cape town • ryden

29 • first gig

{ryan's pov}

pete got us our first gig for today. it's at a bar down on freemont street. he said he told the manager that we're over 21 and he won't question our age.

we load up our equipment in our cars and head to the bar to set up. as we're setting up everything, we see pete. he waves at us as he approaches us. "hey guys! i wanted to come by for you guys' first gig. how y'all feeling?" he places a hand on my shoulder.

"um... a little nervous." i said. i felt brendon grab my hand, rubbing his thumb on the back of my hand, which was assuaging.

pete smiled. "you guys'll do great. i'll stay here during the show to be sure everything goes good." that's better than him just leaving us here, with a bunch of drunks. i mean, we're just some 16 year-olds — except for jon, he's 18.

a couple of hours pass, there's 15 minutes til we start playing. i'm in my dressing room, surprisingly this bar has those. i'm still very anxious, brendon has noticed too. my door opens to reveal brendon. "hey babe, it's gonna go good. don't worry." brendon grabs my hands and smiles. "nothing bad is gonna happen." he kisses me for reassurance, i gladly deepen the kiss. we move over to the couch. brendon climbs on top of me as his hands explore my body like they have several times. suddenly, we hear a knock on the door. brendon jumps off me and we straighten up our outfits. i open the door to reveal pete.

"hey, just wanted to let you know that there's five minutes til. have you seen brendon by chance?" that was close.

"actually, we were just hanging out before we get on stage." i open the door a little wider so pete can see brendon. brendon waves like a dork.

we start to get on stage. "hey guys! welcome to our show, we're panic! at the disco. we're here to show off some of the songs we've been working on. now who's ready to get started?!" brendon says. many people in the crowd yell and make noise. we open with martyrdom.

after a couple songs, people start to get drunk, and a little wild. we perform lying next, since people are pretty frisky at this point.

the last song we play is time to dance, these people really need a time to dance. we get off the stage, and pete congratulates us backstage. "you guys were great! if you want, go get something from the bar; they won't id you guys. just don't get too drunk." he lowers his voice for the last part.

brendon and i grab a beer from the bar. beer is actually better than i expected.

a few beers later, i start to feel a little tipsy. but i'm not drunk, from what i think i am. i grab brendon's hand and lead him to my dressing room. i push him onto the couch, climbing onto him. "ryan, now's not a good time. you're drunk honey." he says. well i guess this is what it feel like to be one of the drunks. (not sorry)

"i'm not as think as you drunk i am baby" my drunk ass said. brendon pushed me off him and stood up. "where's my beer?" i asked, confused.

"baby, you're drunk. very drunk. no more beer for you." brendon explained. i whimpered. brendon grabbed my hand and placed my arm around his shoulder. where's he taking me? are we on an adventure? then i see pete.

"hey pete! what's up!" i slurred. brendon tells pete something, i couldn't make out the words. suddenly, i felt myself drop. am i on the floor? i hear pete and brendon yelling. i'm guessing i passed out?

~

{636 words}

chapter 30 will be a part 2 to this!