Toxic [Richard Kruspe]

Private concert

I open the rehearsal room's door and as soon as I enter it, the guys stop playing. 4 faces focus their gazes on me; Paul, Christoph, Flake and Oliver look at me with question all over their eyes.

- "What took you so long girl?", Christoph asks first, leaving his drumsticks on the drums.

- "I faced some difficulties showering by myself, so it took me some time to try not pressuring my broken parts that much.", I explain, as I sit on the chair right in front of the stage.

- "Are you sure that nothing else happened?", Paul insists raising his eyebrow, while tuning his guitar.

- "Well..."

- "Oh here it comes.", Flake pops in.

- "I bumped into Richard..."

- "Shit.", Oliver comments.

- "Oh no.", I hear Christoph.

- "Is he alive?", Paul asks, half joking, half serious.

- "Why wouldn't he, guys?"

- "Because, you know, you hate him.", Flake interferes.

- "Ah, I don't exactly 'hate' him.", I explain nervously. "We talked for a little bit and we ended up being in good terms from now on, practically willing to maintain a typical relationship."

- "And he just accepted it?", Oliver asks not fully convinced.

- "Well..."

- "Hellooo fellas.", Richard enters the room with a quick step, grinning widely. "Hope everything's good down here."

- "Heeeey... Rich.", all the guys rush to hug him hesitantly and I stay at my place, watching the scene anxiously.

- "I see you organised a private concert down here without me, huh?", he grabs his guitar casually and starts tuning it, as the rest of the guys take their seats. "You know that there can't be any gig without me."

- "A specific reason didn't let us to do so, man. You know what.", Christoph says and Richard points at me with his head.

- "Oh, I know, that little girl right there is the scandalous reason behind my absence. Hello Anna.", he winks at me and I try so hard not to blush.

- "Hi Reesh.", I look anywhere but him.

- "How did you get in the house at the first place?", Paul wonders, after some seconds of awkward silence.

- "I can't lie to you Paulie, and you know it. I barged in from the window. You always forget to lock them man.", he presses Paul's cheek with his finger and he grimaces.

- "How drunk are you?"

- "Too drunk to care about your incoming admonishments.", he pats his guitar and looks at his bandmates. "Shall we? We can't let Anna wait any longer."

I sigh, not finding the right words to reply at him and I just nod positively. Richard looks deep in my eyes and I swear that they seem so happy. He's still drunk as hell, but now he's drunk from happiness. It's pretty clear that our moment in the shower is still fresh in his mind. He's enjoying the hiding game we just started against the guys to the fullest.

- "Yes, we should.", Paul agrees shaking his head ruminant and takes his guitar in his hands. "It's not going to be the same without Till, but we can manage some vocals all together I guess."

- "It's fine. With or without vocals, this is going to be an unforgettable experience.", I smile.

They exchange looks and mumble some words, before Flake plays the first notes. I recognize the music and a shiver instantly runs through my spine. The first song is "Spiel mit mir" and it's one of my all time favourites. We start singing the first lines all together silently.

"Wir teilen Zimmer und das Bett
Brüderlein, komm und sei so nett
Brüderlein, komm fass mich an
Rutsch ganz dicht an mich heran"

Me and Richard look at each other intensely when the next lyrics kick in and we headbang, tapping our feet to the rhythm. Our impersonation of Till's deep voice is beyond hilarious.

"Vor dem Bett ein schwarzes Loch
Und hinein fällt jedes Schaf
Bin schon zu alt und zähl sie doch
Denn ich find keinen Schlaf"

We sing like we're alone in the room and the guys stare at us questionly, yet laughing at our sudden rush of adrenaline. Paul smiles looking down at his guitar and Christoph frowns with a smirk written all over his face. Looks like they've started understanding that something's going on.

When the song ends, we all clap at our "fantastic" singing skills and I whistle cheerfully.

- "Wow, you guys got into it so much more than Till himself!", Oliver comments and I giggle.

- "I hope it wasn't that bad."

- "It was perfect, actually. You're like, our number 1 fan, considering your passion through singing and the fact that you forgot your clash with Richard the whole time."

- "Besides our fight, he still remains one of my favourite band members. This doesn't change."

- "Well thank you very much.", Richard thanks me with a theatrical bow and I smile widely. We focus at eachother's gaze for a while, when Paul interrupts us.

- "Not to break it to you guys, but we have a gig to finish. Whenever you're ready.", he jumps in. The tone of his voice sounds playful, like he understood that we're hiding something. I blink and turn my face at him.

- "Yeah, yes, sure. Rock my world!", I chirp and they all decide quietly which song to play next.

"Mein Herz Brennt", "Sonne", "Amerika", "Ich will" and "Engel" were some of the songs that almost made me jump like crazy out of my seat. If only I wasn't wrapped into plaster casts. When our private concert comes to an end, I grab my crutches and we all join into a group hug.

- "One thank you isn't enough guys. This is the first time I actually enjoy the holidays to the fullest.", I exclaim touched and Paul rests his head on mine, lightly squeezing my shoulder.

- "We should be the ones to thank you Anna. Today you showed us how much our music has influenced our fans to change for the better. You taught us a very important lesson and gave us the strength to move on and try harder to inspire. Thank you."

- "You're welcome.", I answer shyly and I turn to Richard who looks emotional too. "As for you, Mr. Z.K. If it wasn't you, I wouldn't be experiencing this paradise moments right now. We might not be in the best terms after the recent events, but I feel the need to thank you for your 'Slenderman' kind of presence in my life. Without it, I would have never met my favourite band in person.", I giggle and he caresses my cheek, receiving weird looks from the rest of the boys.

- "The pleasure's all mine, Anna."