I opened my mouth to tell him about Lana…but I couldn’t. That still seemed too…improbable. Instead, I shrugged. “Who knows. But it is cool…”

Evan grinned as he relaxed back in his seat. Then he laughed again. “Fucking Griffin,” he murmured.

When the show started and we didn’t go up first, it felt weird…like we were late for something. Matt and Griffin eventually rejoined Evan and me. Matt was clutching his bucket, but it didn’t seem like he needed it. He was smiling, happy, relaxed. To my great relief, so was Griffin. He was bouncing off the walls, grinning and flashing two fingers to anyone who looked his way. I was pretty sure he was referencing our spot in the lineup…not his two almost-hookups. At least, I thought they were almost-hookups. I wasn’t going to ask and remind him that he was mad at me.

I spotted Lana near the stage entrance when it was our turn. She nodded at me, a polite smile on her lips. I nodded back. I hope you like it. The crowd was massive when we got into place, and there were a surprising number of shirts and signs…for us. It was so weird. And incredible. We played our hearts out, I sang my heart out, and when it was over, the screaming and cheering fueled a burning fire deep inside me. Fuck, I love this.

Lana stopped me when I stepped off the stage. Her smile bright, she shook her head. “That was spectacular. I truly hope you can consistently recreate that kind of energy and interaction with the crowd, while still sounding just as good as you did tonight.”

I nodded at her, my smile equally brilliant. “That’s always our goal,” I told her. Matt wouldn’t put up with anything less from us, a fact I was suddenly grateful for. If we did make it, it would be because of his tenacity.

As the shows continued, it seemed like a good portion of the tour was buzzing about Lana. She was a constant presence beside the stage, absorbing every band’s performance, and absorbing the crowd’s reaction to every band. Some of the bands froze up, and I could tell they were playing differently under her scrutiny. Seeing the disintegration of their talent worried me, because I was pretty sure the guys hadn’t heard about Lana yet…and I knew there would be a couple of issues if they did find out.