Gem City: The Complete Series

Excerpt from Gem City

After the literal fourteenth outfit she put on, Courtney was near tears and giving up ever walking out the door. Vanessa stormed in moments later after pretend knocking.

“What happened in here?” V asked in disbelief at the state of the room.

“This is the product of the universe knowing it is a terrible idea for me to go to this concert.” She took a deep breath, fully understanding that she was being ridiculous.

“To go to the concert or to go backstage and hook up with Fisher in some rock star's dressing room?”

“Does that even exist? Like, dressing rooms backstage? That seems fictional… But completely beside the point- I'm not hooking up with him, I've informed you of my stance on this.”

“Yeah, you sound all sure of yourself in our kitchen. When he's not there.”

“Whatever,” she retorted, refusing to admit her friend's point. She went back to the closet for yet another try, and picked out a cream-colored lace sundress with a sweetheart neckline. While it was fancier than something she'd typically wear to a concert, it made her feel a little bit like a fairy, so it was deemed a winner. She and Vanessa were in the car fifteen minutes later.

“This dress is too much isn't it?”

“Oh. My. God. If you say one more thing about the dress, I am going to freaking lose it. You look fierce. Maybe if you'd just admit that you are having some sort of mental breakdown about seeing Fisher, all of your craziness would die down just a little. So try that.”

Courtney exhaled. “Ok. I am having an absolutely freaking meltdown about seeing him.” She didn't think it was helping. She felt even crazier than before, like she was introducing herself at an AA meeting.

“Because…”

“Because I don't know what will happen. I like knowing what's going to happen.”

“That's boring. Can't you just embrace it? I love not knowing what's going to happen. Reason three on the list of why I broke up with Luke. Too predictable.”

“You think Luke is predictable?”

“No, just our relationship was predictable. I want something exciting. And so should you. You're not attached anymore, Ben is in California, for Christ's sake. Ethan is… well, you know I hate to admit it, but he's beautiful. So just chill. Hook up, don't hook up, do whatever you gotta do, but for the love of all that is holy, will you just. Calm. Down?”

“I'll try,” Courtney mumbled, knowing that was a near impossibility. The parking situation only increased her stress. Living and driving in a city she hadn't resided in for six years was nerve-wracking. They finally made it to their seats and the energy from the crowd helped to improve her mood. You're going to freaking see Train, she reminded herself, and she was going to be able to do it backstage if she wanted. They were there early, and her mind couldn't help but wander to Ethan and how he was faring, knowing he was about to perform.

His shoes squeaked on the sealed cement floor of Crawford's apartment while he paced. They were set to leave in less than thirty minutes, and his mind was racing. They were opening for Train. At the Riverbend Music Center. In front of a lot of freaking people. It would be great exposure for them, and he and Brian had been working tirelessly at designing a banner and getting t-shirts and other promos ready to go for weeks. The radio station was taking care of their merch sales as part of the contest win, and the thought of having his music out there for that many new people in one night was making him antsy. In a good way.

“Okay, man, I like you and all, but if you don't stop creating that sound, I am going to chuck your shoes out the window.”

Ethan squeaked them loudly once more, but agreed to sit down afterward. “Sorry. Just ready.” He knew that opening bands had the difficult task of warming up a crowd with songs they didn't really show up to hear; they were going to have to convince them to listen. The short set list had taken what seemed like ages to iron out, and they tried to showcase the range of what they could do. Southbound was on first, followed by The Fray- not his most favorite band, but he had respect for anyone touring and making money doing what they did. He had driven by the venue a few days before and taken a fairly embarrassing amount of photos of the band's name on the marquee. Everyone started loading equipment, and he was relieved with having something to do.

When they arrived at the RMC, he was surprised with how structured and organized everything was. The venue manager clearly had her shit together. They made it through sound check without issue, and Ethan was twirling one of his silver rings around his pointer finger while he listened to the rush of the pre-show around him. He checked his phone and lit up, seeing his messages.

He was feeling like he could conquer the world right about then. There was another text from his mom saying that she and Tay would be in their seats soon, and that made him feel better as well; he didn't really care if that was lame. He checked his appearance last minute- gray-washed jeans and a tight black t-shirt, and maybe more than his usual amount of jewelry. He liked his hair a bit longer, being that he could push it behind his ears when he inevitably had sweat dripping down his face.

“Fisher, we all know you're the fairest in the land, now can we go do what we came here to do?” Crawford teased him. His stomach dropped the way it did at the top of a roller coaster. He took a breath and nodded. Hearing their name announced made his heart pound in rhythm with some scattered applause throughout the arena. Most people were still milling around and securing their beers at this point in the show. Here it goes then, he thought, and wished for a moment that the spots weren't so bright and he'd be able to see Courtney or his mom in the audience. His mind cleared when the drums sounded behind him and he played the opening riff. The difference in the sound system of the RMC and their usual haunts was like comparing a Sentra to a Maserati because they were both street legal. The applause got louder after each song, and his energy was through the roof for their closing. They ended with a song he'd written with Courtney in mind, and he hoped she got that it was for her.

“Thank you all so much, we appreciate it more than we can say. Have a great night!” Crawford finished for the crowd, and they made their way back from where they'd come. All of Ethan's nerves seemed to crash once they were off stage, and his hands were shaking.