______________________________________________________
Three days later
Amy sat sulkingly on the low stage of the White Pony club. She was slated to play a gig that night, just as she had the one prior, yet she couldn't clear her head.
She couldn't get her mind off of Adam, and the time they'd spent together a couple of nights before. Nothing had happened, of course, but that didn't mean anything. She'd had the same situation last night, too - her former boyfriend had been weighing heavily on her mind. It had been a miracle she'd been able to sing with The Luchagors, what with how distracted she'd felt.
"All set for the show?" An arm wrapped around her waist, and she looked up to her left into Shane's smiling face.
"Uh... yeah, I guess." She quickly looked away, feeling awkward despite the fact that she and Morton had been dating for the last few months. Quickly, she broke away from him and stepped over to another side of the stage.
"Hey, Amy," he called as he followed her. "Is anything wrong?"
"Huh?" She cast him a nervous glance, wishing she was somewhere else at that moment.
"I dunno," the guitar player said. "You've just been so..." He paused, searching for the right choice of words. "Not yourself lately. Something bothering you?"
Yeah, she thought furiously, I can't get my ex out of my mind. But then, she realized that it wasn't exactly "bothering" her. Aloud, she said, "No." She forced a smile for his benefit, hating the fact that she was sort of lying. "I'm fine."
The show started about fifteen minutes later. Amy wasn't exactly in top form as her mind was still so preoccupied, but things were never perfect at a live show. She didn't slip up with lyrics once, but she knew her vocals could stand a tune-up.
Their set was to be forty-five minutes long. She couldn't wait for it to be over, which was a rarity, as she had always had a blast playing live with The Luchagors. But when she saw him in the audience, things slowly fell apart.
"You guys are great!" Amy said into her microphone. "We're gonna do an older song for you, a cover by..." Her voice trailed off as she thought she was going crazy. She'd spotted the shoulder-length blond hair, the sharply handsome profile... Adam was here, at her show? She craned her neck, trying to get a better look at the man, but it suddenly seemed he had disappeared.
The crowd had grown eerily silent. The redhead realized her bandmates were all staring at her. It suddenly dawned on her that she'd been in the middle of an announcement of the next song in their set, and she'd paused.
"Err... So, yeah. This one's a favorite by The Ramones." With that, The Luchagors launched into "I Wanna Be Sedated." Amy felt so flustered, but she shook it off as she sang. But she couldn't help but wonder... Had she only imagined he was there?
Throughout the rest of the concert, she didn't see him. It was becoming clearer and clearer to her that he had only been a figment of her imagination. He wasn't really there after all. He was on her mind a whole lot, to the point of distraction. Amy knew she needed to get hold of herself, but something else also struck her with startling clarity.
When the set came to an end, she dropped the mic into its stand and stepped off the stage. She felt as though she needed a good, stiff drink. She didn't even notice Shane sidling up to her.
"A shot of tequila, please," she told the bartender. Then, she nearly jumped at the feel of a hand on her shoulder and whirled around.
"Hey, Amy." Shane smiled easily as he put up his hands. She sure seemed nervous tonight, and he wondered about that. "Are you okay?"
She faced him for a beat before placing some bills on the counter for the bartender, who'd just handed her the tequila.
"No, not really, Shane," she admitted. She raised the shot glass, downing the liquor in a hurry. She felt it burn its way down her throat and to her stomach, but didn't quite feel the real effects just yet. "We need to talk."
"Sure," he said with a smile. He seemed absolutely guileless as he reached for her left hand.
She shook her head, the impulsiveness in her taking over. She removed her hand from his grasp and looked him straight in the eye.
"You're a nice guy and all that, Shane, but... Well, I'm not in love with you. And I hate to hurt you, but I'm
breaking up with you."