Page 64 of Rocked: The Price of Dreams

“You three.” Matias pointed at us. “Get your asses up here now.”

“Holy shit.” Stunned, Kyle murmured, “This is insane.”

“Fuck yeah.” Hunter, who never missed a chance to be on show, grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the steps. “Come on.”

“No. Wait.” I pulled back, drawing to a halt. “We don’t have our gear.”

“We’ll borrow the band’s stuff.” Hunter flicked his chin toward the stage. “It’ll be fine. We can do this.”

“But...” I glanced around.

Every set of eyes was upon us, clapping and chanting for us to sing. “Everhide. Everhide. Everhide.”

My heart thundered like a boom box. This was crazy. No one at school ever gave two hoots about us. Now this? Overwhelmed, I couldn’t take another step.

Kyle grabbed my shoulders and stared into my eyes. A strange calmness washed over me. He was like my Valium, always calming my mind. But I couldn’t have missed the fire in his eyes even if I’d tried. “Gem? Think of the contest. Every crowd is an opportunity to gain more followers, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So let’s get these guys on board.”

“Come on, Gem.” Hunter winked. “This will be fun.”

Hunter dashed up the steps and was halfway across the stage before Kyle managed to drag me forward.

Mortification had drained the color from the lead singer’s face. “What the fuck?”

Matias grabbed him on the shoulder. “Whatever the school paid you to be here, I will triple it. But these guys play now. Okay? So don’t fuck with me. Now...hand over the guitar and no one gets hurt.”

“Fuck off, dickhead.” The singer swatted Matias’s hand aside.

In the crowd, twenty footballers stepped toward the stage.

The drummer stowed his sticks and shot to his feet. The bassist handed Kyle his guitar. Hunter took to the keyboard. I held out my hand for the lead singer to give me his Gibson. Awesome taste.

He gnashed his teeth. “You fuck my guitar, you pay.” He hooked the strap over his head and handed it over.

“As if I’d ruin a guitar.” I grabbed the neck. “Are you mad? It’s like your baby, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I promise I’ll look after it,” I said with a wicked grin and kicked off my high heels. We were gonna rock the shit out of this place.

The hired band mumbled and cursed under their breaths as they left the stage.

I slid the guitar strap over my head and wriggled it into position. In my bare feet and long dress, I giggled. This wasn’t my normal stage attire. Hunter and Kyle had ripped off their jackets and ties and popped open a few top buttons. We were ready to play.

Matias adjusted the mic for me.

I dipped my chin. “Thank you.” Some things never ceased to amaze me. Matias becoming one of our biggest supporters was one of them.

“I owe you guys a lot.” Matias placed his hand over his heart. “Your music saved me on more than one occasion. It got me through some rough, dark times.”

Well...holy shit! What did I say to that? We had touched people’s lives. That was one of the reasons we loved performing so much. Everyone was dealing with shit on a daily basis. We were lucky to be able to express ourselves through our songs. People obviously connected with them. “That’s...cool.”

“I’m still gutted you wouldn’t come to prom with me. It was a stupid notion to think you’d detach yourself from Kyle and Hunter for a night. I just want you to know I think you’re awesome, Gemma.”

“Oh. Thanks.” He may have redeemed himself a fraction by getting us to play, but not totally. He was still a bully to others and thought he was a football god. But were we any different about our music, thinking we were great? Probably not. At least we didn’t pick on people.

---