The Middle | ✔️

Chapter 8

Jamie

"You bring out the worst in me, and you ain't got no sen-si-tiv-ity!"

Jay sings the last line of the song, and we finish playing. The crowd goes absolutely wild, and I'm fucking buzzing. My head hurts from how much I'm smiling. I didn't expect this, not in a million years. I mean, I think we're awesome, and I love our music, but I had no idea other people would be so into it. This is so exciting!

I turn to look at Jay and he's looking out at the crowd and smiling too. Joel is awkwardly waving, I think he's in a state of shock right now. I turn back and look at Patrick, he's already disassembling his drum kit, and I realise we need to move so that the closing act can get up here. Reggie is already making his way out to centre stage, but the crowd are still cheering and whistling for us. This is crazy.

I feel Joel's hand around my waist as he pulls me towards the side of the stage, and I laugh at how disorientated I am by the crowds reaction to our song. Once I'm off stage with Joel and Jay, I start jumping up and down and hugging them and trying to stop myself from fucking squealing with glee.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my fucking god!" I can't even string a proper sentence together, and Jay and Joel are both laughing at me.

"That was seriously fucking cool." Jay says, looking back out at the stage.

"I could get used to this feeling!" Joel exclaims.

"Well, get used to it." Patrick says with a smile, joining us from the stage. "Because this is it for us from now on."

Jay and Patrick high five each other before grinning and pulling each other into what I can only describe as a bro hug, so I turn to Joel and practically jump on top of him. He laughs and gives me a big hug, and trust me, this is weird, we are not huggers. None of the four of us. That's how fucking incredible this moment is.

"I love you guys." I tell them, before hugging Jay and Patrick in turn too.

"Yeah, love you too, Jame." Jay says coolly.

"Same here." Joel says, smiling at me.

Patrick rolls his eyes and grins at me. I know the whole i love you thing annoys him, but tough. I tell the guys I love them all the time. Jay and Joel are always very receptive of this, Patrick just tolerates it and laughs at me. But that's just Patrick. Honestly, I think he's just allergic to the word love.

Reggie addresses the crowd again. "All right you guys, please put your hands together for our final act of the evening. They've just started their final year at NBU, and I am stoked to announce that over the summer they accepted a recording contract with Pear Tree Records! Everyone please lose your shit - for Incubator!"

"Incubator, we should have known." Jay comments, as we watch the Incubator boys walk out onto the stage.

"Not my thing, but they are awesome at what they do." Joel says.

We clap along with the crowd as Incubator - a three-piece heavy metal band - prepare to start playing. From where we're standing, we are gonna get fucking punched in the face by them when they start playing. They are very very heavy. Not Joel's thing, and not my thing either. Jay doesn't mind them, and Patrick is pretty friendly with the drummer, Dale Forbes.

"Celebration drink?" I ask my boys, mainly looking at Joel.

"Yes please." Joel says.

"You wanna go down to watch?" Patrick asks Jay, and Jay nods.

Incubator start playing just as we start descending the stairs from the side of stage down to the lower level. The singer isn't singing, he's screaming, and I can't make out a word he's saying. But they are awesome musicians, and I'm not surprised they've been signed with Pear Tree. Rumour has it they were made a couple of offers from different labels over the past 3 years, but they turned them down. I guess when Pear Tree came along they didn't wanna refuse. Pear Tree Records is major, I would literally die if a Pear Tree scout ever approached us.