Lonely Dance

Chapter 1

My eyes fluttered open and as I came to I looked around, realizing I had ended up crashing on Alex's couch last night. Flashbacks of the night before fill my mind. We had just returned from the last days of our California tour for our newest album and things were really looking up for us. It's only fair that we got to party hard to celebrate. I roll over and attempt to continue to sleep the hangover away when a shrill ringing fills my ears.
I hear a groan coming from somewhere on the floor and then a "What the fuck?" from Hudson. Alex emerges from the kitchen with a cup of coffee with a smirk as he tosses my phone at me. That little shit always lets me and Hudson drink well past our limits and laughs at our pain later. I groan as I sit up and check the caller id. Seeing our manager's name, Shay, light up the screen I shush the group and roll my eyes. It's not that I don't love Shay, I really love all that she does for us. I just hate how this whole system works sometimes. What Hudson, Alex, and I have as Chasing The End is so fucking good so why do we even need anyone else? I'm just glad if we have to have a manager she isn't too much of a problem. I try to push away my annoyance as I answer the call.

"Hey what's up?"
"Damn you sound rough. Are you with the boys?"
"Yeah, I am. Let me put you on speaker." I motion for them to gather round as Hudson snickers at her comment.
"Great, You guys are gaining some serious traction on the charts right now on the charts and it's really working out in our favor," Shay starts, and we all sit back knowing how she is. She knows how to be our hype woman whenever we need her, but she certainly doesn't know how to get to her point quickly.
"And honestly guys, I am just so proud of you. I swear it was just yesterday when you guys signed the deal. You've come so far already. But what's really interesting is I got a call this morning and I've been working things out. It's been tough but I think I can work this out for you guys. I just think-"
"Shay? What are you even talking about?" Hudson interrupts with a slight annoyance in his voice and Alex shoots him a glare.
"Right, have you guys ever heard of Set It Off?"
"Of course, I've always loved their music. But what does this have to do with us?" I ask
"They're starting a new tour in just a couple of days and because of some unforeseen circumstances one of their openers, Stand Atlantic, had to pull out. A friend of a friend works with the team running the whole thing and recommended you guys. After some consideration, the spot is yours if you want it."
I let out a shriek and reached for Hudson. We start jumping around the living room in a mix of shock and joy. I don't even pay any attention to the phone as it slips from my lap and near Alex. This would be such a great opportunity for us. Not even including the fact that I would be touring with one of my favorite bands, just the sheer amount of exposure this would give us could rocket us into the limelight.

"This is so short notice, we could handle a couple of stops already here in Cali but how are we going to work this out?" Alex interrupts our celebration with a question for Shay.
"Fucking buzzkill" I mumble as I find my spot on the couch again and Hudson gives the back of Alex's head a little smack.
"Thanks for asking Alex. That right there is the great thing. Because you guys would be doing the team such a favor they're gonna put you up in a tour bus and cover all the transportation for you and your equipment. You guys won't have to worry about anything. Now if you guys want to swing by my office we can celebrate with drinks and go over the fine details"
We look at each other in disbelief and quickly finish the phone call so we can head over. Alex is of course driving because no matter how excited we are, Hudson and I are far too hungover to want to deal with LA traffic. The drive is slow and semi miserable but at least we have a myriad of questions to keep our minds busy.
"This is too good to be true. There has to be some kind of catch right?" Hudson asks.
"I respect Shay, but I really think this is going to be more of a logistical nightmare than she thinks." Alex chimes in.
"Both of you need to just shut the hell up. I don't care about the nitty gritty right now. What we should be focusing on is how we can use this. This could be our big break so we need to play our card right to make this workout, even if it seems too good or is a logistical nightmare." I say to end the debate.