Will You Let Darkness Fall?

[Vic's Point of View]

Despite the late time, I was wide awake and working on a brand new song I wanted finished before tour.
There were moments when inspiration hit, and I felt the need to just let the emotion flow and create something new.
"Don't rain on my parade..." I penned, trying to figure out where I was going with the thought.
It was nearing midnight, and I was stowed away in this little cabin our tour manager owned.
It was a quiet place I would run away to, where my thoughts could flow uninterrupted.
My band was planning on co-headlining a tour with Bring Me The Horizon, and the take-off date was a few weeks away.
It was a last minute tour, but I knew our fan base wouldn't let us down and buy tickets.
"But you don't know what it's like..." I started, my mind flashing to Oli. He was my best friend. "To wake up in the middle of the night..."
I couldn't finish the lyric, writing down what I always tried to repress from my head and ignore.
The past few months, he had been going through a lot of shit.
He was finally in the clear, and ready to tour again. At least, I hoped he was. He would lie to tour.
There was a faint knock on the front door.
It was a bit misplaced, considering I was in the middle of the woods somewhere in Southern California.
At midnight, on top of that.
With a sigh, I placed my guitar and notebook down and headed towards the front door.
"Vic, are you in there?" Mike called out.
"Yeah."
Answering the door, it revealed my little (taller) brother and my best friend.
"Oli!" I smiled, throwing my arms around him.
He was the same height as Mike, leaving me at least a foot shorter.
"Damn, mate." Oli laughed, playing with my hair. "I swear, you've shrunk since I've last seen ya."
It's been months since he's been down in the states. The last time we saw each other were for the dates of the Warped Tour UK.
"What, don't I get a hello?" Mike pouted, pushing me aside and entering the cabin's kitchen.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, pretending I didn't want him.
"Oh, I'm hurt." Mike frowned. "And here I thought you actually loved me. I should have known."
"Whatever, Michael." I shook my head. "Seriously though, what are you guys doing here?"
"My flight landed a few hours early." Oli shrugged, his Sheffield accent slurring his words. "So, I just got here."
"Oh."
"He texted me an hour ago, asking if I could pick him up at the airport." Mike interrupted. "He said you weren't answering your phone."
"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow morning." I apologized. "Did you come alone?"
"Yeah."
We still needed to plan out the details of our tour, and we had figured it would be easier in person than over phone.
Oli had offered to fly down to San Diego, saying his clothing store was under renovations anyway.
"So, are we planning the tour now?"
"Well, I was thinking we could wait until morning." I shrugged, taking the beer Mike had offered me.
"Do you want one?" Mike asked.
"Uh, I'll just have a water." Oli mumbled, declining the bottle.
"Sure."
"Anyway." Oli continued. "Nobody seems like they're about to fall asleep, so we might as well come up with something."
"Alright."
"What's first?" Mike asked, casually dumping himself across the couch I had been sitting on.
"Well, we need to name the tour and think of supporting bands. Who else are we touring with?"
"I...don't know many bands who aren't touring." Oli admitted.
"What about Tonight Alive?" Mike suggested, sitting up and staring at me with a hopeful expression.
He and Jenna McDougal had hit it off last year.
"If they're up for it, I don't see why not." I nodded, kicking back and scrolling through the contacts on my phone.
"What about You Me At Six?" I asked, scrolling past Josh Franceschi's name. "Those guys are pretty cool."
"Who are they?" Oli asked, taking a small sip from his water.
"You Me?" I asked. "It's this small band from London. I've been friends with Josh Franceschi, their front man, for two years. They're really funny dudes. I think you'd like them."
"Alright."
"Well, we need to talk with the record label about the bands, but I don't think Equal Visions will mind. They can decide on a third support band, if they think we need one."
"What about a name?" Mike asked.
"Uh..."
We only had one album, and it had been released nearly two years ago. We had already toured every possible tour name.
We were halfway done with our second album, but nothing was tracked or released.
"Well, you guys already came up with the list of supporting bands." Oli smirked. "So, I should name the tour."
"What are your ideas?" I queried, finishing the beer.
Bring Me The Horizon had just released Suicide Season a couple months ago, and this was their first promo tour for the album.
"Sleep Is For The Weak." Oli answered, with a proud glint.
"Yes!"
"Wait, really?" Oli asked, screwing the cap back on the bottle of water. He had barely drunk anything.
Mike was already on his third beer.
"It seems like we're going to have to party A LOT to live up to the name." Mike offered, getting up. "Anybody up for a Taco Bell run?"
"Is it even open?" Oli asked.
"Yeah, the local Taco Bell has a 24/7 drive through." Mike grinned, pulling on a Drop Dead jacket.
It had been a birthday present from Oli.
"Yeah, just bring me a few Locos Tacos?" I asked, handing him a ten-dollar bill from my wallet.
"Sure thing, hermano." Mike took the bill. "Do you want anything, Oliver?"
"No thanks."
"Alright, I'll see you in a few!"
He left the cabin, locking the door behind him. It wasn't long before I heard the start of an engine.
It made me wonder why I hadn't heard it when they arrived.
I had been so involved in my music writing, I hadn't realized a car had pulled up into the driveway.
Oli was sitting on the ground, his knees pulled against his chest.
Sliding off the couch, I sat down next to him and took one of his hands in mine, playing with his bracelet.
It was a simple thread bracelet, woven from red string.
"Why are you still wearing this?" I asked, fingering the frayed end where it knotted tightly.
"I...don't know." he shrugged. "It's just a bracelet, Vic. There isn't anything significant about a piece of string!"
The sudden defense in his voice gave away the idea of it being "meaningless". He was hiding something.
"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" I asked, side-tracking just a little bit. "I know airplane food sucks, and the trip across the ocean? It's probably been hours since you've eaten something decent."
"I'm fine."
His voice was sullen and silent.
Casting aside the bracelet, I started running my fingertips across his wrist. The smooth skin was pulled taut over the bones.
"Fuck, Oli..." I whispered, comparing his wrist with mine. "You've gotten a lot thinner since I've last seen you."
"A lot of running around on stage, I guess." Oli muttered.
There wasn't a need to worry, really. Despite his thin arms, mine were still skinnier and I was perfectly fine.
"You know I care about you, right?" I spoke up, burying my head against his chest.
It was a nice feeling.
"Of course, Vic. That's why we decided to stay friends, because we cared too much about each other to let anything happen."
Despite the cute friendship we had, there was underlying passion whenever we looked at each other.
It wasn't lust, but the starting's of love.
We had started to fall for each other, but we hadn't wanted to ruin this amazing friendship we had, so we didn't act upon it.
He let out a sigh, staring out the darkened window.
"Are you going to be okay?" I asked hesitantly.
"Of course, Vic." Oli nodded, glancing at me with a confused expression on his face.
"No, I mean...are you going to be okay to tour?" I clarified. "I know things weren't so great last tour..."
I wasn't there, but Matt Kean had filled me in on everything. It had gotten to the point where Oli wouldn't get up.
He wasn't smiling anymore and barely performed.
"Vic, that was months ago." Oli smiled, wrapping an arm across my shoulders. "I'm doing better now, alright?"
"I guess." I hesitated. "If you want to wait a bit longer, the guys in Escape The Fate have wanted to tour with us for awhile..."
"Come on, I'm ready. I can't fucking wait to meet all these new fans, perform these new songs, and meet these new bands."
"You'll like them." I promised. "Especially the guys in You Me At Six. Josh and Max are quite a pair."
"I can't wait."
We sat there for a few moments, basking in the silence and feeling the worrisome feelings just fade away.
This tour was just a few weeks away, and it was just a matter of waiting until we embarked on another memorable event.