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"Has anyone seen my Fireball? I could have sworn I brought some..." Josh, half ready to go out on stage, stood over a duffle bag as he rummaged through it looking for the cinnamon whiskey he favored before shows, "Sam?" He called out.
"Don't look at me." Sam shrugged as he walked by towards a coffee machine, his bare feet making swishing sounds on the floor. Josh straightened back up and rubbed his chin. Danny shuffled out of an adjacent bathroom, fully dressed and show ready. He tended to be the first one ready for anything in the band, but that wasn't saying much. The Kiszkas, especially the Kiszka twins, were always late.
"What are you looking for?" Danny bent down to tug on his shoes, looking up at Josh through the almost black coils of his hair spilled over his face. Jake strode in before Josh could answer, dressed in a black and gold jacket with tassels, pants to match, and his signature pointed boots. Josh raised an eyebrow at him as he approached with the Fireball bottle upturned in his hand as he drank deeply from it.
"That..." Josh nodded towards Jake and rolled his eyes before snatching the bottle from him. Jake simply grinned, not because he annoyed his twin... though he did find that quite amusing, but because he was in a fantastic mood. He had invited Alex and Avery to the show that evening, and he was particularly anxious to see them because he hadn't had the chance to since "Arizona" first played on the radio the week before. Avery, of course, had flooded his phone with endless messages of gratitude and excitement, and they had talked several times on the phone... Avery called every time she heard the song come on at work or at The Parlor or in the car... but Jake wanted to see her. He wanted to see her face light up like it did in the studio when it all clicked into place.
"What's got you all smiley?" Danny stood up straight again and pointed a drum stick in Jake's direction. Jake shrugged, his smile softening out into a cursive line as he joined Sam at the coffee machine.
"Avery's coming tonight." Sam answered for him over his shoulder as he stirred honey into his coffee.
"Ah, well that explains it then..." Danny wiggled his eyebrows, and Jake gently pushed Sam aside to pour his own coffee, staring at him incredulously.
"How do you already know things like this? Huh?" Jake playfully swatted at his little brother who retaliated with a shove, both of them breaking into laughter.
"Because I'm a magician." Sam declared with grandeur. Danny tossed his drum stick at him.
"It's true, I've seen it... He's a regular Houdini..." Josh raised his eyebrows and nodded, pointing at Sam before taking a shot of his Fireball.
"Ah, but Houdini was an illusionist, see..." Jake spun around and motioned with his hand as he carried his coffee across the room. Josh waved his fingers in the air flippantly.
"Tomato, Tomato..."
"They're here!" Jake suddenly jerked, spilling some of his coffee as he looked at his phone screen. Before anyone could respond, there was a knock at the green room door. Danny was closest to the door, so he leaned over to open it, and a smile warmed his face.
