The Opening Act

Chapter Eight

Crap, it is bright! Jessie thought as she pounded out the beat. Kate had vocals on the first song, so she had the luxury of taking the time to look around and seal this moment in her mind. The L.A. Forum. It didn't get more big-time than this.

Kate looked out into the sea of faces as she sang and played the first song. It was a fan-favorite and she knew that it sounded much safer on the album than they played it live. In fact, their entire show was just a little wilder, a little harder than what people expected. And 95% of the time, the feedback was positive.

They'd been playing 90-minute shows for two months, so the 30 minutes they got now, opening for Fuse, flew by. They played their best set, but in an arena this size, where you could only see the first few rows of seats, it was hard to tell if the audience was responding.

When they finished the set, Jessie tossed her sticks, then came to the front of the stage and the girls slapped hands with the audience as they headed toward the side of the stage. Scotty and Liam waved and they all left the stage together.

"Was it good?" Jessie asked. "It felt good."

"I think it was good," Kate told her. They looked at Scotty and Liam.

"It was good," Liam assured them.

Robbie directed them off the stage and walked them to the dressing rooms.

"Was it okay?" Kate asked him.

"It was better than okay. You couldn't have been better."

"Really?" Jessie asked, grinning.

They walked into the dressing room and found Walker, Nels, and Matt waiting for them.

"Fuck, you guys were great," Nels said, as he and Matt hugged them both. Walker hugged Kate and then hugged Jessie, leaving his arm around her waist.

"You heard us?" Kate asked.

"We watched you, from the audience," Matt grinned. "It's amazing how well you can hide in plain sight with a ball cap on."

The door burst open and Jake and Ryan walked in, stopping short when they saw the members of Fuse.

"Ah, the boyfriends, I presume?' Walker said, removing his arm. He held out his hand "Walker," he said, shaking hands with both of them. Matt and Nels introduced themselves and they all shook hands.

"We have to get ready," Matt said. He smiled at the girls. "Really great show. We're glad you're with us." Nels and Walker agreed, and they all left.

"Wow. That was Fuse," Ryan said, shaking his head.

"Yeah," Jessie grinned. "It was Fuse. Well, three quarters of Fuse."

Ryan hugged her. "You guys were amazing."

Jake nodded, grabbing Kate. "I am so proud of you. People were stopping in mid-sentence to watch you guys play. It was fantastic."

Kate kicked off her shoes and pulled off her top. "Come on, I don't want to miss the beginning of their set."