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The One That Got Away (Dr. Curiosity & Jocelyn)

Sweet Angel Jocelyn

Sweet Angel Jocelyn

Supernova
Joined
Jun 3, 2010
Location
The Middle of Nowhere
Gibby was the wonder of the city of Antigo. The smaller city had only seen a brief showing of becoming something big in the beginning of it's life. Back in the old days it had been the own town that had a railroad through it, and a stop. It had a main street that had gotten all the big stores first. Everyone had gone through Antigo and laid up roots for a little while. Then... Things started to dwindle.

It wasn't until people had almost forgotten about the place that it actually got it's name. And that was all because of "Gibby" and her band "Black Heart Run". The rock band had started out as a hit and just kept going. It was the name, and the face... With her brilliant hazel eyes and perfect caramel skin, "Gibby" was bound to make a name for herself.

Originally, her name was Gabriella Martinez. She had been a good girl. The sweetest person anyone would meet. Even into high school. She had a sweet smile on her full lips, and her eyes always seemed to gleam with laughed. People were always drawn to Gabriella.

She'd had everything, when she lived in that small city. A best friend, a wonderful band, and to top it all off, a wonderful family. She'd been very happy. When she and her best friend had started dating, things had just gotten better.

When the band had been picked up, it had been the best thing ever, at least it had felt like it. Then, things had gotten a bit too sketchy. she'd been convinced to change her name to Gibby for public view, and then she had been talked into taking some... Less than desirable pictures. It was all publicity. It was all fine. That's what she kept saying. But, in the end, she'd lost her entire band, all the people that mattered to her...

But she was home in hopes of bringing back the other original member of Black Heart Run. She walked into the dark night club, having heard that he was playing there on occasion, in hopes of finding him.
 
Of course, Gibby had heard right. Though Dalton was not yet on the small stage, he was in the back tuning his guitar with his headphones in. It was becoming a routine duty, playing there for a bit of cash. Of course, this was not exactly what the man had in mind when he'd been younger dreaming of where music was going to take him. Hell, it didn't have to be either. There was a time where Dalton was going to make it big. His band had got their big break, and they were headed straight for the top. Back then though, he didn't realize what it had taken to get to the top. Once he found out, Dalton realized the top just wasn't worth the journey to get there. Not even for his girlfriend.

It was only a minute more before Dalton was called out. Silently he put away his headphones and headed out onto the small stage. Antigo was not a large place, and most of the people that attended the club were locals. They came to hear Dalton sing, knowing it was nothing to shrug at. He had a voice that could silence a room, and his guitar skills were the only thing to supercede that. On numerous occasions, a small agent or talent finder might stroll through and offer to take Dalton all the way to stardom, but each time he turned them down. It wasn't what he wanted. Not how he wanted to live his life. If only he'd known that sooner.

Sitting on the edge of the small stool, Dalton gave the small gathered crowd a sly smile, and raised his eyebrows to get a good look at them. There was a smoky haze over them, but he could make out a few faces. For a second he thought he saw somebody that had been close to him a lifetime ago, but brushed it off as wishful thinking. Eventually, his light brown eyes flitted down to the instrument in his hands, as his fingers gingerly fingered at the cords. It took a moment, but eventually an instrumental started to fill the room of the dimly lit club.

If you'd known of the band Black Heart Run, you might have known the songs. It was an earlier piece that never got carried over for recognition once they'd been signed. Dalton had made the instrumental himself, the lyrics made by the person who was once his better half. She'd been able to sing it better, but she was the only one that could. He sang with a smooth unwavering confidence, looking calmly at the crowd as the song flowed from his lips.

At a glance, Dalton Rower was an attractive man, and clearly desirable by the people around town. He stood around six foot, and was roughly 185 lbs. on a good week. Not a small man by any means, but there's much bigger than him. However, he was 185 lbs. of muscle, and you could see it in the tight fitting crimson button up he wore. His skin was lightly tanned, and decreasing steadily with the little bit of time he'd spent in the sun recently, being more of a night person. Muedium brown hair that was at one point cropped short but shows growth, a little stubble and dark circles around his once beautiful light brown eyes. It was obvious if you knew him that Dalton was not the man he used to be, but he was still an okay guy.
 
Gabby, as she preferred to be called in her hometown, was dressed in her ordinary way. She was wearing a pair of designer blue jeans that hugged her hips tight and ran nicely down her legs. She had taken out the seams of the legs and added black lace so that there were peaks of her beautiful, smooth legs. Her shirt was a white tank top that showed her midriff, with a red rose navel ring on clear display. She had her hair down, and was wearing a pair of bright red stiletto boots. She looked wonderful, she was sure.

When Gabby saw Dalton, she could only smile a little. She knew it was him instantly, but he didn't look the same. She knew that she didn't look the same, either. But it was sad to see Dalton changing so. He wasn't the tan, goodnatured boy he'd been when they were in school...

The music sent her back. She remembered writing it with him. It had been built around their joint vocals... She remembered how good it had been when they had played it together. Her feet moved her closer to the stage until she was looking right up at him. He got lost in the music, just like she did... She missed playing with him...
 
It was only when she was directly in front of the stage that Dalton noticed her. Gabby was in Antigo... In the club... Watching him sing one of their songs. It was definitely not what he had expected. The shock of seeing her had almost broke his voice, but the man had been performing long enough to keep his composure. The song, and his demeanor continued seemingly unchanged even after the sight of his former girlfriend. His insides were churning however. Dalton didn't know what to feel at the sight of his former best friend, who was also his girlfriend and band partner at one point in time. It definitely weighed on him, that much was entirely certain.

The song ended some four minutes after he'd started, longer than the original. In the time Dalton had spent alone, he'd expanded the song a verse for his solo singing. He wondered how Gabby would feel about that, but tried to convince himself he didn't care either way. In fact, he tried to convinve himself that he didn't care about her presence at all. Delicately, Dalton set the guitar against the stool and headed straight to the bar, pretending not to see "Gibby" entirely. The bartender already had a drink out for him, and the young man downed it without so much as a face. It was a testament to his change. There had once been a time when it took all of Dalton's might to swallow hard liquor. This was whiskey, and even though it had that distinct burning on the way down, young Mr. Rower had come to enjoy the sensation.

Immediately after, he pulled out a cigarette - another new habit- and lit it before stepping outside into the night air. It was a nice night. Very few clouds, and plenty of stars to gaze at. Dalton looked at neither though, instead focusing on the glowing ember of cancer in his mouth. Gabriella was really there, he realized. In Antigo, in the club, watching him. What did she even want? What could she possibly have to say to him after all these years?
 
Gabriella was a bit surprised that he added to the song. She was sure that she was the only person in the world that would be able to tell the differences between what she'd written and what he added on to make it his own. She liked it, but hated that everything, even the words of her songs, had changed.

She was about to follow Dalton when someone stopped her for an autograph. The man was older, probably in his forties, and he was asking that she autograph a napkin for his daughter. She smiled and nodded as she quickly signed her name. It was nice to know that she still had good fans out there.

She was able to follow him as he walked out. She managed to get through without anyone else stopping her, which was great. She needed to talk to Dalton...

She saw him light up a cigarette and she raised an eyebrow. "Didn't we go over this in high school?" She asked him, walking into the light over the overhang. "Smoking can be hot... When done right." She remembered teasing him about that, but that was when he didn't smoke. What was wrong with him? How could he have changed so much?
 
Gabby didn't waste time, that was for sure. He hadn't been out there much more than a minute before he heard her voice behind him, teasing him as she once had in high school. Before he smoked, before any of this actually. Dalton could only smile, pulling the cigarette from his mouth to ash it quickly before taking another hit of it. "Indeed we did..." He said, turning his head slightly in acknowledgement of Gabby's presence. "Am I doing it right?" Then, turning to face her fully, Dalton really took in the sight of the girl in front him.

"Hello Gabriella." He said flatly from one side of his mouth, still expertly holding the death stick on the other side. "Didn't think we'd ever see you around these parts again. What's the occasion?" The question was, for lack of a better word, bitter. Truthfully, Dalton was still mad about what happened. Still brooding even after all this time. That's why he had changed so much, out of anger. It had led him in a downward spiral trying to escape it, and he'd landed here.

Gabby on the other hand, looked good. It has been nothing but silk sheets and luxury tour buses for her obviously. She had filled out her body a considerable amount. Of course, she had always been cute, but it used to be almost awkwardly so. Now, as "Gibby," she was beautiful. He drank her in with an almost blank expression as he took slow hits on his cigarette. At least on a physical level, she was pleasant to see.
 
Gabriella gave him a sweet smile, not letting his hard tone effect her. Of course, she knew he had the right to be mad at her. But, then, she was mad at him. She had done just what he didn't want her to do. And in the end, he left her. They had all left her to the wolves. She looked normal, happy. But she was definitely not as happy as she had been. The world had a big chunk of her.

"This is still home. My family still lives here." She reminded him, a little offended. She had grown, but she wasn't stuck up like so many people thought that she was. It was clear he thought she was something undesirable.

"I came to talk to you." She told him. "It's been a while." She commented, looking him slowly up and down. He still looked good. She doubted that he would ever not look good. He was so handsome, though different and angry. She wasn't sure she liked the vibes of anger radiating off of him.

"This really isn't up to your level." She told him. "You are more talented than a small time club." She said honestly. "Why don't you come back and play with Black Heart Run, again? It's your baby too."
 
When she commented that Antigo was still her home, Dalton almost scoffed. How dare she say something like that. Home is where the heart is, and her heart was in her fame and fortune. It definitely was not here in his home. This is where his heart was, and it couldn't be in the same place as hers. With another simple flick he ashed his cig, the warm embers flying towards Gibby slightly before dropping to the cold concrete.

Dalton could have guessed why she had come to see him before she even said it. Gabriella wanted him back as the band as her lead guitar again. The thought immediately disgusted him. Anything having to do with that band made his stomach churn and his head ache almost immediately. It didn't help that they played on the radio so often, making him more of an ipod guy. How dare she though, how dare she come back and ask him to play for her again.

"My baby?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. The statement made him laugh audibly, to the point that he had to pull the cigarette from his mouth to keep it from jsut dropping to the floor. "I lost my baby in the divorce. Black Heart Run is yours, Gibby." He said her stage name with obvious contempt for it. Turning around, he took a final drag before tossing the cancer stick into the dirt.
 
Gabriella raised an eyebrow at him and stepped back slightly. The ash was definitely aimed at her. Not that she wasn't expecting something like that. He clearly hated her.

"So, you lose a child in a divorce and you just stop loving it?" She asked, stepping toward him again. One thing that the years apart had given her was a spine. She disliked people putting her down, and she wasn't going to let it happen again. He was making a big mistake.

"Is that why you still sing our songs?" She went on. "Don't think I wouldn't remember lyrics that I wrote." She accused. "And don't act so high and mighty Dalton. You didn't have to leave. At least I'm offering you a place back."
 
Dalton almost smiled at her quick comeback. Gabby always was quick when it came to that. She was a very witty girl, probably one of the reasons she could get lyrics down so quickly. To her comment though he could only shrug, stuffing his hands in the packets of his dark jeans, staring down his lost love with a growing temper. He considered pulling out another cigarette, but decided not to and simply listened to her try to accuse him of things.

"I sing the songs because they're the songs I know best. After all, I helped write them." Then, she told him to stop acting high, as though she felt he thought he was better than her. "You've been too long in the spotlight Gabby. I'm not acting high and mighty." Pulling his hands from his pockets, he slowly gestured to his person. "This is a real person here. I'm not an instructed robot of perfection like the people you're used to." Then she said she was offering him a place back, which infuriated him.

Dalton took a step himself, closing the distance between him until they were almost touching. Had she been anybody else it might have been uncomfortable, but he'd known her on such an intimate level that it was almost second nature. "You're offering me a place back? Out of what, pity? You think I need your hand outs?" He barked out a laugh that was almost maniacle. "I've made it this far without your help." From this distance, Gabby would be able to smell the pungent liquor on Dalton's breath. The drink he'd had earlier had been a sip compared to what he drank regularly. That night alone he'd had enough to put two men to sleep. It was borderline alcohol poisoning at this point.
 
Gabriella almost paled when he went back to accusing her.But, she chose to push it all off. He thought he was so much better than her? Just because she'd done what they had always dreamed about doing, together. She'd made it work when everyone else had left her. She had survived, on pure chance.

"I'm not offering you anything on pity." Gabriella said, taking in the heated smell of alcohol on his breath. He'd clearly been drinking quite a bit that night. It was sad to see. He'd wasted himself, probably because he was mad at her. "I'm doing this because the band needs a new guitarist and I figured you'd be the best to ask."

Did he continue to see her spreads in magazines? The recent ones would make the first that she'd done look innocent. Maybe he didn't care anymore? She was just some trashy star, now?

"Oh yeah. Look at how well you are doing!" She said, raising her hands up. "And you are using my help, Dalton. My songs, my help." She told him. "I stopped using songs you'd help write when you left, but you continue using my music? Clearly, you aren't ready to be on your own. At least this way you don't have to drink to death in a small town. You could see the world, like you wanted to."
 
As Gabby tried to explain that the band needed a new guitarist, Dalton pulled a silver flask from his back pocket, taking a light drink of the spirit before stuffing it back in his pocket and pulling out another cigarette. He sparked it very deliberately, trying to get as big a spark as he could before lighting it. "You need a new guitarist, hm? That's it.... I'm the best?" He chuckled at the thought. Of all the people she could have possibly known to play for the band, he was the best? Somehow he just didn'ty believe that.

Dalton had seen her. In the magazines, on television, on the radio. Everywhere, it was all about Gibby. In a way he wanted to know all the things that he saw and heard, but he also despied it all. It made him sick to see her succeed without him the way she was. It disgusted him even more to know how she did it. Claiming it was just a photo shoot. Well there definitely wasn't much left to imagination after it.

"Your songs? We wrote those songs together! After you left, they became mine! I use my songs to get by!" He took a step back from the confrontation, taking an extremely long drag of the cigarette before he held it between his fingers."What's the point in seeing the world anyway? Everything I need is right here in this town with me."
 
"You are the best for Black Heart Run... Or at least you were." She said, glaring at him slightly. He'd become a terrible excuse for a human being. He was being intentionally cruel toward her, laughing in her face, flicking his ashes at her. It pissed her off. "Oh yeah. This is all you've ever needed, right? This town, your guitar. That's all you need."

She almost snarled at him. "God forbid someone she need you. You won't be there." She said, finally losing it. After all those years, holding it in, it was about time he got a little dose of what it was to be "Gibby" She pointed a finger in his face and wagging it. "You just want to be all yourself. I was so stupid for having depended on you back when we actually made it. Even not under pressure you buckle. I can't believe I was angry at you. All you can do is run away! You're a coward, Dalton. You couldn't have saved me from any of it." She glared at him and then looked around.

"Oh, just forget it all. I'm going home." Her back stiff, Gabriella turned away from him. "You aren't who I thought you were." She said in parting, before starting away.
 
Dalton couldn't deny that everything Gabby was saying was hitting home. He'd known all these things about himself, but it was worse to hear somebody audibly confirm it to his face. Nobody had before, they simply watched him fade away from what he used to be in silence. His figure was that nobody cared enough to stop him, they just let him drink and smoke himself into a haze of altered reality most of the time.

He let her go on without interrupting her, up until she started to walk away. At that point, he laughed. Loud. It was a laugh that he hadn't heard out of himself in a while, since before everything happened. "I am curious Gabriella," Dalton said low, starting after her and easily keeping pace. "How exactly did you picture this going? Did you expect me to be happy to see you return after why I left? Why the rest of us left?" He threw the cigarette out half done and focused more on the girl he was following. "We didn't leave you Gabby. You left us, the night you went to take that photo shoot. You changed who you were for the publicity. You said we wouldn't let the fame get to us, and look at what you did. Look at what you're doing! Who put you up to this? Your manager? Some new publicity stunt to keep you at the top?"
 
Gabriella kept her head held high as he put in his own little attack. It was her turn to laugh. "I don't even know what I wanted. I thought maybe after all of these years you might be happy to see me." She told him. "I thought that at one time you would have loved me and maybe you would have grown up a bit." She offered, shaking her head.

"If you would have bothered to stick around, you would have seen that the fame didn't get to me. But you just don't care! You left. You left me to THEM. I had no way of doing anything else. After this... Do you know what a seventeen year old would have had to do to get home after leaving that? I was in a strange place with strange people and you left me. I made the most of it and I did well! Don't blame me for succeeding."
 
"There you go again saying we left you!" Dalton nearly shouted as they walked down the street. A man across looked up from whatever he was doing at the two before returning to his own business. It was the middle of the night in a town where not much happened. So anything that seemed even slightly exciting was worth at least a little acknowledgement. "We didn't leave you Gabriella. We told you that if things got out of hand that we were leaving. We said that as a band! Then, when they did, you turned your back on us and went straight for the spotlight."

When she told him not to blame her for succeeding, Dalton felt a slight sting of regret. He of course would never say it, but Dalton was jealous slightly. Jealous not that she'd made it to the top, but that she'd been able to do it without him. It made him feel like he was nothing but a stepping stool as she reached for higher position in the entertainment world. "But how did you succeed Gabby? Would you have even been there if it weren't for us? Would you have made it so far with your music alone?" His voice was calmer now, no longer giving the impression that he wanted to argue. "The music didn't get you where you are today Gabby, and that's what we said would take us to the top."
 
Gabriella shook her head. "You all did leave me." She said, glaring at him. "I get back to a note from the men that were supposed to take care of me that says 'good riddance'!" She threw up her hands, more than a little angry. "Do you realize what you left me in? The person that was supposed to love me no matter what just gave up on me, not even bothering with a proper break up, and the others that I thought of as brothers left me in a place where all those sick men wanted was sex." She glared. "Instead of leaving, maybe you should have taken me with you." She accused.

When he asked if she would have made it so far with just her music, Gabriella was offended. "With the right manager, yes. I did make it with just my music with the right manager." She spoke softer as well, horrible memories flooding her mind as she walked. "The world only wants sex, Dalton. That's all anyone wants is that sex, they want to think that you might just want them, somewhere in the backs of their minds. "I got here without you guys, but I am asking you to come back."
 
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