I Wanna Be Somebody

Music blared from the TV that was set into the bus wall adjacent from the main sitting area, but I wasn't paying much attention to it. Going by the timezone we were in, it was nearly two in the morning, but none of us had any intention of going to bed any time soon. Not that we could; we were all wired, hyper. Completely on cloud nine. But then, how could we expect much else? The first show of the tour -especially a world tour- always seemed to pack twice the adrenaline rush. Every show came with it's own set of chills and a surreal break from reality, but the first was a special one.

It also came with the most alcohol. And some of the funniest stories.

Eyes locked on my left hand, I carefully ran the thin little brush coated with liquid band-aid over the tips of my middle and ring fingers, hissing at the burn as I patched up the first two wounds of the tour. One would think I had learned my lesson; nearly four years of touring with Memento Mori, and I still procrastinated about getting in shape for tour. This is what it got me. Gashed open fingers.

Well, that, and River laughing at me, because she rarely sliced her fingers on strings. But then, she always practiced, too. Having learned and played in a bar owned by the man that had taught her, River had all the discipline that I lacked, and some even cooler tricks. Me, on the other hand... all my discipline went to my voice. I'd been taught how to play guitar by my best friend, so a lot of the time we had been goofing off, but my voice had been my prized instrument since I was a child. I made sure to take very good care of it; drank lots of water, avoided over using it, avoided pop, avoided alcohol-

I glanced up, nearly dropping the little bottle that would be my closest companion for the first two weeks of the tour, as I saw a flash of jet black hair in my peripheral vision. The leather of the seat creaked a moment later as Oblivion flopped down next to me, letting out a wistful, content sigh. I smiled at him, setting my finger repair tools aside as I turned my attention to him. Long hair damp from the shower he'd just taken, his face was framed by black tendrils that made his pale blue eyes -eyes he shared with his brother- seem all the more bright, and the grin on his face said that he was definitely still feeling the '10 feet tall' effects of the concert's adrenaline high.

“How many did you slice?” he questioned as he reached behind me, pulling at the handle of the window. Pushing it open, a warm breeze of air hit my neck and Oblivion looked like he was ready to curse. The May weather meant that it was still quite warm, and even though he and his brother had grown up in this country -in this city- even, they still hated the heat. It still wasn't as hot as the venue had been, but it was just enough to get on the bassist's nerves.

“Only two, this time,” I answered as he unraveled the black tape he kept wrapped around his hand during concerts, revealing the thick white scar underneath where a bass string had snapped during one of our very first shows together. The injury had been extensive, nearly needing stitches, and he was bound and determined to keep it from happening again.

“Well, that's not too bad, should heal pretty quickly.”

“Wouldn't have to worry about it if she got in shape before we started touring,” River quipped from her spot near the door, pausing in the middle of typing -probably Isaac- a text message. I opened my mouth to retort, saying that I was in plenty good shape... but the smirk on her face stopped me. She knew she was right.

“Oh shush, American,” I said finally. River just grinned at me. Without missing a beat, she bit back, “Love you, too, Dutchie.”

“Hey!” Oblivion barked, feigning offense. “What about me ? I'm the bass player! Bass players always get some love!” He threw up his hands in a 'what the hell' gesture, the reaper tattoo on his upper right arm flexing with his muscles, looking even more smug in the lighting of the bus. With a subtle glint in her eye, River leaned forward, blonde hair spilling across her shoulders as she locked blue gazes with our bass player. Light freckles spread across her face, making her look somewhat innocent, but we knew her to be anything but that; Riv had the driest, darkest humor out of any of us. She could put even our tour manager, Tygo, on edge, at times. But it was usually all in good fun. Most people thought of her as being too stoic, but we knew better. She was a unique individual with a long history, and with a lot of talent. I love her to death, and Oblivion did, too.

Even when she picked on him.

Carefully, quietly, as was her nature, River spoke, keeping a straight face as she answered the question that'd been posed. “Yes, Oblivion, bassists always get some love... but just some.” And then she winked at him. Oblivion sat there, stupefied for a moment, before her words set in. His jaw dropped and I burst out laughing.

“Oh! Ouch! You walked into that one, Obliv,” I giggled, grinning at the way his shoulders slumped before his hands flew up once more. He tried to fake anger over her words, but he couldn't help but laugh, a brilliant smile shining through.

“That was harsh!” He yelled, the words broken between laughter as he ran a hand through his hair, sitting back, silently admitting defeat in their contest of banter. “I walked right in-”

“Oh shit!”

His words were cut off by the sudden sound of someone yelling and we both jumped as a loud thump came from behind us, the force of it shaking the bus. Confusion written across our faces, all three of us stood up, leaning to look out the window to see what the commotion was. The first thing we saw were three figures, running towards the bus, yelling after someone we couldn't see. Two of them were smaller, and as they got closer we realized it was Angela, Elize, and Casey -all members of the four different bands touring with us.

“What was that,” River called out to them, but didn't receive an answer as a long groan sounded. Immediately, Oblivion's worried expression changed to one of sheer annoyance as he leaned against the seat, sticking his head out the window.

“Good job, dumbass,” Oblivion chimed sarcastically. “I take it that hurt?” Another groan sounded and River and I glanced at each other in question. When the blonde shrugged, I couldn't help but laugh. There wasn't enough room for all three of us to see what was going on, but apparently it warranted Oblivion's sarcasm. Which meant Avaa was the one who'd probably just smashed face first into the side of the tour bus.

Doing something stupid, no doubt. Or he was drunk, which was also likely, being as he and Kris had opted to go get the left over alcohol that the venue had decided to give to the bands who'd wanted it.

“Be nice, Oblivion! It was Johan that gave him the skateboard!” Elize yelled back. She was the first to reach the bus and the person who had smacked into it.

“He's the idiot that got on it, though,” Oblivion cut back with a grin, laughing. I smiled as I heard her huff, and no doubt glare at Oblivion as she leaned down to help whoever was on the ground. Casey and Angela came up next, trying to keep straight faces as they huffed from the running.

“He was rolling around-” Casey paused, taking in a deep breath before starting again. “-on the skateboard, and got too close to the down slope.”

“He was gone before we could catch him!” Angela added, an exasperated edge in her voice. In the dim light, I could see the smirk she tried to hide. There was a shuffling sound directly below the window, a grunt, a curse, and then a damn near slap-happy looking Avaalon -Memento Mori's energetic drummer- came into view with an extremely disgruntled Elize.

“That hurt,” Avaa mumbled, arm slung over Elize's shoulders as she held him up.

“Of course it did,” Elize replied shortly, not an ounce of pity detectable in her voice. “You just banged into the side of a bus.” At that, an absolute shit-eating grin passed across Avaa's features and a barely audible 'oh no' sounded from Oblivion as the bassist buried his face in his hands. Kristian, our lovely pianist, who we had sent to supervise or rambunctious drummer, had joined the group outside and now had a similar terrified look on his face. Wrong choice of words, Elize.

“You know what else I'd be great at banging?” Kristian's head dropped, face in his hands, and Oblivion just let out a sigh, lowering himself from the window to sit back in his seat as he struggled to keep a straight face. River and I did our best to bite back our laughter, especially as Avaalon's grin morphed into a suggestive look. Elize, though, was stone faced, not even smirking at him. She looked him dead in those pale blue eyes that matched Oblivion's...

And then dropped him on his ass. Literally.

The laughter that rang out was barely enough to cover Avaa's distressed yelp as he hit the ground again, and Elize just smirked.

“On that note, my friends,” she spoke, with a dramatic flourish, “I wish you good partying.”

“Ah, come on Elize!” Avaa yelled, trying to get up, only to fall again as he lost his balance. “Come have a drink with me!” The singer of Amaranthe stopped in her tracks, whirling around with an eyebrow raised at him. “Not a chance, drummer boy.” And then she sauntered off as Avaa flopped back to the ground, defeated. Kris, not bothering to hide his grin, crouched down beside him, offering a hand. Avaa glanced at him, but made no move to get up.

My eyes moved from them, though, as movement caught my gaze. I smiled, seeing the other members of Arch Enemy, the band we were sharing a bus with for the tour, heading towards us. Angela greeted one of the guitarists, Michael, but it was Kris who answered the question of what they had missed when he noticed our drummer lying on the ground.

“Avaa here just got shut down by Elize,” Kris laughed as he grabbed his friend's hand, pulling him up from the pavement whether he wanted to get up or not. Throwing his arm over the bright red-headed drummer's shoulders, everyone aside from Casey made their way towards the door of the bus. River unlocked the latch and pushed it open for them, greeted by Kristian, who smiled at her as he led Avaa slowly up the steps.

“Come on, loverboy. The alcohol will take the sting out of that burn.”