Wanted

Eliza sat in the very backseat of the Escalade Zacky had rented, sandwiched between Wiki and Jimmy. Some song was playing on the radio and she was drumming along, loudly, on the middle row, annoying Nisa and Dominic. On purpose, she leaned forward and sang off-key. Nisa whirled around to smack her, but she leaned back out of the way just in time.

“No, dammit, that’s not how you do it,” Jimmy said and leaned forward to start drumming himself.

“No, no, no, it goes like this,” Wiki said and did the same thing.

Eliza burst out laughing and joined in with the two beside her.

“If you don’t cut that shit out, you’re going to be singing like Helen Keller,” Nisa said, menacingly.

Wiki, Eliza, and Jimmy paused in their antics for a few seconds while the guitar solo started, and resumed their drumming when the drums came back in. Nisa rolled her eyes dramatically and Eliza could see Zacky’s eyes squinting in a smile in the rearview mirror.

“Did you know Helen Keller didn’t sing?” Wiki said, causing Eliza to burst out laughing.

They looked at each other before bursting out "Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips!" while they put their hands on their hips and shimmied a bit. Jimmy laughed at the two of them.

They were on their way to the concert hall. Brian, Matt, Val, Johnny, Kelly, and Hunter were in the car behind them.

Brian had left around eight that morning, smiling as he placed a kiss on her lips. She couldn’t stop thinking about the night before and how he’d been completely sweet and gone at a slow pace until she couldn’t take it anymore and forced him to be a bit rougher. After they’d finished, he’d put his head on her chest and fell asleep with her hands in his hair while she sang the new song she’d come up with hours before.

She smiled at the memory and looked around her. The concert was going to be amazing, she could just feel it. Jimmy passed her a beer from the case between his legs and she popped it open, drinking in the liquid.

Eliza burped, loudly, as they pulled up to the venue. They filed out of the vehicle and Eliza jumped down, her energy almost bursting out of her. She threw her shoulders forward, straightening her jacket and danced around the parking lot.

“Are you drunk already?” Katie asked.

“Nope, I’m just fucking excited!”

“I think she’s drunk,” Katie said, leaning into Wiki.

They laughed and watched Eliza help unload her things. Good Charlotte was allowing them to use a few of their roadies, and everyone stopped when Eliza screamed.

Turning, they were surprised to see the Berry twins walking up to them. Eliza charged forward and jumped on Matt, wrapping her legs around him. She high-fived Jason before setting her feet back on the ground to re-join the group and the twins even pitched in to help.

As they made their way into the venue, Eliza got close to Wiki.

“Is he here?”

From his place behind the two girls, Brian could hear their conversation. Instantly, his mind jumped to all kinds of conclusions as Wiki pulled out her phone to look for something. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind.

“Yeah, he is,” Wiki was saying with a smile on her face. “He’s brought her.”

“Thank God. I can’t wait to see the look on that slut’s face.”

“What’s going on?” Brian found himself asking before he could stop himself.

Eliza looked surprised to see him behind them but she quickly covered it up with a smile.

“Wiki’s cousin Arin has been dating this girl Emily Summers. She called me out in some magazine article and then she said some fucked up things to Thomas. Arin wants to break up with her and he hasn’t found the right way, but because she’s been a bitch to me as well, he wanted me to help. So during a few of our songs, he’s gonna come play the drums.”

Brian was glad he’d pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and that Eliza so willingly shared what they were talking about. He smiled at how excited she seemed to be, but when she turned away, he frowned. Someone had been talking shit about her? He sighed, knowing she was grown and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Let’s do this shit!” Eliza suddenly hollered.

She was holding her beer in the air and everyone around her hollered. She was pumped for the concert, wishing it would start right then.