That Thing You Do! (Multiband Fan Fic)

Chapter 44 - When The Beat Hits

Katie's P.O.V

"Whoa..." I looked at the stage.
"We're playing on that?" Eddie asked the gov.
"Yeah. Starting in Seattle, Washington, we'll be touring up and down all the way to New York." Gov smiled.
I gave the gov his phone and smiled. "It's awesome." I sat next to Stevie, in the airport, waiting for our plane to be called. Eddie was stood behind us, with Dylan and Todd sitting in front of him, behind Stevie and I.
"Hell yeah! All your favourite people have been there!" Gov smiled. "Oh!" He saw a pack of guys walking this way. Five of them, a vary of ages, with suitcases and what looks to be technical gear in a couple of crates.
"Guys, this is apart of the soundcheck and road crew. These two are personally here for you guys!" Gov walked up to them, grabbing the front two by the shoulders and smiling at us, like an older brother trying to embarrass his younger brothers.

We all smiled.
"This is James, on mic and guitar checks, with Ollie, your drum tech, Stevie." Gov introduced them.
James was tall, with messy, longish, red hair, wearing a black Metallica tee, with blue jeans, and white vans. I wanna say he was the same age as gov.
Ollie was younger. Maybe late twenties? He was shorter, with short dark brown hair, wearing a grey Aerosmith shirt, with black military pants, and black walking boots.
We all said 'hello' to each other, and our plane got called.

It was a quick, but difficult goodbye with everyone, but we needed this tour badly.
Kirk couldn't make it on such short notice, which hurt, but was understandable. I was trying to not let it get to me, as he was in collage and doing something he was really interested in, but it was Kirk... My best friend.

We all grabbed our jackets and carry on bags and headed for the terminal.
I looked out a window, before I had to hand my passport over, and took in Massachusetts. I'll be gone for some time, but I'll be back.
"Monroe..." Gov nudged me.
"Oh! Sorry." I handed my passport over, got the OK, and took a deep breath. "Rock and roll."

. . .

Seattle, Washington - 11:37 PM . December 14th

I unlocked my hotel room door and walked in, Stevie following me.
We were in a really great hotel, but we only had three rooms booked between six. Me and Stevie were sharing, Todd and Eddie were sharing, Dylan and the gov were sharing.
I left my bags in front of one bed, took my shoes, socks, jeans and hat off, and crawled up the bed, climbing in.
"Night, Stevie." I grumbled.
"Nigh..." He faceplanted his bed.

. . .

I woke up to someone knocking on the door.
"I'm up, Joe!" I called.
"Monroe!" I heard Gov laugh.
"We're on tour..." I opened my eyes.
I sat up and saw I was in a hotel room. Like the one in LA, but different lay out.
"Stevie, wake up! We're on tour!" I called out to him, getting up.
I shoved my black and white striped jeans back on, and ran to the door.

I opened it, as Stevie was waking up, and smiled at the gov.
"Holy hell, your hair is wild!" He took a step back.
"Not brushed it." I let him in, as I searched my bags for my hair brush.
"I need you guys up and dressed. Brush your hair, your teeth, change your underwear-" Gov looked at Stevie, wearing Batman underpants. "We're having breakfast in twenty minutes, down in the lobby, if you're not there, then no food until later. We're going to the venue in one hour!" Gov instructed us, as I started brushing my hair, shoving my hat and socks on.
I nodded and grabbed my shoes. "Come on, Stevie!" I nodded to my cousin.

We got up and dressed, and met the gov and Dylan in the lobby - Eddie and Todd soon joined us, we all ate together, and we were soon off.

We walked out the hotel, coming face to face with a black tour bus. It wasn't massive, like Aerosmith's, it was like a bigger version of the mini bus.
"This is Jasmin. Our home for the next five months." Gov smiled, opened the bus door.
"Whoa." I smiled.
"I like her a lot." Eddie grinned, standing behind me.
"All aboard!" Gov cheered.

We all climbed into the bus, seeing our luggage, James, and Ollie were already inside.
"Guys, this is Craig. The driver." James pointed out a third guy, sat at the table, which was like something from a '70s diner.
Walking in, there was a kitchenette, small dining table, with a awful looking bench to sit on, with a couple of seats facing forwards on the right hand side, next to the table.
Then a curtain, which looked to lead to only six bunks, then a small bathroom.

Craig was... forty? No offence. He had brown hair, looking a bit like Lars Ulrich, in the early 2000s.
He was nice.

"Grab a seat, let's get to the venue." Gov instructed. "Soak up all of this, guys."
We all sat down. I sat at the table, opposite James, Todd was about to sit next to me, when Dylan shoved him and took the seat.
Todd glared at Dylan then sat on the chair to the left. Stevie sat next to James, and Eddie sat in front of Todd.
Ollie was sat in the passenger seat, and Craig took his place behind the wheel. Gov stood in the kitchenette, facing us five.

"This is your home now, pick your bunks. This is the second to smallest bus you can probably get for touring bands. You guys will have to work for a bigger bus. Some tours, you may get lucky to share with the headlining band, but not on this tour. It will be tough and gruelling, but this is rock and roll! Monroe, I'm sure you know about touring schedules..." The gov looked at me, where I nodded back. "It's late nights, early mornings, loud noises, unhealthy diets, venue, after venue, after venue. So many faces, so many places. Now, your album goes on sale today..." Gov checked his watch. "In exactly seven minutes, all record stores will open. You won't get a rush, as no one has heard of you, but tonight, make them remember you. Once we get to the venue, we'll be shown straight to your dressing room. Remember where it is! I want you all on the stage, as soon as. Get used to your surroundings, and fast! We need to do soundcheck, then sort out your stage clothes. Sort out your hair and make up, give yourself half an hour before your set to fix yourselves up. Remember..." The bus stopped and parked. "... The kids are all here to see AC/DC. No shit talking about any bands or band members. You will get your heads kicked in."
We all laughed, nodding, and gov showed us off the bus.