Loverman
Amity POV:
My alarm woke me with a jolt, playing a loud set of barks and squeals that made me sit straight up in bed. Lazily reaching out a hand to try and turn my alarm off, I tried to blink away the fog that clouded my vision. Finally hitting the top of my alarm, it shut off with a snarl, stopping the annoying sound it was making.
I ran my hands over my face, letting out a low groan. "Today's the day..." I muttered under my breath, taking a look at my window. The curtains were closed, only allowing a sliver of golden light to poke through.
Getting out of bed, I stretched my hands over my head before making my way to my door. I knew I set my alarm earlier than usual, meaning I had a bit of time to lounge before we had to leave to get ready for the concert.
The thought of the concert made me scowl, filling my mouth with a sour taste. Most of my thoughts about the concert were already sour, but today it seemed to be worse. I opened my door and made my way to the stairs, carefully creeping by my siblings rooms before noticing a familiar scent floating up from the kitchen.
The stairs lightly creaked under my weight as I slowly went down the stairs, peering over the handrail. In the kitchen, there was Edric, frying something over a small fire with a smile on his face. I took another step down, that stair loudly groaning and catching my brother's attention.
He turned around, his eyes lighting up when he saw me. "Morning Mittens!" He chirped, turning back to his pan and giving it a little shake.
"Ed? You're up early." I mumbled, making him laugh as he took his pan off the fire and poured what looked like to be eggs onto a plate. I continued down the rest of the stairs before moving over to the kitchen table.
"Of course I am! After all, I've gotta practice what I'm gonna do later tonight." He winked at me, giving me a smirk before nodding towards his plate. "Want some?" I shook my head in response, making him shrug. "Suit yourself. But hey, you should get something to eat."
"I will." I muttered, watching as he quickly threw open a drawer to grab a fork before starting to shovel the food into his mouth. He winced when he took the first bite, but he clearly tried to play it off. "Where's Em?" Edric held a hand up, quickly swallowing his bite.
"Still up in her room. Didn't want to bother Viney." He said, stabbing his fork into another bite of food. I slowly nodded my head, slightly turning my gaze towards the stairs before sighing and moving to the pantry. "Though she should probably get up soon."
"Yeah, she should." I said, grabbing a granola bar from its dwindling stock before tearing it open. "Do you have your outfit ready?" I asked my brother, who only nodded his head while he chewed another bite.
"Sure do." He spoke with food in his mouth, slightly slurring his words. "And before you throw a fit, yes I'll make sure my hands aren't greasy or whatever before I touch it." I shot him a slight glare before rolling my eyes, listening to him laugh.
"Does Emira?" I leaned against the counter, taking a bite of my breakfast. Edric let out another laugh, barely tapping his fork against his plate, creating an annoying 'tink' noise with each tap.
"Oh she sure does." He laughed again, twirling his fork in his fingers for a moment before pointing it in my direction. "In fact, she was showcasing it off for Viney last night." He let out a little chuckle, then summoned his scroll. "Do you know how much blackmail I was able to get? It's insane."
"How exactly is that blackmail against Em? Technically you would call it blackmail against Viney." I muttered, taking another bite of my breakfast. Edric shook his head, muttering something under his breath with a smile.
"You're acting like the only photos I were able to get were of Viney gushing over Em's outfit. Nah, I've got some stuff that'd be golden to use against Em whenever I need to." He told me, finishing off his food and using magic to quickly clean his plate before putting it back.
"Whatever you say." I muttered, also finishing off my food and throwing away the wrapper. "I'm gonna go wake her up, you get ready to leave."
"Want me to change now or when we get to the studio?" Edric asked me while I was walking away. I turned back to face him, giving him a look.
"When we get to the studio." I said, not hesitating at all. "Knowing you, you'd somehow get dirt on your outfit the moment we stepped outside." Edric's eyebrows furrowed together as he scoffed, folding his arms over his chest.
"Do you really think I'm that clumsy?" He raised an eyebrow, giving me a half amused, half irritated smile. I shook my head, making my way to the stairs.
"No, but I'm not taking any chances. These outfits have to stay presentable." I climbed up the staircase, my hand running against the wooden railing, then the wall as I quickly made my way to my sister's room.
I walked up to the door, noticing it was cracked open. I waited for a second, then gave the door a few soft knocks before walking inside. Both Viney and Emira were still in bed fast asleep, Viney resting her head on Emira's shoulder, her arms wrapped around my sister's waist.
Moving over to their bedside, I stared at the two of them for a moment, then turned my gaze to Viney. It was clear she was wearing some of my sister's clothes since they seemed a little big on her, and she was wearing one of Em's favorite shirts.
I glanced over at my sister for a moment, then back to Viney, giving her a quick nudge. She was quick to open her eyes, blinking a few times before focusing on me. I brought a finger up to my lips, shushing her before she could ask any questions. "I'm gonna drag her out of bed, you wanna get up first or do you wanna be dragged with her?"
Viney glanced at Emira for a moment then back at me. "I'll get up." She whispered in a husky voice, carefully trying to untangle her arms from my sister. Once she was able to free herself from my sister's grasp, she carefully slid off the bed and moved slightly behind me, rubbing both of her arms before shivering.
"Alright Emira." I raised my voice to a normal level before grabbing her by the arm. "Get up!" She opened her eyes, then I started to drag her off the bed, making her yelp in surprise and desperately flail her free arm about to maintain her balance.
"I'm up!" She frantically said, now hanging halfway off her bed. I let go of her arm, watching it fall limply to the floor. Emira's eyes moved from me, then to Viney, her eyes widening slightly. Behind me, I could hear Viney chuckle, making my sister's cheeks go pink. "Geez Mittens, couldn't have given me a nicer wake up call?"
"Actually set an alarm next time then." I muttered, spinning on my heel getting ready to leave. "Also, we're changing at the studio, less risk of messing up the outfits before the show. Just get in something casual for now." Emira flipped herself over, then slid off the rest of her bed, lying on the floor for a second before picking herself up.
"Whatever Mittens." She muttered, ruffling my hair as she walked to her door. "I'm gonna go get something to eat first. When are we leaving?" My sister glanced back at the two of us.
"In half an hour." Emira gave me a nod, then focused on Viney, motioning for her to follow my sister. The beastkeeper was quick to move, both of them making their way downstairs. I stood still for a moment, then shook my head before following after the two.
By the time I was downstairs, I saw Em digging through the pantry and Viney at the table, my brother nowhere in sight. Em poked her head out of the pantry. "Want a granola bar? Or I could make you some eggs or something."
Viney gave her a nod, then Emira tossed the bar in her hand in her direction. The beastkeeper caught it, then tore it open and took a bite. "Thanks." She said, my sister giving her a nod before turning towards me.
"You've already had breakfast right?" I nodded my head. "Great. Where's Ed?" I shrugged my shoulders, then there was a loud boom outside, making the three of us jump. Emira turned to the window, noticing the thick cloud of smoke that was billowing up from down below. The sight made me hold my breath, my ears going down. My sister moved to a different window in the kitchen and quickly opened it. "Ed!"
"I'm alive!" He quickly called back up, making me sigh in relief.
"What were you even doing?" Emira motioned to the smoke, her eyebrows furrowed together. I could hear the faint sound of Edric's nervous laughter.
"Practicing for tonight!" I heard Emira sigh, watching as she shook her head. "Hey don't look at me like that! I didn't mean to! The spell slipped okay!"
"Just don't get yourself killed. And clean up whatever you just blew up!" Emira closed the window and rubbed the bridge of her nose, muttering stuff about Edric under her breath. "Be glad you didn't put him in his outfit sis, he's covered in whatever he just blew to pieces."
I heard the front door open, turning to see Edric in the doorway, his shirt and pants practically black from the explosion. His face, arms, and hair were also covered in a fair amount of the stuff, but he was giving us a nervous smile. "Be back! Gonna go clean this off." He quickly made his way to the stairs, then hesitated before reaching the top. "Also, no I didn't blow up part of the house."
"So what did he blow up?" Viney asked once he disappeared, but Emira only shrugged. I leaned against the table, staring out the window. "Hey, you okay Amity?"
"Huh? Yeah I am, why do you ask?" I turned to the beastkeeper, who only shrugged.
"Just making sure. You're clutching your side pretty tight." I looked down, noticing how I had my hand clenched in a tight fist around part of my shirt around my side. Quickly letting go, I shook my hand a few times before folding my arms across my chest.
"So Mittens..." Emira started, taking a bite of her food. "You gonna go to the studio like that?" She snickered, making me realize that I was still wearing my pajamas. I shook my head, then started to make my way to the stairs.
I quickly made my way up to my room, passing by the bathroom where I saw Edric scrubbing his face with a rag. Closing my door behind me, I let out a slightly shaky sigh. I tried to not think too much about what happened downstairs and threw on a quick t-shirt and shorts before grabbing my outfit for tonight and making it to the door.
But, before I left, I paused in the doorway and turned back around to glance around my room. My eyes quickly landed on the dark purple flower Luz had gotten me awhile ago, still looking as fresh as it did the day she gave it to me. An idea lit up in my head, and I quickly went over to my table and plucked the flower from its spot, staring at it for a moment with a gentle smile before carefully resting it on top of my outfit.
Now I left my room, watching as Edric poked his head out of his own room, glancing in my direction before his eyes landed on the outfit in my arms. "We're leaving already?" He asked me, leaning against his door frame. I shrugged.
"Might as well." He smirked, then started to shake his head.
"My, aren't you ahead of schedule today?" I chuckled, giving my brother a soft nudge.
"C'mon, you know it's gonna be a struggle to pull Em away from her little beastkeeper." As if on cue, the both of them clambered up the stairs, chuckling and whispering before nearly slamming into me. "Speak of the devils themselves..."
"What? We packing up already?" My sister rested her arm on my shoulder, reaching for my flower before I smacked her hand away. She chuckled, getting off of my shoulder before moving a little closer to Viney.
"Yes we are. Get ready to go." I told her, but she only ruffled my hair and started to make her way to her room, the beastkeeper following close behind her.
"Alright well, give us a few minutes, gonna help Viney gather up her stuff." I rolled my eyes, watching the two of them quickly disappear into Emira's room. Edric gave me a nudge before chuckling, his scroll already floating in front of him.
"And that's my cue to get more dirt on our sister." He said, a sinister glint in his eyes. However, before he took a step forward, I placed an arm in front of him to keep him in place.
"No, just grab your outfit and let's go downstairs." Edric sighed, slouching over before making his scroll disappear. He spun around on his heel, entering his room for a moment before quickly walking back out with a messy pile of clothes in his hand. I glanced down at his pile for a moment, then back up at him, slightly annoyed.
However, he just ignored my look and started to make his way downstairs, mumbling something under his breath about his shirt. I followed after him, placing a gentle hand over top the purple flower so that it wouldn't fly off when I walked down the stairs.
The two of us went back into the kitchen, not saying anything to one another as we took a seat at the table. Edric leaned back slightly in his chair, eyeing my outfit for a moment before smiling. "Adding the flower to your outfit?" He asked, and I nodded my head.
"I'll see if it looks good with it at the studio." My brother hummed in response, loosely clasping his hands together before resting them on his chest. There was a bit of silence, then Edric started whistling a tune.
A few minutes passed and there was still no sign of Emira or Viney. I let out an annoyed sigh, standing up from my chair and trudging towards the stairs. "She would've been down here sooner if you let me try to get more dirt on her!" Edric called after me, making me roll my eyes.
I quickly climbed back up the steps and speed walked towards my sister's door, finding it cracked open. With a bit of hesitance, I peeked into her room, finding the two of them sitting on her bed too wrapped up in a kiss to notice I was there. Then, I watched as the beastkeeper brought a hand up to my sister's shoulder and Emira slowly starting to lay down.
Clasping a hand over my mouth to stifle the squeak that rose in my throat, I moved and pressed my back against the wall by her door. "Emira!" I called, hearing a startled sound come from her room and stopping whatever was about to happen. "Come on! We've gotta go!"
"Right! Uh, just give me a second!" She called back in a wavering tone, and I heard her mattress creaking followed by some shuffling. I took that as my cue to go back downstairs, running my hands through my hair.
Edric turned around to face me when I got to the bottom of the stairs. He raised an eyebrow, his eyes darting up towards the stairs for a moment before back to me. "You definitely could've gotten more blackmail." I told him with a slight chuckle, making him shake his head.
"And yet you stopped me." He said as Emira and Viney quickly made their way downstairs, Viney now in her clothes from last night and Emira in a red short sleeve shirt and dark jeans, both of them red in the face. "Took you guys long enough!"
Viney let out a nervous laugh while my sister just rolled her eyes. "Wanted to show Viney something real quick. You two are really impatient." Edric let out a laugh, standing up and throwing his arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer to him.
"Of course Mittens is! This is a big show after all!" I pushed him away from me as he only shook his head. "Besides Em, I thought you'd be more excited. After all, it's not everyday that Mittens lets us rig a stadium with some of our best pranks."
Emira rolled her eyes, but stopped when Viney gave her a nudge. "I'm gonna go, good luck at your guy's show!" She moved closer to my sister, whispering something in her ear that made her cheeks light up and turn a darker shade of red. Then, Viney smiled, gave Emira's arm a little squeeze before spinning on her heel and heading towards the door. "See you guys later!"
I waved the beastkeeper goodbye while Edric laughed, moving over towards his twin and giving her a nudge. "What'd she say to you Em? Some sort of special good luck or something?" Edric teased, making a dopey grin appear on my sister's face.
"Yeah." She squeaked out, nodding her head. I squinted at her for a minute, then raised an eyebrow.
"Are you okay?" I asked her after a minute, watching as she continued to nod her head.
"Yeah." She said again, in the exact same tone as the first time. Edric snorted, giving Emira a rough slap on the back to snap her out of her trance before grabbing his clothes off the table. Emira shook her head a few times, then turned to me. "We aren't doing anything after the show, right?"
"Em, the show's running super late tonight." I picked my clothes up off the table and started to make my way towards the door, Emira quick to follow after me.
"Just answer the question!" I turned to look at her, noticing the glint in her eyes. The three of us went outside, Edric closing the door behind us. "We, as a band, aren't doing anything after the show, right?"
"Besides going home to sleep? No we aren't." Emira pumped her fist in the air, a big smile on her face. I smirked at her reaction, turning my attention to the trail ahead of us. "Let me guess, something to do with Viney?" I asked, not turning to see her reaction.
"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't." Emira told me before Edric threw his arms around both of us, his clothes floating in the air behind him. I let out a yelp in surprise while he laughed, pulling the two of us closer to him.
"It is about Viney." He whispered to me, making me chuckle before pushing him away. "So Em! Why don't we fill in our little sister about our pranking plans, hm?" Emira smirked at him, then nodded her head.
The rest of our walk was filled with the twins describing their different ideas on how to rig the stadium, most of their ideas were enough to leave a mark, but not enough to severely injure someone. At most, they'd have an uncomfortable amount of glitter in their eyes if anything went wrong.
By the time we made it to the studio they were only halfway through their plans, but they stopped filling me in when we made it to the door. The studio door was already unlocked, and when I pulled the door open I could hear Boscha and Skara's voices floating out from inside.
"You think the bow tie would be too much?" I heard the three eyed witch ask, and walking into the main room I could see Skara walking around, observing her outfit. "Oh, hey guys! What'cha think?"
There, Boscha stood in a white button up shirt with a maroon jacket put on over top, both ironed out so there were no wrinkles, nice dress pants that matched the color of her jacket and black shoes, her hair pulled up in the usual bun. She shoved her hands in the suit's pockets, giving me a smile.
I eyed her up and down for a moment, a small grin appearing on my face. "You clean up nice Boscha, the color really suits you." My sister said, moving over towards our bassist. "Though, your collar's crooked."
Emira quickly adjusted her collar, then took a step back, smiling the entire time. "Thanks." She then turned to me and my brother, eyeing us up and down before chuckling. "You guys seem under prepared."
"Mittens didn't want us to mess up our outfits." Edric ruffled my hair, then quickly darted towards the hallway before I could punch him in the shoulder. "Anyways, gonna go change!" I sighed as he disappeared down the hallway, making Boscha snicker.
"Boscha! You still want the bow tie or what?" Skara appeared by Boscha's side, holding a black bow tie in her hand. The bassist looked down at the bow tie, then back up at me, silently asking me what I think.
"It'd really tie the outfit together with the gloves." She rolled her eyes, giving me a bit of a shove. "What?"
"That pun was terrible." She snorted, making me smirk a little.
"Hey, I learned from the best..." I shrugged. Boscha's expression faltered slightly when she heard my somber tone, but she quickly masked it.
"Alright, I'll wear it. I'm putting on the gloves later though." I gave her a nod, then she turned to Skara. "Mind helping me with that?"
Skara gave the bassist a nod, then quickly started to help her put on the bow tie. Emira walked past me, giving me a small nod before she also disappeared around the corner. Our sound director pulled back from Boscha, squinting her eyes for a moment before fiddling with her bow tie a little. "There. That's not too tight, right?" Boscha shook her head. "Great! Oh, I need to go make sure we have everything, so I'll be back!"
The two of us watched as she quickly went into the sound room, then came back out with a clipboard in her hand before she disappeared out the front door and into the spare storage. "Y'know, it's kinda weird having this much peppy attitude around the studio." She hesitated for a minute, then quickly added. "From the sound director that is."
"Yeah it is. It's refreshing though." I said, glancing down at the pile of clothes in my hands before slowly making my way to my room. "I'm gonna go change."
"Alright." Boscha moved over towards the table, going to take a seat before pausing. "Hey wait!" I paused in my tracks, turning back at the three eyed witch. "We still doing the thick eyeliner?" I smiled, then let out a chuckle.
"We may be changing a lot of stuff for this show, but no way we're changing that." Boscha just nodded, then I disappeared down the hall, quickly moving to my room and pushing the door open.
I placed my clothes on my desk, moving the flower to the side so it wouldn't be crushed. Then, I glanced at myself in the mirror for a moment, my gaze slowly going down to the photo in the corner of the mirror. The sight brought a smile to my face that I couldn't cover up. "She'd definitely like this outfit."
Quickly pulling off my shirt and throwing it onto the cot before grabbing my white button up, pulling it on and buttoning it up. Then I put on my green dress pants, smoothing out a few wrinkles before putting on my brown boots that went just below my knees. I reached out for my coat, getting ready to put it on before there was a knock at my door.
"Mittens you dressed?" I heard Edric ask from the other side of my door. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah!" I called, pulling on my coat. My door opened, and Edric leaned against the door frame as he adjusted his tie. Turning to look at him, I groaned when I saw all the wrinkles in his jacket, which still wasn't buttoned up. Drawing a quick spell circle, he let out a soft sound of surprise as his jacket quickly lost the wrinkles.
"Well geez Mittens, sorry my suit couldn't be perfect." He chuckled, but I only rolled my eyes and buttoned the small chain that held my coat closed around my waist before fixing my collar. "Though I will say, navy blue is my color."
"You know you've gotta have that buttoned up for the show." I told him as I pulled my hair up into its usual half ponytail, making sure there was nothing out of place before I started on my eyeliner. He let out a sigh, softly shaking his head.
"I know I do. Geez, sorry I don't want to die of heat before the show." He then paused, actually eyeing my outfit up and down for a moment before smiling. "Wait a minute, wasn't that the suit you were gonna wear to Grom?"
"It was." I said, fiddling with my cuffs slightly. "But don't you remember how mom and dad threw a fit? They forced me to change." I muttered, reaching for the purple flower that laid on my desk. I looked at it for a moment, then carefully put in in the pocket by my chest. Spinning around to face my brother, I gave a nervous laugh. "How do I look?"
"Amazing." He said, eyeing the flower for a moment before smiling. "The flower's a nice touch by the way." I chuckled slightly, nodding my head. "Though, if I'm being honest, I'm a little surprised that suit still fits you."
"I fixed it a little." I said, ducking under his arm as he reached out to ruffle my hair as I passed him in the doorway. The two of us went out into the main room, finding our sound director at the table checking things off on a clipboard while our bassist was looking at her scroll.
Boscha looked up at us, her eyes widening slightly before she let out a whistle, catching Skara's attention for a moment. "Looking sharp you two!" She told us, making us smile. Edric chuckled, moving over to the table to look over Skara's shoulder.
"So, we're just missing a few speakers, your guy's guitars, and your drums." Skara pointed her pen in Edric's direction before tapping it on the clipboard a couple of times. "Though, we can wait a few minutes before we load those up..." Edric hummed in response.
"So, where's the other chaos twin?" Boscha asked me, moving over by my side. I shrugged, but then I could hear the familiar click of boots coming from the hallway. We both looked over our shoulder, finding my sister, clad in an all black suit and tie that only had a hint of red because of a small flower attached to her tie, wearing a hint of dark purple eye shadow, standing in the hallway.
Emira let out a chuckle, then moved over to the two of us, a smile on her face. "Look at us, dressing like we're in the mafia." Her joke made Boscha laugh, but I only rolled my eyes. "Remind me why you wanted us to wear suits again Mittens?"
"Because," I started, catching Edric and Skara's attention. "when the stadium owner said we couldn't cancel our show, he planned his own funeral. We're just dressing for the occasion." My siblings both gave a sinister chuckle, and behind me I could hear Edric popping his knuckles.
"Better question is, why are you wearing a suit Em? You aren't on stage." Boscha asked, but my sister only rolled her eyes, giving the bassist a playful shove.
"I'm introducing the band, so Mittens said I had to suit up like you guys." Emira told her, pulling slightly at one of her white gloves. "So, what else did we need again Skara? Ed and I will finish packing it up."
Skara went over her list again and both of my siblings went to grab the needed items. I nudged Bocsha, then motioned for her to follow me. "We'll be in the cart." I told one of my siblings as they passed, making them nod.
The two of us went outside, then into the cart, moving to our usual seats. I leaned my head back, letting out a sigh. Boscha crossed her legs, pulling out her scroll and focusing her attention on that. There was silence for a few minutes, making me lightly bounce one of my legs up and down.
Outside I could hear my siblings piling things into the cart, their voices too muffled to understand what they were saying. Then, the door to the cart opened and Skara walked in with a smile on her face, taking a seat by Boscha.
Both of them were quick to strike up a conversation, talking about something on Pensta. I tuned the both of them out, staring at the ceiling out of boredom. The cart jolted forward, making Skara yelp in surprise.
I started to slowly drum my fingers against my knee, going over song lyrics in my head. My ears twitched when I heard Boscha start to laugh, distracting me from my thoughts slightly.
"It's a show like any other." I thought to myself, feeling my ears slowly go down.
"Amity?"
"It's gonna be fine." My hand that was drumming on my leg slowly closed into a fist, capturing some of the fabric in my fist. "You're nerves are just shot. That's all."
"Amity."
"Just don't think about the obvious and you'll be fine." I closed my eyes when I felt my eyes sting, bouncing my leg up and down a little faster than before.
"Amity!" My eyes snapped open and I lifted my head up to find Boscha and Skara staring at me. "You good over there? I've been trying to talk to you for a couple minutes now."
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." I muttered, letting my hands relax before I ran them over the fabric covering my legs. "Just peachy..." I mumbled even softer than before.
"Sure..." I could hear the hesitance in the bassist's voice, but I tried to ignore it. "But like I was saying, you sure you can get through this show?" Nodding my head, I turned my gaze down to my legs, not wanting to look Boscha in the eyes.
Before she could say anything else, Skara let out a squeal, then nudged the bassist to show her something on her scroll, taking her attention off of me. I took in a shaky breath, then leaned my head back on the seat again.
I eventually started talking with the two of them about halfway into the ride, sick of sitting in silence with my own thoughts. Our conversations weren't anything with much depth, but they were enough to keep us entertained.
Finally, after an hour or so the cart slowed to the stop. From the front, there were a rough set of knocks from my siblings, telling us we were finally here. Boscha stood up and stretched, letting out a sigh. "My leg's numb." She muttered in an annoyed tone, slightly limping towards the door.
The sound director and I got up as well, following after Boscha. By the time the three of us were outside, Edric and Emira were already taking stuff into the stadium. "You guys gonna stop dragging your feet and help or what?" I heard my brother say, making me roll my eyes.
"Oh shut it Edric!" Boscha yelled back as she walked over to where they were unloading our equipment, making my brother laugh. Skara looked over at me for a moment, giving me a soft smile before she went after the pink haired witch.
I stood in place for a moment, then quickly got in motion when Emira poked her head over the side to see what I was doing. She chuckled, then gave me a shove as I passed. "Your mind's gonna get snatched by a griffin one of these days if you keep letting it float to the clouds."
"I was just running over lyrics." I told her as I picked up a few speakers, slowly making my way inside the stadium. Emira chuckled again, following not too far behind me. The sun was still hanging high in the sky, but it was slowly getting lower and lower.
"What? Afraid you're gonna forget them on stage or something?" I shook my head, adjusting my grip.
"No. Just figured I'd roll through them again." I could hear her hum in response as the two of us slowly made our way to the stage. Emira and I placed the speakers in our hands by the pile of speakers Edric and Boscha had already brought in. "Oh, and Em? Tell me if you see the stadium owner here."
She gave me a look, but then realization flashed across her face before she gave me a nod, knowing what I meant. Then, she shot me a quick salute and went back outside to grab more stuff to take inside.
I went to follow after her, then paused before spinning on my heel and making my way backstage. "Em can get the rest. There's not much left anyways." I muttered, moving past one of the curtains.
There, I saw Skara at the sound board, fiddling with a few of the dials. "Try it now Boscha!" She yelled, the bassist nodding in response. The three eyed witched tapped a mic in front of her, wincing at the amount of feedback.
Skara messed with a few more dials, then nodded at Boscha again. "Testing. One, two, three." The bassist then shot Skara a thumbs up, making her smile.
"Oh, hey Amity!" Skara shot me a wave, making me send her a wave back. "You would not believe some of the settings on this thing! Honestly, Matt made it so much more complicated than he needed to." She laughed and I nodded in response.
"That was Matt for ya..." I said, noticing out of the corner of my eye that Boscha was walking in our direction. She leaned on my shoulder, using me like an arm rest. "Do you have your bass tuned or what?"
"Am, we've still got a couple of hours till the show. Chill out a little." I rolled my eyes, lightly shoving the witch away, who only laughed in response. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her black, finger less gloves and started to put them on. "Besides, once we get everything set up, we can just chill backstage for a bit."
"I thought you were gonna help my siblings?" She furrowed her eyebrows together slightly while Skara just raised an eyebrow, confused on what we were talking about.
"They're doing that before the show?" I nodded my head, making her sigh before rubbing the bridge of her nose, her ears twitching slightly. "Watch this backfire..." I could hear her mumble under her breath. "Fine, I'll go tune my bass now."
The witch spun on her heel, then disappeared further backstage. Behind me, I could hear the sound of footsteps and my brother's voice, saying something about confetti before being cut off. "Stuff's out and ready to be put up!" Emira said, suddenly appearing by Skara's side. "Need help with the sound board or anything?"
"Nope!" The witch chirped making Emira smile in response. "Mics are already taken care of, we just gotta hook up the rest of the speakers and we'll be golden." Emira nodded her head, then something flashed in her eyes.
"That actually reminds me, give both of us a hand." She motioned between Skara and I, making both of us raise an eyebrow.
"Uh... why exactly?" I asked, hesitantly holding my hand back. They both rolled their eyes, then they both grabbed one of my hands, spell circles forming around each of my wrists. They did the same thing to Skara, who didn't say anything.
"It's for protection you dork." Edric said with a smirk. "After all, I doubt you'd want to trigger one of our little 'gifts'." He put air quotes around his words, which I only nodded my head.
"Now, where's Boscha? We need to do the same thing to her. Preferably before she sets something off." My sister said, and I pointed to where she walked off to, making my siblings smile. "Thanks Mittens. I'd normally ruffle your hair, but I guess you get to luck out this time."
"Guess so." I muttered, watching the two of them head off in Boscha's direction. Pulling put my scroll I glanced at the time, noticing there was only a little under an hour or so before the show. I turned to Skara, motioning towards the door. "If anyone asks, I'm out getting some air." She nodded her head, then made her way back to the sound board.
I went back outside, shivering at the sudden breeze that decided to roll by. Glancing up at the sky, the sun was setting, meaning that the crowd would be coming soon. From a ways away, I could see the outline of a small group of witches, their voices slowly getting louder the closer they got.
Paying them no mind, I turned my view back to the sky, trying to let my mind relax. But, being out here alone was starting to put me on edge. I couldn't explain why it did, but it sent a chill up my spine that mixed with the breeze.
It almost felt like if I were to turn around, there'd be someone standing behind me. I shook my head a few times, trying to get rid of the thought.
"Okay, so taking a breather outside is a no go." I muttered to myself, wrapping my arms around myself before making my way to the door. "It's just my nerves..." My ears twitched at the mixed sounds coming from the small amount of witches that waited by the ticket counter.
Pushing open the door, I let out a shaky breath when the door loudly creaked. "Mittens!" Edric suddenly appeared from behind the door, making me scream. He winced in response, placing his hands over his ears.
"Edric!" I shakily said, placing a hand over my racing heart, trying to put my ears back up, but I couldn't. "Don't... don't do that. Ever. You don't just go, creeping around in the dark like that!"
"I'm sorry, but I've been looking for you for forever!" He hastily apologized, placing his hands on my shoulders. "But look uh, we may have a bit, just a smidge of a problem." He let out a nervous laugh, his eyes darting between me and something else backstage.
"What did you do?" I asked him, pushing his hands off of my shoulders. He let out another nervous chuckle, then fidgeted with the cuffs of his jacket.
"So, while Em and I were setting up our surprises, I may have accidentally knocked over my drums, and messed up the stage setup... just a bit. And uh, I don't exactly know how it's supposed to go, please come help me!" He said the last part really fast, which only made me give an annoyed sigh.
"You didn't break your drums, right?" My brother shook his head, which lifted a bit of the weight off of my shoulders. "Great, that's one less thing to worry about."
We both went on stage and quickly fixed the setup, placing everything in its correct spot. Then, once that was done, Edric thanked me and I went backstage, grabbing my guitar from Skara and starting to tune it, drowning out the rest of the noises around me.
Halfway through my tuning, Emira appeared from around the corner, looking around before her eyes landed on me. "Oh hey Mittens, show's on in fifteen, you guys need to have that spell ready in ten." The fact the show was going to be on soon kind of surprised me, but I nodded my head, plucking the strings to my guitar.
"The rest of the crew know?" Emira shook her head, making me shake my head. "Well then, better go fill them in." She gave me a small grin, then quickly disappeared towards a different part backstage.
I let my guitar hang off of my shoulder, completely finished with the tuning. By now, I could fully hear the crowd that was outside the curtains, their voices all filled with excitement. That sent a pang of adrenaline flowing through my veins, my ears twitching slightly.
Standing up and gripping the neck of my guitar, my ears perked up when I heard the sound of the rest of my band mates voices. Moving in their direction, I found the four of them gathered together, clearly nervous, but trying to get a few jokes in before the show started.
Edric was the first to see me, his smile widening when he saw me walking closer. "And she finally emerges from the shadows! Thought for a second there I was gonna have to drag you out on stage like at the last show."
"Oh ha ha." I laughed sarcastically, making him give me a nudge. "So what are we talking about?" I asked the four, which they all just shrugged in response.
"Mostly just joking around, easing some of the tension y'know?" I nodded my head, my eyes moving towards the curtains that separated us from the crowd.
"That, and I was making sure these two knew how to properly do the invisibility spell." I turned my gaze back to the rest of the band before I gave my sister a smile. "But, speaking of that spell, you guys should probably cast it now so it'll wear off in time."
The three of us gave her a nod, then quickly moved to our places. Emira whispered something to Skara, who gave her a quick nod before heading in the direction of the sound board with a skip in her step. I moved over to my spot, watching out of the corner of my eye as Edric sat down behind his drums, then Boscha took her spot on the stage, her bass gripped tightly in her hands.
Taking a deep breath, I slowly drew out the spell with my finger. The pale blue, almost white circle quickly went around my wrist before traveling over my whole body, rendering me invisible. I glanced over at Edric, watching as he first cast the spell over his drums, then himself, and by the time I turned to see Boscha, she was already gone.
Emira glanced at where we were standing, then slowly made her way to the the front of the stage, standing only a bit in front of me with a mic in her hand. She held her free hand out to her side, then snapped her fingers, the lights going off almost instantly.
"It's showtime."
The curtains opened, revealing the large crowd. It only took them a moment, but once they noticed the curtains opening, they started to get louder. The stage was practically pitch black, meaning they couldn't see a thing, but it didn't last long.
A bright spotlight suddenly flicked on, quickly focusing in on my sister. There were a lot of gasps from the crowd at the sight of her in her suit, which were quickly followed by whistles and shouts. "Ladies, gentlemen, and beasts alike, how are we doing tonight?" She asked, standing up tall with a half lidded look.
Instantly, the crowd broke out into an almost deafening roar, whistles, whoops, and calls ringing out from the crowd. Emira floated the mic in front of her, taking a moment to fiddle with her tie, the action seemingly making the crowd a little louder than before.
"Honestly folks is that as loud as you can get? C'mon let me hear you!" She grabbed onto the mic again, breaking her stiff pose for only a moment. The roar from before seemed to double, making my ears pin themselves down in response.
"That's more like it!" She laughed, returning to her stiff looking pose. She placed one arm behind her back, then slightly tilted her head down, staring out into the crowd. I could feel the spell wearing off at this point, meaning the show was about to begin.
"Now, I would like to formally introduce you to The Abominations."
Emira suddenly blew up in a giant puff of pale blue smoke, disappearing completely from the stage. The spell wore off and the spotlights flicked on, revealing Edric, Boscha and I. The crowd practically lost their minds at the sight of us, screaming so loud I almost thought they were going to lose their voices.
I let them continue to cheer for a moment before grabbing the mic, noticing they got a little quieter. " Good evening everyone! Glad to hear you're all excited!" A loud set of whistles rippled to the front of the stage, bringing a smile to my face. "Now, how bout enough of the chitchat and we get this show started?"
A collective cheer of agreement blew up from the crowd as I put the mic back in its stand, grabbing onto my guitar with both hands. The blinding white spotlights quickly changed to different hues of pink, purple and blue.
Fog suddenly appeared at our feet, shifting colors every few seconds to match the spotlights. It slipped out into the crowd, hyping them up as we launched into Prom Night. Once the first few notes reached their ears, they went crazy.
Their reaction brought a smile to my face as I started to sing, my ears perking up when I could hear them singing with me. The three of us quickly flowed through the song, earning a raving applause when we wrapped the song up.
The three of us took a second to catch our breath, bright smiles on all of our faces. For a second, I was almost distracted enough to forget the whole reason why we were still doing this show.
Almost.
Once I caught my breath, I grabbed onto the mic again, pulling it closer to me. "I'm honestly a little worried here. Ya'll are gonna lose your voices before the end of the show." A few laughs echoed within the crowd.
"Well, if they're gonna lose their voices, they might as well lose it to a band like this!" Boscha suddenly said, startling me slightly. "After all, it's not like there'd be any Blood in the Water, right Am?" The lights changed again, shifting from their cozy mix of soft colors to a sudden hard red.
I could see the walls suddenly start to drip with a red liquid, making quite a few new fans in the crowd gasp in surprise. I glanced at my sister for a moment, noticing her peeking slightly from the wings, her face twisted up in a look of concentration. She had one spell circle drawn for the illusion on the walls, but she drew another one, making my throat tighten slightly.
It didn't last long, but I knew the spell was complete. There was a reason we didn't do this song as often, and that was because of the slight voice change we had to do. But, it impressed the fans, making the song a lot more catchy.
I was quick to start this song, almost instantly revving up the fans with its energy. With this song, Boscha was a bit more intense on the bass, which only added to the effect of the song.
"Beg me for mercy, admit you were toxic."
A smirk rose to my face when I could see the illusion that covered the walls now pool around their feet, slowly rising to the crowds knees. Some didn't notice, others did, but it didn't matter. That song went by almost as fast as the first, but instead of leaving me with a smile, it left me with a slight bad taste in my mouth.
I couldn't explain it, but I swallowed down the feeling. I assumed it was from the spell wearing off and I didn't want to think it was because of anything else.
I didn't want to think that it reminded me of anything else.
But, when the flames blew up behind us to introduce our next song, I put on a smirk. I couldn't feel the tall flames dancing behind us, knowing they were only an illusion from my sister, however, I could see it light up the stage and quite a few rows in the crowd. It made a lot of them gasp in awe, their eyes glimmering in the fake flames light.
The flames died down, but they still remained behind us as we started our next song, Play with Fire. And then, once that song was wrapped up, we played 505.
By the time that song was done, I was almost completely out of breath. I turned slightly, looking over at my brother, who's shoulders were heaving up and down as he tried to catch his breath, and Boscha, who was struggling to hide how hard she was breathing.
Taking a minute, I let go of my guitar and reached for the mic with a shaking hand. "Alright folks, stay in your spots!" I managed to say, making a collective murmur of questions bubble up from the crowd. "After a quick intermission, we'll have one last closing note."
I put the mic back in its place, then the curtains closed. The crowd picked up in volume, but all their voices mixed together until it was just a jumble of noise. I could feel the sweat rolling down my face, which I quickly wiped away with my sleeve.
Edric let out a loud groan, getting up from his set and stretching his legs. Skara and Emira quickly appeared from their spots, both of them holding drinks in their hands. "You guys are great!" Skara said, making a weak smile appear on my lips.
"Thanks." I whispered, taking the drink from her hands and taking a sip. It made me feel more refreshed. I stood to the side while Boscha, Edric, and Skara struck up a small conversation, then I felt a hand on my shoulder gently pull me away.
I glanced up at my sister, noting the look in her eyes. "Mittens..." She started, pulling me a little further away from the rest of the band before turning me around to face her. "Are you sure about this next effect? I mean, it's clearly not gonna be the most shocking out of all our effects, but I know you're doing this one for a specific reason."
My throat tightened, remembering what song we were playing next. I struggled to push down my emotion, putting on a quick poker face. "Of course I'm sure. And I've already told you, the effect would just match the song."
Emira shook her head, giving my shoulder a light squeeze. "It's not just because it works in the song. Mittens, I'm not stupid, I know this song has a deeper meaning to you." My eyes widened, but I showed no other emotion.
"Hey! We've gotta get back on in five!" Edric called out, distracting Emira for a moment.
"Got it!" She called back, then looked back down at me. "So, are you sure you want to do this?" She asked me, giving my shoulder another squeeze. I slowly nodded my head, turning my gaze down to the floor.
"I'm sure." I took another sip of my drink, finishing off the last bit of the cup. Emira gently took the cup from my hand, and glancing up at her, I could see her hesitating. It wasn't hard to tell that she wanted to say something, but instead she only let out a sigh.
"Well then, you guys better get on stage and knock their socks off with it then." She gave me a soft smile, but I could see something else hidden in her eyes. "You gonna keep staring or are you gonna go?" Emira chuckled as I jumped slightly.
"Right! Right, finish the show." I said quickly, spinning on my heel and speed walking to my spot. My gaze stayed on the floor, and I noticed just how shaky my breathing was. With a trembling hand, I reached up and grabbed the mic, then motioned to Emira with my other hand to move the curtains.
The curtains quickly parted, and once again my view was filled with the crowd in front of us. Once they saw us, they blew up in another fit of cheers and whistles. Normally, the sound would bring a smile to my face, but this time it only made my ears go down.
"Alright folks, for tonight's show, we've got one last song." I said into the mic, making all of them quiet down. "This song's never been played on stage, so I say to all of you in the crowd tonight that you're lucky to be here." Another round of cheers and whistles rang out. I ran out of words, but after a couple of seconds I finally managed to ask. "Now, are you ready?"
My voice was soft, probably not loud enough to hear over the crowd even with a mic. But, even so, the crowd exploded for what felt like the thousandth time in cheers and whistles, some of them screaming our names, hoping we'd hear them over the rest of the noise.
I grabbed onto my guitar, but then hesitated. I was shaking and staring down at the floor, unable to look up at the crowd. The spotlights above us dimmed down, alternating between black and white light, casting out stage in an array of shadows.
A few seconds passed, which dragged on a lot longer in my head, and at this point I knew Edric was staring at me.
Then, taking a deep breath, I started to sing.
"I'm heading straight for the floor."
All three of us started playing our instruments, Boscha singing softly as my echo. Clearly, the slower tone of the song caught a lot of the crowd off guard. After all, we were known for not doing slow songs.
"The alcohol served its tour."
"And it's headed straight for my skin, leaving me daft and dim."
"I've got this shake in my legs."
Both Boscha and I sung at the same time, her vocals almost blending in with mine as we paused on playing our instruments. However, in the brief pause, Edric lightly tapped his cymbals before we picked it back up.
"Shaking the thoughts from my head."
"But who put these waves in the door?"
"I crack and out I pour."
Edric's cymbal crashed behind us before we launched into our chorus.
"I'm Mr. Loverman"
"And I miss my lover, man."
My ears were still slightly down from earlier, but I knew it would only be a matter of time until they were fully pinned down. I snuck a glance at the rest of the band, noticing how focused they both seemed.
"I'm Mr. Loverman"
"Oh, and I miss my lover."
I made sure my voice held a bit more intensity with those lines, holding the tone for a little bit longer before letting my voice soften again.
"The ways in which you talk to me have me wishin' I were gone."
"The ways that you say my name have me runnin' on and on."
I could hear my voice waver slightly at the last bit of that line, my head instantly filled with thoughts about Luz. It made my throat tighten, but I was quick to shove the thoughts away so that I could continue the song.
"Oh I'm cramping up"
"I'm cramping up"
Both Boscha and I made sure to hold that note a little, then we fell silent again for a moment.
"But you're cracking up"
"You're cracking up"
That note was higher than the last, the two of us holding it until we launched right back into the chorus again.
"I'm Mr. Loverman"
"And I miss my lover, man."
"I'm Mr. Loverman"
"Oh, and I miss my lover"
I couldn't see any of the crowds faces, but I could tell by the sudden set of gasps that erupted form the crowd that Emira put her new special effect to work. I snuck another glance at the rest of the band, noticing the red, albeit fake, crimson liquid spilling from their lips and onto their suits.
And that meant, the exact same thing was happening to me.
"I'm shattered now, I'm spilling out upon this linoleum ground."
Boscha picked up the background vocals, but I wasn't listening. All I could think about was how familiar that scene sounded to me. And I wondered for a moment, how familiar the scene would sound to Luz.
"I'm reeling in my brain again before it can get back to you."
"Oh what am I supposed to do without you?"
My voice was quickly crumbling as more memories came to mind, but I don't think the crowd noticed this time. All of our instruments besides Edric's died out, leaving me with just drums as my backup for a moment.
"I'm Mr. Loverman"
Now I knew the crowd could hear the waver in my voice. It wasn't hard to miss. I could see Boscha and Edric look at me before my vision blurred with hot, stinging tears that quickly rolled down my cheeks, smearing my eyeliner.
I couldn't tell if they were because we were doing the song without Luz, or if it was because this song and all of its effects were reminding me of what happened to my favorite drummer.
"And I miss my lover, man"
"I'm Mr. Loverman"
"Oh and I miss my lover."
I couldn't hide the hurt in my voice, at least, not very well anymore. Honestly I couldn't tell how the others weren't feeling the exact same way, then I realized it was because they didn't realize what this song meant.
"I'm Mr. Loverman"
"And I miss my lover, man"
"I'm Mr. Loverman."
It was the final high note, and I made sure to try and hold it without my voice wavering from my tears.
"And I miss my lover."
All our instruments died out as the final chord was struck, the illusion that dripped from our lips disappearing into the air, then there was silence.
Then, the crowd lost it.
A hiccup escaped me as I struggled to stop the tears from falling, my chest tight like someone had it wound up on a string. The crowd was cheering, screaming, and even though my vision was pretty blurry, I could see a few witches in the first few rows crying with me.
I knew I had to say something to wrap up the show, but the words wouldn't come out. It was like my throat had closed off, leaving me unable to speak and barely able to breathe. I reached up with a shaky hand to pull at my tie, and that must've been Boscha's cue, cause she moved up to her mic and pulled it off of the stand.
"And that beloved fans, is the end of tonight's show!" She called out to the crowd, and despite the fact she was close to me, her voice sounded so distant. I looked at her, focusing on her in an attempt to make her voice louder. "I assume you've all liked the new addition to the song roster, no?"
Another loud round of whistles and claps came from the crowd, making the bassist smile grow even larger. Then, she put the mic back in place, giving everyone in the crowd a salute before the curtains closed.
The second the curtains closed, I rushed backstage, taking off my guitar before I collapsed on one of the boxes there. My heart was practically pounding out of my chest and my hands were shaking. Honestly I'm surprised I didn't crumble on stage. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Boscha and Edric hurrying over, concern in their eyes.
"Mittens? You alright?" Edric reached a hand out to rest on my shoulder, but I slapped his hand away.
"Don't touch me." I muttered, keeping my gaze on the floor. "Just... give me a minute." The two looked at one another, then back at me, giving me a nod.
"Alright, just give a shout if you need anything okay? We're gonna start packing up." I nodded my head, then wrapped my arms around me, struggling to take in a breath that wasn't shaky. My hand eventually trailed down to my side, rubbing circles on a spot for a moment before I pulled it away.
"That's gonna make me feel worse..." I hissed at myself, placing both of my hands on the edge of the box. "In for four, hold for seven, out for eight." I muttered, trying to follow my advice.
It took a couple of minutes, but my breathing finally became stable, no longer a shaky mess. And with that, I stood up, dusted myself off slightly, then went to help the rest of the band pack up our equipment.
Well, they already had everything pretty much packed up. Edric was carrying the last bit of the speakers to the cart, Boscha and Skara already inside. "How ya feeling sis?" Emira asked me, which I just shrugged.
"The spite show is over, you're guy's pranks are set, and honestly I can't tell if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders or not. So, I guess I feel okay?" I gave my sister a tired smile, which made her give me a soft smile. Then, she gave me a soft pat on the back.
"Just get in the cart you dork." I nodded my head, rubbing my eyes as I slowly trudged off towards our cart. Opening the door, I heard Boscha and Skara happily talking about the show and how it went.
"Hey there singer!" Boscha greeted me, to which I gave a halfhearted wave. "Am, fans are losing it over that new song. It's crazy." I nodded my head, flopping down onto my seat.
"I mean, who wouldn't lose it over that song?" Skara asked, making the three eyed witch shrug. "And hey, the emotion you put into that song had me teary eyed, so I can only imagine how hard some of the fans were crying."
"Yeah." I said, my eyes fluttering for a moment. The cart lurched forward, making the three of us sway. "I told you I could get through that show." I looked at the three eyed witch, who only rolled her eyes.
"And you nearly lost it on stage. I could see you shaking the entire time you know." I only hummed in response, which made her sigh. "Seriously though Am, don't do something like that again."
"Whatever." I mumbled, leaning my head back on the seat. "Hey guys? Let me know when we get to the studio. I'm gonna nap." I said, earning a hum from the other two witches.
My eyes slowly closed, then when I opened them again, I found I was in my bed. Sitting up, I groggily looked around, a little confused on how I got hear. Then, from outside my door, I could hear my siblings voices.
"Think we should've waken her up to change into something more comfortable?" I heard Emira asked, but Edric only scoffed in response.
"Nah, let her sleep. That was a taxing show for her. Besides, it's one night, it won't kill her."
"True. But now, we need to make sure she takes it easy. And we should probably figure out the real meaning to that song." They went quiet for a moment.
"I bet I could tell you who's it about." Edric finally said, his voice soft enough that I almost missed it.
"Yeah, me too." Emira responded back in the exact same tone. "Hey, I'm gonna go out, probably won't be back tonight. Think you can manage?" Edric laughed, probably punching my sister in the arm.
"You act like I'm five. Of course I can manage." Then, I could hear their footsteps walking away from my door, moving down the hallway before fading completely.
I swung my legs to the side of the bed, taking a deep breath before hopping off. Quickly undoing buttons and taking off my suit, I threw on a quick baggy shirt and shorts before climbing back into bed, running my hand through my hair.
I shoved one of my hands under my pillow, then closed my eyes, thinking about how I didn't get the chance to chew out a manager before deciding to block out almost all of my thoughts about anything except a specific flannel wearing human before drifting off to sleep.
The spite show was over, and now it was time to relax.