In The (Mobile) Studio - Big Light Show
Lauren v Cassie
Episode 6
Day Three
What the hell had she done? In terms of everyone she had ever met, Lauren was the least violent...by a long way. She was so docile that she made the cast of Glee look like a gang of angry anarchists in ski masks. However, there was no getting away from it; Lauren England, the quiet, unassuming lead singer of Big Light Show, had assaulted media sensation Cassie Bitch with a ceramic mug. She had been wound up, yes, certainly. But she knew there was no justification for what she had done. She had been trying to get to her guitarist, Alex Leuiso, after he had repeatedly got at her, and called her a cunt for rejecting the bitch Cassie. But when Cassie walked onto the bus, Lauren saw her chance, and launched the heavy mug, catching the pregnant vocalist in the temple, and sending her sprawling and bleeding to the floor.
She had immediately felt sick.
"Consider this your official warning Miss." The policeman's voice was stern, angry, and filled with an aggression which suggested she wasn't the first "out of control" rock star he had ever dealt with. "You're lucky your friend opted not to press charges you know," he continued in the same voice, his unforgiving eyes never moving from Lauren's tear-stained face. She nodded her head through her tears. She was so sorry, and so scared. She hadn't wanted this. "Make sure you keep her under control in future," the cop addressed Anthony Hecox, sat beside Lauren and rubbing her back to comfort her, "if I wasn't in a good mood, she'd be on the next fuckin' plane back to England." This made Lauren cry even harder. She didn't want to lose this chance at making something of her career. Not over something so stupid.
The policeman stood up, a very tall man with thinning red hair swept over to try and conceal the impending baldness. He put his hat on and looked again at the sobbing singer, shaking his head in a way that suggested he didn't care how upset she was. He repeated how lucky she was, before alighting the bus and returning to his patrol car. Lauren sat still until she heard the ignition kick in, and the cop car disappear around the corner. She hadn't expected this. Even when she cried herself to sleep, she had thought it was just a matter between her and Cassie. She didn't think Cassie was the sort of person to go to the police with something like this...Cassie wasn't someone to go to the police with something like this!
Her eyes shot to the other side of the kitchen, where her band mate, Alex Leuiso sat perched on a worktop. He smirked to himself, as he tried to avoid Lauren's accusatory gaze. Her heart filled with hatred, anger, and a deep sense of rejection and deceit. For the first time since the argument two days ago, she talked to another member of Big Light Show.
"You! You did this!" She spat toward Alex, surprised at the venom she could hear in her own voice. "You fucking devious shit! I could have been deported!" She stood up, her fists clenched in a tight ball of muscle and hate. In the corner of her eye, she saw Anthony stand up at the same time, ready to pounce, ready to stop her assaulting someone else. She relaxed her hands, as the bassist's mere presence brought her more to her senses. She sighed, and wiped her face with the palm of her sweating hand. "Why Alex? We're friends!" She looked at him, her eyes burning a deep hole through him, and he sensed her deep rooted feelings for him, hopping down from the worktop, ready to run if this turned out how it did yesterday. As he saw her hands relax, he felt more confident of speaking his mind.
"Why, Lauren? You want to know why? I was scared for my life yesterday! Genuinely! I have never seen that sort of look in the eyes of a human before! You were absolutely crazy. I thought, that if Ant hadn't stopped you, you'd have killed me." He waved his long arms around in an expression of pure exasperation. "I mean, Cassie only came on the bus to ask what was going on, and she ends up with a concussion...she couldn't even get back to her hotel Lauren! She had to sleep in the recording bus! I mean, I phoned the cops because I thought you had to get a fright. I can't be near you if I ever have to see that side of you again." As the realisation of Alex's words sunk into Lauren's mind, she felt her heart sink. This was one of her oldest friends speaking again. And he was scared of her. He was scared of what she could do to him if she was so angry. She had no idea she had lost it to that extent. The urge to defend herself kicked in all of a sudden.
"I....was pushed too far..." she said, without conviction, "when Cassie...when Cassie came on the stage...and...she pulled my hair," but even as she heard her own words, she realised that it was useless. There was no way to defend what she had done. She slumped against the soft black leather of the sofa, and Anthony, who appeared to be oddly mirroring her actions, plopped back onto the sofa beside her, manoeuvring himself so he was sat between the two warring band mates, but happy that they were talking it through. Lauren felt herself resign to the fact that she had been in the wrong. The horrible reality of yesterday flooded into her mind, and she hung her head in shame.
"All Cassie wanted," she heard Alex say, "was to be in the band. I know her methods were extreme, but if she had been allowed to join before she came out here, everything would have been cool." Lauren didn't move her head, she could see everything from here. Alex looked exasperated. He just wanted his band to be a band again He had always been driven, and she didn't doubt that the reason he had taken to Cassie, was because he thought she was the best thing for the band. Tilting her head slightly, she could see Anthony nod his head, ever so slightly, in agreement with Alex. She leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. There were no tears this time, just the realisation from Lauren that she had possibly been very greedy, very self preservative.
"I'm sorry guys," she heard her own voice say, with a sadness and regret lodged deep within. She looked up now with tears in her eyes, but she didn't cry. Anthony was rubbing her shoulder to comfort her, and Alex was standing with his arms outstretched, as if to hug her. He didn't need to speak, his face was apologising for him. He understood what she was going through, but he had been torn by all of this. She stood up slowly and walked to him, pushing herself into his chest, and feeling his long arms wrap around her shoulders, as he patted her back slowly.
"I think you know what we need to do Lauz," Alex said slowly and softly. She nodded her head, feeling comforted that everything was ok, well, within the members of the band anyway. He was right...she knew what she had to do.
It was around 10AM when Cassie Bitch heard the studio bus door slide slowly open. She didn't look around, because she was Cassie. What did she care who was there? Then she heard the little English voice, so petite, so unassuming, just like its owner.
"Cassie," came the voice from the doorway, urging her to turn around. Eventually she did. Looking straight into the soul of Lauren England. A burning intensity deep in the eyes of music's premier bitch. Lauren stood almost dumbfounded, half expecting Cassie to attack her. Cassie had a band-aid over the wide gash on her temple, and a sizeable lump where the mug had connected with her skull. At this particular moment, she hated Lauren with an intensity she had previously reserved for only Katie Coyle.
"What?" She spoke at last, spitting words through her hatred. "What the fuck do you want? Come to finish the job have you? That's funny, I don't see any crockery in here!" Cassie turned back to the sofa, folding a pair of jeans as she smiled at her own wit, although hiding this from Lauren.
"No...I didn't, and I wanted to say I'm like really sorry about that." the voice wavered with nerves and fear, and Cassie loved that sweet sound in someone's voice. "I didn't mean it, I wasn't myself," the brunette continued. At this point, Cassie looked on as Alex and Anthony boarded the bus, waving weakly to her and standing against the wall, out of the way.
"I don't want to hear it lil bitch!" Cassie started, ready to burst into a tirade of abuse.
"I want you to join the band!" Lauren interrupted her all of a sudden. The conviction wasn't there in her voice, but hey, who needed the conviction when the words were there? Cassie smiled. Pleased that she had finally bullied Lauren into giving her exactly what she wanted. She slowly walked to the side of the bus where Lauren stood, with a massive smile on her face, looking at the young Brit for the very first time in the eye. She hugged her tightly, and screamed like those happy girls she had seen in the movies. What no one saw though, was her whisper gently into Lauren's ear...
"I still fucking hate you...and I'm going make sure you're out of this band sweetie...."