Lost Stars

Called Out

Last Christmas, I opened the best present I've ever received. I tore off the wrapping paper, revealing a small cardboard box with a big "M" on the top; inside the box was a piece of paper with a note typed in it. Below the picture of my favorite band, the note read, "Katherine Tomlin, we can't wait to see you at the Maroon 5 concert in October!" I read this out loud and cried, an extremely rare reaction that has never occurred before, and my parents (particularly my dad, who somehow hadn't heard of Maroon 5 until me) were absolutely beaming. Mom's condition was that she was coming with, since her friend had found tickets for her and me.

Today is the day. I'm actually going to a Maroon 5 concert! You know how hard it is to get those tickets?! AAAHHH! Just three hours away. I run up the stairs to my room, change into my M5 Tour T-shirt, skinny jeans, and Converse; then I get my makeup done and hair straightened and am ready to go.

I excitedly sprint back down the stairs, nearly tripping and killing myself, and call my mum.

"Hello?" She answered the phone for once.

"Mom."

"What?"

"IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO COME OVER HERE NOW!!!" Aaaaahhhhh!!! I can't hide it.

"Oh! Okay, on my way." I skip over to the passenger side door and climb in the second she pulls up twenty minutes later. "Hello, Katherine."

"Hi! Oh, my gosh. I am so excited!"

"I can tell." She says with a sarcastic tone. "Why are you so-"

"I have loved Maroon 5's music since I was ten. Adam Levine was my first celebrity crush. Need I say more, Mom?"

"Okay, okay." She laughs a bit.

"What? It's true..." I start giggling a little, too.

"Okay. I know."

"Mom, Adam to me is like Donnie to you."

"Okay, okay. I guess I understand that."

I get even more excited when I turn on the car radio and Sugar comes on.

*****

I was planning on getting here a bit earlier, but we hit a bit of traffic. We barely missed the opening act, but at least we're on time for Maroon 5's performance! The opening song is This Love. Naturally, I sing and dance along.

"I was so high I did not recognize the fire burning in her eyes, the chaos that controlled my mind. Oh! Whispered goodbye and she got on a plane, never to return again, but always in my heart..."

I am just getting more and more excited as the song goes on, my eyes on Adam a majority of the time. He was my first celebrity crush and hasn't stopped being that. My first concert was New Kids on the Block, my mom's favorite band of all time since the time they were formed in the eighties, because she wanted someone to go with, so she decided to drag me along. The company her friend works for gives them major discounts/handouts for multiple things, such as concert tickets. Complete fluke that it happened to be Maroon 5 this time, when they are coming here!

"Thank you so much, Mom!"

"Of course. Lauren had the tickets available and you were going to actually be with us for the holiday, so we might as well have made it super special like that."

I hug her.

*****

About six songs later, I'm still hopping around and dancing to Adam's singing; the song is now Fortune Teller. At the end of the song, Adam speaks with his hand on his chin and a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hmmm... What was the next song?" He turns around to face his band. James shrugs and makes a funny "I don't know" face. Adam turns back to face the audience and says, "Hey! You!" He points to the girl behind me.

"Me?!" She excitedly screams.

"No, the girl in front of you!"

"That's you, Katherine!" My mom says, nudging me.

"Me?" I say incredulously.

"Yeah! What should we perform next?"

I immediately forget my favorite song's title, so I randomly pick one from the newest album.

"Unkiss Me!"

"That's a good one. What's your name, beautiful?"

"Katherine!"

"What?"

"Katherine!"

"Katherine?"

"Yes!"

"This song is Katherine's pick, everybody!"

The crowd cheers as the song begins.

"He called me-" I gasp to my mom. "He called me beautiful!" She just chuckles to herself.

Adam freakin' Levine called me beautiful!

"Oh, Katty."

"Don't call me that."

"You're crazy."

"Mom, you acted like a total fangirl when Donnie touched your hand at the con-"

"He didn't just touch my hand. He squeezed my hand." She retorts.

"Whatever," I say. "My 'first love' just called me beautiful. I am not crazy for getting excited over that."

"Okay, okay."

"Hmph." I can't get her to understand, I guess. Oh, well. Back to the music. And Adam.

The intro ends and Adam begins singing, I am singing along and doing a spontaneous routine including swaying and pantomiming the lyrics.

"If you respect me, don't protect me. You can tell me, I can handle this. Stop pretending, 'cause we're going down..." I love this song. "I lie to my heart, 'cause I thought you felt it. You can't light a fire if the candle's melted... He closes his eyes as he's about to go into the chorus and, dang! He looks so good right now, while we can see his passion toward the music and for his fans. You can tell he puts in his all for this. The lyrics pause and the music plays for a few seconds, then he opens his eyes and takes a breath before the next verse.

Then he turns slightly and winks at me. Or maybe at someone by me. I think it's me, but I don't know 'cause he is a world-class flirt...

But he called me beautiful.

"How'd you like that, San Francisco?"

The crowd lets out a deafening mix of shrill screams, yells, whoops, and hollers in response, along with applause.

I make sure to take plenty of pictures to capture as many moments as I can.

He. Called. Me. Beautiful.