The Opening Act

Chapter Seven

The girls walked back to their dressing room and closed the door.

"O.M.G." Jessie said. "He's even cuter in person. CRUSHING.ON.OTG?? I have definitely died and gone to heaven. I am SO retweeting that." She pulled out her phone and retweeted from the OTG account, adding #fusefan #asniceasyouhope #thanksWalker

"Well Drew certainly doesn't like us, does he?" Kate said, disappointed.

"Maybe he just takes a while to warm up," Jessie suggested, hugging her cousin.

Kate sighed. "Whatever. We're here for us, not for them. They're just a bonus."

There was a knock at the door and Ryan and Jake walked in.

"Came to meet the big-time rockstars," Jake grinned, hugging Jessie and kissing Kate. Ryan hugged Kate and kissed Jessie.

"Hey, nice dressing room," Ryan smiled. "Saw the retweet. I guess since we're not technically together anymore, you don't need to exercise that freebie list to sleep with Walker."

"Hey, I'm a professional," she grinned. "I'm not just gonna sleep with him just ..." She stopped and laughed. "Who the hell am I kidding? I'd screw him in a heartbeat."

Jake looked at Kate. "What's up?"

"I don't think Drew wants us here."

"What makes you say that?"

"He was practically rude to us," she said, clearly bummed. "The other guys were great."

"A problem with female musicians?" Ryan asked.

They both shrugged. "I don't know what it is. But he wasn't nice," Jessie agreed

"Screw 'em," Jake said hugging Kate. "Believe me, he'll be impressed when he hears you guys play."

"They may never hear us," Jessie said. "They're going to be backstage getting ready when we're onstage."

"Maybe they'll come to a soundcheck." Ryan offered.

They all sat down on the sofas.

"How's the new song coming along?" Jake asked.

"Good," Jessie answered. "We're having trouble with the lyrics in the middle verse."

He handed Jessie her guitar. "Play it for us."

They all worked on the song for a while, and at 6:00, they all went down the hall where dinner was set up for Off the Grid and their crew.

Jessie filled her plate. She couldn't eat enough before a performance. It wasn't unusual for her to lose a couple of pounds during a show and since she didn't walk around a lot, it wasn't a big deal. Kate tended to eat a bigger lunch on show days and preferred to eat lightly just before a performance. Running around the stage upset her stomach if she ate too much. She learned that the hard way, early on.

The show was to start at 8:00, and by 7:30, Jake and Ryan were headed to their seats, the girls were dressed and primped, and they were warming up in their dressing room with Liam and Scotty.

They were both veteran musicians who had toured arenas as backup for major bands. This tour was just another job for them, but, they both admitted, it was a fun one.

"Don't forget, it's a big stage," Liam reminded Kate. "You're not going to make it all the way across during 'My Favorite Hands' if you stop and grab hands with the fans as you cross."

She nodded.

"And it's going to be a lot farther for you to twirl those sticks into the audience," he told Jessie.

"Yeah, I practiced after sound check for a minute. I'm going to really have to whip them out there, so everybody'd better get out of my way."

"You want a smoke?" Scotty offered the girls, knowing how nervous they were.

They both shook their heads. "It would calm the nerves," Jessie said, 'but I'd rather be clear-headed." Kate agreed.

They went to the backstage area at 7:50, and were fitted with their mics. Turk, put out bottles of cool water in strategic spots around the stage. They all stretched, and at 8:00 sharp, the lights went down and there was light cheering.

The band went on in the dark and they started their first song as the lights went up.