The Distance Between Us (Book Two ✓)

thirteen

BEAU

Rey is a powerhouse.

I can't help but grin as she tips her head back, skin slick under the spotlight, and belts out her most impressive note of the night. Her raspy voice bellows, full of emotion and pain, over the audience as I basically watch the crowd fall for her one by one. Beside me, Rocco nods his head at me.

"You were right about her," He chuckles, the dollar signs glistening in his eyes. I ignore it, knowing I won't let him push her the way the label did me. She'll have someone watching her back. "The band is okay, she'd do better with your guys."

I shrug. Her guys are okay. Scott is decent on bass and Cap is actually pretty impressive on the drums. But Rickie, the guitar player, can't compete with me. Few can, I smirk to myself.

No matter how good they are, though, Rey will always outshine them with the voice she has.

As the audience roars with approval, Rey wraps up her set, taking a dramatic bow in the center of the stadium stage. Breathing heavily into the mic, she turns to me off stage and smiles hugely. I can practically feel her "first concert" high from all the way over here.

"Alright y'all, you know what time it is!" Rey ramps up the energy in the stadium even higher, interacting naturally with the fans. "I want to hear your biggest, loudest, New York welcome for your favorite guitar player..." As excited screaming pierces the air, the venue practically shakes and my heart begins to race.

Adrenaline pumping through my veins, all that I can hear anymore is my own heart beating, pounding even louder than the sound of the crowd. With as many shows as I've done in the past, none of them felt like this.

Guess that's what happens when you're always drunk off your ass.

Slinging my guitar over my shoulder, I feel Rocco pat my back as I step forward onto the stage for the first time in years.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Beau Lewis!" Rey shouts, joining in the applause as I get comfortable, my guys beginning to play our first song right away on stage behind me. It's weird to be there with them, instead of the guys from MisFits, but I don't let myself perseverate on the thought.

I give Rey a one-armed hug, muttering into her ear so that she can hear me above the cheers. "Nice job out there, Rey-Rey. Ready to see how it's really done?" I wink at her sour expression before my fingers find their place over my guitar strings.

Finding my rhythm, I strum away for a few seconds before finally approaching the mic. I hesitate, staring out over thousands of faceless people. Singing in front of the crowd is new to me, I only ever sang back up for Jace before. Not because I wasn't good, but because Jace was just better - something I hate to admit, even if it is true.

Tentatively, I open my mouth and let the words flow out of me. Within seconds, I'm stunned into silence as a mixture of voices continue the lyrics without needing to follow my own.

I take a second, just gawking out at the audience like an idiot, a big smile plastered on my face. MisFits was huge, don't get me wrong. Our fans could sing our songs from start to finish most of the time, needing very little help, if any at all.

But this is different. This is all me, only me.

And they're still here.