Stardust Chords || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 1: First Impressions

There was a frigid chill in the air that always came with getting up before the sun, but I preferred it. The silence of the night was calming, peaceful before the chaos began. I had lost count of how many tours I've worked on over the years, but they all started the same.

Everyone eager with excitement, especially the newer bands, having never been out on the road before; all they had to go off of was what they've seen in movies or read about online. Little did they know that the real thing could never compare.

That's why I preferred working for the more seasoned bands. They had their way of doing things, and I had mine, and we rarely got in each other's way. It was merely a business transaction and as long as everything moved smoothly and I got paid, I had no complaints.

Ever since I was a little girl I had always dreamed of going on tour, but eventually you learn if you have the skills to actually be in the band, or wind up working for the band, and I had accepted that I was the latter.

Touring was easy; I didn't have much back home tying me down and I loved to travel, waking up in a different city every night, never sure what you were gonna see or who you were gonna meet. It was exciting, and after all these years, I don't think I could live any other way. And I was lucky that my boyfriend was part of the same touring company, so even during those lonely nights, I was never truly alone.

I met Noah during our first tour together, and we just clicked, sticking with each other ever since. Occasionally times were tough, just like with every couple, and our situation wasn't exactly ideal, but I guess that's just what came with the territory. We didn't live conventional lives, so I guess it was just unrealistic of me to expect a conventional relationship.

But all in all, it seemed like the rest of my life had pretty much been written out for me, and I didn't see anything else coming into the picture that would  change that any time soon, if ever.

"Have you ever heard of these guys?" I asked, leaning back up against the cold metal of one of the tour buses parked out in the desolate lot. Every tour started the same. We all met up together in the closest city, taking inventory of everything and everyone before heading out. Everything flowed much more smoothly if we all left from the same place, and it made all of the introductions that much easier.

"Not really." Noah said nonchalantly, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket, placing one between his lips before offering me the carton. I took it reluctantly, sliding one out and popping it into my mouth. I had told myself I was going to quit before the next tour, but.. easier said than done. And it didn't help that he always had a pack on hand.

"Have you?" He asked. I shook my head, leaning in closer to him as he held out his lighter, inhaling deep and blowing the smoke in the other direction. The warmth was nice, but short-lived.

It wasn't the only time I chased temporary highs.

"Not really." I muttered. But that wasn't entirely true. I always made sure to look up the bands we were working with before we met, wanting to at least know what I was getting myself into. They weren't bad. Far from it, actually. They were just far from anything we were used to. But.. a good different. Like a breath of fresh air. It would be a nice change of pace.

Noah seemed less than thrilled, always somewhat off-put by the "younger" bands, especially when they were all guys.

He had once tried his hand at being in a band himself, and never let anyone forget it. But, what always happens, and that day comes when you have to accept that your dream will never be anything else but that, a dream.

It always amazed me how he still chose to do this, surrounding himself with those who were able to achieve everything he hadn't, and I could tell that it got to him, more often than not. I did my best to seem just as unfazed, never wanting to seem too enthusiastic at the risk of hurting his feelings.