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I watch Jace, puzzled. He responds with a cunning, knowing look, and starts playing a slow, punchy riff that explodes the crowd.
Oh. I see.
Jelly dashes to her drum kit, Tristan struts onto the stage, and Link dances after him. Starting the riff over, Jace gives me a wink and follows them.
I catch the edge of his shirt and kiss him on the cheek.
He makes a tortured face, as if I stabbed him in the heart (still playing the song), and gives me the quickest of pecks on my chin before walking backward onto the stage. He loves me, but music has a permanent hold on his heart. Much stronger than I could ever hope for. I don’t mind. I know how he feels right now. Playing for people who want to hear you is intoxicating beyond belief.
At the sight of Jace, the front rows rise in a frenzied welcome. This happens right between the verse and the chorus, and Link gets a chance to shake his head at Jace, who responds with a quick shrug and a beaming smile. One time he told me they weren’t that big of a deal. Liar.
ACD blazes through the first song, and for the first time ever, I see the audience partying in full swing from the start. We’ve had some well-established bands open for us that got a few shuffling feet at best. ACD might be a sub band, but Link knows how to engage the crowd, and the rest of them deliver such a riveting sound there’s nothing anyone can do but listen and go wild.
Hal stands beside me and shows me his phone screen. He’s scribbled a note for me.Something is different. He points at ACD.
I smile so wide it hurts the corners of my mouth. Yes, something is different—Jace. He’s dealt with some serious demons. He’s free. I’ve watched a few of ACD’s recorded performances. I’ve played with Jace once in the past as well. He’s always a professional on stage. He always wants to play for all to hear, but never did he seem this loose and happy to rock out before. This is the beginning of a new era for him and his band, and Project Viper had better watch out.
Hal elbows me in the side and shows me another message.Are you still planning on killing me for keeping it a secret that he was coming?
I mouth, “Yes,” and swipe his phone from him to type up a response.You’re the worst meddler ever and somebody needs to teach you a lesson. Again.
Laughing, he hugs me and shouts into my ear, “You seem different too.”
I am. I’m happy, and for once, I’m looking forward to being on stage as well.
I scribble another message to Hal.Show me their setlist.
He does.Wishesis last in their set. Excellent. I have some time to prepare and sow mayhem, as Hal once said.
I write one more note and relish Hal’s wary curiosity as he reads,Hook up my guitar to their outputs.
Track 40
Keep Up
Jace
Laurel’s watching from the side of the stage. I do my best to keep my eyes on the crowd, but I take every chance I can to glance at the girl who holds my heart. I was wrong. She cares. And she’s giving me another chance. I can’t believe it.
What blows me away, though, almost just as much as Laurel’s love, is the welcome we’re getting. The reception is warmer than at most of the shows we put on as the headliner, and the old, habitual part of me tries to resent it because it’s all thanks to Laurel and Vincent, but I forbid that resentment to take over. From now on, we’re doing whatever it takes. Not just whatever it takes from me, but with whatever help we can get as well. I owe it to my bandmates to avail ourselves of every opportunity.
Throughout the show, we’re all winged and elated like we haven’t been in a very long time. Even Tristan, typically cool on stage, engages with me in debauchery. We throw picks at each other, step on each other’s toes, headbang in sync, and so on. It’s a real blast. One that flies by way too fast.
“Thank you, thank you so much for such an incredibly warm welcome!” Link shouts to the crowd. “It’s been a gift to play for you tonight! We have one last zinger for you, then we’ll clear off the stage for the one you came to see.”
They cheer us with a passion that nearly brings tears to my eyes. This is what them dang Vipers do every single gig—light up the hearts and convert masses to their side. Somehow, we’ve finally learned to do that too. I look for Laurel again, hoping she sees this and understands what this means to me, but she’s gone. She and Vincent are up next, so it’s not surprising, but I feel torn all the same. Not only did I want her to hear how we’ve adjusted our song as a band, I’m still raw inside and cautious. We’re on talking terms again, and her playful kiss on the cheek has been smoldering on my skin this whole time, but I know we still have a long road ahead. Even then, my soul pops and sparkles like fireworks. I’m drunk on love and music.
Link signals for me to play again. Same as the opening song, I’m supposed to start and then they’ll join in, but before I even lift my pick, the air rings with the solo I’m supposed to play.
The crowd hushes down, as confused as I am for a second, because I’m not playing, but there is music. Is Laurel— No. It would be too much to hope she’d play with me. Still, holding my breath, I check both entrances to the stage. One side is all crew, and it’s the same story on the other entrance. What the…?
I whip around, and somehow, here she is beside me. A sweet trick. All the more stunning is the fact that somehow she managed to match my outfit—gray jeans, black boots, and a white T-shirt. Her peaches-and-cream hair is pulled into a disheveled bun and…no mask.
My bandmates catch up before my brain does and smoothly transition into their parts. Lucky for me the intro is kind of long, otherwise this would’ve been a disaster. I’m hypnotized by Laurel’s smile as she sidles next to me.
Her voice tickles my ear through the monitor. “You need to sing in three, two, one—”
I shake a smidge of her spell off and chuckle. I don’t need to sing this part. It’s all Link’s. I back him up in the chorus, sing the second verse, and do the fry scream, but for a few seconds, I can be a blissed-out mess. I never even dared to dream we’d be performing together again.
