Summary: This is a story about, Chris, Ronnie, Andy, Vessel and Noah. The reader gets pulled to do a tour with MIW for the anniversary of Reincarnate. As she goes on, she meets the other artists, and they all end up falling for her, and she for them. They have to navigate a relationship and how they will all get along for her sake. But as always life has other plans.
!! All of this is pure fiction! I do not own any of these artists or lyrics and yes, some things will not be accurate as it is in real life, BECAUSE it is fiction. Some lyrics will be AI generated (original lyrics for the FMC)!!
xo- Note: the FMC's character "Death" has nothing to do with the page or me at all. I just felt it would fit. Please do not copy my work, you are welcome to repost and share a much as you want. Comment if you want. -ox
painful past, self-doubt, language, mentions of divorce, rough past, tattoos, Sleep the deity. Will update as I go on with the chapters.
The days go by very quickly and before I know it, I am on the bus, with the guys, on our way to the festival. We’ll be there 2 days early, to figure out everything, and to settle in for the next two weeks. I am still halfway asleep as the bus slowly pulls away. Sleep pulls me under, wrapping me in a blanket of darkness.
When I wake up, I find that my head is on a lap. I jump up, checking who it was. It was Ricky. “Sorry, I couldn’t let you sprain your neck on the couch, so I became your pillow”. I sit up a little more, rubbing my eyes, “Thanks”. I get up stretching my legs, before heading to the small bathroom to empty my very full bladder. The bus is anything but smooth on the road. After peeing, I made my way back to where Ricky was sitting. “Where is everyone?” He chuckles softly, “They all had the same idea you did, only they actually made it to their bunks”. I giggle at that, as I move to sit down on the couch again. A comfortable silence falls between us. For several minutes we just sit in silence, letting the quiet envelop us. Suddenly, Ricky spoke, “ Y/N”, he turns to face me properly, I follow his movements, facing him, “Are you a good person?". I blink, trying to process his words and at the same time trying to figure out where it’s coming from. “Yes, I believe, I am a good person.” My face must’ve given away my confusion, because he sighs before speaking again. “What I mean is…..I noticed Chris has formed an attachment to you, and he is my best friend. He has gotten hurt before, and while it is great seeing him this happy, I need to know, are you a good person and will you hurt him?”
Now that was a mouthful, but I get it, I would do the same thing for Nica and Amy. “Ricky, I know where you’re coming from ad I respect that. I promise you, I will never intentionally hurt any of the guys, least of all Chris. I may not have known you guys all that long, but I care about everyone very deeply”. I can visibly see him relaxing at my words. I know how Chris got hurt, it wasn’t pretty. I would still keep things slow, and let fate play out. In the last few days, talking with Chris, I have fallen even more for him, than I did, only knowing him from a distance. Another comfortable silence falls between us, I take it he was satisfied by my response, because he didn’t say anything else. One by one, the guys woke up, making their way to the main area of the bus. We are about an hour away from the festival grounds and I can feel the excitement bubbling in my tummy.
“Get ready, guys. We’re 5 minutes out!”, the driver shouts from his seat. What! I thought we were an hour away, I quickly look at my phone to double check the location. Oh, yeah, now it makes sense. It was only a four hours drive, we all must’ve slept the whole drive. Soon, I start seeing all the other busses and trailers from various artists parked in random places, behind the main festival spot. Everyone is getting their stuff ready for once we are parked. “Guys, I want to do something”. They all turn to face me. “Yes, sweetheart?’ Chris’s voice fills the space, as they all look at me expectantly. “Well, I want to keep up the mask thing, I want to keep my face out of the media for as long as I can. Will you guys please, play along with it if anyone asks, you guys don’t know my identity.” I notice Chris and Ricky smiling. “What?”. Chris takes my hand in his, “Sweetheart, we would’ve kept quiet anyway, you don’t need to ask us for that. Do you want to get ready, or do you need help?” Relief washes over me, glad they guys are all on board with it. “I could use some help painting the back of my arms”. Chris nods, motioning to the very cramped bathroom, and I nod.
He lets me get dressed in private, simple black jeans and a black tank-top. Once I am done, I pass him the paint. He hums a tune, I haven’t heard, as he applies the paint in soft dabs with the sponge. Ever so often, his fingers would brush my arm, sending shivers down my spine. If he notices, he doesn’t say anything about it. After he’s done, I turn to thank him, but the words never leave my mouth, as we make eye contact. It feels like an eternity where we are just staring into each other’s eyes. I can’t get myself to pull away. “Ready?”, comes Justin’s voice, breaking the trance. “Yeah, we’re done”, Chris says over his shoulder. I smile politely at Justin, before moving to grab the mask and the cloak.
It was just me helping her, but damn it felt intimate. I didn’t want to look away or to have the moment end, when Justin spoke. I watch as she moves, putting the mask and cloak on. I am in awe of this woman. I felt her tugging at my heart in the few days that I have known her. I am still scared to try dating again, but something about her, makes my worries go away, whenever she’s near me. I think I might be slowly falling for her, but I do not want to rush any of this.
I walk behind her, following her out the bus. Outside people are busy unloading and setting up and as if she’s a magnet, everyone’s eyes fall on her. I don’t like it one bit, it feels like they are ogling what’s mine. Wait….what…she’s not mine, not yet anyway, so why do I feel this. I wipe my face with my hand, moving to stand next to her. “Welcome to the madness”, I say to her and she lets out a laugh, a joyful and genuine laugh. I can’t help smiling at the sound. Man! That is a sound I want to hear again and again and again. She looks absolutely badass. She must’ve noticed people staring at her, because she turn to them, “What are you looking at?”. They all turn away, as if they’ve been electrocuted. I let out an involuntary snort at that. I put my arm around her, over her shoulder. “You’re gonna be perfectly fine”. We walk like that to the stage, checking out the size and position of everything. I glance to my left, seeing Ronnie Radke also looking at the stage. Feeling the familiar hatred bubbling in my chest, I look away. The things he said and still says about us, about me…that is something I struggle to forgive to this day. We didn’t do anything wrong. We made sure of our facts before taking action. Turning my back to him, I walk closer to the stage. Making mental notes of where Y/N and I would be positioned on stage. Tomorrow we’ll have the whole day for our sound check and figuring out who is where, during what song.
I turn to find her, only to see her looking at the area and the stage. It seems she is making the same mental notes as I am, with the way she is turning and moving her hands. A smile tugs at my lips, feeling the previous hatred fading away. It’s like she calms the demons inside my soul, just by existing. “This is going to be FUCKING amazing!”, Vinny exclaims as he runs to her, picking her up, and spinning. Oddly enough, I don’t feel the urge to chase him and bash his face in, I guess I really trust him then. Again, the sound of her laughter graces my ears and the remaining hatred, disappears. I smile fully now, joining them. “Fuck, yeah!” This year, it seems we have a bigger stage, which means there is so much more we can actually do.
We spend the rest of the day, checking out the grounds and the setlists for the events. Vinny and Justin, went to schedule our sound check for each day. I had to leave her alone, to discuss things with our back-up dancers. They arrived around 2pm. She went back to the bus, hanging out there, probably reading or planning her days ahead. After talking with the dancers, I make my way back to the bus, to see if she wants something to eat. I enter the bus, but she is not sitting by her book. I can’t help a glance at the open page, I notice that she’s writing lyrics, a song. She is creating her own stuff. The words, tug at my heart, bringing tears to my eyes. It is incredible and carries a lot of emotion. “Hey”, she says and I instantly drop the book whirling around to face her. “Sorry…I-I shouldn’t have read it.”. She has a small smile on her lips as she walks over to me. “Don’t worry about it, I was going to show you once I was finished with it. It’s not like it is my diary, it is just some lyrics that pop up in my head”. Relief washes over me and I feel my heart swell, she was going to share it with me, anyway. She thought about sharing something so personal with me, her lyrics, the words that generally speak an artist’s deepest thoughts, words they can’t say out loud, but through a song. I pick up the book again, opening on the first song, and I read the lyrics out loud.
I begged you to come, I needed your hand
But you cursed the road, chose the same old land
I packed my dreams in a silent scream
While you stayed stuck inside your faded routine
I stood at the gate with tears and a map
You let go, too afraid to collapse
You said love was roots, I said love should fly
So I turned away, but I never said goodbye
Now I burn like fire through the sky alone
You left me shattered, but I built a throne
From the ashes of what we used to know
I learned how to bleed and still let go
I fly with wings of my own.
As he reads, I struggle to keep all those painful feelings from the past, locked away. I never wrote past the chorus, because I am stuck. I don’t know what else to write, or what will work. At the same time, it feels like I can’t write other songs, until this one is finished. I’ll keep working on it, I suppose. “I haven’t gotten further than the first chorus, I am stuck”. He looks up at me with a giant smile on his face. “This is really good, very emotional. I this from your personal experiences?” I physically feel how my heart sinks en though I knew this question was coming. “Yeah, it is from my past, but I would really prefer not to end tonight on a sad note”.
He nods, showing me he understands. “Well then, let’s go get dinner and we’ll have fun, before the real work starts tomorrow?” Knowing he didn’t push for met to explain, makes me feel 10 times lighter. I smile at him, grabbing his hand, leading him outside. He has to throw the book onto the couch as I keep pulling him. He laughs at my attempt to drag him, it’s not my fault this man is so tall and heavy for a skinny guy. “Would you, please…I am hungry”. This makes him laugh harder, while he finally moves his lanky legs.
The rest of the night, goes smoothly, we had fun, we got some pizza and drinks. After collecting everything, we headed back to the bus, where the others were already waiting, sprawled out all over the bus. We all ate and chatted, until we could not keep our eyes open. After taking a shower, I made my way to the couch. “You’re seriously going to sleep on the couch?” I look up to see Chris and Ricky looking at me with raised eyebrows. “Well…I…I”, the words won’t leave my mouth. Ricky motions for me to follow him. He walks me over to a bunk, “If you don’t mind, you and Chris can share a bunk, he actually suggested it.” I turn to look a Chris, who is now bright red. I giggle at the sight of him, and it makes him even redder, so much so, his ears are now bright red. “I’m fine with it and thank you, really.” His eyes sparkle at that and we squeeze in on the bunk, with him wrapping his arm around my wait. “Is this fine?” I just hum in response, not trusting my words. Silently, I feel sleep washing over me. Chris’ warmth making feel extra comfy and safe.
