Griffin started laughing as Matt walked away. Looking over at the unfortunate bucket-holding crew member, he said, “When you’re done rinsing that out, write Property of Matt Hancock on the side for me. He’s gonna need it again. Like, every show.” He clapped the guy on the back, then darted after Matt.

Shaking my head at the pair, I followed my friends. After letting a crew member get me ready, I followed Evan onto the stage. Our stuff was already set up, and Matt was tucked behind his guitar, finally looking content as he kept his eyes glued on his instrument. Griffin had both fists in the air in victory. Even if no one knew him, he was determined to leave an impression. As I smiled at him, I lifted a hand to the crowd. They had no fucking clue who I was, but they were still screaming at an ear-splitting level, excited for the show to start. Kicking this off was kind of fun.

Up on the stage, with all the lights blaring down on me and the rest of the room in shadow, it was harder to see just how many souls were out there, but I could still feel their presence, feel their curiosity. Shifting my focus, I examined the people in front, the ones I could see the clearest. A lot of them were girls, and they were looking at me wide-eyed with their mouths dropped open. Some were fanning their faces and giggling to their friends. I had to laugh at that.

Grabbing the microphone, I popped it off its stand and stepped closer to the edge. Squatting down a little, I stared right at a few girls who were openly fawning. “Hey. How’s it going?” I casually asked.

One of them got a little weak in the knees, and her friends had to catch her. Oops. Chuckling, I straightened and addressed the entire crowd. “How’s it going, Spokane?” Some bands only played on stage, but I liked a little interaction. It amused me. Plus, they really should know who they were screaming for. “My name’s Kellan,” I said, and I instantly heard it screamed back at me. Laughing again, I pointed at my bandmates. “That’s Matt, Evan, and Griffin. We’re the D-Bags…and we’d really like to do something for you.” I’d said that low and seductive, flirty as fuck. I knew it annoyed Kiera when I did that, but I just couldn’t stop myself. It was too much fun.

Amid the corresponding screams, I clearly heard a cluster of people in front yell, “Strip!”