CHAPTER THREE

I gave one last look to my questions, and even though they were the same for every emergent artist, it seemed like that time they were more important than before. Ryan sent me a lot of emails about this assignment, as if we had a trunk filled with gold in our hands and we had to protect it.

I had just met four guys who didn't tell much individually, but together they were a winning team, they were so close to each other. Lawrence, the silent one, was a true dreamer. Music ran in his veins, and it was like a sweet escape to him. Aaron was like the older brother, the bossy one. There was a big sense of responsibility towards the other three guys. Malcolm, even though he seemed to be shy, was like a happiness provider. I laughed at many of his jokes, I didn't even remember the last time I laughed this hard. That interview was changing me, and I didn't even know that. Connor was the only one who made me feel weird. His gaze seemed to be innocent, but he probably was hiding something. He was the most private one, maybe more than Lawrence.

I settled my papers and my hair, and after a quick break, I turned on the recorder again. "We can go on." I said, wearing my glasses.

While I was about to go on with the next question, someone suddenly knocked at the door in a loud way. The noise was echoing in the room. I turned to the door. "I'm busy, you can come in only if this is an emergency." I saw with the corner of my eye Connor whispering something in Lawrence's ear, but I didn't pay attention to it. I just wanted to know who was behind the door.

Nicole, in all her beauty inversely proportional to her intellect, entered the room like a thunderbolt, moving her hips in a strange way. Maybe she thought she was being sexy. "Tracy Barkley!" She screamed, looking at the four guys in front of me. When they saw her, they laughed, except for Malcolm, focused on something else.

"Carter, can I have a moment, please?" I said. "I'm working, don't you see? Do I have to lend you my glasses?" I asked her, getting nervous. Nicole was always stuck to someone. I hated the fact that "someone" was always me. She was always interrupting me during my work and I couldn't stand not working in a peaceful environment. "Go away." I pointed to the exit. Ryan wanted us to deal with each other, but I couldn't be calm when she was around me.

She arched an eyebrow. "God, have you seen it?" She whispered to me. "Maybe you could stop your crackdown and find a boyfriend." She spoke out loud and I jumped on my armchair. One of the things I hated most about Nicole was that she wanted to be the brainy one when she didn't even have a clue about things.

I laughed hysterically in order not to lose my patience. "I think it's not your business how I cure my crackdown as a free and aware single person." I said. "Now, if you want, I have some work to do, and so do you, but instead of you, I do it and I don't waste my time. Get out of here." I ended, getting almost angry.

She went away like a scared goose, and I smiled, sitting again. I don't know what encouraged Ryan to hire her, since my co-workers were all serious people.

"It's not so bad being single if you want it." Lawrence said, and Connor flashed him in that exact moment. "Sometimes some people are not meant for love. It's not a thing for everyone. It can be clingy." He went on.

I nodded to thank him. I was without any patience, but I was still doing the interview. It was longer than I expected. "Well, now we should move on too." They settled themselves on the couch. "Where did your choice to put up a band start?" I asked, taking notes.

"We were schoolmates." Aaron answered. "Malcolm was the school bully, but he was a friend of mine." Lawrence lowered his head hearing those words. "One day, after the break, I saw him while he was hitting Lawrence in the restrooms, so I thought about how to put Malcolm back to his place and how to make amends with Lawrence." He laughed. "It was hard, but I managed to do both things. Malcolm became nicer, and Lawrence challenged me on FIFA and had his revenge, since he won. He heard me playing my drums and that's when he told me he had written some songs." He said.

"Connor was the least considered." Lawrence went on. "He was always in a little corner, studying, he was the smartest one. In a way or another, he was kinda boring." He smiled.

"But he was the only one who could play bass like a champion." Malcolm pointed out. "Tracy, could you skip the part where Aaron says I was a bully? I'm not proud of it." He said awkwardly. The shy Malcolm was a bully, seemed strange. I shook my head, amused. That material was pure gold.

"Leaving weird things behind, we played at the prom, and we started considering the idea to put up a band." Connor said, looking me in the eyes. I wanted to avoid his gaze but I wanted to fight it too. It was like fear and bravery were battling against each other without a winner.

"Then we started posting some covers on YouTube." Aaron went on. "Connor had that weird hair, he looked like Calimero." I laughed at the idea, but I had an answer ready.

"Well, the butterfly was a caterpillar in the beginning too." Connor lifted up his gaze, smiling. At that moment I had the certainty I was purely attracted to him. He was awakening something inside me, and I just had to understand what.

"By the way none of us was adorable in those times." Lawrence laughed. "So many boys seem to be cute with that haircut, we just looked like four idiots in front of a camera." He huffed. "With a horrible haircut." He said.

"Why are you in San Francisco?" I asked. Connor's gaze was still on me. I took a deep breath, waiting for an answer.

"We did a little tour in Australia, and this is supposed to be a break." Malcolm answered. "Aaron's the only one who's already been here last year. So he thought it would have been great to bring the three of us here." He said.

"Moreover, a city like this opens a lot of doors." Connor said, smiling again.

Even though the interview had already ended, we talked for a bit more. I never ran into this stuff, but that time it wasn't about an idiot from Texas or similar people. I was talking to four serious guys.

I found out so many things about them. Aaron, during his breaks, loved to visit every corner of the city they were in during the tour. He was mesmerized by historical monuments and he loved taking pictures of everything. Malcolm had a serious tourist disease. In every place he was in he had to try the typical dish and match it with a local beer. He was always following his instinct and he didn't care about people judging him. In addition, he used to be a bully and he kept a bit of his nasty behaviour. Lawrence was an old - fashioned man. He wasn't into visiting places, but he loved staying in his hotel room, writing songs surrounded by hot coffee. I also found out that music wasn't just a job for them, but it was also a way to keep them together. First of all, they were best friends.

Maybe I was wrong about them. They had a dream and they were following it passionately. Moreover, they were making a lot of people happy, because people loved their music.

After a quick break, the four guys stood up. Without realizing it, I stopped and looked at Connor like a perfect idiot, while he was tying his shoes. His muscles were tense and I was just about to caress them. The little vein on his neck was inflating and deflating with each of his breaths and my mind was numb.

I had always been bashful in front of provocations, but I was making an exception with Connor and I didn't know why. Even though he was extremely attractive, he was also a hypocrite, he always wanted to be right and he was a total asshole.

They said goodbye, we shook our hands again, leaving Connor at the end. He took advantage of it, giving me a quick non - innocent look. I knew he was hiding something. He winked at me before leaving.

When they left, I rested on the wall and I took a deep breath. I just wanted to forget that day, even though it was one of the best working days of my entire life.

Suddenly, Lawrence entered the room, freaking me out. "Damn, what's wrong with you?" I gave him a bad look, and he started laughing.

"I forgot to tell you an important thing, I think it will clear up your mind." He got closer to me, and for a moment I thought he wanted to kiss me.

"Okay, I'm listening." I muttered confused. He got closer to my ear and his breath hit my skin. Atmosphere was becoming unbreathable.

"Connor's not Asian." He said, and he got away from me, waving at me and reaching the other three guys.

And I stood here, like a dopey, observing the way Lawrence left me unsatisfied.