When I walk through the door, Madison is standing in front of me.

“Just leave her alone!”

“I didn’t do shit, Mads.” My voice breaks. “I didn’t do shit!”

“Well, right now she’s out there, and you’re staying here. You need to get ready, and so does she.”

***

I stand backstage where Mads tells me to. I don’t normally listen to the little queen, but Tales is up there, shaking her ass, and I know she doesn’t want to, but she’s no quitter. Sonya, the girl who, had the flash drive will vouch for me if need be, but I don’t want to owe her any favors. Besides, Tally better not doubt me.

I love watching her move, but not like this, and not for that bitch. That bitch who is going to walk off stage and be bombarded with Forever Four’s lawyers and have major fucking issues if she doesn’t back the fuck down.

Finn took off with River, and that’s not cool at all. He’s a fucking mess and doesn’t touch even a prescribed drug. When he asked River to take a walk with him, I felt sick, but I’m so fucked up right now I can’t do shit except stand and stare where she can’t see me because Mads is cock-blocking like a motherfucker.

When Stevie Danielles’ band ends, I look out at the crowd. They fucking love them and it makes me sick. I wish they were throwing tomatoes or booing that bitch.

“Memphis, go; she’ll see you.” Mads pushes me. “Go!”

I walk down the hall and find the room meant for us to chill, relax, and fucking celebrate all we’ve accomplished, and I haven’t even stepped foot inside it until now.

I open the door, seeing Finn and River sitting there, all fucking pie-eyed.

“You’re kidding me, right?”

River sighs. “Just took the edge off.”

“Where is it?” I ask.

Billy walks out of the bathroom, chillz in hand.

“No shit?”

Billy grins. “Just to take the edge off.”

“Aw, fuck, man, give me that.” I snatch up chillz and hit the bathroom. I spark him up, take two pulls, and that’s enough. It feels good, too.

When I walk out, the three of them are looking at me.

“It’s either the beginning or the end. We started this together; we end it together. Let’s fucking go rock them our way.”

“We do it for us,” Finn says as we stand in a circle.

“In the words of the great Eddie Vedder, ‘It’s a great time to be me.’ ” I throw my fist in.

“Jimmy Page once said, ‘I may not believe in myself, but I believe in what we’re doing.’ ” Finn puts his fist in.

“Kurt Cobain, “Nobody dies a virgin; life fucks us all.’ ” River fists in.

“The amazing Billy Holiday once said, ‘The difficult, I will do right now. The impossible will take a while.’ ”

“We have done the impossible. Fuck, Billy learned guitar, River has laid off the heavy shit, and Finn … not sure what to say? Best bass around, and apparently he decided today was the day to put an end to the ‘Just Say No,’ campaign, which I need the story behind, fuck-stick.”

He nods and grumbles.

“And you’ve got a steel dick.” River laughs his fool head off.

“Shit bird.” I laugh, too, because it’s funny, and I’m fucking soarin’. “All right, STD, let’s hit ’em hard”—we bump fists—“light ‘em up”—we do our own little version of an explosion with our hands—“and let’s go fucking rock ‘em our way!”

We walk out into the hallway where the entire Steel crew is, including Momma Joe, and we’re all fucked up.

Shit.

Xavier narrows his eyes at us. “You fucking kidding me right now?”

“Ready to rock, man.” I chuckle and grin.

I look at the guys. Finn’s lip is curled, and his eyes are fixed on the chick Sonya while she scowls at him. I hear him growl, and then he fucking snaps his teeth and barks at her. I shit you not. He fucking barked!

I start rolling.

“She get her fucking shots yet?” Finn asks X-man.

“You, too?” he gasps then throws his hands up in the air and walks away, calling out, “What a fucking day!”

I see Mads and Tally round the corner. Tally is looking at the ground, and Mads is basically pulling her toward me. She has her head hung down as well she should. She should know better.

“Kiss and make up,” Mads demands then walks away.

“Tales.”

“Memphis.”

“What, I’m not asshole anymore?”

“Sometimes.”

“But right now?” I tip her chin up with my finger.

“No.” She looks up, and I get Emerald City. Fucking beautiful. “Are you high?” And angry.

“Been a fucked up day, Tales. I needed to take the edge off.”

“Great. Well, good luck, break a leg, keep your dick in your pants, and—”

I grab her and pick her up, bringing her eye to eye, and she whimpers.

“You sure about that last part?”

She smiles like I knew she would.

“I mean, how am I gonna get dome when I’m done if they stay on?”

She fists my hair and pushes her forehead against mine. “I hate her.”

“Don’t blame you, Tales. I’m not a fan, either.” I inhale. “You smell good. How do you taste, Tales? Give me them lips.”

She does, and she gives them to me hard.

I pull back when I hear the crowd start chanting, “STD! STD! STD!”

“I watched you dance, Tales, the whole time. Inside, I was praying you fucking believed me ’cause, if you didn’t, I would be gone.” I set her down and step back. “Don’t you ever doubt me again. That shit hurt.” Her lip quivers, and she nods. “I love you, Tales. That doesn’t just mean something; it means everything.”

“I love you so much.” She chokes back a sob.

“I know you do.” I give her a quick kiss on the cheek then turn to walk away. I don’t want to go onstage with bitch pants on.

I step up to the rest of the band, and the four of us look at each other.

“Nickie D, X-man, and Taelyn are standing to the left like the proud parents who just gave birth to the most well-hung kid in the nursery, just like my parents must have thought.” I laugh.

“Shit, we have something in common, then.” River gives me a fist bump.

The crowd gets louder as I look at my boys. “Who’s first?”

“Let’s do it together.” Billy nods, fucking with his strings.

I look back and see Mom, Mads, and Tales hanging to the right, all smiling. Tales is the brightest. Mom? Didn’t even know she was coming.

She mouths, ‘I love you.’

I yell, “You better.”

She laughs as she wipes a tear away. I’m pretty sure it’s a happy one.

“Let’s rock!”

We run out on stage, and I make a mental note to work on that entry. We look like a bunch of teenage, eager boys who are gonna blow their load way before it’s time.

“Hello, New Jersey!” I hold the mic out for the crowd’s roar, and they give me more than I am looking for. My head is buzzing, and so is my soul.

“I’m Memphis Black, lead singer for Steel Total Destruction!”

I let them scream. Fuck, I egg them on.

“The buzz I catch off of that is bigger than the one we caught backstage!” I laugh.

They fucking go crazy, and I am all energy.

“It’s like a spiritual erection, a transcendent orgy to my soul, a divine intervention with every cell in my body. You’re getting me hard.” I grab my dick then look off stage at Tales and wink. She covers her mouth, laughing.

“You ready for some STD? You ready to get rocked so hard you can’t walk straight for a week?”

They scream. They shout. They lust for our music … and for us.

“I like the way you sound!”

“Get ready, ladies. Get ready for it, men!” I bounce up and down on my feet because I am that fucking pumped. “Give it to them, Finn!”

The fucking condom cannons jizz all over the crowd. They scramble around, screaming and grabbing the fucking condoms like little crack whores—our little crack whores.

River spanks the drums, the crack and pop of the snare proceeding. Finn finger bangs his G and L tribute. Billy is on his new Fender; and I begin to sing our first hit song, “Going Down.”