It was finally the night that the band would make its debut; a showcase of up and coming Waverly bands and artists go and perform.
I looked at toward the stage in the back, seeing the flashing lights and audience cheering them on after every set.
“Hey,” I hear a girl’s voice say, turning around to see it was Vero. She smiled as she stood next to me, watching the stage. “Tonight’s the night. You’re nervous?”
“It’s our debut show; of course I’m nervous,” I mentioned looking at the crowd. I start noticing familiar faces sitting within the crowd. I see Mollie sitting with Weston; interesting. I see the other bandmates and vocalists from our classes, including Allen and Sophie with their group of friends. My stomach instantly churned.
I don’t say anything right away while Vero was standing there. It was awkward, seeing your past in the same vicinity as your current.
Vero and I pulled away from our second kiss, seeming to enjoy it way more than either of us expected.
“Well, this is awkward,” she finally said.
“Awkward?”
“Having songs written about your ex after… this just happening,” Vero further explained, then sighed. “We shouldn’t have done this—“
“Vero,” I began to say before she interrupted me again.
“This is how bands break up; things get super weird between two people and the vibe is instantly off.”
“Vero, the vibe is a band of four people who happened to be friends,” I began to explain. “One of them is just down for the music, Davy wants to pick up girls saying he’s a musician in a band, and the other two?” I looked down at Vero, taking in her softness for a moment. She was beautiful when she showed that side. The side that she just so happened wanted me to see.
“Yeah?” Vero said, feeling impatient.
“The other two just so happened to… like each other,” I finally said.
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that my thoughts were occupied with Vero whenever she wasn’t around. It was like all I wanted to hang out with was her, and when I didn’t, I felt a bit sad. Vero was the type of girl I didn’t think would excite me the way that Vero does. She was the complete opposite of Sophie.
“I tolerate you,” Vero corrected, smiling as she did. I couldn’t help but lean in for a kiss; something I found myself desiring the more I looked at her.
“Yeah, yeah,” I said to her lips before pressing mine against hers.
“Milo?” Vero snapped me out of my train of thought. My vision was focusing itself, and I noticed just where I was. I looked down at her, now focused on her. “We’re gonna rock the fuck out this show.” I appreciate her enthusiasm at this moment.
The band and I are fully dressed and ready to perform our set. We all held hands and said a little good luck prayer to get us through our debut show.
“We’re gonna do great out there,” I started the talk off, looking at everyone with their heads down. “We have great music, and we are a great band. This wouldn’t have even been a thing if I didn’t have you guys experiencing this with me.” I looked over, and Vero was the first person to lift her head and look up at me.
I stared at her back. “Let’s fucking do this.” The host is now quieting the audience down, introducing us as the next performance. I stood at the microphone stand, then turned my head toward Vero. She returned the look, then held out her pinky finger towards me, solidifying all of my thoughts and worries will be alright. We interlocked our pinkies like we were little kids swearing to a promise.
The curtain open and the band is finally revealed to the audience. A few people reacted, possibly not realizing the four of us would do something like make a band together. I took a deep breath, finally stepping over to the microphone.
“What’s up, Waverly!” I shouted to the audience. The audience clapped and cheered loudly as their response. “I’m Milo, this is our bassist, Davy; our drummer, Jonah, and our lead guitarist, Vero!” Vero shredded a chord for her introduction, which made the crowd cheer. She’s waited so long for Vero to come out on stage. “And we are Surgical Logic!” The rest of the band free-styled an intro sound effect.
“We got a couple of songs we’d like to play tonight for you, but let’s start off by introducing our sound with, ‘There’s the Door, Baby’.” The audience clapped as we got in position, waiting for our queue to start. Before I can fully prepare myself for the song, it starts and I instantly get into music mode.
The lights make it hard for me to see the rest of the audience besides one corner of the venue. It just so happened it was where Sophie and her friends were sitting.
I looked directly at her, singing the bridge as the key of the song changed.
“I know we’ve been a part for some time, and you’re now with someone new // I hope you found your Mr. Right was worth breaking my heart in two.”
I looked over at Vero, shredding the guitar solo after the chorus. Davy screamed his part of the song, adding a heavy mental angst in the song. Vero’s fingers quickly strummed the strings, looking insanely cool while doing it. Her hair swung as she threw it back away from her face. The audience roared in excitement. The audience loved Vero.
I started to sing the final chorus of the song, giving it my all. I felt like some rockstar on stage; I had no idea I even had this persona in me.
I grabbed my mic stand and leaned it toward Vero, looking straight into her eyes. “Please stay, won’t you come inside, baby? // Please stay; never leave my side, baby // Please stay and promise you’ll be mine.” Vero’s eyes never leave mine.
The audience began cheering loudly, clapping their hands as the song ended. I turned back to the audience, and took my first bow. When I got back up, my eyes interlocked with Sophie’s.
She was the only person that wasn’t clapping her hands.
…
The door to the dressing room slammed open, and scared the shit out of me. To my surprise, it was Mollie.
“So,” Mollie began to say. Weston ran up next to her as if he was running after her. “You guys come up with a top secret band and don’t tell me?” I looked over at Vero whose face turned pale.
“Mollie,” Vero began to say.
“Especially you, Ronnie; or should I call you Vero?.” She spat back. “You’re supposed to be my best friend—”
“I asked her to join my band,” I jumped in. Vero looked at me confused. “I told her to not say anything to you.”
Mollie’s eyes pierced me. “You told them to not tell me? After everything we’ve been through, everything I’ve been through because of a band… you weren’t going to tell me?”
“Any mention of a band sets you off,” I spat back to defend myself. “You would’ve went crazy—”
“Don’t make this about me!” Mollie shouted at me. “You should’ve been man enough to tell me. Let me get mad! Let me shout and scream! But at least I can’t say you don’t value our friendship to at least tell me.”
“Mollie,” Weston said, stepping in front of her to break her eye contact. “Hey? Hey.” Mollie finally looked at Weston, still fuming. “Breathe.” It felt like this was something I wasn’t suppose to see. He calmed her down in a way no one has ever done before. What was going on between these two?
Mollie took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she exhaled. She directly looked at me once she opened her eyes.
“You’re supposed to be my best friend.” Mollie walked out the room, slamming the door open. Weston went after her as soon as she walked away.
Letters From Liz. 