissively. ‘We’ve got enough, and we can throw in a couple of covers as well.’

‘And when would this be?’ asked Nick.

‘Saturday three weeks from now.’

‘That’s my birthday,’ said Matt slowly.

‘Well, what better way to celebrate than to play music?’ Stuart grinned. ‘And we can party afterwards. Come on, say you’re in! We need to throw ourselves out there and do this thing!’

Nick thought about it for a moment. To think that they’d be able to put together a forty-five minute setlist in three weeks when they had barely thirty minutes worth of material seemed a little bit insane, but then Stuart did have a point. You won’t learn how to swim if you stay in the shallow end all your life.

‘I’m in,’ he said. ‘As long as Matt’s okay with it.’

Matt grinned. ‘Well, I’m not gonna spoil our first ever proper gig just because it’s my birthday, am I? Yes, I’m in. This’ll be brilliant!’

* * *

‘Are you sure you’re all right with sacrificing your birthday like this?’ Nick asked as he and Matt set off for the bus stop.

‘It’s hardly a sacrifice,’ said Matt matter-of-factly. ‘We’ll play the gig, and then we’ll find somewhere we can drink alcohol, say my house, and party all night.’ He grinned. ‘It’ll be great!’

Matt stopped and pulled his mobile out of his pocket. He tapped the screen a couple of times and then raised both eyebrows.

‘What?’ asked Nick.

‘Well, the offers just come pouring in . . . It’s an old friend of mine. His band just got offered a gig at The Actress & Bishop in Brum in March. They’re looking for a supporting act.’

‘Really?’ Nick stared at him. ‘What band is it?’

‘They’re called Adolescent Pushback.’

‘I’ve actually heard of them, I think. And I’ve definitely heard of The Actress & Bishop. It is the place for the Indie scene! Oh, my god . . . We have to say yes.’

‘Well, of course we’re saying yes!’ Matt told him. ‘I’m gonna tell him that we’re really interested and that I just have to clear it with the whole band.’

Nick grinned. ‘This is happening. We’re getting gigs. We’re gonna be out there, people are gonna see us . . . It’s gonna be awesome!’

‘Yeah, if we can learn enough songs for forty-five minutes in three weeks,’ said Matt.

‘Of course we can! We will! This will all be great. Just you wait!’

* * *

‘No, we’re not covering Placebo!’ Matt crossed his arms across his chest. It was a Monday evening at Bob’s, less than a week before the gig, and they were still short one song for their set.

‘Why not?’ Nick asked. ‘They have awesome songs, and they’re a great rock band! And I know lots of their songs by heart already, so it would be easy to rehearse.’

Matt stood his ground. ‘Well, first of all, while you have an awesome voice you are not Brian Molko, and secondly, Placebo is hardly a rock band anymore. I’ve heard their latest album.’

Nick stared incredulously. ’That simply isn’t true! And even if it was, it’s not like we’d have to cover one of the new songs. We could do a really old one, a lesser known one. And we can change the key . . .’

‘You Know You’re Right.’ Stuart had been flipping through a music magazine absentmindedly while the two others were fighting, but now he looked up at them.

‘Huh?’ said Matt. ‘Which one of us?’

Stuart put his magazine on the snare drum. ‘No, the song. You Know You’re Right by Nirvana. The last track they ever recorded. It was never even released until 2002, fans had to make do with bootleg recordings before that. Only ever been covered by Hole, which honestly doesn’t even count. I’m sure we could do some cool things with that.’

Matt and Nick looked at each other. ‘Can we get that rehearsed on time?’ Matt asked uncertainly. ‘I don’t even know that song.’

‘The chords are easy. I’ll look them up on my iPad if you give me a moment.’ Stuart smirked, evidently pleased with his idea.

Nick nodded. ‘Okay, let’s give it a go. It’s better than standing here bickering, anyway.’ He strapped on his guitar.

* * *

Nick dumped his guitar in the hall and walked into the kitchen. Zoë was sitting at the kitchen table with a book and a cup of tea.

‘Hey,’ she said. ‘How was practice?’

‘It was fine.’ Nick shrugged. ‘We learnt a new song, and then Bob came into the room to listen and he said it was really good. He’s coming to the gig as well.’

‘Sounds great.’ Zoë smiled. ‘You hungry?’

Nick shook his head. ‘We had a pizza before practice. I’ll just have a sandwich later.’

‘Alright. There’s tea if you want some.’

‘So,’ said Nick, suddenly struck with a thought. ‘I’ve been meaning to ask. Are you and Jason . . . ?’

‘Hm?’ Zoë looked up from her book at him.

‘Just . . . You guys were seeing a lot of each other over summer, but then you didn’t see each other for a while, but now at Christmas . . . I just meant, is there anything between you two?’

Zoë sighed and closed her book, taking a sip from her teacup. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘We had a lot of fun over summer, and I like him well enough, but . . . I don’t know if I feel that way about him, really. Unfortunately, I think maybe he feels that way about me, which is . . . inconvenient.’

‘Did anything happen over Christmas?’ Nick asked her.

She shrugged. ‘We snogged a bit. And talked. He asked if I was seeing anyone, I said I wasn’t, but that I wasn’t really interested in a relationship. I guess, I think maybe he feels a bit too young for me.’

Nick smiled. ‘He’s the same age as you.’

‘I know. But I spend most of my time around teenage boys. I need someone with a little more . . . heft than that, you know? And he’s one of those supercool people who’s been everywhere and done everything and experienced so much. Hitchhiked through Europe, climbed the Himalayas, avoided gunfire in the Middle East. And he’s still in that place. He wants to travel, go to faraway interesting places.’

‘You could go with him,’ Nick pointed out.

‘And leave you alone here?’

Nick’s face fell. He felt suddenly guilty again. It happened every once in a while, that talking to his sister gave him a sick feeling of guilt in his stomach. She had given up so much for him.

‘Don’t look like that, it’s not your fault. And anyway, I’m happy here. When you’re ready to look after yourself and earn enough money to get by on your own, I’m going back to uni. I’m gonna finish my degree, and set up a vet practice here in Windfield. I want to live in this house, and care for the town’s cats and dogs, and the horses and cows on the farms around town. With the way business isn’t booming around here, the empty lot next to the surgery will still be free by the time I finish my degree, and the rent will be dirt cheap. So, what am I gonna do with a guy who wants to run around the world when he isn’t solving complicated equations or fixing motorbikes?’ She smiled. ‘Jason’s a great person, but . . . I can’t see myself with him.’

‘What about Javelin?’ asked Nick without thinking. She looked surprised at the suggestion.

‘Richard?’

‘Yeah. Dave said he seemed to like you . . . And he’s nice. And he lives and works right here in town.’

‘If he’s interested in me, he hasn’t really shown it much,’ said Zoë with a shrug. ‘He’s cute, I suppose. I don’t think I’d say no if he asked me out, but it would be kind of weird for me to pursue him. He’s, what, ten years older than me?’

‘You were the one who said you wanted someone with a bit more age and experience,’ said Nick with a shrug.

She smiled. ‘I suppose I did. Don’t go getting any ideas, though. I don’t want to be match-made.’

‘Of course not,’ said Nick. ‘I would never even consider it.’

* * *

It was, of course, a complete coincidence that Nick happened to find himself outside of Windfield Green Police Station around the time that D.S. Richard Javelin got off work at five o’clock that Wednesday. (Nick knew that was when he got off work, because he had rung the station and said, ‘Yes, hello. I have a meeting with Detective Sergeant Javelin, but I’m running a bit late. Can you tell me how long he’s in today? Thank you. No, you needn’t take a message. Goodbye.’) He made no attempt to make contact as the man exited the building, pretending instead to be busy with his phone, until a voice said, ‘Nick?’

Nick looked up. ‘Oh! Hi!’ He smiled at the older man. ‘I didn’t see you there. How are you?’

‘Very well, thanks.’ Javelin returned his smile. ‘How have you been?’

‘Not bad, all things considered. Working hard with my band. We’ve got a gig this Saturday, actually.’

The Detective Sergeant raised an eyebrow. ‘Is that so?’

‘Yeah, in Sapswell. At Café Underworld. You should come!’

‘Perhaps I should.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘You know, I play music, too.’

‘Really?’

‘Oh, yes. I’m in the police band. I play the saxophone.’ He paused. ‘Yeah, I think I’m free Saturday. I’ll give it some thought. Might turn up. Anyway, how’s Dave?’

‘Great!’

‘And your sister?’

Nick grinned. ‘She’s doing very well, thank you.’

‘Well, say hello from me. To both of them.’

‘I will.’ Well, he wouldn’t say anything to Zoë. If he told her he’d spoken to Javelin, she would only suspect that he was up to something, and he couldn’t have that. It would spoil his clever plan. ‘Hope you can make it on Saturday. It would be fun to have you there. I should get going. Meeting Dave.’

‘Have fun,’ said Javelin with a grin. ‘Perhaps I’ll see you Saturday.’

Immensely pleased with himself, Nick set off in the general direction of home. That had gone very smoothly. Now he only needed for Javelin to actually turn up to the gig. He wanted to see for himself whether he and Zoë had any chemistry.

* * *

Nick looked around at the crowd gathered before the low stage. All in all it had been a decent turn-out. Café Underworld wasn’t a big venue, but it was actually pretty packed. They had put up posters all around college, so several people had turned up from there. Several of Underworld’s regular patrons, teenagers just the odder side of normal, had turned up either randomly or by design, and Stuart’s brother had dragged along some friends as well. The crowd had responded well to everything they had played. Now Nick adjusted his guitar strap, stepped on his green fuzz pedal and said, ‘Thank you so much for coming tonight, everyone, you’ve been awesome! This is a cover song. One of the last songs Kurt Cobain ever wrote, and the last song Nirvana ever recorded, so it’s fitting that it’s also the last song of our set.’

Stuart counted them in, and then they played, and Nick sang himself hoarse and gave absolutely everything. The response was astounding, and the audience clapped so hard that the band felt compelled to go back on stage and do a repeat of Dull for an encore, as they had no more songs left.

Afterwards, Nick put down his guitar, jumped off stage and ran straight into Dave’s waiting arms.

‘Mmm, sweaty boyfriend,’ said Dave.

’Shut it. You were no better when you played football.’

‘True.’ Dave smiled and kissed him. ‘You were amazing.’

‘It felt amazing.’ Nick grinned. ‘I feel like we did really well. Have to thank Stuart for coming up with You Know You’re Right for the last song.’

‘It’s a great song. I’ve never heard it before.’

‘Nick!’ Zoë came up and threw her arms around her brother. ‘You were so, so good! I’m proud of you!’

‘Thanks. I think I’m on an adrenaline high. Everything just feels awesome right now.’

‘Good for you. You deserve that feeling.’

Dave kissed Nick on the cheek. ‘I’ll be right back. Just gonna go to the loo.’

‘I should probably go help pack,’ said Nick to Zoë, but just then someone said his name.

‘You, young man, are a terrific performer!’ Javelin came towards Nick with a broad smile on his face. ‘Simply astounding! All of you. The rest of your band are great, too. But you make it, you really do.’

‘Thanks!’ Nick grinned, and shook his hand.

Javelin turned to Zoë. ‘Nice to see you again,’ he said.

Zoë looked a bit taken aback. ‘Richard! What are you doing here?’

‘Didn’t Nick tell you we ran into each other the other day?’

‘I must have forgotten,’ Nick mumbled.

‘Did you now?’ said Zoë, turning to Nick and giving him a look that clearly said she wasn’t buying his shit.

‘Well, no matter, since I decided to come. I ran into your brother just outside the police station last Wednesday. He told me about this concert, and said it would be nice if I came, so I thought, why not, eh?’

‘I didn’t think this would be your kind of music,’ Zoë confessed. ‘I pictured you as more of a jazz man.’

‘Oh, I am that too,’ said Javelin. ‘I like all sorts of music, though. And I love hearing new things. You know, I think the last sort of current band I discovered was Sigur Rós. They’re Icelandic. Can’t understand a word they sing, but the music is gorgeous.’ He smiled.

‘Sigur Rós are pretty good,’ said Nick. ‘I haven’t always loved everything they’ve done, but their latest album was lovely, I thought.’

‘Yes, I listened back in their discography a bit, it’s not all wonderful,’ Javelin agreed. ‘But they’re certainly very talented. You know, the guitarist uses a bow on the strings of his guitar to gorgeous effect.’

Zoë laughed. ‘This conversation is well over my head. I’m afraid Nick got all the musical genes in the family.’

‘Then we should have a drink some time and I’ll tell you more about it,’ said Javelin.

Zoë looked at her watch. ‘Well, how about now? The boys are off to celebrate Matt’s birthday, so I have nothing better to do.’

Javelin appeared to hesitate. ‘Hm, I’m not sure . . . I have a lot of paperwork I need to finish.’

‘Finish it tomorrow.’ She pulled her car keys from her pocket and handed them to Nick. ‘Here, why don’t you guys take the car, that way you and Matt don’t have to carry your instruments on the bus. Dave can drive.’ She hooked her arm into Javelin’s. ‘Come on, then, Richard.’ As the two of them walked away, she turned her head to Nick and cocked an eyebrow.

* * *

‘So you actually set your sister up with that copper?’ Matt laughed. ‘Christ, Nick, when you want to get something done, you do it, don’t you?’

It was a slightly tight fit for five people, a guitar and a bass in the Astra, which could frankly do with a bit of cleaning out one of these days as the boot was filled with all kinds of junk, but they managed.

Dave chuckled. ‘I admit, I am impressed.’ He chanced a fond glance at his boyfriend before turning his eyes back on the road. There was still some snow on the ground. He didn’t have much experience driving in this sort of weather. ‘I guess we’ll see what happens after this.’

They pulled up into Nick’s drive and unpacked the instruments. Nick ran inside to drop off his guitar and the car keys, and then they walked to Matt’s house. Alan carried Matt’s bass, which Dave thought was all kinds of adorable. Matt was obviously unused to the chivalry, as he protested loudly at first, before settling into a sort of grudging acceptance.

This year’s birthday party was a rather more modest affair than the year before had been. Chas and Ellie had taken the bus and turned up a few minutes later, and then all the guests were accounted for. Ellie, as it turned out, was perfectly fine with being alone with six boys, and she had the filthiest sense of humour of the lot of them.

The fact that the small assembly consisted only of people who knew about Matt and Alan’s relationship made everything more pleasant as well. Matt lay with his head in Alan’s lap, sipping Carling and looking utterly at ease. Alan’s fingers were twined into his hair while he discussed rap music with Chas, who sat next to him. Ellie was engaged in a deep discussion with Nick about indie rock.

Dave looked at his friends and sipped his beer. Seeing them all like this, happy and at ease with one another, each of them slipping out of his mask and learning to see the world differently, made him immensely happy.

Stuart sat down on the armrest of Dave’s chair. ‘Cheers,’ he said, tapping his beer can against Dave’s.

Dave glanced at him. He still didn’t quite like Stuart, but he had come to accept the fact that he must allow him to be part of his life. ‘Well played,’ he told him, and meant it. Stuart was an excellent drummer. It was the one thing he had going for him, in Dave’s opinion.

‘Thank you.’ Stuart looked over at Matt. ‘Looks happy, doesn’t he?’

‘Yeah. I think he’s pleased with his birthday celebration.’

‘Absolutely. Nick looks happy, too.’

Dave smiled. ‘Give him someone to lecture about rock music and he’s always happy.’

‘Indeed.’ Stuart sipped his drink thoughtfully. ‘The Oxymorons could never exist without Nick, you know,’ he said after a moment. ‘It’s his band more than anything else, even if I was the one who got it going. He brings something to it. He’s very special.’

‘You don’t need to tell me that,’ said Dave.

‘Don’t I?’ Stuart met his eye. ‘Sometimes I think you might need reminding. Don’t start taking him for granted, Dave.’

‘You what?’ Dave spluttered. ‘Sorry, but I can’t really see how you’re qualified to comment on our relationship, first of all. And secondly, I’m not taking Nick for granted!’ He felt his cheeks redden.

‘Good,’ said Stuart and smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I don’t always think before I talk.’ He stood. ‘Hey, birthday boy! Should we play a party game or something?’

Dave laughed. ‘We could play Spin the Bottle again. That went so well last year.’

Matt raised his head slightly. ‘Not happening, my friend. Only person I want to kiss today is Alan.’

As if in response, Alan set his beer on the armrest of the sofa and leaned down to place his lips on Matt’s. ‘Like that?’ he murmured.

‘Yeah, that’s good. You can do that again.’ Matt grinned happily.