The Gig (lrh)

Chapter 7 ~ "Nice ride."

~Luke~

I paced back and forth across the stage constantly pulling my phone to eye level to check the time. It was almost four and she still wasn't here. I have to admit, I was pretty upset.

"Calm down, Luke!" I heard Michael shout from the opposite side of the stage. I'm sure he was trying to make me feel better but it was honestly just stressing me out further. "We're gonna do great." His voice was quieter this time, probably noticing he was too loud and it wasn't helping with my stress.

He didn't even know why I was stressed. The show wasn't the problem. It wasn't a big crowd at all, we had played much bigger before, it was the thought that Charlie wasn't going to be there that made me nervous.

Ashton banged on his drums to get the crowds attention and introduced us. I checked time and it was exactly four. Charlie still wasn't there. My mood dropped just as my heart sank deeper in my chest.

"I'm Ashton this is Luke, Calum, and Michael! And we're 5 Seconds of Summer!" The small crowd wailed and screamed with all they could before we began the intro to our first song. It was always thrilling, playing a show. But the thought of Charlie not caring enough to be there dragged me down to the depths. I just wanted her to show up, even if they meant we were just friends, I just wanted to see her again.

-
~Charlie~
To say I was running late was an understatement to say the least. So my day begins with Skylar jumping up and down on the sofa he and I had fell asleep on last night, asking if we could go to breakfast. It was only 11:30 A.M. and Luke's show wasn't until four, so I had plenty of time. I didn't even bother changing my clothes, we just left for breakfast, or more so brunch.

I thought it was a good idea until I remembered that Mr. Prude (Christian) eats slower than molasses, so breakfast turned into lunch.

By the time I got back to the apartment, it was 1:45 P.M. I still had plenty of time to get ready and possibly take a nap. Nope. When I looked at my phone, which I left plugged into the wall when I went to breakfast, I saw five missed calls from my little brother.

"Shit shit shit." I cursed under my breath.
You see, my brother and I were no longer allowed to talk to each other after my parent had kicked me out when I was seventeen for 'being a disappointment' and 'not going in the right direction' and with that, they didn't want my brother looking up to me, so they kept up separated. But whenever my parents weren't home, Jimmy would call me and we could talk for hours on end. The thing is, he was never alone, so when I saw his contact name on my screen, I had to answer.

We caught up. I asked him about school, he asked me about the band, and we exchanged for what felt like minutes, but it quickly turned into hours. I glanced at my wall clock and saw the time. 3:38. I love Jimmy, but I needed to go if I was going to get there on time. We said our sad goodbyes and I quickly jumped off of my bed and into the bathroom to get ready.

I left my hair natural, not having enough time to do anything. I didn't brush it because that would make it frizzy, but it looked fine. Grungy. Ain't no problem with that. I put on my usual make up that consisted of winged eyeliner, mascara, concealer, and powder. I paced back to my room to pick out clothes. I went with black high wasted shorts with a NOFX t-shirt that I tied back to match the height of my shorts and of course, my usual converse. It was 4:01 when I finished. I grabbed my keys and rushed out to my beat up Subaru. It was on sale for $1500 and I thought it was a good deal. It actually turned out to be a piece of shit, but hey, it got me from point a to point b. I stuck the keys in the ignition and it luckily started - sometimes it doesn't - and I could finally relax. It wasn't too far of a drive and I really needed to calm myself down. I was generally a calm person, but when it came to being late, I couldn't take it.