DISCLAIMER: All characters and story world belong to SM. No copyright infringement is intended. All lyrical references and quotes are property of their original artist. No copyright infringement intended. I.e. I own nothing!
A/N: Thanks to the magnificent four, as always! You guys rock my world.
Last chapter I asked what song or songs gave you physical chills. My answer: Concrete Blonde – Tomorrow Wendy. It's about a woman who has aids, and the song is just amazing. I highly suggest you listen to it live. The song that gave me chills when listening to it live: Bjork – Hyperballad. She was phenomenal in concert.
No songs this chapter, but oh.. there will be songs next chapter. I promise!
Chapter 13
EPOV
Friday May 5th, 2006
They say time flies when you're having fun.
It had been four months since Bella died, and eight months since I had left her. Jasper and Alice had been trying to keep me occupied with our music and playing shows. I would grimace through each day; just trying to keep my head above water.
I wasn't having fun.
I swore I would continue playing for Bella. When I used to play for her, it had calmed her and eased her mind. I found myself wishing for those nights when the moon would light up the sky, and the world would be silent; the only sound was that of her breathing and heartbeat. Living in Alaska, the sun hardly came out as it was, so I was constantly plagued by darkness. I dreamed of sleep, of salvation, but it never came.
Last week, we played a gig at Sangue Cantante. Maurice needed someone to cover last minute. The band slotted to play had an argument that turned unfortunate. He didn't go into details, and we didn't ask. When we arrived at the club, something felt off. I could smell a peculiar scent, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It was floral, and amazingly sweet. I assumed it was the human blood again so I pushed it from my mind, but when it grew stronger on the stage I recognized it as a vampire's scent. I'm not a tracker by any means, but something about the scent, or maybe it was scents, was incredibly familiar.
Jasper caught my curiosity and shot me a glance. I shrugged it off, and we played a great show. As I looked into the minds of some of the patrons, however, I found that some of their thoughts were hazy. A few of Maurice's assistants were talking about the band that had played thirty minutes before we'd arrived, and I could never get a clear image in their minds. I was beginning to fear I was losing my talent. I focused on other minds in the room and found that they weren't fuzzy at all. That is, until they too thought of the previous band.
I decided to ask Carlisle about it when I got home, and pushed the strange images from my mind.
"Excellent, as always!" Maurice said, clapping his hand on Jasper's shoulder after the show.
We smiled at him and said our thanks. As Alice and Jasper turned to take the equipment back outside, I decided to take the opportunity to ask Maurice about the previous band.
"Maurice, is the band that played earlier this afternoon still around?"
"Beautifully Sacred? No, no… they left shortly before you arrived. I imagine the blood was getting to the girl," he said nonchalantly.
"What do you mean?" I asked. Did they follow a different diet too?
"I don't often allow newborns to play here, but I've known Garrett for some time, and he insisted she would be fine. Truth be told, I was quite surprised. She was phenomenal."
His mind was hazy as he pictured them playing not even two hours prior. I could make out the image of the male much clearer than I could the female. It was like someone had put a blurring filter over Maurice's entire memory. I wondered if he remembered it hazily, or if I just saw it that way.
"Can you recall what they looked like?" I asked. I knew I might sound crazy, but I had to know.
"Of course, but there's not much to tell. She had simple features, brown hair, a lip ring, and was incredibly petite, similar to Alice. He's exceptionally tall with long golden-red hair, and strong features. Why do you ask, Edward?" He looked at me curiously. In his mind, he was going over how well we would play together, but he didn't want to test the girl's willpower and strange denial for human blood. So they did share my family's diet.
"Just curious. I overheard a few others talking about their performance. They seemed to think we shared a musical style." I tried to sound casual, but his smirk told me I wasn't very successful.
"Ah, yes. Style. Well you both share similar lyrical styles, however, I wouldn't say you're musically similar," he answered with a smirk still playing across his lips.
I decided I had asked enough questions and thanked him for letting us play. I helped Jasper and Alice situate our equipment in the back of Emmett's jeep and we headed home.
When I asked Carlisle about the hazy memories later that night, he had told me it could have been a talent; a protection of some sort. We discussed different filters and protection talents he had heard of, but nothing seemed to fit. We even asked Eleazar, but he couldn't think of anything that would affect someone's mind when the vampire was no longer present.
I tried not to think about it all week, but the hazy images kept haunting me. Jasper would sense my curiosity, confusion, and frustration, and send me an awkward glance, but I never brought up the issue.
Over next week we started to piece together the final versions of the tracks for the CD. We had finished everything except mastering the audio. We spent three days adjusting sliders, changing tempo, and rearranging beats. By mid-May, we finished the CD and sent it off to Maurice for production.
We were pleased with the sound and flow of the CD. The release date was set for June 18th and a show was scheduled at Sangue Cantante the day before for a private release party. Maurice had lined up several shows for us throughout Canada to promote the album, and two human bands were slotted to open. We hadn't made it big by any means, but we had done well for ourselves. A Pain That I'm Used To was playing regularly on radio alternative rock stations, and we did an interview over the phone for an Alaskan station.
We signed contracts that stated no photography, or recordings were allowed, and we wanted no contact with the other bands playing. We would probably come across as arrogant, amongst other things, but it was a requirement that we couldn't be flexible on. If the Volturi thought we were pushing the possibilities of exposure, we could be in some serious trouble.
Emmett agreed to be our roadie. The idea of being a part of the band made him ecstatic. We showed him how to set up the equipment, and what got plugged in where for our shows. People as big as Emmett don't often get asked a lot of questions and the last thing we needed, was people prying any hired help for information.
We played smaller gigs throughout the first week of June, testing the water so to speak. Jasper had no problems playing in a human club. Surprisingly enough, it was actually easier than playing at the vampire bar. The human bands were pretty good and we enjoyed their music, but they were often nervous, and would take longer to get ready. Watching them helped us realize where we needed to act more human. Chatting while on stage, or missing a note or vocal line would help us to keep up the charade.
It was like the first time in high school as a vampire all over again. We had to watch their mannerisms very closely, subtle things like leaning into the guitar for a harder note, or the expression on their face when you could tell they were lost in their own music. The lead singers also made eye contact with fans a lot more than I had thought was normal. We spent two weeks before the release party perfecting our façade.
At the pre-release party, we signed copies of our CD and played the entire thing live from track one to thirteen. We had placed Apologize and Something I Can Never Have at the end of the CD and they were quite hard for me to perform in front of an audience. The crowd could probably tell some tracks were hard on me, but they cheered us on, helping to bring me out of my somber reverie.
We gave CD's away at the club for free. Sangue Cantante was the place that made us into what we were, and we felt we owed it to them for giving us a chance that fateful day. That day had changed our lives in so many ways, and while most of them weren't for the better, I was still grateful for the experience of playing there. I had sworn I would continue playing for Bella, and I planned on keeping my promise to her this time.
**
Friday July 28th, 2006
We finished the first tour with very few problems. We had the occasional fan try to take pictures and get thrown out, but overall the shows went well. None of us had any problems with the scent of human blood and the other bands didn't bother us. Most of the talk at the shows was about the music, with occasional gossip about our identities. We introduced ourselves as A, J, and E to avoid using our real names. Performing our songs was becoming easier as well, but we avoided playing Something I Can Never Have live. Consequentially, it was the most requested song by fans.
We had a month off from shows before we were scheduled to begin a new tour. There was a new band lined up and the gigs were slightly larger. Each venue scheduled a local band to open the show, the second band was given forty-five minutes to play and we had an hour. We were looking forward to playing with a new band and for a bigger audience.
Our second single, The Reason, was released to radio stations and made it on the "top twenty requested songs" lists in Alaska and Canada. We were doing quite well on music charts, and in sales. Maurice scheduled our second tour to start in Anchorage, Alaska and then go down to Juneau. From there we would head through British Columbia, and into Alberta and Saskatchewan. It was only twelve shows, but we were excited.
We were packing up the trailer with our gear and getting ready to head towards Anchorage when Alice had a vision. Before I could ask her about it, the phone rang. Alice answered and within seconds we were all gathered around her, listening to the conversation.
"What do you mean they had to pull out of the tour?" Alice asked.
"The lead guitarist had some kind of accident and he won't be out of intensive care until half way through next week. Apparently, he's going to need some kind of physical therapy, so the band won't be able to tour with you," Maurice said.
"Oh, wow. That's so unfortunate. Is he going to be okay?" Alice asked. Jasper and I glanced at each other.
'I hope he recovers. It would be horrible if he couldn't play again.'
I nodded at Jasper and looked back at Alice.
"I'm sure he'll be fine. However, we're now in a predicament with the tour. We need a band to fill the spot and I don't have any other human bands under my management that are available to join," he explained.
"Oh, well what about another band, like us?" Alice asked. Not even a second after the question left her lips, she had another vision of us on stage in Anchorage. 'The tour won't be canceled,' she confirmed silently.
"Actually… there's a band that played at our club a few times and I recently signed. They don't have a CD released yet, and haven't been on any tours, but if you want, I can ask them."
The three of us exchanged looks. I was hesitant to have another vampire band playing with us. The tour could easily draw unwanted suspicion.
"We could still ask to have little or no contact with them," Jasper suggested.
I nodded, causing Alice to grin.
"Sure! We would want to keep the same rules intact, however," Alice said to Maurice on the phone.
"Sure. I'll give you a call back in a few moments with their answer," Maurice replied.
Alice hung up the phone and shot me a look of curiosity. "Why wouldn't you want to get to know them, Edward? We wouldn't have to keep our secret from them, so we wouldn't have to worry about becoming friends with them." Alice pouted.
"I doubt they share our diet, and I don't want to be associated with them anymore than necessary in case anything happens. Our similar appearances is already suspicious enough," I replied.
"Hmph." She crossed her arms and glared at me, only half serious.
We waited for Alice to have a vision of the conversation or the band's decision, but nothing came. After five minutes of waiting, the phone rang again. At that exact same moment, Alice had a vision of us playing in Anchorage. She answered the phone quickly and the vision faded. It all happened so fast, I couldn't take in the subtleties of the vision.
"So?" Alice asked excitedly.
"They agreed, but oddly enough, they asked for the same privacy as you all. I can't understand why. I mean, you both share the same peculiar diet…"
"Wait, they do?" I asked.
Maurice chuckled. "Yes, they do, Edward. In fact, you've already heard of them."
My mind raced as I tried to remember watching or listening to another vampire band. There were the few musicians that would play at the club, but they weren't technically a band by any means. I furrowed my brows in confusion, thoroughly convinced that he must be mistaken.
"Well what kind of music do they play?" Alice asked, ignoring his previous statement.
"It varies, but mostly rock. They only play keyboard and guitar, choosing to mix their tracks digitally. I would compare them to a softer version of Garbage, perhaps - though their acoustic stuff is equally amazing. I think your two styles will complement each other well," he said.
Complement.
Could he be referring to the band that played before us back in May at Sangue Cantante?
"Still confused, Edward?" Maurice chuckled on the phone.
"Well, I think everything will work out great. Thanks for finding someone to replace the other band, Moor. What's the band's name though? Maybe we could look up some of their stuff before the show in two days," Alice said, ignoring his comment to me once again.
"You won't find their music anywhere online. They've only ever played live, but their name is Beautifully Sacred," he replied.
**
We sat on the floor of our motel room, in front of the coffee table. We were trying to decide on the proper order of the songs to be played. We had already agreed that the last song we wrote, Take Me, would be a great way to open the show. It was the only song I had written the lyrics to that filled me with energy. It was about the cruel chain of events of the past year and how no one understood the pain and anger inside of me.
"Alright, so Take Me is the opener, followed by A Pain That I'm Used To. We have agreed we're going to close with Dear Friend, Shadow of the Day, and Apologize. I think we should do our cover of 'Fever' to kind of liven things up before the last few songs," Alice said.
"Are you sure you can handle doing those two songs last, Edward? I know they get to you. We can put them in the middle, or just cut them and do a cover of something else," Jasper suggested.
I furrowed my brows and sighed. The last two songs were hardest on me to play live because they reminded me of everything that had gone wrong, and what it had cost me. That's exactly why I had to do them last. If I had to sit at that piano and sing of useless apologies, I needed to be able to escape directly afterward. It may make me sound like a coward, but I was devoted to playing them every night, as if it would make up for every wrong decision I had made, and what it cost me.
"No, I want them to be last. I'll manage, Jasper, I always do."
He nodded and looked back down at the list. We considered other rearrangements until we finally settled on a set-list and had Alice check to see if it was a good choice.
"I can't tell… I can't see some things clearly," she said after looking for a third time.
Jasper's mind was running through the multiple possibilities that could cause her to have trouble seeing our future for the night. He was concerned for Alice, but also filled with doubt that I wouldn't be able to finish the show.
"I'm sorry, Edward. I don't mean to make it seem like I doubt you. It's just that this has never been an issue for us. Alice can always see our night after we make the set-list," he explained.
"I know. I don't get it either," I responded.
"Maybe it has to do with the show in particular. Maybe something is going to happen at this venue that is undecided," Alice suggested.
"Well, explain what you are seeing," I asked.
"I see the band before us leaving the stage in a rush. I can't see the band themselves; I just get an impression that things are rushed. When I try to look for their set, it's entirely black and foggy except for a few glimpses of parts of their songs, but even those I can't see the band, just the general setup of the stage and the crowd. Nothing has ever been fuzzy like this, and the only time I've ever seen things black and foggy was…"
We all knew when the last time she had a vision like that, and it did nothing to calm us.
"Alright, well what about our set? What do you see?" Jasper asked, trying to change the subject.
"Well, we get a late start, but only a few minutes because we have to clear the stage. The set goes fine up until the last three songs and then things get blurry again and go black and foggy. Maybe we should just cancel the show?" Alice said, panicked. Her mind flashed with how we would spend the evening if the show was canceled, and we were all just irritated and frustrated.
"No, we should play the show. We just need to be extra cautious tonight. Also, keep an eye out for anything strange at the venue, and with the other band. Let's avoid any kind of contact with them at all, and just stay focused. We should probably hunt again before the show as well, just to be safe," I said.
"Alright. I don't see anything changing, but it's the best we can do, right?" Alice asked.
Jasper and I both nodded. We cleared the papers from the table as Alice wrote out the set-list for the night. We didn't technically need the piece of paper to remind us of what song came next, but we liked to document the experience, and we found it made us appear more human to do so. We also found that a few fans liked to ask for the set-lists at the end of the show, and get them signed. Since we didn't allow pictures or video of any kind, it was the least we could do to appease our avid followers.
We went next door to Rosalie and Emmett's hotel room. After letting them know about the visions, they decided they would come with us for a quick hunt before the show. As we headed downstairs, I caught a peculiar scent. I stopped in the hallway and looked around, searching for the thoughts around me in various rooms. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but it still gave me an uneasy feeling.
"What is it, Edward?" Jasper asked.
"The scent. I've smelled it before. It's floral, but mixed with a woodsy scent. Two different scents, perhaps?"
"Who cares, we should get going so we can be back in time to get ready and head to the venue," Rosalie said, impatiently.
I sighed and nodded. Something felt familiar, but not right. It stirred a feeling in my chest that I couldn't even name, and put me on edge. Jasper sent me a wave of calm and I took a deep breath.
Tonight would be interesting.
******
Chapter 13
BPOV
Friday July 28th 2006
Today is the day.
I had been hunting constantly, and practicing my breathing techniques to calm me and help my shield remain intact. I had gotten to the point where I was comfortable around humans and Garrett didn't need to help me keep control of my impulses. I hadn't voluntarily lowered my shield in over two months to ensure a human's safety. I was still a newborn for all intents and purposes, but I could control my thirst rather well.
We discovered a lot about my talent over the spring, and I was gaining better control over it every day. We learned that I had two shields. One protected myself entirely from any kind of mental powers, attacks, or persuasions. This was the shield I had been dropping when Garrett needed to sense my core. I would pull myself out of the confines of my mind by focusing on emotions, or something physical. We found that I often let it fade when I thought of Edward, or the pain of changing. My chest would ache, I would whimper, and almost immediately Garrett could sense my core. Only minutely, but he sensed it. I would tuck myself back into the safety of my mind and the evidence of my core would disintegrate.
The second shield was my outer shield. This was what I had been using when I protected others around me. I would focus on them not being hurt and the shield would protect them, connecting us in a way. I found I became overly emotional and withdrawn from myself when I protected others for a long amount of time. It was an odd sensation, so I didn't do it often with strangers.
Garrett had gotten used to me protecting him because it was like second nature to me. I had come to care for him so greatly I couldn't bear to imagine him being hurt, or in danger. He was like my big brother, and I cared for him deeply. Most of the time, he was complete encompassed with my shield, and I could feel his energy tied to mine, almost like our cores were connected. I became sensitive to him in ways similar to empathy, but it was nothing defined, or drastic like Jasper must feel. It was more like bonding, or being in tune with someone entirely. When he was upset, I was upset. Not because I could feel his emotions, but because it bothered me that he was feeling that way. Consequentially, when he was excited, or happy, I too became upbeat.
We practiced my talent a lot at Sangue Cantante. We even met a nomad with mental powers that helped me to learn to control my dual shields. His name was Randall, and he could affect memories. He had only been a vampire for seven years, so I'd felt we would have a bit more in common and started talking to him. His power could only affect memories if he was present in them, and only shortly after they happened. The longer it was from the memory, the harder it was to change. He hadn't discovered nearly as much about his talent as I had in such a small amount of time, and he was amazed by my control over my thirst. He provided a safe person to test my gift on with Garrett, and we each helped each other discover more about our talents and how they applied to the mind.
After a few weeks, he moved on, saying he was headed towards the states. He didn't share our diet, so I asked him to please abstain from Washington. He agreed, stating that he looked after his loved ones for a few years once he could control his thirst as well. He understood.
We spent most of June finalizing our songs and talking with Maurice about producing our first album. He told us there was a lot involved in it and that we should sit down and discuss the details. When he called us to ask if we wanted to go on tour with one of his bigger bands, we were uncertain. The idea of playing in front of humans had me panicked. We had only really played at Sangue Cantante. We played a few acoustic songs at coffee shops, but nothing for more than twenty minutes, and definitely nothing that made us the sole focus of the audience's attention.
Garrett seemed so excited over the idea, so I shoved my insecurities aside and agreed to the tour. We hashed out the details over the phone, and got a list of all of the locations and dates and times. We asked him if we could have little to no contact with the other band. I didn't like the idea of being so close to another group for so long. I enjoyed my quiet life with Garrett. Being just the two of us gave me something I could count on. I didn't want to be disappointed if I mistakenly got my hopes up over something, or someone. I wanted to feel constant.
When we hung up the phone, Garrett pulled me into a near bone-crushing hug. I could almost feel the excitement in the air as his grin reached his eyes, causing his skin to crease at the corners like they had when I first met him over six months ago. We practiced our songs for the entire day and night after the phone call. We worked on a set-list and bought a few more things we would need for the tour such as a small trailer, and carrying cases for the equipment. We left that night and went hunting before heading to our hotel room in Anchorage.
We told Maurice we didn't need a hotel room, but he insisted. Apparently, the plans had already been made for a human band that ended up having to cancel. When we discovered a human band was slotted to play with a vampire band, it made us very curious. Could it be possible that they shared our diet? We put the idea out of our minds and kept telling ourselves to focus on our music, our control, and the façade of being human.
My eyes had changed into a burnt orange. While I was glad the red irises were finally gone, I was still frustrated they hadn't turned golden yet, like Garrett's. He had stopped drinking human blood entirely, which made me very pleased. The color of my eyes got me a few curious glances, but it was easy to pass off as contacts or a golden-brown color in darker light. Since the other band was made up of vampires as well, we assumed the shows would be at night, in a dark-lit venue. Maurice eased my concerns and told me that the other band requested no pictures, no video, and low backlighting only.
We pulled into the hotel a little after nine in the morning. The sky was cloudy and rain was threatening its departure from the gray coverage. The summer brought long, sunny days, often only staying dark for six hours. The month of July was always wet in the northern hemisphere, and reminded me of home, in Forks, Washington. I let my mind wander to my father as we found our room and closed the door behind us. I walked to the window and pulled back the curtain. Many of my songs had been written while I sat in front of a small, open window as rain poured outside. The floor-to-ceiling windows of the hotel didn't open, nor did they look out onto a forest. Instead, they looked over the city and a constant wave of motion many stories bellow.
"So, are you sure about this set-list, Little-Bit? We don't have to play all of those songs last. We could play some of my older stuff. I know it's easier for you to perform," Garrett asked from the closet. He was looking through the bags of clothes he had bought over the past twenty-four hours for our shows. He was adamant about me being dressed up. After wearing a dress to Sangue Cantante and hating it, I told him pants were a must, but other than that he was free to buy me whatever he wanted. He was sour about the rule at first, but he found a lot of things he deemed worthy. I rolled my eyes at the designer shirts that showed more skin than they covered.
"I'm sure. We should be playing what'll be on the album. If we want people to buy it when it comes out, they should know what they're buying. Besides, we've practiced them much more than your older songs over the last few months. I'll be fine, I promise."
He pulled a garment bag from the rack and closed the closet door behind him. He unzipped it, laid it across the bed, and looked up at me. "Alright, fine. But the first time I sense your core, we are changing the set-list."
"That's not fair! You know it fades slightly when I get emotional. How about the moment you can persuade me to change the set-list, we will. Otherwise, I'm obviously still in control enough to continue," I argued.
"Fine. Now what do you think about this outfit?" he asked with a smirk across his lips.
I sighed and rolled my eyes. I lifted myself from my seat at the window and walked to the bed. I looked down at the outfit and rolled my eyes again, clicking my tongue in irritation. "I think it'll look like I got in a fight with a wild animal and the shirt lost," I said bitterly.
He chuckled and pulled the gray shirt out of the bag entirely, holding it up to my chest. It had slashes across the bottom, and the back was nearly non-existent. It was a very light material, almost see-through, and had no sleeves.
"Why don't you just put me in a bikini, it might have more material," I said sarcastically.
"Because I didn't think you'd go for it." He winked.
I chuckled and rolled my eyes. I had put my foot down about pants, so I didn't care much about the tops. Humans couldn't see my scars, so it didn't bother me as much as it would have if I were still mortal.
Thoughts of Alice crossed my mind, causing me to sigh. Surely she would have dragged me along with her to go shopping. I reminded myself how lucky I was to have Garrett, and how he respected when I said no or set boundaries. I took the shirt from him and peered back down at the bag.
"And the pants? Hopefully they cover more skin than this poor shirt. I hope this wasn't expensive; there isn't enough fabric here to constitute paying very much for it." I glanced at Garrett and smiled when I saw his grin get wider. Secretly, he enjoyed my complaining about fashion and prices. He wasn't as fashionably driven as Alice was by far, but he always argued that every occasion should be granted with a look and style to match it.
"The pants are more subtle. See? Thin, black denim with laced eyelets; nothing too drastic." He pulled them out of the bag and held them up for me to see. They were tighter jeans than I was used too, but they weren't crazy or completely out of my comfort zone. Once again, he'd managed to push me out of my normal fashion, and met me in the middle.
"I can live with that. But I want flat shoes," I said.
He scoffed, clicking his tongue and shaking his head. I smiled wider at his playful mood. He was only half joking, and I knew it. "Alright fine. But only because it's our first show. I'll have you in boots before this tour is over, you just wait," he said in a teasing voice.
"I'm sure you will," I replied as I took the pants from him.
We had seven hours before we had to be at the venue for our sound check. We were given forty five minutes to play, and thirty minutes to sound check and talk to the lights technician. It was all so daunting. There were so many different aspects of a real show and different people that controlled everything. I had never been to a concert before, so being suddenly thrown into the whole experience when it was my own music was a bit much.
Garrett shot me a quick glance from the other side of the room. My shield had faded slightly while I was lost in my emotions, panicking over the show. Overwhelming feelings caused me to lose focus on things around me and pulled me out of my mind. It sounded backwards, but emotions are physically based and caused by triggers in the mind. They affect the body physically, not mentally. We learned that human emotions were driven by chemicals in the body. This was the basis for our assumptions that it was similar for vampires. Also, there was the fact that Jasper always had control over my emotions, but Edward couldn't read my thoughts.
When I was protected by my shield, my emotions were probably less decipherable, but still detectable. However, we assumed that if Garrett could sense my core, he might be able to do the same with my thoughts, but we would never know unless we met another mind reader.
"Penny for your thoughts, Little-Bit," Garrett asked from the bed. He had been strumming the acoustic guitar casually as my mind raced.
"Just thinking about the show tonight. I've never been to a real concert before. I know this isn't like U2 or anything that big, but still. A sound check, and light technician and contracts and waivers… it's all a bit fascinating… and frightening," I replied. I tugged at my lip ring nervously and sighed.
He nodded as he played quietly. "The sound check is just us testing the microphones, and levels for the instruments until they find a good mix. It's easy, so don't worry. Since the lighting will all be backlight, with very little spot lighting, that won't take very long either. Just focus on the mechanics of everything, and try not to let your mind wander," he said reassuringly.
I nodded and walked to the bathroom to change and get ready. I applied very little makeup, and left my hair down. After thirty minutes, I grew tired of staring at my reflection and huffed, leaving the bathroom. I crawled onto the bed and sat with my back up against Garrett's. He leaned back against me – silently telling me that he was there for me. I sighed, rested my head against his, and closed my eyes.
I spent the next few hours in quiet contemplation as I focused on my mind and shield. Most people would look at me and think I was meditating, or possibly sleeping. I found that it helped me to calm my emotions and ground myself. I went over the songs we were going to play in my head, trying to reinforce my strength and remind myself to not let my own words get to me. I silently repeated that I wouldn't let my emotions overtake me, I wouldn't screw up the show, and I wouldn't let Garrett down.
"We should get going, Little-Bit," Garrett said quietly from behind me. I felt his chest rumble as he spoke, pulling me out of my trance-like state.
I nodded and lifted myself from the bed. I glanced in the mirror one last time before I followed him out the door and down to the car. There was an odd mixture of scents in the hallway, but I put it out of my thoughts and didn't linger on it. Garrett seemed to tense up, but didn't say anything.
When we got to the venue, we talked to the manager briefly. He had us each sign a waiver and fill out some other paperwork that wouldn't pertain to us because no hospital or doctor would know how to tend to us in case of an emergency. He then showed us around the building, starting with our backstage rooms and ending with the stage. He introduced us to the light and sound crew before leaving us to take care of some business in his office.
We played One-hundred Suns a few times for the sound check, and went through the chorus of Bring Me To Life to check the keyboard and distortions. The light technician was a very quiet guy. He showed us the light setup he had programmed via our requests and we only had to make a few slight adjustments depending on where we preferred to stand. The entire thing was rather simple and went by quickly. We unloaded our equipment and set it off to the right of the stage. We would be playing second, after the opening local band. We decided to just wait in the backstage room until we were told we could set up.
After two hours of Garrett playing his acoustic, and me sitting behind him with my eyes closed, there was a knock at our door. The person informed us that we could start setting up in ten minutes. Apparently, the first band had finished already, and I had completely zoned out, not hearing a single song. I listened to the different voices throughout the building as I took steady breaths. A large crowd had already formed by the sounds of it, and there was muffled chatter down the hall from one of the other bands.
"Time to get going, Little-Bit," Garrett said after we heard the obvious sounds of the first band walking by our door. They were discussing the show, and laughing. The excitement flooding my emotions, instead of the panic I was expecting, made me smile.
I took his hand as he led me to the stage. The entire place was dark, but with my eyesight I could see that the crowd was bigger than I had first imagined from our room. There looked to be about three-hundred people crammed into the building, all talking excitedly. We quickly set up our equipment, taking advantage of the dark stage to stay hidden. Security offered us flashlights to help us set up, but we told them we could manage.
Once everything was in place, I walked quietly over to the keyboard and took a deep breath. Garrett picked up the guitar and swung it over his shoulder, plugging it in. He gave me a look to ask if I was ready.
I grinned at him and nodded. Tonight, we would play our music, and tonight, I would prove I had the strength to move on.
A/N: First off, THANK YOU to whomever nominated me for Best AU category in The Faithful Shipper Awards! I was COMPLETELY shocked! There are some amazing stories up for nominations, so go check it out! http:// thefaithfulshipperawards (dot) webs (dot) com/vote (dot) htm
Second, if you take a look on my profile, there are links up to Bella's dress, her necklace, and other cool images! Have a look if you want visuals!
Third, I adore each and everyone one of my readers! I'd LOVE it if I heard from each of you, so I could thank you for following the story so far, and for your dedication and support. I respond to EVERY review, even if it's just a smiley face. So come out of hiding my silent readers, and let me smother you in love!
Alright, so guesses?! You know I love questions and guesses as to the next chapter or where things are going. So please, appease me and send me your guesses! Some of you have been so close that I almost spilled the beans.
Song question of the chapter: If you've ever been live to a concert, what's your favorite opening song? If you haven't, then what band would you LIKE to see live, and imagine them opening with? It's all about openings today.