Type of work: Chapters of In Joy and Sorrow
Genre: Romance
Title: In Joy and Sorrow: Chapter One, Not an average groupie
Author: dreamsinfiction
Rating: PG-13
Warning: mild swearing
Summary: A fan works her magic to meet the band....
Disclaimer: There's a reason it's fiction, my dears. ;-)

Sighing she pulled the laces out of her boots once again. She had already re-laced them thrice and yet kept missing the same eyelet. Grumbling she once again snaked the fuschia coloured lace up the knee-high black boots. Apparently the fourth time was the charm and she was able to tie the pretty little bow at the top of the boots. A moment later she had zipped up the black dress and smoothed its skirt down.

Stepping front of the full length hotel mirror, the brunette looked herself over. A smile came to her lips as she ran her fingers through her hair once more. Satisfied, she headed to the door, passing by her hotel key without even glancing at it. A moment later the door closed behind her and she realized her key was on the other side.

"Dammit," she muttered, staring at the door.

She did not have the time to go get another key. Time was tight for her plan to work correctly. She hadn't spent hours at the club getting to know everyone who worked there for everything to fail. Time was of the essence. The key could wait.

Hurrying down the hall to the elevator she pushed the button. Her blue eyes went to the counter, watching the lift slowly move to her floor. It took a few deep breaths to keep herself from grumbling at the elevator and it's slowness. With a ding, the doors opened and the girl stepped into the lift, joining a pair of little old ladies. The women stepped closer to the wall, obviously uncomfortable with the girl's appearance. She was rather used to that. Most of the generations older than her had issues with her tattooes, piercings, fuschia streaked hair, and 'gothic' clothing. For awhile it had bothered her, but she quickly overcame that.

"Have you ladies been to the symphony? The conductor is absolutely marvelous!" she commented, smiling. "I attended it the other night and I must say I have not been so moved by a concerto before."

The women's eyes widened slightly, whether from the fact the dark girl addressed them or from the fact she seemed to actually know what she was talking about was uncertain. She merely smiled brightly at them and stepped out once the elevator came to a halt.

Nodding to the clerk behind the desk, she hurried out to her ordered cab. Slipping in, she nervously tapped her right toe as the driver returned to his seat.

"Going for a night out?" he asked as the taxi pulled out of the hotel's parking lot.

"Something like that," she replied, smiling crookedly. "We'll see how long it lasts."

The rest of the journey to the club was filled with rather meaningless chit chat. When the car came to its destination, he handed her his card after she paid her fare, telling her she could call him anytime and he would see her home safely. Thanking him she climbed out of the cab. After it had pulled away from the curb, she dropped his card in the nearest trash can. Something about the cabbie had rubbed her wrong. If she was going back to her hotel that night, she certainly wasn't doing so via that cab again.

A line had already begun to form around the club and it was at least three hours before the doors were to open. Apparently the kids in line had nothing better to do. Heading up to the front of the line, she flashed a smile to the bouncer, standing in front of the door with his arms crossed. He glanced at his watch.

"Running a bit late, Kat?" he teased.

"Not at all. You gonna let me in?" she asked, softly enough that not everyone around would hear her.

"You know I can't."

"I know you can," she retorted.

He leaned forward, "Go around to the back of the building. Knock three times on the second door. Don should be there to let you in."

Victory showed in her eyes, but she did not smile. Instead she put on a pout and moved as if she was going to the end of the line. Though once she got to it, Kat continued on, passing by the tour buses and eventually the dumpsters. Finding the second door, she knocked three times. A moment later it opened and a burly man stood there, staring down at her.

"What do you want?" he growled.

"You know very well, Don," she replied.

"And what do I get out of it?" he retorted.

She rolled her eyes, "Just let me in."

He smirked and stepped aside, "Nice dress, by the way. Fits you well."

"Thanks," she responded stepping into the club. "Where can I find them?"

"Last I heard, upstairs, but they could have moved down to the bar by now," he answered.

Kat frowned a little, "It would be better if they're upstairs. I'll check the bar first though."

Leaving the burly man guarding the door, she headed down the hallway, passing by posters of previous bands to play at the club. Stopping just at the hall's end, she looked over to the bar and found it pleasantly empty, save the bartender who was preparing his bar. With a smile she headed to him.

"Have you my beer?" she asked.

He jumped, having not seen the young woman approaching him, "Jesus, Kat. Couldn't you make more noise or somethin'?"

She chuckled, "You didn't hear me coming?"

He shook his head, before reaching under the bar for what she requested, "But maybe I'm going deaf."

"Probably," Kat grinned. "Thanks alot for keeping these."

"Not a problem, babe," he returned the smile as she accepted the small case of Finnish beer, cooled to the perfect temperature in the bar.

Turning, she headed to the stairs, which required weaving through roadies setting up equipement and barriers. They all seemed rather familiar with the woman, but then again she had spent a few hours the night before, drinking and showing them around. It wasn't often the roadies got attention from the girls, usually just the bands. That of course was all a part of the larger plan.

Carefully ascending the steps so as her boots wouldn't make too much clunking sounds. Pausing at open doors to glance in, she found opening acts and flashed them smiles, offering them a beer as well. They didn't all take her up on the offer, but that suited her just fine. She didn't need to run out of the Finnish nectar before getting to her destination.

Her heart began to pound the closer she got. It seemed her natural stride was much too slow. And the sounds of her boots were clashing with the pounding of her heart in her ears. There was no way she was doing this, that her plan had actually gone just as it should. No way. She had never been that lucky in all of her life.

The door was open. Not fully, but enough she wouldn't have to balance the beer to open it. Fate was smiling upon her that day, she was sure of it. Nudging the door open with her toe, her eyes quickly scanned the room, an easy smile upon her lips. They were all there.... no, he wasn't. What was the point of doing this if the object of her affection wasn't there?

Pushing that aside, she grinned, easily speaking the Finnish she had practiced so many times, "I thought maybe you would need some refreshments before the show?"

Four pairs of eyes turned to her. For a moment she nearly lost her composure. So what if he wasnt there? The rest of the band was. And that was good enough, right?

"How kind of you," a voice came from behind her, nearly making her knees buckle.

She felt his breath on her neck as he glanced over to see what she had. It was so very hard to not close her eyes and act all giddy. That would certainly defeat everything.

Easily reaching in the box with one hand, she handed a bottle over her shoulder easily to him, "My pleasure."

He accepted the bottle before moving around her and taking the case off her hands, setting it on the table in front of the rest of the band, "Why don't you have a seat? I promise Gas will not bite."

"I don't know," she eyed the drummer warily, though inside she was jumping up and down with excitement. "He looks the type to do just that."

"I already ate," he claimed. "You're safe."

With that comment, and a small giggle, she sat on the couch, "My name is Katerina, by the way, but everyone calls me Kat."

"Pleasure to meet you, darling," he said as he sat across from her, removing the cap to the bottle. "I assume you know who everyone is?"

"Hmmmm," she wiggled her nose in thought, "well I know who Gas is. But I would say that's about it."

Of course she knew who they all were, but part of the plan was feigning she didn't....

"Wh— then how did you know what beer to bring?" Mige, who was seated on the opposite side of Gas, said.

She shrugged, "I was just told a band from Finland was here. That's all. What band are you again?"

There was dead silence in the room. It wasn't that they were well-known in America, but it also wasn't normal for someone to bring them... treats before a show and have no clue who they were. Kat knew that, she'd done enough research prior to setting everything into motion.

"Nevermind that, sweetheart," his gentle voice broke the silence. "What matters is we are in the presence of a lovely young woman who not only knows her beer but speaks our language. Rather impressive I would say."

Her eyes went to his and once again she nearly melted. Those green eyes were far better in person than any picture or video she had ever seen. A smile instantly touched her lips.

"I'm Ville. He's Linde. Mige. Gas. Burton," he introduced the room, motioning to each man as he said their names.

Kat smiled at each in turn, pretending like she was associating names and faces.

Ville opened his mouth to say something else, but their tour manager entered the room. After conversing rather quickly in Finnish, he left the room.

"I apoloize about that. Apparently the crowd outside is already fairly large," he took a drink of the beer, before setting it on the table and reaching for his cigarettes. "Should we go tease them?"

A grin lit up Kat's face. That was perfect. Something unexpected, not that she had anything planned once she got in the room with the band.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked.

Taking a few drags on his cig, Ville stood up, "Stand for me, darling."

She did as instructed, feeling his eyes look her up and down. Standing before him, Kat was eye to eye with him, thanks to the heels on the boots, otherwise he would have had a few inches over her. A smirk came to his face and turned away. A few moments later he held out a jacket and a hat for her.

Warily she accepted both, pulling them on. Next he held out his cigarette.

"Go stand by the window, with your back mostly to it. They'll think you're me," he claimed.

"Except she's got breasts, Ville," Mige pointed out.

"But they won't be able to see that," he rolled his eyes.

Taking his cigarette, Kat headed over to the window. She even managed to take the natural sway of her hips out as she neared the dirty glass. As she looked out, she understood why the club didn't clean the window, it was a privacy thing almost. Glancing down at the crowd, she raised the cig to her lips and took a drag, waiting for the fans below to notice movement in the window. Turning so her back was to the glass, she lingered for just a moment, long enough to hear a roar of screams outside.

Giggling she moved away, peeling the layers of Ville's clothes off her, "They totally bought it!"

Taking another drag of the cig as she returned the articles where Ville had picked them up, Kat messed her hair again, before plopping down on the couch again. She leaned across the table to offer the cigarette back to him. Without hesitation he accepted it and stuck it in his mouth, not caring about the small coat of lipgloss left upon it.

"Fabulous, sweetheart," he smiled at her.