Angel Dares (2 page)

I waved my hands in the air. ‘Oh you know: nerves get to us all.’ His face was so outraged the giggle I had been repressing bubbled to the surface. ‘Hadn’t … hadn’t you better go change?’

His expression darkened as he heard my laughter. ‘You bitch, you did something!’ He stabbed the air with his forefinger.

‘
Moi?
’ I asked innocently. ‘What could I do: you wouldn’t let me go, remember? If there’s a leak, blame the roof in this dump, not me.’

Jay scanned the ceiling but it showed no sign of water damage, but neither could he explain how I had been responsible for the sudden deluge from behind. ‘You … you … don’t laugh!’

I nodded to the clock. ‘Sorry, Jay, but you really should go change. I hope you have another outfit?’

Squelching to the exit, Jay turned. ‘This isn’t finished!’ He slammed the door behind him.

I leaned back against the dressing table, hugging my waist in glee. ‘That was fun.’

The gig went surprisingly well considering the backstage antics minutes before we were due to start. Jay had found a set of dry clothes, though the T-shirt looked wrinkled—probably dug out from the bottom of one of the band member’s bags. I could forgive Jay quite a lot when he got in front of the microphone. Though no Brit award contender, he did have a gift for songwriting and knew how to charm an audience. My part went well, with my violin solo in the track ‘Star-Crossed’ getting its own round of whistles and applause, led no doubt by my lovely friends. I could see them clearly from my position stage right: Misty notable for her bobbing mop of pale blonde curls; Summer dancing with a chic untouchable Audrey Hepburn air; gorgeous dark-haired Alex, Misty’s soulfinder, showing that a South African student could break out a few impressive moves when called upon. The air positively crackled when Misty and Alex danced together—even I noticed it up on stage. One of the challenging aspects of being a savant is that you have a partner born around the same time as you who is connected through his or her gift. If the match is a good one, like my friends, then the experience is amazing: your own gifts flourish and you find new things you can do together in a blending of powers. That’s not to mention the chemistry of attraction woven into the link: that is off the charts if Misty and Alex are anything to judge by. We savants can wait all our lives to find that special person who completes our gifts; Misty and Alex had stumbled over each other at the ridiculously young age of sixteen.

Some guys have all the luck.

I took a swig of my water bottle as we readied ourselves for the last set. That wasn’t fair of me: Misty had not been so lucky as she had practically had to die to get Alex. I was excited about the idea of meeting my partner one day but I didn’t think I had it in me to risk so much, not even for a soulfinder.

The final number came and Jay took the applause; I bet he had practised that bow as it was the classic pose of the rock star clutching his guitar like a girlfriend. He then swept an arm to the rest of the boys in the band, but turned his back to me so I was edged out. He was such a loser. It was still worth it to have that priceless memory of him soaked to the skin. I had to be very careful how I used my gift as savants were supposed to keep their powers secret from ordinary people and mine was a more obvious gift than many, but I gave myself a pass on this occasion. Only a saint would have resisted the temptation of putting Jay in his place.

‘You’ve been a great audience.’ Jay replaced his guitar on its stand. ‘Thank you and good night!’ He ran off stage, pushing me aside as he headed for the wings.

I was prevented from tipping over the edge of the platform by a quick grab from Matt, our drummer. Lacking the pretensions of the guitarists and saxophone player, Matt had managed to cling on to his place in the band despite the multitude of fallings-out that Jay had instigated. That’s why we were called
Seventh
Edition: once upon a time there had been a
First
Edition. ‘Hey, Angel, what’s up between you and Jay?’

‘Hound dog Jay wanted a snog before the show,’ I said blithely. ‘I turned him down.’

Matt patted my shoulder in sympathy as we walked into the wings. ‘So how did he get wet a minute before we went on?’

‘Poetic justice I’d say.’

Matt grinned. ‘He can be so retro in his attitude to girls. You shouldn’t have to put up with stupid stuff like that.’

‘Oh, don’t get me wrong: I don’t put up with it; I stomp on retro males and dance on their graves.’

Matt tapped his nose. ‘I consider myself warned. You are a warrior: Joan of Arc of the dressing room.’

He was a sweetie, always finding the right thing to say to boost my confidence. Most people assume I have bags of the stuff; only astute guys like Matt know most of it is me sassing to pretend I’m not afraid. ‘Thanks, petal.’ I went up on tiptoes and gave him a kiss. ‘We did good tonight, yes?’

‘Yep. We did good.’

We grinned at each other and parted to talk to our guests backstage.

‘Angel, you were wonderful!’ exclaimed Misty, giving me a hug. As my friend was burdened with the gift of being unable to lie, I knew the compliment was sincere. ‘You stand out like a burning beacon of pure talent!’

I chuckled. ‘Thanks, sweet pea.’ Only a little taller than me, she was a comfortable person to embrace.

Next in line was Summer. ‘That violin solo in “Star-Crossed” is very special—it makes my toes tingle every time. Who composed it: you or Jay?’

So she had realized, had she? Summer was alarmingly penetrating even when she did not exert her gift for mind reading. ‘Jay would have it that he wrote every note but actually most of it came out of a jamming session when I improvised. He won’t acknowledge that though.’

Misty frowned, her freckled nose creasing in an adorable fashion. ‘Do you want me to go stand next to him and ask him?’ If she did that, letting go of the control over her gift, she would have him confessing all his most embarrassing truths.

‘So tempting, but no need. I’m happy working with the guys he’s managed to bring together—I think we’ve really got something good going. So I guess putting up with his ego is just the price I have to pay.’

It was Summer’s turn to frown. ‘That’s not the only price he asked, is it?’

I bit my lip. If Summer had dipped into my thoughts she would have picked up on my relishing of the dressing-room dousing. ‘It’s OK. I cooled him off.’

Alex put an arm round my shoulder. Because I’m short, I think he comes over especially protective of me in a big brother way. ‘Did that jackass do something? Do you want me to put him straight?’ Alex has an awesome power to persuade with just the power of his voice.

‘It’s OK, Alex: I did that myself and enjoyed every moment.’ I told them about the encounter, producing the hoped-for gales of laughter. The others backstage began to cast envious looks in our direction as we were clearly having the best time. Jay threw one dark scowl my way but carried on with his earnest conversation with a couple I had never seen before. His gaze told me we still had to settle our accounts.

That could wait. I checked Summer’s watch: eleven. ‘I’d best go and get changed. Meet you back here in ten minutes?’

Dipping into my changing room, I quickly stripped off my stage clothes and dressed in more comfortable low heels, leggings and tunic dress for the cold ride home on the Underground. Packing up my jewellery, I stuffed everything into my bag and headed for the boys’ room. I found the band all gathered around Jay, who was in the middle of his usual post-match analysis of the gig.

‘Just saying goodnight!’ I said, poking my head round the door.

‘Wait a minute, Angel: you should be here for this,’ said Matt. ‘Jay said he’s got an announcement.’

Jay folded his arms and kicked back on his metal-framed chair. ‘She can go. It doesn’t concern her.’

If he wanted me to go, then of course I had to stay. ‘No, it’s fine: I’d like to hear the news. I’ve got time before the last train.’

‘All right then.’ Jay swung tauntingly on two chair-legs, eyes fixed on me. He was up to something and it wouldn’t be great for me. ‘I’ve some spectacular news: the Rockport promoters have invited us to be part of the lineup this year. They’re coming back to me tomorrow with the terms and conditions but they’ve hinted that they’re generous.’

‘Oh wow!’ My exclamation was lost among the hoots and shouts of glee from the band.

‘It’s our big break, guys. The lineup this year at the festival is sweet. They’ve got confirmation that Gifted are going to play.’

‘Really!’ Gifted were only one of my favourite bands—indie but with an appeal to the mainstream. They were said to be awesome live but I’d never had a chance to see them. Now I was not only going to be able to watch but also I was part of the same lineup, rubbing shoulders backstage. I was going to have so many fangirl moments I was going to embarrass even myself.

‘So we’ve got to work hard over the next few months—polish our presentation, write some new songs.’ Jay sounded like a commanding officer ordering his troops into battle. ‘I don’t want us to waste this chance. Can I count on you?’

Of course, we all offered our support. Jay may be a jerk but he’d got us this far.

‘There’s just one change to announce now. I told the promoters we were coming as an all-male lineup—it plays better in the publicity. A girl detracts from building a female fan base.’

‘What!’ I exploded.

‘Hey, you can’t do that!’ exclaimed Matt.

Jay shrugged. ‘It’s done. Move on.’

I saw red. ‘You’re … you’re just doing this because I wouldn’t let you kiss me!’ The water in the bottle on the dressing table behind him started to bubble but I was too irate to rein in my temper. Thankfully, no one noticed, as they were focused on my outburst. ‘That’s sexual discrimination—harassment—both! I’ll … I’ll sue you!’

Jay smirked. ‘Good luck with that. You don’t have a contract. You’ve been singing with us because I asked you. You were never really one of Seventh Edition.’

First I had heard of it. Was he forgetting all those other times when he’d asked me to do stuff ‘for the sake of the band’?

‘That’s not fair!’ protested Matt. The other band members looked embarrassed but no one else was brave enough to speak up in my defence.

Jay rounded on the drummer. ‘Oh I see: she’s been giving it up for you, has she, Matt? That’s why you’re defending her?’

Matt snarled. ‘That’s disgusting and not fair to either of us. Some of us can have a relationship with a girl more evolved than that. She’s a mate.’

Jay crossed his arms. ‘Fine: feel free to follow her out of the door. Drummers aren’t so hard to find.’

No, no, my lovely evening was all going wrong! I couldn’t ruin this chance for Matt. I’d known Jay would probably kick me out one day; my friend deserved to be with the band when it made its break, even if he had to share the limelight with a wart on a rat’s bum like Fielding. I squeezed Matt’s shoulder and pressed him back in his chair as he was about to storm out with me. ‘No, stay,’ I said in a low voice. I then turned to direct a scornful look at Jay. ‘You’d be stupid to get rid of Matt: he’s the only one who’s stood by you all these years. Shame you have no loyalty to match. Good luck finding yourself another violinist. You’ll have to change the vocals too but you know that: no price feels too high at the moment, does it, to get even with me?’

Jay’s eyes twinkled maliciously. ‘I’ll find someone to take your place, no problem.’

‘I wouldn’t be so sure.’ Nothing left here for me now, I grabbed my handbag from the floor. ‘Enjoy Rockport,
Eighth
Edition.’

Several months later, I awoke to a Saturday morning in May with a blank weekend ahead of me. Oh how I missed performing! Going to sixth form at my school, doing a bit of waitressing to make some money, hanging out with my friends: all seemed very tame after the excitement of almost making it. Now I knew how it felt to be one of the guys on those talent shows kicked off before they became a familiar face—or Pete Best, the drummer booted out of the Beatles before they became famous.

OK, maybe I’m exaggerating but you know what I mean.

The only people who were happy at my falling out with Jay were my parents. Mum and Dad made coming over average their mission in life, compensation for having to hide the secret of being powerful savants. You wouldn’t expect it if you met them but Mum can manipulate air and Dad has an awesome telekinetic gift. They are also each other’s soulfinder. With that combo, you’d think they’d both be out fighting crime or something flashy but they have the character profile of tortoises. Sure, they love each other but frankly it is such a comfortable affection that they have settled into being plain old Mr and Mrs Campbell of Putney and are gloriously happy in that rut.

They must wonder what trickster god was in command of fate when they had me for their only child.

‘So, love, what are your plans for the weekend?’ Mum asked me as we ate breakfast together. ‘Revision I hope?’

I was in the middle of my exams so of course it was revision. ‘I’ll study my music. That’s on Monday.’