2 Months Ago
"Infinite, Infinite, Infinite!" Even backstage, Eric could hear the crowd chanting in unison, and it wasn't doing anything to help his nerves. It was the first time they were playing in an arena, and he was almost paralyzed with fear. He never expected to get this popular, he had no idea how the band would play like in front of 20,000 people. Just as Eric began wondering if he should be looking for a bucket or a can, Greg sat down beside him, obviously worried. "What's wrong? You better not be going through withdraw at a time like this..." Oh, Greggy always has such a way with words, Eric thought sarcastically, before replying, "No, it's just... I don't think I can do this.... there's too many people out there just to see the three of us, and I..."
This surprised Greg to no end; Eric had always been the most excited over their rising popularity, and had always been the one with the most flamboyant stage persona. After a moment's consideration, Greg said, "Listen, man, we're all nervous. But, those people out there, they're here for YOU." After Eric's face turned even more pale, Greg hastily continued, "I mean... they love you. They don't give a crap about the drummer or the bassist, you're the person that matters. I know this'll sound so lame, but... as long as you just act like yourself, like you normally do, this'll be one of the best shows they've ever been too."
Eric smiled weakily, and said, "Thanks..." Greg patted his bandmate on the back, and said, "Trust me, I'll always be here for you." After Greg walked off to get ready for the show, Eric could breathe slightly easier; this might not be too bad.
July 10th, 2010
Eric never realized until this moment just how much he loved silence, and being left alone. He didn't particularly feel like doing anything productive, with what just happened. The only thing he was slightly apathetic over was the heroin withdrawl symptoms that would start up again in a couple of hours; he thought that he deserved it, so he didn't make any attempt to complain about it, even to himself. Just as Eric thought about falling asleep, Greg burst into the room.
"Hello, Quillington!" Greg was almost bubbling with energy and excitement, which only worsened Eric's mood. Finally, he sighed, and then replied, "Hi, Greggy... what're you so giddy about?"
Greg looked almost shocked that Eric didn't remember, but then finally replied, "We have that Fuse interview today! The two of us, on live television; it's what we've dreamed of from the moment we started this band!" Eric put his head in his hands, and groaned. He'd completely forgotten about the interview, and he sure as hell wasn't in any mood to go to it today. Hoping that his drummer would understand, he said, "Eve just left me, and I'm probably going to go through heroin withdraw soon, I'm not going anywhere." This only seemed to register to Greg on the basic level, and he said, "Well, then, just take a hit, we gotta get going."
Eric leapt to his feet and said, having difficulty controlling the volume of his voice, "My last link to ordinary society left me, and the only girlfriend I'm going to get now is some dumbass supermodel who thinks it'd be entertaining to date me!" Rage was steadily pouring more and more through his voice with every passing word, but he didn't make any attempt to stop it now. He quickly walked over to Greg's side of the room, grabbed his collar, and pulled him against the wall. "I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" he shouted at the top of his lungs to the person who had been his best friend.
The frontman of Infinite, who was normally such a quiet and nice guy, was acting so out of character that it struck Greg speechless. Finally, he started to laugh in Eric's face, and said, "Do you think I care about what you want? Honestly, you're that niave? The only reason I associate myself with you is because you're making me famous, and you're doing a pretty damned good job of it. Now you say you lost your girlfriend; tough luck, but that's the way life is. You say you lost your last link to society; that's also tough, but it means that this band is the only thing you have left. Unless you want to become a complete recluse to society, I suggest you get in the fucking limo, so we can go to the interview."
Eric, in shock, released Greg, who walked out of the room without looking back. After a moment's consideration about what Greg had just said, Eric walked out of the room, and to the limo. All the way to the interview, the only thing he actually thought about was the fact that Matt didn't feel like going, and Greg happily obeyed. For the first time in his life, he felt completely alone. By the time they made it to the building, and sat down in their chairs, Eric could physically feel the withdraw. His hands were shaking, and he was beginning to break out in cold sweat. He was like every single rock star out there; addicted to a drug despite all the warnings he'd been given. Cliches, oh how he hated them...
OOC: This is the final part, so I hope it was a good ending. Some feedback would be nice, since I've been working on this idea for a while.