Pieces of Us| h.s.

Chapter One.

Sydney Archer

Playing on home ground makes you feel emotions you can't even put into words.

The festival you'd buy tickets to knowing you weren't of age. The festival you just had to go to because your favourite artist was playing. The festival you'd sneak water bottles filled with cheap vodka you got from the 24/7 shop that doesn't care what age you are. The festival that changed your perception of the future. The festival that changed your life.

Festival X was my younger self's idea of heaven. At sixteen, the clock had struck midnight, the band were still playing, the crowds were engulfed by the dark sky and lit by the lights coming from the stage. There were people on shoulders, thousands of smiles and cheers. It was at that moment that I told myself, one day it'll be us up there.

When we got the news about the festival I couldn't comprehend it. Knowing you've made something for thousands of people to love it's the most rewarding feeling in the world. When we perform in a couple weeks at Festival X, the inner child within me will thank me for deciding to beg my sister to take me to the festival with her, because it changed my life.

Returning home is always the most bittersweet feeling. Being able to spend my time with my sister and her family, see how much my nephew has grown since I last saw him and relive all our memories from when we were just teenagers with one big dream, it consumes you. You spend days wrapped in the sweetest feeling and in the blink of an eye we're back on a bus away. However, performing the crowds like we do becomes an addiction. When you have a minute of peace, a rare second where you're not required to sing, or do an interview, or sign somebody's t- shirt, you're itching to be back on stage doing the job you fell in love with.

As a band we've become a family with a bond stronger than anything I've ever known. The unbreakable bond we share. The comfort blanket we have when things go wrong. The protectiveness we feel for one another. The petty arguments and bickering that resolve in a matter of minutes. The stolen glances across the room when somebody says something questionable. The feeling of pride and community when we achieve something together. The laughter. The tears. The calm. The storm. The sun. The rain. The good. The bad. I learned what it means to be part of a family when we started the band. A real family that stays through good or bad, rain or sun, because even the rainy days are days we've cherished together.

The plane touched down at the airport as smiles took place on everybody's face, besides Jamie who would sleep through a plane crash if it were to happen. I began to fill with excitement, knowing my sister and her family were minutes away. I'd be able to wrap my arms around her in a brief moment and all worries magically vanish as if all these monsters never existed in the first place.

'Oh my god man,' Myles shook his head, looking at Jamie who remained slumped against the plane window. 'Wake up dipshit! Your girl is literally round the corner.'

With that, Jamie's eyes sprung open and the aeroplane burst into laughter at his expense. He tossed a magazine at Myles and some brutal names as interrupting his sleep would be a punishable offence in his eyes, even if it's to reunite with his girlfriend he hasn't seen in four months.

'Good sleep buddy?' Harry asked jokingly.

'Fuck off you-'

'Sure sounded like it, right Syd?' Harry cut him off, earning an elbow into the side.

'Sorry Jamie,' I laughed, 'you snore like a fucking foghorn.'

'I hate you all.' He muttered. 'Can a man not enjoy a bit of peaceful shut eye these days or something? Christ.'

Once again Jamie tried to pretend like he hated us as we laughed and joked, mostly at his demise. Luckily for Jamie he was able to climb out of the hole he had dug himself into when we were told we were able to head off of the plane.