The next morning was cold, but Joyce was all ready to show the McCormick brothers what she could do. She put on her best outfit, did her makeup and hair, all while Gloria watched from afar with the most judgemental look on her face.
"So, you like the malnourished one then?"
"What? No! I'm auditioning for their band, they are about to get signed with a super hot label and I wanna be in on it."
"Oh, so the cleavage, the sexy lipstick, the short skirt with fishnets... that's all for the audition. You're definitely not interested in that kid."
"I- I'm not not interested. He's cute."
"Oh my God! You slept with him!" Gloria gasped. "That's why you were home so late! You were getting down and dirty with the neighbor!"
"I was not!" Joyce exclaimed. She wasn't a prude or a virgin by any means, but because of her upbringing, she wasn't able to be as free as her roommate. Her parents always taught her that nobody wants to eat a candy bar that everyone has already touched and licked, so she was more discreet about who had tasted her candy. "I was actually not, he was totally high on cocaine, drunk as a skunk, I didn't think it was right, you know?"
Gloria nodded, she had to agree. Sex with someone in that state sounded horrible, she knew from experience.
"So when are you planning on sleeping with him?" She asked.
"I don't know if I'm gonna sleep with him! If it happens it happens, I don't have any plans."
After carefully tuning her bass and placing it back in its case, Joyce made her way across the hall to their door. She knocked, but there was no response. She tried again, once more nobody opened the door, in fact it was so silent, it didn't seem like anybody was home at all.
She frowned and thought about going back to her flat, but she couldn't stop thinking about Ivan, something must've happened for him to break a promise. At least she hoped so, they barely knew each other, but from their brief interactions, she didn't take him for a guy who would make a promise only to break it the next day.
Hours passed and she was still sitting in front of their door when the two brothers finally came, both looking like hell.
"Fuck! Joyce, I'm so sorry I- How long have you been here?" Ivan yelped.
"Ever since the time we scheduled for my audition."
"You told her she'd get an audition?" Neil hissed, angry that his brother went over his head.
"Yeah! I think she'll be good," he argued. "But it doesn't matter anymore, the fella we were negotiating our contract with was kicked off the label and so were we. Literally, we were thrown out of the building."
"I'm sorry it didn't work out," Joy frowned, almost losing the last bit of hope she had in her to make it in London.
She was about to get back to her flat and watch as Gloria made fun of her for being so naive and trusting, but instead, Ivan took her hand to stop her. "Hey, since you're ready and you're here, why don't you audition anyway? We'll have to start over with the band, so it's like a fresh start."
"You still want me to?" She asked.
"Course, we still need a bass."
"Okay then."
Joyce followed the two brothers inside and set everything up. They did as well, preparing to play something and see how she would fit in with their sound.
"Do you have any preference?" Ivan asked, getting his guitar.
"Um... I'm sure you guys know U2?"
"NO!" Neil shouted like a crazy person. "We're not playing U2!"
"Shit, okay," she nearly jumped back. "Sorry, I didn't know you were not a fan. Maybe Queen then? Another One Bites The Dust?"
"Brilliant," Ivan smiled, trying to make up for his brother's exaggerated reaction. "You wanna sing too?"
"Yeah, of course," she stood in front of the mic.
Joyce started playing and they quickly followed. Even Neil had to admit she was good, she had good rhythm and she played the bass well, but the real surprise came when she opened her mouth to sing.
"Steve walks warily down the street with his brim pulled way down low. Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet, machine guns ready to go. Are you ready hey are you ready for this? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?"
Her voice was an explosion that filled the entire room, it was full and deep, raspy but without straining. Ivan gave Neil a wide-eyed look and Neil simply rolled his eyes, not ready to admit his little brother was right about something. He took pride in making the decisions for the band, even if most (if not all) of them turned out to be wrong.
"Jesus..." Ivan breathed once the song ended. "It's like you're the lovechild of Stevie Nicks and Janis Joplin! Are you kidding me right now?"
"Thanks," Joy smiled shyly, looking away from him so she wouldn't blush.
"Yeah, it was okay," Neil nodded with a sigh. "I mean, might not be the right fit for our band but-"
"Not the right fit? Neil are you going insane or you still drunk?" Ivan chuckled, still agape. "You dragged me all the way from Ireland, I believed your bullshit and now we're right back where we started. If you're serious about getting signed then you have to let Joy in! She's our best chance to make it big."
"Can you read sheet music, Joyce?" Neil asked.
"Yeah, what do you have?" She asked, taking his notebook.
"Can you sing this?"
"The sun is shining on the sea today, you're living your life the easy way. You left behind, the world again. So be a tourist, hear the call-"
"Fine! Fine, you're in!" He grimaced, hating how great his song sounded in her voice. "But we'll be singing too, don't think you'll get all the solos just cause you can sing!"
"I didn't expect to, thank you so much, you guys!" Joyce squealed, clapping with excitement. She couldn't believe it was actually true, she was sure they could be great, she believed that more than anyone, even Neil.
To celebrate joining the band, Joy suggested going out for a drink, but none of the boys wanted anything to do with alcohol after the night before. Instead, they settled for some fish and chips, only... Ivan had other plans.
"Hey, Neil!" He hissed while the girl brought her bass back to her flat. "You gotta say you don't feel well or something, say you don't wanna go."
"What? Why?" Neil barked.
"Because I wanna go out with her."
"Have you thought about, I don't know, asking?"
"I am asking!"
"Not me, you twat! Her!"
"Well I did, but I was way too high to remember, just please please stay home? C'mon, please!"
"Fine... not like I wanna spend time dicking around with you two. I have to write some more material to show to the labels."
"You're the best brother in the world!" Ivan shook Neil by the shoulders just as Joy came back.
"Yeah yeah," he huffed. "Hey, so I'm a little under the weather, you know? Still kinda hungover, you two go."
"Maybe we should all stay and talk about the band?" Joyce asked, but Ivan was already halfway out the door.
"Nah, he'll be fine. Neil is a real grumpy arsehole when he's hungover, it's dinner time anyway."
Gloria watched as they made their way down the stairs, and that stupid knowing grin on her face made Joy want to kill her. It's not like that was a date... right? Of course not. It was a friendly band hangout.
Ivan insisted he should pay as a welcome treat, even though he probably had way less money than her. He just couldn't be that type of guy who wouldn't pay on their first date. In his mind that was a date... right? Of course it was.
"We only need a drummer now," he murmured, covering his chips in vinegar. "Do you know anyone?"
"Not really, I haven't made any friends since I arrived."
"Why did you wanna leave the States?" He asked. "They have a pretty big music scene there. Why didn't you move to LA or something?"
"I always liked London, all my favorite musicians are from England... well, except Bono."
Ivan shook his head with a smile. As much as his brother resented their friend, he couldn't bring himself to feel the same way. The bastard was talented, it's not like he didn't deserve it.
"We went to school together, back then when we still called him Paul."
"You're kidding!" Joyce grinned.
"No, I swear! I'd say ask Neil, but I wouldn't if I were you. I sorta auditioned for his band once, but it didn't work out."
"So you could be in U2 right now?"
"I suppose, if things had been different... we only played together once, it wasn't really a thing."
"So you're happy with our band?" Joy leaned over the table without even realizing it.
"Yeah! Even more now that you're here to shake things up."
She thought for a moment, not noticing when Ivan also leaned closer, their faces only inches apart. He was ready for a kiss, he thought that's what she wanted, but she simply laughed. Shit, she has such a cute laugh... he thought.
"This should be our name."
"What?"
"Shook Up! You're not the McCormick brothers anymore."
"Y-yeah! That's a pretty cool name," Ivan cleared his throat, embarrassed and hoping she didn't notice how eager he was.
"So, will you kiss me now?" She asked with a smirk.
Tag List: @seanfalco @elliethesuperfruitlover @firstpersonnarrator @salvador-daley @totallyeve
Whew, if you see this maybe give it some love, cause it took a lot longer than expected ^^’
I kind of fell down the Robert Sheehan Rabbit Hole and watched a lot of stuff he’s in (surprisingly you can find a lot on youtube). So I decided to draw some of my favourite characters/performances together.
In the middle is Nathan. I think it’s obvious why I had to include him ^^
On the left we have Sean from “Bad Samaritan”. I really like him because he makes tons of rational and understandable decisions throughout the movie, while learning from his mistakes and just being an all around nice person.
On the right is Ivan from “Killing Bono” and he’s here mostly because of the outfit ^^’ but also because the acting in the scene where he finds out what his brother did is just *chefs kiss*. I actually googled if that happened in real life and thank god it was pretty different. But it made for good drama in the movie.
