✯ GOLDEN

Of course she did. Natasha just really wanted a drink, and the one in Sid’s hand? Looked pretty fucking good. What better way to grab someone’s attention than to insult their band? “Right, yeah. And I’m the Queen of England.” Natasha nodded, sarcastic, before nodding at the drink again. “You gonna finish that?”

“Oh. Do you need money? Is this like.. A homeless thing?” He said, slightly surprised now, reaching into his wallet. “Sorry. I had no idea. But yes, sorry. This is my drink. But i can give you some money if you need it. Do you have a place to stay tonight? Maybe i can call up a shelter and help find you one?” He offered. 

“Well, of course it was a m a z i n g,” She replied while taking the beer. “You don’t look like much of a dork on stage, kinda like some hot dude all the girls want to throw their lacey panties at.” She kid, and took a sip from her drink. “ I was obviously losing my mind, I’m sure I had to be the loudest female just yelling Arthur the whole friggin time,” Raising her hands up along her mouth she imitated herself. “Arthur! Omg your rock! You’re so cool! I’d be a proud mama if any of my offspring were to be arranged to you!!,” Laughing to conceal how embarrassed she was she took another sip and cleared her throat. “You can just say I was a hot mess.”

He half choked on his drink at her comment, an amused smile playing across his features. “Stop it.” He couldn’t help chuckling, finding Huma’s antics hilarious as always. “I think i DID hear you a few times. I kept trying to find you in the crowd, but that shit’s impossible.” He said, with a small sigh and shake of his head. Seeing or hearing Huma in the crowd always gave him a big sense of relief whilst performing. Sid snorted again, into his drink this time, “You’re the best. You know that?” He slung his arm over her shoulders, slightly tipsy, but appreciative nonetheless. “You always know just what to say.”

❝  ugh —  ❞  she  lowered  the  rim  of  her  glass  and  tapped  on  the  icy  access  as  her  eyebrows  knitted  together  —–  she  dissociated  and  STRUGGLED  to  regain consciousness.  bonnie  nodded  her  head,  ❝  yeah  it  was  really  nice.  ❞  she  complimented  with  a  half  smile.  ❝  did  YOU  think  it  went  well  ??  i’m  always  curious  about  an  artist’s  REFLECTION  of  their  work. ❞

The ‘ugh’ made Sid’s brows downturn slightly, unsure. At the compliment, and smile, Sid relaxed some. Her question took him slightly off guard, as he scrambled to think for a moment. “I think it went decently.” Sid agreed, slowly, tapping a finger on his chin. “I think sometimes... It’s a bit too routine for us, though. You know? I think we need to throw something new, and spontaneous in there.” 

“Amazing, you guys are only getting better with each performance, I mean —- wow, really knocked it out of the fucking park,” Avery rambled excitedly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The band’s journey was one she witnessed from the sidelines but still, it made her feel proud to see them come so far. “Was that a new song thrown in too? I don’t think I heard that last one.” 

Sid was smiling so wide that his cheeks hurt a little bit. His eyes followed her hand tucking some hair away from her face. “You noticed that?” He couldn’t help saying, slightly awed, before nodding excitedly. “It was something Reg has been working on. We thought we’d throw it in. Pretty cool stuff, huh?” He was signalling to the bartender for two more drinks. “Enough about us though. I wanna hear what else you’ve been up to, Av. The night treating you well?”

“ugh, you know i love you guys to pieces.” gabriella gushed, taking a swig of her own beer with a wide grin. “y’all always kill it, i swear. like, always on your game.”

Sid was beaming then, nodding along. “Let me pay for your next drink then, Gab. You pay me compliments, so it’s the least i could do.” He was already pulling out his wallet, far too touched at her niceness. “Order something expensive. And awesome. And make it two.” He was adding, thoughtfully. “I’m really glad you liked it. You know we always care about your opinion. How’s the rest of the night going for you, though?”

“Is it just me, or does Antisocial never sound like they get any better?” Natasha mused, boredly, as she reached up to withdraw the cigarette from her lips. In all honesty, she kind of quite liked their local band, but the fact that she was here to be able to listen to them and not back in London didn’t settle well with her. Flicking the ash off her cigarette, she looked over at her companion with a raised eyebrow, nodding towards the drink next to them. 

Sid’s brow furrowed at that, and he paused with his drink lifted to his mouth. “You realise i’m the lead singer of Antisocial... Right?” He stated, placing his drink back down, having lost interest in it. He tried his hardest not to be offended, seeing as everybody was entitled to their own opinion, and the band had heard worse before. 

emerson remained silent, taking a sip of his drink, uncertain of how to answer without letting the other down. perhaps it was the fact that he’d grown a little too accustomed to children’s music and nothing else, and he wanted to love antisocial’s music a lot more than he did — but in all honesty, it wasn’t exactly his taste. “it was, um, really loud.” he grinned sheepishly, sipping his drink once more before continuing. “seriously though, you guys were really good — even thea liked it. she’s still talking about the performance.

The silence stretched on for so long that Sid had to give Emerson a pointed look not to freak him out like that. At his reply finally, Sid couldn’t help letting out a laugh, nodding along. “Yeah. Sorry ‘bout that.” He apologised, his own voice slightly scratchy from how much he’d yelled. “Thanks! She did?” Sid couldn’t help grinning even wider now, always having a soft spot for Emerson’s kid. “Where is she anyways? I was hoping i’d get to say hey.” Sid glanced around. “I wanted to dedicate a song to her, but our manager said it’d probably be best not to do that. With all the... Hashtags, and underage female fans.”

isabella had been torn on if she should even go to the bonfire or not, finally deciding why not? but after only a few hours, she found out that she was far more lightweight than she had originally thought and somehow, she managed to spill her drink down the front of her and knew she needed to change that. luckily, though, she had quite a few spare shirts tucked away in the tent she was assigned and because of it she headed back towards the tent, pulling off her shirt without a second thought due to the alcohol coursing through her veins. but the sound of crunching sand behind her caused her to turn around in almost a panic. “i-” she started, her head tilting to the side. “now this might look bad but i do have a reason to be here.” isabella continued, looking around the tend she was in. “i spilled my drink on my shirt and i- i needed a new shirt so i’m trying to find one of the spares i brought. but- now that i think about it, is this even my tent?”

“Oh!” Sid was standing up from where he’d been sitting on a camping chair, strumming tunelessly at a guitar. His voice was laced with utter surprise as his eyes immediately slid to her chest, before sliding away hurriedly. “Fuck- i mean. No, yeah, that’s fine, River or Sol probably have some spare clothes lying around.” He was determined not to look at her breasts, because that was definitely not cool of him. “I can leave. It’s no problem, i wasn’t doing anything anyways.” Sid was putting his hand to his hair, his tell tale abashed sign. He let out a small, slightly unsure chuckle. “Let me just find you something to wear.”

“You know,” River started, tipping the iced bottle of beer in his hand a certain angle before gulping it down like it was water out of thirst, “if it wasn’t for me performing tonight, I would have signed up for my own booth.” River stood there drenched with his own sweat; the thin fabric of his sleeveless graphic shirt stuck onto him and clung helplessly to his tall frame. “I actually thought of bringing in my infamous huge and realistic dick ice-lolly,” he explained proudly, his eyes averted over to the existing ice-popsicle booth; a bitter glance out of potential competition shot their way.

Sid said nothing, mainly he just sighed, as he so often did, putting a hand to his head and shaking it. After a moment of finally collecting himself and deciding what to say, Sid spoke. “So basically what you’re saying is that from now on we have to make sure you perform places, otherwise you’ll bring your own phallic objects?” He paused. “Kids are going to be here, Riv.”

the table was HERS. pencils, pens, and erasers scattered across it made sure others knew. she tapped the end of her pencil against the sketchbook there was already a neat little collection of faces, pastries, and floral pattern filling the two pages. her free hand went to the cup by her side and took a sip of the contents that were getting cold. hues left the pages for a moment to just look enough to register someone standing there not long enough to RECOGNIZE said someone. “move a little to the right, please? there’s a guy behind you with a nice MUSTACHE and i’ve been trying to draw it for a while.” a smile pulled the corners of her lips up in a smile as she set her cup down again. “if you wanna sit i can move my things for you.”

sid slumped down even further in the chair, glancing behind him to whatever male she was talking about, before looking back over at summer. “you know, when you said you wanted to hang, i thought you meant maybe you’d actually TALK to me.” sid stated, lightly, a smile playing on his lips as he watched her work. “not that there’s anything wrong with this.” he rushed to add. “do you want another coffee? looks like yours is getting as cold as this conversation.”

emerson almost winced, knitting his brows together only for half a second before quickly managing to hide his surprise. “well, you’ve made it out, right ? that’s all that matters.” he was never too good at providing comfort in situations like these, but his concern wasn’t a lie. “and hey, at least you don’t have to say you peaked when you were a pre-teen. you came out on top - you’re in a BAND for god’s sakes. and a good one, too.” perhaps he was pushing his attempts at reassurances a little too far, but the male couldn’t help it. growing aware of his excessive encouragements, emerson cleared his throat quietly, returning to his usual submissive demeanour. “oh, yeah, i get off on clean parks. when the place is free of garbage and it’s got safety precautions ? nothing makes me happier.” he grinned, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

“I made it out, only to come right back.” sid corrected, with a laugh, running his hand over his hair once again. he nodded, grateful though, at the male’s words. “thanks, and yeah.. we’re not too bad, are we?” sid hummed, feeling already marginally better once thinking about it. “how about you? let me guess... you absolutely killed it in high school, didn’t you? you were probably that loner, mystery art boy all the girls loved.” he shook his head at the very image. sid’s laugh was sudden and unexpected. loud. he put a hand over his mouth, shaking his head in amusement. “ah, say no more. i have a feeling if we continue talking about cleanliness and parks, you’ll end up simultaneously bursting from how good the subject content is.” sid hummed, grinning wide. 

“ not drunk enough for this. ”

“yeah... that makes two of us.” sid sighed, from where the pair were sitting by the edge of the bar, watching a girl lean in extra close to river. sid raised his hand to the bartender. “shots, please.” he glanced over at avery, a twinge of sympathy hitting him as he watched her, watching river. “and keep them coming, yeah?”

“ us? there is no us. ” 

“you and river are always going to be an ‘us’.” sid said, with the smallest of humourless laughs.  “but you’re right. i’m sorry. it’s none of my business.”

“ why are you naked? ”

“shit.” sid was scrambling for clothes quickly. “avery! what are you- doing- here.” his heart was ready to jump out of his chest. “i’m naked because i didn’t think anybody else was here. “ his cheeks were burning. “i was about to take a shower, i swear! that’s it!”

“Course not, you’re always welcome.“ Pax replied, offering a smile.  “If I need my caffeine fix, this is the right place. Their coffee is the best in town.” He had his moments when he wanted to be alone or think, but he wouldn’t find the peace he needed on a busy cafe. His secret spot would do the trick then. “You hiding too? How have you been, buddy?”

“Thanks. And i couldn’t agree more.” Sid said, with a nod, placing his coffee down carefully before eyeing Pax’s. “What’d you get?” A part of Sid was very much a seagull, especially when it came to others food and drink. It was a terrible habit but his curiosity often got the best of him. “Yeah.” He admitted, with a laugh. “I’m hiding because i’m hoping some peace and quiet will help me with writing. What about you? What’re you hiding from?” Sid lifted his shoulders now, in a slight shrug. “I’ve been fine. The usual chaos, but i’m beginning to mind it less, i think. How about yourself, Pax?”

 sensing  the  awkward  tension  that  filled  the  gap  between  them,  shantipriya  was  quick  to  cut  it  with  a  PLAYFUL  laugh.  ❝  i’m  sorry,  i  didn’t  mean  to  make  you  uncomfortable.  but  yes,  a  coffee.  caramel  macchiato  iced,  with  raspberry  syrup  instead  of  vanilla.  TRUST  ME,  it’s  amazing.  ❞  she  responded  while  filling  in  the  space  he  provided  for  her  to  occupy.  ❝  i’m  sorry,  i  didn’t  mean  to  make  you  uncomfortable.  but  yes,  a  coffee.  caramel  macchiato  iced,  with  raspberry  syrup  instead  of  vanilla.  TRUST  ME,  it’s  amazing.  ❞  the  smile  on  her  face  seemed  to  remain.  ❝  sounds  like  you  have  some  great  friends,  siddharth.  ❞  she  added  while  extended  her  hand  for  a  shake.  ❝  i’m  shantipriya  but  you  can  call  me  shanti.  ❞

“Oh no, it’s not YOU.” Sid rushed to say, feeling even worse now. It truly hadn’t been her fault. Sid had a problem when it came to beautiful women of any sort talking to him. His eyes widened slightly at the long order she gave. “Uh... I’ll let you do the talking.” He said, with a small laugh. “I’ll have to try a sip. Coffee orders say a lot about a person, don’t you think? I’m pretty boring. I get a vanilla latte. But yours... It’s INTERESTING. I like it. I’m blabbering again. Sorry.” Sid swore, shaking his head at himself. He chuckled wryly, shaking his head. “They’re definitely.... One of a kind.” Sid replied, before nodding, taking her hand in his and shaking it. “Shantipriya is a gorgeous name.”

reggie agreed fully with sid’s statement and he let it show with the way a grin appeared on his face, these type of moments reminding him that he was lucky to have a great set of amusing and talented people in his life.”river and the case of the receding hairline. it should be our next single.” he mused aloud before his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion the only way sid could make them go. “a date, sid. we’re going on a dude date.” reggie joked and teased with little effort, making sid fumble over his words at most times one of his greatest achievements. “sweet.” he nodded as he started gathering up his belongings so the two could head out, answering his question as he did so, “she’s as stubborn as ever. got a good song out if though. with too much snare drum if you ask me but fuck my opinion, right? anyways, what have you been up to today? besides running from our beautiful and delicate band members.” 

Sid let out a loud laugh then, unable to stop himself. River and Sol together usually were all sorts of awful, but Sid liked to think that him and Reg could hold their own, especially when together. Maybe that’s part of why Sid enjoyed hanging out with him. “We’ll pitch it to him, i’m sure he’ll say yes.” Sid agreed. He put a hand over his heart, touched. “A dude date. Should we tweet it? It sounds very romantic.” Sid was already reaching for his phone. As the pair fell into step together, walking leisurely, Sid nodded along. “Snare drum? Sounds nice. I’m sure she appreciated your help, man.” He said, with a thoughtful hum. “Today? I just tried writing a little bit. I’m a bit blocked up though. Writing isn’t coming to me. Got any advice for me?” Sid sighed.