From Yesterday

The Night It All Began

                                                                                        Chapter 2

          You had gotten off of your shift and not a moment too soon as you rushed out the front door with your backpack (because a purse was too girly for you personally) to meet back up with the red-haired stranger on the sidewalk. The sun was starting to settle on the horizon but you felt that strangely, somehow, the waning light of the day further exaggerated the intensity of the man's hair.

       "It took you long enough." He teases, and swings his leg over the motorcycle he had propped up beside the curb. You examine the vehicle and take note of the jet black paint that somehow glittered with the sunlight. "I had to wait for my manager to count out the drawer," you explain before adjusting your backpack's strap and looking up at him, "Are we going straight there then?"

        It would be no problem but you hadn't eaten dinner and inwardly hoped that perhaps, since he was taking you to the concert as his plus one, he would offer to buy you a snack at least. But hey, who were you to complain? It was a free show for you!

        "That's the plan, Sunshine." He grins and straps his helmet on before pulling a second one off the handle facing towards the street. The man then hands it over to you and grins, "Jump on if you're coming."

        You stare at him for perhaps a few seconds before the words click and then you scramble onto the back seat and just.. awkwardly.... grab onto the outermost parts of his windbreaker. Was this how you held onto someone you'd just met? Were you maybe supposed to play into this whole 'plus one' thing?

        "I don't mind if you touch me." The words pull you out of your anxious thoughts and toss you right into a flurry of flustered ones instead as your cheeks heat up, "You could say that differently!" He chuckles without looking back at you and undoes the kickstand while simultaneously starting up the bike, "And you could relax a little, Cupcake." When he says this you happen to glance at the rear mirror and make eye contact with the red-headed man as he slips his goggles back down, a smirk playing across his lips momentarily.

        Geez, what a flirt and you didn't even know him ten minutes ago! You manage to push out a huff in the hopes of fooling him that you were agitated at the nickname and clutch onto him a little closer to his sides. Hey, if you were going to be riding on the backseat of his bike then you were sure as heck making sure that you weren't going to fall off!


        The trip to the concert doesn't last longer than five minutes and you realize just how quickly travel could happen when you didn't just rely on your two legs. As you think about how much you probably should get a vehicle to go more places than your home town, he parks the bike and puts the kickstand back in place to keep the bike from scratching its lovely paint. "We're here!" The man grins and turns around to look down at you with a glimmer of eagerness in his eyes as he grabs you by the hand and adds, "I hope you tied your shoes tight because this is going to knock your socks off!"

        "I always tie my shoes tight." You reply with a challenging grin in return, "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into." For no reason that you could be sure of it had just, sorta, come out like that. Well you had meant it but you just hadn't thought that you'd say it out loud like that! But instead of the guy looking at you weird, he actually seems to smirk with something in his eyes, glimmering for a half second as he replies in a coy (yet somehow... hesitant?) tone, "Oh I've got a pretty good idea.~"

        Huh? You look at the man's face as if trying to decode that response but before you could decipher anything he pulls you after himself towards the gates to the stadium. It was a huge, old stadium that the city hadn't used for years but for once everything looked cleaned up and fresh, as if it had been prepared for the band's concert. Honestly, it wasn't something you were going to complain about. Maybe it would help bring some more revenue into the city now that My Chemical Romance was playing here. Tourists would probably come back for repeat visits just to take pictures where the music was playing tonight. And you got to be here in person. How lucky could you get?

        The tickets are taken up and the bottom stub is torn as the ticket taker returns the rest of your tickets to you and your generous stranger. As the two of you enter you could feel the reverberations of the music hitting your very core and, for a moment, you feel something rise up inside of you that made you feel.... Home.

        "It's gonna get so good!" Your red-headed wonder pulls you along and reminds you that you were actually there and not simply experiencing something almost otherworldly. "Oh..." you lamely reply, at a total loss for words as you allow him to pull you into the sea of people jumping and singing with the lead vocalist. A grin spreads across your lips as you realize just how close you were to your idol, to hear his music in person, and to be surrounded by other like-minded individuals who knew by heart the deeper message within the band's music.

        The man allows for you to become absorbed in the experience and shoves his hands into his pockets with a slight smile dancing across his lips. Whatever was going on in his mind was of no importance to you, not in this moment at least. He watches as you become totally encapsulated and lets out a tiny, close-lipped chuckle before he has to look back up at the band and then again out towards the sea of people.

        He couldn't help but feel that... this would be the last time he'd be seeing you happy for quite a while so... he at least wanted to enjoy it before he had to keep it as only a memory.

        The man is pulled out of his thoughts as you jump and squirm out of excitement. Your hand reaches for the side of his windbreaker as you pull on it and beam up at him, "Oh my gosh, they're so much better in person!!" An understatement, truly. He conceals whatever he'd been feeling and returns your excitement for a smug smirk, "A lot of things are better in person, babe.~" His face immediately heats up and you stare at him with eyes that show how slowly you were processing the newest nickname.

        Did he.. did he just.. call you babe? "What?" You ask as your eyes actually start to widen. He puts a hand up, "Nothing!" He then reaches up and spins your body with both hands back towards the stage where Gerard was lifting his hands up to the sky for his most recent lines he was singing. You try to turn yourself back towards the red-headed man but he moves a hand to hold the top of your head still with a chuckle, "Wow, just listen to those vocals!"

        "You called me babe!" You shout over the sound of the singing and cheering crowd only to get a, "Don't think about it!" as a response. Oh, you absolutely weren't going to let that go, this was your chance to one up him on the teasing, "Buy me dinner and I'll forget about it!" There, now you had definitely won for tonight!

        The reply you get into your ear was a softer tone, not a whisper but also not his normal inside voice, as he keeps one hand on a shoulder and the other on your head, "I already planned to, Sunshine.~"

        You blush something akin to a bright cherry red and feel your whole body heat up at the very thought of this handsome man buying you a nice meal. Not only were you starved, you also couldn't wait to get to know this guy better.

        For what felt like a dreamy night, you couldn't help but wonder what the rest of the evening would play out to be. Could this be your fantasy dream-come-true moment? As the songs are played and you gradually stop thinking about how embarrassed that last comment had made you feel, you start to sway side to side as one of the slower songs are transitioned to.

        Gerard pauses as the instrumentals continue to play so he could bend down and get a drink from his water bottle, taking a breather as he sets it down and starts to talk to the fans, "I want you all to put your hands up, just for a moment, and think about those times you wanted to run away from everything in today, and escape into tomorrow." You put your hands up with the rest of the crowd, eagerly listening to every word he says as he also begins to raise his hands again, waiting until the lyrics begin, "Well now, this could be the last of all the rides we take,"

        Your red-haired accomplice's hand slightly tightens on your shoulder as the lyrics continue on, although it doesn't cause enough discomfort for your attention to be pulled away from the song. The song continues on and you feel as though you're swept away by the beauty of the instruments and vocals playing together like a wine pouring into a crystalline chalice.

        Without realizing it you start to tear up at the lyrics as they hit you right in the heart, resonating with something deep inside your being.

        And then the song fades out.

        Another song was beginning but as it begins to take off you hear a loud sound, something that... didn't really sound as though it belonged to the show. Your eyes begin to scan the surroundings as if you had come out of a dreamy daze. Sounds begin to grow louder, painfully so, and that's when you start to hear the fretting and panicking of other concert goers. Wait, hold on, why did.... Why did something not seem right? Why were people starting to turn and shove against each other? What were they saying on the stage now?

        You hear the voice nearest to you say under their breath, "Damn, right now, huh?" It was bitter, something like a mixture of disappointment and agitation combined with a tinge of regret. Then you feel yourself get grabbed as an arm hooks around your midsection, "Come on, we gotta go!" Everything was happening too fast and you try to get a grasp on what exactly was going on.

        There were people screaming, smoke rising into the sky from the stage, shouting for getting the police to show up, and someone shouting the name of a person you assumed must be their friend they'd shown up with. The emotions start to hit you like a flash flood and you suddenly grip onto the red-haired man's arm that held onto you at the belly, "What's going on?!" You shout in an attempt to be heard over all of the ensuing chaos but aren't sure if you're heard until he sets you on your feet and starts to practically drag you by your arm, "Something I'll explain later!"

        You had considered pulling against his dragging but you couldn't fathom a good reason to run back into the chaos and screams that were so close behind the two of you. "You better!" You shout. Somehow this had all better make sense, it had better be a dream or something! Yeah, yeah that was it. This was all one very realistic dream you couldn't wake up from!

        The man runs and continues to lead you back towards the bike that now was covered in some dust and... something that looked like a wet substance. "Get on!" He shouts above the sirens and screams. You go to throw a leg over the bike to get on but as you do so an explosion goes off in the stadium. The balance you once had thought you'd kept quite well is gone in less than an instant and you have to catch yourself on the man's windbreaker. He wastes no time in hefting you up and making sure you were securely seated before he jumps on next, holding one of your arms close to his chest.

        Had it been any other circumstance you might have been blushing like a maniac but currently the fuzzy feelings were far from the forefront of your mind. The hand being held close to his chest instead gives you a reassuring comfort that you seriously needed right now. He then turns towards you and pulls your helmet off the handlebar before slipping it on over your head. Before turning away he pushes the face shield up so he could see your eyes, saying in a stern yet reassuring tone, "Hold on tight and, most importantly whatever you do, don't look back."

        The words hit home as you realize something; you probably weren't going to make it back home tonight. Just as he says this he throws on his own helmet and slaps your face shield shut, putting one hand on a handlebar and another back on your hand to keep it firmly against his chest. Your fingers curl around his hand and your other arm wraps around his torso as you feel the bike move.

        But... not in the right bike sort of way.

        The bike moves forward then seems to lurch forward and then you notice the ground cracking beneath the two of you. A scream escapes your lips but the helmet muffles whatever the guy might have heard. You start to squirm and try to move to get off the bike but you quickly realize that he was serious about holding on tight. "Move! Move! The ground is opening up!" You scream as you try to push off of what you now perceived as death incarnate taking you to your demise.

        "It's okay, we'll be okay!"

        "No! No! We're gonna die!"

        "Hey!"

        You squeeze onto him and give up on trying to get loosed of his vicelike grip when his voice pierces all of the other horrible sounds filling your ears, "What!" You shout back, tears now starting to fill your eyes, and probably your helmet soon too.

        "Do you trust me?"