Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

ARTHUR

I had to wonder at what point this obsession moved from fanatic to borderline pathetic. I was probably toeing the line, if not completely on the other side by now. The Children of Myth wasn't a big enough band to have people following them around. But here I was, at my tenth official show, my eyes glued to the stage as Hendrix belted out the final notes of the song. I had most of them memorized at this point. If they were online, I would've downloaded them by now. Even Sophie noticed me humming their songs on the weekends. Not well, I couldn't actually hold a tune, but she thought it was funny. I was just glad she wasn't close enough with her mom to confide in her. I didn't need Val to know I came here every week.

When Hendrix smiled and thanked the crowd, I swallowed down my disappointment. He couldn't play all night just because I was obsessed with the sound of his voice. I just wish they had a CD or something to tide me over until next week.

"You know, I see you here a lot. Big fan of the band?"

Startled, I whipped my attention off the stage to where the bartender was watching me. Other than taking my order and checking if I needed a refill, she never really looked my way before. Or so I thought. Apparently, she recognized how pathetic I was.

"I–I–"

The band cleared off the stage, and my stomach flipped over. My mind told me to leave to avoid the bartender's questions, but my body refused to move. Hendrix almost always came out here at the end of the night. He didn't drink much, usually asking for a soda while his bandmates got beers. It was creepy that I knew that, right? I needed to go.

I was pushing out of my seat, ready to bolt, when a familiar alluring voice made me freeze.

"Maya! You haven't sent us a song list yet."

The bartender's gaze swung away from me to where Hendrix and the band were walking up. She raised an eyebrow at Hendrix.

"Can you sound a little more anguished about it?"

Hendrix pursed his lips, but Ruby beat him to the punch. Literally. She whacked him with a closed fist on his stomach to silence him and smiled at Maya.

"Maybe you shouldn't ask him things like that. He'll do it just to be a butthead. Musicians are all drama queens. But yeah, a song list would be helpful. There's only a month until the wedding and we want to practice the songs we aren't familiar with."

Hendrix scowled at his drummer, rubbing his stomach to ease the pain. The bar was more crowded tonight, so more of the barstools were taken than usual. The few that were left were near me. I almost whimpered when Hendrix sat down next to me, his guitar case settled between his knees against the bar.

"I think Isla was working on the music list last night. I'll text her and see where she's at with it. I promise to have it to you by the weekend." She glanced in my direction and my stomach filled with dread. She wouldn't. Would she?

"By the way, have you guys met your biggest fan yet? He's been here every night you've played for weeks now." She gestured to me with a tip of her head.

All eyes of the band swung my way. I wanted to curl in on myself and cry, but that'd only draw more attention to myself. Instead, I ducked my head, my shoulders up by my ears like I could hide from them.

"No shit. That's awesome, man. What's your name?"

I couldn't outright ignore him. That'd be rude. So, despite my better judgment, I forced myself to croak out an introduction. "Arthur… Arthur Lewis…"

He didn't need to know my last name. I was making it worse. I grimaced, staring holes into the bar top. Meeting Hendrix in person was a fantasy. I never actually thought I'd get to do it and I wasn't prepared. What do I even say to an amazing musician who I was slightly obsessed with.

"Are, uh… Are you afraid of us? Is it the paranormal thing? Because we're not gonna hurt you or anything."

He sounded dejected, and my head jerked up automatically in alarm. "N-No! I– That– I don't care–" That sounded bad, but I couldn't figure out what to say. I was an awkward person by nature and I was sitting next to a guy I'd had fantasies about. If the lighting here wasn't so dim, they'd see the fact that my face was on fire. There was no hiding it with my complexion.

Unfortunately, when I locked eyes with him, I only got more tongue tied. He was gorgeous. He looked like a statue come to life, his features all carved to perfection. Deep brown eyes, full lips, crimson skin. His horns didn't point up like other demons I'd seen. His swept back along his hair before curling around in a hook behind his ears. His black hair was a little wild right now, tossed haphazardly into a bun, but when he was on stage, he left it down and flowing. This close, it looked silky, and a stupid part of me itched to tuck the stray strand on his cheek behind his ear. Speaking of ears, he had several piercings on both sides and a stud in his nose. And that was just his face. Since he wore loose shirts and jeans on stage, it hid a lot, but he was tall and his arms were cut with lean muscle, his hands and wrists stacked with rings and bracelets. He flared his wings sometimes when he was singing, adding shock and awe to an already amazing performance.

I was staring. Like an idiot. I begged my subconscious to stop, but it was like I was locked in his eyes and I couldn't look away. Not until the drummer spoke.

"I'm not getting fear off of him," Ruby said, stepping up to my other side. She tossed an arm around my shoulder, her head tipped and a grin on her face showing off her fangs.

Hendrix looked curiously at her. "What are you getting?"

"W-What?" I was almost afraid to ask, but I didn't know what she meant by that.

She tapped her nose and winked at me. "Vampires have a great sense of smell. I can pick up strong emotions and I'm definitely not getting fear. Embarrassment, sure, but it's strongly overwhelmed by–"

Horrified, I straightened and shot her a pleading look. "P-Please don't!"

She chuckled, but thankfully didn't continue. My eyes darted around, looking for an escape, but her arm was heavy on my shoulders, keeping me in place.

"What'd you get, Ruby?" Duncan, the one who played the keyboard, looked excited and a little mischievous.

This was what I got for having an obsession. I should've stopped coming after the first time. I was now inches from the man I had a major crush on, surrounded by the band I loved, and moments away from being absolutely humiliated.

"You guys are mean. I regret mentioning it now," Maya interrupted. She slid a glass of what looked like whiskey towards me, frowning at the band. "I thought you'd be happy to have a dedicated fan. I didn't think you'd torment him. Let him be."

Ruby pouted. "We're not tormenting him. He's our first human fan. I'm glad he's not afraid of us. Besides, it's not like I can tell exactly who–"

My whimper cut her off, and Hendrix came to my rescue, pushing her arm off my shoulders. "You need to go feed. You're a bitch when you're hungry," he teased. With little effort, he grabbed the edge of my stool and dragged me closer to him, effectively putting more space between me and Ruby. He was trying to be kind, but he didn't know he was making things worse. My entire body went on high alert, hyper aware of the demon next to me.

Ruby took a deep breath and smirked. "Well, that answered that question. Sucks for me, but whatever. I'm out of here. I've got a date with my feeder. See you losers later."

"I'll head out with you," Lazar, the bassist, volunteered, slipping off his own stool. "Nice to meet you, Arthur. Thanks for supporting us." He gave a backward wave, rushing to follow Ruby out the door.

That left Hendrix, Duncan, and another man I recognized from a few shows. He wasn't at all of them, but when he did show up, he was lead guitar. Zion, I think. He leaned against the bar top, watching Ruby and Lazar leave with a slight frown.

"Could he be any more pathetic?"

"Because you don't drool after her the same way?" Hendrix drawled. "He has more of a chance than you do."

Zion swung around and glared at him. "Fuck you, man. I'm way better looking than him."

Duncan snorted. "Sure. Let's go with that." He turned his attention to me, effectively dismissing Zion. "So, Arthur. How many shows have you been to?"

I didn't want to answer that. I also didn't want the attention back on me. For a minute, the focus had shifted to Ruby, and I was glad for that. I was having a hard enough time still sitting so close to Hendrix. But I didn't want to be rude either. I didn't know what kind of power the band had, but if they stopped me from coming to their shows, I'd be heartbroken.

"This is my tenth," I murmured, my cheeks burning so hot I was worried I'd give myself a fever.

"What'd he say?" Zion demanded, irritation laced through his words.

Hendrix ignored him. He was the only one close enough to hear me clearly, and he beamed at my admission, stealing my focus again.

"Ten? Really? That's awesome. We haven't had dedicated fans since we crossed over. What's your favorite song?"

Biting my lip, I frowned. I liked all their songs. I wasn't sure I had an actual favorite. I went with the one that got stuck in my head the most, just because I didn't want him to stop talking to me.

" Free Forever ." I loved that song. It was all about living life on your terms and abandoning the people who held you back. It was the first song I heard when I snuck out to a bar to wallow ten weeks ago. I'd gotten into another argument with Val, desperately trying to do what she wanted so I could keep Sophie with me. That song gave me hope that one day I could live freely like that, once Sophie was old enough to influence the custody agreement. It meant a lot to me.

"That's one of my favorites, too!" Hendrix's face lit up, a big beaming smile on his face that took my breath away. I could forget all the embarrassment leading up to this moment just because of that smile. I never thought in a million years he'd even look in my direction, but he was smiling at me like I just gave him a million dollars. The embarrassment was definitely worth it.