I smile as I wave my arms towards me, urging them to come hug me. Mads throws herself into my grasp, tightly wrapping her arms around my waist. Tay follows shortly after, stuffing her head into my shoulder. I sigh happily, my heart warming from the feeling of two of my best friends being in my arms.
We pull back and I watch as Tay smiles, the skin around her eyes crinkling with joy. Mads shifts between two feet, jumping slightly with excitement.
I couldn't contain it anymore, and I find myself bursting out, "Who is fucking ready for tonight?"
"I cant wait until we get to go on! This has been my dream since we were, like, 14!" Tay squeals, running her hand through her freshly dyed hair.
"Oh, rad ass hair, Tay. I like the color, it suits you," I comment, pointing at her head and nodding.
"Thanks. I saw the box dye at the pharmacy and just said fuck it," She giggles, twirling a little piece between her two fingers.
The shitty lighting of the dressing room shined down on her hair, a beautiful and vibrant metallic green showing itself.
"Oh my god, Tay and I totally got so distracted. We have to continue getting ready!" Mads realizes, rubbing her face anxiously.
"No worries, we have like a couple hours before the place opens. Take your time," I assure, a worried frown replacing my previous grin.
Mads sighs, obviously relived that she has more time.
"Okay, I'll leave you two to be. If I come back and see you guys dancing again, I'm not managing this band anymore," I say with a serious look on my face.
Tay's eyebrows raise alarmingly and Mads frowns slightly. I wink, silently letting them know I'm joking.
Tay rolls her eyes as she flips me off and walks back to her dresser. I stick my tongue out while she's not looking, Mads giggling at my childish antics.
I wave off Mads, letting myself out. I stop in my tracks as I poke my head back in, realizing something.
"Does anyone know where the fuck Alex is? We need keyboards for all the songs," I ask, my eyes flickering between both of their faces.
Mads shrugs, "I'm honestly not sure, I haven't heard from him all day."
Mads turns her head towards Tay who had her eyebrows raised. She scrunched her mouth in a confused way, shaking her head.
"No worries, then. I'll find out. Thanks, guys. See you," I nod my head once before shutting the door quietly.
I whistle as I walk down the corridor for the third time, finding myself walking towards my own dressing room again. I walk in and shut the door, still whistling. I fix my hair in the mirror, brushing a few pieces here and there. My whistles slowly turn into the beat of Sleepwalking.
My feet begin to tap the rhythm, accompanying my whistling. I adjust my baggy jeans, the fishnets that are under them rubbing against my legs; my beaten up vans complimented the shitty outfit perfectly.
I snatch my laptop as I flick the lights off, exiting into the hallway once again. My head starts to bop up and down, my whistling being the only thing that could be heard in the empty hallway. It echoed and sung back to me as I made my way towards Nino and Nina's dressing room.
My whistling halts as the door behind me opens loudly, someone stepping in. I turn myself around and face a person with a jacket on, the hood lifted. I quirk my eyebrow up as I watch them carefully shut the door. They turn around and a smile immediately
takes my face.
Alex stares back at me, "Oh, Gabi, hey. Sorry for showing up late, had to sort out some shit with the keyboard. You know how it is," he shrugs, laughing slightly.
"Hey. No problem, dude, I feel you. Come on, I'm going to the dressing room right now," I chuckle, taking notice of the long black case Alex was carrying.
He nods and gestures for me to lead the way. I turn and begin to walk towards the direction of the room. We reach the door shortly after, and I push it open, holding it for Alex.
"Thank you," he murmurs, winking at me.
I slap my hand against his back as I follow him into the room, the smell of hairspray still strong.
"For fucks sake, Nino. What's up with that hairspray?" I nag, a short chuckle following after.
"God knows this fringe won't stay without it," she retorts, plucking a small piece of hair and smothering it with more spray before patting it down in place.
"Fair enough," I say, flicking her back as I walk past her.
I watch as she turns around with a scowl on her face. I blow her a kiss and she pretends to grab it. My eyes follow her hands and she pretends to throw it to the side.
"Boo! You're no fun," I frown, crossing my arms jokingly.
"Boo hoo. Now, leave me alone. This makeup ain't gonna apply itself. Just joking, love you," she cackles, pretending to grab the kiss off the floor and hold it to her heart.
I roll my eyes as I turn away, my eyes landing on Nina and Alex examining the keyboard. I walk up to them and place my hand on Alex's shoulder.
"Dude! Holy shit, this keyboard is so rad. This looks like it's worth my entire life savings," I gasp, running my fingers across the keys.
"Here's the catch, I found it at the fucking Goodwill near my place," Alex boasts with a smirk.
My eyes widen, "No fucking way. That place always has good shit."
Nina chimes in, "Right. I remember when we found that practically new guitar there, like, four months ago."
Alex and I nod at the same time, "Oh, yeah! Isn't Nino using that one?" I question, my eyebrows furrowing together.
"Yes, I am, and it's fucking awesome!" we hear Nino confirm, her voice filling the small room.
I flick my wrist to reveal my cheap watch, telling me that we had an hour and a half before the venue opens.
"Guys, can someone call Mads and Tay-" my sentence is cut off by the door opening, a chorus of giggles filling my ears. My head snaps towards the door as I watch Mads and Tay walk in.
"Never mind," I sigh, turning away from Nina and Alex.
"Hey, everyone," Tay greets, her practice pad and drumsticks clung in her tiny hands.
"How's everyone doing?" Mads questions, the strap of her bass hanging off her shoulder.
"Doing great, thanks. Hey, Tay!" Nina exclaims, running towards them and engulfing both of them in a giant bear hug. Alex joins them as well, grunting as he got dragged into the giant hug.
"Nino, get your ass over here!" I exclaim as I make my way over to them.
Nino turns around and sets her makeup brush down. She gets up and I grab her hand, leading both of us to the group. We both wrap our arms around everyone, my head resting against Nina's back.
The door bursts open again as Bert walks in, "Guys- what the fuck is happening?" he cuts his sentence short, taking in what we're doing.
"Join us!" I hear Mads say, her voice muffled from being in the very middle of the hug.
"If you say so," Bert shrugs. He throws himself against us, and we all stand there, taking in each other's company.
"I love you guys so much," Nino says softly.
A chorus of I love you guys too rings around the room, as I smile to myself. I would never trade this for anything.
