"I remember when I first heard them," you said, smiling slightly at the recording camera. "I thought, 'who the hell are these guys? They're amazing.' They're the reason why I'm here."
You adjusted the wire connecting you to your ear piece, your microphone in one hand. The screams could be heard from where you stood in the back room.
"What did you do when you heard them? For the first time, I mean," the interviewer asked, watching you with his piercing green eyes. You giggled.
"Uh, I kinda just said 'You know what? I wanna start a band.' And so I did. I taught myself how to play the guitar, practiced my singing, and gathered up a group of my friends, and we just, uh, did it without much thought."
"Where are your band mates now?"
"Oh," you said, looking down at your lap, "they gave up on the idea. We were in high school, I mean, they wanted to go to college and our band was taking up a lot of their time. I didn't blame them. But, I couldn't bring myself to let it go."
"You're on in five," a stage hand popped her head into the room, informing you on your time left. You let out a deep breath.
"Who was your favorite?" he asked, smirking at your wide eyed expression.
"My favorite?" you repeated. "Oh God, how could I possibly choose? I guess, I did have a soft spot for curly hair..."
"Ah, so the drummer, then?"
"Ashton," you nodded, "he was a huge idol of mine."
"How so?"
The jitters in your stomach wouldn't settle as you walked out of the large room. The screams were chanting your name. The opening act. You never thought it would come to this. Your fingers fiddled with the many bracelets that ran up your arm.
"Ashton went through a lot of rough things in his life," you said. "So have I. He was, in his own words, an outcast in school. I was too. But look at him now. Stronger than ever and living his dream. I wanted that. I wanted that a lot. He kept me strong."
"What difficult times did you go through, if I may ask."
"No, no, it's fine," you shook your head. "To put it simply, I had family issues. Not bad, but not good either."
The lights were blinding your eyes, even though you didn't set foot on the stage. Suddenly, the lights went out, the screaming increased, and your heart stopped. One step is all it would take.
"When you met them, did you freak out?"
"Actually," you said, a smile on your face, "I didn't."
"And why is that?"
You shrugged. "Those boys are just like you and me, except they're known by a lot more people. I treated them as if they were someone I ran into at my local bakery."
"Y/N!" you smile at the sound of your name being chanted by the crowd. Your fingers fell away from the bracelets, and the grasp on you microphone tightened as you walked up onto the dark stage.
"Didn't you cowrite a song with them?"
"I did, yeah," you said, nodding. "With Ashton and Calum, actually."
"And what was the song?"
"Tomorrow Never Dies," you replied, a small smile playing on your lips at the fond memory.
The lights suddenly flashed, causing you to be seen for only a millisecond by the still screaming crowd. The screen behind you played the recorded video of you throughout the places you've been, alongside the four boys you are touring with.
The drums beat, the guitar was strummed once. The suspension was surely killing the fans as they grew louder.
"Have the 5SOS boys influenced you at all while on tour?"
"Well, Mikey's gotten me addicted to pizza," you joked, "but yes, they've changed me. They taught me what it was like to live. I used to force myself to stay away, locked up in my room. I've never had a thrill since I've met them. I'm so grateful."
"And what about them? Have they told you about your impact on them?"
"Since the moment I met him, I was closest to Luke. He told me that I've helped him through a lot of stuff, with being away from family in Australia, to having to deal with hate on social media. Of course, I'm there for all the boys, but Luke has told me that I made a big impact on him."
"Are you ready to rock your socks off?" you shouted into the mic. Screams answered you. The one from the drummer behind you told you when to begin to sing. "All the small things. True care, truth brings. I'll take one lift. Your ride, best trip."
The lights were now on and shining down on you as you sang along to Blink 182. The crowd sang along, and you couldn't help but smile.
"I'm sure you despise this question for its frequency, but I must know. Ever since I saw that video..."
"Always, I know, you'll be at my show. Watching, waiting, commiserating."
"Ask away."
"Is it true?" he asked. "That when you met the boys, you self-harmed?"
The song quickly ended, and you looked out at the large crowd of girls in front of you.
"I want to thank every single one of you that came all the way out here tonight," you said, earning a loud uproar in return. "Look at all these beautiful faces. This is marvelous. Molto bene! That's Italian, isn't it? Yeah?" There were some laughs and a few screams. "Well, I hope you don't mind, but we're going to be taking it down a notch. Sing along if you know the words."
"Oh, uh," you stuttered. "That video, I remember that. I guess I can't really lie about it 'cause it's been documented, so, yeah. I regret it. But, yes, I did. It was before I met the boys."
"White lips, pale face, breathing in snowflakes," you began singing The A-Team, smiling sadly now as the crowd sang along. "Burnt lungs, sour taste."
"Light's gone, days end. Struggling to pay rent. Long nights, strange men."
"How'd you deal? How did you come through?"
"My best friends," you said truthfully. "No, wait, my brothers. They're more to me than friends. They're all just too special and important to me."
"You're a strong girl."
"I really do try to stay away from that part of my past. That's not me anymore. But thank you."
"It's too cold outside for angels to fly, to fly, to fly. An angel to die."
