When Black Veil Brides heads on stage, Dahvie and Jayy come over to the side where I am, and drag me back to their dressing room. Haley tapes me to one of the leather chairs with that clear packing tape, and Dahvie and Jayy begin getting me ready, against my will, for the stage. Jayy does my makeup, while Dahvie fucks with my hair, and then Haley brings out this really epic outfit.
“You’re going to come out to help us with Bewitched, Dark Dreams, I Refuse to Sink, and finally we want you to do Unforgiven with us. Haley will teach you what to do in between those songs, and which parts you’ll be singing when the time comes,” Dahvie tells me, as he clips my upper layers on the top of my head with an alligator clip.
“And we’ll let you know when we’re about to do those songs, by pointing at you. Got it?” Jayy asked, as he drags the black eyeliner down from the corner of my eye to the top of my cheek bone, and repeats in a different area, dragging it lower each time.
“It’s not like I have a say in it. Dahvie already made that perfectly clear to me,” I say, with a roll of my eyes. Jayy’s already changed the color of my contacts to a burgundy red with black on the outer rim, so I already look quite different.
I sigh, then lean back, as Dahvie has asked me to, so he could do the top of my head. I fee Jayy sort of lean on me a bit, so he can continue making the lines, only now they’re going the other way, into my hair line and onto my forehead. I feel someone grab my hand, and when I look, it’s Haley, getting ready to do my nails.
When they all finish making me up, they tell me to get dressed in the outfit Haley brought in, and then leave the room. I look at the outfit, then strip my clothes, and put on the baggy Tripp pants, with the BOTDF shirt, and then open a small makeup bag, which is filled with jewelry and accessories.
When I’m dressed in everything, I look at myself in the mirror, and arch an eyebrow at my reflection. This makeup with this outfit? Not really working for me.
I hear a knock on the door, then I say come in, and Jayy pops his head in. He smiles at me, then produces bat wings he attaches to my back, and then the cuffs of my fingerless gloves. He tells me to spread my arms out, and when I do, the wings extend.
I smile at my reflection in the mirror, and think, “Much better,” then hug Jayy, and thank him. He nods, then leads me out of the dressing room, to side stage. Black Veil’s about done with their set, then it’s BOTDF’s turn on stage.
“Now, we’re all set up already, so we need to get you hooked up really fast, before the show starts, since we’re starting with Bewitched,” Dahvie tells me, grabbing a microphone, and an in-ear system, and hooking all the wires together. He then passes the battery pack to Haley, who all but sticks it up my ass, as she places the back in the back of my pants.
Dahvie passes me the microphone, then says, “When you see us point to you, come out on stage. We’re first going to go out there, and entertain the crowd for a bit, then you’ll join soon after. Got it?”
I nod nervously, then the Brides walk past us all, wishing us luck. Dahvie pulls them all together for a moment to do the before show ritual, and I make a mental note that I’ll have to learn it before this tours finished. Shouldn’t be too hard. Right?
They pull me into the ring they’ve created, so I’m between Jayy and Dahvie, and I listen carefully to the words as they say them.
“MOTHER OF MERCY COME TO ME, AWAKE MY SOUL, SET ME FREE. REVEAL GODS POWER FOR ALL TO SEE. CONSUME ALL FEAR THAT LIES IN ME. RADIANCE AT YOUR VIOLET FLAME EXPAND & BLAZE THE LIGHT IN ME. ENERGIZE MY MIND & HEART, WITH ALL LOVE ALL POWER ALL PEACE. Amen,” they all say together, then I whisper a quiet, “Amen,” then watch as they head out on stage.
I repeat the words I heard them chant over and over in my head, moving my lips to the words, but no sound comes out. I then see Jayy and Dahvie both point at me, and think, “There’s my cue,” as I walk out on stage.
As I get out into view of the audience, I wave to them, when I hear them chanting my name. I smile as Dahvie and Jayy grab my hands and hold them high in the air, while Jayy shouts into his microphone, “Our little sister, Katie, everybody!”
“Now, she’s going to be helping out with a few of our songs tonight, so let’s give her a lot of the BOTDF love and show her she belongs here!” Dahvie shouts then, and the crowd goes insane when Bewitched begins to play. I’m feeling so scared right now, just thinking about performing in front of all the people here, but it’s too late to back out now.
“Spread the wings as you sing!” Jayy shouts so only I can hear, just before my really big part comes up. I nod, then take a deep, calming breath and begin to sing.
“I tricked you, to fall in love, little boy. I play with you, till I was done, like a toy. You’re heart in love, as I destroy, the end of you! So easily fooled, little boy, to think it’s true!” I belt out, moving around the stage like it was second nature to me.
By the end of the song, I’m all smiles, and then Jayy and Dahvie come on either side of me again, and Dahvie says, “Alright. You’ll see more of her later on, but now it’s time for her to go backstage again.”
I nod, then head back off stage after hugging each of them, and getting congrats from them. Once backstage, Haley meets me there, unplugs my microphone and turning off my battery pack, and takes me into their dressing room again. She sits in a chair, but makes me stand, so I can still sing.
“Now, for the next song they want you to do, you’ll be singing the Wake up. Wake me up part and that’s about it. Now let’s hear it,” she says, and presses play on the boom box next to her. The song begins to play, then it’s my turn, and I hit the notes perfectly. Even the high shit, which I never dreamed I could.
Haley stares at me with wide eyes for a moment, then asked, “You’re a mezzo-soprano? And you didn’t think to tell me this?”
“A what?” I ask, arching an eyebrow at her.
“A mezzo-soprano. Someone who can hit just about any note, perfectly. The high notes soprano’s sing, as well as the low notes of an alto,” she explains.
Hmm . . . Well, that would explain why my old choir teachers always had a bitch of a time trying to place what my voice was. I shrug, and say, “I didn’t really know, until you just said something about it.”
She nods, then says, “Anyway. You have that down, so let’s move on to I Refuse to Sink. All they want you to sing is the first part after Dahvie’s lead, then with Dahvie for the chorus.”
I shrug, and say, “Sounds easy enough. Let’s give it a go.”
We practice for a few more minutes, then she says, “Let’s get you back out there, and hooked up before Dark Dreams comes on. Now, you’re not going to go on until it’s your time to sing, and you’re coming on from the back this time.”
I nod while she hooks me all up, and I stick the in-ears back into place. I listen carefully for my cue, then as soon as it comes up, Haley nods to me, and I head out, belting out the lyrics I need to sing. The crowd is covered in blood now, and the foam machines have been brought out as well, so many are slipping all over the place while trying to mosh. This is pretty epic.
After about an hour or so, it’s time for them to say goodnight, and head out to the signings, so I unhook myself with Haley’s help, and then I’m being pulled by Dahvie out to the meet-and-greet. What the hell?
“You sang with us, so you sign with us,” he explains as we make our way through the maze that is backstage, to the main floor, where Dahvie and I are swarmed by fans, and Adrian is trying to get me out of the mob, under Dahvie’s orders.
“Go over by Jayy!” Dahvie shouts to me, and I quickly do as told. A few fans begin coming over to us, asking for pictures and autographs, and then it’s time to leave.
On our way back to the buses, I tell Dahvie and Jayy, “I’m not going to be staying on the BOTDF bus tonight, just so you know.”
“Whose bus will you be staying in?” Jayy asked, “Black Veil Brides or Asking Alexandria’s?”
“Black Veil’s. I thought of what you guys said, and I promised Ashley we’d talk after tour started, so why not?” I say, with a shrug of my right shoulder. They look at each other, and then nod.
“Just take an overnight bag with you, and call us if you need to swap back to our bus,” Dahvie tells me, ruffling my hair, as we arrive at our bus. I hug them, then head inside, and pack a quick overnight bag, then head out to Black Veil Bride’s bus, after wishing everyone a good night, and passing out hugs.
Despite my original thoughts, I’ve grown to love them, just as they’ve grown to love me. We are a family, and if my mom, dad, and big brother could see me now, I like to think they would be proud of me, and of Dahvie and Jayy. Maybe even be grateful to Jayy for saving me from myself.

Notes

Outfit: http://www.polyvore.com/untitled_167/set?id=96832585