Saved By You (29 page)

The bands came out, and the final competition began. Both played a song of their choosing. Then, they were put through a series of challenges. The Boehrne Connection was pretty good, but there was no denying that Avarice had played together longer. They worked well with each other, and they had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand.

Huck muttered something else about his band being up there with Avarice, but Sarah shot him a look that stopped him from talking about it anymore after that.

After Avarice was crowned champions, Scottie announced that
Fighting Forward
would be taking the stage in thirty minutes. A small cheer went through the crowd when he said their name. There was a buzz all around as anticipation filled the air.

We stood huddled at the far end of the stage. I looked over the crowd, and was surprised by how many people were there. I’d never been to a big concert before, and it was shocking to see that many people all waiting to hear a band play.

I wondered what it was like for Haden when they played a big crowd. He probably would have thought this was small potatoes compared to some of the other places.

“Maggie, look,” Sarah said, snapping me out of my daydreaming.

I looked to where Sarah was pointing, and saw a group of guys walking between the tents and the stage. It was the
Fighting Forward
.

I saw August at the front, with Seth to his right. A shiver ran through me when I saw him, but it passed quickly. August must have seen Sarah pointing them out, because he locked on to us immediately. A huge smile spread across his face, and he did a little jog over.

Was he smiling at me?

“I’m glad you made it,” he said when he was near enough.

He was wearing something similar to what I’d seen him in yesterday, only instead of a bandana, he had his mess of curly hair pulled back with a thick, blue headband. This time, he was definitely smiling at me.

“We wouldn’t have let her miss it,” Sarah said, beaming at me.

I grinned at her.

“Are you guys ready?” I asked.

He nodded. “It was a bit of a transition back to Seth after practicing with Haden so much, but we got it sorted.” He glanced back over his shoulder at the rest of the band. They were all standing near a small set of stairs leading up on to the stage. “Well, I gotta get back over there,” he said. “But I’m glad you made it.” He fixed me with a look. “I hope you like the little surprise.”

I gave him a confused look, but didn’t get the chance to ask him about it before he turned and ran off again. Sarah fixed me with a gleaming eye, and nudged me.

“It looks like you’ve got all the band boys chasing after you,” she said.

I gave her a flat stare, and she smiled innocently.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said. “I’m just trying to cheer you up.”

A few minutes later, Scottie was back up on the stage. The crowd began to cheer, and it sounded louder than it had before. The crowd in front of the stage had grown considerably since the last time I’d looked.

“Here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” he said. He smiled and waited a second for the cheering to subside. “We’ve made you wait long enough… so put your hands together for
Fighting Forward
!”

The band walked out on stage at a quick pace. August was in the front, and he waved at everyone. He had a huge smile on his face, and when he slung his guitar over his shoulder, there was a loud cheer. I got a sick feeling when I saw Seth plug his electric guitar in. I’d gotten so used to seeing Haden with them, that the sight of Seth with his guitar brought back a flood of emotions. I never should have pushed Haden away, it should have been him up there on that stage with them.

Thoughts and memories of Haden came flooding into my head, like the dam that had held them back had finally broken. I thought about the way he looked at me when we would lay together. That memory alone made me want to take everything back. If only I could go back in time and change what I’d done, maybe Haden would still be there with me.

Sarah looked at me. “Are you alright?” she asked.

I nodded. “It’s nothing,” I said.

No, I’m not alright
is what I should have said. But there wasn’t anything she could do about it. I’d gotten myself into the mess, and had no one else to blame.

Where was Haden right then? Maybe he was in LA—or maybe they were already out on tour somewhere. His calls and text messages had stopped coming days ago—did that mean he’d already forgotten about me? Maybe he was trying to move on with his life, too. Maybe he was doing a better job of it.

Of course not, don’t be an idiot.

I tried to remind myself of the reasons we couldn’t be together. But those reasons didn’t make sense anymore. My
life
didn’t make sense anymore—and I didn’t know how to get it back on track. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing. I used to have a plan, I used to know where I was headed. Now, I didn’t know anything.

When the band started playing their first song, a cheer went through the crowd. I closed my eyes and tried to pretend I was somewhere else. I tried to let the music carry me away. But nothing I tried worked.

I heard the electric guitar and imagined it was Haden playing for me. I could picture him with the band at rehearsal. Why did I have to go and mess everything up?

The band played through a list of songs, and everyone in the crowd was going nuts for them. The crowd roared when the songs were fast, and swayed when the songs were slow. If I didn’t know any better, I never would have guessed that Seth hadn’t rehearsed for the show with them. He had been right when he said that he carried their songs when he played. They sounded amazing.

As another song came to an end, the crowd erupted in a cheer. August stood with a huge smile on his face. He was taking everything in, letting the crowd get what they came for. He looked natural up there, like he was meant to be in the limelight. Then, he raised his hands to quiet everyone down, and the roar dropped to a buzz.

“You’re all wonderful,” he said. “This is the best crowd we’ve ever played for.” Another cheer rolled through the audience. “We wanted to take a moment to thank someone very special to us,” he said, pressing forward. “Without her, we wouldn’t be up here.”

I stared at him in horror. He couldn’t possibly be talking about me, could he?

“Maggie, there were a few times we thought this show just wasn’t meant to be. Thanks for sticking through it with us,” he said.

What was he thinking? Was this the surprise he mentioned?

The crowd erupted in another cheer, and Sarah threw her arms around me in a tight hug. After the dread passed, I found myself smiling. It was a very sweet thing for him to say, and, for a moment, I found myself forgetting everything that was bothering me. After what felt like an eternity of clapping, August continued.

“Now, we’ve got one more song we wanted to play,” he said. A devious grin spread across his face. “And then, we’ve got an even bigger surprise for you.” Sarah and I looked at each other, confused. We shrugged and turned back to him. “This one’s called
Brandy Sweet
. Thanks for coming to rock with us, Green Falls.”

The band launched into the familiar song. Sarah and I threw up our arms and danced back and forth with each other. The crowd responded, too—everyone lost themselves in the beat of the music. For a little while, I let the music take me away. I let myself forget everything. I danced even harder, trying to lose myself completely.

But all things must come to an end, and as the song slowed, a new sense of calm passed over me. The song ended on a hard note, and August ripped the guitar off his shoulder. The rest of the band began grabbing their things. They ran off stage at a nearly frantic pace while August walked to the front of the stage. The stage crew vaulted behind him, and began moving the instruments and equipment off to the side. There was a hurriedness about them that seemed out of place.

Sarah gave me a confused look, and I shook my head, uncertain what was happening. A sinking feeling formed in my stomach.

“Thank you, Green Falls. You’re the best,” August shouted over the cheering crowd. He let the cheering linger until it died away. When it did, he continued. “Now, I promised you one more surprise,” he said. He turned and watched the stage crew as they finished moving stuff. “So here it is,” he said. “Here’s your
real
headliner.”

Oh no
. Sarah and I looked at each other, again. This time, both thinking the same thing.

“You’ve heard them… you love them…,” he continued.

This can’t be happening.

August paused a beat, and I was pretty sure he glanced at me from the corner of his eye.

“Welcome The Believers!” he yelled.

The roar of the crowd was deafening. The huge, black curtain at the back of the stage fell. As it landed, Haden—glorious Haden—Kyle, and the rest of their band were revealed. A huge banner hung behind them spelling out
The Believers
. Haden and Kyle took a step forward over the curtain, and he slammed his hand on his guitar, letting out a bellowing cry. The rest of the band launched to life behind him.

Everything was a blur, and I struggled to keep up. What were they even doing here? Why weren’t they in LA, or out on tour or something? They weren’t supposed to be in Green Falls.

My eyes locked on Haden. I couldn’t look away. Sarah latched on to my arm, and screamed in delight. They played a fast song that I hadn’t heard before, and, as soon as it ended, they launched straight into another one.

Girls rushed to the front guard rail from all over the fair grounds. They screamed at the top of their lungs. Sarah leaned in close and cupped a hand to my ear.

“Did you know they were going to be here?” she shouted.

I shook my head, still reeling in confusion. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t think I’d ever see Haden again—but there he was.

The second song ended, and the guys looked at each other. They had a huge smile on their face. They soaked in the energy of the crowd for a moment before Haden began playing, again.

They played four more songs this way before slowing down. Kyle sounded wonderful on the mike, and when he addressed the crowd, all the girls started screaming for him.

“Green Falls, make some noise,” he yelled. The crowd roared. After they died down a little, he continued. “You all probably don’t know this, but we’ve made a few friends here over the last few weeks.” More cheers. He glanced off to the side of the stage for a second. “So when Scottie asked if we would come play a show, how could we say no?” He smiled, soaking in the cheering, and then they started playing again.

After the next song, Kyle addressed the crowd again.

“Now, some of you might have heard we were going on tour with Maroon 5 this summer,” he said. A light cheer went through everyone. “Well, we
were
going on tour with them,” he said, emphasizing the past tense. “But now we’ve got some even more exciting news.” He drew out the cheering. He was like a different person on the stage, and he held a masterful control over the crowd. “We’re headlining our own tour,” he yelled—huge grins were on everyone’s faces. As the crowd began to roar, again, he held a hand up. “Wait, wait, that’s not the exciting part,” he said. “We’re thrilled to announce that one of your own is going to be joining us. Please give it up for Texas’s own,
Fighting Forward
.”

“Oh my god,” Sarah shouted. She looked at me, her face alight.

I was speechless. It felt like things were happening so fast.

They didn’t wait for his words to sink in before they started another song. I got lost in the moment, watching them play—watching
Haden
play. The rest of their set blurred into one, and I couldn’t tell a single moment from the next. It was all so magical. It was perfect.

At some point, there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw Scottie. He leaned toward me.

“After party at the Saloon,” he said, just loud enough for me to hear. He smiled at me, and I nodded frantically. I told Sarah, and she screamed wildly again.

It was like all my prayers were being answered. I didn’t even know what to think anymore. It didn’t feel like Haden was really standing up there on stage. It felt like the beginning of a really sick joke, where I was going to find out that it had all been fake.

But it wasn’t.

He was really up there. He had really come back.

After they ended their set, Sarah, Huck, and I all sprinted through the crowd to make it to our cars. I hopped in the Volvo with Sarah, and she floored it back to town. I was speechless the whole time. I just needed to see Haden—I needed to be near him. I needed to feel him. Nothing in the world mattered more than that.

We made it to the Saloon before anyone else. I was surprised to see a banner hanging above the doorway that read “Closed for Private Party.” I wondered how long Scottie had been planning this. Why hadn’t he said anything?

The bouncer let us in without any questions, and we were greeted by a nearly empty bar. The wait for everyone to show up was brutal. I ran off to the bathroom and redid my makeup. I must have asked Sarah how I looked fifty times.

Finally, we heard commotion at the front door, and people started trickling in. Scottie was one of the first in, and I shot him a glare, but couldn’t keep a straight face. He grinned wildly at me.

“Can we talk real quick?” he said. He gestured toward the bar.

I frowned at him, uncertain. “Sure,” I said.

He led me behind the bar and through the doorway leading to the back office area. A hallway wound through a storage area and into a little office with a little desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out a huge notebook. He flipped open to a page and started writing something.

It only took him a few seconds to finish whatever he was writing. When he was done, he tore the paper out of the notebook and handed it to me.

I frowned, “What’s this?” I said, looking at it.

The paper was actually a check, and he’d made it out to me. My jaw dropped when I saw the amount written on it.