Shattered By Broken Dreams

After what felt like forever and one further pit stop, the bus finally reached Iowa, and Savannah sat with her nose almost pressed to the glass as the bus pulled in past the security gates of the Gateway Arena and drove around to the rear of the arena.

Stan pulled in the bus behind Avenged Sevenfold, and both bands emerged. It was just after 3pm and they had a few hours to set up and do sound check and chill out before the show. A few diehard Avenged fans had shown up and were milling around outside the security gates. Despite it being winter, a few of the young teenage girls were wearing skimpy prostitute wear with their breasts hanging out and their skirts so short they were almost belts.
“Oh my lord,” Lee commented as she stepped off the roadie bus and took in the sight of the desperate sluts lined up against the gate. “Jailbait’s are getting skankier every year.”
“We love you Syn!”
“We love you Matt!”
“They don’t want to get arrested for statutory rape you dumb ass sluts,” Lee yelled back in response. Savannah tried rather unsuccessfully to hold back her laugh as she walked beside Lee and Erica into the Arena.
“Somebody’s gotta tell ‘em how it is,” Lee replied.
“And you told them very well,” a smooth voice interjected. Savannah saw Lee visibly shiver at the voice and she glanced behind her to see Tommy standing there watching Lee with nine kinds of lust in his eyes.
“I think I’ll just go on over there,” Savannah said with a smirk, as she grabbed Erica’s arm and walked to the backstage area to put down their make-up cases. Their roadies, Mike and Sebastian, were just ahead of them and were beginning to drag in the equipment.
“Oh hell, I’m so fucking nervous,” Savannah admitted.
“I don’t suppose now would be the time to tell you that the concert’s sold out,” Erica advised her.
“Wow, how many people?,” Savannah asked her.
“Um, about 10,000 I think,” Erica replied. Savannah’s eyes went wide and for a moment she felt like she would hyperventilate. She had expected that there would be a large crowd, given Avenged Sevenfold’s popularity, however she was extremely nervous about getting on stage in front of 10,000 people.
“Don’t worry, babe,” Kyle spoke up from behind the girls. “You’ll be fine. Once you get out there the adrenaline will kick in.”
“I just hope I don’t throw up on the front row,” Savannah said with a roll of her eyes.

After the roadies had finished setting up all of the equipment, Avenged Sevenfold had done their soundcheck first. Being the headline band, they had been given all of the stage, and Jimmy’s drum kit was now hidden behind a large black curtain. Kyle’s smaller kit had been set up in front of the curtain, and Mike and Sebastian would hurriedly remove it between Crimson Sins’ set and the beginning of Avenged Sevenfold’s set.

After Crimson Sins had finished their soundcheck, Savannah had returned to their dressing room to get ready. It was now 7.00pm and they were due to go on stage in an hour. The doors to the arena were due to open in half an hour, and the roadies had informed them that a huge crowd had built up outside. Savannah had dressed her in stage outfit and was pacing back and forth in the dressing room biting her nails. Erica, Tommy and Kyle were ignoring her nervous pacing as they finished getting themselves ready. The door to their dressing room opened, and Jimmy came bounding into the room wearing only a pair of low cut black denim pants and a huge studded belt. His pants were so low cut that he was showing a considerable amount of bum crack.
“Jesus, put that crack away man,” Erica laughed. Jimmy flipped her the bird and stuck his ass in her face.
“Go you, admit it dollface. You love this ass!” Erica rolled her eyes and slapped his ass. Jimmy shrieked dramatically.
“Police brutality!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, before he scooped up Savannah into a bone crushing hug. “You guys are gonna kick major ass!”

The door to the dressing room opened again and Johnny wandered into the room.
“Hey my little gnome,” Erica greeted him. He was busy texting on his phone, however he glanced up and grinned at her.
“Sexting with Jayde again, you horn dog,” Erica laughed. Johnny smirked, however a tell-tale blush overtook his face.
“Awww damn you’re gonna be all over her like white on rice when we get to Michigan,” Savannah laughed. “And then she has to watch you do the Nutbush,” she giggled.
“Don’t fucking remind me,” Johnny grumbled. “At least we don’t have to play the Sound of Music!”

What felt like moments later, Savannah and the rest of the band were standing beside the stage. The sound of the crowd was clearly audible and Savannah gulped. She could feel her hands shaking as she held her bass.
“Try not to blow chunks on the front row,” Tommy told her with a smirk, and slapped her on the ass before she and Erica walked out on to the murky stage which was enveloped in fog. He waited a moment as the band kicked into Tumult and the stage lights came on before he bounded out onto the stage and began singing.

Goddamn you!
Haven't let you in 'cause I'm in you
Haven't let you in 'cause I'm in you
Must have been a bitch, must have been a pain
Take me off the "innocent"
Put me in your vein!

It's improbable
It's improbable

Haven't said a word 'cause you're still on
Haven't said a word 'cause you're still on
Mustn't take offense, mustn't take a bow
Used to be a derelict
Now I have to live with it!

It's improbable
It's improbable
It's improbable
You came back, but I know better, boy

Trip my light fantastic
Rub me in your wound
I'm not broken, I'm not plastic
I'm no whore
Used against me, use me up again

It's improbable
It's improbable
It's improbable
You came back but I know better, boy

(sometimes I think I'm crazy, other times I know I'm not)

Got no time to time to time (once again)

You don't want me, you don't need me!

The sound of the crowd was deafening, and Savannah felt herself starting to relax slightly as she shifted more into her stage persona. She glanced down into the front row and grinned when she saw some teenagers wearing Crimson Sins t-shirts that they had obviously bought at their merch stand.
“Hey guys, we’re Crimson Sins,” Tommy yelled into the microphone. “This one’s called Orchids!”

Before she knew it, almost an hour had gone past and Savannah and Erica had been running all over the stage.
“Thanks for coming out tonight guys!,” Tommy yelled. “Who’s pumped to see Avenged Sevenfold?” The crowd roared in response.
“This is our last song, and it’s called 1st Person!”

Savannah hurriedly wiped her face with the towel that Sebastian threw to her, before she launched into the song with the rest of the band.

Why - is everything so grey - is everything so strange
Is everything so thrown together by mistake?
Why - is everything so contrite - is everything a plight
Is everything so insincere and out of sight?

WHY - DOES EVERYTHING SEEM WRONG
DOES EVERYTHING LOOK DRAWN
DOES EVERYTHING SEEM BLASTED LIKE IT DON'T BELONG?

I wanna make it a way - I wanna make it a waste
I wanna make it a gross misadventure
I WANNA MAKE YOU ALL!
I WANNA MAKE YOU ALL!
I WANNA MAKE YOU...lie to me...lie to me...
When - did everything go bad - did everything fall flat
Did everything decay and lose itself so fast?
When - did everything succumb - did everything go numb
Did everything lobotomize what it's become?

WHEN - DOES EVERYTHING COME BACK
DOES EVERYTHING RELAPSE
DOES EVERYTHING SAVE FACE AND FIND ITSELF AT LAST

I wanna show you the way - I wanna show you the waste
I wanna show you the worst misadventure
I WANNA SHOW YOU ALL!
I WANNA SHOW YOU ALL!
I WANNA SHOW YOU HOW TO...die for me...die for me...

I wanna give it a way - I wanna give it the waste
I wanna give it the worst misadventure
I WANNA GIVE IT ALL!
I'M GONNA GIVE IT ALL!
I'LL NEVER GIVE UP!
Lie to me...die for me...

Now - everything's a lie - everything's your lie
Everything's a face inside another lie
Now - everything's a side - everything's one side
Everything depends on just which side you're on...

“Thank you, Sioux City! We’ve been Crimson Sins! Thank you guys for coming out tonight, and get ready for Avenged Sevenfold!” Tommy yelled before the guys readied to leave the stage. Savannah handed her bass to Sebastian and walked off the stage only to stop short upon seeing Zacky standing with Matt. She wasn’t sure how long he had been standing there for, however they awkwardly stared at each other as she walked off the stage.
“Um, you guys were great out there,” he said to her awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck and nervously shuffled his feet.
“Um, thanks,” she mumbled in response and saw out of the corner of her eyes Matt rolling his eyes at the pair of them. “Um, I gotta get cleaned up,” she said hurriedly before she all but sprinted to the dressing room.