Face Down ✓ | Patrick Stump

Chapter Twenty One

Dedication to tomorrow_the_dalek for reading all of this in like a day!

I don't feel any shame, I won't apologize

When there ain't nowhere you can go

Running away from pain when you've been victimized

Tales from another broken home

I swear to God I have never related to that album more in my life since my father died. For all I know I might be St. Jimmy myself. As the song finally ended, my thoughts were broken as my earbuds were flung out of my ear. I was immediately thrown across the backseat of the white van.

"Hey Aaron, learn to drive!" Connor yelled. We were currently in the back of an old white van that Connor had borrowed from his uncle. There were no seatbelts in the back, and the seats were ripped, leaving foam to spill out and springs to stick up. It wasn't comfortable, but it held our shit and it drove.

"Sorry, I'm nervous!" He contested.

"I think I'd be concerned if you weren't, but I'm more concerned for my safety. And my drums and I would both like to make it to our first gig in one piece, so please drive like a human being." Emma had said from next to me. I moved off of her, but she grabbed me and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug that she knew I hated. I was currently on vocal rest and wasn't supposed to talk or make any noises, and she was taking advantage of it. I finally gave in and let her be my human seatbelt as Aaron threw us around as he "drove" to the bar where our gig was.

Although we were all underage, we were able to get in because of our performance. Our plan was to play some covers, including many Paramore songs, as well as the one song we had written. Thank God I had quickly recovered from my fever, or else today would have been hell. However, the cold sweat I had wasn't a side effect left over from my fever, but rather one from my anxiety. Once we got to the bar and started unloading the van, Emma had to carry everything for me because my arms were shaking so much that I couldn't lift anything.

"Relax." She said as she placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's our first gig, not a single person outside of our friends know that we exist. No one will care if we suck. It's a team effort, this whole thing isn't sitting on your shoulders." I nodded in response since I still wasn't able to say anything.

"About that whole no one knows we exist thing, do you think we should change that?" Aaron chimed in, as Emma and I gave him a look that said no duh. "Well damn, I don't need your sass. We'll make a Facebook and Twitter and Instagram stuff once we finish the gig. And maybe a YouTube or something. Just focus on tonight."

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Surprisingly, none of us messed up. Well, at least not that badly. We made it through all of our songs without sounding like a train wreck, and we actually sounded pretty good. By the end of the night, a good portion of the crowd was drunk, anyway. But some of those who were actually sober took out their cell phones and videotaped us playing 'Afraid', and some of them even sang along during the last chorus. To think that people actually liked our music that much was enough to make me smile every time I thought about it. We stuck around afterward to talk to some of those that did. Well, Aaron and I talked to them, while Connor and Emma decided to take shots with them, despite the fact that they were underage. Connor was tipsy, but Emma was flat out drunk, and I had the job of taking her from the van to the apartment, as Aaron had to make sure Connor didn't do anything stupid in his state.

"Jesus, Emma, just walk in a straight line!" I whisper-yelled at her and I tried to guide her to her building. It was after 2 in the morning, and I didn't want to yell. Emma had different plans.