Kill Me With Words (All Time Low Fanfiction)

Chapter 28

After the meet and greet, I followed the band up to where they’d be playing. The support band was just about to go on stage, so Jack and I went and stood beside Evan the sound engineer and his switchboard at the side of the stage to watch them. When it was time for All Time Low to go on, the support band gave them a little introduction and then left the stage.

“Great set, man,” Jack said to the lead singer as he passed us. I could see him fangirling when Jack talked to him.

“Oh, thanks,” He muttered, before running off. I laughed.

“I guess it’s your turn now,” I said to Jack, who turned to me and grinned.

“Stay here and watch us play, won’t you?” He asked me hopefully.

“Of course!” I promised.

Alex came running over before we could say anything else. “Fist bump,” He said frantically, holding out his two fists. Evan, Jack and I bumped him cautiously. He turned to me. “I’ll come get you sometime during the set, okay?”

“Sure,” I nodded. “Now go,” I told him, nodding towards the crowd. They were chanting “ALL TIME LOW” so loudly I could barely hear myself think. “Duty calls!”

Alex laughed, giving me a quick hug before leaving. “Come on, Jack!”

“One second!” Jack yelled back to him. He paused, looking at Evan. “Do me a favour,” He said quietly to him, “Don’t let Finley be alone with Simon, alright?”

Evan frowned. “Sure, um... why?”

Jack grimaced. “Just don’t do it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I told Evan quickly, “It’s really nothing.”

Evan nodded slowly. “Just stay beside me,” He said, giving me a smile. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thanks,” I said, suddenly realising that I, more that anything, didn’t want to be alone with Simon. He creeped me out.

Jack left then. The four of them stood in a line across the stage, hidden by a giant sheet. The venue was suddenly immersed in darkness, and the crowd hushed for a moment. But then they were at it again - “ALL TIME LOW, ALL TIME LOW, ALL TIME LOW!”

The lights began to flash in blinding white bursts. I moved a little closer to the edge of the stage so that I could see what the crowd saw; The silhouettes of the band flashing across the stage. I smiled.

Then the music began. It was slow at first, one striking of a guitar string that echoed across the room, followed shortly by the screams of hundreds of fans. And then it came again, two notes this time, three, four, five. And suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of light, and the white curtain fell to the ground all at once. All Time Low stood on stage, basking in the cheers of all their fans, except they won’t just standing anymore, they were playing now. Jack was doing some complicated riff on his guitar, Zack was plucking at his bass, muscles straining with every movement. Rian sat in the back, hammering at his drums like an impatient child bangs his spoon on the dinner table. It wasn’t just random noise, though, it was beautiful, filling every crevice in my body, until I was leaning into the stage, yearning to stretch my hands out and scream like all the other people standing below me. To thank them for making me feel this whole.

The outburst of music quietened for a moment, and then Alex’s voice was echoing out of the speakers.

“She works for the weekend! Mixtape of her favourite bands! Tearing up the radio, lost in the stereo sound...” He leaned into his microphone, “She’s trouble in a tank top, pretty little time bomb!” Alex took the microphone out of its stand and wandered down to the edge of the stage, much to the delight of the fans standing there. “Blowing up, I’ll take you down! Living in the radio, lost in the stereo sound!” And then, after grabbing a few fan’s hands, he stood up again, raising his hands into the air.