my body's burning for you

showtime

"Five minutes, Kells."

I heard Garrett, our tour manager say as his knuckles rapped lightly against the bathroom door.

I must've been in here for thirty minutes. Doing what? Giving myself a pep talk for tonight's show, the first we've played in a while. There was no doubt I was ecstatic, I'd be spending the whole of this tour with my best friends; and for me, there's nothing better than that.

I took one last deep breath in front of the mirror, watching my shoulders rise and fall until the glass fogged up.

I furrowed my eyebrows.

Was I really standing this close?

I needed to get out of here.

I wiped the glass clean with the sleeve of my flannel and turned to slide open the door of the tiny bathroom, stepping out to find that the bus was empty. Everyone had already gone ahead to watch the opening bands play, This Wild Life and Beartooth. I wondered how much of their set I'd missed already, and it was the first night! The crowd here in Fresno got pretty wild, and I wasn't about to miss it.

I snatched my phone off of the counter near the lounge and hopped down the steps to the bus, being sure to close the door behind me. I didn't see any kids waiting in line from where I stood in the parking lot, meaning they were all inside already and pumped for the show.

This should be exciting.

~

"Look who finally made it, huh?"

I held up my hands as none other than Jaime Preciado clapped me on the back.

"I fuckin' told you Kellin takes the longest to get ready!"

My bandmate Justin piped up, proving the popular belief wrong that he indeed takes more time.

"Can it, Hills."

I gave him a wide grin, taking a seat on the beat-up couch in the plain white rec room backstage. I had taken a quick peek out at the crowd on my way in, which only fed my excitement and slapped this giddy grin on my face in the first place.

"You want a beer?"

I looked over to my right, my eyes now focused on Mike; who had just pulled a cold one out of the fridge and was dangling it from the tips of his long and skinny fingers.

I nodded.

"Why not? one can't hurt."

"Here's to the World Tour!"

I heard him call out, his voice echoing off the walls in the carpetless room. I opened my beer with a satisfying crack and rose from my spot to knock the side of the aluminum can against everyone else's standing around me. Vic, Jaime, Tony, and Mike of course, all members of the notorious Pierce the Veil. As I looked around I noticed the smiles plastered on the faces of my own mates, Jack, Justin, Gabe, and Nick, a new addition to Sleeping with Sirens.

I had just tipped my head back along with the can and swallowed a big gulp of the fizzy drink when I heard an unfamiliar voice fill the air.

"You're not getting started without us, are you?"

A deep laugh followed the words and I heard a couple people holler out in greeting. I set my drink down on the low risen coffee table placed in front of the couch, too caught up in seeing who had spoken to worry about making rings on the dingy wood.

Caleb Shomo and the rest of Beartooth had found our hangout spot for the evening, spontaneously deciding to join in which didn't seem to bother anyone in here. Certainly not me.