Chapter Text
“When the truth is found to be lies
And all the joy within you dies
Don't you want somebody to love
Don't you need somebody to love
Wouldn't you love somebody to love
You better find somebody to love
When the garden flowers, baby are dead, yes and
Your mind, your mind is so full of red
Don't you want somebody to love
Don't you need somebody to love
Wouldn't you love somebody to love
You better find somebody to love”
Somebody to Love // Jefferson Airplane
It was 1985, and Eloise and her band had just arrived in Santa Carla. Their lead guitarist and driver, Adam, snorted when their bassist, Lola, pointed out the ‘murder capital of the world’ painted on the back of the sign.
“What? Are we afraid of signs now, Lola?” He asked mockingly, and Eloise stifled a laugh. She sat in the passenger seat, resting against the pillow she had propped up against the door of the van. Lola rolled her eyes, and threw a twizzler at him.
“Hey, no wasting food on the bus!” He said, and now it was Eloise’s turn to roll her eyes. The ‘bus’ was a volkswagon van that Adam had borrowed from his parents.
“It’s creepy! Jeez, why did you book us here?” She asked. Their drummer, Alex, raised his head out of his novel.
“Cause they’re willing to pay us.” He simply said. Life on the road was a constant mix between being excruciatingly poor and suddenly handed cash. After a few months, they would’ve thought they had managed to find a balance, but nope. Eloise ignored her bandmates' antics, and gazed out at the water.
“For the murder capital of the world, it sure does look like paradise.” She whispered dreamily. She couldn’t wait to get on the beach and stretch. To smell the ocean breeze instead of the weird smell the van always had. They pulled into their motel. It was a dingy little yellow building with white doors, and, for this week, it was home. They had hit an official dull point in their ever extending tour. By dull point, they meant that no one was willing to book them. The band was too stubborn to go home with less change than they left with, and they had a week to find themselves a miracle. A week until their funds ran out, at least.
Eloise stepped out of the van, and let out a long yawn. It was midday, but car rides always made her sleepy. She reached down to touch her toes, then lifted her fingertips towards the sky. God, it was good to be out of the van for once. She looked around, and took a deep breath of the Santa Carla air.
The sun beat on her skin, and Eloise flipped her dirty blonde hair to the side. Mentally, she hoped this week would lighten her hair. While her hair had natural beach waves, she hardly got to see the ocean. Their band, the Heart Throbs, may look like the typical California beach band, but they were really from the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania.
Her eyes were a light brown, and set above the high cheekbones of her heart shaped face. She thought that she could be considered pretty, at least enough to be the face of their band. Her features weren’t incredibly unique, and she longed for Lola’s long legs. Instead, she stood at the small height of 5’1. The only reason she was allowed in the passenger seat on their roadtrips was because she could pull her seat forward.
In all honesty, Eloise knew she was a bit of a stereotype. She looked like she shared a wardrobe with Stevie Nicks. She was the owner of many lacy tops, long skirts, and shawls. Right now, she was dressed in simple shorts and a hoodie. The van life didn’t allow for fancy clothes.
They unceremoniously unpacked their bags and went to find their room. Adam, always one to cut costs, had only rented one. At least there are two beds, she thought. She didn’t mind sharing a bed, the only problem was that Alex snored. And by snored, she meant that he sounded like a fricken lawnmower. She was sure that sleep was definitely going to evade her, and secretly wondered if she’d have more luck sleeping in the van. Instead of unpacking, Eloise fell onto the bed closest to the door. Lola fell next to her. Adam kicked her foot, and she grumbled.
“Unpack, then sleep.” He said, but she waved him away.
“No point. Only here for a week.” She mumbled, and he sighed loudly. The two girls then promptly fell asleep before their show that night. It was probably the only sleep they were going to get that week.
Ever since they had decided to come to Santa Carla, Eloise had been having the strangest dreams. She couldn’t remember much of what happened in her dreams, but she remembered their faces. It had taken them three days to get to Santa Carla, and each sleep she had dreamed of a different boy. She couldn’t remember having ever seen them before, but maybe her mind was just telling her that she needed a freaking boyfriend.
Eloise walked to the boardwalk, hearing the carousel as she continued her trek. She was entranced by the sound and the lights. She could smell popcorn and hotdogs, and her stomach grumbled lightly. The lights of the boardwalk were blinding in the darkness, but she couldn’t look away.
She heard her friends laugh, but couldn’t see them. When she looked around again, their voices faded. She couldn’t focus on the faces crowding around her, and thought that maybe she had wandered off.
When she looked back at the carousel again, the lights seemed too bright and the music distorted. She was closer to it now, closer than she had been a moment ago. A chill ran up her back, and she rubbed her arms to try to soothe the goosebumps forming on her arms.
The sounds of the previous chattering crowd slowly faded out, and she looked across the sea of faces to see two piercing blue eyes.
They were staring right at her.
She continued walking, trying to get around the crowd to see who they belonged to. She suddenly felt like it was important that she knew. She rushed through the crowd, pushing and squeezing to try to get through.
As the crowd passed, their chatter now a dull lull in the background, she finally saw a glimpse of his pale face.
Eloise awoke to a pillow smacking her in the head. She groaned, rolling over onto her stomach. Her eyes were still closed, and this apparently warranted another smack.
“Jesus.” She said, covering her face to protect herself from any more assaults. “I’m awake.” She grumbled, her voice still filled with sleep. She still hadn’t opened her eyes, and she heard Adam’s voice,
“Go shower and get dressed, we have an hour until soundcheck.” She groaned again, and wiped her bleary eyes.
“Why do I even have to go to soundcheck? I’m gonna use the stage microphone anyways.” She muttered. Ah, the struggle of being a young musician. Adam responded by smacking her again with the pillow. She finally opened her eyes to glare at the boy. He gave her a peachy smile. They had this conversation every performance, and, for once, Eloise didn’t need an encore. Sighing, she sat up and took her butt to the bathroom. She took her bag with her, as she hadn’t bothered to unpack yet. After a long shower, she stepped out and began to towel dry her hair. She dug through her bag, settling on a long, beige skirt, a white top with a mix of tasteful lace and crochet, and a white shawl. She paired it with a pair of sandals, but she knew she’d be barefoot before the end of the night. It was a luck thing, and Eloise never questioned the power of luck or coincidence. For if she did wear her shoes on stage, she knew she would bomb. It was just what happened.
She left the bathroom, and passed it on to Lola. After Lola was done, they drove to the boardwalk. Eloise offered that they walk, but the others were not swayed. Eloise didn’t have to haul her instrument down the three blocks, so she relented and climbed back into the van.
The sun was still in the sky when they got to the beach, but it was quickly setting. Eloise was a little sad as she watched it go down. Their first day in paradise was already over, and she had done nothing but sleep. She sighed, and tried not to let it get to her, or think about her strange dreams. They parked in the parking lot, and quickly headed to the stage. While Eloise found herself bored at every soundcheck, her bandmates were filled with pent up energy. The outdoor stage was perfect for their type of music, and they were all excited. Eloise was mostly hungry. She looked at the boardwalk, her eyes practically pleading for all the boardwalk food she could get her hands on. Adam sighed, and passed her a few dollars. She pulled him down to kiss his cheek, before excitedly skipping off. Now, food was something she could get excited for.
She wandered through the crowd, wondering if she should get pizza or a hotdog. Either was a bit dangerous, as any potential stains made on her shirt was following her up stage. Finally, she decided on a giant pretzel. She chomped down on it quickly, and was throwing her napkin away in minutes. As she looked at her watch, she knew that she still had plenty of time before their set.
She took this time to walk towards the carousel, the music drawing her closer. She had always loved carousels as a kid, and there was always something about the bright lights that drew her to them. Like a moth to a flame.
She leaned against the railing, content to watch it for a few rounds. However, there was a certain familiarity that she couldn’t place. She watched the lights and the carousel go round and round, when she felt eyes on her. Instinctively, she looked around, and there they were.
Piercing blue eyes.
She gulped, suddenly reminded of her dream from that afternoon. She only saw his eyes for a second, before the crowd swallowed them back up. He was too far away for Eloise to make out clearly, but Eloise knew what he looked like. She had already seen him once before.
Her hand gripped the railing behind her, and goosebumps were quick to form on her skin. She instinctively rubbed her arm, and realized the similarity to her dream.
This is getting too weird, she thought. But Eloise wasn’t one to question coincidence. She let go of the railing, and pushed off into the crowd. While she knew it was partially ridiculous to follow the mysterious eyes, she needed to see for herself that it was the same boy. Maybe, then, these dreams would stop plaguing her.
She followed along with the crowd, winding through the mass of people. She didn’t push or budge like in her dream, mainly because she was calmer now. She knew she would see him eventually. She escaped the crowd, and instead stood on the edge of it. As she scanned around, she saw him. She saw them.
All of them were there, either leaning against or sitting on the railing. Eloise knew it wasn’t polite to stare, but she was shocked. They’re real, she thought to herself. She had thought her mind had made them up, or taken them simply from faces she had seen. But all four of them were there in a town she had never once been to before.
Like he had read her mind, one of the boys looked at her. She felt another shiver run down her spine when she saw it was the one from her first dream.
He had dark brown eyes, ones that bore into hers. His long brown hair blew in the wind. He wore a stoic expression, and Eloise that this was usually around the time she woke up. She took this opportunity to study him further, and noticed his leather jacket first. She saw the yellow jaguar on the left side, something she had never noticed in her dream. She also noticed he wasn’t wearing a shirt, another thing her dream had failed to show her.
Her eyes moved when she felt another pair on her. It was the boy from the second dream that she connected eyes with next. Eloise remembered his curly, blonde hair and cherub face. His brown eyes were looking at her with a hint of interest, as if he was wondering why she was staring at them. His raised his hand to his face, chewing on his thumb. She took in his colorful jacket, and she almost felt a smile come to her face when she saw the leather chaps. Almost.
Her eyes slid over again, and met a pair of blue eyes this time. This boy was smiling at her, a relaxed expression on his features. His eyes were almost hooded, even. He looked like he belonged on a tour bus, a real one, with his blonde hair long and teased to all hell. She wouldn’t be surprised to see him surrounded by groupies in a few minutes.
Finally, her eyes fell on the boy from her most recent dream. She remembered the platinum blonde hair well, and the eyes even better. They were piercing into hers, demanding her focus. He was handsome, they all were, but he seemed to be the leader. She took in his scruffy face and long black coat, and watched as a gloved hand gestured in her direction. She then watched the boys push off the railing, and started heading right for her.
Shit. She thought. She whirled on her heel, not ready to confront the mystery men. She rushed back into the crowd, and prayed that her height gave her an advantage. They wouldn’t be able to find her if she was too short to see. She didn’t turn around or pause for even a second, mainly because she could still feel eyes on her. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she didn’t stop until the feeling faded.
She rushed down to the beach, and her bandmates looked like they were about to throttle her. They were apparently supposed to go on in five minutes.
Eloise was quick to strip off her shoes, not wanting anything weird happening again tonight. She cursed her dreams for never having shown her that she would end up running away from the boys, and prayed the dreams would leave her alone after tonight.
When she ascended the stairs and went to the microphone to greet the audience, her eyes connected with four familiar faces. They were each leaning against the railing, staring at her as she had only a few minutes ago with them. There were varying levels of interest in their eyes, with the brunette seeming to not care and the tall rocker blonde cheering along with the crowd. Whoever these boys were, they made her incredibly nervous. Eloise had never once felt nervous on stage, at least while she was barefoot. The mullet blonde smirked at her, and Eloise had to swallow before she spoke into the mic.
“Hi, we’re the Heart Throbs. We’re gonna start off with a cover. We hope you enjoy our show.” She said, but she couldn’t help staring back at the boys, as if she was directly talking to them. The one with the piercing eyes seemed to think so, as he raised an eyebrow at her.
Jesus, she thought. Taking a breath and closing her eyes, she waited for the four clicks of Alex’s drumsticks. She snapped her eyes open, and started.
She held the microphone firmly in both of her hands when she started, her powerful voice commanding the attention of the audience. When the chorus began, she took the microphone off the stand, choosing to walk around the stage and dance. Her head tilted back as she drawled out the first chorus, exposing her slender neck. Her onstage persona was almost completely different from her offstage one. The offstage one had been too frightened to talk to a group of boys, her onstage one strut confidently and even bent down to touch hands with the audience. They cheered for her loudly, loving her voice and eating up her charisma.
She danced through the second chorus, and was even brave enough to gesture a hand out to the boys. Her eyes were wild and filled with adrenaline as she looked at the boys, but she didn’t keep their gaze for long. She ended up on her knees by the end of the third chorus. She sang the entire verse on her knees, pointing to the audience and singing directly to the first row before standing for the final chorus. She slowed, her free hand running through her thick blonde hair. She shed her shawl and kicked it to the side. Her eyes were closed and she couldn’t see just how hard the boys were staring as her hand went to run down her neck and shoulder sensually. She held out the final note, before dancing through the rest of the song. Lola bounced with her, and Eloise laughed.
Eloise had danced and sung off her nerves, and the show went off without a single hitch. She only spared the boys glances here and there, keeping her main attention on the large audience that had grown in front of her. Santa Carla loved them. The band had never received a positive response before, even to their own originals. It occurred to them that maybe Santa Carla was the miracle they had been asking for, as the audience demanded an encore when they said they were wrapping up their show. She looked to her band members, having not prepared any more songs. She laughed into the microphone, a soft and clear laugh.
She looked to the crew manager, who told her from the side to keep going. She looked at the boys, and smiled as she thought of a song.