Adjusting the box in his arms, Gabe began to make his way downstairs under the stage to where they kept the extra equipment. As far as Gabe could tell, he was the only one left in the stadium as everyone else had already headed back to the hotel for the night.

It was dark underneath the stage and Gabe squinted in the effort to see where he was going. Walking down the hall, he realised that finding the right room was a lost cause if he couldn't even read the signs on the door.

Sighing in frustration, Gabe went to turn around to retrieve his torch but as he did, he crashed hard into something, or rather, someone.

Falling to the floor, the box tumbled out of Gabe's arms with a thud that made him cringe. Having been knocked out of his hands, the contents of the box went sprawling across the floor and Gabe cursed.

"Are you okay?"

It's then Gabe registered the fact that he wasn't alone. Reaching for his phone, Gabe spun around and used the screen backlight to illuminate the area, pointing it in the direction of where the voice came from. "Who's there?"

The small light from the phone shone upward to reveal none other than Harley Stone. Gabe took an involuntary step backwards in surprise. For all the pictures he had seen of the band's drummer, they were so much different to the real thing.

In the darkness of the stages underbelly, the boy's attire was consistently black and made him nearly invisible. Comprised of a jean jacket, black shirt, jeans and combat boots. Peeking out of his collarbone Gabe could see the ink of a tattoo.

Just underneath his sleeves he donned black armbands that stopped just below his wrist. Everything about him screamed rockstar and Gabe wanted to scoff at the irony of a cliche.

Gabe shone the barely-adequate light from the phone up to meet the unimpressed drummer's expression. "What are you doing down here?" he demanded.

"I'm putting equipment away," Gabe stood up, brushing the dust off his jeans before turning a scowl on the other boy. "I thought I was alone."

Harley slanted him an annoyed look. "Apparently not."

Wasting no more time to ask questions as to why TSA's drummer was down under the stage in the dark at a quarter to twelve, Gabe turned and glowered when he saw the scattered contents of the box across the floor.

He crouched down and began shoving the cables back into the box, holding the phone with his mouth so he could work faster with two hands.

"You're here late."

Gabe was tempted not to respond. He kept his gaze on the box as he replied, "This is normal time for me."

The drummer raised his head a little, as if to question Gabe's story. "I've never seen you here at this time."

"Yeah well," Gabe continued picking up the cables. "I prefer to go unnoticed."

"Clearly."

Gabe mimicked the boy's impatient expression from a few moments ago and went back to cleaning up the mess. Gabe was tired and honestly wanted nothing more than to get back to the hotel and sleep but the drummer still was yet to move.

When he finished, Gabe stood up and walked over to the door to the storage room. Fumbling with the door handle, he managed to get it open without dropping the box again and stepped inside.

The room smelled musty and even with the small glow coming from Gabe's phone, it was pitch-black. He struggled to find the light switch in the dark.

"Come on," Gabe muttered in annoyance, nearly dropping the box again due to it being balanced in one hand. "Where is it?"

His hand slapped over the wall as he attempted to find the switch. He does so eventually and turned it on, lighting up the room with a flickering white glow.

Gabe placed the box down on the ground beside the others before realising that Harley was standing in the doorway watching him.

Gabe glared. "Can I help you?"

Harley flicked Gabe an unimpressed look. "What is your name?"

"Michelle Obama."

The drummer's expression changed to a deep frown. "Your name."

"Gabe."

"Gabe what?"

"Black."

"Are you new?"

"Haven't been for over a year."

The drummer didn't say anything further so Gabe simply stood up, walked past him in the doorway and began to make his way up the stairs to the stage. The echo of footsteps behind him alerted Gabe to the fact that Harley was following.

With nothing more to do for the night, Gabe stuffed his earphones into his ears, flicked his hood up and shoved his hands into his pockets, debating whether or not to call a cab to the hotel or walk.

"Where are you going?"

Gabe stopped and faced the drummer. "Antarctica. I've heard it's nice this time of year."

"Are you always this sarcastic?"

"It's one of my specialities."

Harley glared at the roadie. Gabe sighed and rolled his eyes. "Back to the hotel."

"It's a pretty far walk."

Gabe flicked him an annoyed look. "Thanks for the unnecessary observation."

"It's not safe this time of night."

Tipping a fake hat at him, Gabe smirked. "And if I'm brutally murdered on the way, you can provide the testimony for being the last person to see me before."

Harley scowled. "Why are you so reckless with your safety?"

"Why are you here so late by yourself?"

Gabe had intended the question to catch him off guard but Harley's expression never faltered to give anything away.

"Why do you ask?"

"The rest of the band is at Sadie's tonight. Why didn't you go with them?"

"Am I meant to?"

"They're hooking up tonight." Gabe deadpanned.

"I didn't want to."

"Right, okay." Done listening, Gabe shoved his earphones back in and walked away without another word.

The streets were dark by the time he made it out of the stadium, though the city was alight with pulsing energy.

Gabe walked with determination to get back to the hotel quickly. He had to be at work by six the next morning in order to get the set out on time and on the road.

As he walked, Gabe couldn't help but think about the brief encounter he'd had with the band's drummer. It was the first time Gabe had actually met him personally let alone had a conversation.

Gabe didn't know what to make of the mysterious boy as so many questions ran through his head. He was curious as to why Harley was at the stadium so late and why he hadn't seen him around earlier.

Though their encounter was brief, Gabe could already understand why no one was really able to pin down Harley to one word when it came to describing him.

He was content but bored, chilled but edgy, sharp but subtle. Gabe didn't bother trying to comprehend his personality simply because he did not care enough to.

Not wasting another conscious thought on the matter, Gabe continued on his way to the hotel where a hot shower and sleep awaited him.

***
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