Every Bright and Broken Thing

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Liam

And then it's over.

It seems like no time at all has passed by the time we finish our third and final song of the night. In that moment, knowing that I gave my all to this performance, hearing the sounds of hundreds of strangers applauding and screaming... I feel like I'm moving at the speed of light. But in the middle of it all, the confusion and the fear lingers like a black hole on the edge of my universe.

Shaking off all thought of the anonymous messages, I embrace the high, the euphoria of knowing that I've succeeded at something. Theo, Jace, and Will step up to join me at the front of the stage. Sweaty hands clasped together, we offer a bow and it seems silly, but oh so important.

Monumental.

That's the word that comes to mind.

Like a landmark.

I remember why we chose the name we did. Well, Theo and I chose it together. Back when the band was just a teenage, summer dream. He and I were on the cliff behind his house, looking down at all of Summit.

"Let's start a band," he said.

I scoffed at the suggestion at first, but it didn't take long for him to convince me.

"We're both musicians and your voice is amazing and so is your music."

"But we don't know the first thing about starting a band."

"Sure we do. All you need is passion and skill."

"And probably some more band members than our current two."

"Ah, it'll be easy to find some more. Our school's not that small. There's gotta be some other talented kids somewhere that we haven't met yet."

"Okay, but what would we even call ourselves?"

He squinted out at the Colorado mountain range, tapping his chin. "The Mountineers?"

"Sounds too much like The Lumineers."

"Bah humbug."

"Isn't that, like, copyright infringement, or something?"

"Fine. The Monuments?"

"What kinda name is that?"

Theo offered a shrug. "I dunno. I don't want to be just another band. I want to be more."

"What do you mean?"

"Music is the language of our generation. I want to do something more than just perform. I want to give language to what people like us – people with shared experiences – actually feel. Music does that, y'know?"

"Yeah. Like when you listen to a song and it says exactly what you're feeling even when you can't articulate it yourself."

"Exactly! I want to do that. So, I feel like whatever we call ourselves needs to sort of capture that idea."

I nodded. "What about The Landmarks?"

Theo's face lit up, then drooped. "Almost there, but not quite." And then, "What about Liam and the Landmarks?"

"What? Why do you want my name in the... name?"

"Because you're the brains of this whole operation. Besides – alliteration."