The Concert

Sirius was nervous—the kind that ties your belly all in knots, the kind that makes you want to laugh, cry, scream, bounce, and throw up all at the same time. His first gig (though they hadn't performed yet) was not going as planned. His fingers were stiff and cold, his palms sweaty. He couldn't remember any of the songs he'd been practicing for weeks. And, worst of all, Remus still hadn't shown up. He glanced over at the rest of the band, minus Curt, and noticed that they too looked more anxious than usual. Lily's leg was bouncing uncontrollably and she kept running her fingers through her hair. Travis kept his drum sticks going in a steady drum roll on the table, his eyes constantly darting to the door. Troy was compulsively eating more and more m&ms from the bowl provided.

"Five minutes," the stage manager announced.

Travis' incessant drumming ceased immediately, leaving the room eerily quiet. After several moments Lily whispered "I don't think he's coming."

Sirius dragged his eyes away from the door to look at Lily's pale, nervous face.

"Who's going to do the vocals then?" Travis asked from his spot on the sofa.

"Lily could always do them," Troy said.

Lily shook her head furiously. "I can't sing," she insisted.

Troy scoffed. "Lily," he began, quite seriously, "you and Remus are always the soloists for every single school choir recital. You can sing just as well as he can."

"I-I, o-ok fine, I'll s-sing," Lily stammered.

"You're on," the S.M. said.

Lily's face went a milky green and Sirius had to practically carry her out to the stage. Travis went over to one of the mics and announced to the screaming crowd that Remus and Curt wouldn't be able to make it that night. There was a collective groan of disappointment from the crowd, but the cheering resumed when he announced that Lily would be taking Remus' place and Sirius, Curt's.

They all took their places and, on Travis' count, they started. Their first song had a heavy base and guitar intro along with strong drums.

"Telling Leylah's story spoken

'Bout how all her bones are broken.

Hammers fall on all the pieces,

Two months in my cover creases."

Sirius was amazed at how talented a singer Lily was. He was even more amazed that he actually remembered the music. They continued with their set for almost an hour. Lily became much more comfortable singing and even started dancing.

Sirius, suddenly filled with adrenaline, started to jump and spin in time to the music, still playing his guitar with passion. Several of the girls in the audience started screaming, cheering him on, and declaring their undying love for him.

'So this is what it's like for Remus,' he thought to himself. 'Being cheered on by a hundred adoring fans. Being a god, if only for a short while.' He finally understood why Remus loved performing, loved being on stage. It was one of the few places he was loved unconditionally.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

When their set was over, a panting, sweaty Travis introduced their newest guitarist and told their fans that he would be performing with Rage/Tectonic more often now.

Sirius collapsed onto the sofa backstage panting, grinning, and wishing his boyfriend had been there to see him. His smile faded away at the thought of Remus. Where was he? Sirius knew he hadn't forgotten because the boy had called him at the butt crack of dawn to remind him. 'Maybe something happened with one of his brothers,' he thought. 'I should call them and see if everything's ok.'

He quickly dialed their house phone on his cell and waited for them to pick up. After three rings, Gill answered. Sirius could hear the sounds of the telly in the background.

"Hello?" Gill said.

"Gill? Is Remus there?" Sirius asked quickly.

"No. he had that show with you guys tonight, remember? Why? Did he leave early?"

"No, he never showed up."

"What? I can't hear a word you're saying."

"I said he never showed up," Sirius repeated while walking towards the door that opened onto the back alley. As he drew closer, he saw something on the door. And envelope. Addressed to him. "What the fuck?"

"What?" asked Gill.

"Nothing, just…FUCK!"

"What?! What's going on?"

"Remus…" he whispered.

A/N: Ok, so there it is. The other two will be up tomorrow purely because I still have to type them. I know, a cliffhanger (as usual), so I better hurry my ass up. But let me tell you something: this cliffhanger is nothing compared to the next chapter's. -giggles-

BTW, I had to put this in here simply for my own pleasure, I just got my first real flame. Not only was it anonymous but it had horrid spelling for all of…five words. Here it is:

"gros...they are not gay"

This, to me, is hilarious simply because they go to these pages, searching for these pairings and then leave you an anonymous review saying that your ship is stupid and "gros". I swear, if any of these people ever leave me a flame while they're signed in, I'm going to go flame all of their stories just for the hell of it. Give them a taste of their own medicine...Ok, so I'm totally kidding. I would never do that. Tracy GSA promotes love and acceptance in the community and that's what I'm gonna do by not striking back! Ok, I'm done.