Denis

Just A Concert...

         Finding my seat was like finding the minotaur in a labyrinth. With crying fan girls to fight through and drunk hooligans to creep past,  I arrived at my seat moments before the show opened. I forgot the hell it was finding my seat as soon as the first notes were played. I felt the energy of the song pulse through my veins. All the emotion and anger put into it oddly calmed and excited me at the same time. It all felt like an amazing blur of strobe lights, music, head banging, and a jittery excitement. The kind you get before you step onto a roller coaster, or when you ask out your crush.
                "Thank you AA Family for coming out here tonight," Denis said into the mic. "You can meet us backstage for album signings, autographs, and selfies in about 30 minutes. Thank you again for coming."
             "Awesome," I thought to myself. "I could get to meet the band." 
         I waited for some people to clear out of my way so I could get backstage without having to fight my way through the crazed fangirls. I got backstage relatively quick, and I walked up to Ben Bruce.
"Hey, I'm Fera. Can I get an autograph?" I asked sweetly.
"Sure thing." He said, scribbling his name.
"What do you think of Ireland?" I questioned.
"Crowd was amazing. I mean besides the drunken assholes and crying fangirls. I swear sometimes they act like One Directioners." Ben and I laughed for a while, I snagged a selfie, and moved on to meet the other band members. After about half an hour the only one left to meet was Denis. Who was sitting shyly on a couch and not talking to anyone.
I sat down next to Denis on the couch and said,
"Hi. I'm Fera."
"Hey I'm Denis. The new guy." He said quietly.
"I know what it's like being the new kid. I grew up hopping from city to city, switching schools every couple months or so."
"Sounds awful. How come you had to do so much traveling?" Denis asked.
"My mother was an unsuccessful businesswoman. Whenever she would lose her job she would uproot me and plop us down in a new city. It always happened just as I was starting to make friends, too." I stated
"What do you do now? Travel or stay in place?" Denis questioned.
"Stay in place. There are enough places where I am to pursue photography. Have you seen the landscape here? It's incredible." I ramble.
          "You're a photographer? That's amazing. Do you work for a specific company or just sell your pictures?" He asks
          "Little bit of both, I guess. I sell my pictures to magazines and if I get a good shot of the landscape or a certain animal I can sell it to National Geographic. I'm trying to get a job there but so far it's mostly obscure magazine companies just starting out."
            We talked and talked, even after the meet and greet was over.  The band headed back to their lounge, except Denis. We sat in the couch and just kept talking. At around 3am Sam came out and said it was time to go back to the hotel.
            "You think you can drive this late?" Denis asked
          "Yeah, yeah I'm," I pause as I yawn and rub my eyes. "Fine, I'm fine."
           "No you're exhausted. I can tell." He said, smiling.
         I rub my eyes as I say  "You're right." It's unclear in my memory how I got to their hotel. But I do remember sitting in a limo resting my head on Denis's shoulder with his arm around me. I remember laying in bed with Denis, as he held me in his arms.
'Get ahold of yourself, Denis. After tomorrow you probably won't see her again' That thought made a small pain in my chest. I sat up a bit to look down at her. She was so beautiful. She looked like an angel. I brushed a piece of her dark, wavy hair away from her face. She was smiling slightly. Like she was in a peaceful joy. I lowered my face close to hers. 'Don't do it.' Something told me. 'You'll come to regret it'  But I didn't care. I kissed her softly on the cheek. As I laid back
down I didn't feel regret, or embarrassment or shame, I felt, glad I did it. Happy, as I feel a swelling in my heart, something I never felt before.
            I was mostly asleep as I felt someone looking at me. I was too tired to open my eyes, too tired to roll over. I felt someone's warmth come so close to my face, and I felt the sweetest kiss, like from an angel. My heart fluttered and I woke a bit. Realizing where I was, but not opening my eyes. And I realized who held me so close, so protective, realizing who it was that kissed me. Denis.
I woke up to Denis running his fingers through my hair. He wasn't looking directly at me, but kind of downward with a shy smile.
"I had a, confusing dream last night." I stated
"Tell me about it." Denis said.
"I was mostly asleep, and I felt someone brush a piece of hair away from my face, and then,"
"Kiss you?" Denis asked.
"How did you, was it....you?" I ask. As soon as the words leave my mouth I feel my cheeks burn. I see Denis's face turn red and he nods slowly with a small smile.
"It was you!" I say, smiling. I hugged him as tight as I could, and he hugged me back softly.
"This will sound crazy," he said as he lowered his arms.
"I'm used to crazy." I say with a smirk.
           "Will you, come with me? On the tour? I know it's last minute and unexpected but I like you and I can't bear the thought of spending the rest of my life wondering what could've been." He proposed in a very nervous tone. I didn't know what to say at first. But my thoughts raced and I figured out what I would do in under a minute.
"Yes! Of course! But on one condition." I say, smiling so much my face felt sore.
"What is it?" Denis wondered.
"You help me pack."