Sweet Dreams, Tennessee

Hysteria

Sweat dripped off Levi's hair as he strummed an upbeat tempo. The fingers on his fretboard rapidly moving up and down as he nailed each chord with precision. His brows furrowed together in deep concentration as he bobbed his head lightly to the beat. It was No Name's final song of the day for one of their biggest gigs yet; they were one of the headlining bands for a music festival that was held annually in town.

The weather had been unforgivingly hot lately and it certainly didn't help that there were a dozen different types of stage lights shining on them. The stage team wanted their set to be a little extra, so they also gave them a little smoke machine to fill the stage. You were surprised the stage wasn't flooded yet with how every band member was drenched in their own sweat.

Though it was a new song, the crowd jumped and cheered, shouting incomprehensible things. You looked at the audience from where you stood at the side of the stage. You were glad you weren't in the crowd at this time of day with the sun directly above. 

Unlike previous gigs, you were given access to the back and side of the stage. Historia was beside you with her phone out, recording their whole performance. You glanced at her screen and noticed she would casually zoom into Ymir every now and then. "How can someone look so good?" She mumbled to herself as she stared in adoration at Ymir's figure through the phone screen.

Jean's shrilling guitar joined Levi as he crouched downwards, dragging out his notes. A bigger gig meant a bigger space for the band to play around with as Jean walked towards Hange in the middle of the stage, shredding their guitars back-to-back. At the back of the stage was Ymir, who had contorted her face. Every single swing of her drumsticks was full of her energy as she banged her snares and hi-hats, taking occasional glances to Historia to make sure she was always looking at her.

Eren combed through his wet hair with his fingers, the other hand holding onto his microphone. He eyed Mikasa, who was at the side of the stage with you, and gave her a little wink. Mikasa, not used to the attention from Eren, blushed slightly as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. You averted your gaze, pretending that you didn't just see Eren blatantly flirt with Mikasa in front of you. You've really been feeling like a third-wheel ever since the gig started.

Eren turned his attention back to the crowd, his sweaty palms now gripping onto his microphone.

"It's bugging me, grating me and twisting me around. Yeah, I'm endlessly caving in and turning inside out."

His voice started out slow and smooth as he took his microphone off from it's stand to walk towards Levi, whose mouth was slightly agape. You could see Levi panting from where you were. The song was only in its introduction and he was already panting from keeping up with his double time tempo. The song had a pretty heavy bass line, its main focus was constantly on Levi. If he missed a beat, it would be pretty obvious but knowing him, you were confident that he could nail it perfectly. "Humanity's Greatest Bassist, huh?" You chuckled at the nickname his loyal fans gave him.

"'Cause I want it now, I want it now. Give me your heart and your soul. And I'm breaking out, I'm breaking out. Last chance to lose control!"

You bobbed your head along, completely absorbing yourself into the music and the strong vibrations it was giving off each time Levi played a chord or when Ymir stepped on her bass pedal. Over time, you had gotten used to going to multiple gigs in different venues. The band had decided to make you their roadie, since you were always coming over to help wherever you could and that you were close to all of the members in the band. Of course, you only helped out when you could since you still had school to worry about.

Your eyes made its way to Jean, who by now was lightly jumping on the spot as he shredded his guitar. Your heart swelled with pride as you watched him. You couldn't be any more proud of the person he's become over the past few months.