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He nodded, his brow furrowing, and swallowed. “I just wasn’t expecting this.”

Zack stopped singing scales. “I told you this place was big.”

“Yeah, I know. I just thought it would be a little bigger than the place in Lamar.”

Our leader shook his head, stifling a smile.

“That whole damn town could fit in here.” While that wasn’t true, it didn’t belie the fact that the venue we were preparing to perform in was far and above anything we could have expected in terms of progression.

I had no doubt that there weren’t enough metal fans in Lamar or its surrounding cities to pack a place like this.

“You want some liquid courage, man? I got some in the car if you wanna take a chug.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

Zack approached our lead guitarist and put an arm around him. “Not enough to get you drunk. Not even close. Just a sip to take the edge off.”

“Is that why you drink so much?”

Zack smiled and looked at the ceiling, causing me to glance there.

There were rectangular panels with the look of corkboard sprayed white, the standard look of classroom ceilings I’d been in for years.

Unlike the classrooms, though, these dingy, yellowed things had seen better days.

But I wasn’t going to question their housekeeping and maintenance.

It wasn’t like we were in a five-star restaurant uncovering its dirty secrets.

“I drink so much ‘cause I like it. Now you wanna or not?” Zack looked at Braden and me. “What about you guys?”

Braden said, “I’m in.”

Well, if the three guys were going to drink, I knew I’d better keep my wits about me just in case. “I’m good with Dr. Pepper.”

Soon, all three snuck out the back for a quick taste.

I’d had no idea Zack had even brought something with him.

But it made me realize for the first time that maybe my friend had a drinking problem.

If I was honest with myself, I knew I couldn’t remember the last time Zack’s breath didn’t smell even faintly of alcohol, and I was pretty sure he drank on a daily basis—but because I didn’t see him do it all the time, I couldn’t be positive.

They returned just in time as Harry popped in the room. “ You all doing okay? Can we get you anything? Something to eat or more to drink?”

My nerves were too strained to try eating anything. As if he could read my thoughts, Zack said, “We’ll eat after the show if that’s okay, Harry.”

“You bet. Looks like we’re going to have a packed house. We usually do on Friday night.”

I swallowed, realizing my mouth tasted like I’d been sucking on pennies, and I picked up my glass of soda. “Actually, I’d love some water.”

“No one brought you any already?” He glanced around the small room. “Be right back.”

As the time ticked closer to showtime, I began chugging water, but then I had to run to the ladies’ room twice, because the urge to pee grew strong. I figured it wasn’t just because I’d consumed a lot of fluids.

Hearing the dull roar of the crowd behind the walls had me tense. And it almost made me question if I should have taken a hit off whatever bottle Zack had in the car. I knew, though, that once I was banging on the skins, I’d feel a thousand times better. It was the waiting that was agony.

A guy popped in the room, and he looked more like he belonged in our band than we did.

His hair was as long as Zack’s, but his ears were gauged enough that I would have been able to slide one of my drumsticks in with room to spare, and his arms were both covered in tattoo sleeves of swirls of color and art.

He also had both eyebrows pierced twice and his tongue once and wore a black Green Day t-shirt, ripped jeans, and tall black boots. “You guys ready to rock?”

Zack nodded. “Hell, yeah.”

“It true you’re all still in high school?”

“Yeah, but not for long. ”

“Looking forward to hearing you kick ass. Do you have anyone recording your show?”

“Nah, it’s just us.”

“You mind if I record and slap it up on my YouTube channel?”

“That would be amazing.” I didn’t know that I agreed entirely with Zack, but he just wanted us to get known. He wasn’t thinking of making money right now.

“By the way, name’s Trey. I’ll be the one introducing you guys. Anything you want the crowd to know?”

I knew Zack had already considered it, but he was trying to keep himself humble. “Just tell ‘em we might come from a small town in Colorado, but our sound is anything but.”

“Okay. We go in five.” He looked down the hall from his spot in the doorway. “Hey, Kage, come here for a sec.”

A man with long hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing rings on both hands, came to the doorway where now all four of us stood. “Kage is the lead singer of Pretty Little Lies. They’re out of Pueblo, and they’ve grown quite a following over the past few years. Figured I’d introduce you guys.”

“Thanks for supporting our show.”

“Oh, no. The thanks is all ours,” Zack said, gripping Kage’s hand.

“We’re hauling in our stuff now, but we’ll give you guys a listen once we’re settled in.”

“I’ll be with you guys in a sec,” Trey said to Kage.

“Yeah. Good luck, guys. The crowds here at Harry’s are always epic.”

My stomach tumbled again and I tried to ignore it, excited beyond belief. “Be right back, guys,” Trey said and then followed Kage. I hoped he would tell us when to go onstage, because I’d left my phone in Zack’s car and had no clue what time it was.

“Come here, guys,” Zack said, pulling us into a huddle à la football. “This is just a taste of what’s to come. I promise. You guys stick with me; we’re going places.”

Of anything I’d ever believed in my life, Zack’s vow was it.

“Now let’s go rock the shit out of these people like they’ve never rocked before.”