My Little Decoy

♪ All The Trouble Caused ♪ {37}

"I can't let myself regret such selfishness.
My pain and all the trouble caused,
No matter how long
I believe that there's hope
Buried beneath it all." - Let The Flames Begin

one month later...

"Weep for yourself, my man, you'll never be what is in your heart. Weep, little lion man, you're not as brave as you were at the start. Rate yourself and rake yourself, take all of the courage you have left. And waste it on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head.

But it was not your fault but mine. And it was your heart on the line. I really fucked it up this time, didn't I, my dear? Didn't I, my-"

All at once, Drake's guitar picking came to a stop as silence filled the crowd, anxiously keeping them on their feet. Gabriel smirked, his lips brushing ever so lightly against the microphone. Turning back to shoot me a glance, he gave an imperceptible bob of the head and I smirked back, crashing down my sticks to the set as the band joined in a wave of sound.

Xander and Drake's guitars clashed but intertwined, the melody crashing into the air. As they died down and made way for Zac's entrance, his bass came in such vigor. I matched it equally with my drumming, loving the feel of wood beneath my fingertips, the sweat rolling off my palms.

Blake's sticks took some time to get used to, I'll admit, but now it was second nature to me. Almost as second nature as Rev had been. They weren't my old pair, but they were now a part of me, a part that I knew undeniably I couldn't get rid of.

Gabriel danced around on stage, his microphone in one hand as he banged his head, running from end of the makeshift stage to the other, high-fiving people in the crowd. Once his entrance neared, he pulled back, throwing his free hand into the air and singing, "Tremble for yourself, my man, you know that you have seen this all before. Tremble, little lion man, you'll never settle any of your scores. Your grace is wasted in your face, your boldness stands alone among the wreck. Now learn from your mother or else spend your days biting your own neck."

Cameras on opposite ends of the stage followed our every move; I tried not to be so engrossed in them, I tried not to get nervous. Doing a little flip of my stick, I grinned as I caught it. The crowd's energy was tapping into ours, feeding us with exhilaration.

"But it was not your fault but mine, and it was your heart on the line. I really fucked it up this time. Didn't I, my dear? But it was not your fault but mine. And it was your heart on the line. I really fucked it up this time. Didn't I, my dear? Didn't I, my dear?"

The instruments dwindled down as our voices took over, harmonizing seamlessly with one another. I pressed my lips against the microphone to my side, releasing my soprano range against the lower octaves of the guys. Rather than covering the original Mumford and Sons song, we followed the Tonight Alive cover to get that edgy hard rock vibe. It seemed to work; the crowd was loving it.

I dropped back on the vocals, returning to my kit as I slammed both sticks onto the pads. Feeling the in-ear monitors I was given before every performance jostle in my ears, I toned back just a hair. Headbanging, Gabriel sauntered over to Xander, his back pressed against the guitarist as he sang, "But it was not your fault but mine. And it was your heart on the line. I really fucked it up this time. Didn't I, my dear?"

Gabriel peeled himself away as Xander continued his barrage of strums alongside Drake, Zac just close behind. The vocalist began jumping up and down, his hands gesturing for the audience to sing along. Their voices slightly off-pitch but loud and excited echoed in the daylight.