Divided Road (The Road to Rocktoberfest 2024)

Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Don’t look at the crowd. Don’t look at the crowd . Jared glanced up, in spite of his determination not to, and his stomach churned.

Fuck, so many people. He fought the urge to run and wiped his hands on his black jeans.

Owen took a step back to briefly stand next to Jared. “You can do this, sweetheart. Focus on the music, not the crowd,” he whispered.

Jared managed a shaky smile and thumbs up. He reached for his water bottle and took a few sips to steady his nerves.

“Hello, Rocktoberfest!” Clay addressed the crowd, looking as relaxed as he did when they played the small pub scene.

How the hell does he do it?

“It’s an honour to play here for you today.” Clay indicated the rest of the band and grinned. “We’re Flightless, and here from New Zealand. This isn’t only our first time at Rocktoberfest, but for most of us, our introduction to your lovely country too.”

The crowd applauded.

“But enough from me. On with the music!” Clay turned to Kaci for her to lead them into their first song, Sorted .

Owen’s violin sung above the other instruments. His eyes glazed over, lost in the music, the cross around his neck catching the stage lights.

Jared couldn’t take his eyes off him. Shit, he was hot. Jared smiled, wondering, not for the first time, at how lucky he was.

Not only to be playing for this band but also to be with Owen. Whatever happened next, no one could take this moment from him.

The final notes of the song were greeted by applause. Someone yelled from the audience, “Go Flightless,” and the call rippled through the audience.

Once they quietened, Owen played a lone note on his violin and began to sing the opening lines of Patterns in the Sand .

“Tiny grains of sand reflecting the patterns in my heart. Changing, lonely, needing more.”

The ballad was followed by Lost , their decision to go for a mix of upbeat and slower songs paying off, given the rapt attention of their audience. The songs he and Owen had written to highlight the band members gave them each their moment to shine, and by the time the audience started singing along with the chorus to Off Beat , Jared started to relax and enjoy the experience.

Clay took a moment to introduce the band. “Thanks for being such an enthusiastic audience. I’m sure you want to know who you’re listening to. I’m Clay. I’m mostly lead vocals, and while I do pick up a guitar from time to time, you’ll be relieved that our resident guitarist, Phil, is way better than I am.”

A few people in the audience laughed.

“Tyler’s on bass,” Clay continued, “and you can thank Owen, our amazing fiddle player, and Jared on keyboards for the songs we’re playing tonight.”

Without further ado, Phil and Tyler launched into their song Bass of My Heart , and then Jared and Owen sang Sunshine .

The audience grew quiet after that performance. Jared hoped it was because they loved it, but their time was almost up.

Owen stepped up to the microphone. “Our last song holds a special place in my heart,” he said, glancing at Jared and holding his gaze. “ Divided Road was the first song Jared and I wrote together, and it reflected a time in my life when I thought I’d have to choose between two things I loved.” He smiled. “Luckily, I found out I could have both, but anyway, here’s Divided Road , and thanks for listening.”

Jared took a deep breath. Although he’d already sung solo and with Owen, this song was important to him, too. Clay picked up his guitar and gave Owen a nod.

“Looking in the mirror, not loving what I see.” Owen’s voice sounded way more emotional than usual, but he didn’t miss a beat.

After the shared bridge with Jared on keyboard, Owen walked over to him like it was only them on stage. “Not loving what I see. Not loving me.”

Jared stopped playing, stood, and held out his hand to Owen. “I hold out my hand.”

Owen’s hand felt firm in Jared’s, warm and loving, a reflection of Owen himself. “You pull me back to myself, to us, and what could be.”

Jared kissed Owen’s hand without thinking. Owen placed his violin on Jared’s keyboard, and they took the next few steps together, Owen’s arm around Jared’s waist, an almost dance, singing in harmony, and then as one when they reached the end of the song.

“My divided road, now one.”

Owen took a bow with the rest of the band, his heart pounding. He hadn’t expected Jared’s addition to their song, but it felt right, and he’d gone with the flow.

The audience whistled and applauded, showing their appreciation of the performance. Owen grinned, and the band all raised their arms together, separated long enough to grab their instruments and exit the stage.

“Wow.” Kaci vocalised what Owen was thinking. “That was such a buzz.”

“Well done!” Rachel was beaming. “You guys outdid yourselves.” She turned to Jared. “That move, kissing Owen’s hand, was inspired. I saw some of the audience reaching for tissues.”

Jared blushed. “I didn’t… it just happened, then….” He took a chug of water. “Fuck. I got caught up in the moment and thought I’d ruined everything.”

“It was perfect, sweetheart.” Owen kissed Jared’s cheek.

“Totally.” Phil clapped Jared on the back. “It added to the song and gave the lyrics even more heart and authenticity.”

“Not that it didn’t have any to start with,” Tyler added.

“Yeah, that.” Phil rolled his eyes.

“Come on, we need to clear the area for the next band.” Rachel led them off the stage. “Go unwind and enjoy the rest of the music.” Her phone buzzed with a message, and she retrieved it out of her bag. “I need to get this. Meet you at the bus later tonight?”

“Sure.” Clay waited until she’d gone. “She got some news this morning that got her way excited, but she wouldn’t say what it was.”

“Maybe that’s what she wants to talk to us about tonight?” Owen suggested.

“I’m going to be too buzzed to sleep,” Kaci announced.

On stage, the stagehands were setting up for the next act. Axel from Grindstone paused as his band passed theirs. “Great performance. Loved it!”

“Thanks.” Owen’s mouth felt dry at the unexpected compliment. “Good luck with your performance. Though I doubt you need it. Love your music.”

Axel’s grin was more than thanks enough.

Owen stared after him. This festival was definitely one for meeting his favourite bands. Jared’s stomach growling yanked him back to reality. “We need to grab some food before we settle in to watch. Someone hasn’t eaten much today.”

“Neither have you!” Jared protested.

“Yeah, but at least I’m not obvious about it.” Owen had been too psyched up to eat, anything apart from a muesli bar first thing, although he’d made sure they’d both drunk enough to get through the performance. He threaded his free hand through Jared’s. “I’m going to pack my violin away, and then we’ll eat and enjoy the rest of the music, yeah?”

“I’ll save you guys a spot so you don’t miss Grindstone,” Kaci offered.

“Thanks,” Owen said. They didn’t have far to go to the secure space, and he’d left a bag there with snacks.

Jared pulled him in for a kiss immediately after they reached a semi-private corner. The festival-goers didn’t seem to be fussed about PDAs, although a few had smiled seeing them obviously together.

“That was one hell of a performance,” he whispered when they broke the kiss. “Thanks for getting me through that, sweetheart.”

“You got through it yourself,” Owen told him. “You were amazing.” He’d felt tears well when they’d sung that last song together.

“You bring out the best in me.” Jared kissed him again, this time on the cheek. “And that was so a prelude for tonight’s symphony.”

Owen laughed. He’d never get tired of using that description. When he and Jared made love, it was the best kind of music.

“We’ll have a full bus and more.” He placed a finger across Jared’s lips. “But I can be quiet if you can.”

“Challenge accepted.” Jared’s grin widened. “You’re on.” He threaded his fingers through Owen’s and followed him to the secure space.

Applause echoed through the crowd. Grindstone must be already on stage. Owen stowed his violin and grabbed their snacks. Hopefully, Kaci had found them a good spot. He didn’t want to miss any of the performance.

“Hello, Rocktoberfest!” Axel yelled to the crowd.

“Hey, Canadian,” someone in the audience shouted back.

Big Mac strummed a chord on his bass, and the band began their first song.

“Haven’t heard this one before.” Jared’s expression brightened with excitement. “Come on, we don’t want to miss it!”

The crowd was huge. Owen looked around for Kaci, but couldn’t see her anywhere. He hoped she managed to get a good spot, but they were on their own trying to snag one.

The sun was beginning to set, bathing their surroundings in an almost ethereal glow, but thankfully taking its time heading into darkness so there was still plenty of light to see by.

He and Jared made their way through the crowd, edging through any gaps they could find with murmured apologies. Most of the audience were too engrossed in the performance to notice them.

“There are a couple of spots up the front,” Jared said.

“Should we? We’re late, and someone….” Owen stopped mid-sentence. They would have grabbed those if they hadn’t been on stage, and they were up for grabs. And this was Grindstone .

On stage, Ed was talking, introducing a young woman from their old high school who was singing for them.

Wow. Owen had to remember their mission for a good view of the stage once Marley started singing.

“Brilliant, wow.” Jared voiced Owen’s thoughts and echoed the murmurs of the people around them. “Quick, that gap over there while everyone’s distracted.”

They ducked through, applause loud around them, almost at the front when Axel started singing another new song.

Owen grinned. In Another Life was so obviously a love song, and Axel had totally fallen for the lucky guy it was for.

Shit, everyone was looking where they were headed.

Axel scanned the audience, pressed his fingers to his lips, winked, and then grabbed his mic again. “Yes, we’re going to rock your world.”

“I’ve seen him before,” Jared whispered, gesturing to the guy in the audience in front of them.

“You’re the teacher.” A woman to their left obviously recognised him, too. She gave him a huge hug, and he leaned into the embrace.

Owen followed Jared’s gaze. “Shit, you’re right. You’re both right.” He’d seen photos. Now they were closer, there was no mistaking the red hair and build of Hugo, Axel’s teacher.

He edged nearer and lost his footing, accidentally jostling Hugo in the process.

“Oh, sorry.” Hugo apologised.

“No, my bad,” Owen said quickly.

Hugo turned. “Owen?”

Shit, he knows who I am. Owen felt a moment’s confusion. Duh, of course, Hugo would recognise him. Flightless had just been on stage, and Clay had introduced each of them. “Sorry, still getting used to being recognised.” He grinned. “Yeah. We’ve snuck down here because we’re huge fans of Grindstone,” he added quickly.

Jared squeezed his hand, his expression matching Owen’s. “What better way to enjoy the show.” At least he had his wits about him to make it sound like they were being smooth about it rather than slipping through the crowd to get a decent spot.

“You guys…” Hugo spoke slowly like he was searching for the right words. “That kind of talent.” Thankfully he kept his voice low so they wouldn’t attract attention.

“Hugo, right?” Owen figured he’d better confirm Hugo’s identity before he spoke further. “You were Axel’s teacher?”

“We weren’t involved.” Hugo flushed.

“We’ve read the stories.” Owen waved his hand to show they weren’t bothered by, or believed them. “So, you’re Canadian?” he asked to lighten the tension, although he recognised the accent.

Hugo smiled. “Yes. Very Canadian.”

“And you also taught Marley? Wow.” Owen had always admired Hugo and how he’d helped musicians reach their potential.

“Yeah, Marley’s my student.”

“We heard her as we were coming down. She’s seriously talented.”

“She is.”

“Do you think she’ll be playing with them regularly?” Jared asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Hugo answered. “If the song went over well with the crowd tonight, I do know they might put it on the next studio album.”

“We already own all their albums.” Owen nudged Jared. Their music collections were similar. Perhaps going forward, they’d only need to buy one of anything new between them. “But we’re going to have to buy their next one when it comes out.” He smiled at Jared and swallowed, the thought of them as a couple never failing to make his heart soar.

“The band will appreciate the sale.”

“We’re hoping we might run into them at some point this week. We’ve only been able to exchange a few words.”

“I’m sure they’d love that,” Hugo said, his confident tone a reminder of his history with the band. “They’re… really down to earth.”

“And Axel’s in love.” Owen doubted Axel’s focus on this particular section of the audience wasn’t a coincidence. “If that new song was any indication.”

Hugo’s blush was sweet and suggested he’d been the one Axel had sought out in the crowd. Owen hoped things worked out for them. He turned to Jared, unsure how to break off the conversation without being rude while giving Hugo some space.

Luckily, the next song ended, and the cheers from the audience provided the distraction he needed. Owen leaned into Jared. They shared a brief kiss and focused on enjoying the rest of the performance.

“Reality is going to be kind of a letdown after the last few days.” Jared eyed up the bus and checked around it and under it. He was sure he’d forgotten something and would remember what it was once they were several hours down the road.

“Rocktoberfest was even more amazing than I thought it would be.” Owen drank deeply from his water bottle and then wiped his mouth. “I still can’t believe I got to play with Luka and Dmitri, and we spent some time with Grindstone.” He mocked sighed. “My life is complete.”

Jared rolled his eyes. “Wow, thanks.” He laughed, knowing Owen would take the comment with the humour it was meant. “I enjoyed that too,” he added softly. “All of it.” Everyone they’d met had been friendly and… for all their fame, acted no differently for it. “Being able to come together and share our passion for music was amazing. Even if this is our one and only Rocktoberfest, I’m never going to forget it.”

“Not going to miss this heat, though.”

“At least we’re going back into spring and not winter.” Jared was tempted to lick the droplets of water from the crease in Owen’s smile, but not in company, which would give their friends way too much teasing fodder.

Not that it would take much. The band’s mutual good-humoured banter reminded Jared of his relationship with Brigit and made him smile, although he’d never admit that to any of them.

“Yeah, there’s that.” Jared glanced around once more and then shrugged. Whatever he’d forgotten would have to stay here, lost forever to the desert. “I guess I don’t really want to leave, although I do miss home.”

“Yeah, me too, although I bet Bach is being spoilt rotten.” Owen snuck a quick kiss. “I’m looking forward to some privacy, too. You’ll stay over for a few days, yeah?”

“I’d love to.”

Before they’d left for the States, Jared had spent more nights at Owen’s than at home. The lease was up on Jared’s flat in another six months, and as much as he was tempted to move in with Owen and put what he paid in rent towards Owen’s mortgage, it wasn’t his house or his call.

Owen had enough changes in his life with quitting Arpeggios and starting with Oriolidae. Staying over was way different than living together full-time. Their relationship was already moving faster than either of them had expected, and Jared was content to wait to take the next step when the time was right, and both of them were ready.

“There she is!” Kaci ran down the steps of the bus. “Do you know who that is with her?” She shaded her eyes against the sun and waved at Rachel.

Clay, Phil, and Tyler joined them.

“You don’t know?” Clay asked.

The two men were dressed semi-casually in shorts and button-down shirts. Jared frowned. “They were chatting with Rachel the other night.”

“She never told me what their conversation was about, just that patience is a virtue.” Kaci pouted. “It totally isn’t, by the way, and she needs to practice what she preaches.”

“Way too much info, Kaci.” Clay grinned.

“Yeah, whatever.” Kaci poked her tongue at him.

“Children, behave,” Tyler teased.

“And that goes for the peanut gallery, too,” Owen added, although they all grew silent when Rachel and her companions came close enough to overhear.

Whatever Rachel had been going to tell them a few nights ago hadn’t eventuated. They’d all been hyped and tired, and all she’d say was that she was waiting until everything was in place first.

Looked like that might be now.

Rachel introduced them. “Derek and Neil, this is Flightless. Clay, Owen, Kaci, Jared, Phil, and Tyler. Guys, this is Derek Addington and Neil Latkey.”

“Pleasure to finally meet you.” Derek was softly spoken, with red hair and a warm smile. “Neil and I loved your performances, both here and at Frays, a few months ago.”

“We already had tickets for Rocktoberfest and were thrilled that you were going to be performing here.” Neil was a fraction shorter than Derek, and the closeness in which they stood together suggested they were either together or very good friends. They both spoke with Kiwi accents, and their names sounded familiar, but Jared couldn’t place them.

“You’ve been in Arpeggios,” Owen said slowly. “A few times, but not so much the last year or so.”

“We used to work in Upper Hutt,” Neil explained, “but then we moved into Wellington when an opportunity came up to expand our business, but we kept the name as a nod to our original premises.”

The penny dropped. Jared glanced at Neil and Derek and then at Rachel. “Shit…” he blurted. “Sorry, I’ve just realised who you are. You’ve come into the Scone a few times when I’ve worked there. My sister was way excited when you made it big.”

“We’re more well known by our business name.” Neil paused before continuing. “Keats Street Studio.”

Rachel grinned, her professional demeanour suddenly giving way to excitement. “They want to take you on as clients and produce your songs.”

“An album with Keats Street Studio?” Clay looked stunned. “Oh my God. I’ve been following your label since you started up in your home studio. I should have realised who you are immediately.”

“No worries, and we tend to keep our identities out of the public arena as much as possible.” Neil smiled at Derek. “It’s a luxury that, unfortunately, most bands don’t have, being more in the public eye.”

“I’ve read through the contract, and it’s very comprehensive and generous,” Rachel assured them, “but of course, this needs to be your decision.”

“We’ve been watching you for a while, but with your change of lineup and rumours that Owen could be leaving, we wanted to see you perform a few more times and get a feel for the new songs you’ve been playing.” Derek continued the conversation. “And, of course, confirm that the band we saw would be the same one we signed up.”

“Our current lineup isn’t changing,” Owen reassured them, “and I’m not leaving. I will be playing with Oriolidae, but they’ve assured me they’re happy for me to continue with Flightless, too.”

“I’m already in talks with the quartet to make sure our schedules can accommodate performances and recording, so that won’t be a problem,” Rachel said.

“Fantastic,” Neil said. “We’ll be in touch once we’re all back in Wellington, then, with your answer. That will give you time to get past the Rocktoberfest buzz and over the jetlag.” He glanced at Tyler and Phil, who were holding hands. “And I assure you my husband and I don’t tolerate any hate speech of any kind. We pride ourselves on being inclusive and supportive. As far as we’re concerned, anyone working with us is family.”

“We’ll be in touch very soon,” Rachel promised. “And I know I speak for all of us in saying we’re thrilled and excited at the opportunity to work with you.”

“As are we.” Neil grinned. “Later, gentlemen and ladies.”

“Shit, we’re totally in,” Kaci said after they walked away. “Aren’t we?” She caught Rachel’s eyes and quickly added, “after reading the contract first, of course.”

“Totally.” Phil shoulder-bumped Tyler and then kissed him. “Our future’s looking golden, babe.”

“Yep.” Tyler kissed Phil’s cheek. “Lots of work, but way worth it. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Shit yeah.” Jared squeezed Owen’s hand. “I still can’t believe it.”

“Wow.” Owen leaned into Jared. “We’ll read the contracts, of course, but I trust you, Rachel.”

“What Owen said.” Clay grinned from ear to ear. “Fuck, we’ve made it. I was prepared to go return to Wellington and back to what we’ve been doing. Hell, I thought that was what would happen.”

“You’ve all deserved this,” Rachel said. “You’ve worked hard, and when you play together, it’s magic. I knew it was only a matter of time before someone noticed that.” She grinned. “And I’m also pleased that I’ve taught you well, and you’ll be reading the contract first before signing.”

She gestured for them to huddle together into a group hug.

“Go Flightless!”