*Jack*
It is July 17th, and we are in New York, our first US date after the 2 Canadian dates. This will be our first show where Megan sings the end of Dear Maria with us and I am so excited to show my girlfriend off to the fans. We spend the entire day getting prepared to perform, between getting a couple small meals in, to warming up and getting the equipment to the stage, you name it. As we sit on the bus waiting to find out what time to play, I sit next to Megan and watch as she fiddles with her hands.
"You ok?" I ask her.
"Yeah, just really nervous." She answers. I then wrap my arms around her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Don't be, baby. They'll love you." I say.
"You sure?" She asks looking at me, and in her face I could tell she was nervous.
"Yeah, of course. You'll be fine." I respond giving her yet another kiss on the cheek. Flyzik walks onto the bus and pulls us all into the front area of the bus.
"So, we're on at 5 tonight. Which is only in a couple hours, since I forgot to go get the schedule till after we were already set." He tells us. "Luckily, I didn't get it too late right?" We all go back to what we were doing before Flyzik got on the bus. Before we know it, it is 4:30 and time for us to set up. We go to the Kia Rio stage, one of the main stages, also the one we've played the entire summer. We stand behind the stage as our crew sets up. Just as 5:00 hits, the crew comes off of stage.
"Alright babe, gotta go play. Can't wait to hear you sing with us." I say to Megan, giving her a quick kiss. I grab my guitar and start playing our intro notes behind the stage with Alex and Zack as we watch Rian go on stage, causing the fan to cheer. That being our queue, Alex, Zack and I run onto the stage and the crowd instantly goes insane. We start the show with one of older, but famous hits, Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't).
As the show progresses, I get more and more excited knowing that Megan will soon be on stage with us. Every once in a while, I would look behind the stage and see her sitting and waiting patiently. Before I know it, we're ending our song Weightless, and coming close to playing Dear Maria. I look over and see Megan, still waiting to come out.
"I love you." I mouth out to her as I continue to stare.
"I love you too." She mouths back.
"So, we have one more song for you guys." Alex says, giving the same goodbye speech he has given the entire tour. We start Dear Maria, Count Me In and the crowd goes wild. A couple minutes in, I look over as Megan holds a microphone in hand, ready to come out.
"Take a breath and let the rest come easy. Never settle down cause the cash flow leaves me always wanting more!" Alex sings, then yelling, "Come on!" Being Megan's queue to run out.
"I've got your picture" Megan sings along to Alex as they point the microphone to the crowd at, "I'm coming with you." As Megan continues to sing with Alex, I look over at her and smile as I notice that she's really enjoying herself. On the last line, Alex stops, giving Megan the last line. "I've got your picture, I'm coming with you. Dear Maria, count me in. There's a story at the bottom of this bottle." The crowd cheers louder than I ever expected as we finish off the show, throwing picks, drumsticks and setlists, ending the song the way we always do.
"Give it up for Megan." Alex yells grabbing Megan's arm and forcing it up. It was obvious she wasn't prepared for that, because instantly Megan smiles nervously. After we walk off stage I instantly run over to Megan and give her hug.
"You did so awesome baby!" I yell. The other guys then come running to us.
"So, wasn't that fun?" Alex asks her smiling and hugging her. I don't think any of us have been more excited from a show than the one we just played. "You were amazing."
"Yeah, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." She answers nervously. We get back onto the bus and drive towards the next date.