Page 11 of Follow the Rhythm
When the drums kicked in, the house lights came up. I nearly passed out. It wasn’t a cover band. It was Velvet Howl, in the flesh, and about 20 feet away from me. My body went hot, then cold, and my heart was pounding like the frenetic kick drum onstage. Based on the crowd’s reaction, I wasn’t the only one surprised.
Ellis Fox launched into the verse, his voice as incredible as on every album I’d listened to a million times, or heard in person when he forced me to give him feedback before a vocal assessment at St. Hildegard's.
I was frozen. It was the closest I’d been to him in nine years. For a moment, I couldn’t move or breathe. All I could do was stare at him, drinking in the lines of his face as he sang. A strange sense of vertigo hit me, and I clutched Austin’s arm for support.
“I told you you’d like it,” Austin yelled, beaming.
As Ellis growled his way into the chorus, I shook off my shock. There’s no way he’d see me from the stage, or even care if I was there if he did. He’d made that abundantly clear.
Well, fuck that and fuck him. I’d enjoy the show out of pure spite.
“Fairview City, how are ya tonight?” Ellis yelled into the mic, adjusting his guitar strap. The crowd roared back, and he smiled, urging us on with his hands. Kieran, the bass player,strummed a few chords. He was huge and looked a bit like a Viking - if Vikings wore vintage Levi’s and leather jackets. And he reportedly gave Ellis a run for his money on alleged sexual conquests, if you could believe Reddit. Seeing him in the flesh, I believed it.
I forced myself not to stare at Ellis and instead stood on my tiptoes to see who was on the drums. Their original drummer had passed away about a year before, and Velvet Howl hadn’t performed publicly since.
I was surprised and impressed to see a woman at the drum kit. She was blond, with one side of her hair shaved close to her scalp. Her delicate features contrasted with her muscular arms that she was showing off in a cut-off muscle tank. She looked weirdly familiar. And of course, she caught me staring at her and broke into a huge smile.
“Who is that?” I asked Austin as the band started playing “Les Yeux Verts.”
“That is my fuckingsister!” Austin yelled, and the drummer pointed her stick right at them before launching into the breakdown.
I gaped at Austin, bouncing on my toes along to the beat. No wonder she looked familiar. They did have the same elfin look.
I lost myself in the music. If I pretended I was at home, I could ignore the fact that Ellis Fox was in the same room and just dance and sing along with the lyrics to the songs that had kept me going for the last 8 years.
They closed with “Kilojoule” and the crowd went wild, myself included. Austin grabbed my hand, and we jumped like maniacs, screaming the chorus at the top of our lungs. It was the most I’d let loose in a long time.
As the band left the stage, Austin squeezed my hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like that.”
“Don’t brag; it’s unattractive. But that was a really good surprise. And what the hell! I thought your sister was out in L.A. with that punk band.”
“She’s a temporary member, something about a tour contract, I don’t know. But come on, the surprise isn’t over yet,” Austin said as the house music picked back up and a crew started breaking down the stage. The crowd finally accepted there wouldn’t be an encore and filtered back to the bar or outside for a smoke break. Austin pulled me closer to the stage.
“Are The Beatles about to pop out?” I joked.
“We’re going backstage,” Austin said with a smug smile, sending a text before they led me to the side of the room where a group was already clustered, trying to convince the security guard to let them backstage.
“Whoa. No, no, no,” I said desperately, digging in my heels. Unfortunately, Austin was taller and stronger than me, so it didn’t work. “I can’t.”
“What, why? I want you to meet Grace,” they said.
“I just… I can’t…” I said feebly. “I don’t want to go back there. Can’t she come out here?”
“Come on, you’re being weird.” They hauled me forward. Their sister, Grace, popped her head out from behind a black curtain and indicated us to the security guard. He let us pass, and the rest of the crowd booed. I flipped them off on pure instinct.
We passed through the curtain. I got only an impression of the hallway beyond - hardwood floors and exposed brick - before I was almost knocked off my feet.
“Oh my gosh, hi!” Grace had Austin and me in a hug that felt more like a sweaty double headlock. Her amber scent was pleasant, but not overpowering; she was a Beta like Austin.
“Hi,” Austin said, their voice strangled, and Grace released us.
“Hey,” I said warily. I scanned the hallway behind her for any sign of Ellis, my heart pounding, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“You were amazing,” Austin said, squeezing Grace’s face between their hands and pushing her cheeks forward. Grace was beaming.
“Ahhh, thank you, I’m still buzzing.” She held out her hands, which were shaking as much as mine were. “I’m Grace, by the way. It’s so great to finally meet you!”
“Yeah, you too,” I said, trying to stop freaking out. “That was a great show. You sounded incredible.”
