Burn

After a quick run-down of the set list with The Maine's manager Tim, he showed me the different places I could stand in the venue to get quality pictures.

"The way to side-stage is through here." he gestured. "And if you go back through those doors you came in, you'll be where the crowd is."

"And here," he showed me another door marked 'Photographer Pit'. "This is normally where you guys will stand. Don't stay for too long, though. There will be a few other people here along with you and John doesn't like a lot of cameras in his face when he sings."

I nodded and we made our way back to the boy's dressing room. "And this is where I leave you. Good luck!"

I heard the crowd start to scream, so I darted back to the side-stage door, accidentally running into the back of John. He stumbled forward and turned around, looking down at me with an amused expression on his face. "Sorry--I thought I was about to miss the beginning." I said.

"No worries. You're right on time." he smiled, walking out on stage and the whole building exploded into claps and screaming.

"Hello. We are The Maine and this song is called Some Days."

They launches into an upbeat tune, and John's accented voice crooned over the guitars easily. The crowd sang right back at him and he closed his eyes, a lazy smirk forming on his mouth. I could help but smile at the amount of energy the band had on stage.

After hearing a few songs from side-stage, the band disappeared, leaving John on-stage by himself. Someone on the crew passed him an acoustic guitar and the lights dimmed, leaving on him in the spotlight.

"We're gonna slow it down a little bit now. I hope that's okay."

"I LOVE YOU!" someone screamed from the crowd, making him chuckle. "I love you too."

I took this as my chance to change positions, and I quickly walked around to the photographer pit. Luckily I was the only one down there at the time. I smiled to myself. So the other photographers must have already had their moment down here!

John launched into another song just as I reached the spot I was going to be standing at. I aimed my camera steadily, snapping really great pictures of him at close range before my time was up. He finished out with Whoever She Is.

She could be money, cars, fear of the dark

Your best friends are just strangers in bars

He looked straight down into my camera during the next part, startling me. I almost missed an excellent shot before I regained my composure and snapped away. He smirked down at me in a taunting way, as if he knew exactly how he has affected me.

Whoever she is, whoever she may be

One thing's for sure -- you don't have to worry



The Maine played one more encore song --When I'm At Home-- before calling it a night and retreating back to their dressing room. The crowd dispersed until there was only a few left standing near the stage to catch extra guitar picks and set lists. I spotted my friends near the door and made my way over to them. Rose immediately bombarded me with questions.

"Did you meet them? Are they cool? What's John like? Does he sound as twangy in person as he does while singing? Are they funny?"

I laughed, shaking my head. "I'll answer all of those later when we have time to actually sit down and talk."

"How was the interview?" Caleb asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "The first one was um, okay, I guess."

Joel raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Aw, was someone nervous?" he teased.

I shoved him, laughing. "No." Rose scoffed and I frowned slightly. "Okay, so maybe I was extremely nervous." I admitted, and everyone laughed.

"I have to get back though, so that I can finish up the second interview. I'll see you guys later?"

Everyone nodded, and Rose narrowed her eyes at me. "We aren't done talking about this!"

I laughed, waving goodbye as I walked back towards the backstage area. The Maine were in their dressing room again -- everyone was sweaty and lounging except for John, who looked like he'd never even been on stage.

"Weren't you just sweaty and disgusting like ten minutes ago?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

He smiled, shaking his head. "I hate being like that. They were nice enough to let me take a shower here."

"Yeah, John gets to take a shower, while the rest of us have to wait until we get back." Garrett rolled his eyes. "Guess we know who the favorite is, huh?"

"Can I ask you guys a few more questions before you head back? I know you're tired." I asked, feeling a blush making its way to my face. I was relieved when Kennedy spread his arms wide, leaning back on the couch. "Ask away!"



"So you're telling me that you think Aladdin is better than Toy Story?!" Pat exclaimed, shaking his head. "You're out of your mind."

"I don't think. I know!" I replied, grinning. Somehow our formal interview had turned into a debate over classic Disney movies. The guys were all extremely easy to talk to and one conversation flowed into another with such ease I didn't even realize how far we had gotten off topic. I'd had enough information to write my review ages ago, but I couldn't bring myself to get off the couch and leave

My phone dinged and I looked down to see a text message from Caleb.

Are you home yet? I was waiting on you to text me and let me know you got there?

I checked the time, seeing that is was almost 10 o'clock and jolted out of my seat. I had been sitting and talking for over two hours.

"Time to go?" Jared asked.

"Uh, yeah." I murmured, gathering all my things together. "I was supposed to be home ages ago. I have to work tomorrow."

I thanked them graciously for letting me interview them before heading to the door. "Bye Violet Grey!" I heard one last voice call before I shut the door behind me, making me giggle. "Farewell, Cornelius." I called, and I heard them all laughing as I walked down the hallway towards the exit.

I couldn't stop smiling on the drive home. All I could think about was how well I had pulled off my first ever interview with five famous guys I'd never met before. I, Viola Evans, was now a real journalist. All I had to do now was write up the interview and my opinion on their show and I was good to go. I was determined to make Mr. Clancy proud that he chose me to be the one he promoted.

For the first time in a while, I was actually excited to go to work the next morning.