"Come on, Bella! We're gonna be late!" Edward yelled from the passenger seat of the van. I quickly checked my hair and makeup before running outside to get in the car. It was our band's first real gig, and I wanted to look my best. Too bad I couldn't say the same for Jasper, Emmet, and Edward. They all looked as if they had just rolled out of bed and put on whatever clothes were lying on the floor. Sad thing about that is that's probably exactly what they did.
"Sorry guys," I said once I was seated and Emmet had started driving.
"It's cool, Bella. You know you are the hottest one here besides me, of course, so you really don't need to spend that much time getting ready," Emmet joked. I could see Jasper and Edward roll their eyes at his cocky remark and I couldn't help but laugh.
In our band, we were like a big family. Emmet was like the overprotective big brother who would kick any guy's ass that even looked at me funny. Jasper was the one that would always help me deal with my emotions, no matter what I was going through. And, Edward was my rock. We had been friends ever since we were little kids, and I couldn't imagine not having him in my life.
"So, who's gonna get laid tonight?" Emmet asked. He was well known for his playboy attitude since all of the girls practically threw themselves at him. He had always said that he would stop his ways for the right girl, but he just hadn't met her yet.
"Is that all you think about?" Edward retaliated. Edward, despite his gorgeous looks, was a bit of a prude. He dated a couple girls, but never really did anything with them. He once told me that he was going to wait for the right girl to share such an intimate thing with.
"What? With good looks like mine, I can't help but use them to my advantage," Emmet joked, lightly punching Edward's arm.
"How are you and Alice?" I asked Jasper while Edward and Emmet kept hitting each other like five-year-olds. Alice was Jasper's new girlfriend, and though we hadn't met her yet, from the way Jasper talked about her she sounded like the type of girl I could get along with.
"We're good. She might come tonight, if her boss lets her off work," he said.
"Oh! I hope she comes. I want to meet her," I replied. It would actually be nice to get away from all of this testosterone every now-and-then.
"She wants to meet you too. She has this weird feeling you guys will be best friends," he said laughing.
"Awesome," I told him. I could really tell that he liked her, just by the way his facial expression changed whenever she was brought up. It was really sweet.
"Bella, what are you're plans afterwards? Got any hot dates?" Emmet asked. Leave it to him to ask the vulgar questions.
"No, I'm going home right after," I replied. I wasn't a big fan of staying out after our gigs.
"Oh, um. . . I'm going to have the van; I have to do something afterwards. I can give you a ride though," he told me.
"Oh, it's cool. I'll get a cab or something," I said. I didn't want to be a damper on whatever plans he had.
"You sure?" he questioned.
"Positive. Don't worry about it."
Nobody really talked after that. We were all trying to calm our nerves before we got on stage. This was the gig that would either make or break us. Jasper said that he had some connections so that people from some record labels would come.
When we pulled up at the club, the guys were instantly hoarded by the local groupies. The slutty six, we called them. There was Jessica, Lauren, Michelle, Diana, Megan, and Brandi. They had absolutely no shame. Lauren even gave Edward her bra once. She said it was a token of her gratitude towards his amazing ability to play the guitar. The rest of us found it as disgusting.
"Oh, Edward. You look so good!" Lauren gushed. She ran up to him and placed her skanky hands on his chest and gave him, what I'm sure she thought, a sexy stare. It made her look constipated, in my opinion.
"Thanks, now if you'll excuse me I have to get ready," Edward told her, prying her hands off of him. I almost laughed out loud when I saw him grab her wrists with just two fingers, staying as far away from her hands as he could manage. We were probably thinking the same thing, "who knows where those things have been,"
Once the guys escaped from them, we started setting up on stage. I was the lead singer and Edward was my backup and guitarist. Emmet also played guitar while Jasper played drums. We called ourselves Twilight. Edward thought of the name. He said that in a way, twilight was the end of one day, but the beginning of another. He wanted our music to be the end of all the meaningless crap that was out there, and the beginning to a whole new type of music, filled with compassion and true meaning.
"Ready?" Edward whispered in my ear, totally causing me to jump.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I told him nervously.
"Two minutes!" the club manager said as he came up on stage.
"Knock 'em out, Bells," Edward told me before he ran to his spot and plugged in his guitar. All the lights in the club went out, except the ones on the stage. This was really it. I could feel the sweat pouring down my face. I gave the room a quick once over and stopped when I saw Seth, the manager. He gave me quick thumbs up, which was my queue to start talking.
"How you all doing tonight?" I asked loudly, earning a huge response from the crowd. I loved when they reacted that way; it gave me such an adrenaline rush.
"We're Twilight, and we are totally excited to perform for you guys tonight!" I said. Once again, the crowd starting cheering and clapping.
"This first song is called Decode, and we hope you like it," I said before turning to Edward, giving him his queue to start.
Once the music began, I started to sing. All of my nerves completely disappeared from my body as the first note left my body.
How can I decide what's right
When you're clouding up my mind?
I can't win your losing fight all the time. How can I ever own what's mine When you're always taking sides? But you won't take away my pride, no not this time. Not this time⦠How did we get here When I used to know you so well? But how did we get here? I think I know.
I could feel the crowds excitement radiating off of them, and as I glanced at them and saw them all dancing or cheering, my addreniline went through the roof.
The truth is hiding in your eyesAfter I sang the chorus again the crowd went crazy with cheers. I looked over at Edward and saw him smiling hugely, which only made me happier.
And it's hanging on your tongue.
Just boiling in my blood.
But you think that I can't see
What kind of man you really are
If you're a man at all.
Well I will figure this one out
On my own.
I'm screaming I love you so
My thoughts you can't decode.
How did we get here
When I used to know you so well?
But how did we get here?
I think I know.
Do you see what we've done?I finished up the song and looked at Emmet, who gave me a big thumbs up, and back at Jasper who gave me an air high five. We had nailed it. There was no way that we wouldn't get some kind of offer from someone.
We're gonna make such fools of ourselves.
Do you see what we've done?
We're gonna make such fools or ourselves.
How did we get here
When I used to know you so well?
But how did we get here?
I think I know.
There is something I see in you.
It might kill me.
I want it to be true.
"You did awesome, Bella," Edward said as he pulled me into a hug. I was abruptly overwhelmed by how good it felt to be in his arms, so I slowly disentangled myself from him.
"Thank you, Edward. You too," I said.
I went backstage to get some water when I saw Emmet and this blonde girl talking. I wondered who she was, since she wasn't one of his usual groupies.
"Oh, hey Bella. You did awesome tonight!" he said, giving me a hug just like Edward did. I didn't feel the same way I did when Edward hugged me as I did when he did. Odd.
"You too!" I answered. "Who's she?" I questioned once he let me go.
"This is Rosalie. We've been hanging out for a while so I decided to invite her tonight." The look on his face led me to believe that he actually liked this woman for who she was, rather than what she looked liked.
"Hi, Rosalie. I'm Bella," I said to her. As I took a couple of steps closer to her, I noticed how breathtakingly gorgeous she was. She had long blonde hair and absolutely flawless skin. No wonder Emmet liked her.
"Hi, Bella. It's so nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you," she said happily.
"All good I hope," I joked.
She responded by simply nodding, and I could tell that she wanted to be with Emmet. "It was nice to meet you, but I've got to get going," I said. I wasn't really going to leave, but I wanted them to have some time to themselves. It made me happy to see Emmet actually like a girl. As I was leaving, I bumped into Edward's chest. I could feel how buff he was under his shirt, and I instantly started blushing.
"Sorry," I muttered.
"It's all good. Have you seen Emmet and Jasper? This record producer guy wants to talk to all of us," he said excitedly.
"Oh my god, seriously?" I asked. This was amazing. We were finally going to get a reward for all of our hard work.
"Yeah," he said pulling me into another hug.
"Emmet's back there, I'll go see if I can find Jasper," I told him. I really just wanted to be out of his arms. The feeling was so odd.
I ran around back and saw Jasper and what I assumed was Alice talking. "Jasper!" I yelled.
"What's up?" he questioned.
"Edward said this guy wants to talk to us. He's from a label," I told him. His face instantly changed as he gave Alice a quick kiss on the cheek and started walking towards me.
"I'll be right back!" he called to her.
"Take your time," she replied.
"Hi, Alice!" I called. Though I didn't know her, I thought that it would be polite to say hello to the person that one of my best friends was so smitten with.
Once we found Emmet and Edward on stage with a man in a suit, all of my nerves returned. He was either going to tell us that he loved us, or that he hated us.
"Hello you guys. My name is James, and there is a couple things I'd like to talk to you about."
A/N: The song that she sang is Decode by Paramore. It's actually a song that is on the Twilight movie soundtrack. You should definitely check it out!
