The bus lines had the unfortunate habit of running extra slow the days Mia needed them to be on time the most. She was already standing at the glass double doors, waiting to jump off, five minutes before the bus had even had the chance to maneuver its way through the crowded city streets to her stop.

Her focus was alternating between trying to make time go slower by staring at her phone screen and wincing and watching the slowly meandering sights just beyond the vehicle as they passed.

She could feel the death stares the bus driver was shooting her on the back of her neck but was purposefully ignoring them, just like she was the sacred rule of the yellow line. Her feet stayed firmly planted past the neon border.

She pushed the doors open the second the bus finally began to think about coming to a stop. She hopped out and onto the crowded sidewalk, garnering a loud and very angry "Hey!" from the driver. She threw a hasty "Sorry, Frank" over her shoulder, not daring to waste the time with a proper excuse. As she didn't dare to slow or even turn her head when she replied, there was a large chance her grumpy friend never heard her.

A light drizzle was falling from the sky but Mia joined in with the rest of the locals she was currently racing through as they all collectively ignored it. Among the hoard of seasoned Bostonians, congesting the sidewalks with their own commutes, the single umbrella stood out like a sore thumb as Mia whizzed past.

Tourist was the first word that popped into her mind at the sight of the yellow umbrella as it tried to make its way down the street in the wrong direction. Mia was heading their way but had spent years learning how to race through crowds and so left the tourist far to struggle on their own.

Her brain sent out a single stray thought as to why and how a tourist could have found itself this far from the heart of this city. But her consciousness didn't let her waste any additional energy to accomplish the train of thought and apply logic.

Her destination was in sight and Mia's tardiness was growing with each passing second. She didn't have even a single split second to waste.

If she had spared herself the second to glance at the time and another second to run the proper calculations, Mia would have found she could have run straight from her last class of the day, all the way on the other side of her university's campus, to her awaiting job, on foot, bypassing Boston's sluggish public transportation system.

If she had, she just might have been on time to work. Maybe a few seconds late but it would have depended upon whether or not a few temperamental traffic lights would have wanted to cooperate.

Her pace was only daring to slow in order to keep her from running straight through a set of double doors made up of solid glass that led inside when her eyes caught sight of a line of people waiting on the sidewalk along the outside of the building.

Mia's eyes didn't have to glance up at the marque hanging over the venue's entrance to know who was playing that night but the name in no way ignited a spark of recognition to explain what would have caused such a response. This was the largest crowd she had ever seen waiting for early attendance into the venue in her two weeks of work and some looked like they had been there for a while, looking comfortable and settled.

Mia didn't pause nor did she let her eyes rest long on the awaiting crowd. Her panning glance registered her brain that the majority of the small huddle waiting seemed to be primarily older teenagers, with outliers ranging to people Mia's ages and a few years older. It was the only time her brain had put to use her freshman year statistics class.

Kate was waiting in the center of the entrance, standing straight and erect, her arms crossed over her chest and her face void of expression. For anyone else who didn't know Kate or who did but not on anything other than a professional and vague basis, she looked the epitome of calm and collected.

But Mia spotted the hard set line of a grimace she was wearing from the sidewalk and caught sight of her eyes roving every which way as soon as Mia entered the building. Kate's dark gray eyes fell on her, hard, as soon as the glass doors swung shut behind her.

"I know! I know! I know! I'm late! I'm sorry!"

Kate didn't register hearing Mia's apology and Mia didn't even bother with an excuse and kept her pace brisk as she headed towards her station. Kate met her pace and then accelerated it as she fell in step as soon as Mia came close enough.

Mia could see her hand was wrapped extra tight around the clipboard that never left her side. Her first words of welcome came out low and intended so only Mia would have been able to hear them.

"I would kill you but then I would have to deal with Mom wanting to kill me. I told you not to screw this job up. It looks bad on me, not you. And today was the last day I needed you to show up late. Make sure it doesn't happen again."

Kate held open the swinging doors that led into the open bottom floor and the main room of the establishment. When she didn't follow Mia in, she knew the conversation was over and started to run towards her place behind the bar.

She gave her fellow bartender a half smile and wrapped her apron around her waist once she stowed her backpack underneath the counter. It took wrapping her hair up in a ponytail to get her to take the first deep breath of the evening but once she found she was just starting to get settled, Kate reappeared and the eyes of every crew member present shot her way.

Satisfied that she had everyone's attention, even the touring crew that was currently finishing setting up on the stage, Kate spoke and her words reverberated all the way to the second story balcony above.

"Doors open in five minutes. Places."

With her one command, people started scurrying in every direction. The folding tables set up along the wall opposite where Mia was now scrambling were quickly neatened and the final pieces of merchandise pulled out and hung up before their large cardboard boxes were thrown underneath and hidden away.

Mia could barely catch her breath as she scurried about with her coworker but that didn't keep her from, once again, noticing the efficiency of the venue and the tight ship Kate ran. It was only the start of her third week on the job but she had spent the previous two gaining a whole new level of respect for her older sister and so it rose once again.

The room was spotless in seconds and the heavy red curtain came down and covered the stage the second the doors burst open and people started to flood the room.

It was an especially chilly September day outside and Mia had kept her jacket on even once behind the bar. The sudden appearance of over a hundred bodies within ten seconds sent the temperature in the room through the roof. Mia was down to her tee-shirt in under five minutes, the continual race from one end of the bar to the other only amplifying the heat as more people appeared.

The crowd Mia had spotted outside had tripled by the time the doors opened and soon every square inch of open floor was filled. It was mainly college students from what Mia could see with a few high schoolers dotted among the crowd but there plenty of those over the legal age of 21 to keep Mia busy.

She was still mixing drinks by the time the first performers came out on stage and the lights went out. They were met with a decent response that told Mia this wasn't the band that had sold out the venue and certainly not the band that had Kate so stressed out.

With performers now on stage, the demand for alcoholic drinks ebbed and Mia took the chance to catch her breath. She liked working at the venue. The Historic was far from its title and the higher-ups made sure they kept new up and coming bands on the roster when not hosting bigger touring bands coming through.

Mia had a feeling this was due part in favor to Kate's promotion to manager over a year before, along with the wave of new bands and musicians pouring into Boston for its college sector.

The band Kate had lined up for tonight seemed a big deal, even if the openers for the night weren't quite up to the standards Mia had gotten used to seeing since getting the job.

The applause became louder once the guitarist rang out his final chord and the singer screamed their final note, considerably flat from what Mia's cringing ears could hear, and the audience seemed relieved that the band would soon be leaving the stage.

Mia prepared for another rush to the bar but it never came and she received the few orders she did get with the first genuine smile she had managed all night.

Mia was met with a very familiar face soon after the band left the stage and the small crew hurried on to change sets. The face resembled her own but it had more traces of her mom's side of the family while Mia held the nose and chin of their dad's.

"Gin and tonic, barkeep. And make it a double."

"I'm gonna need to see some ID."

Tori stood leaning against the bar, looking out onto the crowd with a scrutinizing expression and Mia could even hear that she had put a growling tone into her words. The bright blue backpack covered in water guns sitting on the counter right next to her wasn't helping sell her persona of someone older than 21.

"What? I don't look old enough?"

"Not for a second. The hoodie with your school's debate team logo on it really doesn't help."

Tori sent a glance down and then sighed when she looked back up, taking a seat on top of the bar stool and rested her head in her chin.

"You suck."

"Shirley Temple?" Mia asked.

"Yes, please."

Tori's despondent mood lifted with the sugary drink and Mia felt sure she could leave her little sister there on her own without her causing trouble and return to her job.

Soon thereafter the lights went down once again and this time the scream that filled the room matched the quantity that occupied its floor space. Music burst through the speakers, lights flashed into existence and the show started. No one was paying attention to anything else.

From the second the main singer jumped into view and landed right in front of the mic set center stage, spewing the fastest rap Mia had ever heard, the game was over for everyone in the room. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else existed. People forgot about the bar and with one mind, everyone moved closer to the stage, filling the open floor to capacity with no way out.

Mia herself felt pulled forward. Instead of leaning against the back wall or moving to clean up and wipe something down, she leaned against the bar, leaning so far forward to where she was right near where Tori sat transfixed.

The majority of the crowd sang along with the words that came flying out of the speakers a mile a minute and it was evident from the very start that this was the reason people had lined up outside, this was why Kate was so excited for the show.

From where Mia stood, she could just barely see past the singer jumping all over the center stage to where the backup band had been set up. Separated from the rest, with his kit pulled closer to the front of the stage, the drummer shared the spotlight with the front man.

His arms flew and his body seemed to leap with every beat he beat into his kit. He moved just as much as his bandmate and with just as much enthusiasm and excitement. While the audiences moved along with the man behind the mic, Mia found her eyes roving more in the direction of the drummer.

The spell that hovered thick in the air should have broken once the music stopped after three consecutive songs, each with more emotion and power than the one before. The power lay in their lyrics and the beat pulsing through the speakers, flooding the bodies of anyone standing within range.

The frontman took time to stop and address the crowd, to introduce himself and the band behind him, as if there wasn't a sold out room filled with people there just to see them.

"Good evening, Boston."

There was the usual cry of response and proving himself the seasoned performer, the frontman allowed the audience time to cheer for themselves.

"It's good to be home. And this is certainly quite the welcome. My name is Tommy and this is my man, Jay. We are 7 Ships and we're going to play you guys some music tonight. Would that be okay?"

Everyone screamed as the music started back up and as if to simply prove his influence over the crowd, Tommy had people with their hands in the sky, waving them back and forth before the chorus had even begun. The spell the two performers and their back up band had cast over the audience was secure. And Mia was no exception.

"They're good, aren't they?"

Mia jumped when someone screamed in her ear. There was no other way for Kate to communicate as Tommy was now screaming into the microphone and had the audience screaming right along with him.

She was standing less than a foot away and had even leaned down towards Mia's ear and still Mia barely heard her. Tori had caught sight of her and was already turned round in her seat to face her sisters but that didn't keep her from continually turning her head over her shoulder to keep from missing too much of the show.

She shook her empty glass at Mia and Mia grabbed hold of the chance to focus on something else for a moment.

"Class act you got there, Kate. Congrats."

Kate allowed a smile considering it was her littlest sister and there were no employees around to witness the act.

"What do you think, Mia?"

It was a conversation of yells back and forth.

"They're good. Really good."

Mia found her eyes moving right back to where the drummer still barely sat, bouncing with each beat and beating the crap out of his drums, as soon as she turned back towards the stage and slid Tori her refilled glass.

She didn't get much of the chance to see what he looked like as he never stayed in one place for too long. She noticed only his high energy and intense focus and concentration.

"Those aren't free, you know," Kate said.

Mia could see out of the corner of her eye that Tori had sent her one of her feigned hurt looks.

"Not even for family?"

"Especially for family."

Kate stuck around to watch the show from Mia's vantage point. The other bartender kept her distance from the boss so it was just the three sisters, crowded around at the end of the bar. Someone must have called to Kate through her headset as she was soon up and moving again, her boss personae on full force before she stood up straight.

"Be prepared to stay late. They've got a killer finale but it'll take a while to clean up."

Mia nodded at the instructions shouted in her direction but turned back to the stage as soon as Kate was moving away.

"I should head home, too. I've still got homework to do."

Mia waved bye as Tori somehow managed to wind her way through the tight-knit crowd. Mia had a feeling she did so with a string of threats and lots of shoving.

Mia did her best to try and return to her job but she stayed in the same spot that allowed her the best view and did little work that required more concentration than was necessary.

She was given a proper distraction when a man seeming only a year or two older than she was and holding a camera twice the size of her own appeared at her bar and asked if he could climb on top.

His bright smile underneath the start of what would be a dark beard and a backward hat worn even inside proved him to be amiable and so Mia nodded yes, taking a second to glance around for any sight of Kate and her all-seeing eyes.

She split her time between watching the performance and watching the photographer for a while. She was then left with just watching the rest of the show as the photographer hopped from his spot and with a quick 'Thanks' and moved off to another vantage point somewhere else in the venue.

Her co-worker was the one who finally grabbed Mia down from the clouds and dragged her back to reality. Mia nodded along to Ivy's instructions as she stood as Mia's superior.

She had to force herself to turn her back on the show and return to the job at hand. There was enough to do that soon enough the show happening all around them became background noise as they cleaned up and prepared to close for the night.

The next time Mia got the chance to turn back to the pulsating crowd and the band in charge of the spectacle, they were nearly out of sight from Mia's vantage point.

Standing in a line behind a row of drums, the band had been joined by a few extras who Mia recognized as the openers. Confetti shot out over the crowd as each person standing up on stage starting pounding to the beat that reverberated off the walls.

Protected by the balcony overhead, only a fraction of the paper floated onto her bar but it was still enough to clean up. Mia could no longer see the top of the crowd, the air above their heads filled with confetti. She couldn't even see the stage or any of the performers still beating away at their drums for the finale.

The crowd shouted out loud "Hey's" along with the song as it drew to a close and applause rang out as the speakers went silent for the first time all night.

The screams lasted long after the confetti cleared the air and the stage was left empty of any performers. It took the crowd a long moment to finally accept that show was over and it was time to leave. And still, the crowd's energy didn't dare falter or drop below its highest setting as excited faces and raised voices slowly filtered out of the venue and out onto the dark city streets beyond.

Mia stood waiting with a broom in hand, offering a few of the strangling attendees a smile as they finally made their way to the exit. As soon as the last of them left, Kate reappeared and shouted out orders. The staff fell into their routine at her command and Mia joined Ivy as they started to sweep up the now empty venue floor.

"Do you have an extra one of those?"

Mia looked up from the large pile of confetti she was collecting to find a guy standing nearby with his hands in his pockets. He looked familiar and Mia eyed the assortment of tattoos that ran up his arms. He smiled beneath a mop of still wet hair.

"I figured you guys would need help."

"Are you with the crew?"

Mia threw a glance around to try and spot Kate. She wasn't sure how to handle such a situation. So far during her time working, all the fans left soon after the show ended. None had stayed behind to offer their help.

"I'm with the band."

A spark of recognition lit in the back of Mia's brain. He was more polite than Mia would have thought. He was actually smiling, the sight a stark difference from the expression he had held during the majority of the time he sat behind his kit. It was softer, kind even, and more welcoming than the firm grimace and dark set eyes of intense concentration he had worn throughout the show.

"You're the drummer."

He nodded and even bowed in mock humility, letting a light laugh escape his lips when he answered with a quick "Yeah".

Mia grabbed the broom Ivy had left behind, only then realizing she had been sweeping by herself for a while. When she looked around, she found that the stage was now empty and there were very few others still working to help clean up.

"Here."

She passed him the broom and he accepted it with a nod.

"I'm Mia, by the way."

She heard herself speak before she was aware of the words coming out of her mouth. She immediately felt the heat rising in her cheeks and she turned to look back down at the mess on the floor to avoid any further eye contact. She looked up when he answered and found his warm brown eyes looking into hers.

"Jay. It's nice to meet you."

*

Mia found she was standing in a similar state of fixation, her feet frozen inches from the edge of the stage, watching Jay as he bounced behind a different kit, this one larger and much more expensive.

But it was the same energy, and almost the same show, that captivated Mia in that moment as it had years before. And it was now more acceptable for someone to catch her staring blatantly while Jay performed.

And it was the teasing jabs from her friends standing nearby that had pulled her out of her memory and back into reality.

The crowd of a couple hundred college students had been replaced with a hoard of nearly nine thousand fans of all ages. They jumped in unison underneath the glare of a flood of lights. The Historic was now the main stage of an extensive music festival and the tiny hometown venue had turned into something so much bigger.

The crowd was still screaming with the same intensity and genuine appreciation of the music as Tommy sang out, his lyrics being screamed right back at him. The cries for an encore were deafening as the band took a bow at the edge of the stage, turning and running straight towards where Mia and a hoard of others were standing in preparation.

Her hands had started wringing themselves out as she sensed the set coming to a close. She was given a momentary distraction as Jay ran straight for her. He was still panting but his smile never bothered to dampen. It only brightened as his hands landed on her shoulders and his eyes met hers.

"You ready?" He yelled over the cries of the crowd.

Mia's head nodded yes because she knew she was but her gut was pleading for her to yell no and run in the opposite direction. She wouldn't have gotten far if she had gotten the chance as there stood a mass of people around her, the opening band included, its members revving to go and already bouncing on the balls of their feet to get hyped up.

Bobbi's eyes shone bright under the lights and she seemed ready to burst out on stage before anyone else and she smiled up at Mia.

"You're gonna be fine!"

She was answering the look of trepidation Mia wore. She was yelling just so she could be heard, even as they stood less than a foot from each other.

"Just follow the beat! And if all else fails, just beat the crap out of your drums! You're gonna be great!"

Mia could see Tommy's girlfriend holding tight her own pair of drumsticks, her eyes narrow and her face set, her body ready for what was to come.

Mia was regretting the last two months she had spent working instead of on the road with the band. This was a new bit they had added for their festival tour and she had no idea what to expect. It was the first time she didn't know every single second and aspect of the band's performance and now she was going to experience it first hand.

Her intense infestation of nerves alleviated only a bit when Jay returned from grabbing his water bottle. He had already downed half of it and held tight to a pair of drumsticks in his hands. Just over his shoulder, Mia could see the crew setting up for the finale and their appearance on stage was only encouraging the crowd to scream louder.

"Let's go!"

Jay kept a firm hold of Mia's hand and she let him guide her out onto the stage. Tommy was already running out ahead of them, Bobbi and her band following close behind. Casey stood at her standing drum and gave Tommy a quick kiss before he took his place in front of his at the very edge of the stage.

Jay was looking out to the crowd, waving and moving towards the edge, Mia's hand still firm in his. He stopped just where the floor ended and turned back to face her, cupping her face with his free hand and bringing it to his. The crowd screamed louder at the sight but the sound was no competition to the array of firework Mia felt erupt inside her head.

Her nerves were long and forgotten and she was smiling when Jay finally broke away. The crowd now seemed like an old friend and she watched as Jay took his place opposite Tommy, her eyes unable to focus anywhere else.

"Mia!"

Somehow Bobbi and Casey's cries made it her way over the screams of the crowd and Mia hurried back to what she assumed was her placed, standing over the last available drum.

She watched as Jay and Tommy stood tall at the edge of the stage, their drumsticks high in the sky. Mia mirrored their stance along with the rest of the line up stretching all the way across the stage to her right and her left, standing drums and their drummers filling every inch of the stage.

The final stanza of the last song erupted through the speakers once last time, every drummer frozen in place, the air thick with anticipation as the crowd say out the last words.

At the drop of the beat, confetti erupted from the stage and rained down upon everything and Mia brought her drumstick crashing down, pounding along with the beat, her body moving in time and telling her when to hit. She screamed along with the crowd when they did, calling out a loud "hey" when Tommy cued them on.

And for that long stretch of music that seemed to extend on for eternity, the crowd of thousands that stretched out before her was the same crowd that had filled the small local hometown venue. The energy and the respect were the same then as it had always been. The message had stayed the same, even as the audience had grown.

But most importantly, the part that mattered most to Mia remained the same. It was the same smile he wore as he stood at the edge of the stage just as it had been when he was bowing for a small college crowd.

And it was with the same look that had shone down on her the first time she had passed him a broom that he shone down once again as he dropped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her in tight, forcing her to bow to the crowd, as if she was just as much a crucial part to the band as he was.

And it was with the same tone of affection and appreciation for the crowd that stretched before them and for the group that filled the stage that Tommy cried out goodbye and good night.

A/N:

The Girl Power Galaxy is strong with this one.

Bobbi AND Ivy in the same story??? I must really love you guys!!

Btw. Has anyone figured out why 7 Ships seem so familiar??

I'll give you a hint. You've met them twice before. But back then they were going by different names. You've actually met Mia too!! But I called her something else that I can't remember.

Can anyone tell where they're from??

Again, joymoment you don't count.