Nowhere But You

Chapter 29

Andrea looked up to have her face sprinkled with tiny beams of light that danced on the skin of her forehead, her cheeks and when they reached her eyes it made her want to close them. These drops of light not only graced her, but the entire place as well. A mirrorball hung from the ceiling, spinning around and showering the venue with color. She smiled with her mouth closed, in her own particular manner. In that very moment, she was happy.

"We never had one of these." Uttered Johnny, next to her.

"Not very you, I must say." She added.

"I think it's a nice touch." Robin playfully stuck her head between the couple.

"A fucking disco ball?" River voiced from the stage, making all heads turn to him. "What is this, the fucking prom?" He scoffed, cynically.

"Did someone get up on the wrong foot today?" Questioned Andrea, innocently. Everyone else was already used to these bursts of character from River, at least for the past week when they had become more frequent. Robin hugged her arms in front of her, as she usually did when she was upset.

She obviously knew well what this was all about. River had been in a bit of a 'mood' for a week already, specifically towards her, but now it seemed to be transcending to everyone else.

She just wondered how long it would last.

"Seems like it," Robin mumbled as she looked up at the mirrorball again.

***

"Ready for something crazy?" Robin said into Andrea's ear.

"I missed this!" She smiled excitedly. Her heart was beating fast.

"Oh, no!" Robin laughed. "This is nothing like back home! You'll see!"

She was right. Andrea stared in shock at how the crowd roared when the band walked onstage. The venue was not much larger that the clubs back in Newtown, but the people were definitely more enthusiastic, if a bit rough. The show had just begun yet and people were already jumping, moshing and crowdsurfing. The band was playing tightly, the atmosphere was hot and smoky (even though it was cold outside) and all the attendance seemed to be having a blast.

That until the final encore, when, after their most popular, energetic song, it began 'raining' shoes, cups and various objects among the crowd and onto the stage.

Robin protectively grabbed Andrea by the arm, gently, and pulled her even further backstage.

"Why are they throwing stuff?" Andrea frowned.

"I don't know," Robin raised an eyebrow, her eyes still fixed on the stage, "but I hate it when they do."

A shoe propelled from the back of the venue, hitting Liz's bass drum right in the center, pushing her entire kit and her back. Luckily her drum raiser was wide enough and she didn't fall on her back, but it was a close call. Everyone gasped. Johnny looked back and forth at Liz and the audience, two times in what seemed like a second. All the while, things kept flying in from all directions.

"Hey. HEY!" Johnny yelled into his mic, "if you motherfuckers keep throwing shit at us, me and Nate are gonna meet you outside and you won't fucking like it!" For some reason he mentioned Nathan, maybe because he's the largest in the group. "There's a lady back there, come on!"

"You okay?" Nathan mouthed at Liz, who just kept laughing nervously, unsure on what to do.

"Y­-Yeah I am." She replied.

Eli just stood behind his amp, while River, as if unaware of the situation, kept staring down at his guitar, pretending to tune it. Tonight, as every night for the past week, he seemed inside his own little world. That until a sharp pain struck him in his forehead and he lost his balance for half a second. He didn't see what had happened and instinctively brought his hand to where he felt pain. He then looked at it: blood. Muffled among the crowd noises he heard Robin's voice calling for a medic.