Chapter 1
Wait for it, wait for it........."
"I WANT TO CRAWL BACK IN!"
The three of them screamed at the top of their lungs. Mike laughed as the song kept playing. His friend Dave was over and his brother Jason was hanging out with them.
"I love that song!" Mike grinned as it came to a close.
"That is a good song," Dave agreed, "But we all know that's not the whole reason you like that song."
Jason laughed and then paused the song before standing up and going over to the wall where one of Mike's posters was.
"Hello, my love," Jason mocked as he touched the poster.
"Stop it guys," Mike muttered as Dave snorted.
"Oh Chester Charles Bennington, will you be my overage and illegal husband?" Dave asked as he knelt in front of the poster.
"I love your voice it's so dreeeeaamy," Jason said.
"Stop it!" Mike growled, "Come on guys."
"Chester, I love you, Chester I do," the two boys sang before falling into a heap and laughing. Mike glared at them before sitting down on his bed. It was mean that they continued to mock him about that. He'd confessed a long time ago that he was gay and he had a huge crush on the lead singer of Dead By Sunrise, his favorite band, Chester Bennington. He loved everything about that man. He was seventeen, turning eighteen in five months.
His parents were fine with the fact that he was gay but the kids at school weren't as nice about it. A couple of them made him feel pretty awful about himself. But he still had some good friends. One of which, was sitting in the room with him.
"Oh come Mike, we're just kidding. Besides, every girl wants Chester Bennington."
Mike tackled Dave and Jason laughed as Dave finally gave in and apologized. Mike smiled as he stood up and then helped his friend up.
"So what was your big news that you were going to tell us but then we got to distracted?" Mike asked. Dave's eyes lit up.
"Oh yea! You are never going to guess what happened."
"You got a date?" Jason asked.
"You made the football team?"
"You're getting a brother or a sister?"
"You're dog came back from the dead?"
"Okay seriously guys," Dave snickered, "When I said you'd never guess, you literally would never guess."
"Then tell us!"
"Right so I was at the drugstore today, buying batteries because my xbox controller died and I needed to beat this level. Okay? I've been working on this for a long time and...."
"Alright Dave, just get on with it."
"Right, so I'm in the checkout line when this guy walks up to the counter next to me and tosses a pack of cigarettes down."
"Holy shit Dave, cigs!?" Jason asked sarcastically.
"Stop it. Anyway, I glance up and you won't believe who it was! It was the one and only Chester Bennington! He was literally buying cigs right next to me!"
Mike couldn't believe it. Dave had been face to face with his idol and he hadn't been there. He wanted to cry.
"But that's not it. I started freaking out cause like, it was Chester Bennington and he seemed to notice that I knew him. So he smiled and was like, 'hey'. And I was like, 'hey my friends and I are really big fans of your band and your music is really good' and he was like 'how many friends do you have?' And I said 'Two.' And he literally pulled three tickets out of his pocket and handed them to me. There's a show tomorrow night at the place in town and we have front row seats with meet and greet passes!"
Mike screamed before he could stop himself before hugging Dave tightly. Jason laughed.
"You just made my brother's day."
"That means you're coming too Jay," Dave said with a grin as Mike let him go.
"You're the best! Oh my god you're the best! I'm going to finally meet him! Finally! I never thought I'd get the chance."
"Mike, you were going to get the chance. You love that man. You would've found a way."
"Thank you!" Mike smiled before taking the tickets from Dave and grinning wildly. This was the best day of his life. No, tomorrow would be the best day of his life. Tomorrow he'd be face to face with his idol. He'd meet Chester Bennington.
"So I'll come by tomorrow, pick you guys up and we'll head down. The meet and greet is at seven. The concert starts at eight. Can't wait."
"See you then Dave!" Jason called and Mike waved.
"I'm so excited," he said finally, "I might cry."
"Oh Mikey," Jason laughed, "just enjoy it okay?"
"Yea. Yea I will."
Jason nodded and left his room. Mike sighed as he turned to look around his room. Everywhere, covering his walls, desk, and closet, were pictures of the band and pictures of Chester Bennington. He was surrounded by that man's face. He smiled slightly at his most recent find. It was one of his favorite pictures. Chester was leaning against a wall with a black leather jacket over his body. Mike adored that body. Chester was thin but he was strong. He had muscle in his arms, chest, and stomach and they just made his many tattoos so much brighter. The sleeves of the jacket were rolled up to reveal those wonderful blue and orange flames that licked at the man's forearms and began at his wrists. A pair of tight, black pants hugged Chester's waist, low enough to give his fans a nice view of an inch and a half of his underwear. Mike knew that if the man had been turned around, he'd be seeing that perfect ass of his made even better by those pants but for now, he'd have to deal with Chester's package. It wasn't too obvious what kind of weaponry Chester was carrying and Mike really hoped that it didn't mean Chester had a small dick. He'd always imagined Chester with at least six and a half inches. Wait, no, he didn't imagine Chester like that. Scratch that. He never imagined Chester's dick size. The black pants made Chester look like he had twigs for legs, which was somewhat true. The man's legs were definitely skinny. The pants ended in a pair of black combat boots and goddamn he was hot. Mike looked back to Chester's face. That angelic face, blessed by the gods most likely. Wavy brown hair that looked so soft to run your hands through. He had huge chocolate eyes that de-aged him by at least five years. He was everything Mike ever wanted in a man. The last thing that Mike loved about him were the black gauges that hung in his ears and the silver lip ring that rested in his skin. Mike wasn't a fan of lip rings but Chester's fit so tightly that he thought it was alright.
Having a crush on Chester wasn't the problem, having the dreams about him was. He'd always lusted after the older man even though he knew it would never happen. Famous people didn't look twice at nerdy, gay boys. Maybe that was why he never had a boyfriend. Maybe he was too stuck in his fantasy world where he was kissing Chester Bennington. He heard his music playing quietly and he heard the lyrics.
You were there to rescue me,
You shined a light so I could see
And then I fall
Into you
And I fade away
Mike sighed softly. He wanted to be the one Chester sang to. He wanted to be the person that was there to rescue him. He knew everything about Chester. Born on March 20th, he was twenty five years old. He had done drugs as a teenager and continued to present day. He had been sexually abused by a family friend for several years while he was young and it had hurt him. He'd heard rumors that Chester had self-harmed but he couldn't be sure. Chester was too strong to self-harm. He on the other hand, wasn't. Mike sighed as he rolled up the sleeve of his hoodie to see his own marks there. Ever since he had realized he was gay and people had bullied him for it, he'd been marking himself here. He wasn't strong enough to overcome this. He was too afraid and too hurt by the people who hated him. He laid back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Tomorrow, he would meet Chester Bennington. That's all that mattered.
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"Get out here!" Dave was yelling from the driveway. He and Jason ran out the door both dressed in DBS gear carrying their tickets and posters for signing. They jumped in the car and drove down to the venue, which wasn't far, singing their favorite songs the whole way there. When they arrived, they parked and ran to where they were supposed to meet. Their tickets were checked to make sure they were legit and then they were led into a room with some other people. Mike felt himself shaking. He was so excited.
"This is going to be so cool!" Dave breathed as they stood in the line.
"I know," Mike managed. He really felt like he was going to throw up. But that wasn't anything compared to how e felt when the door opened and they walked in. He wanted to cry when he saw Chester. He was everything he'd wanted him to be and more. Mike swallowed back his tears and blinked the water out of his eyes.
"Mike, calm down," Dave said with a laugh.
"I'm sorry but I think I love him," Mike managed. The line began to move slowly and Mike was shaking even more. And then they were at the table and Jason was talking and Dave was grinning and he was barely managing to speak. And when he got to Chester, he froze. Those deep, doe-like eyes looked up at him and there was a smile on his face.
"Hi there," Chester said with a smile.
"H-Hi," Mike managed, "I....I.....oh my god I'm sorry I just...wow....and you're just so talented and you sing so well and I love to write music and you've really inspired me and I just never thought I'd ever get to meet you and say thank you."
"Whoa, slow down there buddy. I was just gonna ask your name," Chester laughed, "But I'm honored. Thank you."
"Mike," Mike said quietly, "My name's Mike."
"Well here you are Mike, enjoy the show," Chester said as he signed the poster and handed it back to him. Mike took it and thanked him before walking over to Dave and Jason.
"Oh Chester you're such an inspiration," Jason whined and Dave started snickering. They talked but Mike couldn't help stealing glances at Chester. The older man was just so perfect.
"Is it just me, or is Bennington staring at your ass?" Dave whispered. Mike jumped and his face turned red. He glanced behind him and saw Chester's head turn back to whatever he was signing. Something had distracted him no doubt.
"Hey guys, we're going to take a picture. Like a group thing. So everyone gather."
They did and Mike stood behind Dave and Jason. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder.
"Don't mind if I stand here do you?"
"N-No," Mike managed as Chester smiled at him and put his arm around his shoulders. They took the picture and then Chester slowly removed his arm before giving him a small smile and leaving the room. Mike was done. He was hopelessly in love and he needed a way out.
"Come on," Dave said, "Show time."
And what a show it was. Chester performed like a beast and Mike sang every word to every song. At some points, Chester would come down to the floor and grab the hands of the fans and Mike got another handshake from his idol. Towards the end of the show, Chester took off his black tank top and wiped the sweat off his head before smiling.
"Who wants it?"
Everyone screamed and Chester laughed before throwing it into the crowd. Mike watched it sail into the crowd on the opposite side of the venue and was a bit upset that he wouldn't get a chance to take that lovely item home. It was over too soon. Mike sighed as they slowly left the venue after Chester bowed and did his signature kiss to the crowd before leaving the stage.
"So how did you like that?"
"It was amazing," Jason laughed.
"It was great," Mike agreed. But now he just couldn't wait to get home. He needed some time to realize that he would never get Chester Bennington.
"Hang on, I gotta use the bathroom," Dave said.
"Me too," Jason hurried after him. Mike sat down on a bench and waited. Almost everyone was gone and that's when he heard raised voices.
"You're going to pull yourself together or you're out."
"You're going to be just as bad as Weiland and the Pilots."
"And who are you gonna replace me with?"
"We'll find someone. Anyone can do your job. You're nothing special."
"Fine. I'll quit anyway."
"You're lucky this is the last day of our tour. You need to sit back and think about how you're going to destroy this band."
They were yelling at Chester. Mike so badly wanted to go to the older man's defense but instead, he just got up when Dave and Jason came back and walked out to the car again. He'd never see Chester again, it didn't matter.