Chapter Four: The start of something new

I woke up feeling groggy and exhausted. It took me a few seconds to remember why - I’d been up all night flirting with Karen.

I sat on the edge of the bed and put my head in my hands. My life was a shambles. What with hanging out with Karen or Kaelie all the time, I’d barely had time to practice guitar or write new songs. Combine that with showing up to work late or tired, and it was no wonder my promotions were coming so slowly. At this rate, I’d never become a rock star.

I stood up. It was time to make some changes in my life, starting today. I told Karen and Kaelie - separately, of course - that I was taking a break from dating for a while to focus on my career. They were disappointed, but they understood.

Once I’d improved my job performance and got into a bit of a routine, I decided to throw a party to get to know my housemates friends, and acquaintances I’d made outside work. The party was great, Karen took care of the cooking for me and I took care of the entertainment. 

After everyone left, I was on the phone all night talking to my new acquaintances. 

My big break, career wise, came when I got my foot in the door of one of the hottest bands around, Tainted Soul. They were hanging backstage after a show when they heard me playing one of my new songs. To my surprise, the lead singer approached me and asked me if they could play the song at an upcoming show, and of course I agreed. When the fans loved it, they asked if I could write more songs for them. My career was back on track, and I was elated.

Looking back, the next phase of my life started shortly after this, when Karen hired a maid. Her name was Kate Pistachio, and I immediately wanted to become friends with her.

Matt was throwing a small party, and I begged him to invite her.

‘Why?’ he asked, frowning at me. ‘She’s just our maid.’

‘I think she’s really cool. C’mon, you’ll probably just end up hanging out with Xander all night anyway. Why do you care who else is there?’

Matt considered this. ‘Okay, I’ll invite her, but she might not come. I don’t think she likes me much.’

It turned out Matt was right. All his guests arrived but there was no sign of Kate. I called her.

‘Hey, where are you? The party’s started.’

‘Hadley?’

‘Who else?’

‘But - isn’t it Matt’s party?’

‘Yeah, but I told him to invite you cause I wanted to hang out with you.’

There was a pause. ‘Oh. I thought you’d be at work or something.’

‘It’s my night off. C’mon, it’ll be fun.’

In the end, Kate did come. True to my word, I hung out with her all night, except when I entertained the guests with my guitar playing. We promised to meet up again soon.

Oh, and Matt was glued to Xander all night. Lucky the guests didn’t seem to mind much!

________________________________________________________________________

Author’s Note:

So, I had to play ahead quite a bit to see where the story was actually going, because for a while there Hadley did absolutely nothing interesting except for throwing his party. 

So, yeah, sorry that not much really happens in this chapter, it’s really just a filler chapter, showing the passing of time and setting the scene for the next one. Hope you liked it anyway!

Until next time,

xx Courtney