Chapter 1
Screams, groans and buzzing heard from across the street. All of it coming from a small tattoo parlour painted black with broken windows and a squeaky front door. In the corner of this parlour, is the only customer in the entire store. Tattooed from his neck to his ankles. Piercings on his eyebrows, his mouth, a septum, a nose ring and 3 piercings on each ear long hair tied in a bun that still reaches his shoulders. Wearing skinny black leather jeans and spiky boots so big you’d swear they weigh a kilogram.
“First off why the hell are you screaming so loud it’s not your fist tattoo and secondly are you sure you want this tattoo right on your chest. It is not too late for me to change it”. Says the tattoo artist in a very low monotone voice.
“I keep the things I love close to my heart; it is a physical prestation of my love. Not only that but it helps keep her in my mind even when I’m far away from her, also why are you talking like you’re nonchalant. I vividly remember you shouting at my show last week and I think you were the loudest.” Says Axton while laying on the chair clenching his fist as he is getting tattooed.
“So, you think the best way to express your love... is to get a tattoo of your girlfriend naked on your body. There is so many other tattoos of your girlfriend you could’ve gotten. There is so much more, I showed you at least 100 other tattoos you could’ve gotten. And you chose the one of your naked girlfriends and please I was drunk at your concert.”
“First off, I know you don’t drink; you know that I know that you don’t drink. Please just be yourself. Also, my girlfriend is comfortable with the tattoo, she says its also free promo for her job because you know I rock my sh*t shirtless on stage. I am performing tonight at midnight so please hurry up as fast as you can because I have a feeling for this concert. It will be the catalyst for my road to success. I CANT WAIT. I will give it my all, although I need to call the other sell outs to make sure that they are ready and suited for the sheer insanity that will happen tonight”
Down the street about 2 kilometres away Dexter Peers the drummer of the mainstream sellouts, is waking up from an insane hangover with 3 women around him. That he picked up from a Seminar on self love what true love is whilst he was in a fishnet, black cargo pants, half boot all stars, rainbow hair, and face tattoos and ripped arm sleaves. Although the fun isn’t over because at 7pm he is going to a back ally college party to pregame for the concert. For him to have an insane concert you must start it with an insane night to start, that is how you truly rock.
His values preventing him from just waking up and leaving all 3 of these girls in one of their apartments. Not even Dexter knows whose apartment this is, its definitely not his. Its too big, too pink, too clean, no instruments and no face paint anywhere. Dexter has it in every room in his apartment, he can not perform without it. So, he wakes up heads to the kitchen and starts preparing breakfast to be kept in these ladies’ good books. As they all wake up and head to the kitchen with messy buns as they follow the sweet aroma that smells like 5-star meal made by a Michelin star chef. I see you’re all up; I must go home and freshen up; I have a concert tonight and I couldn’t leave you all empty handed after such an amazing night. I will see you all tomorrow night and we will meet up here, don’t miss me too much”. Leaving a kitchen filled with women blushing as they all agree in unison that they will be here tomorrow night.
On the opposite side of the city is Cindy Humphry, A singer, song writer and base guitarist for the sellouts. Sits on the other side of a table with a podcast host and she is answering the question “in this life of a rockstar what would make you happy?” She takes a second with a deep sigh and says “ I’m already happy I need for nothing more my life is amazing, living by my rules and singing with people who are just like me, that sit with me and don’t judge me or scrutinize me for what I stand for or how I dress no matter how stupid I look or sound. What more could I ask for.”
Every concert to me is a show. I’m a show woman. I give the fans a lasting performance because its someone’s first concert in the audience, make it memorable make it a night that counts.” Cindy says as she leaves the podcast to prepare for her concert tonight, practicing dance moves and her lyrics for their snippet on their most anticipated album.
“Alright f**kersI must leave in order to prepare for this fu*king concert I’m playing at utopia night club tonight. Make sure you’re all fu**ing there, I can remember faces. “Neil Hancock says to the crowd at a daytime club he’s at. To his young self everyday is a party. Make everyday your Favorite story. Neil is the pianist for the sellouts. A tall man with a red streak in his hair. With a huge tattoo” music for all” on his back.
Easy to spot all the sellouts live a life of the traditional or rather a stereotypical rockstar. Even spoken about in their music all the time . As music is used for expression. They use rock to channel and speak about real life issues that can political, social or even emotional. They do not hold their tongue on serious topics as it may be a hard pill to swallow but nonetheless it is the uncomfortable topics they speak about that grants them the gift of having such a strong audience. A hardcore relationship with their fans that they are willing to die for. Even as a B tier band stuck in the same position for 26 years. Some members have come and go but the meaning behind being a sellout and what it stands for remains the same. Giving them timeless music that ages like fine wine as the world progresses and rock-hard fans.
The time of night is 11:30 all the sellouts are at the club utopia about to perform. Deep breaths and deep sighs are heard coming from all 4 corners of the room that they are in. The door is suddenly opened by their manager Quincy. An average heighted man who is bald headed but decorates his head with tattoos, his eyes inked and has a septum and 3 piercings on each ear with a tongue slit, he dresses in suits because formal is not about how your body looks to him. He may be the sellouts manager, but he is as well Axton’s close friend. To resume Quincy shouts and says, “a Forbes reporter is here tonight please be at your best, something about tonight tells me that if we play well here at this night club, I can feel it. Something special in the air tonight.”
Dexter tries to stand up and tell them to calm down that tonight will be amazing. Although he cant, he falls and stumbles repeatedly. Neil bursts out laughing but hefalls as well . Axton with a cracking voice asks, “are you guys, okay?” his heart beating at 100km/h
Dexter lets out a chuckle and continues to say that they’ve only had a few drinks but maybe a few too many. Axton yells at them “HOW COULD YOU BOTH BE SO SELFISH, TONIGHT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY NIGHT, MY BIG MOMENT. MY YEARS OF HARD WORK WERE ALL ABOUT TO PAY OFF AND THIS IS WHAT YOU ALL DO? THE FU*K IS YOUR PROBLEM “
Neil with a quick Whitted response tells him “If I wanted to be lectured I would go back home for my parents to lecture me and tell me I’m a failure, so don’t you f*cking dare raise your voice at me. The crowd loves the real me and this is the real me, we tell them to act like themselves isn’t that what we preach in our songs. Abit hypocritical if we don’t act like our f*cking selves. Let’s go out and perform”
The air in the room is so tense you could cut it with scissors, as Axton tears up not ready to accept the reality. His fists clenched. He knows chances like this don’t come to often in this game and letting an opportunity like this slip by. It just wouldn’t be logical.
So, he takes deep breaths to calm himself down. Reaches into his pocket. Takes out a small see through plastic bag filled with cocaine. Lays it out on the table. Breaks it down into little strips with his debit card, pulls out a little wooden chair to sit on. He proceeds to snort all the strips he laced on the table. to reach a familiar high. He preaches what is in his music. Drugs being a huge part of music that meaning it is a huge part of him Just like his members to be the real him he stays on a constant high that is when he feels a lot like himself or on high as said by Neil it is the real him.
“NOW CALLING OUT THE MAINSTREAM SELLOUTS” shouts out the announcer. Making it to the stage, lights flashing, tens of thousands of people screaming. Axton enters the stage and investigates the vast numbers of people in the crowd. As he stands there women scream, they throw their bras and panties on him, men cry and faint, with posters held up saying “I love you”, “id die for you”, “thanks to you I know love”. Phones being thrown on stage. He can’t help but take a minute to take a deep breath. Drums start banging, guitar strings getting tugged. Axton’s vocals suddenly surge to the highest note he could reach. Matching the energy of the crowd, he prances around on stage. Jumping up and down. Sprinting like an Olympic athlete. Drenched in sweat from all the physical workouts on stage whilst also staying high. Neil, Cindy, Dexter look at him in shock, a man of his age shouldn’t be moving like this. All they can do is sit in this set and worry after the concert is done.
Axton starts climbing on walls to get a proper look at the audience, Cindy Humphrey moves from her guitar and her microphone to the centre of the stage performing body contortions that baffles the crowd of hundreds, but eyes Soley fixed on Axton as he sings and shouts leaving his heart on soul on the stage for tens of thousands to see and feel . as the crowd shouts and screams his eyes slowly open to see a teenage girl in the front shedding tears holding a sign that says “I love you Axton Prince. “
He goes down on one knee Infront of her asking her to look up and he asks her “what are your dreams in this life?” she looks up at him and the eye contact is intense, she says “ I ... I want to be an artist.” She struggles to say but Axton moves closer to a point where there is barely 15cm between them and continues to say “what are you willing to sell out, I gave up a stable job, my family and any sense of a normal life to reach my level of fame.” he continues to say, “in this life in order to reach your dreams you have to sell out something.”
Axton stands up and moves back into his corner to end the concert and stop with his rigid voice he gives the microphone to Cindy Humphrey to end the concert and play a new song from their soon to release album death race love saga volume 5. A song with inspiration taken from future people by Alabama people. From the production to the lyricism, the vocal to the meaning of the song but infused with love. The future me who’s inspired by you, my lover. As Axton is on the stage he locks eyes again with goth like college girls. He proceeds to take off his shirt showing his new tattoos and his old tattoos but to further continue to distantly flirt with the girls in the crowd he sees.
The set ends and the stage is electrified, the sellouts leave the stage with cameras flashing in their direction, blinding their eyes. the party has just started. Shirtless men who are muscular and or toned covered with tattoos with long hair and piercings. The definition of the men your parents tell you to stay away from. Cindy has a whole line of men waiting on her with her seductive stares on stage and her unique clothing that draws men near her as she seems different but in actuality, she is a girls girl at heart and looks like and dresses like she does for the girls. She proceeds to reject all the men waiting in line for her with all the pride in her heart. She doesn’t need for a man right now and because to her none of them stimulate her mentally.
“BABY OH MY BABY YOU WERE AMAZING ON STAGE, and don’t think I didn’t see that tattoo. I knew you loved me but you’re obsession, I love it “Emma Sparks continues to whisper in his ear.Axton takes a moment of silence in dark alley way where their mini van is parked and in the corner of his eye, he sees the two fan girls he made eye contact with. He looks at Emma and says in his low monotone voice “if you wanna thank me go to those two girls on your right and let’s have fun tonight “. No, you idiot, not on tonight, not on our 10-year anniversary. You remember the last time we invited an outsider on our anniversary.Feelings were made and somebody fell in love”
Headed to the after party.Sellouts love to create a family bond with their fans, after a hard performance who doesn’t like to live and party like a rock star. Held an old mansion across down the street from the night club. Free entry for all the fans as they are nothing without their fans. They are the heart and soul of the group
Entering the gate of the rundown mansion, all you see is horribly parked cars all over the yard. Paper cups that smell like alcohol, marijuana and see through plastics, a random bathtub and trolleys scattered all over the yard. A pool that was used to make punch. And their music playing blasting through speakers inside and outside the house.
Entering the house in what seems to be slow motion. The smoke from all the cigarettes and marijuana blunts is so thick you could cut through it with a scissor. It was barely see through but all chit chat made from the fans you could barely hear the person next to you if they spoke normally. Wall spray painted “F**K YOU, SH*T HEAD and SELLOUTS.” It looked and felt like a house party American movies used to advertise to us as kids, the one you’d sneak out for.
The sellouts sit on a couch and take out shrooms something to get the party started and might Aswell make music with the different voices and people in this building.
They open the small packets of mushrooms stuffed in their pockets
One by one taking them out and putting them in their mouth
Chewing and swallowing
Lastly waiting for it to hit them but the effects don’t hit as hard as their used to this feeling. Emma Sparks turns her head to look at them and says” you guys were amazing tonight. “Quincy stops her and says this was all due to your man, his performance I swear he left his heart and soul on that stage. They’d be stupid not to report on you guys, you were amazing.
I know you’ll be big in a few months I can sense in my left testicle. “ Hear that Axton we were good even when we were intoxicated, I believe we want an apology “Neil continues but Dexter laughs and chips in “ I don’t think we will get any apology the shrooms hit him already, wipe your sweat buddy.“ all the sellouts laugh at him but Emma has a concerned look on her face she knows him and she knows that this is off so she shifts closer to him, grabs his hand and asks in a concerned shaky voice “ are you okay baby?”
Axton stands up and dashes out the house in a cold sweat with tears rolling down his face and as he exits the house, he stops running as he is surrounded by cars in the middle of the yard. He lifts his head and lets out a loud SCREECH and he says “THE MOON IS FALLING. “
THE END
