The Throw-Aways

I woke up to the sound of buzzing. We had been touring for the past month and I had a long list of aches and pains, but the cold wasn’t one of them. Every time the air conditioner was turned on, I bolted for my bunk and mentally thanked Bells over and over for the gift.

Poking my head out, my phone glowed. A ringtone started and I smiled a little.

“I’M A GOOFY GOOBER, ROCK! YOU’RE A GOOFY GOOBER, ROCK!” The song started. I laughed a little and heard Alan complain about the weird new sound that had appeared from thin air. Turning over, I grabbed my phone and put it to my ear.

“HEEEEY!” A voice yelled loud enough that I blinked back the ring in my ears. With a yawn I looked over and saw Alan peer through my curtains. I raised an eyebrow to him. He mouthed a name and I nodded. His eyes went alight with excitement.

“What’s up?” I yawned. Right now, we were in the parking lot of Sports Authority Stadium. It was six in the morning and I was trying to get some sleep before our set tomorrow.

“What’s up? You know what’s freaking up? I’M GOING TO SEE YOU AT WARPED!” Her voice shrieked. Kyler must be alone because she only acted like this around me. Alan reached a hand for the phone. I smacked it and stuck my tongue out at him.

“Hey, yeah. You know it’s like six in the morning, right?” I asked her curiously. Only Austin and Alan were up right now.

“Yes, but I was too excited for you! UGGGGH! I can’t wait to see you on stage! Dante, Nico, Skars, and your dad are soooo ready to see you again! I can’t believe you gave us VIP backstage passes!” She squealed. I had to blink to get the ringing out of my ears again. I think Kylar could’ve deafened an elephant when she got excited.

“Well, that’s a perk of being in the band.” I responded sleepily. Curling my toes against a cold draft, I closed my eyes and pressed the phone against my ear.

“Hey, did you get a boyfriend while I was gone?” Her voice quieted for a moment and I sat up. Alan’s tawny eyes looked at me curiously, a silent question of what was happening.

“No. Wait, let me guess, you saw Jay’s tweet, didn’t you?”

“Yes, and there’s been backlash. Some people don’t agree with her, others don’t know you well enough to know that it’s not true.” Kye gulped. We were both worried. I closed my eyes in dismay and nearly screamed into my pillow. A hand tapped my shoulder and Alan peered down to me.

“You okay?” He asked softly. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

“Okay, I’ll deal with her later.” I groaned and flipped onto my back.

“Don’t you remember?”

“What?” I asked suspiciously. Was I forgetting something?

“Jay’s going to Warped Tour. Remember that day in school? Her dad bought her VIP Backstage passes to meet the band.” Jay told me quietly. I forced my face into the pillow and nearly let out a shriek of anguish. NO! NOT TODAY!

“Don’t worry, we’ll be there with you.” Kk tried to reassure me, but I didn’t want that. Knowing she would be side stage, right with my friends, would be enough to possibly throw me over the edge. Alan patted my back, tender eyes wondering what was wrong. I mouthed, later, to him and he nodded, still waiting for me to finish up.

“Look, I’ll be there to see you in six hours when you play. Tell Alan that he still needs to explain this Extreme Monopoly I’m hearing about!” She groaned. I sighed and looked to him. It was obvious he overheard her.

“Just talk to him yourself.” I muttered and shoved the phone in his ginger face. He smiled and started to babble on over the phone. He walked off, still talking to her and I leaned back in my bunk.

Six hours before I had to see the devil’s face again.

Twenty minutes before the set…

I stood next to Austin, my arms crossed over my chest. The VIP pass holders hadn’t shown up yet. They would be here five minutes before we went on. I couldn’t wait to see my dad and friends again. Who cared about Jay? It was my family and friends I wanted to see!

“Ready?” Alan asked me. I grinned. He had been sparkling with excitement with the fact he would get to see Kylar again. The crowds were cheering again. It was the same ritual we had been through day in and day out. Jack and Alex had dropped by earlier to wish us luck.

Alex kept winking at me whenever I stood near Austin.

“Good luck!” He wished me, shoving me into the singer’s side before stomping off. I rolled my eyes and then looked towards the front of the stage. It was obscured by fabric, but I just thought of the fans and the keys.

That was all I needed.

“You’re up!” A Warped Employee announced. We had the same songs that we had for the set in Dallas. Tino started off with his usual hi-hat and we all followed him on. But it was different this time.

I was home.

I was in my home state.

As soon as I got behind my keyboard and tapped my ear piece, I scanned the eyes of the crowd. There were the fans that screamed and wailed. People by the tents clapped and cheered. Their energy was transferred to me and I swallowed it by the mouthful.

As my hands pounded each note out, I met eyes with people in the crowd. There was a blonde haired girl with a small kid next to her. They looked about sixteen and nine or so. The little girl seemed to be having fun and wasn’t crushed too much by the crowds. Then there was an older lady and gentleman in the back. Both looked old and homeless, but had fun nonetheless!

“SHUT UP!” Austin start screaming again. I ducked my head and started to head band my heart out. Ever since the first concert in Dallas, I had gotten better and better at my stage performance. Now, it seemed to come without thinking.

Half way through the set, I turned and heard familiar voices scream from side stage. I turned to the left and grinned. Alan was hovering near one of them, his laugh trickling through the ear piece.

It was my dad, Skars, Nico, Dante, and Kylar. They all stood there in their group and happily bounced to the music. I beamed. They had made it to their first concert and got VIP passes. I’m sure they were as happy as they were loud.

Then, there was Jay.

She stood by an older gentleman, probably her father. As soon as I caught her, eye, she scowled and folded her arms. I absolutely basked in her glare. Her eyes told me that she wanted to kill me with nasty tweets and ruin my career, but my own laugh told her that nothing could stop me!

Turning back to the audience, I just raised my hand and got the crowd to join me. I stood tall and held my chin in confidence before stopping to jump to the beat. My left hand pounded out a pulsing chord that resonated at the end of our songs. I loved being right here, I loved being on stage with my friends.

Not even Jay could ruin my joy.

Notes

Jay's here! Jay's here! I wonder what'll happen next???