Stardust Chords || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 2: What They're About

"I don't understand why everyone makes such a big deal about them." Noah muttered, obviously still bothered. "They're kids."
"How old are they?" I asked, sitting down across from him at the table. He shrugged, avoiding my eyes as he brought his attention back outside.
"Who cares."

I waited a moment before pulling out my phone, typing their name into the search bar, trying not to make it too obvious that I was looking them up. And was actually.. really impressive.

They had a few Grammy nominations, winning at least one from what I could gather, and the guitarist had been on a few magazine covers.

Why hadn't I heard of them before?

"Hopefully they won't be too annoying." Noah said. I nodded, keeping my eyes locked on my phone as I continued to scroll, making a note to listen to some of their stuff later once Noah had gone to bed.
"I'm sure they're fine." I said plainly, trying my best not to get a rise out of him, but by the looks of it, they had already gotten under his skin, for whatever reason.

"They're cliches."
"Says who?" I laughed. His face dropped into an irritated frown.
"You saw them."
"You don't even know them."
"Neither do you." He snapped.

I could tell this conversation was over.

Sometimes I wished that Noah would just quit touring. Either that, or really try to make music work for him too. His jealousy was almost unbearable sometimes, but.. that's what he had me for, right? To reassure him. But I could only do so much if he didn't even try.

"They seemed nice." I shrugged. He glared back at me again.
"Even when he yelled at you for doing your job?"
"He didn't yell at me, he just-"
"He was a jerk, Jade. They're always jerks." He snapped. I bit down on my lip, avoiding his eyes now as I looked back out the window.

Maybe.. he was right.

Later That Night

As we pulled up to the first venue, I could see a long line of people already waiting for them outside. I wondered how long they had been there.

More so recently, fans had started waiting out earlier and earlier, just to get that much closer to the stage. It was always wild to me, having never cared where I was in the crowd, just as long as I could experience the show. I guess it was just never about that for me; it didn't matter who was making the music, just as long as I could feel it.

But even still, the excitement was endearing; I missed getting excited over things the way these newer fans did. They always seemed so happy, their faces instantly lighting up when the artists made their way off of the bus for the first time, making their entire day with just a smile and a wave.

I wondered if they were the kind of artists who would stop and acknowledge them, or would they try to sneak in through the back. I know sometimes it got hectic, but I always held a sense of animosity towards artists who went out of their way to avoid their fans. Some way or another, they all eventually "forgot" that they were the ones giving them these opportunities, and how quickly they could take them away if they stopped showing up.

As the band's bus pulled up behind us, I saw the line start to get more and more restless, nervously talking amongst themselves, their eyes going wide as they frantically scanned the tinted windows, just hoping for a glance of a familiar silhouette.

"I see Sam!" One of them loudly whispered, leaning in close to her friends. She shook her head, clutching her CD tightly.
"Oh my god, that's Josh! I'd know that hair anywhere. Oh my god, that can definitely see us."
"Do you think they're gonna come out?!"
"Oh my god, what do we even say to them?"
"I don't know, I just need to tell them I love them."

I couldn't help but smile as I began to unload their equipment from under the bus, trying my best to remain discrete as I continued to eavesdrop.

"Hey!" One of them called out from behind me. "Hey!" As I turned around, heading into the venue, they waved me over, flashing me an eager grin.
"Yeah?" I asked, wondering if it was me they were talking to. She waved me over again.
"Hey, um.. sorry, uh.. do you.. do you know if they're gonna come out, or.." She asked nervously. I shook my head, giggling to myself.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry, I don't, but.. I don't see why they wouldn't. The doors are right here, so.. when they come out you'll be the first one's to know. And.. you probably know way more about them than I do, so-"
"Oh my god they are the sweetest. They always come out and talk to everyone, that's why we get here so early, we don't want to miss them." I nodded, feeling somewhat relieved that they were at least kind to their fans. To me, that was the most important.

"Well, that's nice to hear. I just met them this morning so, I really don't know what to expect, so anything you guys know.." I joked. I instantly saw their eyes light up, their smiles grow into eager grins as if they had been waiting for someone else to bring them up.

They were adorable.

"Okay, so Josh is the singer, he's incredible." One said, showing me a photo of him from her phone. He was the first one to introduce himself to me this morning.
"And this one is Sam. He plays bass. He's the cutest."
"No! Jake is!" Another one yelled, now holding her phone up to me. I looked over. The guitar player. I nodded, playing along.

"And this is Danny, he's the drummer. He's my favorite." A girl behind them said, shoving her phone forward. "He's the only one who's not a brother. He's Sam's best friend, and then Josh and Jake are twins, even though everyone thinks that Sam and Jake are twins. Josh hates that." I couldn't help but laugh, now feeling like I knew a little too much about them.

"Okay, well you guys have been very helpful. I'm sure I'll see you inside, and.. if I happen to cross paths with then, I'll make sure to put in a good word for you guys so they come out and see you."
"Oh my god, you're amazing thank you so much!" They looked down at my badge, as if making a mental note.

"We're going to a few shows so I'm sure we'll see you again, Jade!" I nodded, flashing them all another smile before carrying in however much I could hold, bringing it over to the stage. From the floor I could already see Noah back towards the drum set, doing his best to pretend to look busy while the rest of us actually did the work.

"The fans seem sweet." I said, carrying in what I now assumed was Sam's bass, carefully placing it on the stage. Noah shrugged.
"They're obsessed. That's what always happens with these little boy bands. It's never about the music. It's just cause the girls love them." I sighed, shaking my head as I hopped up on stage, plugging in one of the amps and taking the bass out of the case, carefully placing it down on one of the stands.

"I don't know, it doesn't seem like that. They seem legit to me. I mean, they even won a Grammy, so-"
"You looked them up?" He asked. I felt my cheeks burn, now avoiding his eyes.
"I just.. I wanted to see what they were all about, I don't know." I muttered, hating when he got like this.

Sometimes I wished that him and I could just be a normal couple, despite the fact that I really didn't even know what that meant anymore. There were times when it felt like he was still with me just because it was convenient, not because he really wanted to be. I hoped it wasn't true, but.. I couldn't even remember the last time we had fun together.

And then I heard the piercing screams erupting from outside. They had finally come out.