Be My Bad Boy

“That idiot Jason said we couldn't use tape to put up the posters but look at this wall. It's got tape marks all over it. He's so full of shit, just likes throwing his weight around. I'm Mr Big Important Band Booking Guy. Oh no, you can't use tape on my walls."
I tapped her on the leg as I saw Jason walking towards us and we both forced a smile on our faces.
"The doors will open in a couple of minutes."
I nodded. Would anyone even buy this stuff? Before, the band had run down to the local print shop and got a dozen or so shirts printed off before each gig. It'd cost them nearly as much as they sold them for. Pretty much a zero-profit game. Jinxx had explained it wasn't about the money. If people wore the shirts, it gave the band publicity.
I figured we could make more money if I got a bulk lot of shirts printed. Not only cheaper but heaps better quality too. Jinxx had almost squealed when he'd seen his design on them.
“Hannah, you have to put on a t-shirt. We can't sell them if you aren't wearing one."
"I'm not stripping off like you. Not with all those people outside, especially."
I slipped an oversized t-shirt over my outfit, figuring I just needed to wear it while I sat there.
Then the doors opened and people flooded inside. Excitement buzzed in the air and soon we had our first customers. Two girls wearing the old t-shirts.
"Hey, Angie."

"You made it," she said, jumping up to give them a hug. "You have to get the new shirts. They are so much better than the old ones."
She nodded and turned to the next lot of customers. They all seemed to know her by name.
Soon, we had a line at the table. I'd organised a system of sizing with the boxes but we ended up in chaos, trying to get everyone through as quickly as possible.
“Do you know all these people?" I asked her. It seemed like everyone greeted her and stopped by to say hello.
"How many people do you think are here? Do you think we'll get 5,000?"
Angie shrugged.
"I dunno but we've sold enough t-shirts to get your money back."
I quickly hugged her, even though I'm not a hugger, and got back to serving.
People still kept coming in.
"Hey, Angie. Great to get out and support the band. Thanks for letting us know about tonight."
"No problem."
"Do you have a large?"

"Sorry, we've sold out. Try an XL."
Had I heard right? We'd sold out of larges? I tried to work out quickly in my head how many we'd ordered and the profit margin on that many t-shirts but the maths made my head spin.
Inside the main doors, we could hear people chanting for the band to come on stage. Black Veil Brides, Black Veil Brides, Black Veil Brides.
The line began to dwindle and those left thrust their money at us in a rush to get inside.
Then the crowd went quiet. A tense silence filled the place, as if every single person was sucking in their breath and it affected the oxygen levels.
"If you want to go in and watch, I'm fine here on my own."
"Are you sure? Are you sure it'll be okay?"
"Of course. Look at how much work you've done getting people here. We'd be nothing without you. The least I can do is let you go in and watch the band. Get going… "
With that she ran off.
I sat at the table, pretty much alone except for some stragglers coming in the door.
People screamed and I imagined the band walking on-stage. Then the sound of guitar cut through the screams and it all went mad.

Andy's voice rang out from the stage, full of energy and charisma. I knew this song now. Saviour. I sang along quietly as he got to the chorus and could hear the crowd singing along too and yelling at the appropriate places. They loved it; they loved him.
The crowd went crazy after the song finished. The screaming and yelling continued into the next song. This was a new one, one I'd never before. It started slow and sexy, like the melody crept up on you, sliding around your body. I couldn’t make out the words just the feeling of intimate longing, building up.
Then they crashed into the crescendo. Energy exploded from inside like a force of nature, a crazy energy that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I grabbed the cash box and raced through the door. Even at the back, the crowd squeezed tight together. I couldn’t believe there were so many people. I'd seen them come in, in dribs and drabs, but actually having the mass of them in one room, lit by the multicoloured lights and moving as one, made them look magical.

All eyes were turned to the stage and, centre of that stage, stood Andy. He seemed to be in a world of his own, untouchable and aloof. He strutted around, caressing the microphone as though seducing a woman, the same way he'd touched me. A shudder went through every woman in the crowd, all of them thinking the same thing. He whispered the lyrics into the microphone in a voice that sent shivers down my spine.
Then, as the tension grew tangible, they thundered into sound. A wall of sound and wailing. Without even realising, my hips moved in time with the music. My foot tapped. This was awesome. Beyond awesome.
Angie rocked up beside me.
"He's on fire tonight."
I nodded.
He moved over to Ashley and the two of them leaned up against each other as they played. The bond between them was so strong. I'd not even realised until I saw them on stage like this. They moved together as one, back to back. Then Andy broke away and ran back to centre stage in time for the chorus.
The crowd became an amorphous mass, the energy intensifying as the music reached its climax. They'd blended together, all their energy and all their dreams merged into one and concentrated on that man with the guitar.
He seemed
to sparkle up there. All his indolence and arrogance disappeared to be replaced by someone honest and true. Someone who spoke to people straight to their hearts. And it didn't hurt that he looked like a god. A woman would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to react to those hips, swerving and grinding as though he wanted to have hot and dirty sex just with you. Yet, at the same time, he made you feel that he was vulnerable and needed protecting. And that was a lethal combination.
I could hear girls screaming "Andy, Andy" until it sounded like an echo. At the end of their set, the crowd screamed for more, going absolutely fanatical. It seemed amazing to me but I had no idea about this kind of thing. Maybe crowds always made the kind of noise that would lift the roof off a place.
Jason appeared beside me. "Get them back out there. They have to do an encore."
"But it's after 9.45?"
"Don't care, the second band can go on late."
I thrust the cash box at Angie and pushed my way through the crowd, flashing my pass at the bouncers.
"What the hell are we going to play? We planned a 45 minute set. We didn't practice anything else."
Andy paced the small back room, emotions playing out on his face.
"Stop bitching, Andy, and just get out there." I gave him a shove. This was his moment. The crowd were lapping it up and he had to give them more. This was proof, proof that they could make it. "Play one of the same songs again. Morticians Daughter."
As they headed back on stage, the crowd went insane. I thought a couple of those girls would implode.
The second band sat backstage waiting for their turn to play.
"We might as well pack up and go home," said one of them. "We can't play after that."
"Tell me about it. This is going to be one of those gigs that people talk about for years to come. Everybody is going to say they were here. It's going to be one of those pivotal moments in rock gigs. And we have to play after that!"
"Speak for yourselves," said the chick, looking up from her phone. She'd changed into a corset and a skin-tight skirt with long black gloves and crimson lipstick. "I want to stick around and find out more about this Andy Biersack."
Even that didn't bring me down from my high. I floated out of the room. This was it. I'd get them signed, I'd get them famous. And I'd solve all my financial problems. Lear jet and champagne, here I come. Designer wardrobe, I'll replace you all.
No way would I lose that contract. No way would I sell the company. I had to stick around and see what my band could do.
I pushed my way back through the crowd, most of them going crazy. The stage was dark and I knew the band was waiting to go back on. In a moment, the craziness would explode and I'd have no chance of getting back to Angie unharmed. And then it started and I got knocked around like a pinball in a machine.
"This one's for Hannah," Andy screamed from the stage and I thought I would die right there.
As I got to the back of the room, I saw Frank. He'd turned up. I waved but he didn't see me. As I approached him, I noticed the man standing beside him. I stopped dead and even the roar of the crowd faded in my ears.
My Dad.

Notes

Sorry. It took me forever to write this chapter because I've never Ben too a concert and I had to add feelings that I think I would feel if I went to one. So thanks cx

AND OMG HER DAD THOUGH. HE CAME.