The viewers mostly wanted to praise the group and congratulate them on their nominations but eventually one question came up that was unexpected.
“This viewer says: ‘I’ve been watching your band's live stream today and it looks like there are two unfamiliar people who aren't members of the band and Vee and Mystery look very close to these two people. Did I see y'all kiss? And who are they?’ Huh, I was wondering that myself actually.” MusicDude asked.
“Yeah Vee, why don't you tell them, who are the other two people here?” Demetri said with an eye roll.
“Shut your judgemental mouth Dem and I will!” Vezaias snapped at him. “Those two people are Eph, and Lux, and they are my other two life partners.” Vezaias said in amusement. There was an awkward pause.
“As in….. romantic life partners?” MusicDude asked for clarification.
“Yes, Mystery, Eph, Lux, and I are a group couple.” Vezaias said still looking amused.
“Wow, I had no idea you and Mystery were polyamorous. That is fascinating. So like, how does that even work? Do you all consider yourself with each other or are they all only dating you Vee?” MusicDude asked in curiosity.
“They belong to me, but of course they are free to love each other too.” Vezaias said, looking almost smug over this.
“Well shit, can we get them on camera?” MusicDude asked.
“Fine with me, but it's up to them really. Guys you wanna come say hello to the fans?” Vezaias prompted them.
“Uh! Well I guess so.” Ephraim was immediately shy over being on camera. Demetri, Maxwell, and Alt all left the camera to make room. Ephraim came to sit next to Vezaias but Lux was extremely apprehensive about going in front of the camera.
“Is it safe?” Lux asked nervously.
“Yeah Lux it's okay, here I'll help you.” Remington walked over and took his hand and led him over to the chair beside Vezaias and coaxed him to sit then continued to hold his hand to comfort him since he was so anxious.
“This is Eph, say something Eph don't be so fucking awkward.” Vezaias said. Ephraim jolted and smiled awkwardly.
“Hello.” He said nervously.
“And this is Lux.” Vezaias introduced. “Say something Lux.”
“I don't trust the camera.” He said flatly.
“Okay sure, but there are a lot of people watching us. They are fans of our band.” Remington reassured him.
“Yeah I get that much, but I still can't trust it.” Lux said anxiously.
“I understand Lux, you don't have to be on camera if you don't want to.” Vezaias said.
“Great, see ya.” Lux said and he immediately left the view of the camera.
“Sorry Lux is pretty antisocial and he isn't okay with lots of people looking at him.” Remington said meekly.
“No problem, we are all just curious. It was nice to meet you both, Lux and Eph.” MusicDude said enthusiastically.
“Lux and Eph are actually going to be featured in our upcoming music videos. So you can check them out when the videos are released.” Remington plugged.
“That's amazing, I think all of this is exclusive news right? There is nothing about polyamory or Lux and Eph being in your videos anywhere on the band's pages. Theody didn't even mention it, and I'm sure he would have had he found out about it.” MusicDude asked curiously.
“We are a relatively new group couple. You know approximately when Mystery and I became a couple. Lux and Eph didn't join the equation until just under two weeks ago.”
“Well thanks for this exclusive news! My view count has skyrocketed since yall joined the livestream today.” MusicDude said.
“Well you're welcome I suppose.” Vezaias answered.
MusicDude signed out shortly after congratulating everyone again. The band continued to celebrate long into the night as their record sales topped 100,000 in sales. By the time everyone headed back to the base Vezaias was so drunk that he could barely walk. Remington walked him through the portal to their communal bedroom and helped him sit down on the bed. Ephraim took Lux to the infirmary to get his medication while Remington helped Vezaias undress. Vezaias wasn't very coherent as Remington pulling his shirt off for him.
“Rem…” Vezaias mumbled.
“Yeah Zay?” Remington answered.
“I don't know where I am.” Vezaias mumbled.
“In our bedroom at the base.” Remington informed him.
“Oh, good.” Vezaias said softly. He began to hug Remington. “I tried my best not to let that interview bother me.” Vezaias said, digging his face into Remington's shoulder. “But it hurt a lot more than I thought it would.” He choked out. Remington hugged him and rubbed his back.
“It's okay Zay. I know thinking about the past is painful.” Remington soothed him. Vezaias began to cry. Remington only shushed him for a short while until he relaxed. Lux and Ephraim returned from the infirmary finding Remington holding Vezaias who was passed out in his arms.
“Is he alright??” Lux asked anxiously.
“Yeah he's just very drunk.” Remington said softly. He began to adjust Vezaias into the bed now and Ephraim was quick to help get him under the blanket and make him comfortable.
“He sure drank a lot tonight.” Ephraim said unhappily.
“I know. I think he is stressed out.” Remington highlighted.
“Stressed about what?” Ephraim asked worriedly.
“He has a whole entire murderous demon inside of him, why wouldn't he be stressed out?” Lux said seriously.
“And I think having to answer questions about his past in the interview today really bothered him.” Remington said. Everyone was quiet as they watched Vezaias snore softly.
“I just wish I could help him more than this.” Remington said with a sigh as he curled up next to Vezaias and put his arm over him.
“I am worried about him drinking like this again. He did this a lot when we were younger. Things only ended up going downhill from there.” Lux said solemnly.
“He drank a lot when I knew him in high school too.” Ephraim said unhappily.
“I never knew he drank or did anything like that. He was always sober when I met him. He didn't start drinking again until the year after I ghosted him, then again before our first full concert together.” Remington said solemnly.
“We drank the night I arrived. I hadn't realized it would happen more often. I think he is relapsing hard.” Lux said. Everyone settled into bed now and soon they were all asleep.
Things went on as per usual for a while. Everyday things would go according to schedule. Vezaias, Remington and Alt would spend five days a week at Dem's house writing music, learning new music, and recording. Eventually the band's music videos dropped and skyrocketed in popularity. The band was now getting more and more recognition and gaining even more popularity. The interview with Theody that was meant to hinder their popularity only gained them an even more loyal cult following. Their second album quickly went quadruple platinum. Their social media climbed to a staggering 10 million subscribers. Vezaias's profile soon hit one million subscribers while the rest of the band members soared to over 500,000 subscribers. The countdown to their hugely anticipated tour was underway. Tickets prices to their concert reached upwards of $1,000 for front row VIP seats. The first concert sold out of tickets in less than an hour, to a venue that could hold 50,000 people. The concert would be a three hours long performing most of the songs from their two albums and several from their first performance at Pistol Whipped. The first part of the concert would be the music from Pistol Whipped. The second part would be music from the album ‘Endlessly Forever’, the third part would be music from their newest album ‘My Unbecoming’. There would be a 15 minutes intermission between each part. The lighting and special effects budget had gone up and was now very flashy and outerspace themed. Each concert had also made available 25 special VIP tickets which included front row seating, and backstage passes to meet the band after the show. Of course because of this and their massive popularity they had to hire tons of security. The line up of songs for part one were as follows:
I’m Suffocating, Going Under, I’m So Hurt, The Suffering, The Emptiness, I’m Drowning, I’m a Ghost, Fix Things For You, Taken Away,
Part two’s lineup:
Running Away, Just Like An Echo, You Just Disappeared, Looking Through My Telescope, Dying To Be With You, Your Light, Darkness, Endlessly Forever,
Part three’s lineup:
Wake Me Up, Gravity, Manifesting My Destiny, A Deadly Machine, My Unbecoming, I’m A Monster, I Will Follow You, Die For U
There would also be an exclusive new song that none of the fans had ever heard before.
When the band took the stage for the first time it was overwhelming. There was a huge difference between the largest stage that had played on which accommodated 10,000 people, compared to this stadium of 50,000 people. The band waited for the crowd to settle which didn't seem to be happening. Remington finally shushed them and began to play a soft but crescendoing chord and the crowd obeyed.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
“How y'all doing tonight?” Remington asked the crowd, the response was immediate and overwhelming as they screamed in approval.
“That's great, we are super glad to be here tonight and we are very glad y'all are here too. This performance tonight is going to be a chronological musical documentation starting the day of the ghosting and skipping through time up until the reawakening and the unbecoming. We hope you enjoy our story.” Remington said mildly. The crowd cheered as the lights faded to dark then a spotlight hit Vezaias standing alone on the stage. A thunderstorm effect began to play in the darkness, the lights flickered mimicking lightning flashes, then Remington in the darkness began to play very familiar piano notes. The crowd hummed in approval but stayed low and quiet as Vezaias began the soft lyrics. By the middle of the second verse Vezaias was too choked up to sing. Remington paused the piano accompaniment.
“Maybe you could help him out guys.” Remington said to the crowd. Vezaias choked back his tears in amazement as the whole stadium knew the words perfectly and sang for him. Vezaias calmed himself and finished out the song with Demetri and Maxwell backing him up. The lights shut off as the song ended. Originally Demetri was the vocalist for the next song but since this song was written by and about Remington, he took over as lead singer. The song I’m So Hurt was very personal to him and it indeed was painful to sing it. The next song ‘The Suffering’ was written by Demetri who took the forefront and took over as lead vocalist. His fans were thrilled to hear one of his personally written songs since the majority of the music was now either Remington's or Vezaias's. The next three songs were all Remington's songs who took over as lead vocalist for the first time to perform these songs. The Emptiness, I'm Drowning, and I'm a Ghost were all very personal for Remington.
“This next set of songs I wrote while secluding myself. If I would have been successful I would have been dead by the time I’m A Ghost was finished.” Was Remington's introduction.
“We are all very glad you are still here. Aren't we everyone?” Demetri said as he took the lead once I’m A Ghost was finished. The crowd roared.
“We love you Mystery!!!” someone in the crowd yelled.
“Hey I said back off he's mine!” Vezaias yelled back playfully. The crowd laughed.
The next song Demetri sang because it was a song that he had co-written with Skyler. This song hit hard behind the scenes since Skyler was dead. Remington couldn’t stay composed as the song ended and turned away from the audience to cry. Vezaias quickly hung up his guitar and hugged him.
“He's gone.” Remington sobbed.
“I know Rem.” Vezaias said softly.
“Can't we at least try and bring him back?” Remington pleaded.
“I'll consider it.” Vezaias said seriously.
“I’m sure that's just your way of avoiding telling me no.” Remington pouted. Vezaias sighed and let go of Remington.
“The show must go on Rem.” He said seriously. Remington wiped his tears and turned back to his keyboard to keep the show going. The next song was Remington's song ‘Taken Away’ which was about the moment that Vezaias was shot. By the time this song was over Remington was distraught and crying but he did make it all the way through the song. When the song ended it was time for the first intermission. Demetri informed the crowd they would continue after a short break just as Remington started the 15 minute intermission music. The band headed backstage and did what they needed to do to prepare for the second part of the show. Remington was emotional and was quickly consoled by Ephraim and Lux who made sure to have cold bottled water and a dry towel since everyone was sweating from the high energy activities on stage.
“You are doing so great out there Rem!” Ephraim encouraged and Remington hugged him.
“Thanks Eph.” Remington mumbled. Vezaias chugged a bottle of water while he sat on the leather sofa backstage. Demetri was not far away cracking open his second bottle of water. Maxwell was digging in the refrigerator and pulling out popsicles for everyone. He was very cheerful as he handed one to Vezaias
“Here it will help your vocal chords.” He said. Vezaias gave him an amused look and took the popsicle.
“I've never had one of these before.” Vezaias said, looking at the popsicle.
“You're joking!” Maxwell nearly gasped.
“My childhood wasn’t exactly fun and carefree.” Vezaias said seriously. Maxwell sobered.
“Oh man, sorry.” He said solemnly.
“It's fine.” Vezaias said mildly then he ripped open the popsicle and began to eat it. Their 15 minute break was over quickly. Soon they were all heading out to the stage to continue. The next song was Demetri's song ‘Running Away’ which was about his personal struggle with guilt after Vezaias was shot. Alt helped sing back up vocals since he was the one to help the first time. The next set of songs were all Remington's songs. He took over as lead singer for the rest of part two. The spotlight focused on Vezaias leaving him in the shadows up until the end of part two. They took one more break to rest and chug water and another round of popsicles before hitting the stage for their last part. It started dark and quiet aside from the anticipation of the fans. Vezaias's performance was very high energy and the crowd absolutely loved it given he was the most popular band member. The last two songs of course were Remington's songs and he finished out the concert with a strong high energy finally. Of course the band members knew there would be a request for and encore and Die For U wasn't exactly the best song to end with so they had prepared a very special encore song
“Thank you everyone, we are so glad you made it out tonight! We are Nobody In Particular!” Remington closed. Everyone headed off stage after enthusiastically bowing and waving or in Vezaias's case flipping off the crowd. They quickly hydrated as the demand for another song was almost immediate.
“Play one more! Play one more! Play one more! Play one more!” The crowd chanted.
“I think we should build up the anticipation a bit.” Vezaias said amusingly as he rested on the couch to drink his water.
“Sure, but not too long. They sound like they are getting rowdy.” Demetri said. The song was going to be all acoustic with Maxwell on guitar, Demetri on Chello, and Alt playing the violin, Vezaias doing vocals and Remington and the others all doing backup vocals. When they came back on stage the crowd went wild but Remington soon hushed them.
“I kind of feel like this story we've told tonight doesn't have a solid finish which is partially because the story isn't over yet.” Vezaias said mildly. The crowd cheered. He grinned at this. “….but sometimes in life you turn in a particular direction, head down a completely new path in life. Sometimes you just have to leave this world behind. Hope you enjoy the brand new exclusive song that you all have the privilege of hearing for the first time.” Vezaias introduced. The crowd was thrilled as they all prepared to begin.
[A/N filler lyrics "Leaving This World Behind" by Starset]
They did their final farewells again, taking a bow apart from Vezaias who flipped off the crowd and stuck out his tongue.
Everyone readied themselves for their fans now. The 25 people who purchased backstage tickets would be allowed up to one hour of time backstage after the concert was over. Demetri and Maxwell seemed to be very exhausted from the three hour long concert, however Alt, Remington, and Vezaias were not nearly as tired. Vezaias poured himself a drink right away then sat down on the sofa and relaxed while slamming his drink quickly. Security was in the middle of checking the VIP fans for their passes and to make sure they were safe and all over 21 years of age. Soon the fans were let in one by one. Remington stood up politely to greet them. Of course the fans all had their own preference on which band member they wanted to meet first, most of them heading straight for Vezaias and Remington and a few others heading towards Demetri and Alt. Of course there were rules set in place. They could not touch the band members unless they asked first, and they had to ask permission for pictures too. They were also given one item that was included with the ticket purchase and then they were allowed to purchase additional items to have autographed but they must be purchased from the merch table.
“Oh my gosh Mystery! I am your biggest fan! Can I have a hug?” One girl immediately approached. Remington of course was not exactly keen on hugging strangers but was too polite to decline for himself. Vezaias immediately intercepted the situation.
“Ah no, sorry nobody is allowed to touch Mystery. He belongs to me, you know.” Vezaias said smoothly. The girl looked disappointed but also awestruck as Vezaias put himself between her and Remington. “He can sign you an autograph though if you want.” Vezaias said. She was still struck and nodded as her mouth hung open.
“You too please!” She said after snapping herself out of her daze.
“Of course.” Vezaias said taking her official band photo and the permanent marker and sighed out his stage name then handed it to Remington. One by one they met each fan, hearing their praise and all the reasons they claimed to be their biggest fans.
“Your music saved me. I don't think I would be alive right now if it weren't for your lyrics!” One girl told Remington. He was overwhelmed by all the idolization.
“I'm glad that I helped you.” He said. Of course Vezaias was getting much different attention.
“I think you are amazing, and I absolutely love you! I watch you videos constantly and I think about you all night!” One girl said looking suggestively. Vezaias smiled at her which seemed to make her swoon.
“All night eh? Like while you are awake or dreaming?” He said smoothly.
“Both!” She said enthusiastically. “Can I hug you?” She seemed starry-eyed. Vezaias looked amused by the request and opened his arms to her. She quickly pressed herself into his chest and hugged him.
“Sorry I'm a bit sweaty from being on stage.” He said smoothly. She didn't mind. Meanwhile Remington was hearing more fan's accounts of how much they loved his songs, which songs were their favorites and why, while he secretly fumed over this girl hugging Vezaias.
“Are you gay?” The girl blurted out. Vezaias chucked at her.
“Why?” He asked, looking amused.
“Er, I know you are taken, and have your group relationship who are all guys, but um, well are you open to adding a girl into your relationship?” She asked meekly. Vezaias was even more amused.
“Well I'm not exactly gay. I've had girlfriends before.” He paused as she looked hopeful. “I cannot say that I can add you to my group relationship though. I think it would have to be okay with everyone in the group, and I highly doubt the others would accept you into our group.” Vezaias explained. She was suddenly very disappointed.
“Hey, I'm sorry but we are a very tight knit group you know, but if you want you can hang out for the rest of the night because I'd like to have an after-party.” He told her. She perked up a bit and nodded.
“Anybody know where to get some substances?” Vezaias announced. Several of the fans were quick to offer what they could get.
“Alright great anyone who wants to keep hanging out with us tonight you can come to our hotel and bring whatever you can get with you. If you need money to get it I will pay for it.” Vezaias told them. He gave several people a few hundred dollars then everyone left the venue to head to the after-party. Zach had prepared Vezaias's request for plenty of alcohol and there would be music plus food provided afterwards. Everyone ate platters of sushi and steamed dumplings and teriyaki tofu with rice then Vezaias got back to drinking again. The superfans showed up, making the party more lively. Several fans came bringing gifts of marijuana and other substances to which Vezaias was eager to dive into. Lux was most accustomed to this behavior as it reminded him exactly of how Vezaias used to behave when they had first met, and he was also quick to join the circle of marijuana being passed around. The band shared an extra large suite that had the largest living area in the hotel, but it was also equipped with a hot tub and three large bedrooms plus a balcony. There were a few girls that were quick to strip down to their underwear and get into the hot tub. These girls were definitely not shy about what they came to the after-party for. One girl got out of the water who was obviously drunk and began to pull Vezaias towards the hot tub.
“Come in the water Vee! It will be fun!” She said eagerly.
“Well how can I refuse?” He said in amusement as she pulled him. She stopped just beside the hot tub and began to pull off Vezaias's clothes for him.
“Show me your bullet scars Vee.” She said as his shirt came off. He stood there watching her examine his chest where the bullet scars were. The other girls in the hot tub were quick to try and get a close look too. Soon they were pulling him into the tub and gathering around him, not long after they were all removing more of what little clothes that had left. Now all topless they were nearly climbing into Vezaias trying to get the most attention from him by doing things like pushing their bare chest into his face and body or helping him feel whatever part of skin that he wanted.
“Don't your boyfriends want to join us?” One girl asked as she straddled him and let him dig his face into her chest.
“Yeah there is definitely room for Mystery in here.” Another girl said.
“Mm, well nobody is stopping him.” Vezaias said as the girl ran her hands all over his chest then smoothing his midnight hair back with her wet fingers. “But if Mystery joins I will probably ignore all you bitches.” Vezaias said smoothly. They all giggled at him.
“Then he should stay away because I really want you so bad Vee!” Suddenly the girl was kissing him aggressively. Vezaias made no move to stop it but encouraged the behavior and indulged himself. This is about the same time when the rest of the band members were done partying and made their exit to escape the orgy in the hot tub. Remington, Ephraim and Lux headed to one of the bedrooms with the large king-size bed. Remington sat looking very sullen with tears in his eyes. Ephraim was not much happier but was more concerned with consoling Remington. Lux was handling things in the most aloof way possible.

