I woke up when the car stopped. Not at our destination, just a pit-stop. I rolled down the window and quickly rolled it back up, completely forgetting about the sweltering heat in San Antonio in August. I had on a white, cotton tank top and black jean shorts. My black flip flops lie somewhere under my seat, my feet pulled up to my chest. I rubbed my eyes and brushed through my long, wavy, brown hair with my fingers.
The front passenger seat was occupied with a cooler since me and my friends wouldn’t stop arguing about height, age, birth rights and sexiness privileges. I sat behind the driver’s seat. Ally sat next to me in the middle seat, her head leaned back on the head rest looking quite uncomfortable. Jackie sat on my far right sleeping on my pillow with my name, Katt, embroidered on it. I wanted band merch but noooo. Katt has too much of "that stuff".
We all had brown hair of varying lengths and hues. I was the tallest at 5'5“ and Jackie hated it since she was the oldest and was only 5'3.5 “. Ally was the youngest and the shortest. A year younger than me and Jackie, she was somewhere around 5'2“. Ally also had the shortest hair. It was curlier than all of ours, probably because it was short, and was a couple shades lighter than mine was. Jackie woke up early every morning in order to straighten it so it kind of just seemed natural to us now. Her hair was the darkest and the longest. Mine was in the middle in all categories. Medium length, a few inches past my shoulders, it wasn’t only wavy, but bipolar. Curlier on somedays, frizzy on most days, flat and dead on some days. Today it was pulled into a low pony tail to avoid death by hair-strangling-me-in-the-car.
We were only traveling from Austin to San Antonio, Texas but the trip took hours with my mom behind the wheel. Always driving the speed limit, and stopping every five minutes to let our small, black pug, Velvet out for water and to go pee.
I sighed and looked out the window, longing to be in San Antonio already. We were going to Vans Warped Tour. Not only the best concert out there, but my first concert. When I say MY first concert, i mean i’m going to be performing. Well i guess we will be performing. Ally and I switched off between lead singer and lead guitarist depending on what song we were performing. We were both the best singers in our group but i was better than her at guitar. However, she made up for my advantage by playing violin in one of our songs.
Jackie played piano and was also our band manager. Our drummer, Sarah was already in San Antonio along with our bassist Thomas. They weren’t exactly friends but they were all friends with me so we formed a band.
We formed the band Awestruck three years ago just for a school talent show but we ended up performing two encores and were then scheduled at two local clubs and the Pizza Parlor. Now here we were, going to our first legitimate concert which was going to be in front of hundreds of people.
The concert wasn’t until tomorrow and we weren’t going on stage until the late afternoon so we did have time to go see our favorite artists. I was most excited to see Black Veil Brides who I have been following since I was twelve. We all, especially Jackie, wanted to see Sleeping With Sirens. Ally wanted to see All Time Low. I was about to drift off thinking about the set list when i saw my mom coming back with my dog in her arms. She set Velvet down who immediately scrambled in between the cooler and the passenger seat. It was going to be somewhere around an hour before we made it to my aunts house which is who we were staying with this weekend. I didn’t know how to feel.
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I nudged Ally awake who poked Jackie’s face to wake her up. Jackie, being as claustrophobic as she is, woke up immediately. We all basically fell out of the car because of our unexercised legs. Inching toward the trunk to grab our bags and equipment. I grabbed my black Gibson electric guitar with white pickguard. Jackie lugged out her small keyboard, the venue was providing an actual piano. We opened our mic. stand box to make sure they were alright. Everything seemed fine. We dragged everything inside groaning the entire way. After the general “How was your trip”s and “are you excited”s and the “Oh my goodness Katt you look so grown!"’s we dragged everything upstairs and passed out in a heap on our beds at somewhere around 9 P.M..
When we woke up it was already three A.M.. We got out of bed and started getting ready. We were all well rested and wired for today. We each took showers and dressed in our respective band T-shirts(Me with BVB Jackie with SWS and Ally with ATL). We didn’t bother to dress in stage clothes yet. It only took about ten minutes. Maybe twenty since its hot and we’ll be moving slow. We each packed our warped tour survival bags a little more carefully. Two frozen bottles of water, one refillable water bottle with ice, chap stick, sharpies, deodorant, a spray bottle, water proof mascara, water proof eye liner, black face paint, four disposable cameras and my phone charger all wrapped up in a Black Veil Brides drawstring backpack. . . well that was mine. By the time we were all packed and ready to go it was five. Warped Tour started at nine but we needed to go and set up our stage. I snuck into my mom’s room to say goodbye. She muttered something about how her keys were on the hook. Like i didn’t know.
We packed up all of our equipment in the car a little too fast, dropping my guitar case. That is how we discovered that my guitar was inside and someone packed my guitar case with water and Gatoraid which we actually left just encase. We stuck a giant sticker that said AWESTRUCK with our band logo and all of our names on both sides and on the back of the car. When we finally left we were all whooping and singing along to the songs on the radio.
“I’m so excited but i kinda might throw up too.” said Ally with an uneasy smile on her face. We all laughed and “We Will Rock You” came on.
We stopped at Thomas, the only guy in our band’s summer house to pick him up. After several minutes spent arguing about how much water he brought (answer: not enough), we set off to pick up Sarah. She was staying at a friend’s house a bit past the venue and when we passed it, when people saw the sticker they cheered and called our names. . . Mostly Thomas’s. We all looked out the windows, smiles lighting up our faces. This was real.
We got to Sarah who just threw her stuff in the back and jumped in the front without any questions. Thomas scoffed at us.
“Shes a girl, we know how to pack.” Jackie said matter of factly.
“Yea, don’t take it personally.” I said and stifled a laugh.
When we passed the outdoor venue again with people lined up at the entry we all looked at Sarah to see her reaction. Hers was a little different than ours.
“Hold on,” She rolled down the window in the back and stuck her head out. “WHATS UP SAN ANTONIO!?!?!” She yelled at the top of her lungs. Her strawberry-blond hair whipping to the side. The cheers grew thirty times louder and we all yelled and laughed. It was amazing. I didn’t know a feeling like this existed.
We rolled into the back, locked parking lot and parked our car. Security guards walked up to identify us and then help us carry our equipment to the stage. When everything was set up and it was two hours before the show actually started was when i started to freak out. The rest of the band went off to explore which i probably should have done but instead i got up on our stage and checked the microphones again. Checked the connection with mine and Thomas’s guitars. Checked all of the connecters in Jackie’s keyboard.
I played some chords on my guitar and then ended up practicing one of our songs full out. Well, without a microphone. When i was done with the song, i was breathing a little harder than normal. Then i heard the clapping. Not a lot like the thousands fans out front, it was a singular person clapping. I looked down and almost fell off the stage. It was HIM! The man who’s face is on my shirt! Andy Biersack from Black Veil Brides.
“Oh, hi! I didn’t see anyone around. I thought we were the first band here.” I felt like screaming. I’m sure i must have looked ridiculous. Standing on stage alone in my Black Veil Brides T-shirt with my stage make-up only halfway applied, mascara and a black eyeliner line that ran from ear to ear across the bridge of my nose and over my cheek bones. Singing to no music, and singing a song he didn’t know. I probably looked like a fan who snuck in too early. I was prepared for him to call security.
“No,” His voice was deeper in person than on all of the interviews he did. “Black Veil Brides is always at shows first. Gotta psych the crowd up!” He smiled and offered me his hand to get off stage.
I took my guitar strap off my shoulder and put it on the stand with Thomas’. I took his leather-gloved hand and carefully got off of the stage. Then he held out his hand for me to shake it. I took it. His hand was warm and two times as big as mine.
“I’m Andy, I see you like my band. You know there are only six of the T-shirts we’re wearing. Six in the entire world. One for each band member and one for a fan.”
“I’m Katt from Awestruck. I honestly can’t believe i’m talking to you right now.” That made him smile wider and i blushed.
“Well I’m glad you’re a fan of Black Veil Brides. Its always fun to meet our fans.”
I looked down at my shirt and make-up that copied his and realized that, in a way, we were matching. Then i mentally told myself to stop being an idiot. A lot of people would be matching him today. . . Just with a different shirt. I actually stayed up for three days trying to win a radio contest to get this shirt. He wore black leather pants, a customized version of the shirt i was wearing, he had cut strips out of it to show a his stomach, ribs and chest in shards. Over the shirt he wore a black jean jacket. I wore black jean shorts and a short sleeved leather jacket. We had on about the same make-up except he wasn’t wearing mascara.
“Yea. I’ve been a member of the Black Veil Brides army since i was twelve. Y’all inspired me to start my band. I never thought i would make it this far honestly.” I blushed at the small country twang that entered my voice. Andy was almost a foot taller than me and i had to look up at him to see him smiling his beautiful smile.
“I’ve actually been a fan of yours for three years now. Me and Ashley,” (BVB’s bassist, )“were on the roof of a pizzeria in Austin when we heard you. You are very talented for your age.” I froze. Did he actually just say HE was a fan of ME? That was so mixed up it wasn’t even right. Then something else he said occurred to me.
“How old do you think i am?” I said raising an eyebrow. He made it sound like i was so much younger than him. Of course i knew how old he was. He was twenty-two. His birthday is on December 26th. (Before you ask, yes i am a stalker.)
“I don’t know, fourteen?” I scoffed and then actually started coughing, then laughing. Andy started laughing too, probably because i looked ridiculous.
“No,” I said in between bursts of laughter, finally dying out as someone shouted from across the way from us.
“Hey!! Andy we’ve been looking for you! Who is that?” I looked over to see the rest of the band: Christian Coma, Ashley Purdy, Jinxx and Jake Pitts, coming towards our stage.
“Yea I’m nineteen.” I said finishing our conversation. Andy’s eyes went wide at the small, three year age difference.
“Come on Andy leave some of the cute ones for those of us without girlfriends!” I blushed and looked away from him.
“You mean you? You’re the only one remember?” Andy said with a smirk. “Hey, he was just kidding around, i’m sorry.” Andy said a little quieter to me.
“No I wasn’t,” He was only a couple feet away now. “You might not, but i think she’s adorable.”
“I never said I didn’t!” Andy replied, slightly defensive. Then he looked at me and looked away again. CC raised an eyebrow at him and Andy shrugged.
“Hi I’m CC,” He was addressing me again so i turned towards him. “and my name is on your shirt. Thats crazy! We were just talking on the bus how stoked we were to meet you and your band and now you are a fan of us? Thats a turn around.” I laughed, CC was easy to get used to. I felt like i knew them all already, i had researched them all for a school project on our favorite bands(I got called emo, goth, and suicidal for the next month even though their music isn’t like that. Cultureless idiots ) and listened to all of their music so that their voices were familiar in my head.
“I was thinking the same thing. My name is Katt by the way. I have been a huge fan of all of yours since i was twelve. you have all changed quite a lot.” they all laughed and nodded along. It looked like Andy and CC were going to be the only ones talking. . . not a surprise really. “I was wondering if y’all might sign my guitar for me?” This caught all of their attention.
“You play guitar?” Jake asked, proving me wrong. I nodded and he and Ashley and Jinxx smiled. I smiled back and pulled myself back up on the stage to grab my guitar and a sharpie. when i came back they were all having a conversation, kind of in a huddle so i got off side stage and snuck up behind them trying to get an idea of what they were saying.
“Yea we should. . . i’d bet. . . Everyone on. . . approved.” I cleared my throat and they jumped. I had my guitar slung across my back and pulled black and (specially made) white sharpies out of my pocket.
“Wait! We want to hear you play first.” Jinxx said with a small smile playing on his lips. his diamond eye make-up was different in person than it was online. it almost looked like a tattoo. I shrugged and walked back a bit to be able to reach an amp’s connector cord. I hooked my guitar up and started with a couple of licks from a solo of theirs, then changed it into one of our solos then changed to chord progressions to one of their songs. I ended whatever i just did with the end of the solo from “You only live once” by Suicide Silence.
Jake and Ashley weren’t trying to hide it. Their mouths hung open and their eyes kept going from my face to my guitar to my hands. It made me feel slightly self-conscious. CC Andy and Jinxx all smiled and looked at each other, nodding slightly. Now i was curious.
“So are you going to sign it?” I laughed. Jake and Ashley shook themselves from their momentary coma. Andy was the first to sign it. He took the black sharpie and signed the white pickguard. Ashley took the white sharpie and signed the body right next to the lowest pickup. Jake signed in white on the headstock. Then Jinxx, who’s signature connected the I and the N with an inverted cross. CC was inspecting my guitar and apparently decided to sign the pick guard next to Andy, he grabbed the black sharpie.
“You are going to come to our show right?” Jinxx asked, scratching something on his cheek.
“Definitely! I can’t wait!” I replied quickly. It hit me again that i was standing here with my favorite band just talking! I suppressed a larger smile.
“Good,” Ashley spoke for the first time since coming into the conversation. Andy was being surprisingly quiet. “We have a special VIP area for you to stand.” he shot a glance at the others and my curiosity blazed, but i knew better than to ask what they were keeping from me.
“You really don’t have to, I don’t want any of your fans to feel left out or anything.” I objected and glanced down at the, now very interesting, grass.
“Doesn’t mean we don’t want to!” They were all smiling and were so friendly, just how i hoped they would be. Just how I knew they were. Just then a bell rang indicating an hour until opening. I saw a bunch of bands walk by in full outfit.
“Well okay. I’ll be there i guess.” I said awkwardly. They all nodded and waved as they walked away. I had to stop for a couple of minutes to catch my breath. I was just invited to a concert that i was already going to by my favorite band who were supposedly fans of mine...
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It was a few minutes until Black Veil brides went on Mainstage. I saw CC waving me towards backstage. I waved back and heard a few sighs from the fans around me who thought He was waving at them. Does that qualify me as a heart-breaker?
When I met up with CC where he led me to where the rest of the band was. There they were, in full makeup, and they were smiling at me. Now i can die happy.
“Hey guys! Y’all look great!” they all muttered their thanks and listened as someone went on stage to introduce them. “Okay I’m gonna go get back in the crowd!” i started to turn but Jake caught my elbow.
“Wait! We told you, there’s a VIP area where you can watch the stage from.” Jake and Ashley led me around the stage where they pointed me towards a roped off area a little closer to the stage, protected from the crowd by a line of security guards. I said a quick thank you and waved goodbye to everyone. When i got in the rectangle of the “VIP” area Andy came out on stage followed by Jinxx, CC, Ashley and finally Jake. The crowd’s volume grew sevenfold but hushed down when Andy started talking.
“HOW ARE ALL OF YOU FINE PEOPLE DOING TODAY!?” He yelled into the microphone and holding it out towards the crowd. There was a collective scream as an answer. “THIS IS THE SONG THAT STARTED ALL OF THIS!!! THIS IS KNIVES AND PENS!”
Of course I knew all of the lyrics and was quietly singing along but this is the first time all the band members noticed me and acknowledged my presence. The crowd being behind me was also new. I could pretty much hear the band clearly and could tune out the crowd singing along. Yes it was a little loud but i liked my music loud.
When the song was over everyone cheered louder than i would imagine possible. Then Jinxx grabbed a mic and everyone quieted down a little.
“We would like to invite to the stage, Katt from Awestruck!” There were a couple of hushed cheers from somewhere in the crowd but most of the fans were confused. For the third time today Andy offered me his hand. My eyes widened as i realized this must have been what they were keeping from me. The look in Andy’s beautiful blue eyes was slightly apologetic but mostly excited. Ashley leaned over to yell into Jinxx’s mic.
“The lovely Katt will be leading in our next song so she gets to pick which one it is!” I could feel the thousands of pairs of eyes on my face. I was surprised at how steady my voice was when i yelled into the microphone Andy had handed me, getting another one so he could help me through this.
“THIS NEXT SONG IS CALLED ALL YOUR HATE!” And as expected the yells of approval rose from the crowd though they weren’t sure what to think of me yet.

Notes

Reviews would be wonderful. i want to improve it in any way i can.