“Okay, so…” The agent flashed Gunther a knowing look, and her smile widened. “You’re going to Wacken Open Air next year.”
Chris wasn’t sure if it was just him or if his bandmates were also as paralyzed, blinking.
Uwe cleared his throat. “But… we already went last year.”
“Yeah…” Mischievousness sparked in Angie’s eyes. “But, thanks to this badass agent you have and to the visibility the Burn to Rise festival granted you, you’ll be performing at the Harder stage—”
“Y-you’re kidding,” Leah stammered.
“Nope.”
Both Gunther and Angie looked at the musicians and their road manager, grinning from ear to ear. This was big.
This was really fucking big.
They had already played at Wacken in 2016. And although it had been at ten in the morning on one of the smaller stages, with a crowd that was probably still drunk from the night before, it’d been an honor to be there. But the Louder, Faster, and Harder… Those were the main ones where bands like Slayer, Motörhead, Megadeth, and Arch Enemy had performed.
Mind blown.
“You’re fucking kidding,” Marc parroted Leah.
“We aren’t guys,” Gunther said, smiling proudly. “And your faces right now are priceless.” He let out a boisterous laugh. “I’m so glad we waited to tell you.”
“Yeah, me too.” Angie nodded. “It’s gonna be in the early afternoon, from what they told me. The organization won’t confirm any of this yet as they need to know the final lineup, but we’re so damn proud of you guys.”
“Oh my God!” Leah screeched in such a high pitch all the dogs in the neighborhood probably heard her. “I can’t believe this!” She stood, everyone following, and hugged Angie and Gunther.
“Now, you have to get the team working on designing a performance to blow everyone’s minds there,” the agent said, looking at Uwe as she patted the vocalist’s back.
“That’s not my job,” he countered, unable to repress his grin. The happiness floating in the air was so fucking real.
“Well, it partly is. You’re the master of puppets and the only one with your head in the right place in the crew.”
“Eh!” Erik objected with a chuckle.
“Sorry, my boy.” Angie outstretched her arms. “You’re still my favorite, though.”
“I better be.”
Chris grinned, shaking his head in disbelief before his eyes found Marc’s through the smiles of their friends. His heart bounced violently as the urge to devour his mouth and celebrate this achievement the big way hit him in the chest. After a decade of hard work and struggles, their efforts were finally paying off.
Hugs, laughs, and pats on the back were shared. The office wasn’t huge, and they were a little cramped, but this moment, this place on Earth, was where Chris wanted to be. If happiness could be captured in time and made a tangible thing for the entire world to see, this would be it.
October7th,2017
Munich, Germany
“I’m gonna go smoke,” Chris announced, still laughing at Luca’s misery. His baby was super cute. The crew adored the little boy, but he was a light sleeper, and the sound tech was trying to survive his party nights.
Marc got up from the floor where he was sitting. “Coming with you.”
“You’re gonna kill yourselves with that,” Julia said before sipping from her wine.
“We already have Leah, acting like our mom, calling us out for it almost every day. Don’t need a second one,” Chris retorted, making the bassist chuckle as he passed by him.
“Okay, whatever. Go freeze your asses off outside.” She waved dismissively.
They walked to the entrance of Julia’s house, put on their coats and boots, and made their way to the backyard through the kitchen. She hated the smell of tobacco—couldn’t blame her—and always had the place pristine, despite most of the floors being covered in cream-colored carpet. They didn’t like messing it up, especially not when the streets were all wet because it’d been raining. But she was also the only one with a home big enough for the whole crew and a few more to gather when they had something to celebrate.
