Exploding Heart Disorder (Fearless Vampire Killers Fanfic)

Chapter Five

[Alyx's P.O.V.]

I sit in the front of the red van, in between an ecstatic Kier and a pissy Drew. Mitch is leaning over the seat, playing with my awkwardly wavy hair, babbling about how excited she is for this gig, and Kier is waffling on about how good this band are and how great it is to finally see them live. All the while, I am wondering why on earth Drew hasn't spoken to me all day. I mean, the others have gotten over mine and Mitch's little prank, but Drew is just really pissed off for some reason. As Kier drives off towards the gig - I think he said it's at the Barfly - I tug at my t-shirt, really hating how girly I look. I feel like I'm wearing way too much makeup, and my arms feel cold from my lacking a hoodie - Mitch said she would eat my liver if I dared wear one tonight.

So I'm not. It's confined to my bag, back in Mitch's room.

After a short while of Kier blaring his My Passion CD from the sound system in the van, and Shane, Laurence, Kier, Luke and Mitch arguing about who should get to hug the band first, Kier pulls up outside the venue, clearing his throat and squeaking slightly in excitement as he kills the engine and all but dives from the van. The others pile out of the side of the van, and I slip out after Drew, being instantly grabbed by a pair of overexcited twins as they drag me into the building. As the guy on the door checks our tickets and then lets us in, Mitch and Kier are practically barrelling towards the front of the venue, right up against the barrier, mere metres from the stage. I can see that the tech guys are still setting up, and the others all squeeze around us, shoving in to be able to see. I can see Laurence resting against the barrier to my left, and he turns towards me, smiling slightly.

"Want me to get you a drink?" He asks, the sound of untuned guitars and vocal checks almost drowning him out. I smile.

"Sure, could you get me a beer?" He nods, and I move slightly to keep his spot for him as he crosses the crowded room to reach the bar.

Mitch shoots me a pointed look. "He's buying you drinks now?" She raises her eyebrows, grinning, and I flush slightly red.

"It's not like that at all." I tell her. "Really, it's not."

"In your eyes, maybe. In his? You never know what a panda's thinking." I roll my eyes at the thought, and suddenly I hear music begin to play. One of the support acts comes on stage, a would-be punk-electronica crossover group of two females and a three males that name themselves something to do with "decorum". I pay slight attention to their music, and Laurence returns with my beer, clinking his bottle against mine and drinking up as he watches the band on stage play. I can see Mitch's eyes light up as the band performs, and as I look past her I see Drew looks slightly miffed, glancing up to meet my gaze and then looking back towards the band. I look up towards Laurence, who is smiling ever-so-slightly, and nudge his side gently. He looks down at me, smiling, and puts an arm around my shoulders, leaning down slightly to hear me better.

"Drew looks a little pissed off." I shout, and he smiles slightly, glancing up to see his friend's blank expression.

"There's a reason for that." He tells me, before taking another drink of his beer. "He's pissed off because he's either not getting enough attention, or he's not getting some."

I laugh lightly, and then the song ends, another quickly starting up with a pulsing electronic beat and a heavy guitar riff to match. The singer wills the crowd to start jumping up and down to the music, and I decide to join in, Laurence and I jumping up and down as we precariously grip our bottles of beer. When the support act has finished their set, and the tech guys have come back onstage to set up for the next band, Mitch grabs my arm and drags me off, asking Kier and Laurence to save our spaces and proclaiming that we need to go to the bathroom. As she drags me into the bathroom, she rests her forehead against the sink, groaning.