Rock All Night

12




Showtime neared, and the anticipation in the air almost crackled. I was even becoming nervous.

Killian wasn’t. He just smoked a doobie over in the corner and plinked along on his guitar as the opening band rocked out on the stage, the sound of their vocals and guitars echoing through the concrete hallways.

Derek wasn’t nervous, either. He joked with various crew members, and chatted with all the famous people who had dropped by before the show. Current stars, rock luminaries from decades past, actors – the Beautiful People. And all of them seem entranced with him.

But Ryan and Riley were off in their own private worlds. Ryan was pacing back and forth, breathing in and out methodically, a sick look on his face. Riley was sitting on a swiveling stool by herself, her eyes closed, drumsticks clasped loosely in her fingers, pounding out beats on an imaginary drum set.

“Hey,” I said to Derek as he wrapped up talking to a famous actor who had played a musician in a recent biopic.

“What’s up? Getting good stuff for the article?”

“Uhhh… I guess. Where should I go while you guys are onstage?”

“Oh, you’ll be going onstage, too.”

My face went slack with shock. “…what?”

“Yeah, I’m going to get you out there. I thought I’d introduce you as the inspiration for most of my songs, and maybe have you sit out there with me. I could sing them to you – ”

“No,” I said, waving my hands. “No, no, NO, BAD idea – ”

And then I saw that he was suppressing a smile.

I stopped moving my arms. “…you’re kidding, aren’t you.”

He burst into a full-fledged grin. “You just had that same look you gave me when I said I came over to sleep with Shanna. You remember that?”

I glared at him.

Yes, I remembered that.

“Very funny,” I snapped.

“Aaaah, don’t get your panties in a wad,” he teased. “Ancient history.”

Actually, not so ancient – and maybe not even history.

“You’ll be on the side of the stage so you can see everything, but the audience won’t be able to see you,” he continued. “You’ll have to share with Mara and Casey – we’re letting them stay, too, but we’re putting Ryan’s parents up in a box seat. I think they’d get a little bored otherwise.”


“They’re going to let a thirteen year-old just hang out backstage at a rock concert?” I asked, surprised.

“It was a giant negotiation,” Ryan said, walking over to join us. “Mara did not want them around because it would look like she was a little kid, and Casey pitched a fit about not being able to go, too. So now we’re having a security guy babysit them, and I had to promise and check up on them between numbers.”

“You doin’ alright there, man?” Derek grinned. “You’re lookin’ a little green.”

“Screw you,” Ryan said good-naturedly.

“What?” I asked, not sure what the joke was.

“I get serious stage fright before every show. And he – ” Ryan pointed at Derek. “ – loves to rub it in. Does it every time.”

“It’ll be fine… twenty thousand people, tops… piece ‘a cake,” Derek said with faux sincerity.

“If I vomit, I’ll make sure to do it on you.”

“Puke on Riley, not me. I think she’s into that sort of shit.”

“F*ck all y’all,” Riley shouted from her seat, where she was still seated with her eyes closed as she continued to play her invisible drums.

Miles suddenly appeared at the mouth of the room. “It’s show time, ladies and gents!”

Derek looked at me and flashed me that heart-stopping grin. “You ready?”

“…I guess.”

He jerked his head. “Let’s go, then.”