I laughed as I texted back that he was fine. Phlegmatic, even.
The stage was dark as the lights dramatically danced across the crowd in haphazard patterns. The fans roared in delight and lifted their arms in the air. Then all of the lights simultaneously swung toward the stage, and the mob screamed. Kellan and the boys had stepped out while they weren’t looking. Once the people realized they were standing there, waiting, they went nuts; it was easy to see that the fans were losing their minds over the fact that the D-Bags had been added to the tour. The noise vibrated my chest. I covered my ears as I laughed. From my vantage point, I could see Kellan shaking his head a little bit, completely blown away by the swaying mass of bodies before him. Even though I’d seen him do this a thousand times before, excitement flooded through me as I watched him approach the microphone.
“Good evening, Los Angeles!”
The answering squeals vibrated my skull. Adjusting the guitar strapped over his chest, Kellan flashed the crowd a panty-dropping grin. I saw someone in the front row fall back into her friends; guess her knees gave away.
As the rest of the boys got into position, Kellan raised his hand in the air. The crowd silenced . . . sort of. “We’re the D-Bags, and we’re honored to be playing for you tonight.” The silence evaporated into shrieking. Kellan put both hands up to quiet them. “Now, we’re only going to play for you if you’ve been good.” Unhooking the microphone, he walked up to the edge of the stage and looked down on the crowd at his feet. “So . . . have you been good?” he asked, his voice dripping with sensuality.
The crowd’s response was so loud that I almost didn’t hear Evan start the intro. I was sure that Kellan and the guys only heard it because of the earpieces they were all wearing. Giving the audience a glorious view of his backside, Kellan sauntered back to his microphone stand. Sliding the equipment back into place, Kellan started playing his guitar. It was miked as well, and the twang echoed around the arena.
They were playing a song that was classic to me, but new to most of the fans here. The crowd ate it up. Kellan’s voice was perfect and powerful; it made a shiver run down my spine. He really was so good at this, so inspiring to watch. As he played, words and storylines filtered through my head. Even though I hated to turn away from Kellan, I decided to not let this creative spark get away from me. As quickly as I could, I dashed away to find some paper. By the time I got back to my spot, the D-Bags had switched songs. Kellan’s guitar was resting near his empty microphone stand, and Kellan was strutting back and forth near the edge of the stage, tantalizing the crowd with his proximity.
Words were tumbling through my brain as his voice drifted past my ears. Watching a movie play out in my head, I jotted down everything I saw. It was a completely different story I was seeing than the tragedy of my past that I had been working on. Switching to something new brought a huge smile to my lips. Writing was so rewarding. And writing while listening to Kellan perform live was darn near euphoric.
Kellan found me after his set was over, and I practically leapt into his arms I was so proud of him. He was giddy as he swung me around in a circle. Just like after their other shows, the audience was shouting for the D-Bags, shouting for Kellan. Setting me down, Kellan peeked out over the crowd.
Evan and Matt were awestruck. Griffin looked like he’d expected nothing less. Smacking Kellan’s shoulder, he told him, “We gotta give ’em an encore.”
Kellan looked back at the bassist and shook his head. “We don’t have time to play another song. It’s Sienna’s show, and she’s big on structure.”
Griffin pursed his lips then grabbed Kellan’s arm. “What the fuck do I care about Sienna?” Shoving Kellan forward, he smirked, “It’s our time to shine, baby.”
Matt and Evan pushed him forward too. Matt said, “Just pop your head out and wave.” As Kellan shrugged, Matt looked back at me and laughed. “Plug your ears, Kiera.”
Grinning at the group as they dashed back onto the stage, I did as Matt suggested. Good thing too. My eardrums may have burst if I hadn’t. A panicked staff member frantically waving his arms at the boys finally got them to come down from their spotlight. They were all laughing as they joined me again. I couldn’t help but be caught up in their excitement.