by K E Osborn
“Hey, how did you know where I was?”
“Security cameras,” he says pointing up to one in the hallway as we walk past.
“Well, thank God for that. I always thought they were an invasion of privacy, but I have a whole new respect for security cameras right now.”
We get back to the green room and Ella is back at the fruit platter and it’s nearly all gone. I laugh as we walk across and Mum pulls us both in for a hug.
“And what’s this for?” Ella asks.
“Just because I love my girls and if anything happened to either of you, it’d break my heart. Just know that I love you, so does your father,” Mum says and I cuddle into her a little tighter.
“Right? Random statement, but anyway where’d you run off to Annie?” Ella asks and Mum looks down at me opening her eyes wide like she doesn’t want me to tell her.
“Just went for some air,” I say leaving out the bit about the evil minions. I can see scaring Ella about fans right now is probably not the best idea.
“Right, well, I ate all the strawberries while Dad was gone, I’m starving!”
I look over at Dad and he’s pouring himself some Jack Daniels into a tumbler and then he shoots it back straight. He only does that when he’s nervous or angry. I’m pretty sure he isn’t angry, so my guess is maybe it’s from seeing me outside with the minions. I know how much they scare him so seeing that must’ve brought back some terrible memories for him, and for that reason I feel awful. Mum follows my line of sight to where Dad is drinking and Uncle Hux walks up to him.
“Will he be okay?” I whisper to Mum as Ella makes a start on the pineapple.
“Yes sweetheart, he’s probably a little shaken, but he’ll be fine as long as you are okay,” she says and kisses my head.
“Should I go and talk to him?”
“No sweetheart, I’ll do that. Me and your Uncle Hux can calm him down. We know what to do and say, so don’t worry he’ll be fine. More importantly are you okay? Are you too frazzled to play?” Mum asks and I furrow my brows and frown at her.
“No fucking way, am I not getting on that stage tonight, Mum.”
“Well, that’s good. Don’t swear, you know your father hates it.”
“Then, why does he love it when you swear?” I ask and she actually blushes which makes me regret saying it.
“How do you know that?” she asks and I laugh.
“Because whenever you swear he smiles and it’s like his whole body shudders, but in a good way. It’s weird,” I say and she smirks and chuckles.
“Right, well, don’t you worry about that. Just remember he doesn’t like you swearing so try to control yourself.”
“Yes Mum,” I say monotone.
“Good girl, now go and stop your sister from eating that fruit. Too much fibre could upset her tummy,” she says and then walks off toward Dad.
I smile and turn back to Ella, who’s stuffing her face full of raspberries now. “Ella, do you want to get fat?” I ask and she furrows her brows and shakes her head.
“You can’t get fat eating fruit,” she says with her mouth half full.
“No, but your stomach can bloat from too much fibre and then you’ll look pregnant. Do you want to look knocked up on stage?”
She shakes her head and puts down the slice of cantaloupe that was about to go in her mouth. “I can’t seem to stop eating. I don’t know what’s wrong with me?”
“Are you nervous?” I ask and she nods emphatically. “Then it’s probably your nervous habit.”
“Nervous habit?”
“Yeah, like when Dad gets nervous he drinks. When Chad is nervous, he fusses with his clothes. When I get nervous, I get grumpy, and by the looks of it when you get nervous you eat.”
“You know I think you’re right. Whenever I’m nervous at home, I always go the fridge and eat. Man, I’m gonna get so fat by the time I’m thirty.”
“Well, just keep eating fruit and good things and you won’t get fat. Simple really.”
“You need to stop me if I eat too much, okay?”
“Yeah, no worries,” I laugh.
She looks down at the fruit platter and picks up a raspberry and shoves it in her mouth quickly, and then wraps her arm around mine leading me away from the kitchen area. I chuckle to myself as we walk over to the lounge. I hear Red Velvet playing and they sound good. I just hope that everyone out there likes Staked as much as the other two bands. They already have a following and no one has even heard one of our songs. It will definitely be interesting to see how they take to us.
Rob walks in and he’s all smiles. “Okay Staked, you ready to go?”
I look over to Aston, who looks at me and then looks away without any expression on his face. I exhale and start to walk toward the door with Ella.
“Let’s get this party started,” Caleb exclaims and rushes to the front to lead us down the hall ready for our performance. I hear Red Velvet finish their last song and the crowd goes mental sending a shock wave right through me. Caleb looks back at me and I smile widely as he jumps around like he’s the most excited he’s ever been. Chad is his usual calm self and Ella looks like she is going to throw up. I look back at Aston and I finally see a smile on his face. I honestly can’t wait to be up on stage with him and rocking it out. We get to the bottom area by the stage as Red Velvet is walking toward us. The obviously dyed redheaded woman walking past me looks me up and down and frowns. I furrow my eyebrows at her and as she walks past Chad she smiles slightly as he stares at her. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he liked her even though he said she was a bitch earlier. But what would I know? I love Chad he’s hilarious, but I can never tell what’s going on inside his head. He’s away with the fairies most the time.
“Right guys, let’s huddle in,” Caleb says as the parents back away to let us get into the zone.
“Good luck guys, we’re proud of you,” Dad says.
I decided to keep the knowledge about the recording labels being in the audience to myself. That little bit of information stressed me out and I don’t need the other guys worrying about it. Especially Ella, poor thing looks like she’s ready to make a fruit salad mess all of her own.
We move around in a circle wrapping our arms around each other like we always do. Aston is normally next to me, but this time he’s opposite me, and not having his hands wrapped around my shoulders feels weird. I feel like we’re starting this concert all wrong.
“Okay guys, listen up. It’s important to keep focused while we’re out there. Don’t dwell too much on the size of the crowd. It’s a big one so be prepared, but most of all have fun. Just play like we do at the manor and everything will be all Isle of Wright,” he says making us all laugh.
“Did you just use Cockney slang?” Ella asks and he smiles and nods. He really is in a good mood.
“Okay, arms in,” Caleb says and we all put our right hand in. “All together,” Caleb says and we all smile at each other ready to say out mantra.
The music flows for all to hear.
You cannot help, but stop and cheer.
The walls will tremble, shudder and break.
‘Cause no one can handle the sound of Staked.
One, two, three… Staked!
We all say and cheer to ourselves as we get ready to go on stage for the first time.
“Okay guys we’re ready for you,” someone with a clipboard yells and so Ella, Aston, and I walk over to our guitars and put them on. The excitement flowing through me right now is the most I’ve ever felt. I’m surging with energy and I cannot wait to get out there and see the crowd. I’m nervous but mostly excited to see how they react to us.
My hairs rise and a tingle shoots over my skin really sharply.
“Annie,” Aston says and I turn around to see him standing right behind me.
I look over to see Dad talking to Rob and not paying any attention to me and Aston right now. Ella casually walks away, so it’s just Aston and me standing here.
“I’m sorry about today. I don’t know how long we have before your dad sees us, but I want you to know I don’t want to avoid you. I’m not doing it on purpose I swear, and all I want to do right now is kiss the shit out of you,” he says leaning in so close our guitars are touching.
“Then kiss me,” I say and he looks over to make sure no one is looking at us. He smiles brightly and leans in kissing me softly. A surge rushes through my lips and straight between my legs making me start to pant. The kiss is over a little too quickly for my liking and I feel lost when his lips leave mine.
“Man, I’ve wanted to do that all day,” he says and I smile.
“Why were you avoiding me?” I ask and then Dad walks over interrupting us.
“C’mon kids it’s time to go out there. Have a blast,” Dad says and I look back at Aston and he smiles at me and winks.
I feel even better than I thought I ever could. Aston just kissed me, and we’re about to perform on stage for the very first time. We walk up to the edge of the stage and we’re announced over the loud speakers.
“And now the band we’ve all been waiting for, give it up for Staked!” he says and the crowd goes ballistic. I look at Aston and we both smile widely as my heart starts to race fast in my chest. I feel like I’m going to burst. The lights dim to the screaming crowd and Aston and I walk out along with Ella and Chad. As I look out to the sea of people all screaming and jumping up and down, I know that it doesn’t get any better than this!
We take up our positions on the stage as I look out to the sea of faces and notice them all smiling, dancing and clapping. It makes me happy they’re accepting us already. I plug my guitar in and look over at Ella. She looks back at me and smiles brightly easing my nerves for her. She looks like she’s doing okay. Chad walks up behind the drum kit and kicks the bass a couple of times to let us know to get ready. I look back at Aston and he smiles at me so radiantly it makes my knees feel weak.
“Let’s rock it, Lennox,” he says.
I nod as Chad starts the drum beat and I raise my hands in the air to get the crowd worked up. But on my way up, I hit the mic stand and it causes a massive reverb through the speakers and everyone gasps and then boos. I quickly fix the mic and look at Aston, who’s chuckling at me.
Great start, Annie!
“Shit,” I say to myself as the crowd noise dies down and they all stand there suddenly looking unimpressed. Great! Trust me to fuck this up before we’ve even played one chord.
“Lennox,” Aston whispers and I look at him as my heart races. “Look your dad’s down there, make him proud,” Aston whispers and it was just the kick back into gear I needed.
I look down at Dad and he’s smiling and giving me the thumbs up. Listening to Chad when he gets to the right spot, I slam on my guitar and give it everything I have. Aston and Ella join in soon after and the music flowing through the speakers and reverbing all around the venue is electrifying. I can’t stop a shiver as it runs down my spine with the pure adrenalin I feel right now. I look down at the crowd and they’re all still standing there not actually moving to the music. It’s like they’re all reserving judgment except for the front row which is, of course, our parents, who are all excited and cheering. I swallow hard and look at Aston and he shrugs just as Caleb comes running out on stage and starts to sing the first verse of ‘Don’t Mess With the Best.’ I put my back toward Aston so he knows what I’m after and straight away I feel his back against mine and it fills me with such happiness that I get lost in the moment. I jam on my guitar the best way I know how and glance down at the crowd. I notice a couple of people starting to move along to our song. I guess because no one knows the music it would be hard to get into at first, and also my mistake in the beginning wouldn’t have helped their impression of us. But right now as I gaze out to the crowd, even more people are starting to move to our music, and by the time we get to the chorus everyone is dancing and some of them are even cheering.
It fills me with an energy I didn’t know could exist. Only in my dreams do I feel this type of elation. Right now, this is a dream come true. It’s no wonder that my world is suddenly filling with bright colours and dancing musical notes are moving through the air. This is definitely like my dreams and everything is so perfect it’s not funny. My pulse is thumping so fast and hard I can feel it in my ears but in a good way. It’s like the music in my blood is pumping stronger and quicker than I ever thought possible, and I love every second of it. And having Aston touching me at the same time is sending my senses into overdrive. I’m so happy I could cry, but I won’t because that would just be weird in the middle of a song.
I look out to the crowd and I come out of my zone just for a second to hear the roar. It shocks me and I turn back to look at Aston and he’s smiling so radiantly it’s astounding. I look over at Ella and she’s doing great. I haven’t heard her mess up on a single note and Chad and Caleb are performing their hearts out. I already see some girls screaming and reaching out to Caleb. I can see the appeal I guess, he’s good looking, but I don’t really see it because he’s my cousin. But these girls are definitely drooling over him. I even notice a couple of the guys eyeing Ella, but she’s so lost in her world and concentrating so hard not to stuff up, that she isn’t taking in what’s happening around her.
I look down at Dad and Mum. Mum is crying and Dad is cheering and happy. Poor Mum, she does tend to get emotional when she’s proud of us. The song comes to an end and the crowd applaud and stomp their feet. We all, in unison, raise our hands in the air making them cheer and clap even louder.
“Hello, London! We are Staked! We’re really honoured to have you here at our very first live show. The band hope you enjoy how we rock it. Are we having a good time tonight?” Caleb calls out making me laugh at his enthusiasm.
The girls all scream and one takes off her top leaving her in a black bra and throws it up on stage. We all burst out laughing and Caleb moves across the stage and picks it up as security make their way over to her.
“Thanks for that sweetheart,” he says as he scrunches it up and places it in his back pocket.
She screams so loud it can be heard over everyone else. I look down at Dad and he’s laughing and shaking his head like he’s enjoying watching and not being the one having the shirts and God only knows what else, thrown at him.
“Right. Now if everyone else could please leave their clothes on for now… we can always take them off later,” he says in a sultry tone and I think I see a girl faint.
I laugh hard as everyone is screaming so loudly I can’t think. I can only imagine how big Caleb is going to be, for sure he’ll be the next big thing in music.
“This is our next song and it’s quite dear to my heart. I wrote it with my awesome cuz over there. Say hi, Annie,” he says and I laugh and wave out to the audience. “Anyway this is about someone special I know, and hopefully she knows it’s about her. This is called, ‘Saving Grace’,” Caleb says and we start to play.
I never imagined it could be this energising to perform live. It’s everything I thought but so much more! Having the crowd cheer you on, especially when they don’t know your songs is so thrilling it’s making me breathless. I lean my back up against Aston again and we rock out like we always do, leaning on each other for support, but also because I couldn’t do this and not be touching him. I need him with me, he is a part of this experience and I couldn’t imagine having anyone other than Aston by my side as we perform.
The rest of the concert goes without a hitch and I’m pretty sure we have made our first real fans tonight. People other than our families, which is so great to finally say. One day we will have groupies and roadies of our very own and I’m excited for that day to come.
We finish up the very last song of our set and I scan my eyes around at the crowd one last time and take it all in. I soak up the atmosphere as my vest sticks to me with the sweat that I worked up from rocking it out on stage. Plus, the lights were so much hotter than I thought they would be. But I
don’t care how hot I get on stage, I’d stand in an inferno of flames as long as I get to be up there rocking it with my band.
I run off the side of the stage with Aston and Caleb right behind me and I’m buzzing as the crowd all stomp their feet and cheer for our first ever live performance. Most bands start out playing in small venues with a few hundred people. But we’re different, we are luckier than most bands so our first performance is in front of a full capacity ten thousand people. I can’t believe the size of the crowd. I bound down the stairs and pull off my guitar and hand it to one of the backstage crew and then wipe my hand across my forehead, still buzzing from the undeniable high. I close my eyes and just listen to the crowd and their excitement.
Suddenly strong arms wrap around me and I squeal as I open my eyes to see Aston. He picks me up and spins me around in a circle and I wrap my arms around him holding on as he spins us. I laugh and he slides me down his body slowly when he comes to a stop and then he wipes some stuck hair from my sweaty face and shakes his head.
“That was amazing!” he says and I nod in agreement. I’m distracted by his lips as his hand caresses my cheek, so I lean into his hand and take a deep breath. “Are you okay?” he asks furrowing his brows and I realise I haven’t actually spoken yet.
“Shit! Yeah, sorry. Just so caught up in the moment. I can’t believe how well we did,” I say and I notice he’s still holding me tightly to him.
“You were amazing out there, Lennox,” he says and leans his sweaty forehead against mine.
“You’re amazing all the time,” I say honestly and he smiles with so much intensity it knocks the wind from me. He leans in closer and I go to kiss him when I hear Dad yelling from a distance. We quickly separate just in time for him to round the corner.
“To be continued,” Aston says stepping away from me.
“Holy shit! You guys were amazing. I’m so proud of all of you, especially you two,” Dad says racing over to me and grabbing Ella on the way embracing us both in a bear hug. I laugh and look over at Aston, who’s now celebrating with his parents. But he looks over and winks at me. I smile back as Dad scrunches us harder in the hug.
