The guys in the band usually set everything up early in the afternoon and went off and did different things until about an hour before the show. They trusted the employees at Wild Bill’s to leave it alone. I was less inclined to leave my stuff but didn’t want to come across as not trusting anyone.

All of that to say, it was a common occurrence to leave before the show, so I couldn’t understand why Matt looked so frantic when I walked back into the bar after taking a few hours to run errands.

“Where have you been, man?” he said, walking up to me.

“I went and got an early dinner and–”

“Dinner," he interrupted with a forced laugh that had an edge to it. "That's just great. We’re in the middle of a crisis, and you’re off getting freaking food.” He started cussing and ran his fingers through his hair as he began pacing back and forth in front of me.

“Dude, what the hell is going on?”

“Did you know today was Owen’s birthday?”

What did that have to do with anything? “No, why?”

“Well, apparently he just turned twenty-one and thought he’d celebrate before the show.”

“Celebrate? Meaning…?”

“The guy’s trashed.”

“When you say trashed?”

“Rainier, he can barely form a sentence.”

“Oh, sh–”

“Uh, yeah.”

That wasn’t good. We were going on in less than an hour and our lead singer, the guy who had all the personality of the band, was in no condition to perform.

“Maybe someone can go get him coffee?" I suggested. "That’s supposed to sober you up. I'll message my sister and see if she’ll bring some.”

“Coffee. Yeah, that might work,” Matt answered, but he still looked crazy. I knew he loved playing in the band, but I didn’t realize how much it meant to him until I saw how affected he was by our current situation.

I messaged Sarah and asked her to grab some coffee and hurry to the bar. Always the dependable one, she responded she was on it. With that taken care of, it was time to see if there was anything else I could do.

Step one: Find Owen.

It wasn’t hard. The place was mostly empty. Once I walked away from Matt, all I needed to do was follow the sound of Owen’s voice. I couldn’t understand a word of what he said from where I was, but he was loud enough I spotted him standing near the small stage.

“I can’t believe I’m inna band with a buncha twelve-year-olds.” His words were only slightly slurred, but the way he swayed back and forth on his feet told me everything I needed to know. That and the fact he was talking to the equipment on stage.

“Hey, man,” I said slowly as I walked up.

“Ray. Rain.” He stopped and lifted his finger before starting again. “Rainier. Where’ve you been?”

“Just getting ready for the show. How are you feeling?”

“I’m great,” he said with a lazy smile.

“Good. I have some coffee on the way. Do you think you’ll be able to drink some? Maybe try to sober up?”

“I don’t needta sober up. I’m fiiiiine.”

“Okay, that's great."

"This is gonnabe the best show ever."

"Of course, it is."

He said something I couldn't entirely make out, but I thought it had something to do with him being better than the rest of the guys in the band.

"I’m going to see if that coffee is here," I said, before walking away.

I knew it wasn’t. It had only been a few minutes since I texted Sarah, but it was painful watching Owen try to carry on a conversation. I wondered if he’d be able to remember the lyrics to our songs.

I found Matt and Carter sitting at the bar with soda talking to one another and pulled up a stool beside them.

“What are we going to do,” Matt asked with the same panic-stricken expression on his face as when I walked in.

“Sarah’s bringing coffee as we speak. Maybe he’ll be okay if we make sure he doesn’t drink anymore between now and the show except for the coffee.”

“Are you kidding?” Carter asked. “There’s no way that’s going to work.”

“Probably not, but what other option do we have. Let’s try to make it through tonight the best we can.”

“And Sarah’s on her way?” Matt asked.

“She’s reliable, man. Probably the best person for the job, and not just because she’s my sister. We can do this. It’ll be fine.”

We spent the next hour holding our collective breaths waiting to see what would happen. We had pulled the bartender on duty aside ask and asked him to cut Owen off. He had agreed without argument when he saw how drunk he was.

Owen was currently drinking the coffee Sarah brought, and people were starting to fill the bar.

“Hey, Matt, I don’t even know what the new band name is.” At first, I’d been glued to my phone waiting to see what everyone came up with. But after a lack of anything inspiring, I’d stopped paying attention. As hard as it was to believe, I’d completely forgotten about the contest until I saw the larger than usual crowds tonight and tried to figure out why so many people were at Wild Bill’s for teen night.

“Please tell me you saw the poll we posted yesterday.”

“What poll?”

“Rainier, you’re killing me. We had a few favorites and let the fans decide.”

“So what’s our name?”

Matt and Carter exchanged a look and started laughing. Only laughing was too mild a word for it. They were howling. Matt was hunched over, and Carter had tears rolling down his cheeks. I was completely lost, and I wondered if Owen might not be the only intoxicated band member that night.

“I don’t get it.”

Carter struggled to catch his breath but managed to clarify. “Rainier and the Go-Aways.”

Rainier and the Go-Aways.

“You know, like rain, rain go away?” Matt added.

Tap, tap, tap.

There was only one person who would think that was funny. I stared at the guys sitting in front of me. Okay, maybe a couple of people thought it was funny. But there was only one person who would consider it to be a good band name.

I looked at the bar for her but didn’t see her. It was probably for the best. I needed to focus on our upcoming performance. It was sure to be stressful enough without worrying about Michelle and her teasing.

“Anyway,” Matt said, pulling me from my thoughts. “I think we’re about to sink or swim. It’s time for us to go on.” He nodded his chin in the direction of the stage where Owen was walking up to the microphone. I took a deep breath and made my way to the stage with the other guys.

“Good evening, we’re Rainier and the Go-Aways,” Owen said into the microphone once we’d all made our way to the stage. He didn’t sound so good, and he lacked his usual charisma. I had expected a big reveal with the band name, but he said it like it wasn’t a big deal.

Which was great. I didn’t need any unnecessary attention on me. Not tonight. Not ever.

As we played the first song in our set, I tried to move to the music instead of standing stiffly. When I looked over at Owen, he stood still in front of the microphone, his shoulders hunched while he gripped the microphone with two hands.

Matt had just hit his drumsticks together for the second song when Owen’s voice rang out through the speakers.

“I…I’m gonna be sick.”

He ran off the stage toward the men’s bathroom without a backward glance back at us. I looked over at Carter who was looking back at Matt. I looked back at Matt whose eyes met mine. The look had returned. The one he wore most of the evening. The one that said he was flipping out.

I turned back around toward the crowd, so many people standing there with looks of confusion on their faces. Rainier and the Go-Aways might not be my band, but I didn’t want to let my friends down. I didn’t want to let the crowd down.

Tap, tap, tap.

My feet felt like they each weighed fifty pounds as I walked from my spot on the stage over to the microphone. I took a deep breath. And another. I wiped my hands on my jeans and looked back at Matt on the drums. I slowly nodded my head at him.

Instead of counting off with his drumsticks right away, like I thought he would, he continued to stare at me.

“Matt,” I yelled, and lifted my brows. If he waited too long, I was going to lose the small amount of courage I had. “Let’s do this.”

He blinked a few times and shook his head before he lifted his arms, drumsticks in hand. One, two, three.

I found my cue and started playing my guitar. I listened as Carter also played his part on bass. I was still facing the back of the stage as I took one last, final, steadying breath. Thankfully, the current song had a lengthy intro.

When I finally forced myself to turn and face the crowd, I was surprised to hear them cheering. The lights aimed at the stage shone in my eyes, which meant I couldn’t see the audience very well. Even so, I closed my eyes as I positioned myself in front of the microphone, too afraid to look at the people staring back at me. I was nervous as hell about my rash decision and didn’t want to end up in the stall next to Owen puking my guts out. Better to tune them out and get it over with.

My voice was shaky as I started the first song I’d ever performed in front of a crowd. But even with the wobble, I managed to hit all the notes while still playing my guitar parts. When we finished, the crowd’s enthusiasm grew. With that, came a sliver of confidence.

I wasn’t sure what or who I hoped to see when I cracked my eyes open, but somehow they found Michelle in the crowd. I put a hand over my eyes blocking the light to see her better. She was in the same spot as the last time I was on stage, sitting at the bar with a drink in her hand. However, this time she wore a look of wonder instead of a scowl. It wasn’t quite a smile, but in it I saw approval. Somehow, I'd gained approval from Michelle.

With that, I got another small boost of confidence. I looked over at Carter who had a wide grin on his face and back to Matt who had a similar expression on his. “Ready for another?” he asked over the sound of the crowd.

“Hell, yeah.”

We started the next song in the set. A classic song that everyone loved. I could hear voices over our playing. It was unbelievable to be leading such a massive sing-along. Okay, that sounded cheesy, but it was phenomenal.

I couldn’t explain how amazing it felt as we played song after song. I only missed a few chords as I balanced singing and playing. I thought that was pretty good considering it was the first time I’d done it anywhere other than the safety of my room. Before I realized it, we’d finished the last song in the set.

The crowd cheered loudly before dispersing and walking in different directions.

“Wow, Rainier, I didn’t know you could sing like that,” Carter said, coming over to me. “Matt, did you know he could sing like that?”

“Yeah, dude,” he yelled back, before coming out from behind his drum set.

“Why haven’t you been singing for us instead of Owen?”

“Because he doesn’t plan on staying in the band,” Matt answered for me. “He’s going back to school when fall rolls around. Aren’t you, Rainier?”

Way to put me on the spot. “Only another month or so until Cooper gets his cast off anyway.”

“Rainier,” Carter said, drawing my attention back to him. “If I knew you had that in you, I would have asked you to sing a long time ago.”

“And you would have hated me even more when it was time for me to leave. This was a one-time deal. Just make sure Owen doesn’t drink before the next show.”

“Hold up. We don’t need to be making any rash decisions. Maybe you’ll sing at the next show instead of Owen.” Carter said, lifting his hands.

“I’d consider that a rash decision, Carter,” Matt joined back in.

“Especially since I’m just the fill-in,” I said, but the two guys had shifted their bodies so that I was the odd man out. They started in a heated debate on whether or not I was singing next week, if Owen was still in the band and what to do when Cooper’s arm finally healed.

I wanted nothing to do with it. I hated drama, and I had no long-term dreams of playing in a band. Tonight was wonderful, but that’s all it was. A special one-time deal.

“Hey, Rainier.”

I looked up to see Jenny standing on the stage next to me. She was wearing the same dress she wore the last time she came on stage, so it wasn’t nearly as shocking. Regardless, I was hit with a sense of déjà vu.

We spent the next couple of minutes talking about the show. How bad Owen looked, how brave I was to do what I did. Jenny even mentioned the new band name briefly, but I was distracted by the face trained on me from the bar. I had a hard time concentrating on our conversation, which meant I gave short responses to her never ending questions.

“By the way, I had the best time the other day. Your family is great, and I’d love to go out again.”

“Yeah, it was fun.” I could hear how my voice fell flat as I purposely didn’t offer up another date.

“Well…I can’t stay, curfew and all. But I wanted to come up here and be the first to congratulate you on a great show. They’re going to be talking about this for weeks.”

“I hope not.”

“Oh, you’re going to be famous. Just wait.” She reached over and hugged me. “I’ll see you later, Rainier.”

“See ya.”

I watched as she rushed off the stage, which meant I also saw how she almost bumped into Michelle on the way out.