Unknown Being

Matt reached into his pocket to get his backstage pass and his heart seemed to stop. He felt a hole in his pocket and the pass was gone. He was crushed.

"Come on, kid, where's your pass," the guard asked impatiently.

"Matt, what's wrong," Cat asked.

"It's gone. My pocket is torn and it's gone. I had it earlier." He bit his lip, mind working furiously to try to figure out where it could be. He knew he'd had it in the car so he figured he must have somehow lost it afterwards.

There was a growing ruckus behind them as people were impatient to see the band.

"Come on, get in there or go away!"

"I wanna see the band! Get outta here!"

"Stop wasting our time, loser!"

The ruckus was so bad that Andy himself came out of the dressing room, irritated. The crowd went quiet. "What the fuck is going on out here," he thundered.

"This kid claims to have had a pass but he says he's lost the pass." The crowd grew noisy again, complaining.

"What k…" Andy stopped. "Wait a second. You're Matt. You were the one who rocked the finale." The whole crowd went silent or began apologising desperately. "I think, for your amazing performance, you ought to get back here whether you have your pass or not. My treat."

Matt's face lit up. "Oh my god! Thank you so much, Andy!"

"Now come on before you get mauled by people," Andy chuckled. His eyes flicked to Cat. "Friend of yours?" Cat nodded. "Yeah, then come on before they try to rip you apart."

The dressing room wasn't much but Matt didn't care. His eyes focused immediately on what he and Cat had come for - the rest of the band. He stood in awe. "Hi guys," he said, trying to contain his excitement.

Cat, on the other hand, squealed and hugged each one of them, words coming out of her mouth at a million miles per hour. She blushed furiously after she'd finished.

"So…" Jake said with a grin, "This is our new celebrity. Matt, was it?" He extended his hand.

"Yeah, that's me," Matt said, shaking Jake's hand.

"You're a damn good singer, better than Andy."

"Hey," Andy whined. Jake laughed.

Jinxx was next. "Nice cueing earlier," he said. "You actually made it clear to me when to come in. Unlike some people," he said, not at all disguising his joking contempt for the frontman.

"Everyone hates me," Andy grumbled.

CC, as was his character, was super excited. Ashley was just chilling out.

"You guys have no idea how much it means to me to actually meet you. I've been dreaming about it for years. I got into your music three years ago and I've always wanted to meet you since. Your music has helped me through a lot of hard times. My parents hate me and they don't treat me well. And I get bullied at school at times. But you're always there to tell me to go on and I'm so glad that I found your music. I just…thank you." Matt smiled.

"Good to hear that," Andy said. "What about you," he asked Cat.

"I'm Catherine but I go by Cat. Matt is my best friend and he got me into your music. I'm luckier than him but I still love your music just for the sake of music. It's fantastic. It inspires me when i feel like I won't amount to anything in life."

"Both of you will," Ashley said. "Both of you will become great. Don't ever doubt yourselves."

Just then, they heard a high-pitched laugh and the two friends groaned. It was Kayla, again. "Do you know her," Andy asked, puzzled.

"What do you want, Kayla," Matt asked roughly.

"Vince told me to come find you. I believe you were looking for this," she said, holding up Matt's pass. "Pity you got in anyways. You're nothing special, Matt, no matter what they tell you. You're pathetic. And if you're wondering, Vince will never forgive you for what you did, you cretin. Go back to your parents and cry about your sad life as they make you suffer."

"That's enough," Andy said, seeing the tears threatening to spill from Matt's eyes and the venomous glare on Cat's face. "Get out of here."

"Make me, Biersack," she spat.

Andy strode over to lead her out, but she resisted and she did something that made everyone nearly vomit - she kissed him. She pulled him down and kissed him hard. She tried to grope him but he shoved her out into the hands of the security guard, who was wondering how she slipped past him.

Andy walked back to the others, but his face contorted and he ran to the bathroom. He could then be heard actually vomiting into the toilet.

Jake stared at Matt and Cat. "What the hell was that?"

Matt wiped away some tears and said, "Two years ago, for a school talent show, I decided to do a piano/vocal cover of Lost It All. I won the show by a landslide, ahead of Vince. I wasn't anything special back then and Vince was top dog and he hated me for it. He pretty much vowed to make my life a living hell. Kayla is his girlfriend and she also hates Cat and me. My parents mistreat me a lot. My house is a living hell. I stay with Cat when I can, usually when my folks are out getting wasted and/or high. Her parents love me like their own. I owe so much to them. Ever since the show, I've been the absolute lowest of the low. Cat gets a lot of shit for being my friend and it's hard. She got these tickets and passes for me because, well, I'm moving away in two years and I may never see her again after I move."

The room was quiet. Andy came out of the bathroom, a sour look on his face. He tipped Matt's chin up. "Head up, Matt. They can't take you down until you let them. Fight for your life, kid. You're bulletproof. Never give in. The devil in the mirror isn't going to hurt you. If it comes to it, set the world on fire. Above all, never be the faithless one, hold onto that heart of fire, and remember that you have a saviour. In the end, you only have yourself and a very small number of others. Hold onto them and fight for you life. Vince and Kayla, they don't mean anything. Don't listen to them, or anyone else who gives you trouble."

Matt smiled. "Thank you, Andy. Can we get autographs and pictures with you guys?" Of course, they did, and each teen got six autographs - five individual and one group - and pictures with whomever they wanted. Then it was time to get home.

Notes

So things nearly went to hell. But they turned out okay in the end.

Should I continue this story to when Matt moves to Cali? Or stop here?