Wish You Were Here

"Well Loki. I don't think we'll find her today either." I tell the beagle as he walks beside me. He looks up at me and cocks his head to the side. I smile and keep walking down by the beachside apartments. Its been a couple of days that we've spent looking for her. She's pretty hard to find when you don't know her name or how old she is. The only thing you've got is to tell people she plays a mean bass. People just laugh and tell you to try around the live houses. There are quite a few near the beach in Long Beach and there are even more downtown. I figured i'd check out the closest one to where we were. I stopped and tied Loki's leash to a bike rack outside the place. I kneel down and pat his head. "I'll be back bud, try not to bite people." He barks and wags his tail. I smile and walk inside.

Inside there are people sitting at tables and at the bar drinking and talking about these bands they saw a couple nights ago or the bands they're gonna see tonight and how excited they are. A couple of people talk about how a band is missing a member and if they don't find a replacement soon then they wont go on tonight. I walk up to the bar and sit down next to a man who looks to be my age, maybe a year older. He sat there drinking his beer watching me from the corner of his eye. I ignore him and pay attention to the tv that is broadcasting the live performances from the concert room. There were people getting on stage, setting up mics and instrument stands and amps. The guitarist was out doing sound check looked a lot like Padge from BFMV. I haven't seen him in a long time though so he probably looks different. I laugh for a second thiking about Padge having a buzzcut instead of his long hair. The guy next to me gives me a full on weird look before finishing his drink and walking through the doors to the concert room. "Hey Buddy! you gonna order something or not?" I jumped and nearly fell off my stool. "Dude, you startled me! No i don't want anything. I'm just looking for someone." The Bartender sighed and rolled his eyes. "Look, you seem like a nice guy, but trying to ask this dame out is like asking King Midas not to touch anything." I knitted my eyebrows and tilted my head in confusion. "Uhh, how do you know I'm looking for a girl?" The Bartender just looked at me and gave me a half grin. "Boy i can see it in your eyes. You can't stop thinking about her, and since she's part of a band, you thought she'd be really cool. Fact is, Anna is one of the best bassist around and she's not gonna waste time with boys like you. Give it up bud." And with that the bartender walked to the other side of the bar and took another customers order and got it for him. I smirked and got up from the bar.

Apparently word travels fast in large places, everyone in the bar room heard the conversation between me and the bartender because now everyone was talking about how another loser had arrived to try and take Anna on a date. I just rolled my eyes and let them think that. I walked in through the doors and headed straight for backstage. As I was walking back through the stage area, I heard a couple of band members freaking out about their lead guitarist not being there. I smiled and saw this as an opportunity. I stepped closer to hear their conversation. "Dude, you should have told him to come straight here and not worry about getting money out of the bank for the after party tonight. Now he's stuck in the damn bank cuz of a damn robber."
"Well he's not coming here anytime soon so we might as well just give up tonights spot and get another gig somewhere else." These guys sounded really worried about not making this gig without their guitarist. I pulled up a chair and sat next to them. They both gave me weird looks as i cleared my throat to get their attention.
"Look. Your guitarist is not here and you guys reallly want to play this live house. I'll make you a deal. I'll play guitar for you guys and in return, you'll introduce me to Anna." They looked at me then looked at each other then looked at me again. I rolled my eyes and sighed "Deal?" “No offense but we don’t even know if you can play guitar, let alone any of the songs we’re gonna be playing.”
I smile and shrug “It doesn’t look like you have much of a choice right now. Look, if I can’t play one song you guys have on your set list for tonight, then I’ll leave you guys alone.”
They looked at each other again and then smiled and shook my hand.

As we talked about what song we were playing and choosing who'd sing it is when I saw that guy at the bar walk up to us with this Anna girl. "You guys ready to go o-....who's this?" I stood up and offered my hand to him. He took it and shook it. "I'm Drew. I'm you're lead guitarist for tonight." The man smirked and moved his hair out of his eyes. "I'm James. This beautiful woman next to me is Anna. I'm the rhythm guitarist, Anna's the bassist. The two guys you talked to are Dean and Sam. Dean's the drummer of our band and Sam is one of our roadies. Now usually I don't let these guys let someone into the band but we need you to play with us tonight and sing..you can sing can't you?" I shook his hand and shook Anna's. It looked like she didn't remember me. "Yeah I can sing. I used to sing in a band before I came to California. I'm sure I wont have a problem. So! what song are we playing and...does anyone have an extra guitar??" Anna giggled but the others didn't look all that happy. I just smiled and looked expectantly around the room.
*timeskip*
I walk out on stage infront of a mic and I nod to Dean and he counts us off "1..2. 1,2,3,4"
and then the music begins and the lights come on showing us to all the people in the room listening to us, and there seems to be alot. From what I can see the place is packed from the stage to the back wall. I move closer to the mic and start singing in a soft, soothing flowing voice.
“They say freak,
When you're singled out,
The red, well it filters through.

So lay! down, the threat is real.
When his sight goes red again.
Seeing red again,
Seeing red again.

This change, he won't contain,
Slip away, to clear your mind.
When asked, who made it show,
The truth, he gives in to most.

So lay! down, the threat is real,
When his sight goes red again.

The solo comes up and I start to go a bit overboard with it, so I try to keep it minimalist and not outshine anyone else in the band. I get so into I don't realize how close to the edge of stage I was until Anna pulled me back behind the mic, just in time for me to sing the last of the song.

So lay! down, the threat is real,
When his sight goes red again.
So lay! down, the threat is real,
When his sight goes red again.

Seeing red again!
Seeing red again!
Seeing red again!
Seeing red again!
Seeing red again!
Seeing red again!
Seeing red again!
Seeing red....~!

They say freak...
When you're singled out.
The red, it filters through..”

The crowd cheers and claps and yells. I smile as James steps up to his mic and speaks into it.
“ Hey guys we’re Cryptic Sin! You guys want to hear more???!!!!” The crowd screams yes and James starts playing the second song on the set list. He steps up to the mic again and speaks again.
“ This song is called Drones!” he screams into the mic and Anna plays an awesome bass riff to start the actual song and I smile and James and I match our entries into the song.
Immediately, I recognize the song as a Katastrophic Breakdown song and sing back up to James
“Deep inside these burning buildings
Voices die to be heard
Years we spent teaching a lesson
We ourselves had never learned

And if strength is born from heartbreak
Then mountains I could move
And if walls could speak I'd pray
That they would tell me what to do

If you see me, please just walk on by, walk on by.
Forget my name and I'll forget it too.
Failed attempts at living simple lives, simple lives
Are what keep me coming back to you.

No signs of life here, save the embers, the occasional flame,
We'd know the way but can't remember, conception to the grave,
Shout confessions from the greatest heights, where no one can hear,
All my fears, my insecurities are falling like tears.

If you see me, please just walk on by, walk on by.
Forget my name and I'll forget it too.
Failed attempts at living simple lives, simple lives
Are what keep me coming back to you.

The drones all slave away, they're working overtime,
They serve a faceless queen, they never question why.
Disciples of a God, that neither lives nor breathes, (I won't come back!)
But we have bills to pay, yeah we have mouths to feed! (I won't come back!)
I won't come back!

And if you see me, please just walk on by, walk on by.
Forget my name and I'll forget it too.
Failed attempts at living simple lives, simple lives
Are what keep me coming back to you.

I'm coming back to you”

The crowd cheers and yells for more and James steps up to the mic again and points to Anna and speaks into the mic. “Who wants to hear her sing??” the crowd yells and screams Anna’s name and she smiles and blushes. Suddenly the screaming turns into two names. “Anna and Drew!! Anna and Drew!!” I look over in astonishment at Anna, and she at I, the same expression on her face. James looks down right pissed off. I smile internally at the joy it brings me for some reason. I step off the stage for a second to grab an acoustic guitar and walk over to Anna
“let’s do Broken.” I whisper into her ear and she nods with a polite smile and I head back to my mic and speak into it. “This song is called Broken” I smile and start strumming the chords of the song on the acoustic and sing into the mic.

“I wanted you to know, I love the way you laugh.
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away~.
I keep your photograph, I know it serves me well.
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain.”

Anna steps up to her mic and sings the chorus with me and I’m blown away how she sounds even better when she sings in front of a crowd.

“ ‘Cause I’m broken when I’m lonesome,
And I don’t feel right when you’re gone away.

You’ve gone away. You don’t feel me here, anymore.”

I step away from my mic and Anna begins singing the next verse.

“The worst is over now and we can breathe again.
I wanna hold you high and you steal my pain away.
There’s so much left to learn, and no one left to fight.
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain.”

I step back up to my mic and sing the chorus with Anna as James plays the non acoustic guitar parts.

“ ‘Cause I’m broken! When I’m open! And I don’t feel like I’m strong enough.
‘Cause I’m broken when I’m lonesome
And I don’t feel right when you’re gone away.
‘Cause I’m broken! When I’m open!
And I don’t feel like I’m strong enough
‘Cause I’m broken when I’m lonesome!
And I don’t feel right when you’re gone away!”

We wait and play out the small solo part in the song between the final choruses and then step back up to our mics and sing louder.

“ ‘Cause I’m broken when I’m lonesome
And I don’t feel right when you’re gone away.

“‘Cause I’m broken when I’m lonesome!
And I don’t feel right when you’re gone away!

You’ve gone away~.
You don’t feel me here. Anymore~.”

We end the song and Anna walks offstage and James after her. I look over at Dean and Sam and they shrug, not knowing what’s going on either. I look out over the crowd and see them talking to each other about the last song. How awesome it was. How it gave someone goose bumps when mine and Anna’s voices collided with each other. How epic we sounded together.

Then I heard someone up by Anna’s side of the stage say something about tears forming in Anna’s eyes before she walked off stage.

I turn to Dean who starts walking towards me after talking to the owner of the live house. I raise my eyebrow in curiosity as he approaches me, Sam doing the same.

“So here’s what’s up. James and Anna aren’t coming out for a while, and we have one more song that we need to play or we’re getting kicked off stage.”

I smile and grab my wallet out of my back pocket, open it up and pull out a folded napkin. Dean and Sam start laughing as I unfold it and tell them about the song I wrote while in a restaurant after my date stood me up. I let them go over it as I told Dean that I need him on drums and Sam on bass. Sam looked frightened to even touch an instrument. So I showed him the only notes he needed to play and then gave him the instrument and told him to not sing back up. I turned to Dean and asked if he could sing and play at the same time he nodded and gave me a thumbs up.

I stepped up to the mic and cleared my throat and started talking to the crowd.

“Alright! Seeing as Anna and James won’t be coming back out for our last song, we’ve asked our roadie and Deans brother to play bass for us.”

I step back and nod to Sam to make sure he’s alright and then start playing and singing.

“Here I stand, all alone
Trying to fight the pain from a broken heart.
Why she left me? I don’t know~!
It really doesn’t matter anymore.
I thought our love could last forever,
But here I stand lost and all alone.

There is life even after a broken heart.
You can fight the pain from a broken heart.
Broken heart!

Start a new day, but not alone.
I’m gonna break away from this broken heart.
I’ll meet a woman. I’m gonna take her home
Where I’ll pick all the pieces and start all over again.
I know that life will be much better,
Cause I know the light will shine again.

There is life even after a Broken heart, Broken Heart!
You can fight the pain from a broken heart. Broken heart!”

I step away from the mic and head to the edge of the stage and play the solo I wrote on the napkin but without the palm mute I wrote with it then head back to the mic.

“wooooah. I know that life could be much better. I know the sun will shine again! Baby I know ohhhhhhhh! Yeahh~ I know! There is life, even after a broken heart.

There is life even after a broken heart, Broken heart!
You can fight the pain from a broken heart, Broken Heart!

There Is life even after a broken heart, Broken heart!”

We end the song and quickly unplug from the amps on the stage, set our instruments and quickly run off stage in the same direction Anna and James took off to, Leaving the chanting of encore behind us.