Hollywood
1995
Clutching her song journal and standing next to Rose, a waitress who she just met, Angelina watches her twin brother, Alex, and his band do a sound check for their performance later that night. The band, Sunset Curve, is performing at the Orpheum, a prestigious theater in Los Angeles. It is extremely hard to book a gig at the Orpheum, but since the band went into "ambush mode", they finally booked a show. It may have taken them years, but at least they have a gig here and have the chance to become something big. The band consists of Bobby, the rhythm guitarist; Reggie, the bassist; Alex, the drummer; and Luke, the guitarist and lead singer. Right now, they are practicing Angelina's favorite Sunset Curve song, Now or Never.
Alex
1, 2, 3
Reggie kicks his leg and turns around to face the people in the Orpheum as Luke starts to sing.
Luke
Take off
Reggie jumps up and down as he plays his bass, slowly moving over to his mic stand.
Last stop
Reggie jumps in a circle, moving away from his mic stand before jumping up and down over to his stand.
Countdown til we blast open the top
Face first
Luke stops playing his guitar as he throws out his hand before quickly moving it back to the blue instrument in his hands in order to play it once more.
Full charge
Electric hammer to the heart
Luke looks over at Reggie, smiling at the raven haired boy as Alex and Reggie start to sing with the brown haired guitarist.
Luke, Reggie, & Alex
Clocks move faster
As Alex plays his drums, he shakes his head to move the hair that has fallen onto his face. Bobby lifts his guitar into the air as he strums it, nodding his head before a smile crosses his face.
'Cause it's all we're after now, oh
Luke looks over at Reggie and nods his head to the bassist, signalling him to come over. Reggie jumps over to Luke, who turns to face the raven haired boy as they both sing in the mic in front of the lead singer of the band.
Won't stop climbing
'Cause this is our time, yeah
Luke pushes Reggie back to his spot as he moves to stand in front of his mic, continuing the song.
Luke
When all the days felt black and white
Bobby steps onto the amp sitting in front of the drummer's platform and jumps off it.
Those were the best shades of my life
Angelina smiles as she starts jumping up and down, getting excited for the boys and how good they sound together.
All
Don't look down
A smile grows on Luke's face as he sees the blonde girl, who he has been crushing on since he met her, jumping up and down as she cheers for the boys. When his eyes meet hers, he throws her a wink and a slight blush crosses the blonde's cheeks. Luckily for Angelina, she is standing far enough away from the stage so that Luke wouldn't be able to see her flamed cheeks. Luke shakes his head to get rid of some sweat that was dripping from his hair and down his face. Not that Angelina would admit it to anybody, but she thought that was kinda hot. No matter how hard she tries, she can't deny that she really has a crush on the lead singer.
'Cause we're still rising up
Right now
And even if we
Hit the ground
We'll still fly
Keep dreaming like we'll live forever
But live it like it's now or never
Luke stops singing as he turns around and plays his guitar, walking toward Alex. The blonde drummer starts to sing as he continues playing his drums.
Alex (Reggie)
We ain't searching for tomorrow (tomorrow)
Luke walks back over to his mic stand, preparing to continue his part in the song.
'Cause we got all we need today (today)
Luke
Livin' on a feelin' that's been runnin' through our veins
Reggie runs his hand through his hair before he grabs onto his mic as he sings the next part of the song.
Reggie
We're the revolution that's been singing in the rain
The boys stop playing their instruments and start clapping along to the music. While the boys are clapping, Alex stands up and hits his drum sticks together along to the rhythm of the song.
All
Don't look down
'Cause we're still rising up
Luke stops clapping and grabs his guitar. He swings it over his shoulder and brings it back to the front of his body.
Right now
Luke strums down on his guitar before he steps over to his mic stand. As soon as the boys start playing again, smoke explodes from each side of the stage.
And even if we
Hit the ground
We'll still fly
Keep dreaming like we'll live forever
But live it like it's now or never
Luke (Alex, Reggie, & Bobby)
It's now or never (now or never)
The boys walk away from their mics and toward Alex as the song ends. While Alex stands up, the other boys turn back around and Luke spreads his arms out wide. All four boys bow as the workers in the theater cheer for them. However, their attention is drawn to two loud cheers that are coming from Angelina and Rose.
"Whoo! Yeah!" Rose shouts as she claps, causing the boys to laugh.
"Whoo! That's my brother! Look at him go!" Angelina exclaims as she cups her hands over her mouth to make her voice louder. She set her song journal down on the table she was standing behind so she could cheer for the boys. Alex blushes and waves her off, not wanting all her attention to be just on him.
"Angel, come on, what about us?" Luke asks as he looks at her dejectedly.
Angelina rolls her eyes as she says, "Come on Luke, you already know you were great. I don't need to boost your ego even more." Luke sticks his tongue out toward her. She shakes her head and laughs at him.
"Thank you! We're Sunset Curve!" Reggie says as he winks at the two girls.
Angelina turns over to Rose and says, "So, what d'you think?"
Rose smiles as she glances at Angelina and replies, "They are really good. They have some serious talent."
"Yeah, they do, don't they?" Angelina says as she looks back at the boys and sees that they are all standing at the front of the stage, talking amongst themselves.
Rose then says, "So what about you? Do you sing? Are you as talented as those boys?"
Angelina looks away from the boys and back at Rose. She then glances to the floor as she basfully says, "A little."
"What do you mean a little?" Rose asks as she starts wiping down the table. She picks up Angelina's song journal and places it on the seat of the booth behind them.
Angelina lifts her head back up and looks at Rose as she answers, "I sing, but not like the guys do on stage. They've asked me tons of times to join the band, but I always tell them no," she pauses. "After a while, Alex and Reggie stopped asking, realizing that I won't budge. But Luke, however, is insistent that I join Sunset Curve," she says as she waves her hands dramatically.
Rose furrows her brows as she stops wiping down the table to look over at the blonde girl and ask, "Why wouldn't you want to join their band? If you don't mind me asking."
Angelina smiles at the girl beside her before responding, "I don't mind. Sunset Curve is their thing. I don't want to ruin the dynamic that they have going on. If I ever decide that I want to pursue music, it will probably be a solo act."
Rose nods her head in understanding before continuing to wipe down the table. Angelina looks back over at the boys while Rose quickly glances at the girl beside her before asking the blonde, "Do you have a thing going on with the lead singer?"
Angelina whips her head over to Rose and quickly denies, "No. There is nothing going on between me and Luke. Why? Why do you ask?"
A smirk grows on the latina's face as she replies, shrugging her shoulders, "No reason. I just noticed the way he was looking at you during their sound check. He was looking at you with heart eyes the whole time and he couldn't keep his eyes off of you. I'd say he's crushing on you, hard."
Angelina's cheeks flame red as she shakes her head, denying Rose's words, "Luke does not have a crush on me."
Still believing the boy does have a crush on the blonde, Rose says, "Okay." She pauses for a minute before adding, "But you have a crush on him."
Angelina looks over at Rose with her jaw dropped as she protests, "I do not." Rose stops wiping the table and gives Angelina a pointed look. Angelina stares at the latina for a few seconds before sighing and reluctantly admitting under her breath, "Okay. You're right. I do have a crush on him." Rose gives Angelina a smile, happy that she was right as she starts wiping the table down once again. "You cannot tell this to anyone." Rose nods her head, promising the girl that she would take this secret with her to the grave.
As Angelina stops talking, they both overhear Luke asking Bobby where he's going. They see that the boys have started making their way over to the two girls. Bobby walks up to the table and leans on it. Luke comes up from behind Bobby, leaning his arm on the rhythm guitarist's shoulder. Reggie stands next to Luke and puts his arm on Alex, who is on the other side of him. Bobby looks intensely into Rose's eyes as he says, "Vegetarian. I could never hurt an animal."
Rose gives Angelina a confused look but the blonde girl just shrugs her shoulders, not knowing what is going on. Rose looks back at the four boys, choosing not to acknowledge what came out of Bobby's mouth as she says, "You guys are really good."
"Thank you," Luke replies to the latina waitress, giddy with excitement that someone else likes their music.
Rose then looks over at Angelina and pointedly says, "And I bet you have as much talent as these boys do."
Angelina smiles as she rolls her eyes and shakes her head while denying, "No, stop."
"Lina, stop being modest," Alex says.
Angelina then looks over to her twin and scoffs, "You're one to talk."
"Seriously, she has the voice of an angel," Luke speaks up as he leans across the table and nudges Angelina's shoulder.
She blushes as she asks, "Can we change the subject, please?"
Rose sighs and gives her a slight nod. Angelina lets out a breath of relief as Rose looks back at Sunset Curve and says, "I see a lot of bands. Been in a couple myself. I was really feeling it."
"That's what we do this stuff for," Luke says as he puts his arm around Bobby and pats his shoulder. "I'm Luke, by the way."
He crosses his arms over his chest as Reggie speaks up, "Hi, I'm Reggie." He leans forward a bit as he gestures to himself.
"Alex," my twin says as he gives Rose a sheepish smile and gestures to himself as well.
"Bobby," he introduces himself as he nudges Luke out of the way with his arm so that he can be closer to Rose.
"Nice meeting you guys," Rose replies. Angelina looks over to Luke just in time to see him stick his pointer finger into his mouth and give Bobby a wet willy. Bobby lets out a sound of disgust and Angelina looks at Luke with a grossed out expression. Luke looks at her and grins as he can't help but think how cute she looks with her nose scrunched up. "I'm Rose," the latina says as she introduces herself.
Angelina looks between the girl and the four boys on the other side of the table before speaking up, "I'm Angelina, by the way." Rose laughs as Alex glares at her and gives her a sarcastic laugh.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Lina," he says to his twin, who gives him a cheeky smile. Angelina glances at Luke to find him already looking at her, giving her a beaming grin.
Reggie glances down at the demo and shirt in his hands. "Oh, uh... Here's our demo," he says as he shows Rose the CD and gives it to her. "And a T-shirt. Size beautiful," Reggie puts the shirt on the table and slides it over to her.
Alex groans and Rose lifts the shirt up to her chest as Angelina scoffs, "Size beautiful? All I got was a size medium. Where's my size beautiful Sunset Curve T-shirt, Reggie, huh?" Rose then looks over at Angelina and lets out a loud laugh.
Reggie chuckles and says, "Don't worry, Ang. I'll get you a size extra beautiful." Alex puts his hand over his face and sighs in disappointment.
She smiles toward her best friend and says, "Thanks Reg. You're the best."
"Angel, I've got something better than a t-shirt," Luke says, mocking Reggie.
Luke opens his mouth to continue talking but Angelina cuts him off, teasing the brown haired boy, "You know what? On second thought, I think I'll stick with the size medium."
Reggie pouts and Luke retorts, "I wasn't going to give you anything anyway."
Rose then speaks up, "Thanks, you guys." She then moves the shirt over her shoulder and continues, "I'll make sure not to wipe the tables down with this one."
"Oh, good call. Whenever they get wet, they just kinda," Alex says as he holds out his hands. He looks down at them and pauses, "Fall apart in your hands." He puts his hands into the pockets of his pants.
Bobby looks over at his band mates and asks them, hoping to get rid of them so he could flirt with Rose, "Don't you guys have to go get hot dogs?"
Luke gets a look of realization on his face and replies, "Yeah," He then moves forward toward the table and leans in close to the girls while saying, "He had a hamburger for lunch." The other two boys and Angelina smile. Luke grabs Angelina's wrist and starts to drag her away.
"Wh-Where are we going?" Angelina asks the boy who was dragging her toward Sunset Curve's dressing room.
"Street dogs," is the only thing that Luke says when he replies to the girl.
"Oh," Angelina says. She then glances over her shoulder and waves to her new friend, "Bye Rose."
"Bye Angelina," Rose replies to the blonde, laughing at the two teenagers who are definitely crushing on each other.
Angelina notices that Luke still has his grip on her arm. "You know, you can let go of me now," she says with an obvious tone.
"Oh, right," he chuckles airily and quickly lets go of her, blush forming on his cheeks as they continue their journey to the dressing room. Once in the room reserved for Sunset Curve, they grab their jackets and bags before leaving the Orpheum.
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The group of four walk out of the theater through the side exit. They walk out into the alleyway as Luke exclaims, "That's what I'm talking about!"
Reggie chuckles and pulls out more Sunset Curve shirts from his backpack. Alex takes a deep breath and retorts with a disgusted look on his face, "The smell," Luke looks over at the blonde drummer, "Of Sunset Boulevard?" Alex turns and faces Luke.
"No," Luke chuckles as he pushes Alex. He then kicks a pool of water that has formed in the alley and continues, "It's what that girl said in there tonight." Alex places his duffel bag over his shoulder as the group follows Luke, who is walking down the alleyway. "About our music, alright? It's like an energy. It connects us with people. They can feel us when we play," Luke passionately exclaims. The group stops walking as Luke grabs Reggie and Alex's shoulders, bringing them in close while saying, "I want that connection with everybody." He glances at Angelina, who has a bright smile on her face as she stands beside her brother.
"Then we're gonna need more T-shirts," Reggie says as Luke looks over at his band mate. He smirks as Luke and the twins let out light chuckles.
Luke smiles and pushes the other two boys forward saying, "Let's go, boys." Angelina clears her throat in order to catch his attention. Luke looks over at the blonde girl and she gives him a look that says, 'I'm here too.' He gives her a big smile as he says, "You too, Angel." Reggie lets out a laugh and Luke puts the hood of his jacket over his head. The four friends start walking once again. As they exit the alley, Alex looks over at Angelina and hides his face from the line of people that are waiting outside of the Orpheum. Angelina looks over at her brother, smiles and grabs his hand. She gives his hand a quick squeeze before letting it go.
Luke glances over toward the siblings and lightly smiles to himself. He loves the fact that Angelina is always there to comfort and reassure the boys whenever they need it. Meanwhile, Reggie walks over to two girls and gives them the two Sunset Curve T-shirts he had pulled out from his bag not too long ago. "Ladies," he says as he smiles at the girls before he turns and walks back over to his three best friends.
Alex, Luke, and Angelina witness the interaction before Reggie comes back and they laugh amongst themselves. Alex turns and nudges Luke as Reggie then starts walking between the two boys. Shouts could be heard coming from the girls and other people in line exclaiming that they love the boys. Angelina leaves her brother's side and she walks over to the other side of Luke.
She clings to his arm as she cries out, "Oh my God! Sunset Curve! Luke, you are my favorite out of the whole band! Can I have your autograph?" Alex sighs and shakes his head while Reggie lets out a laugh. Luke rolls his eyes and smiles before he puts his hand over Angelina's face, pushing her away causing the blonde girl to laugh loudly. Luke can't help but love the sound and he wants to be the one to always make her laugh like that.
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By now, the group has arrived at another alley where a man is selling the street dogs. The four best friends are crowded around the trunk of the man's car, where the condiments and toppings reside, placing the stuff that they want onto their street dogs.
Angelina stands up from leaning into the trunk and looks over Reggie's shoulder to her brother, as he says, "Man... I can't wait until we eat someplace where the condiments aren't sold out of the back of an Oldsmobile." He then walks away and goes up to the man selling the street dogs. Angelina wraps her arm around Reggie's shoulder and holds the hot dog with her other hand. "Hey.." Alex says to the man grilling the hot dogs. Angelina and the other two boys turn to watch the interaction between her twin and the man. "Sorry, I got some pickle juice on your battery cables," Alex says as he gestures back to the car.
"No problem. It'll help with the rust," the man says dismissively. He jokingly hits Alex's arm and chuckles.
Alex gives a confused look and shakes his head while saying, "That can't..." The man chuckles again before turning around and continuing to cook the street dogs. Knowing that the conversation is over, Alex says, "Okay." Angelina removes her arm from Reggie's shoulder as the group of four walk away.
They walk toward a beat down couch that sits next to a table where an older couple is sitting, eating their own street dogs. There is an old wooden chair that sits in front of the arm of the couch that is close to the table. Angelina sits down in the chair and the boys sit down on the couch. Reggie sits on the farthest side from Angelina and sighs happily while placing his feet up onto a wooden crate that is in front of the couch. Luke sits down on the edge of the couch next to Reggie and puts his bag on the ground between his legs. Once Alex sits on the side closest to his twin, he rests his leg on her lap.
Luke smiles and shakes his head while saying, "This is awesome, you guys." He glances down at the street dog in his hands before glancing back up and continuing, "We're playing the Orpheum!" His three best friends look over at him smiling as he exclaims, "I can't even count how many bands have played here and then ended up being huge." He leans back on the couch and rests his foot on the wooden crate. Reggie chuckles lightly before Luke continues speaking, "We're gonna be legends!"
Alex glances down at his street dog and Angelina says, "Hell yeah!" The three boys let out a laugh.
"Eat up, boys, Angel," Luke says as he lifts his street dog into the air. "'Cause after tonight," Reggie lifts up his street dog and a few seconds later, the twins raise theirs as well. Luke looks between the two boys and the blonde before saying, "Everything changes." The boys then bring their street dogs together and Angelina has to lean forward out of her seat so that her street dog can touch the boys'. Angelina leans back into her seat but before they could take a bite of the street dog, she abruptly sits up in her chair and gasps.
"What's wrong Angel?" Luke asks as he leans forward to look at the girl.
Alex and Reggie look at her with concern as she replies, "I can't remember where I put my song journal."
Alex rolls his eyes and says, "Lina, you really need to stop putting your journal in random places and then forget where you left it."
"Well, I would have remembered and grabbed it if somebody," she looks pointedly over at Luke while he gives her a sheepish smile, "Hadn't rushed me when we left the Orpheum."
Luke then speaks up and says, "Don't worry Angel, you can look for it when we go back before the show starts."
"Yeah, I guess," she says as she slouches down in the chair. Luke looks at her for a second longer before leaning back into the couch. Crisis forgotten, they all took a bite of their street dogs.
A look of confusion crosses Alex's face as he says with food still in his mouth, "That's a new flavor."
"Chill, man. Street dogs haven't killed us yet," Reggie says with his mouth full. Luke looks at his street dog for a second in hesitation before taking another bite. Little did they know that minutes later, there would be ambulances in the alley taking them to the hospital.
If only they knew how right Luke was when he said everything was gonna change.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
So this is the first chapter of Hey Angel!! This chapter is just an intro which is why it is kinda short. The next chapter is going to be a short one as well. But as the story progresses, the chapters will get longer. Please leave comments on what you think of the first chapter or what you think might happen in the story, feedback always helps.