Desire - Jan Peteh

The Concert

We all get out of the car and stretch for a moment, while waiting for the van with the rest of the crew to arrive. When they do we walk towards the small McDonalds where we'll be eating our lunch.

Jan and Nace get to talking, and I'm in the back of the group walking next to Kris.

"I've never seen him open up to someone this quick," he suddenly says. 

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Jan. He's usually never this open and talkative with people. Especially people he recently met," Kris looks down at me, smiling.

"Oh. That's nice, I guess," I'm unsure how to reply.

"He must really like you,"

I start to laugh. "Yeah, we're pretty good friends now," Kris stops in his tracks and his eyes widen. "Yea- yeah.. I know! He likes you as a friend, is what I meant," 

My eyes narrow. "Umm.. okay. Well, I'm glad to hear it," I'm trying not to think too much of this.

"By the way, I'm sure Jan will take good care of you today, but if you need anything you can always come to me," his eyes light up while he smiles at me.

I look up at him. "Thanks, Kris. That means a lot," he's such a genuine and sweet guy. So are all of them, honestly. I'm so lucky to have met them.

We place a massive order at the nearly empty McDonalds. I can see the workers' faces get stressed from the moment we walk in.

I order a double cheeseburger, chicken nuggets, large fries and a chocolate milkshake since I have no idea when I'll be eating the next time. At the end of the day, I'd rather be too full than starving.

We all sit down at a large table and finish our lunch before getting back to the vehicles to travel our second hour.

Bojan is unwilling to give up his shotgun spot, even when I try to bribe him with fries. So one more hour of being a human sandwich and I'll finally be free.

The guys spend the first 15 minutes trying to explain SSF to me, but I'm not much wiser after that conversation. 

Finally we arrive at the site of the concert. It's a big outdoor place just outside of the city. The stage is already set up, so now it's our job to do the rest.

When I walk towards the van to help the crew unload all the equipment, someone grabs me by my arm. I look around, startled.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Jan chuckles.

"Don't do that again," I frown at him. He lets go and puts his hands up.

"Let me show you around,"

"Aren't we supposed to help set up, that's one of the reasons I'm here right?" I ask.

"I brought you here as my guest. We don't have to,"

"There's not much to see, and I can take care of myself," I start to walk away.

"Don't be so stubborn Lilah,"

I turn around. Not many people have wanted to go against my wishes, but he keeps on doing this. I guess it's time to just start listening to him, or this will be a very long and tiresome day.

He reaches out his hand, which I immediately slap away. Expecting this, Jan doesn't even look insulted. I look back once more and my eyes meet with Mark's who gives me a little nod. I feel bad for not helping out but I can also be very clumsy, so they're probably better off without me.