Snow

Chapter Nine

Watching Andy jump around on stage, I smiled to myself and forced my foot to stop tapping with nerves. This was our first major gig, and I was excited as hell, but I couldn't help the butterflies that were flying around in my stomach. We'd spent the morning wandering around the town, me taking in all the familiar scenery and dragging Andy to all the places I'd missed. I'd wanted to visit my family, but knew I'd have more time the next day. Andy had agreed to come with me, and I couldn't wait to see the look on their faces when I turned up without notice and with a boy in tow.

Black Veil Brides had all of two songs left to their set and I felt sick with nerves the closer it got the time for us to take their place. I knew that the moment I was on stage the nerves would go away, and the adrenaline would kick in. But, until then, I was a bag of nerves. I went backstage and took a swig from my bottle of water, dropping down next to an anxious looking Flynn. "Nervous?" I asked, seeing the slightly pale tint to his skin and the nervous tapping of his drum sticks against the couch.

He raised an eyebrow at me in surprise. "Are you not?" He looked surprised and I laughed, shaking my head.

"Of course I am - I'm a bag of fucking nerves. But seriously though, the moment we get out there it'll be like normal. Up-scaled, but just as amazing - if not more so." He smiled and squeezed my hand before reaching for a beer and taking a long drink. Handing the bottle to me, I downed the rest of it and jumped to my feet as I heard the music come to a stop.

"Okay guys!" I heard Andy yell, his voice rough after all the work it'd been doing for the past few hours. "Your next headlining band are on next - After The Hour. Now, if you guys don't know them already, I'll tell you something about them. Those guys are fucking awesome!" I grinned and tapped my fingers against my leg in time to the nervous tapping of Flynn's drumsticks. The rest of the band ran in, looking nervous but excited. "Now get ready for this, because they will blow your fucking mind." Andy was yelling again, and I struggled to keep breathing evenly. "You guys were great tonight, and we'll see you outside for signings alongside After The Hour when their set is done. Thank you and welcome... After The Hour!" With that, I saw a sweaty looking Andy run towards me and calmed down a little as he swept me up into his arms.

"Good luck, Lala. You guys will be great." I kissed him quickly before jumping to my feet and fixing my hair, following the others as they ran on stage.

"Helloo London!" I yelled, grabbing the microphone off of the stand and holding it tightly. I'd been right - the moment I was on stage, the butterflies and nerves ceased to exist. "How are you guys doing?" They were yelling and screaming, and the whole room felt pumped full of adrenaline. "We're After The Hour, and god, I hope you love us as much as we love you." With that, the beat of the drums started up and my rush shot through the roof. At this point, the word nervous was no longer a part of my vocabulary.

*

We played for what felt like hours on end, but was probably just over an hour, before I took a break between songs to run to the back of the stage and grab a water bottle. Downing half of it, I squealed and spat it all back out as someone poured something cold down the back of my shirt. "You fucking bastard." I yelled, smacking the side of Flynn'd head as he let go of the back of my top. Rolling my eyes, I took another swig of water and headed back to the front. Turning around to show the audience my now soaked top, I pointed over at Flynn with a mix between a grin and a scowl. "That guy, Flynn O'Hadley, is a fucking twat." I said, before gesturing for him to start up the beat.

*

I jumped around and shouted and sang until my throat was raw, relying on the crowd's screams to supply my energy. When my throat got too dry, I'd hold the microphone out to the audience before downing some water and returning the microphone to my own mouth. I was exhausted and sweaty and the back of my damp shirt was sticking to me, showing off my black bra as the patch spread around to the front of my shirt. By the end of our set, I felt just about ready to jump into bed, but knew I still had a few hours of signing to get through.