"Josh Dun on the drums."
That's the only thing that I can manage to say. My vocal chords seem to be dysfunctional. My tongue is tied in a complex knot, it seems as if it is impossible to untie it.
Josh smiles at me with his perfect, shiny teeth, "Yep, that's me. And you are?"
He gently places his hand on my shoulder, causing my heart to start beating at the speed of light.
I struggle to tell him my name, "I'm uh...um...my name is Sophie..."
"Well, Sophie, you look a little lost? You okay? I can help you find your way? This venue is kind of big and confusing, haha."
"Well, I was actually uh trying to find a way to get into the pit area because I like to take confetti home from every show I go to," I nervously brush my hair behind my ear and look down at my feet.
Josh's warm, comforting hand continues to rest on my shoulder as he opens his mouth to speak again, "I'm actually not sure how to the pit itself but I can take you to the stage if you want?"
I look up at the man that I have idolized for years—the man that I never imagined I would have a chance to meet. I wonder why he still has his hand on my shoulder? I mean, he could pull back his hand at any moment, why isn't he?
"Soph?" Josh waves the hand that isn't on my shoulder in front of my face.
"Huh?" I reply, trying not to freak out about the fact that Josh Dun just called me 'Soph.'
"Here, I'll just take you to the stage haha," Josh grabs my arm and turns toward the door that he just came out of. My stomach plummets to the floor as his soft fingers loosely wrap around my wrist.
Josh leads me through a small, cluttered room that is the home to dozens of half-open dressers and a flatscreen TV that seems to be connected to multiple video game controllers—not a surprise, this is Tyler and Josh we're talking about. We make our way through another door that opens into another hallway, the only difference is that the hallway ends in an opening.
Josh and I continue to the end of the hallway and out, into the enormous, empty arena that at least 18,000 people occupied, not 30 minutes ago. The arena looks so much smaller when it's empty. The stage and part of the floor is covered in red strands of Trees confetti.
Something inside me shuts off for a moment—I feel as if I can do whatever I want, the feeling that Josh will judge me disappears. I run towards a huge pile of confetti and throw it in the air above my head, watching the red pieces of thin paper fall like crimson raindrops to the floor of the enormous arena.
I almost forget Josh's presence until I notice him in the corner of my eye as he sits with his feet dangling over the edge of the stage. I grab a handful of confetti, hide it behind my back, and approach the attractive yellow-haired boy. Surprisingly, I have enough confidence to stand within five feet of my idol. I even have enough confidence to throw my handful of confetti at my idol. For a brief moment, I worry that he will hate me for doing that. Instead, he gets up and grabs a handful himself.
