Demons

The screams began even before the band stepped on stage. Sweaty bodies were packed closely together in a fairly small square, and my friend and I had to lean to the tip of our toes to get even a glimpse of the stage. “We’re too far away! Come on!” Tina yelled, moments before she grabbed my hand and tugged me through a stream of disgruntled teens, who abruptly ceased their cheering to shoot us a handful of offended looks. Once she was satisfied with our proximity, she stopped and hooked an arm around my waist to keep us from being separated. “Are you ready?!” Andy’s voice sounded through the speakers, and the volume around us increased ten-fold. “I said: are you fucking ready?!” Tina and I joined in on the screams and cheers that somehow managed to become louder, and then the band came on stage, their posture tight with practiced professionalism. “Hello San Diego!” Andy yelled again, smirking in satisfaction when the crowd erupted in a roar. Jake and Jinxx were strumming a few introductory chords as Andy skimmed the vast crowd until his eyes settled on us. His smile widened as he ran a hand through his raven-colored hair, and then I Am Bulletproof began.

The air was buzzing with electricity, clearly the source of everyone’s energy, and the ground beneath us rippled from the vibrations their songs induced. Everyone, including us, were jumping in time with the music, our hands in the air, as the boys were having the time of their lives on stage. Between each song, Andy chatted with the crowd for a few minutes, complimenting their looks and rhythm, and asking what they’d like to hear next. As Nobody’s Hero ended, Andy once more struck up conversation as the other boys took a swig of their water. Just as he was telling us all how grateful he and the band was to be there, I felt someone placing their hands on either side of my hips. Surprised, I spun around and came face to face with a guy who looked to be in his late twenties giving me a quick once-over. “Aren’t you a cute little thing?” he asked loudly, managing to get his sentence across in the absence of music. My eyes widened when I realized his intentions., and at a complete loss for words, I merely shrugged off his hands rather rudely, praying that he would get the hint, before spinning around once more.

The boys on stage were about to begin the next song, when his hands resumed their previous position, only with more strength this time, and he pulled me flush against his clammy chest. I tried prying his fingers apart to make him loosen his grip, but to no avail. “Let me go!” I shouted, wriggling around and struggling more and more against his grip. “Hey, leave the lady alone!” a grown man shouted from somewhere behind us, and the stranger released me momentarily to turn around and punch the guy in the face. I took the open chance and started moving away from them, but the fully-packed audience slowed me down immensely. His grip was soon on me again, and I shuddered in disgust as his hands began sliding up and down my sides in what he probably figured would be a seducing move. Tina somehow managed to remain completely oblivious to the scene I was causing behind her, until Andy’s voice came over the speakers again. “Hey! What the fuck are you guys doing?”

People’s heads whipped around in our general direction as I managed to wiggle out of his grip and hide myself behind my friend. “You better not be doing what it looks like you’re doing you motherfucker!” his enraged voice continued, and the stranger seemed to give up on me and instead pick a fight with Andy. He flipped him off and yelled curse words at him that no one could hear over the roar of the booing crowd. Everyone on stage stalled their movements as their gaze flickered between Andy and the clutter of people close to me. “You motherf-“ His voice dissipated as the mic was thrown to the ground and created a slicing screech that had everyone cover their ears. Tina and I watched in horror as Andy effortlessly jumped off stage and stalked towards us, easily ducking through all the people trying to get their hands on him. In what seemed to be only seconds, the stranger pounced on Andy with a forceful punch to the jaw, but was quickly flipped over so he was lying flat on the ground.

My heart was practically leaping out of my chest as Andy landed punch after punch on the stranger’s face, but I remained impassive. My feet were practically rooted to the ground and my lips could no longer move. Security soon came over and pulled the lead singer off the poor guy lying bloody on the ground, and as Andy was pulled away he grabbed my arm and pulled me with them through the crowd that now automatically created a passage for us to go through. With a fierce wish of keeping my anonymity, I kept my head ducked low in the hopes that no one was filming the occurrence and plastering my face all over social media.

Our ways soon parted as security ushered Andy to go back on stage, while I was being led to a fairly large tent off to the side reserved for crew members. Andy of course protested, but there was nothing he could do as they thrust a new mic into his hands and practically pushed him up the stairs to the stage. I could hear his half-hearted apology to the crowd loud and clear as I situated myself on the grass, opting for the ground rather than one of the chairs provided. I tapped my leg nervously as the thought of my friend being all alone in the crowd popped into my head, but I knew she could handle herself - better than I could, anyway. The concert was picked up after the band apologized, and I chuckled quietly as I imagined the look on the lead singer’s face. Apparently they were all taking a trip down memory lane as Knives And Pens started playing, and I took a quick glance around before snatching a cigarette from a package that lay on one of the tables.

“You know that’s not good for you, right?” a peppy voice said from behind me, and I almost dropped my lighter in shock as the man sat down beside me on the grass. He looked at me expectantly, while I was merely staring at him in confused silence. But after a mental slap to the face, I regained my ability to speak. “Um, yeah, yeah I know that, but I-“ He interrupted me with an amused laugh before waving me off. “I was just playing. You can do meth for all I care. I’m Ronnie, by the way.” I ducked my head as I felt my cheeks warming up, but plucked up some courage defiantly and faced him again moments after. “I’m Amelia,” I greeted, shuffling uncomfortably as none of us made a move to shake hands or anything. Ronnie nodded with a playful smile tugging at his lips, clearly amused by my social awkwardness. “I’ve heard Andy talk about you. Sounds like he’s really into you,” he whispered dramatically, laughing when I hid my face again. With a final chuckle, he placed a hand on my shoulder and spoke again. “Relax. I’m just messing with you. But why are you back here and not in the crowd cheering on your boyfriend?” he asked curiously, leaning back of his elbows as he made himself comfortable.

I bit my lip shyly when he referred to Andy as my “boyfriend”, but my reply was fairly quick. “He got in a fight with a guy in the crowd that started groping me, and security kinda led me out here. But it’s fine, no biggie,” I added quickly. Ronnie raised an eyebrow and let his eyes fall on the stage in the distance. “I’d like to have seen that. He’s so skinny, though, ain’t he? Almost as small as you,” he teased, elbowing me in the ribs. Before I had the time to retort, he continued. “Just tell me if you want me to finish that guy. Look at these.” He flexed his tattooed biceps playfully, showing off the muscles that strained against his tanned skin. “The guy wouldn’t stand a chance.” Despite my awkwardness, his joke managed to elicit an airy laugh from me. “I don’t know about that. I mean, Andy threw some pretty good punches in there,” I replied. An impressed hum left his throat. “I see.”

We sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, just listening to the muffled music being played on stage. As I stubbed the cigarette against the ground, Ronnie rose and brushed the dirt off of his jeans. “Well, it was nice meeting you. I gotta be going, though. You gonna be okay?” I nodded in my hopefully most convincing manner and waved him off as he left. When he was gone, I found myself staring at the spot on the ground he had just been sitting in. I blinked slowly a few times, trying to wrap my head around the fact that I just had a conversation with the lead singer from Falling In Reverse. The fact still felt unreal as I lit another cigarette. Now all there was left to do was to wait for the concert to be over.

Notes