The bass of you

Chapter 1

"Get up," Layla growls from across the bedroom.

I roll over, reluctant to get out of my warm bed and face the chilly early morning air. Grabbing the duvet as I roll over and pressing my face into the pillow, I pull the duvet over my head to ignore Layla. I know she's standing by the bedroom door waiting for me to get up, I can feel her determined stare burning through the duvet. I'm supposed to be driving to Cardiff city in a few hours, to a hotel there. It's not a far drive, just under two hours from here, but I'm always lazy in the mornings. We live in the small harbour town of Burry Port, nestled in an almost unnoticeable place on the map, in the county of Carmarthenshire in Wales. Layla wanted me to get up at 8 a.m because I promised her I would pack my stuff this morning because I hadn't done it sooner.

Layla's feet stomp across the carpet of my bedroom floor, approaching closer to the side of the bed. "I said - Get. Up."

The duvet is pulled off my body no matter how hard my fingers grasp the cover of the duvet and the cold hits me like a thousand icicles. Hugging myself, I groan and open one eye to look at an irritated Layla frowning at me. Her big brown eyes are a shade of beautiful hazel. She has dirty blonde hair in a gorgeous bob with side swept bangs that suits the heart shape of her face. Her skin is a lovely porcelain tone. Layla is definitely one of those girls that catch the attention of boys wherever she goes and she loves that, she loves the attention. It makes her feel pretty, because I've seen the way she silently picks out flaws about herself every time she looks in the mirror. Layla already has her makeup on. Her eyelashes are thick and long, with numerous coats of mascara and she has her dark-red matte lipstick on. The sight of her already ready to go just makes me want to go back to sleep but nevertheless, I force myself to sit up and open both eyes to look at her.

She hasn't got her jacket on, so her arms are exposed, and I can see her tattoos. Layla has a lot of coloured tattoos, but they're really nice. She also has a big ivy-style tattoo wrapping around her calf – coloured green, of course. I'm not so keen on coloured tattoos like her. I've got a skull smoking a cigar on my right forearm, a tribal armband tattoo at the top of my left arm, and a snake wrapped around a dagger on my left forearm.

"Your mum let me in. She's making you a cuppa tea as we speak, or as I speak." Layla grins and squeals. "I can't believe we're actually seeing them tomorrow night! We're seeing Black Dagger!"

"I promise I would have packed quick if you didn't wake me up so early mun!" I mumble as I stand up.

"Monica!!" my mum calls from downstairs. "Your tea is getting cold!!"

Layla throws my dressing gown in my face. I wince and catch it. She grins again. "Mon, pack your shit. I'll see you downstairs."

Layla turns on her heels, flings the curtains open, and begins stomping her way out of my bedroom. The sun blinds my eyes, I raise my arm to shield my tired eyes from the harshness of the bright sun. Yawning and standing up, I have mixed feelings about going to Black Dagger's concert tomorrow night. It's my first concert and Black Dagger isn't even really a band that I listen to. I like their music, it's really amazing, but I listen to the same bands and songs all the time, have done since as far back as I can remember. I just never get bored of the same music that I'm into. It has nothing to do with Black Dagger's music being trash because it's not, the whole world loves Black Dagger's music. Black Dagger is an American hard rock band that formed about five years ago in Los Angeles, since then they've become stupendously famous worldwide and their first album Broken Cords has sold 20 million copies worldwide in just four years.

The band members of Black Dagger aren't much older than Layla and I : we're both 21 years old. Of course, I only know this stuff because Layla is crazy about the band and talks non-stop about them. When she found out a year ago that they were touring and playing in Cardiff, I kid you not – she went ballistic. We were sitting with a group of friends one night in the pub and she went on her phone for just a minute, before she suddenly stood up with her knees bashing under the table, the alcohol of our drinks spilling everywhere, squealing, and literally almost crying about Black Dagger coming to Cardiff this year. She paid for the tickets online there and then before I was told or even asked if I was coming. I don't even know what the band members look like, I've seen a few photos of them but not that many, so I've forgotten. Layla is always looking at photos of them, talking about 'fit' every band member is and how Jackson Ellis – the lead singer – is her favourite.