Your Eyes Shine Like The Stars At Night

“This is our last song of the evening, so I want to see every single fucking one of you off your feet and dancing!” Alex yelled into the microphone.

“If there’s even one person who isn’t dancing, I swear on Alex’s dog that I will drag you onstage and force you to shake your ass,” Jack threatened.

The crowd cheered, doing as they were told and dancing as All Time Low played “Shameless” to close their set. I watched from side stage with Seth, Josh and Darren as they finished up.

“Is everyone looking forward to seeing The Catastrophe?” Alex asked the audience. A chorus of screams and hollers responded back to him.

“They’ve got a new guitarist. You are the first people to see her perform with them,” Jack informed the crowd. “Her name’s Scarlett Waters and she’s fucking awesome.” Even if he was only saying this because he was onstage, it still felt good to hear Jack compliment me like that.

They said their final goodbyes to the audience, and walked offstage, each of them high-fiving and smiling at my bandmates. “Great job, you guys!” I praised.

“Thanks, Scar,” Alex grinned.

I scrunched my face up in disgust. “Don’t call me Scar; it makes me feel like I’m a wound or something.”

“You are a wound. You’re an open sore. You’re my open sore, baby,” Alex laughed.

I just pushed him slightly, my face lighting up when Jack walked over to me.

Alex was now wrapped up in a conversation with Rian and Seth, so no one noticed when Jack lightly kissed my cheek. I was going to say something, but then he immediately turned around and walked backstage. It may have only been on the cheek, but as I placed my fingers over where his lips had just been, my breath caught in my throat.

I could barely speak as Darren was shaking my shoulders, forcing me out of my daydream. “SCARLETT! We’re up!” I shook my head, trying to erase my doubts and negative thoughts like an Etch-a-Sketch, mentally preparing myself for what I was about to
do.

“Darren, what if they don’t like me?”

“They’ll love you! Shut up and get onstage!” he said hurriedly.

I complied, grabbing my guitar and running in front of the mass of fans. Seth situated himself behind the drum set, Darren stood behind the mic stand, and Josh stood on the other side of him, bass at the ready. I shifted my weight back and forth on my feet, my heart beating faster than my racing thoughts. Thousands of eyes stared back at me, expecting something. I knew I had to give them what they wanted.

Darren saved me, taking his microphone off the stand and walking around with it. “Who’s ready to fuck shit up?!” he screamed, receiving cheers in response. “Fuck yeah! Now, you all see an unfamiliar face onstage, correct?” The crowd screamed. “Our new guitarist’s name is Scarlett, and tonight, she’s gonna show you what she’s got!” The audience seemed pleased, and didn’t completely disregard me or boo me offstage, which I was grateful for. I was so sure they’d reject me, preferring the old guitarist over me. Thankfully, they gladly accepted me.

Song after song, I became more and more confident in myself. I knew this was where I belonged.

My heart sank as we completed our final song of the night, walking offstage.

“How’s it feel to officially call yourself part of the band, Scarlett?” Josh asked.

My smile grew wide. “It’s…” I thought hard to find the perfect word. “Unbelievable.” Four years ago, as I was struggling to contain myself and take back control of my life, I never would have imagined that this is where I’d end up. I’d had dreams of being in this same position, but that’s all they ever were: dreams. I had more issues than even I knew at the time, and I thought I’d completely hit rock bottom with no chance of climbing back up. But here I was now, setting my guitar down as I fraternized with The Catastrophe and All Time Low after kicking off a headlining tour.

“Good to hear,” he smiled. “You’re like my little sister, now. I’m always gonna look out for you and make sure you’re happy.” I felt a sharp pain in the pit of my stomach. Hearing him say that made me miss my older brother Lucas. Lucas would have done anything to help me. And he did. I would probably be dead today if it weren’t for him. I knew I had to call him as soon as I got the chance.

Jack walked up to me, a small smile on his lips. “Hey, Scarlett,” he greeted.

“Hey, Jack. Can you excuse me for a sec? I’ve got to call my brother,” I asked.

He looked a little taken aback, but nodded his head all the same. “Yeah, of course.”

I stepped outside into the cold night air, only being able to see the numbers I was dialing on my phone because they lit up. I pressed the phone to my ear, waiting impatiently as I leaned against the building. Finally, someone picked up on the other end.

“Hello?” a deep voice asked groggily.

“Lucas?” I inquired, not being able to contain my excitement.

“Scarlett?” He suddenly sounded more awake. “You know it’s midnight, right? I’ve got work in the morning.”

“I know, I know, but I just had to call you. I miss you!”

“I miss you too, sis. Having fun on tour?”

“Duh! I wish you could be here. I’ve never been so happy.”

“That’s good to hear. You know, if there’s anyone you should be contacting right now, it’s Sandra…” he trailed off, referring to our older sister.

I sighed. “Yeah, I know, I just really don’t feel like talking to her. She probably doesn’t want to talk to me, either.”

“She does, but you know Sandra; she’s stubborn. She won’t budge unless you give in and call her first. Besides, she wants to know how you’re doing lately, too.”

“Whatever. She never cared before, so why would she now?” I questioned, not believing him.

“Sandra’s always cared, Scarlett. She just…got tired of what was going on, is all,” he defended.

“Well I couldn’t help it. Anyway, I’ve got to get back to the bus. Night, Luke.”

“Night Scarlett. You know you can always call me if you need someone to talk to.” I smiled to myself, thankful for having such an understanding older brother. I hung up, stuffing my cell phone into my jeans pocket, walking to the bus where the guys had already went.

“Scarlett! You’re back! We missed you,” Seth exclaimed, jumping off the couch and hugging me.

“I was gone for like, all of five minutes,” I chuckled.

“It was the longest five minutes of my life,” he said seriously, before laughing. I hit his chest, telling the guys goodnight. I was exhausted already; I didn’t know how the guys were going to be able to stay up and hang out all night like they were planning.

I crept into my bunk, sliding the curtain shut and nuzzling my face into my pillow. I was almost completely asleep when I heard the faint sound of my ringtone coming from my bag where I’d left my cell phone. I silently cursed whoever was interrupting my slumber as I got out of my bunk, opening my bag. The caller ID said Unknown, and I didn’t recognize the number. I opened the text I’d received, reading the message.

Message received 12:19 AM:
Goodnight, Scarlett :]
-Jack

The cheek that he’d kissed before our performance instantly tingled, and I couldn’t hold back the beaming smile that was threatening my lips. I was suddenly okay with the fact that I’d been woken up.