A Few Days More - Sanders Sides

The Day Venom Rising Came to Play

Trigger Warnings: 🚫

I gruffly slammed my cereal bowl against our long kitchen table. It was a few minutes past 1:00 am and I have a pounding headache. I had another nightmare tonight. Not nearly as bad as my night terror last week, but enough to keep me awake.

I didn't want to wake Roman up, only for us to stay up for three hours until I get back to sleep. Which is what usually happens when I have a nightmare. But, he's got an audition at noon. He'll need all the rest he can get.

So, I drown my sorrows and try to forget about my nightmare, with cereal.

Crashing down into a seat, I lazily stabbed my spoon into the bowl. I blankly looked at it, not having the energy or willpower to get my hand to grab the spoon and put it in my mouth. I was just too tired. I hate having nightmares.

There were no lights on, the house was warm, and my pajamas were like a comforting hug. Everything was just making me sleepier. I couldn't hold my eyes open anymore. Just placing my head on the table and drifting off to sleep.

Noises started to come from the hallway. It wasn't super loud, just enough to wake me from my light sleep. I slowly looked up, squinting my eyes to try to make out the figure walking through the room. They had something in their hand. Something big.

Obviously, they didn't see me either. They just walked by me, constantly looking back to see if they had woken anyone up. "Hello?" I groggily called out. The person stopped dead in their tracks, turning to me while hugging whatever was in their hands.

"Virgil?" Their unforgettable voice called back.

"Damion?" I said again. He sighed, reaching into his pocket for his phone and turning on his flashlight. Now that I was able to see, he was dressed in a slightly ripped yellow shirt with a leather jacket. He had black jeans and combat boots on. The thing he was holding was a guitar case.

"What the hell are you doing out here at 4:00 in the morning, dude?" He asked me, taking a seat in the chair next to me. I looked at my bowl of cereal. Everything in it had become mush. It was revolting to just look at.

"Had a nightmare. Didn't want Roman to lose sleep, so I came out here and ended up falling asleep again." I lightly chuckled. Damion just sighed, obviously upset about something. His phone buzzed, prompting him to check it.

"I gotta go," He whispered, grabbing the guitar case and heading for the door.

"Wait, wait, wait!" I stopped him, standing up. "You don't just get to walk out that door AFTER intriguing my interests. Why the hell do you have guitar case and where the hell are you going?" Damion laughed, grabbing a bowler hat from off our coat rack and placing it atop his head.

"Why don't you come with me and find out?" He suggested, his smirk practically glowing. I was taken a bit by surprise. I looked down at my clothes. Nightmare Before Christmas pajama bottoms, Fall Out Boy T-Shirt, and my jacket. "You look fine. If anything, you'll be the best dressed." He told me.

Taking his advice, I slipped on some shoes by the front door and headed out with Damion. The cold night air hit me like a truck, making my entire spine quiver. Damion giggled at me as he loaded his guitar into his car.

We both got in his car. I listened to the car's struggling engine as it whirled to life. Damion seemed thankful that his car actually started as he pulled out of the driveway and zipped down the road. "Mind explaining where we're going so this feels less like a kidnapping?" I asked.

"Hey, it isn't a kidnapping, if you volunteer to go!" He corrected me with a laugh. "We're heading to a friend's house. I've only told Remus this so far but, I'm in a band." He explained. My mouth fell open. A band?! Why didn't Damion tell me! Does he not know my favorite music comes from bands.

"Damion, that's incredible!" I squealed with excitement.

"Geez, Patton. Geek out much?" He joked, turning the corner.

"What kind of music do you guys play?"

"Mainly covers right now. We're trying to get our drummer's sister to write us an actual song, but until then, My Chemical Romance covers, Falling in Reverse, Green Day, Evanescence. Stuff like that." He explained. I could feel myself geek out more and more by the minute. I was practically bubbling over with excitement.

"What's your band called?" I asked.

"Well, it took a lot of discussions. But we've decided we are Venom Rising!" Damion said with glee. We pulled into someone's ratty-looking driveway. The garage door was open and a bunch of music equipment was laid out.

We got out of the car. While I waited for Damion to grab his guitar, I surveyed the other band members. There was the drummer, who was currently painting the band's logo on the front of his drums. The bass guitarist was plugging in his guitar and the lead singer was drinking something with steam floating off of it, trying to warm up his vocals.

"Come on," Damion encouraged, walking with me inside the garage. "Hey, guys! Sorry, I'm late. But hey, I brought an audience member to make up for it!" Damion laughed. All the other members turned to me. Red hot embarrassment flooded my face as the singer came up to me.

"Like your shirt," He said, reaching out his hand for a shake. "Damion's talked a lot about you. I'm Henry, Damion's older brother." As soon as he said that, I looked at Damion. He nodded while plugging in his guitar. The resemblance was so obvious. They had the same brown eyes, the only difference being Damion's one yellow eye. Their hair was the same color, their face structure was the same. Everything about them was practically the same.

"Nice to finally meet you," I finally said, coming out of my shock. Henry laughed, walking over to his microphone and making sure it was on.

I sat down in the corner, on top of something that I thought was a mini-fridge. The bass guitarist and drummer took their places as they made sure everything was ready. "How about we do a classic song for our first audience member?" Henry suggested. The drummer nodded, beating his sticks together to cue the others into playing.

Immediately, I recognized the beat as "Novocaine" by Fall Out Boy. I quietly cheered to myself as I watched them play, my smile never leaving my face once.