Never Regret

“Alright Louisville Kentucky! Unfortunately Gabe’s been insisting that we let the Cobras on stage now, so this is our last song,” Logan said mock-sadly.

“Yeah, the selfish dick,” JC laughed.

“This is one of the first songs we ever wrote. It’s called Woah,” Logan said into his microphone.

Reece tapped us in, and all 4 of us started playing at the same time. After about 15 seconds, Logan stepped up to his microphone.

“Sleep well
Tucked tight
Make sure you hide the night
This was for the best

Stay out
Of sight
Fled the scene of the crime
To avoid an arrest

We will brawl for the cause
That's all we've got
No matter the cost
We're singing
Whoa-oh
Whoa-ah-o
Whoa-oh
Whoa-ah-o
Oh, no, no, no

Beggars and thieves
Is what we had to be
Un-invited guests
Shake this disease
They'll quarantine this street
But colour me impressed

We will brawl for the cause
That's all we've got
No matter the cost
We're singing
Whoa-oh
Whoa-ah-oh
Whoa-oh
Whoa-ah-oh
Whoa-oh
Whoa-ah-oh
Oh, no, no, no

Whoa-oh
Whoa-ah-oh
Whoa-oh
Whoa-ah-oh
Oh, no, no, no

I know we won't get caught
But if we do
we'll say we never knew
This is our chance to lose it

Whoa-oh
Whoa-ah-oh
Whoa-oh
Whoa-ah-oh
Whoa-oh
Whoa-ah-oh
Oh, no

Whoa-oh
Whoa-ah-oh
Whoa-oh
Whoa-ah-oh, no...”

Logan and JC ended with a chord, and the crowd went wild. I just grinned jumping up and down. Holding my guitar tightly I started to walk offstage when my eyes landed on someone I thought I’d never see again. Someone I never wanted to see again. He smirked and blew me a kiss, before disappearing. So I ran off into the side of the stage, quickly handing my guitar to a roadie.

“What’s wrong Mack?” JC frowned, passing his guitar to a roadie too.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Reece frowned, tucking his drumsticks into his back pocket.

“He was here,” I squeaked, my hands shaking.

“Who?” Reece frowned.

But Logan and JC knew exactly. Reece looked at their angry faces and his jaw dropped.

“Why the fuck is Joseph here?” Reece growled.

“I don’t know, but he smirked and winked and disappeared. He can’t be here. He can’t,” I whimpered.

JC pulled me into a hug, holding me tightly. I buried my face in his chest, breathing fast and shakily. He rubbed my back, trying to get me to calm down.

“I’ll go find security and tell them if they see him to kick him out,” Logan announced softly.

“I’ll go and tell Taylor, so she can alert security if she sees him too,” Reece added.

“I think I need some fresh air,” I whispered, pulling away from JC’s arms.

“Do you want me to come with you?” JC asked.

“No, I’ll be okay,” I replied with a weak smile.

“Alright, I’ll go with Logan then. Don’t go too far. I’ll call you if we find out anything, okay?” JC said warmly.

I just nodded, walking out of the building. As soon as I was outside, I dug around in the pockets of my black denim shorts for my cigarettes and lighter, easily finding them. Marlboro reds, the best fucking cigarettes in the world. I walked away from the venue and kept walking till I found a tree. I had no idea where I was but right now I didn’t care. I slid down the tree till I was sitting with my knees up by my chin, quickly lighting my first cigarette and taking a drag, letting the nicotine soothe my nerves. Anyone walking past would’ve thought I was a right state. Crimped peroxide hair, bright pink lips, bright pink eyeshadow, chucks, jewellery and nails, heavy eyeliner, large flower clips holding my fringe back, and dressed in a black tee and black short shorts, dragging on a cigarette like my life depended on it. Yeah, a right state.

I don’t know how long I was sitting there, but I’d got through at least 8 cigarettes before I heard someone calling my name. I didn’t bother getting up, they were coming my way so I knew they’d find me. After a couple of minutes, I saw William and Michael walking towards me and waved sadly.

“Where the bloody hell have you been?” Michael exasperated as he ran to my side, his accent strong.

“Here,” I shrugged.

“You’ve been gone for two hours,” William said, concerned.

“What?” I gasped.

“Your band and the Cobras went looking for you when the Cobras finished because you’d been gone for an hour. They looked while we were playing but couldn’t find you so we came as soon as we finished. Everyone’s so worried,” Michael said softly.

“I didn’t mean to scare anyone. I just needed to get away,” I sighed, standing up.

“Who’s Joseph?” William asked.

I froze, my eyes wide.

“I heard your bandmates mutter something about ‘fucking kill Joseph’. Who is he?” William repeated, this time with a small frown.

I bit my bottom lip, looking down at the ground. Michael and William looked at each other, worried.

“You don’t have to say if you don’t want,” Michael said quietly.

I lifted my head, smiling weakly.

“Joseph is my ex boyfriend. I haven’t seen him in over four fucking years because he’s been in jail, but I guess he’s out now,” I said, my voice wavering slightly.

William looked shocked, Michael looked concerned.

“Is he to do with why you don’t talk about your past?” Michael asked hesitantly.

I just nodded, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

“Let’s get you back to our bus. It’s the closest one anyway and we have mocha mix,” Michael suggested.

Mm mocha.

“That would be great,” I said warmly.

“I’ll call Logan,” William nodded.

I smiled gratefully, hugging my arms round my body for comfort. I’m just glad this is a humid summer so I’m not freezing my ass off.

“Yeah, Logan? We found her. Yeah, Mack is fine. Totally fine. She was just smoking by a tree. Hah, yeah, a tree. Okay. Mmhmm we’re taking her to our bus for a mocha. Yeah, if that’s alright. Okay, see you tomorrow,”

William ended the call, shoving the cellphone back in his jeans pocket.

“Logan said you could crash on our bus if you want. It’ll save moving about anyway,” William smiled.

“If you guys don’t mind?” I said quietly.

“Of course we don’t!” Michael said quickly.

William chuckled and Michael blushed. I just smiled, glad I had friends like them, glad I could be withMichael them.