Alex's Point of View
A rush of adrenaline pumped through my veins, filling each of my movements with more energy than I thought was possible. We were performing at the Boston Calling Festival and to say I had been nervous about it was the understatement of the year.
Most of the acts who were to perform the same day as us had the same, pop style, so our music was definitely going to be different. I had no clue how people would react to it - sure, we had gained a big following after Voices was released, but what if none of our fans were here right now?
It also didn't help that we had to stand by and watch the other acts. It's not that we didn't think they were talented - most of them were - but we've always felt that a lot of current artists don't hold the same appreciation for music as we do; a lot of them don't even know how to play an instrument.
I don't know what I'd do without my guitar on stage with me. I don't use it for every song, but when I do, I feel that little bit of extra confidence surge through me. Now, playing the familiar chords of Voices, I felt at home. The stage always gave me a sense of belonging and singing allowed me to become the person I wanted to be.
All of my worries faded away the second a chorus of cheers erupted at the sound of my guitar. No one seemed to care that our sound was so different; most of them seemed to have heard Voices before and were singing along at the top of their lungs.
I was feeding off of the energy of both the crowd and my bandmates, jumping around as I sang. Voices was one of my favourite songs of ours because it was upbeat, but still contained the message I wanted to give out to the people who cared enough to figure it out.
"When will the voices stop making trouble inside?
If I look in the mirror will I see through their eyes?
When will the voices in my head just stop and let me rest?
I can’t take it
Here come the voices again"
The song came to an end all too quickly and it was time to leave the stage. We could only play one song, but most other performers were in the same boat unless they were a headliner like Khalid.
"Thank you everyone. We are The Renegades and we love you!" I yelled out, smiling like a maniac at the crowd. Everyone instantly cheered at the top of their lungs, and my heart melted once I caught sight of a sign in the crowd dedicated to us. I hadn't thought anyone would have been a fan of us.
As we left the stage, I was still fizzing over with energy. It was like I drank too much coffee because I was practically bouncing on my feet.
We didn't pay much attention to anyone once we had gotten off the stage safely in order to do our post performance routine. We huddled together, despite the fact that there were only three of us, and each said our favourite part about the performance. It helped us keep a strong bond.
"My favourite part was seeing a girl hold up a sign dedicated to us at the end" I breathed out, trying my best not to jump up and down. There were muffled sounds around us of people coming and going, but we blocked everything out.
"My favourite part was you hitting that high note. I literally got chills" London, our drummer, stated. I giggled at her enthusiasm as I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. I always got embarrassed when my friends complimented something I did differently.
"Well my favourite part was the fact that people actually liked us" Jackson, our bass player, said while laughing. London started laughing with him and I smiled at the two, thankful that I got to do this with my two best friends.
As we pulled apart, a group of five boys approaching us caught my attention. I nudged London and Jackson to get their attention and smiled when they reached us.
"Hey, we just wanted to say you guys were amazing out there" one of the boys - whose hair was bleach blonde - complimented. I smiled widely at him, slightly surprised that they had the confidence to come over and talk to us. I was assuming they were some of the fans that had been given all access passes or backstage passes.
"Thank you!" I exclaimed. The energy still flowing through me gave me a confidence boost that I wouldn't usually have, making it a lot easier to talk to them.
"I'm Corbyn, by the way" he spoke again, waving his hand slightly. "This is Daniel" he continued, pointing to a boy with brown hair and vivid blue eyes. "Zach" he said, pointing to the one who appeared to be the youngest, based on his baby face. "Jonah" Corbyn continued, now pointing at the boy who appeared to be the oldest. "And that's Jack" he finished, pointing to the boy standing slightly behind the others with really curly hair. It reminded me of noodles, but he probably got that a lot.
"I'm Alex. This is London and Jackson" I said, gesturing to each of my friends. Jackson nodded at them and London gave a small wave. "Wait, aren't you guys from that band? Oh, what's it called?" London began, looking to me for help.
As soon as she said that, it clicked in my head. "Oh yeah! Isn't it like Why Don't We or something like that?" I rambled, not paying much attention. Jackson chuckled slightly at us and shook his head. "Slightly offensive guys" he said.
My eyes widened in both shock and fear as the five boys laughed slightly. "Oh my God I'm so sorry" I blurted, kicking myself for not thinking what I said through. It wasn't exactly a confidence boost when two girls speant ages trying to remember the name of your band.
"Its cool. At least you know us right?" Zach said, smiling widely at me. I glanced at London awkwardly but she didn't seem to care as much as I did. "Well, kind of. I haven't exactly heard any of your songs. It's not really our style, y'know?" I said, rambling slightly again.
"It's all good, don't worry about it. To be fair, we bad never heard of you guys before" Jonah spoke up. He seems like the sort of person who would be more responsible and take control of the situation, but maybe that's just because he was the oldest.
"I have to ask, are you British?" Daniel asked eagerly. London, Jackson and I all laughed at this. Apparently my thick accent wasn't a complete give away.
"Yeah. Ironically, I grew up in London and then became best friends with a girl called London when I moved out to LA" I laughed, exchanging a look with my best friend. It had become and inside joke now with us.
"That's actually so sick" Corbyn exclaimed. I smiled brightly at them all. They each seemed to get overly excited about the slightest thing, but in a refreshing way.
My eyes landed on the boy standing slightly behind the others: Jack. He hadn't spoken this whole time and I wondered why. Maybe he was nervous about their performance.
We spent the rest of the time before the guys' performance talking and messing around. I could tell by the end of it that they were all great guys; they sure as hell made us laugh a lot. I and no clue if we would ever see them again, but it was nice to meet someone else in the industry who was a genuine person and c at ed as much about music as we did.
I only hope that our paths will cross someday in the future.
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A/n Ik I said I'd update weekly but I'm excited about this and I can't stop writing oof. I also want it to get somewhere in the storyline so here we are with part 2.
I'd also like to point out that Corbyn always autocorrects to Cornyn and I always type Lola instead of Alex thanks to my last book and it's very annoying
Ily all <3
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Voices • Jack Avery
Fanfiction"My head's chained down by the voices" Or, in which Alex Summers - a girl who uses music to become the person she wishes to be - meets none other than Jack Avery. As the pair cross paths, their futures are forever changed.
