Not Acid Nor Alkaline ~ Sleep Token FF ~

2.Night Out

The weekend came faster than I thought.
Abby and I made ourselfs ready to go out. I didn't put much effort into it, as I would leave again soon. Who would even care how I'd look?
I just used little make up, a bit of mascara and eyeliner and put my hair up in a messy bun.
'Here, you can wear this.', Abby handed me a skirt and a crop top of her.
'Abby! That's nothing I'd wear. I'm fine with the crop top, but I just wear my pants with it. Ok?', I said.

We were interrupted by our doorbell.
'I'll open it!', Abby said and walked ojt of my room.
I dressed in her crop top, it was a black one. I decided to combine it with simple but tight denim jeans and black high heels.
I grabbed my bag and walked to the living room where I heard Abby and Matt talking.

'Hey, are you ready?', I asked them and hugged Matt.
'Asks the person we were waiting for.', he laughed. I got my short, black coat and so we left to head to the venue. It was an old cinema they now used for parties or little concerts.
Each of us got a beer and sat down at the bar which was on the right side of the little stage. About 100-200 people were gathering around and waited for the show to start.
Some guy walked on stage, he would probably lead through this night.
The first two bands were some indie rock bands. I finished my beer and looked on my phone to check the time. It was already 9:20 pm. I'd leave in 40 minutes, I thought to myself. I couldn't ease myself if my work at home was waiting for me.

I suddenly felt goosebumps, as if a cold breeze would go through the venue. But it wasn't cold.
I looked around the crowd, but I couldn't see anything unusual.
Some bands were roaming around in the corner packing and unpacking stuff.

'Is everything alright, Emma?', my head snapped around and looked right in the eyes of Matt.
My heartbeat slowed down. 'Yeah, everything alright.', I tried to fake a smile.
'You are pale as you've seen a ghost or something.', he said.
'A ghost?', I mumbled. 'No, it's just the thesis that let's me worry about.' I tried to find an excuse for my behaviour.

Again I had that strange feeling. Was someone watching me?
In the corner of my eye I saw some guys with dark clothes. I couldn't see their faces, as they had the hood pulled down.
They talked with the dude that had the lead of the show.
They quickly carried the instruments on stage. I used the time to go to the bathroom and got myself a new beer.

When I was standing at the bar, the band got introduced as 'Sleep Token'. I t was unusual, the crowd was more silent. The bartender handed me my beer. 'What some cringy dudes.', she frowned. I just got my beer and turned around. I was suprised, not only were they faces hidden by their hoods, but they had some weird masks on.

As I walked to Abby and Matt I heard the other people whispering about the band on stage.
'There you are', Abby smiled as she noticed me.

The singer began his first lines. I looked to the stage. Why do I remember this voice? It seems like a know him, but I clearly never heard of Sleep Token.
Their music was so special in it's own way, but I felt like I was drawn to it. I was just standing there, the beer in my hand and starring at the band.
It felt so familiar, but at the same time so new und unknown.

The song ended with a long instrumental, the singer was playing the keyboards as well. It was mesmerizing when he played the clear and fragile notes like his high and fragile voice has been like in the beginning. On the other hand there were this massive guitar riffs and the drums.

'Weird dudes', Matt said and also the feedback of some other people wasn't as positive as it has been earlier this evening.
But I, I was smiling and clapping. This song made me forget about my stress, I even forgot my surroundings, I'd say.

'What is even the genre of it?', Abby asked irritated.
The band started to play the second song without talking a word to the crowd. And Abby was right with her question. I wasn't sure about the genre myself. But did it need to be a specific genre?

I was still starring at the band. Without realising at first I walked a bit closer to the stage, my body slowly moving to the rythm.
At the end of the song, my eyes met his, the eyes of the singer. Just for a little more than a second.
I couldn't anything else than his eyes, the mask was hiding any kind of mimic.
After the song had ended I was cheering again. This was such a unique music and I loved how it helped me forget everything around me. Most of the crowd was quieter, sadly.

The band bowed, still none of them said a word.
They got their stuff and left the stage after the performance.
I had returned to the table where Matt and Abby wete standing. 'What happened to you?', Matt asked me. 'Yeah, you looked like you were in trance or something.', Abby said.

Suddenly I felt someone tapping on my shoulder.
I turned around and nearly jumped as I wasn't prepared to look into one of the masks.
I recognised it wasn't the singer, but it was one of the others.
He showed me a thumbs up and handed me a little type of business card.
I looked at it and read the card.

'Worship the god Sleep' and a number. I frowned. God? Workship? I looked up, but the musician had already left.
I put the card away. 'What a strange group. What was written on the card?', Matt asked me.
'Nothing special. I think they handed out some business cards to people they may have enjoyed the music to gain popularity.', I shrugged.
But my mind busy thinking about what had happened.