Call it Fate, Call it Karma

By the next week, which came quite quickly, we found one of us stressing out immensely whilst getting ready for The Strokes' first legit gig with a manager. It was a huge deal because apparently there'd be about 200 people at the bar and the The Strokes were the opening band.

"Where's my fucking guitar strap?!" Albert yelped, turning his room upside down.

I sighed, staring up at the ceiling from my sprawled out position on his bed. "Which one?" I said as I rolled my eyes.

"The one you got me! The red one with the lightning bolt shit!" he shouted again as he dropped to his knees, searching through a pile of dirty clothes.

"Chill out, man." said Nick, who was laying beside me. "I borrowed it yesterday, remember?"

Albert stopped searching and fell onto his ass. "Oh yeah...that's right. C'mon, man, where is it? That's my lucky strap! I need it for tonight!"

"I put it on the kitchen counter." Nick said with a roll of his eyes. "Chill out!"

"Get off my fucking bed, you two." Albert said, standing up. "We've gotta be out in an hour and you look like shit!"

"Gee, thanks!" Nick laughed.

"Sorry we can't all pull off a three-piece suit like you!" I jumped off the bed. "Come help me find something to wear, Nicky."

"Whatever." Nick sighed, following me out and into my room, where Fab and Nikolai were having a conversation. Fab tapped on my nightstand with a pair of his tattered drumsticks as he spoke, and Nikolai played some cool bass lines.

"Sounds good in here!" I said, clapping. "You guys are so ready!"

"Woohoo!" Fab cheered.

Nick fell down onto my bed in between Fab and Nikolai, humming along to whatever Niko was playing as he fixed his hair.

I searched through my closet for a few minutes, eventually settling on one of Julian's Nirvana shirts that he'd snuck in there and a pair of my favorite black jeans, then finishing the lazy outfit off with a bomber jacket and scuffed up Chucks. I quickly slipped the outfit on while the others weren't looking and joined them on the bed.

"Where's Jules?" I asked, tying up my shoelaces.

"In the kitchen." said Fab, biting his lip, almost seeming anxious. Nikolai cleared his throat and started tuning his bass, which I knew was already tuned.

"Should I be worried?" I asked as I started getting a bit skeptical. Fab said nothing and started tapping with his drumsticks again.

I frustratingly groaned, jumped off the bed and walked out into the kitchen, where I caught Julian chugging one of the bottles of vodka we never finished.

"What the fuck are you doing?! You have a gig in half an hour!" I screeched, running over to him.

Julian held the bottle high above his head so I couldn't reach. "I'm nervous!"

I grunted as I jumped, trying to grab at it. "I'm not letting you get drunk, asshole! You are not fucking this up for the rest of us!"

"I'm only having a little!" he protested. "Just enough to make me feel okay. I promise."

I stopped jumping and looked up at him with a furrowed brow. "You promise?"

"Yes...just a little more." he nodded. "Then you can take it off me."

I watched as he took a few more generous swigs, then screwing the cap on the bottle. He held it out to me and I snatched it off him with a wary look.

"Are you drunk?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of him as he lit up a cigarette.

"A little." he said, effortlessly blowing out rings of smoke.

"Jules!" I slapped his arm, waving the smoke out of my face.

He laughed through his nose, then flashing an adorable smile that I couldn't stay mad at. "It'll wear off before we get to the bar. Trust me, okay?"

I put the bottle in a cupboard and stepped back to get a good look at him. He didn't look much different to than he usually did, wearing his denim jacket and dirty ripped jeans. Now that I think of it, he didn't really put much effort into trying to look somewhat decent for the gig at all, but I shrugged it off. Typical Jules.

"Is that my shirt?" he asked, narrowing his eyes on me.

"Yep." I said, popping the 'p'. "Gosh, your hair looks terrible!" I looked up again, noticing his hair looked like he hadn't brushed it in weeks.

"It does not!" he whined, fighting back a smile.

"C'mere!" I pulled him toward me and licked my hand, then standing on my tiptoes to flatten his hair a little. "Man, your hairs getting so long!"

He crouched down so I could reach easier. "Should I cut it?" he asked as I ran my fingers through his hair and tugged out a knot. "Ouch!"

"No!" I yelped, a little too desperately. "I like it..." I finished fixing his hair and stepped back. "What're you gonna play tonight?"

"A few new ones." he answered with a nod. "Maybe a couple oldies."

"Sweet!" I grinned. "We should probably head out now, yeah? You guys need to set up your guitars and shit...and I bet Ryan's there already!"

"He is." he replied. "He's texted me five times."

"Why the fuck didn't you tell us?" I groaned, then turned away to yell. "We've gotta jet! Ryan's pissed!"

"Fuck!" Albert cursed loudly from his bedroom, resulting in Julian and I sharing a laugh.

We eventually all made it to the bar and greeted Ryan, who was a little surprised to see me again. I don't think he had any idea that the guys and I were so close.

The guys set up their instruments and soon, people started to pour in. More than half of them standing by the stage area, creating some sort of small moshpit, while the others sat at tables and/or the bar desk. Instead of sitting next to the stage in some sort of low-key 'VIP' area with Ryan and a few other people, I insisted on joining the huddle of people.

"Um, hey everyone." Julians husky voice spoke up on the mic, making everyone pay attention. I could tell he was still a little drunk as he subtly swayed side to side, looking over the crowd as he spoke. "We're The Strokes. We'll be playing a few songs for you tonight...obviously. We're a little nervous, so go easy on us and I hope you have a great time!" he continued, then gripping the mic in one hand and microphone stand in the other. "This first song...doesn't really have a name yet, but here we go!" he took a deep breath and his voice soon filled the room. "...and you're my favorite song, he said...."