The song ends and the DJ taps his mic. "Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we have a special surprise for you all!"
There are shouts and hoots of excitement.
"Are you ready?" the DJ asks.
Everyone yells that we are.
"Are you sure?"
A yelled, "Yes!" is the last we hear because when the lights begin to go down, the big screens come on and everyone quiets down.
"Is that Jesse?" I ask, incredulously. "Is thatFalling Down?!" I nearly shout.
Carter nods. "He wanted to surprise you."
"Oh wow. Thank you, Carter."
He nods again.
The music is deafening as it comes through the speakers.
"I guess they want it to feel like the real deal," I say with a laugh.
Carter laughs with me. "I guess so. My ears are gonna be ringing for days, but it'll be worth it."
"Hey, Kansas City," Jesse begins, his smile pure and infectious. "You see that camera right there?"
The crowd screams.
"That's giving a live feed to a winter formal back home where Linc's twin sister is. Hell, she's our sister too," Jesse admits.
"Not mine," Xander shouts and I laugh.
"Yeah, she's not Xander's sister. She's his girlfriend!" Jesse teases.
There are boos mixed in with the cheers.
"Hey now," Xander begins, "I've been in love with this girl since I was eight. Be kind to my girl."
Now the cheers are genuine.
"Tera, we'd love to be there with you tonight, but we're a little busy. We thought we'd bring you all with us tonight," Jesse shouts. "What do you all think about that?"
Their crowd screams and shouts as does this room full of people.
"Let's get this party started!"
They rock us out for a good hour before they have to say goodbye.
Xan gets up from his drums and walks over in front of the camera, his faceright there.
"Remember, Winters, watch those hands."
Carter chuckles.
"I love you, Tera. I'll see you soon."
Blank screen.
"That was fucking incredible!" Shea screams at me. Dane's all smiles and happiness, as is Carter.
"Thank you, guys, so much, for this. It's exactly what I needed."
Shea shakes her head. "It was all Carter and Xan—well, and the band."
Xander made it to winter formal after all.
