FicWad

Chapter Six

It was lunchtime at school and Quinn and I were sitting across the road at the park, because Quinn needed to have a smoke. Once he insisted on smoking during school hours it was obvious he was a serious smoker, addicted, but I already knew that. He was pleased that I had stopped hassling him about it. "Do you think you guys are ready for it?" I asked. The concert was getting closer and closer.
"As ready as we can be I guess. But we're all really nervous, as you can imagine. I'm so scared I'll screw up," Quinn said, picking at the grass we were sitting on.
That had been his main fear lately, that he was going to forget the lyrics or something, but the guys had been practicing these songs so much that they almost knew them inside out. I didn't think Quinn would have any problems with that, even with the nerves.
"I know you're going to do well. How many does the venue hold?" I asked, stretching out my legs.
"I think it holds just over two thousand and it's almost sold out," Quinn said, leaning back on his arms.
"That's a lot, for your first real show. You guys are a good band though, and you've been practicing so much lately. Imagine the possibilities this is going to bring up for you guys? People will be lining up to sign you," I said.
It may have sounded unrealistic but it was actually apossibility and the band had to consider that. The concert was in six days and I had a lot of confidence in the band pulling it off flawlessly. This was something they had worked so long for, and now they had the opportunity I knew they were going to do all they could to make it right, as perfect as they could.

"I'm going to Blake's house now, we're all going together from there," I told my parents on the Saturday night, the night of the concert. The show didn't start until seven thirty, but the guys had to be at the venue by six.
"Okay dear, you look lovely," my mom told me, standing up from the couch and giving me a hug.
I had spent over an hour getting ready that night. I rarely spent that long getting ready for anything, but I wanted to look good, it was such a big night for everyone and I had gotten so nervous thinking about the show that I had to do something to fill in time.
"Wish them luck from me. I can't wait to hear all about it," Mom said sincerely.
We'd had a talk about me not calling her and I had apologized properly, so everything was good there.
I was about to leave when dad offered to give me aride to Blake's house. I smiled and told him that would be great, my parents always tried to make my life easy for me, even though they had so much on their plate right now. Dad was still having a hard time getting a job, and I was beginning to worry about that too.
I got out of the car, thanked dad for the ride and walked up the driveway. I rang the doorbell and waited.
"Come in," Blake said, lacking his usual enthusiasm.
I followed him into the living room where all the guys were sitting, in silence. I could feel the tension as I walked into the room. Quinn got up and gave me a hug.
"Thought you'd be outside smoking," I joked, but Quinn didn't look like he took it as one so I added, "I figured you'd be pretty stressed right now."
I stepped back and sat with him on the couch. I could tell the guys had also spent a lot of time getting ready tonight. They all looked really good. By the looks of it they'd taken a lot of effort in choosing their clothes, doing their hair. If, when they began touring I doubted they'd take so much effort in their looks. Although I didn't know, I couldn't wait to find out, now I was sure that was going to happen soon.
"He's already smoked a packet today, he doesn't have any left," Aaron told me.
Quinn gave Aaron a meaningful look. He knew I was over it now but he still hadn't planned on telling me that.
"Oh," was all I said.
If there was any reason to be smoking, not that there was, it would be right now. In a couple of hours they would be on stage, in front of almost two thousand people, there was no way I could ever do that. But it was their passion and Iknew once they were up there, on that stage, they would love every second of it.
"You guys had anything to eat?" I asked, not sure if they even felt like eating.
"Are you offering to make something?" Aaron asked expectantly.
"I don't know about making something, but there's no reason why I can't order some pizza. You guys want some?" I asked, flipping open the lid of my phone.
Everyone was keen for pizza so I rang up and ordered a couple of large pizzas. Hopefully they would arrive quickly so everyone would have enough time to eat before the taxi van arrived.

"Oh man, I can't do this," Quinn looked like he was going to throw up as we all sat in a dressing room at the venue an hour later. We had met with Unfortunate Lives when we arrived and we'd all been so nervous to meet them. We were all fans of the band and they were all really nice guys. They congratulated the band on winning, saying they had picked them for the top five themselves. We even got pictures and autographs by them which was really cool, we hadn't gotten to chat with them for very long though as they had to do some final stuff for sound check.
The venue was quite old, and the dressing room wasn't very inviting. The badly recovered couch had cigarette holes in it and didn't match the armchairs that looked like they might break at any minute. There was still an hour to go before the band was due on stage.
"I need a smoke, does anyone, by some miracle, have one?" Quinn said. He was slouched over in one of the armchairs. I looked around at the others, but none of them smoked so it wasn't looking hopeful.
"Man, I need one too," Blake muttered, following Quinn, who was dialing a number on his cellphone, out of the dressing room.
We all knew what he was doing. He would be calling his older brother's friend, Sam, to buy him a pack of cigarettes since he was too young to buy his own. Quinn got a weekly allowance from his dad but most of it was spent on smokes, I knew his dad wouldn't take it well if he knew what it was spent on. He had a perfect image for his children, and he seemed to think Quinn had no hope of living up to that expectation. I knew that Quinn was going to show him, he'd become famous and make something of his life, and then his dad would regret not believing in him. I wish he could see that now, but Iwasn't one to persuade him. I had never had much to do with him as Quinn had always tried to keep out of his way, therefore so did I.
"The smoking sort of came about all of a sudden didn't it?" asked Kyle, referring to Quinn.
"Yeah, I don't know how he does it, smoking is disgusting." Connor agreed. I knew it was hard for Connor as his grandparents had both died of lung cancer, from smoking.
"I've tried to get him to stop, but it never ends up being a very pleasant conversation," I said, "So I've pretty much given up on that."
"You're so good, sticking with us through all of this. You believed in us, and now look? In forty minutes we'll be performing in front of almost two thousand people, I still can't believe it's really happening," Aaron said, standing up to get a bottle of water.
Quinn and Blake walked in a few minutes later, as we had expected, both had a smoke in hand.
"Lucky he wasn't busy," Aaron said, taking a sip from his water bottle.
"Yeah, well he lives just down the road, thank god," Quinn said as he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.
"You guys are on in thirty minutes," said a young teenage boy standing at the door of the dressing room and eyeing the cigarettes. There were no signs saying the dressing rooms were smoke-free and the boy didn't say anything.
"Okay, thanks," said Aaron, his voice shaking slightly.
"I'm just gonna go outside for a minute," I said getting up from my seat and walking out of the dressing room.
I couldn't stand being in that room any longer. The tension and the smoke built up in my head, and I needed some fresh air. I found my way out of the building and leaned against the wall outside. I jut stood there, thinking about what the next two hours could bring. It was exciting, yet scary at the same time. Iwasn't even in the band, yet I felt everything they did about this whole experience. I couldn't wait til they got on the stage, waiting around was making me crazy, and I couldn't even begin to imagine how they felt. Hell, I even felt like having a cigarette. The noise of the door opening startled me.
"Need one?" Quinn laughed, holding out a cigarette.
Little did he know I actually did need one. I had never tried one before. I knew they were disgusting, horrible things, and I never understood why so many people got hooked on them. A little part of me wondered what it was like. I made an impulsive decision.
"Yes," I said holding my hand out.
"Seriously?" Quinn said, not quite believing what I had just said. After all the crap I had given him for smoking, now I was willing to try it myself.
"Yeah, why not? I'm stressed," I laughed, giving the excuse I had heard from him so many times before.
"Okay,"he said doubt still evident in his voice as he lit one and handed it to me.
I held it in my hand and immediately knew I was going to regret it, but I didn't want to go back on it now. I put it to my lips and inhaled. Bear in mind I'd never done it before. It tickled my throat and the smoke went in all directions as I coughed and choked. I heard Quinn laughing.
"It takes some getting used to," he said taking a drag, expertly, from his own smoke.
"I don't think I did it right," I coughed again, my throat felt like it was burning.
I tried again, determined to find out how to do it properly. I breathed in, this time it was a little better, I breathed out calmly. It still wasn't the most pleasant thing I'd ever done. I told him that.
"You get used to it," he repeated, dropping the end of his cigarette and putting it out with his shoe, "what made you have one?"
"I wanted to see why you are so hooked on them. Can't say I found the answer, though," I said handing the smoke back to him, knowing he'd finish it.
"I can't really explain it either. I guess it's just sort of a habit now. If you'd told me a year ago that I'd be addicted to them within a year, I'd never have believed you," he said.
I knew that was true, I had often warned him he would get addicted and he had never believed me. I guess I was right. I couldn't get addicted to them, my parents would be horrified, and in fact even /I /would be horrified. I was shocked to realize we'd had a conversation about smoking without it turning into an argument. I pointed this out.
"I know it's a first alright. I will try to stop, I promise, I just can't right now," he said, looking at me.
"Yeah, I understand," I smiled.
"You're looking gorgeous today," he said, pulling me in for a hug.
"You look pretty damn good yourself," I said, leaning back and giving him a kiss, and we were only interrupted by Aaron.
"Yo, we're on in five," he said, before heading back to the dressing room again.
I felt my heart skip a beat. Quinn took a last drag from his cigarette and then held onto my hand. We walked together, in silence, back to the dressing room. All the guys were standing up, clearly not knowing what to do with themselves, all of them looked pale.
"Right guys, let's do this! The moment we've all been waiting for is here," said Blake, breaking the silence.
I looked at all of their nervous, yet excited faces.
"If you could follow me please," the teenage boy said as he appeared in the doorway again. I watched as Blake, Aaron, Kyle and Connor walked out the door. I squeezed Quinn's hand.
"Good luck," I said and gave him another kiss.
He simply nodded, the reality of what was about to happen was finally settling in. We followed everyone out the door. I shut the door behind me as I left and went through a different door than the guys, I would be watching from the side of the stage. I couldn't stand still when I got there, even my legs were shaking. I watched them all walk onto the stage.
Kyle was the first on stage. He sat down at the drum kit, a nervous smile on his face. Next to appear on stage were Connor, Aaron and Blake. They picked up their instruments and put the strap over their shoulders. I worried about Quinn for a moment. What if he couldn't do it? What if all those cigarettes had affected his voice? I had to stop myself from thinking of all the bad things, and tried to focus on the stage. Then I saw Quinn walk on the stage. My heart beat sped up, which I hadn't thought that was possible at the time. Quinn waved at the crowd and picked up the microphone from the stand. Immediately the band launched into their first song. It was my favourite song they had written so far. My eyes were glued to Quinn the whole time. Even though I was here, and Iknew it was happening I couldn't help but still feel like it was a dream. The song had started a little off but halfway through it I could tell the nerves were disappearing and they were really getting into it. The first song ended and Quinn spoke into the microphone.
"Hey guys! How are you all doing?"
Being the first band of the night, and also being an unknown band there wasn't a huge response from the crowd, but it was big enough for Quinn and the others to smile.
"That's good! Well, let's keep going then," and their next song started.
This was the one they had worked the hardest on developing. Now that I had reassurance the band were comfortable on stage I looked over at the crowd. Iwas glad to see that everyone was standing up, and from what I could see everyone seemed to be enjoying their music and having a good time, the venue was packed. I couldn't imagine how the band must have felt at that time. On stage performing their songs, having people up and dancing to them, it must have been amazing. I'm sure it was a feeling that couldn't be described.
The song ended and Quinn spoke again, "Okay guys, just two more songs left."
I think I even heard some disappointment from the crowd, which made me very happy as it meant they were enjoying the band. I was also confused though. He had said two more songs, but he had told me they were only going to perform three.
Quinn continued, "I just wanna take this time to thank Unfortunate Lives for this opportunity, it's a truly amazing experience. Also, you guys are an awesome crowd! We hope to see you in the future. This song is dedicated to my girlfriend Kate, for being everything I could ever dream of," Quinn looked over at me and smiled. I smiled back and blew him a kiss.
The song wasn't slow, but it wasn't upbeat either. The lyrics and melody were beautiful, and every second of the song held meaning to me. It was a surprise, he'd kept this from me but it just made the night even more incredible. The song finished and Quinn said one last thanks to the crowd and told them to enjoy their night. Quinn opened the final song with a scream, which the crowd were very impressed with as Unfortunate Lives were a heavy alternative band. This song was the most upbeat song they had, and the crowd was definitely enjoying their performance, they would be hyped up for when the next two bands came on. Throughout the whole song I couldn't stop smiling. This show was even more than they had hoped for. It was short, but it was well worth it, a perfect way to start off. I couldn't wait to hear the guys talk about it afterwards and thank Quinn for the song.

The houselights came on at the end of the song and I ran around to the stage exit. As soon as I saw Quinn come off-stage I ran up to him and hugged him, he lifted me up off the ground and kissed me.
"That was fucking amazing," he said and we walked back into the dressing room.
"The last song was so wicked, did you see the crowd? They loved it!" exclaimed Blake.
I sat down cautiously on one of the old armchairs. I wanted to hear every single thing they had to say. They were all full of energy, like a natural high.
"I know, man I just wanna do it all over again," Aaron agreed pouring his drink bottle over himself. It had obviously gotten very hot on stage, all of them were sweating.
"Me too, it was the best feeling ever," Quinn said, wiping his face with a towel.

I sat there, the smile still plastered on my face. I got up from the seat and kissed Quinn again, I barely even noticed the others around us. I was so proud of them, especially Quinn. Everyone was so happy, and I just wanted this moment to last forever.

"You guys are gonna have a good night," Blake laughed, and so did the other guys.

"That was nice," Quinn said, pulling away from me and smiling, his eyes were greener than I had ever seen them and sparkling. I had missed that sparkle in his eyes, and was glad to see it had returned. He was the happiest I had seen him in so long. He wasn't just putting on a smile, I could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. I almost felt like I was falling in love all over again.
"Thank you so much, the song was beautiful. You guys all did so well," I said, from my heart, I had enjoyed every second they had been onstage.
"Does that mean we all get a kiss like that?" Aaron asked.
"Hey you, watch it!" Quinn laughed at Aaron.
"So what are we all doing now?" Blake asked. "Wanna come back to mine, for another celebration?"
"Yeah, that'd be cool, but I'd like to check out Unfortunate Lives first," said Kyle.
Everyone else agreed and we set ourselves up on the side of the stage ready to watch Unfortunate Lives.

"Unfortunate Lives were pretty good. But personally, I think we were a hundred times better," Blake laughed, drink in hand back at his place an hour later.
Everyone had called everyone they knew. Blake's parents being in England were good on so many levels. It meant we got to have a lot of awesome parties. There was even more people here than there had been at the previous party. The atmosphere was buzzing as the guys were sharing their accounts of the show with schoolmates, many of them had been to watch and support the band.
"That was such an awesome show. How were the nerves while you were onstage?" I asked Quinn and Connor as I took a sip from my beer.
"They disappeared completely. I mean, the first verse was a little shaky, but after that I felt so confident. It was just an amazing feeling," Quinn said.
He hadn't let go of me the entire night. It felt like we had just gotten together. The change in both of our attitudes had completely changed the way we were around each other.
"Yeah, I couldn't believe how confident I became. When we first went on, I didn't even know how I was going to play my bass, I was shaking so much," Connor said, sculling the remainder of his beer. He set off to the kitchen to get another one.
"So did you like the song? It was hard keeping it a secret," Quinn admitted.
"Yeah, it was amazing, I loved it," I whispered, looking straight into his eyes. "My throats still sore from that smoke," I pouted.
Quinn laughed and kissed me again.
"Ugh, get a room guys!" Blake said, looking over at us from the swing chair.
"Okay,"Quinn said as he took my hand and led me down the hall to a spare bedroom.