Keeping Secrets

The Concert

PEYTON

The seats we had were incredible. Slightly off from center stage and just a few seats back, but with a perfect view. We were close but elevated enough that we didn't break our necks watching the show.

The stage itself was dark, but the arena wasn't, yet. It was dusky outside, and it'd be about another hour until the sun would set.

"There's a lot of people here," Amanda commented as she looked around. And she was right. Our college loved football, but the stands hadn't been this filled when I watched the game.

One spotlight turned on and everyone's attention turned towards the stage. It got surprisingly quiet, but just for a second. Beau stepped out onto the stage and right into the light. He carried himself with a new kind of confidence. As soon as he strung the first few cords of their hit song, the entire arena exploded into cheers. To say his skills had improved over the last two years was to put it lightly. I felt the tingling effects along my spine as Beau played his guitar with expert precision.

It only took a few seconds before Dane joined in on the drums. Another spotlight found him behind the drum set, where he sat like a king on a throne. The sound was a powerful, hair rising experience.

Amanda screamed beside me once Justin joined in on the bass. There was a keyboard next to him and I knew he'd be playing that, too, later on. Justin was talented with any kind of instrument.

The entire stage lit up. There was a loud boom, followed by smoke across the stage, and then Lucas stepped out like he owned it. The screams and shouts from the audience got even louder, and when Lucas opened his mouth and let his powerful voice be heard, the noise level hit the imaginary roof. That man could sing.

Holy shit.

The concert was so much better than I had ever expected it'd be. They had come a long way from how they had sounded playing in Justin's parents' garage. Their sound and the way they handled themselves were so professional. So impressive. So just awe-inspiring... To think that these men, these performers, had been just like us a couple of years ago. Just regular college students.

I was so damn proud of Justin. That he'd made something out of his dream. I could only imagine what Amanda and his parent's felt. They must be so incredibly proud.

The band received standing ovations and were called back for an encore, which they rocked just like the rest of the concert. A couple of the songs were new, and I expected at least one of them, the one called "Lights Out" to be another hit on music charts. It was heavy on the drums and had a bit more of old school rock sound than their other music, which went more towards southern rock.

"It's so weird," Amanda started and shook her head slowly from side to side when the concert ended. "I never would've thought they'd be that good."

"Very weird," her aunt Rita responded as one fan near us shouted that she wanted to have Justin's babies. Walt's expression was pure disgust.

I kind of understood where they came from. The guys in the band were hot as hell, and seeing them on stage made them even hotter. But to Walt and Rita, it was their family. It must be incredibly uncomfortable for them to watch their son, and his friends, get attacked by girls acting like hungry hyenas.

"If this is what happens now, how will it be when they release the full album?" I asked Amanda, who was busy studying the group as they walked off the stage for the last time.

"I have no idea."

Walt must have overheard us, because he just groaned.

The audience was still buzzing from the highs of the show. They flooded towards the exits while we remained in ours seats as instructed before the show started. It didn't take long before the same security guard that had brought us around earlier came back for us and brought us back backstage.