Luna's Note: Mandy and i started this fic ages ago, and almost got it done too. But then Mandy had to move away and i've lost contact with her, so this fic didn't have an ending for a while. Soon, i shall remedy this. Read the disclaimer if you must, but otherwise enjoy
//It was a brilliant idea. Everyone thought so – the executives, the promoters, the mad faction of internet fanfic writers. That's what really matters, right? No need to consult the bands. So Savage Garden were gearing up for their next world tour ... with Placebo.//
[ PART 1 ]"Where the hell is the band?" A slightly frazzled venue Proprietor demanded, bursting through the door of the lounge backstage. November 13th, New York City. Everyone was frazzled, it seemed.
"Right here, we're not going any – " Daniel raised a hand, but was interrupted.
"Not you. The other band. The shiny one, you know ... with the ... skirts and things."
"Placebo?" Darren offered. "You mean they're not here yet?"
"Nope. Called their hotel room, no one there. They skipped out early from the sound check, I don't know where they went. All I know is that there are people out there, lots and lots of people, and they want to see a show. It's been two and a half hours already. *Someone* has got to go on." He left in a huff, slamming the door behind himself.
"Geez," sighed Daniel. "What do we do?"
"I dunno. Get someone up there telling jokes?" Darren suggested.
"Wugh. That'll never go over." Daniel cringed.
"You could do it. Charm them into hysterics, you could." Darren sipped his water. "Or you could do your famous strip-tease act," he ventured.
Daniel's face went red. "What are you talking about?" he laughed. But his sense of humour about Darren's insinuations was failing to defend him against the visceral feeling that this was genuine philandering. Then Daniel paused, and decided he was over-thinking things.
The lounge door opened again, slowly, and something looking very much like a drowned rat made its way timidly into the room.
"Brian Molko," it introduced itself, and sniffed.
"Have you been left out in the rain or something?" Daniel asked, shaking his hand.
"In a way," Brian said, and sniffed again. Half-smile.
"You guys were supposed to go on forty-five minutes ago," Darren reminded him evenly.
"Yeah, well ... things got – " Brian looked around the room, "distracting."
"You! Where have you been? On! On with you! This minute!" The Proprietor flung open the door, grabbed Brian by the shoulders and pushed him out into the corridor, where stood Steve and Stephan, looking equally doped. They went on, and played like utter crap.
[ PART 2 ]
Darren sat silently in the empty dressing room, his drumming fingertips the only sound to be heard. He let his gaze sweep the dressing mirror crowded with a messy array of eyeshadows and lipsticks. Darren grimaced at the sight, it *all* belonged to Placebo.
Darren's anger was a sullen muttering in the back of his mind, making his blue eyes turn a sparking, dark grey.
He waited, impatiently, resentfully.
Time slowly slide by until Darren found himself clenching his hands into fists. Finally, the door flew open and in piled the three scraggly musicians, giggling horribly and shoving each other. They seemed completely oblivious to Darren's presence, chatting cheerfully around the lit mirror. Darren was reluctant to speak up until he noticed that Brian was beginning to flirt with both of his bandmates. At the same time. Shamelessly. When it progressed to innocent-seeming motions of letting hands linger on arms longer than normal, or needed, Darren rolled his eyes and cleared his throat loudly.
*What a little slut, two at once* Darren thought scornfully as the boys whirled around in surprise, staring at Darren curiously.
"Who're you?" Brian demanded a little haughtily, not seeming to recognize Darren in the slightest. Darren sighed and stood up, reluctantly offering his hand.
"I'm Darren." When all he got was blank looks, Darren bit back another sigh "From Savage Garden, the band you are touring with?" He continued a little impatiently.
"So what do you want, waiting for us in *our* dressing room?" Brian asked quite rudely, ignoring Darren's outstretched hand. Darren pulled back his arm and stared at Brian in turn.
"*Your* dressing room? We are both sharing this one, no matter how hard you try to take it over with your things." Darren indignantly retorted, putting a disdainful emphasis on 'things' as he glanced at the still-chaotic dressing mirror. Brian merely raised an eyebrow at him and picked up a lipstick at random, while his bandmates looked bored and wandered out of the room one after the other.
"Anyway," Darren continued, annoyed with himself for getting off topic "I came here to ask what's up with you and your performance tonight?" Brian shrugged and put the lipstick back down, rummaging through the cosmetic mess.
"We didn't feel like trying hard to play good tonight" Brian responded loftily. Darren frowned, not sure whether he was more annoyed by Brian's answer or the indifferent way he said it.
"Well, next time could you try a little harder to play at least somewhat decently? It seemed so empty out there after your set, there was hardly anybody left to play to!" Darren demanded exasperatedly. The diminutive singer shrugged again, to Darren's further annoyance, and paused to apply some dark lipstick to his lips before answering.
"Yeah, sure, whatever. It was just one show, don't get your panties in a knot." came the insolent reply, causing Darren to see red for a moment. *Just* one show? Darren couldn't understand such a lack of caring, he took his stage performances so seriously. Brian's attitude was almost blasphemous.
*What an uppity little snot! I should break him in two!* Darren seethed mentally, unconsciously clenching hands again into fists while an oblivious Brian still had his back to him, applying away.
Then the door flew open again and in strolled Daniel, completely unaware of the exchange that had gone on. Darren's gaze flew sharply to the blond guitarist.
"And where have you been?" He demanded harshly, unfairly using Daniel as a way to vent his rage. Daniel paused mid-step, obviously taken aback by Darren's sudden accusation.
"Um, I went out to get a drink, that's all." Daniel replied slowly, his gaze going to Brian and then back to Darren. He clearly could sense Darren's anger but Brian's indifference left him confused. Darren was about to let another scathing accusation fly when he realized belatedly what he was doing and just shut his mouth. There was a moment of awkward silence, in which Brian still seemed not to care, and then Darren grabbed his jacket and strode out of the dressing room.
"I need to take a walk." He said shortly as he passed by Daniel, leaving the bewildered guitarist alone with Brian in the dressing room, still frozen in mid-step...
next please