I'm Here. (Pentatonix Fanfiction)

Chapter 1

My life was perfect. I could have everything I ever asked for. I had perfect parents, perfect friends, and a perfect house. But I didn't know that. I thought everyone else had it better than me. That I was always lost in the crowd, suffocated by the bodies harshly pushing me aside. I was wrong. If only I knew that. If only I understood how good I had it. But by the time I did, it was already too late.

I was standing in the bathroom. My blonde hair was strung tightly into two braids, and I was pulling on my Scomiche shirt.
"Valerie! You ready?" My mother asked, knocking on the door. My face broke out in a grin as I opened it.
"Yes! Let's go right now!" I yelled excitedly, grabbing my mother's arm and pulling her towards the door. I rushed over to the car and threw open the door.
"C'mon mom! Let's go!" I shouted, buckling my seatbelt. My mother strode over to the car, chuckling.
"Goodness Valerie, we're only going to a Pentatonix concert!"
"Mom, it's not just a Pentatonix concert! I'm going to meet them!" I giggled at the thought, sticking a Pentatonix CD into the disc drive and turning up the volume as loud as I could. I screamed the lyrics, although I couldn't sing, but I didn't care.

After what felt like an eternity of driving, we finally arrived at the venue and parked. I pulled my mom out of the car and dragged her across the concrete.
"Mom! C'mon! I bet Toby is already here!" My best friend Toby was meeting us there, and our moms were going to wait in the theater while we went to meet Pentatonix with our VIP passes. I was so excited I could barely contain it.

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I clutched onto Toby's wrist, bursting with excitement as we waited in line to take our pictures. He looked down at me and squeezed my hand.
"I can't believe they're right there." I said, my voice almost a whisper.
"I know! Look, there's Avi right there!!" Toby said, leaning into my side.
"Scott's so tall!" I said, laughing to myself.
"Maybe you're just really short." Toby joked, playfully hitting my side.
"Shut up." I giggled. Yes, I was 8 inches too short for my age, but I didn't let it bother me. Toby poked my shoulder.
"Look! There's only one person in front of us!" He uttered joyfully. I squealed, my stomach turning into knots. I fidgeted with my vip pass necklace, taking deep breaths.
"You can do this." Toby whispered.
"Honey, it's your turn." A woman bent down and ushered me forward. My legs started to shake and I slowly turned my head upwards and saw five faces staring back at me.
"H-hi. I'm Valerie." I said quietly, my cheeks flushing red.
"Oh, I love that song! Why don't you come on over Valerie!" Scott sang, the rest of Pentatonix laughing. Mitch noticed the shirt and smiled.
"I love your shirt girl!" He said, motioning for me to come over. All I could do was smile and mutter out a quick thank you.
"Hurry up guys, we don't have all day." The cameraman said, clapping loudly. I flinched, and Avi noticed. He put a hand on my shoulder.
"Where do you want to stand?" He asked gently.
"M-maybe between Scott and Mitch? If that's okay." I stuttered.
"Of course that's okay!" Scott said, opening his arms to me. I stared at the ground and walked over to them. I felt Scott and Mitch put their arms around me, and there was a bright flash. That's when everything changed. Everything was a blur as there were a series of loud bangs and thuds. When my eyes adjusted, the camera was smashed on the ground with the cameraman lying motionless behind it. Avi ran over to the cameraman, yelling for help. He tried to shake him awake, but he wouldn't move. Kevin took out a cellphone from his pocket and started to dial 9-1-1. That's when I started to feel very nervous. My mind started to become very cloudy. What happened to this man? Did I miss something? What if someone hurt him? My eyes started to water, and I suddenly felt like I was suffocating. I tried to catch air, but I couldn't, and this only caused me to breathe heavier. Scott looked down at me, his eyes filled with concern.
"Are you okay?" He asked me, I couldn't say anything. All I could do was breathe heavier. He suddenly pulled me into a warm, soft hug, and I hugged back still trying to calm down. I felt another pair of arms wrap around me as Mitch joined in on the hug, his head resting on my shoulder. The doors slammed open as paramedics and doctors rushed through with stretchers. They ran over to the cameraman and started looking him over and lifting him onto a stretcher. A paramedic grabbed Kirstie's arm and started throwing questions at her. I tried to run to Toby, but a security guard trying to calm the screaming fans roughly pushed me back.
"No. You stay." He said in a low, gruff voice. I looked around frantically, and trudged towards the doctors examining the cameraman, who was now laying on a stretcher with tubes flowing in and out of him. He looked terrible. He had cuts and bruises everywhere, blood trickling over his skin in certain places.
"W-what happened to him?" I asked one of the nurses timidly.
"Well, we're not sure yet, but from what we do know, he has been brutally mauled. He has a black eye, cuts all over his wrists, a large bruise on his thigh, cuts on his forehead, and a broken leg."
I stumbled backwards, confused. How could all of this have happened in a matter of seconds? It made no sense. He certainly didn't look like that before.
"How did all this happen so quickly?" I wondered aloud, my mind racing.
A man stepped out from the shadows. He spoke in a deep, raspy voice.
"I know how."