the new day - samuel kiszka (greta van fleet)

16- flower power

Rowan

I made my way over to the garage to hear the boys play for what was by then probably the 10th time since the day I first listened in on one of their practices. I was absolutely enchanted by their music. They were working on their own music, but would occasionally play covers, normally John Denver. Ever since that day Josh, Jake, and I went to the record store i'd been obsessed with Back Home Again. They also dabbled in some Led Zeppelin which I adored, though in all honesty I thought the boys were even better.

Sam and I were still close as ever, same with Ronnie and the other boys. We hung out as much as we could, and they were definitely starting to gain some more popularity. They had been working on new music, but they refused to ever let me listen to the new stuff. They said it's better for everyone to wait, that it will be even more worthwhile.

Tonight was the guys' first decent gig, not to say that the others didn't matter, but they had just been small bar gigs in the past. This one was one that you had to pay to get into. They had been gaining more traction and starting to contact more record labels, though nothing was set in stone yet. Sam was only seventeen and they still had a long way to go. I was so proud, they'd accomplished more than I could even imagine doing myself. They were going to go somewhere, and everyone in and outside of Frankenmuth knew damn well it was true.

Dad had finally gotten another car, one that suited him more, which meant the truck was mine. I was excited to say the least. She was old, rusty, and in desperate need of a paint job, but nevertheless I adored her.

For the show I decided to wear something comfy, but cute. I threw on on a pair of straight leg mom jeans and a knit halter crop top with flowers sewn into the pattern. I ended up curling my hair and putting a headband in to keep it out of my face.

Initially the boys had wanted me to ride to the venue with them but I didn't want to crowd the car and despite how much I love them, I didn't wanna get there that early.

After saying goodbye to my dad, I grabbed my keys and headed out to the truck. The show was only about twenty minutes outside of town, so the ride there wasn't too bad.

Upon arriving there, I headed inside. I was still a bit early, there weren't many people there yet. The boys were setting up their rigs, as focused as ever. Josh was the first one to notice my arrival.

"Ro!" he shouted with a smile, jumping down from the stage and running to give me one of his rib shattering hugs. For such a small guy, his hugs really packed a punch.

"Hi Josh." I smiled back contently, looking past him to see what Sam was doing. Sam looked at us and smiled, making his way down to greet me.

"Hey, Rowan." He grinned, pulling me in for a hug, his more warm than Josh's. Sam's felt like home. We stayed there for what felt like an eternity, but I didn't mind.

"Okay love birds," Josh began, pulling Sam away from the embrace, "People are starting to file in, we need to get ready." Josh was right, there were now at least ninety people in the room, and they were still filtering in through the doors.

"Come on," Sam said quickly, grabbing my hand and pulling me up toward the stage.

"You can stand right up front near me." He smiled contently. I wanted to be with him, but I was still scared. Nobody showed as much care for me as he did, and I couldn't help but fall for him more and more every day.

The boys had an amazing set, though I wished it was longer. They played a lot of their original songs, some of them were going to go on the EP, though it wasn't finalized by any means. Sam and I stole glances at each-other as the boys played, communicating with smiles that said more than words could. He was totally in his element, and it was admirable. All of the boys were, even Josh who didn't dream of a future of music. He was mainly there for Jake and the other boys, his real passion was film.

Near the end of their set, Josh spoke into the microphone, bringing the audience to silence,

"This next song is the newest one we've written, and the last one we plan to put on our first EP." he began, smiling and looking down at me. I looked over to Sam, his smile was as wide as ever.

"We all worked on this song together, but Sam here recently wrote most of the lyrics. We hope you all enjoy Flower Power!" he smiled, motioning to Sam. The song slowly began, and I didn't break eye contact with Sam once.

She's a lady, comes from all around
She's many places, but she's homeward bound
Now, she walks kinda funny
I think she knows
Day by day by day, our love grows
She's a lantern in the night,
She's outta sight.

Josh's voice and the instrumentals of the boys filled the space, illuminating the eyes of the crowd. It was beautiful. Flower power was most definitely my new favorite song of theirs by far.

As the days pass by my mind
Are the wrong, the right
You are my sunshine
And as the night begins to die
We are the morning birds that sing against the sky

By the time the song came to an end tears filled my eyes. It was so beautiful, and the whole audience clapped and cheered. These boys were adored by so many.

Once the people had started to make their way out, I ran over and jumped onto the stage, bringing Sam in for a huge hug. He wrote what was, in my opinion, the most beautiful song in the world. He held me close, prolonging the hug as he spoke,

"So, did you like it?" he whispered, I could tell he was smiling,

"I loved it. Flower Power is officially my favorite Greta Van Fleet song." I said with a smile. I love how much he cares about the music. They all have such passion.

"I'm glad you love it." he said, slowly pulling away from my embrace,

"I wrote it for you." he said, cracking a smile. What a dork. A cute dork.

"For me? Why?" I questioned, cocking my head to the side.

"'Cause you're my best friend, Ro." he said, smiling, almost as if he was holding back what he wanted to say.

"It's beautiful, Sammy. Thank you." I smiled back, bringing him in for another hug. Best friends. That's what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. Right?

Right.