Dave wiped the sweat from his brow as he took deep gut wrenching breaths. The crowed was cheering, violent screams of pure euphoria filled the stadium. He couldn't help but sit there and bask in all of its glory.
Complete and utter bliss filled the amphitheater; The crowd was going wild. He came up from his knees and pointed a finger towards the sky. "Thank you St. Augustine, you've been bloody amazing!" He yelled, trying to express his gratitude in the best way he could. God knows he wanted to stay longer; to sing every song he's ever created for them. Though, this wish couldn't be fulfilled due to the nagging Of managers and stage crew.
After taking a moment to enjoy the cheers, Dave ran backstage with the other band members. Drenched in sweat, he leaned against a pillar beam as he was still trying to catch his breath.
When Dave preformed, he put everything into it. Every ounce of his mind and body spilled out in his shows. He felt like he was on top of the world, every body cheering for him. Nothing could bring him down from the high.
Joe slapped him on his back and ruffled his hair, "look at you, look at that!" He exclaimed, letting out a short chuckle.
"It's bloody amazing," Dave said, looking up at joe. The light had caught him just right, causing his hair to shine with the multicolor spot lights that shined from the stage. This filled Dave with a funny feeling, like butterflies were about to erupt from his stomach and fly out of his mouth.
"Do you want to go smoke before we have to load up?" Joe asked, leaning his shoulder on the beam next to Dave.
"Of course, let me catch my breath real fast," he said, chuckling. Dave raised his hands and ruffled his hair, shaking out all the sweat from it. He let out a few more deep breaths before standing up and motioning joe to follow him.
Joe smiled and followed Dave, walking through the back of the stage and to the parking lot behind it. They saw the crowd as they were leaving. This made the two smile.
"It's crazy the turn out, you know? We should tour more often," Joe laughed, nudging Dave as he pulled out a cigarette. "You got a light?"
Dave nodded and pulled out his lighter, handing it over to Joe. In exchange, Joe handed him a cigarette. Joe then cuffed his hands to prevent the wind from putting the flame out. Dave waited patiently for the lighter back as he watched Joe light his.
Joe took a puff and breathed out, a soft smile on his lips then looked over at Dave. "Oh yeah, I needed this." He chuckled.
He looked at Dave and tilted his head slightly. "Here, let me." Joe went close to Dave, cupping his hands over the cigarette that was gently placed in the singers mouth. He pushed down on the lighter button and lit it with ease.
Dave felt that feeling again; the butterflies that were encapsulated in his stomach. His chest burned with the feeling. Joe was so close, merely inches away from Dave's face. "Thanks," he murmured out before taking a puff. He inhaled and blew a line of smoke right in the drummers face.
Joe laughed and took a step back, then rolled his eyes. "I missed playing like this. When we went on tour for How To Be A Human Being, I knew this was it. This is where I needed to be. You just had to talk me into it." He chuckled and drew another puff.
Dave sighed with a smile and nodded, "yeah you were so hardheaded about the whole thing. But Look where we are, look what we accomplished." He said before inhaling. Dave held the smoke in his chest for a minute then slowly exhaled it. He looked up at the sky, a million thoughts seeming to race around in his mind.
Joe smiled kindly at this, then placed his hand gently on Dave's shoulder, causing the other to look at him again. The two stared at each other for a brief second, seeming to know exactly what the other was thinking. Dave went to speak, to get all mushy and emotional about how much doing concerts with Joe filled him with this indescribable joy, but before he could he was interrupted.
"Dave? Joe?" A familiar voice called out. They both turned around and looked to where the noise came from. Joe took his hand off of Dave's shoulder and shoved it in his pocket, then took another puff of his cigarette. Drew emerged from the building and smiled, putting his hands on his hips. "Well then. Why wasn't I invited, huh?" He laughed and jogged over to them.
"It was just a quick light, I was actually about to come back in and pack our stuff up," Dave replied, taking one last puff of the cigarette and throwing the butt on the ground.
"Good, we've got to get going. I'm going back inside, I'll tell Ed I found you two." Drew gave them a two finger salute and jogged back inside.
"I guess that's our cue," Joe said, putting out his cigarette. Dave nodded and began walking back inside, while joe followed intently.
Once they pair went back in, they immediately went to put their instruments back in their cases and loaded them up. Dave couldn't get his mind off of the feeling Joe gave him though. What did it mean? Dave loved his friends, of course, but nothing has ever struck him like this before. Maybe he was just coming down from a high, but it felt so real to him.
While Dave was still loading, Ed went around and made sure things were going smoothly. He spotted Dave and ran up to him, holding his guitar picks between his fingers.
"We ready to leave?" Ed asked, helping Dave put the last of his things back on the bus.
"Yep, if you all are," Dave replied.
"We we're waiting on you, slow ass." Ed laughed as he grabbed Dave by the shirt collar and tugged on him until he started walking to board the bus.
Once they were on, Dave went straight to the couch and laid down. He exhaled deeply and closed his eyes. He heard the other members chatting with one another, but all he wanted to do was go to sleep. He began to drift off, though one thing was left on his mind. The butterflies.
