After Hours

8 pm, sharp!

No matter how attractive the sun looked, it was still cold as bollocks outside. She hadn't dressed fancy today like she usually would, her hair was up, and she was going to utilize a large pair of sunglasses to cover up her puffy, tired, and hungover eyes. She caught the tube to High Street, so she could visit her favorite place in London, the market was such a fascinating place. It had only been open for a few years and catered to the young people of the city. She searched for the two lads and heard a voice call to her,

"Janie, darling!"

She smiled because there was only one person who called her by that nickname, she walked towards the voice, "Hello, Freddie. How are you today?" He was a joy to be around, they had similar interests and shared the same admiration for old Hollywood actresses.

"Splendid, dear. I have a piece in my possession that would look marvelous on you." He smiled, before grabbing a hanger off of the rack to show her. Freddie had damn good taste, it was an interesting piece but looked good and she knew she could pull it off.

"Thank you, I appreciate you saving this for me. What do I owe you for it?" She began to dig through her bag for her wallet.

"You don't owe me anything, if you could do me a favor." He smiled wider, pulling the garment out of her reach.

She looked up a little skeptically, not having a clue where he was going with this.

"Come see our band play! I told you that Rog and I are in a group, right?"

Jane smiled, glad this conversation didn't go down a horribly awkward path.

"Oh yes, you have mentioned that before. Yeah, I would love to. Do you mind if I brought a friend along?"

"Not at all, bring everyone who lives in your building for all I care. The more asses in seats, the better." He replied, he used his hands a bit when he talked which always tickled Jane.

"What time and where?" She found a pen in her bag and looked up at him.

"8 pm sharp at the Marquee Club." His gaze focused on her hand as that was what she was using as a makeshift pad.

"What day?" She glanced up at him again.

"Tonight." He smiled wider, she wasn't too keen on that detail.

"Tonight? I don't know.." She was a bit disappointed, it was such short notice and she planned on using the weekend to prepare herself for getting back to work on Monday so she didn't make a fool of herself. Her procrastination was fighting against her at this point.

She felt unusually comfortable around Freddie, she could let her guard down and show off her nerdy side to him. He may tease her innocently, but nothing malicious and all in good fun. Jane had been looking for an opportunity to become better friends with Roger and Freddie, to have some normal friends.

"Darling, pleeeeeeeeeaaaase!" He exited the stall to face her and set his hands on her arms to further dramatize his plead. They had been getting some odd looks from other patrons. With three words that she would probably regret tomorrow morning, she replied. "Fine, I'll go." She smiled, which caused Freddie to smile more.

He hugged her, "I promise we put on a good show, you'll have a great time." She returned the hug.

"Why do you want me to go so badly?" She was genuinely curious, they had engaged in some small talk in the past but nothing too personal. So why the sudden interest?

"I can't lie to you, there's someone I want you to meet."

Jane couldn't help but roll her eyes, not another person trying to set her up.

"I knew you would do that, but this isn't one of those pretty boys you despise. I promise you'll like him, you trust me don't you?"

She sighed, "Yes, I do." That made him smile wider. They exchanged phone numbers, mainly because they were surprised they hadn't already but in case something happened before tonight they could notify each other.

"I'll see you tonight then." She smiled at him, excitement was starting to take over. It was already 4 and the market was about to shut down soon and she needed to make plans and figure out which friend was going to be free on such short notice.

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