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Fates Warning	By : TheFairyWithBoots Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Iron Maiden Views: 205 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: l obviously do not own any of the characters in this story. No disrespect is intended towards any of the real people mentioned, it is simply a fictional story based off their public personas.

Chapter List
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1990
Dave Murray did not want to get out of bed this morning. The sunlight from the window blared into his face, a peek of the bright blue sky could be seen through the curtains in his hotel room. He felt as if the lovely weather was mocking him. He didn’t want to get out of bed and face the day; get up and look around the empty hotel room and realize that Adrian was no longer there. Not only that, but he didn’t want to go down to Steve’s mobile studio and record the new album - an album that had one of Adrian’s songs on it.
But he knew that he had to. Adrian would have wanted him to get on with his life, and not wallow in his own self-pity. He got out of bed and got dressed, not lingering in the empty room for long, knowing that if he would, then the feeling of loneliness would crush him. He had already spent too much time crying himself to sleep the night before. Even though the breakup was mutual and there were no bad feelings between them, it didn’t hurt Dave any less. He had loved Adrian since they were both in high school.
When Adrian had announced that he was leaving the band, he assured Dave that it wasn’t his fault; it wasn’t anybody’s fault. He was having creative differences with Steve and needed to try out a different musical direction. Dave respected his decision but did nothing but cry for the past few weeks after he left.
Dave left the hotel and went out to his car to go to Steve’s mansion where he would be meeting the rest of Iron Maiden as well as Martin, their producer, to record their 8th studio album in a mobile studio that Steve had set up in his barn. Bruce had told them that he had already got Adrian’s replacement. And while Dave knew that this replacement was necessary, he couldn’t help but feel an ache in his heart at the thought of replacing his best friend.
He drove down the vibrant countryside of Essex towards Steve’s mansion. The weather was beautiful - too beautiful, Dave thought. It was almost as if the sun was laughing down at him, mocking him for his crushing misery of not having the man that he loved any more. Either that, or Dave was simply hung over. Probably both.
Dave kept driving and eventually, Steve’s mansion came into view. He pulled into the dirt road that led to the front of his house, and parked next to Nicko and Martin’s car. Bruce hadn’t arrived yet. A pit of dread was in his stomach at who he might choose to replace Adrian, afraid that whoever it was, he wasn’t going to have the same chemistry that he had with Adrian. What if he was a complete asshole?
Dave got out of his car, and made his way through Steve’s beautiful garden carrying his guitar case. Despite the beautiful scenery around him, he couldn’t stop the mixed feeling of dread and nervousness of who Bruce was going to bring to audition as the new guitarist. Dave almost wanted to tell Steve not to hire another guitarist - that he would be perfectly capable playing all the parts himself but knew that Steve would call him crazy and tell him that he was just hung up on his ex. Which was true.
Dave knocked on Steve’s front door, to which he heard a muffled shout “It’s open!” from the inside. He pushed the door open to find Steve and Nicko sitting together in the living room.
“Hi, there, Davey!” Nicko said cheerfully while raising a scotch glass. There was a bottle of scotch sitting on the coffee table between him and Steve.
“Hey, guys,” Dave said with a forced smile on his face. “Bruce isn’t here yet?”
“Not yet,” Steve said while sipping his own scotch, “Martin’s out in the barn though. We’ll meet ‘im out there when Bruce gets ‘ere with the new guitarist.”
Dave couldn’t stop the dreadful feeling from growing in his stomach. He sat down next to Nicko on the couch who poured him his own glass of scotch. Even though Dave didn’t like scotch, (he preferred beer) he accepted it graciously. He needed some kind of alcohol to calm his nerves.
The three of them sat talking about the songwriting process for the new album until they heard Bruce’s car pull into the driveway. Dave fought the urge to jump up from his seat and look out the window to see who was with him. But he stayed on the couch clutching his scotch glass, trying his best to act calm.
He failed miserably though because Steve could read his body language; they had been friends for over 15 years. He gave Dave a reassuring smile.
“It’s gonna be a’right, mate.” he said. Nicko reached over and gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. This didn’t do anything to calm Dave down, but he forced a smile anyway.
They could hear footsteps coming up the driveway, and Bruce was chattering away to his companion.
Bruce seemed to know that the front door was unlocked because he didn’t even bother to knock. He pushed the door open, and a very tall man with long dirty blond hair followed him into the house while carrying a guitar case. Dave recognised him immediately; it was Janick Gers, the bloke who had played on Bruce’s solo album, Tattooed Millionaire, just a few months prior. He had also been friends with Dave and Adrian several years before, back when he was playing guitar for Ian Gillan.
“Steve! Nicko! Davey!” Bruce said while putting his hands on his hips and looking at them then at Janick with an affectionate look in his eyes. “This here’s Janick! You remember him, don’t you? Well, he’s here to audition for Adrian’s spot!”
The dreadful, anxious feeling that had been in the pit of Dave’s stomach immediately faded away. Janick was a friend, he thought. He had feared that Bruce would have brought in some egotistical guitarist. Dave felt a rush of relief when he realised that he would be working with a close friend, someone he had known for several years and had been drinking buddies with.
“‘Ello, Janick,” Steve said while getting up from the couch, “It’s good to see you again.” He reached his hand out and Janick shook it with a large grin on his face.
“Hi, Steve,” he said, “Hi, Dave,” he said when he saw his old drinking buddy on the couch next to Nicko.
Dave smiled and reached his hand out for Janick to shake.
Steve led everyone outside the back of his house towards the barnyard studio where Martin was waiting for them. Steve opened the door to the studio, and the guitar amps were facing each other against two walls, and Dave went over to plug his strat up.
Martin came out of the booth where the mixing boards were. He smiled when he saw Janick. “Is this the new bloke?”
“Yep,” Bruce said, “You remember Janick, don’t you?”
“Of course,” Martin said while shaking his hand.
As Janick pulled a beaten up black strat that Dave had seen him play with Gillan out of his guitar case, Dave caught Bruce from the corner of his eye smacking Jan on his arse. Jan turned around only to find Bruce walking towards the vocal booth. His cheeks turned pink. Dave suddenly remembered Adrian and how they used to openly flirt with each other in the studio, and it suddenly dawned on him what kind of relationship Bruce and Janick had together. Dave looked around to see the other members’ reactions. He saw Steve hold back a smirk, but no one said anything.
He kept his thoughts to himself as he tuned his guitar and the others were getting set up as well. Martin went back into the mixing room to listen to them more properly with the studio headphones.
Steve plucked at his bass strings, making sure that they were each in tune. “Let's start with The Trooper,” he said while fumbling with the knobs on his Fender bass amp, “You know that one, eh Janick?”
“Of course,” Janick said, “Learned all the songs overnight.”
Steve looked impressed and Nicko hit the hi hat four times before they broke into the song.
Playing with Janick was completely different from playing with Adrian, Dave realised. He had a certain kind of aggression in his playing that seemed to give the band a kick in the rear. His energy was so intoxicating, Dave found himself smiling despite what he had been feeling earlier that morning. It was so different, but it was a good kind of difference.
They finished the song, and it seemed like the music was still bouncing off of the walls even after the last note was played.
“That was bloody brilliant!” Martin said into the mic from the mixing room. “What’d you think of that, Steve?” he asked, knowing that it was Steve who had the final say on whether Janick would join the band or not.
Steve took off his bass and joined Martin in the mixing room, leaving the Dave, Nicko, Bruce, and Janick out in the studio. Bruce wrapped his arms around Janick.
“That sounded amazing!” he said, “I know Steve, he’s going to give you the job.”
Dave noticed a sort of caress in his voice when Bruce was talking to Janick, and he couldn’t help thinking about Adrian.
“Bruce is right,” Nicko said while adjusting the symbols on his drum kit, “That was exactly what the band has been needing.”
The three of them looked at Dave, waiting for him to back up what they were saying. He had to admit that they were right. Though deep down, he was still begrudging replacing Adrian even if a friend would be taking his place… But he had to put the past behind him because the replacement was simply inevitable.
“They’re right, you sounded amazing.” Dave said while smiling.
Janick smiled at him, and Steve came out of the mixing room with Martin before he could respond.
“A’right, you’re ‘ired,” Steve told Janick while shaking his hand, “Now we need to get ‘round to getting everything recorded, because the album ‘as a deadline.”
Jan’s face lit up at the news, and Bruce hugged him tight again. “Thank you!” he exclaimed.
“No need to fank me, we needed a guitarist desperately… I should be fankin’ you for comin’ in when you did.”
“Or you could thank me,” Bruce said while looking at Jan with adoration in his eyes, “You know, for recommending him.”
Steve gave Bruce a brief look of annoyance before focusing his attention to the rest of the band. “A’right let’s get to work.”
Dave turned his focus to the songs that they would have to record, but couldn’t help thinking of the adoring look Bruce gave Janick and be reminded that it was the exact same way Adrian used to look at him…
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