Made In America

Two

In 5 hours, we made our way to the middle of the mainstage crowd and a rap group was performing. Brian had his hands on my shoulders and we were dancing with everyone. The crowd was a little rough and the smoke was getting to my lungs, but I did my best to ignore it.

Once the group was finished, much of the crowd began trying to get out while fans of the headliner were shoving their way forward. Brian gripped my shoulders, nudging me forward through the crowd until we were against one of the fences. There was an hour before the next group would go on and we'd already seen 3 other groups today and I was starting to fade.

I turned around so I could talk to Brian and everyone around us while we waited. He seemed to fit in no matter where we were in the crowd. I just rested my head on his chest and smiled up at him, listening to the conversation. He laughed in response to someone else and I felt it through his chest.

All of the sudden, the crowd shifted and compressed and I felt my back push against the gate. The weight of thousands was pushing me against the metal and I struggled to breathe. Tears streamed down my cheeks as the weight shifted back and I peeled myself from the fencing.

"Are you alright?" he said, switching places with me so I wouldn't get crushed again. My breath was caught in my throat and I couldn't speak. Everything was going blurry and I could feel Brian holding most of my weight. I closed my eyes and rested my cheek on his chest, trying to take a deep breath. Brian was whispering something to me that I couldn't hear but I ignored it.

After a few minutes, I relaxed enough to stand on my own even though my hands were still shaking. I laughed to myself as I wiped tears from my face but Brian didn't seem very happy. I knew I was fine and anxiety just managed to get the best of me, but Brian had never seen anything like that before.

"I'm fine," I said, standing on my toes so I could reach, "I swear." His worried expression didn't go away but I ignored it and turned around again to talk to the girls that were in front of me. Brian's grip on my shoulders was tighter than before but I didn't mind it.

A little girl like me could get lost in a crowd this size.