Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to The World Ends With You. I do, however, claim this story and the original characters within it.
The weather was cold, which was normal for December in Wisconsin. I stood back stage, watching the band perform. Corey, the drummer, was drenched with sweat already. Fortunately for him, it was the last song of the night. His long, curly, blonde hair hung, now straightened, in front of his face, dripping salt water down his bare chest. In front of his pedestal, the guitarists stood back to back, tearing apart their strings during their back and forth solo. John and Patrick were twins, and it showed. They both had wide jaws, and brown eyes. The only real way to tell them apart was to look at the hair. John kept his long, and Pat preferred it to be short.
Then there was Tobias, the front man, and the king of my heart. In his black jeans and white T-shirt, he stepped away from the microphone to give the twins some bass support during their solo. He offered me a quick glance through the one eye that wasn't covered by his asymmetrical, platinum blonde hair before stepping back to his stand and belting out the final refrain of the song. Even after three years, his voice still made me melt. I could have been all alone in a world of nothingness, and I still would have been alright, so long as I still had his voice to comfort me.
The song was over. The band, dubbed 'Anonimys,' gave the crowd a final bow and left the stage. The twins and Corey passed right by me, offering nods, and headed straight for the cooler filled with booze. Toby, on the other hand, wrapped his arms around me and offered a quick kiss. I could tell that he was excited just by the huge grin on his face. This was their first ever headlining show, after a year of small gigs in the back of bars. For once, he was being recognized for his amazing talent. I couldn't help but share in his giddy laughter as I followed him to where the other band members were pouring the fluids back into their body by way of alcohol. Pretty soon, everyone, including the guys from the opening bands, was laughing. They knew that it was a great show, and the crowd yelling for an encore only strengthened the notion.
Grabbing a bottle of water, Toby kissed me on the cheek and asked me to walk to the van with him. Of course, I couldn't say no. I would go anywhere his angelic voice asked me to. We walked out of The Rave, and into the cold Milwaukee air, heading toward the band's van. It was a full sized, green van. The size of the thing was great, as it had enough room for all of them, plus their instruments. That was fortunate, as they were leaving on a nationwide tour in a month, and it would serve as their transportation, and their bed. Toby turned to face me, pulling me closer as he fell into a lean against the vehicle. I almost slipped on an ice patch on the sidewalk in the process, but he caught me.
"So, we're about to head home to Madison," he said, "On Thursday, we've got a show at the Barrymore. You're planning on coming, right?"
"Of course," I responded to his obvious joke. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"That's good. But, I don't want you to be there as my girlfriend?"
"What!?" I was shocked, pulling away from his embrace. What was that supposed to mean? Was this the end of us?
"Calm down. I only said I didn't want you to be there as my girlfriend." He fished something out of his pocket, falling to one knee. "I want you to be there as my fiance. Rachel, Will you marry me?"
My heart jumped, and tears welled up in my eyes. Helping him off the snow covered sidewalk, I embraced him in the most passionate kiss I could muster. I pulled away, my cheeks turning into very cold streams. "Yes. It would make me the happiest person on Earth."
The rest of the guys came out of the building, carrying various parts of Corey's drum kit. Toby and I made our way backstage, and grabbed a few more pieces. As the five of us loaded the van, he and I couldn't keep our eyes off of each other, with nothing but glowing smiles on our faces. I had a feeling that we made the rest of them sick.
--
Two in the morning, and we were finally headed home. Not back to Madison, we'd already made that hour and so trip. Now it was only Tobias and myself, in his beat up sports car, driving down an icy road to our place on Sergeant. We'd left the van with the twins, who'd originally paid for the thing, and exchanged it for the vehicle we'd left there before the drive down to Milwaukee. I was pretty tired, so I'd forgotten to wear my seatbelt. As Toby tried to turn onto our street, he shouted something about the brakes not working, and reached for the emergency brake. It was already too late.
Now fully awake, I saw the car slide sideways into telephone pole, slamming into it with the rear, passenger side, wheel. That sent us into a furious whirl down the street, most of which was a blur. The last thing I remembered was flying through the air and watching the ice covered pavement rush up to greet me. Then? Then there was white.