Chapter 10:
Grace’s POV:
It was so great meeting Emily’s Army and Sofia yesterday! They were honestly some of the nicest people I have ever met. I had woken up about half an hour ago and was sat in my bed just checking my phone when there was a knock at my door.
“Who’s there?” I shouted. Seb walked through with a McDonald’s bag and handed it to me.
“We’re all going to set up in a bit, Sofia’s coming with us, you wanna come?” he asked. I nodded taking a bite out of my breakfast.
“Awesome, well you best hurry up and get your ass out of bed.” He said taking a bit out the other side of my mcmuffin before getting up and walking out.
Not too long later, I was on my way to Sofia and Joey’s room when I heard footsteps behind me.
“Grace!” I heard a familiar voice say. I turned around to see a cheerful looking Cole.
“Hey!” I said, grinning at him. Out of everyone, Cole was the person I had spoken to the least; he seemed like a really sweet guy.
“So uh, how’s it going?” he asked, just about catching up with me.
“It’s going pretty good thanks, what about you?” I replied.
“It’s going okay, the tour’s going to be so much more energetic with Seb here!” he stated, a huge grin on his face. I giggled at this. He was definitely right about that, Seb is like an uncontrollable, skateboarding puppy.
Cole and I continued to talk about the tour and everything that’s gone on so far.
“By the way, family is a soft topic for Sofia so avoid that if you can. I’m sure she’ll explain sooner or later but until then just don’t say anything.” He told me.
Cole and I began to walk to the venue as it wasn’t very far away. When we arrived we discovered we were the first ones there. We heard footsteps coming down from upstairs.
“Alfredo, what have I told you about putting your slippers on the stairs!” a voice shouted. Seconds later, somebody appeared in the doorway
“Ah, you must be the band! Not so much people?” Said a small Spanish woman.
“I’m from the band; the others aren’t here yet. I’m Cole, this is my friend Grace.” He said putting his hand on my shoulder. I’m not saying it gave me butterflies but I definitely felt something.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Tamara. I run venue.” She said in her thick Spanish accent. Tamara had a long purple dress on and looked like she was in her late 40s. She showed us where the guys would be playing; there was a room next to the one we were in with a stage at one end and a sound and lighting room at the back. Cole and I went to have a look around backstage to see what was there, there were a few seats and a dressing room that had a piece of paper with ‘Emily’s Army’ written on it. Nothing too special. I collapsed onto a chair and looked over at Cole who was on his phone.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“I’m not too sure but they should be here soon.” He replied hardly looking up.
“What’s the matter Cole? You seem really down?” I questioned. He looked up this time, sorrow filled his eyes.
“Well, my girlfriend of two years broke up with me the other day; she’s been spreading shit about me back in California and keeps sending me bitchy texts.” He said choking up.
“Seriously? She sounds a little harsh, and if that’s how she really is, I know you can do so much better.” I told him honestly.
“Thanks, that means a lot.” He said smiling at me. Right after Cole said this, the door opened to reveal Travis standing there with Cole’s guitar.
“Ay, what’s going on here?” he said winking at Cole.
“Nothing” we said in usion. Travis signalled for us to help everyone get the rest of the stuff into the venue. When we went outside, I saw a confused looking Seb.
“So where did you get off to, huh?” he said curiously.
“Just got a little caught up in conversation with Cole.” I replied. Seb just nodded and carried an amplifier inside.
After everything was set up, the guys had done a sound check and Sofia had taken some pictures, we all decided to head out and get some lunch. Sofia and Joey walked ahead holding hands, Travis Max and Seb were behind them and in front of Cole and I. I took the opportunity to get to know Cole a bit better.
“Who’s your favourite band?” I asked trying to make conversation.
“It’s harsh you’re making me pick just one.” He said smiling at me. Damn, this guy had a really cute smile.
“I don’t know maybe The Bangups. What about you?”
“Either you guys or The Ramones, but there’s so many bands I love!” I replied. It turns out, Cole and I have quite a lot in common. It wasn’t much longer until we arrived at some Spanish restaurant. We were shown to our table; Sofia patted the seat next to her for me to sit in. Seb took the seat the other side of me, Joey, Cole, Max and Travis sat opposite. Once we’d all ordered our food, we shared really weird childhood stories. Joey was telling us about how he pulled his trousers down everywhere and his dad told him that if he did it again, a snake would bite his dick off. I noticed how Sofia was quiet through the whole conversation but luckily, the food arrived to break the awkwardness that was slowly building up.
After lunch, we went straight back to the venue to find about ten fans waiting outside. Joey, Travis, Max, Cole and Seb stayed outside signing things and taking pictures whilst Sofia and I made our way to the dressing room.
“It’s so cool being on tour, everyone is so awesome!” I said excitedly. Sofia looked up from her phone and smiled briefly. A worried expression formed on her face when she looked down at her phone.
“Grace, could you get Joey for me please?” she asked almost in tears.
“Of course!” I replied. I ran over to the entrance of the building to find even more fans crowding around the guys. It would be hard to get through the fans but it was worth a shot. I pushed through the small crowd and tapped Joey’s arm.
“What’s up, Grace?” he asked looking concerned.
“It’s Sofia, she asked me to get you.”
“Shit, okay. I’ll be there in a minute.” He replied. I went back inside to see Sofia in the same state she was in before I left.
“He’s just on his way, what’s up?” I asked, taking a seat next to her.
“Okay, well basically my Dad and ex boyfriend abused me before I came on tour. Then when we were in Zurich, my ex boyfriend, Alex showed up and hit me. Anyway, Alex has somehow found out about me and Joey and still thinks I’m with him. He’s threatening me and says if I don’t end it soon; it won’t just be me that suffers.” She cried.
Joey appeared in the doorway shortly followed by Seb, Travis, Cole and Max. I decided it would be a good idea to let Joey and Sofia have some privacy so I went onto the stage with the others. Seb was playing scales on his sax; Max was tuning his bass as were Travis and Cole with their guitars. It wasn’t much longer before Joey and Sofia came onto the stage and we realised that the show started in half an hour. We got Tamara to open the doors and we all went into the dressing room.
“Okay everybody; this is our first time playing in Barcelona so we need to make this show as energetic as possible.” Max began. “Sofia, I think it’s a good idea that you take the night off judging by what’s happened. Just enjoy yourself and take your mind off of it all, Grace, would you be okay joining her?” he asked. I nodded and everybody agreed Sofia should take the night off. It didn’t take long for the time of the concert to arrive. Sofia kissed Joey and we wished them all good luck. We made our way down to the crowd just in time for them to start playing.
The show was amazing to say the least and Sofia seemed a lot happier than she was earlier which is great. After the show, we quickly packed everything away and put it into the taxi. We thanked Tamara for having us and got on our way back to the hotel.
“You guys did amazingly tonight!” I stated happily. Sofia agreed and we were thanked by them all. Everybody agreed to watch a movie in mine and Seb’s room as for some reason it had an extra sofa. We all piled into our room and took our places on the sofas. Joey and Sofia were cuddled up together, damn they were such a cute couple! Max took the armchair, Travis and Seb put on a goody little re-inaction of Titanic which just left Cole and I sat together. We settled on watching ‘School of Rock’. The very movie that caused the creation of Emily’s Army.
As the movie went on, my eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. Sofia was asleep on Joey’s chest, Seb had gone to bed anyway, Travis was asleep on the floor, Joey and Max were struggling to stay awake and Cole was in the same state as I was. I curled up onto the sofa and heard Cole yawn. Seconds later I felt an arm around my shoulders. Cliché Cole, real cliché.
I didn’t get up after that. Neither did anyone else. We all just fell asleep listening to Jack Black and a bunch of kids sing. I shut my eyes and the memories of the past coupe of days came to mind, there weren’t many but the few there currently were brought a huge smile to my face. One thing I know for sure is that I can’t wait to add to them.