Bea felt wrong. Not because she was doing something bad—was about to do, anyway. But the crowd out there was waiting for another band, not them, and that made her uncomfortable. Unfortunately, Of Mice & Men had lost Austin, more like let him out of their sight, and until they found him they couldn’t play. So before anything got out of hand, they had called The Bandits and now they were there, backstage, preparing for a simple three song performance. They were choosing the set when the door opened and one of the guys working on the stage came in, clipboard in hand.

“Five minutes,” he warned, closing the door afterwards.

“Fuck,” Keely, one of the two singers, swore. “So are we doing two songs and a cover?”

Bea sat on the couch by her best friend and nodded, grabbing a water bottle so her throat wouldn’t feel dry. Adam pushed his back against the couch and ran a hand through his short blond hair before asking out loud:

“Yeah, but the thing is, which cover?”

Katie immediately jumped and raised her hand as if she were in school. Adam cocked an eyebrow, but Meagan had recovered with a giggle and pointed at her.

“What about I Will Not Bow?” she suggested, a groan erupting from everyone’s mouth at the sound of the Breaking Benjamin song. “What?”

“We’ve done it twice, Kates,” Bea sighed. “We can’t.”

“Let’s do a Misfits cover,” Felix shrugged, eyes locked on his phone, probably tweeting something. “We could do Helena or Dig Up Her Bones.”

“I refuse,” Keely scrunched up her nose. “I don’t know shit of Misfits.”

“Sometimes I wonder why you’re here,” Bea glared at her, receiving a funny look from the black haired girl beside her.

“Because I’m your best friend and because without me this band would have no screams at all in our songs.”

“Fuck,” the blonde swore, slapping a hand over Keely’s back. “Fine, you win.”

There was a loud knock on the door and Adam stood quickly, jumping to get his blood pumping with adrenaline.

“Let’s just do a Sleeping With Sirens cover, it’s not like we don’t know their songs,” grabbing his drumsticks, he threw his tattooed arm up and shouted over his shoulder. “I vote for Roger Rabbit!”

Bea and Keely looked at each other before she spoke.

“Wanna do Father Trophy?” Keely turned her green eyes to the other singer and was met with cerulean blue mixed with gray. She saw her nodding, a hesitant smile on her lips, and they pulled up from the couch, getting their gear on and preparing for a short show.

“Imagine the SWS guys were watching us?” Katie’s excited smile turned into a nervous one, fidgeting with the bass in her hands.

“I heard they were in this tour,” Felix added.

Bea shrugged, slapping Keely’s hand away from the chord of her ear plug. “Stop touching it, you’ll break it.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

Adam opened his mouth—probably to say something extremely snarky—but he was cut off when the lights were turned off except for a few upper ones, making the fans scream in ecstasy. The announcer proclaimed that Of Mice & Men weren’t coming until later, which earned a huge protest from the crowd.

Goosebumps erupted on Bea’s skin when the shouts went crazy, caused by the name of their band. A huge grin crawled into her mouth and then she was jumping; short, little jumps that would get the adrenaline to course quicker. She felt the excitement bubbling on her stomach and the nausea that it caused, wanting to make her throw up and cry at the same time.

She’s never get tired of the feeling.

The entire band set off to stage, a choir with their name as the main lyrics making them beam widely at them. Adam jumped into the stool, anxious to try out his new drums. Meagan loosened the grip on her guitar and connected the cables with ease. Felix did the same, only he hoisted his leg over an amplifier, resting his arm on it and waiting for Keely and Bea to give out their cue.

Keely was the first to scream into the microphone, no words given to the fans before the drums poured in and the guitars and bass followed. Bea’s toes curled and she grabbed the microphone, still in the stand.

“Bitten nails and bruised toes was the sound of my nervous tick tock,” she sang.

So Sold had been one of the most liked songs, pride swelling up in her chest. She had written that song alone, back when she had been back in Spain, missing her friends like hell. Keely had loved it and put it to good use, along with really good lines that they both added on the lyrics with Katie.

“I gave everyone all that I could. Reciprocation turned out not to be in the book…” Keely looked at Bea and they both jumped.

Both voices mixed with the instrumental and the choir began.

“What do you want from me? I gave my soul to make you free. What else do you want to own? I cut off my arms and legs, so sold!”

They went on with the song and when finished, talked a bit with the crowd. Keely slipped her eyes for a moment and saw that Of Mice & Men were already complete on the side of the stage, but Austin mouthed over to her to finish the set.

“This is to every single boy and girl who don’t want to grow up,” Bea pointed at the crowd and it howled at the top of her lungs. “This song is called Neverland.”

A soft electric guitar came, Felix walking to the front along with Meagan, who turned their backs so that they could support each other. The drums made a slow beat and the bass began too, Keely being the first to sing as she hung from the microphone stand on the border of the stage.

“When I was younger, playing in the sandbox and laughing at the stupidest jokes, I wanted to grow. And when I grew older, paying bills and working hard for my life, I wanted to shrink.”

Bea stood on the opposite side, watching as more and more bands went to stand on the side of the stage, including Of Mice & Men—the complete band, much to her amusement—and Get Scared.

“I never really liked Peter as much as Tink did, he forgot about Wendy and left her to think. And I do get it, how that kid’s mind works. Peter Pan, dear, I think I’m just old.”

The drums set off and Bea had to double over as a reaction to reach a high tone while Keely only had to make a pained expression. Their ranges were different, but they had made this song and they could do it together.

“Find me, find me in Neverland. Fighting off pirates and hiding in tree trunks. Find me, find me in Neverland, rescuing Indians and never growing… never growing up.”

It wasn’t the longest song they had, but it was their top song. A lot of kids had liked it, and it held a special meaning to Adam, who was smiling through the entirely of the lyrics. On the side of the stage, most of the bands were nodding in approval, while others were just waiting for the set to be over and the real band to come out. One of the bands watching with a happy grin was Black Veil Brides, or at least two fifths of them.

CC nudged Ashley, making the bassist turn to him with a questioning look in his eyes.

“That chick?” he pointed to the guitarist, a girl with blue-grey eyes and black hair. “She’s wearing our shirt.”

“I noticed,” Ash smirked. “They’re pretty good, what was their name again?”

“Bandits, I think,” CC shrugged. “I’m going to ask around, I’m sure someone had their CD or something.”

“Uh,” the bassist grunted in approval.

Suddenly, another song began, but he did recognize it. Turning his chocolate eyes to the giggling band by his side, he chuckled. Kellin Quinn was doing what the fans would call fangirling.

“Holy shit, dude!” he grabbed his friend’s arms and shook him, eyes on the stage. “It’s our song!”

Justin Hills ripped his hands from his forearms and patted his band mate’s head, later wrapping it around his neck to watch the stage.

“Why are you walking away? Was it something I did, did, I make a mistakes? Cause, I’m trying to deal with the pain. I don’t understand this, is this how it ends?”

“Fuck,” Ashley leaned against the wall, CC turning to him with curiosity. “They’re good.”

“They are,” he nodded, and after a moment he added. “She had a bit of an accent, doesn’t she?”

“Who?” Ash looked at the two singers. “The blonde?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “It’s small, though, I don’t really know if it’s just her accent.”

“Maybe she’s Norwegian,” Ashley suggested. “She had the looks.”

He really did believe she was Nordic. She had a very pale complexion and he guessed she had freckles too. Blue eyes were a huge contrast against the black eyeliner she wore, and her blond hair was a pale tone.

The set ended and the crowd roared, the six members of the band walking backstage, to the opposite side from where CC and Ashley were. Ash saw Kellin Quinn pushing through people to go backstage and decided to follow him, knowing that he probably wanted to meet the band.

“Hey, man!” he called, but he didn’t hear. “Quinn!”

The short man finally turned and he stopped in front of him, realizing how tall he was and how short the singer really was. A smile edged on his features as he pointed his thumb to the other side of backstage.

“You’re from Black Veil Brides, aren’t you?” he asked, running a hand through his forehead to get rid of his bangs from getting into his eyes. “Purdy, right?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, noticing CC pulling up behind him. “And this is CC.”

“Nice to meet you, man,” he grinned. Ashley had to admit that the man was adorable. “You going to meet the band?”

“I was going to ask you, yeah,” Ashley shrugged. “I wanted to go too, I guess.”

“Cool, then,” Quinn made a thumbs up and continued to walk through the crowd, the first chords of the Depths playing back on stage.

On the backroom, along with some new bands, the Bandits were chugging water down. Adam was still drumming, only this time it was on a metallic table which made a catchy sound that quickly got Keely humming.

“That was kind of awesome,” Katie finally let out after a while, the rest of the band looking at her.

“Are you kidding?” Meagan jumped up, finally unable to take it. “It was fucking awesome.”

“I swear, the crowd just gets bigger everyday,” Keely mumbled.

“So what? More fame, more music, more chicks, bring them on!” Felix shouted, beyond exhausted from jumping around the stage. “Woo!”

Bea chuckled and wiped her forehead, pulling her bandana from her head and letting her blond locks fall over her forehead. She doubled over and then stood back quickly, the mass of hair falling on the back of her neck.

“It’s so fucking hot in here, I swear,” she huffed.

“Pussy,” Felix snickered.

“I’m not a pussy, you, dick,” she threw him the sweaty bandana. “I’ve just been living in the fucking mountains for five fucking years.”

“Same thing,” he shrugged. “Did you guys see Hollywood Undead? They were rooting for us by Motionless in White.”

“Are you serious!?” Katie jumped.

“Fuck yeah I am,” he looked smug. And on the other side of the stage guess who were nodding to the beat?”

“Who?” Bea rolled her eyes, playing along with him as she drank again from the water bottle.

“CC fucking Coma with Ashley fucking Purdy.”

Choking on her water, Bea spluttered and coughed wildly, only to cough more violently when said band members came in with Vic Fuentes and Kellin Quinn.




Bea felt wrong. Not because she was doing something bad—was about to do, anyway. But the crowd out there was waiting for another band, not them, and that made her uncomfortable. Unfortunately, Of Mice & Men had lost Austin, more like let him out of their sight, and until they found him they couldn’t play. So before anything got out of hand, they had called The Bandits and now they were there, backstage, preparing for a simple three song performance. They were choosing the set when the door opened and one of the guys working on the stage came in, clipboard in hand.

“Five minutes,” he warned, closing the door afterwards.

“Fuck,” Keely, one of the two singers, swore. “So are we doing two songs and a cover?”

Bea sat on the couch by her best friend and nodded, grabbing a water bottle so her throat wouldn’t feel dry. Adam pushed his back against the couch and ran a hand through his short blond hair before asking out loud:

“Yeah, but the thing is, which cover?”

Katie immediately jumped and raised her hand as if she were in school. Adam cocked an eyebrow, but Meagan had recovered with a giggle and pointed at her.

“What about I Will Not Bow?” she suggested, a groan erupting from everyone’s mouth at the sound of the Breaking Benjamin song. “What?”

“We’ve done it twice, Kates,” Bea sighed. “We can’t.”

“Let’s do a Misfits cover,” Felix shrugged, eyes locked on his phone, probably tweeting something. “We could do Helena or Dig Up Her Bones.”

“I refuse,” Keely scrunched up her nose. “I don’t know shit of Misfits.”

“Sometimes I wonder why you’re here,” Bea glared at her, receiving a funny look from the black haired girl beside her.

“Because I’m your best friend and because without me this band would have no screams at all in our songs.”

“Fuck,” the blonde swore, slapping a hand over Keely’s back. “Fine, you win.”

There was a loud knock on the door and Adam stood quickly, jumping to get his blood pumping with adrenaline.

“Let’s just do a Sleeping With Sirens cover, it’s not like we don’t know their songs,” grabbing his drumsticks, he threw his tattooed arm up and shouted over his shoulder. “I vote for Roger Rabbit!”

Bea and Keely looked at each other before she spoke.
“Wanna do Father Trophy?” Keely turned her green eyes to the other singer and was met with cerulean blue mixed with gray. She saw her nodding, a hesitant smile on her lips, and they pulled up from the couch, getting their gear on and preparing for a short show.

“Imagine the SWS guys were watching us?” Katie’s excited smile turned into a nervous one, fidgeting with the bass in her hands.

“I heard they were in this tour,” Felix added.

Bea shrugged, slapping Keely’s hand away from the chord of her ear plug. “Stop touching it, you’ll break it.”

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

Adam opened his mouth—probably to say something extremely snarky—but he was cut off when the lights were turned off except for a few upper ones, making the fans scream in ecstasy. The announcer proclaimed that Of Mice & Men weren’t coming until later, which earned a huge protest from the crowd.

Goosebumps erupted on Bea’s skin when the shouts went crazy, caused by the name of their band. A huge grin crawled into her mouth and then she was jumping; short, little jumps that would get the adrenaline to course quicker. She felt the excitement bubbling on her stomach and the nausea that it caused, wanting to make her throw up and cry at the same time.

She’s never get tired of the feeling.

The entire band set off to stage, a choir with their name as the main lyrics making them beam widely at them. Adam jumped into the stool, anxious to try out his new drums. Meagan loosened the grip on her guitar and connected the cables with ease. Felix did the same, only he hoisted his leg over an amplifier, resting his arm on it and waiting for Keely and Bea to give out their cue.

Keely was the first to scream into the microphone, no words given to the fans before the drums poured in and the guitars and bass followed. Bea’s toes curled and she grabbed the microphone, still in the stand.

“Bitten nails and bruised toes was the sound of my nervous tick tock,” she sang.

So Sold had been one of the most liked songs, pride swelling up in her chest. She had written that song alone, back when she had been back in Spain, missing her friends like hell. Keely had loved it and put it to good use, along with really good lines that they both added on the lyrics with Katie.

“I gave everyone all that I could. Reciprocation turned out not to be in the book…” Keely looked at Bea and they both jumped.

Both voices mixed with the instrumental and the choir began.

“What do you want from me? I gave my soul to make you free. What else do you want to own? I cut off my arms and legs, so sold!”

They went on with the song and when finished, talked a bit with the crowd. Keely slipped her eyes for a moment and saw that Of Mice & Men were already complete on the side of the stage, but Austin mouthed over to her to finish the set.

“This is to every single boy and girl who don’t want to grow up,” Bea pointed at the crowd and it howled at the top of her lungs. “This song is called Neverland.”

A soft electric guitar came, Felix walking to the front along with Meagan, who turned their backs so that they could support each other. The drums made a slow beat and the bass began too, Keely being the first to sing as she hung from the microphone stand on the border of the stage.

“When I was younger, playing in the sandbox and laughing at the stupidest jokes, I wanted to grow. And when I grew older, paying bills and working hard for my life, I wanted to shrink.”

Bea stood on the opposite side, watching as more and more bands went to stand on the side of the stage, including Of Mice & Men—the complete band, much to her amusement—and Get Scared.

“I never really liked Peter as much as Tink did, he forgot about Wendy and left her to think. And I do get it, how that kid’s mind works. Peter Pan, dear, I think I’m just old.”

The drums set off and Bea had to double over as a reaction to reach a high tone while Keely only had to make a pained expression. Their ranges were different, but they had made this song and they could do it together.

“Find me, find me in Neverland. Fighting off pirates and hiding in tree trunks. Find me, find me in Neverland, rescuing Indians and never growing… never growing up.”

It wasn’t the longest song they had, but it was their top song. A lot of kids had liked it, and it held a special meaning to Adam, who was smiling through the entirely of the lyrics. On the side of the stage, most of the bands were nodding in approval, while others were just waiting for the set to be over and the real band to come out. One of the bands watching with a happy grin was Black Veil Brides, or at least two fifths of them.

CC nudged Ashley, making the bassist turn to him with a questioning look in his eyes.

“That chick?” he pointed to the guitarist, a girl with blue-grey eyes and black hair. “She’s wearing our shirt.”

“I noticed,” Ash smirked. “They’re pretty good, what was their name again?”

“Bandits, I think,” CC shrugged. “I’m going to ask around, I’m sure someone had their CD or something.”

“Uh,” the bassist grunted in approval.

Suddenly, another song began, but he did recognize it. Turning his chocolate eyes to the giggling band by his side, he chuckled. Kellin Quinn was doing what the fans would call fangirling.

“Holy shit, dude!” he grabbed his friend’s arms and shook him, eyes on the stage. “It’s our song!”

Justin Hills ripped his hands from his forearms and patted his band mate’s head, later wrapping it around his neck to watch the stage.

“Why are you walking away? Was it something I did, did, I make a mistakes? Cause, I’m trying to deal with the pain. I don’t understand this, is this how it ends?”

“Fuck,” Ashley leaned against the wall, CC turning to him with curiosity. “They’re good.”

“They are,” he nodded, and after a moment he added. “She had a bit of an accent, doesn’t she?”

“Who?” Ash looked at the two singers. “The blonde?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “It’s small, though, I don’t really know if it’s just her accent.”

“Maybe she’s Norwegian,” Ashley suggested. “She had the looks.”

He really did believe she was Nordic. She had a very pale complexion and he guessed she had freckles too. Blue eyes were a huge contrast against the black eyeliner she wore, and her blond hair was a pale tone.

The set ended and the crowd roared, the six members of the band walking backstage, to the opposite side from where CC and Ashley were. Ash saw Kellin Quinn pushing through people to go backstage and decided to follow him, knowing that he probably wanted to meet the band.

“Hey, man!” he called, but he didn’t hear. “Quinn!”

The short man finally turned and he stopped in front of him, realizing how tall he was and how short the singer really was. A smile edged on his features as he pointed his thumb to the other side of backstage.

“You’re from Black Veil Brides, aren’t you?” he asked, running a hand through his forehead to get rid of his bangs from getting into his eyes. “Purdy, right?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, noticing CC pulling up behind him. “And this is CC.”

“Nice to meet you, man,” he grinned. Ashley had to admit that the man was adorable. “You going to meet the band?”

“I was going to ask you, yeah,” Ashley shrugged. “I wanted to go too, I guess.”

“Cool, then,” Quinn made a thumbs up and continued to walk through the crowd, the first chords of the Depths playing back on stage.

On the backroom, along with some new bands, the Bandits were chugging water down. Adam was still drumming, only this time it was on a metallic table which made a catchy sound that quickly got Keely humming.

“That was kind of awesome,” Katie finally let out after a while, the rest of the band looking at her.

“Are you kidding?” Meagan jumped up, finally unable to take it. “It was fucking awesome.”

“I swear, the crowd just gets bigger everyday,” Keely mumbled.

“So what? More fame, more music, more chicks, bring them on!” Felix shouted, beyond exhausted from jumping around the stage. “Woo!”

Bea chuckled and wiped her forehead, pulling her bandana from her head and letting her blond locks fall over her forehead. She doubled over and then stood back quickly, the mass of hair falling on the back of her neck.

“It’s so fucking hot in here, I swear,” she huffed.

“Pussy,” Felix snickered.

“I’m not a pussy, you, dick,” she threw him the sweaty bandana. “I’ve just been living in the fucking mountains for five fucking years.”

“Same thing,” he shrugged. “Did you guys see Hollywood Undead? They were rooting for us by Motionless in White.”

“Are you serious!?” Katie jumped.

“Fuck yeah I am,” he looked smug. And on the other side of the stage guess who were nodding to the beat?”

“Who?” Bea rolled her eyes, playing along with him as she drank again from the water bottle.

“CC fucking Coma with Ashley fucking Purdy.”

Choking on her water, Bea spluttered and coughed wildly, only to cough more violently when said band members came in with Vic Fuentes and Kellin Quinn.

Notes

I wanted to do a Warped Tour since I heard all the shit that goes down in there.

No, really, I mean. Holy shit, you could have a drunken night with Alex Gaskarth and no one would know.

Copyright to the songs, which ARE mine. Beat and all, bitches. So no copying or anything.