IF I WOULD, COULD YOU?

SUB POP ROCK CITY

"Thanks." — she said softly, 'if you don't mind me asking, where's Chris? You guys have a reputation for being inseparable" — she giggled. Salem laughed. "Not at all, haha. He's actually on tour in Europe. He'll be back home soon though, it's just two shows. I couldn't really go..." — she got interrupted.

"Heyyy Dee!" — Salem turned around and saw a group of people approaching them. A blonde girl came running to Dee and hugged her.

"Salem, this is my friend Anna... Anna, this is Salem!" — they got introduced.

"Nice to meet you Anna, sorry girls would love to chat some more but I gotta run to the ladies room... watch my beer!" — she took off and the girls started catching up.

"Holyyyyy... DEE! LOOK! THAT'S JOHN, JOHN FRUSCIANTE!!!" — Anna yelled, she was clearly a bit drunk already. She then ran over to him and couldn't contain herself. John seemed a bit startled, he was in Seattle just for a few days, taking a break from touring to see some local bands live.

"Can you sign my CD? It's in my car, I'll go get it, stay here!!!" — she never stopped yelling and John was clearly not pleased by that.

"Dear Lord" — he said quietly and walked over to the bar. This whole situation made him chuckle. He was about to order a drink, but then he saw the girl of his dreams, standing alone, sipping on her beer. She was leaning against the bar with her long legs crossed, she was wearing a pair of black combat boots, a leather skirt ... and a RHCP t-shirt? It seemed like a win for him.

"Hey" — he smiled and came closer to her. "Nice t-shirt..." — he continued but realized the girl was in pure shock, no matter how hard she tried not to show it. "What's your name gorgeous?" — he asked.

"Hi John... I'm Dee" — she was clearly still in shock.

"Nice to meet you Dee, you wanna go smoke a cigarette?" — he asked, "it's kind crowded in here"

"I... I'd love to... but" — she couldn't even finish her sentence.

"But?" — he giggled and looked over at the second beer bottle behind her. "Oh, I see you've got some company" — he said.

"Oh no, it's someone else's, I just met her, it's not what it seems like... you see, the blonde girl who's so crazy about you is my friend. She really liked you and she'd kill me if I went out with you..." — she seemed a bit shy.

"Well... don't you like me too?" — he asked and raised his eyebrow. John never stopped smiling, he wasn't gonna give up, just like that. "And I haven't asked you out... yet" — he smirked. "Come on!" — John said and Dee couldn't resist, she came along.

...

Back at the bar.
Salem approached the counter only to discover her half full beer bottle left alone. She didn't give it too much thought and proceeded to enjoy the show. Alice In Chains opened with It Ain't Like That, and the catchy main heavy riff filled the room. The band members occasionally winked at Salem, which brought a lot of attention to her. Being Chris's girlfriend and a quite successful artist, Salem was used to a lot of attention, but things were different this time. She realized Alice In Chains were about to blow up.

When the show was over, Salem headed backstage trying not to make any eye contact with anyone. Normally she was very outgoing and was happy to talk to anyone, but being so far away from Chris took a toll on her.

"Salem!!" — Layne said with excitement as she approached him.

"You guys!! You killed it" — Salem yelled. "I wish Chris was here, he would've loved it. You're blowing up"

"Aww" — Sean said jokingly and she got a group hug from the band

"I think we need to celebrate this! Let's head to a bar" — Sean continued.