Significance (4th in the Encore!!! tour)

Chapter Twelve

Amy Glenn's POV

Getting ready for our tour was the most fun I've ever had. Poe's Raven had one tour bus and Significance had their own. Oh, wait, I'm part of Significance... I've seriously got to get used to that...

Ahem, moving on.

Brielle was the adult on board. She had this master suite thing towards the back of the bus while Brighton, Meth, Adele, and I had bunks that were located in the hall on the way to her room, by the bathroom. Brighton had one top bunk and Adele had the other, even though we had to put up a kiddie fence to keep her from falling out when she rolled around in her sleep. I had the lower bunk of Adele's bunk bed while Meth was sharing with Brighton. It was just spacious enough to be comfortable.

In the front of the bus was a small kitchen and a large lounge room. The couches were dark green, and the décor had a forest theme. We had unlimited amounts of musical equipment in here; it was like a dream.

The driver was a really nice elderly man named Stan. He was a widower; he loved his job, and really enjoyed Adele's company. She had taken to him immediately, and he became her surrogate grandfather. I think he missed his own kids; a son and two daughters who had gotten married and moved from the state when their mother died. This broke my heart because he seemed so kind and gentle; he didn't deserve that kind of treatment. No one does.

Our first day on the bus was really hectic. Adele wasn't feeling good, Brighton forgot his teddy bear at his mom's (that's a story for another time), Meth almost left his phone on the girls' bus, and I almost kidnapped Miracle and Calypso without knowing it. It was a mess. Thank God Brielle was there to fix everything and Stan was ready to pull out. At the rate we were going, we might have been late to the first venue!

The first stop wasn't too far from home. We were going to be in NYC, playing at Carnegie Hall. This was an honor, and we were really excited. Charlotte Tori, the girl who was babysitting while we toured, was the only person other than my family that I trusted with my daughter, especially since she was sick. The young teen swore that she would stay on our bus with the twins and the triplets. She was handling six little girls between the ages of one and three, but she was such a natural it seemed like she was only handling one.

"Alright, baby girl, just go to sleep. Charlotte is going to be right here if you need anything, okay? Mommy is just a call away and so are Glow Worm and Daddy," I soothed, brushing a hand over my daughter's clammy forehead.

"You three are to be as quiet as little mice, okay?" Terra informed her almost-birthday girls. "Behave for Charlotte."

"Okay, Mommy!" They chorused, sitting down on the floor to play with their dolls. Terra could only roll her eyes. Kaylee, the youngest, was apparently quite the handful as well as the ringleader.

Raven kissed both of her twins on the forehead before walking out, leaving the well-equipped teenager with her twenty two month olds.

How the girl handled six children under the age of four, I would never know. I could barely handle the one...

Raven and I walked backstage together, avoiding the camera flashes and paparazzi. They were very intense and in your face. The backstage area was as classy as I had anticipated. Carnegie Hall was an esteemed venue, and I just hoped I could live up to the expectations.

"Hey, Ames," Raven bumped my shoulder, causing me to look at her one last time. "Break a leg and have fun. You'll do great!" I smiled at my role model as we went our separate ways, realizing we weren't all that different. Though Raven was a certified genius when it came to anything music-related, I was just as in love with the music and the passion as she was. Besides, I had a message for all of the people who listened to us. Someone had to remind them that they are important and worth the world.

"Significance, you're on in five!" One of the crew members called over the din. Hair and Make-up surrounded me like a swarm, adjusting the drape-like green dress and the dark eyeshadow that accented my light blue irises. The dress didn't do much for the early spring chill, considering the sleeves were only three quarters and it only came to mid-thigh, but the Poe's Raven girls told me the spotlight would make me feel like I was in a sauna.

Meth caught my eye as the crowd around me dissipated and I made my way over to him and Brighton, who was wearing the dumbest looking hat I had ever seen. It was a cross between a fedora and a beanie, which I hadn't thought possible. I looked at Meth to see what his thoughts were, but all I got was a roll of eyes.

Apparently, he had already fought that battle and lost.

The screams were deafening, and it gave me an adrenaline rush to know that I would be on that stage performing in front of them. My stomach twisted in knots. I was nervous as hell, but I was ready.

"Alright, opening act in five, four, three, two...!"

Terra pushed us out on stage and my first reaction was to shield my eyes. The lights were blinding and the noise was overcoming, but I tapped my mic gently anyway.

"Hey, is this thing on?" I asked, trying not to let my voice waver like it wanted to. The crowd screamed in response. "I'm sorry, what? I can't quite hear you," I continued as Meth and Brighton strapped on their respective guitars. The crowd roared again, and I smiled. "I'm Amy, that's Brighton, and that's Meth, and we are Significance!"

The response to these words was overwhelming: screaming, shouting, chanting of our names... it was heaven.

"So, we've never done this before, and we were hoping you could help us by singing along to the first song. You might know it, it's been on the radio lately. Here's our first single, Significance," I shouted, getting prepared to sing the lyrics to the song.

We went through it flawlessly, and I could feel the energy in the room rising. Pulling my microphone out of the stand, I walked over to the front of the stage and stood where everyone could see me.

"Who in here has ever been broken?" I asked as Meth and Brighton played the intro to the next song. "Who in here has ever been hurt? Who here has ever been pushed to the ground and tasted defeat?"

"Can you hear me? / I'm screaming at you loud and clear. / Are you listening? / Silence is my only fear. / Do you recognize / the broken bones and broken heart / that drew you in, / that you tore apart?" The music adjusted to the pre-chorus. "Slow down / or you'll regret it. / Amnesia / couldn't make you forget this..."

Holding my mic out to the audience so that they could sing along, I went into the chorus of the AJ Tyler & the Kiss song, "Dear in Headlights". "And here I am, / like a deer in headlights! / Welcoming the oncoming crash! / I'll be caught / in a collision / that will grate my heart in half. / You didn't watch where you were going, / you were drunk on your own smile, / and you ran the red / going eighty in an empty thirty five... / and then you saw me in your headlights."

I made my way over to Meth and stayed close for the next verse. "Did you even try to swerve? / Try to lessen the pain? / You'd think I'd know the answer, / since I was watching as you came / barreling closer / with no pressure on the brakes. / Did you mean to crush my heart / that was only yours to take?" I started to gain momentum, jumping up and down with the crowd as we sang the pre-chorus and chorus again, only to quiet for the bridge.

"You didn't watch where you were going, / you were somewhere in your mind: / you were driving down to give me / a simple, sweet goodbye..." Whoever was on sound effects allowed the speakers to emit a horrifying screech, after which we surged back into full volume for the last chorus.

We didn't let them have a moment to cool down, immediately starting "Summer Nights," also by AJ Tyler & the Kiss. It was cute and upbeat; it got the crowd singing and the energy escalated to a sky high level. It was an amazing feeling, and there was no way I would ever give this up. For a first time, that was pretty special. It could only get better from here.

By the time we were walking off the stage and introducing Poe's Raven, the crowd was chanting our names. It was an adrenaline rush like no other. We had just been heard. Not listened to, heard. And it was incredible.