Page 99 of His Sound

I may even be the most entranced of all. He looks so happy, so peaceful and perfect, even as he’s whooping at the top of his lungs and jumping around like a madman. This is exactly where he’s supposed to be, and not only do I get to witness it, but I have the honour of knowing I somehow managed to help him get there.

I glance at my group of friends from Metro, people I would never have dared speak to just months before, and find them all clapping along to the beat.

Just like he helped me.

“Okay, okay,” JP rasps into the mic, towards the end of the set. He’s sounds like he’s on the verge of losing his voice and chugs half a bottle of water before continuing. “So I know this was supposed to be a solo show, but I thought you guys might like a surprise.”

The crowd roars its agreement.

“I’m going to end things off by inviting my best friends, my brothers from other mothers, and the most useless sack of assholes you’ve ever met to join me on stage. For the last song of the night, please welcome...Sherbrooke Station!”

True to her word, the girl beside me does seem to be having some kind of heart attack as Matt, Cole, and Ace walk out onto the stage. They position themselves at their respective instruments, although JP keeps hold of the mic.

“This one,” he announces, settling himself behind the keyboard, “is for Molly. I may be a dirtbag, butje t’aime. Je t’aime avec tout mon coeur.”

Dating a francophone has improved my French enough to catch what he says:I love you. I love you with all of my heart.

Every inch of me, every blood vessel and neuron, every nerve ending and tendon, screams the words back at him when the band starts to play ‘Teenage Dirtbag.’ JP sings the whole thing looking straight at me, and I know he’s not the only person who’s exactly where they’re supposed to be right now.

There’s nowhere I’d rather be standing than with my feet on the pavement and my hands wrapped around the rail, with my friends beside me and my favourite band in front of me, with the same words of the same song bursting from all our lips.

There’s nowhere I’d rather be than right here, right now, with him.