Nikolaj and Trine met up once in a while, sometimes with Katja, sometimes alone, and Noah and Kaj continued with their usual routines.
They started having more homey dates, unless they were hanging out with the guys or busy rehearsing. It was nice not having to hide anymore. Though, knowing Trine was in the house somewhere, they didn’t engage in much heavy kissing. It made them too self-conscious, no matter how much freedom and approval she gave them, including a box of condoms.
The woman was unhinged. Which was why they were desperate by the time Nik and Katja left for New York during spring break. Like Kaj had predicted, Jesper wasn’t around much, and it was thrilling to finally be alone for a change.
Today, they were getting ready for another concert. My Lost Chance was far from being a big band, but since their first gig,they’d gotten a couple other opportunities in different Fredericia bars. This would be their fourth.
Right now, though, Noah was in the bathroom with his face covered in foam while Nik taught him how to shave.
Kaj had started doing it almost a year before, but Noah’s skin, if you ignored the stray pimples, was silky smooth. Until now. The shadow of a mustache was showing above his upper lip, especially on the sides. There were alsosevendamn hairs on his chin. He hated it.
“Make gentle downward strokes, like this.” Nikolaj passed the razor over his face. “Do it in the direction that hair grows.”
Noah mimicked his movement. Not like he had much to shave on his jaw, but whatever. “Like this?”
“Yeah. You can do it against the grain or in the shower—heat and steam will make it easier for the razor to cut through the hair—but only after you get used to it. We don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Yeah, no.” Noah chuckled.
“Okay, now for the chin, you do it like this…” Nik tilted his head back slightly, gently tightening the skin of his neck, and repeated the same motion from his chin down. “Just don’t add too much pressure.”
When they were done, Nikolaj still took the time to explain everything about which products were best to avoid damage and keep his skin healthy and smooth. He also gifted him a small beginner bag with all the essentials.
When Noah returned to Kaj’s bedroom, between jokes and other distractions, like checking their new obsession’s tour dates, he and the guys finished getting dressed.
“Look at him, all smooth like a baby’s butt,” Theo quipped.
“Go die.” Noah flipped him off.
They put on their all-black outfits, boots, chains hanging from their belts, and leather cuff bracelets. Wearing all thisparaphernalia gave them a confidence boost. It was silly and didn’t make Noah’s palms sweat any less, but it helped them to take on the rockstar role. And tonight was special.
Once the concert was over, for the first time, the four boys were allowed to stay in Fredericia and go to a party. They were the opening show for a well-known local band, and they’d invited them to hang out afterward.
Of course, there had been a long discussion about it.
The other band was formed by guys between eighteen and twenty-one years old. Their parents worried it would be a bacchanal, as if they had never tasted alcohol or gotten drunk before. Plus, Val was already sixteen, so he could legally buy beer without an adult. And it wasn’t like any of them were particularly interested in harder drugs. They’d seen what they could do—loved music and read everything about their favorite bands. Would they try at some point? For fun, probably. But they didn’t fancy the idea of joining the 27 Club.
Despite their pranks and attempts at pushing their parents’ limits, Val, Theo, Noah, and Kaj had always been good kids. So, they had no case and had to let them go.
“Fucking shit!” Theo said. “Have you seen this? Artificial Suicide is playing in Copenhell. That’s the weekend of your birthday, Kaj. Wouldn’t that be an awesome way to celebrate?”
“Are you fucking serious?”
Theo turned his phone screen toward them. “Serious as a stroke.”
“Wesoneed to go,” Val said excitedly.
Artificial Suicide was a national band. They weren’t big yet, but the guys had no doubts the band would go far. Since the very first track they’d listened to after it popped up randomly on Kaj’s Facebook account, they’d been fixated on them. They still played covers of their favorite classics, but as their music tastes evolved, these guys had become the center of everything. Their drummerwas ridiculously good. Just like the vocalist and the bassist—the groove was insane. But the fact that the guitarist was only one year older than them blew their minds. How someone so young could be that talented was beyond them.
“They’re also opening in Odense in three weeks for Dark Omen,” Noah noted. “I think the chances of our parents letting us go to this one instead of a festival are bigger.”
“But they’re both gonna play at Copenhell. We could watch the two and some others as well…” Theo trailed off, narrowing his eyes as he read out loud, “Fucking Parkway Drive is playing too, and In Flames, Alice in Chains, and Down.”
“We lose nothing for asking.” Val shrugged.
“True,” Noah agreed. “But it would be our first time at a big concert, and unless all the stars align, I don’t think they’ll let us go.”
“Well, a Dark Omen/Artificial Suicide combo in Odense would still be amazing,” Kaj said. “They’ll be okay with that if Trine comes with us. She could even get us backstage. I bet she still has contacts from when you lived there.”
