May 2019



Over the past year, Sam's life had changed dramatically. After years of hard work, the normal lad from Shields had an album due out in September, had won a brit award and he was now returning home from a month long EU tour.

The one side effect of all of this was his face becoming more recognisable. Especially in his hometown of North Shields, more and more people were beginning to recognise the singer, stopping him in the street for photos and autographs.

Of course, he was grateful. This was all he had ever wanted. But he craved the normalcy of his past life when him and his mates could muck around on the streets of North Shields, or walk down to King Edward's Bay without being stopped for a picture.

That was exactly why he had text Dean and Drew to ask if they wanted to meet up in the one place he could get away from the madness. The Low Lights Tavern was a sanctuary- the regulars had known him since he was 18. Yes they were proud of him, but to them he was just the same old Sam who came down for a pint with his mates on a friday night. He always left his ego at the door, sat at a table with his mates no matter what was going on in his life, and downed a pint of lager as if he was still that struggling singer trying to make it big.

...

Time had gotten the better of him, and he was now running slightly late. Head down, Catfish playing from the headphones stuck in his ears, he walked down the streets of Shields to the Fish Quay and into the Low Lights. Dean and Drew were already sat in their regular spot, both with pints in hand. He nodded their way, and they gave him a quick wave acknowledging his arrival, as he headed to the bar for a pint.

Sam stood at the bar, saying a quick hello to some of the friday night regulars and waited for Claire the barmaid to come over so he could order his pint.

'Hi, what can I get you?'

Sam's head shot up. That wasn't the strong geordie accent of Claire, the barmaid who had worked every Friday night since he was 18 years old. This was a much softer voice. He could still hear the geordie twang, but not anywhere as strong as his.

A tall, blonde-haired girl was staring back expectantly. She was beautiful, dressed in all black, the casual uniform of the Low Lights staff. But he'd never seen her here before.

'Sorry, just a pint of lager please,' he said, realising he had been staring at her for a little too long. She nodded, grabbing a glass from the shelf and starting to pour his pint. 'I've never seen you before- are you new?,' he asked, flashing her a quick smile. 'Not really, I've worked here just under a month. I could say the same about you, I've never seen you here.'

'Yeah, I've been working away for the last month. This is usually my local, I'm Sam by the way.' 'Nice to meet you, I'm Lauren,' she smiled, placing his pint in front of him while taking his money. He turned, heading towards Drew and Dean, quickly glancing over and flashing her a smile before he sat down.

...

So this was the famous Sam that Lauren had heard so much about from both the regulars and bar staff of the pub. She knew as soon as he'd introduced himself that this was the Sam that everyone was so proud of: the rockstar who was doing Shields proud and touring Europe. Claire, the barmaid she shared the friday night shift with, spoke so highly of him and commented every friday how quiet the bar was without both him and his bandmates.

'I see you've met Sam.' Speak of the devil, Claire emerged from the cellar holding a crate of Brown Ale for Lauren to restock the fridge with. 'Hi boys! Hope tour went well, nice to see you all back alive' she shouted across the room to them. A chorus of 'Yeah it was amazing,' and 'Thanks Claire' was shouted back by the group of boys. Lauren laughed at the exchange and caught Sams eye who smiled back at her. They held eye contact for a couple of seconds before Lauren was distracted by a customer asking for a pint.

...

'She's not gonna shag you mate.'

'What are you on about?' Sam quizzed Dean.

'You've been staring at that new lass behind the bar all night. She's too pretty for you, she's not gonna shag you.'

Sam rolled his eyes at Dean and told him to shut up while Drew was sat laughing at Dean's comments. He glanced over at the bar, Lauren was busy restocking the fridges. Him and the boys were now the only people left in the pub as it was nearing closing. Admittedly, he had been stealing glances at the new barmaid all night, making sure to not stumble over his words and embarrass himself when he went up to the bar to order a round. She was extremely pretty, a natural beauty, and as Dean said way out of his league.

'Lads, can you finish your pints off, I need to lock up.' Sam looked over at Lauren who was taking the nozzles off of the beer taps to close the bar down for the night. Him and the boys finished off the last of their drinks, pulled their jackets on and got up to leave.

Before he left, he turned one last time to get a final glimpse of the barmaid to find her following him to the door with a key in her hand to lock the entrance to the pub after he left. He smiled at her and asked, 'so are you working tomorrow?' 'Yeah, I'll be in tomorrow night, you gonna come down?'

'Yeah me and the lads will probably come down for a few pints, we're having a good time enjoying being back home.' She smiled at him and said 'I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, now get out of my bar so I can lock up,' giving him a laugh and jokingly shooing him out of the door.

He flashed her one last smile before turning to join the boys for their walk back home, not surprisingly looking forward to meeting the boys for a drink tomorrow night so he could become more acquainted with the Low Lights' newest member of staff.