Zap! (M. Clifford/5SOS)

Chapter 5: Hearts Upon Our Sleeve

Monica's P.O.V.

It's the day of the gig. I'm excited and nervous at the same time, even though I'm not in the band, but it's still astounding seeing your best friend up there on the stage in his very own performance. I wonder how they feel right now, doing their sound check at the Annandale Hotel. I hope it's everything they've dreamed of doing.

Not to mention there's going to be about three hundred people there. That just adds the nerves and I'm praying that everything goes alright; I don't want to see them fail, especially Michael. If it's horrible or something goes wrong, I will never hear the end of it from him and I wouldn't be able to handle it.

To pass the time before I have to head over there, I watch some TV and think about what Avalon was explaining to us this week. The Acerbus Procella is very deadly and I really hope that the people who are chosen are able to handle it and can actually stop it. Avalon said that it will wipe out the entire planet if it isn't destroyed and that scares me because I don't want to die. No one wants to die, even though we all will at some point, but I'm still young and I've got so much to look forward to, and it's a little sad that I am indeed thinking about the end of the Earth. It's kinda hard not to when there literally is something out there that can demolish our world.

Let's get off of this subject before I go too deep into it and haunt myself. I try and focus on the TV, but it's in the middle of a program that I haven't been paying attention to and I have no idea what's happening. So guess what I usually do when that happens: I zone out again.

This time, I imagine a happy scene. My friends - and it's kind of weird to call them that, but if this all works out, I'm going to be seeing them more often - are up there performing their little hearts out and the crowd of three hundred people are yelling their name and the atmosphere is all positivity and all I can see is Michael's huge smile when he looks out into the audience at this amazing sight. And then I dream of the impossible: them on a huge stage rocking out to about twenty thousand people and hearing all of these screaming girls singing their lyrics back to them and then watching their faces light up with the realization that they made it. Okay, so I know I didn't seem like I was a huge fan of Michael getting together with this band, but after seeing them play yesterday, I've come to a realization myself that this isn't a bad thing for him. Yes, he's slipping a little in his Galaxy studies, but it's a nice change to do something different that you're passionate about. I'm now understanding how boring it is going from school to training and home to do schoolwork and I've never really done any activities I've always wanted to do. It's cool having these magical powers, but sometimes it's nice to just be a normal kid for once and I think that's why Michael really desired to combine his musical talents with Luke's and Calum's, and now Ashton's, although we're not sure if he's staying. But my point is is that I guess Michael was tired of doing the same things and he wanted something different, something for him to connect with non-Galaxies, and this band is the outlet.

Time flies by and I'm heading over to the Annandale Hotel, ready for a fun night. As I approach the hotel, I see their band name on a chalkboard in the window and I can't help but smile. I push open the door and walk inside, following the signs that lead to the pub. It's a short distance from the front doors and as I enter in, hardly anyone is there.

I recognize Calum's family and Luke's family, both chatting together. Other than them, there are only about five other people in here that I don't know that look like they're just here for something to do on this lazy Sunday evening. This doesn't seem right.

Soon, Michael's family arrives and I talk to them, waiting for the show to start. Another family comes in and they announce that they are here for Ashton, so now we have the entire band's families here. Again, other than them, only a few more people have trickled in and it's up to about ten now. We only have a few minutes until they come on. What happened to the three hundred people who said they were going to come?