Chapter Text
Rosa Pérez was not a fangirl. Far from it, in fact. At the mere age of twenty-one, she had been writing and performing music for ten years, and had quite an impressive (or at least extensive) resumé when it came to former band affiliations. The most recent one, Rose and the Petal Pushers, had just split up due to drama (no surprise there), which landed the young woman bartending at the Orpheum. She had to do something to pay her bills, and at the Orpheum, at least she was in the right place. It was the place to be for someone dreaming of making it in the music industry, but of course, there were a lot of people sharing that dream in Hollywood in the mid-nineties. Nevertheless, working at the Orpheum gave her the opportunity to make connections, to meet managers and record execs, or a new band for that matter. It also inspired her. Live music from insanely talented up and coming bands would do that to a young girl with big dreams.
The band playing tonight though, they were something for the books. Rose listened and watched in awe, as the four young men not only hit every note, but performed together with a chemistry she hadn’t seen before (and could’ve only dreamed of with the bands she’d played with before).
After the boys were done with their soundcheck, they were hyping each other up on stage, and with a bittersweet notion, Rose realised the reason she was so drawn in by their behavior: her old band members had only ever fought for the spotlight and pushed each other down. While it was refreshing to see a band so supportive of each other, there was a lingering thought at the back of her mind that kept trying to bring her down; realistically, she would never have that herself.
As the band went off stage they made their way towards her, where she stood at the bar desk, a tall brunette leading the way with a smirk on his lips as he approached her.
“Vegetarian- I could never hurt an animal,” he said, breaking off his friends’ discussion about hot dogs.
“You guys were really good,” Rose greeted, sincerely. She couldn’t exactly not give them the praise they deserved after a soundcheck that was better than most actual shows she saw.
“Thank you,” the lead singer smiled, brown eyes dreamy as he glued them to hers.
“I see a lot of bands, been in a couple myself, I was really feeling it,” she continued.
“Well that’s what we do this for, I’m Luke, by the way,” the lead singer replied.
“Hi, I’m Reggie!” smiled the bassist.
“Alex,” the drummer greeted.
“Bobby,” the guy who had first approached her finally smirked.
“Nice meeting you guys. I’m Rose.”
“Oh, here’s our demo, and a t-shirt, size beautiful,” Reggie grinned, handing them over to her with one of the worst flirting attempts she had ever seen. She couldn’t hold back a smile, though, because as ridiculous as that attempt was, it was also kind of cute. It kind of threw her off, though, having three boys from an amazing band fight over her attention. Luke and Reggie surprised her more than Bobby, though, because when they were up on stage she could’ve sworn those boys were head over heels for each other.
“Thanks…” she grinned, holding the shirt up in front of her before throwing it over her shoulder. “I’ll make sure not to wipe the tables down with this one.”
“Oh, good call. Whenever they get wet they just kind of… fall apart in your hands,” the drummer explained, a disappointed look on his face.
“Don’t you guys have to go get hotdogs?” Bobby questioned.
“Yeah, he had a hamburger for lunch,” Luke explained, as he leaned in over the bar desk, clearly trying to mess with his friend, before leaving the Orpheum with Reggie and Alex in tow.
“So, Rose,” Bobby began, crossing his arms over his chest. “Any chance you’ve got a break coming up soon? I could hook us up with some veggie burgers,” he suggested, pulling a hand through his hair, in an attempt not much better than Reggie’s.
Rose contemplated, clearly this boy was a flirt. To be honest, all of them had seemed to be, except for the drummer. But then again, they were the best band she had heard in a very long time, and they were just about to break through, she could just sense it with all her being. This was why she took the job at the Orpheum, to make industry connections, to make new friends in this new city, to find bands to cooperate with. Where was the harm in grabbing a burger with a cute, and clearly talented boy?
“You know what, why not,” she smiled, putting her rag down on the bar desk, walking around it with a small “lunch break” mumbled to her co-worker before she left the Orpheum with her new acquaintance.
“Bobby, right?” she asked, as they crossed the street together in the already dark Hollywood evening.
“Yeah?”
“Just so we’re clear, this is not a date.”
“Oh, it’s totally a date,” he grinned teasingly, opening the door to the burger shack for her.
“I’m pretty sure I’m too old for you anyway,” she laughed, sitting down by a window-side table and crossing her arms over her chest.
“I’m pretty sure you’re not.”
“How old are you, anyway?” she asked.
“I’m 19, you?”
“Told you so. I’m twenty-one. Sorry, bro.”
“That’s nothing. Depp is literally eleven years older than Moss, and that seems to be working out great,” Bobby defended.
“You’re impossible, did you know that?”
“I’ve been told.”
---
Weirdly, something really clicked between her and Bobby. Not in a romantic way, which he clearly had been hoping for at first, but on a different level. Within the first twenty minutes of eating their burgers they found themselves talking about anything and everything. And the music - they just seemed to get each other as they talked about their music, their dreams and their experiences. Talking to him was just easy.
“Alright, alright. Favorite band, shoot,” Bobby grinned, pushing a French fry into his mouth as he anticipated her answer.
“How am I supposed to say anything else than Sunset Curve now that I got this beautiful t-shirt?” she laughed, holding up the t-shirt between them.
“That- is the correct answer!” Bobby grinned, high-fiving her over the table before chowing down on more fries.
“How about you? What’s your favorite band?”
“I’d be the worst friend ever if I didn’t say Rose and the Petal Pushers right now,” he grinned in response, earning himself a shoulder punch.
“Shut up, Rose and the Petal Pushers are dead and gone, and you haven’t even heard any of our stuff!”
“Fine, fine! But I’m holding you to it, you have to show me your demo.”
“A promise is a promise,” she smiled, but her attention was quickly drawn from the boy in front of her to the wailing sirens outside the window, as an ambulance pulled into the Orpheum parking lot making her heart skip a beat.
“Bobby,” she whispered, hauntingly, all colour draining from her face as a second ambulance pulled up.
The boy turned around, his face falling at the familiar sight of a pink hoodie and a head of blonde hair that was being rolled into the ambulance. Bobby stood up in alarm, staring at the scene in front of him, frozen, hands clenched.
“Is that…” Rose begun to ask, but stopped herself at the haunting realisation. That was his friend, being rolled into the first ambulance on a stretcher.
“Bobby,” she said, voice shaking, as she turned around quickly to grab the hand of her newfound friend. “We should go make sure everything is okay,” she continued, swallowing down on a big lump in her throat.
“Luke,” the boy whispered, absentmindedly, his voice cracking and his eyes glued at the Orpheum parking lot. It was right about then that the sound of sirens wailing approached again, and what Rose could only assume was a third ambulance pulling up to the parking lot behind her.
“I… Reg,” Bobby cried, a single tear making its way down his face as he tried pulling his hand away from her.
Rose’s heart stopped at the mention, the fear she hadn’t dared imagine when the second ambulance pulled up had come true; something had happened to all three of them. And in front of her stood a terrified boy she had only known for about an hour, falling apart by the minute.
“Bobby,” she mumbled, trying to make eye contact with the distant boy who’s hand she was holding onto for dear life. “Look at me,” she continued, finally getting his attention. “It might not be as bad as it looks,” she mumbled, internally cursing herself for the words that seemed to come out all wrong. “I’ll drive you to the hospital. My car is parked just outside, okay?”
“Okay.”