Lynne

Chapter 2

  Ia blasted "Spice" in the car as she drove the two of us toward the amphitheater. She slammed her hands on the steering wheel to the beat, a permanent smile across her face.
"I LOVE THIS SONG!" She shouted at me. I could barely hear her.
"DO YOU THINK YOU COULD TURN IT DOWN A LITTLE BIT AT LEAST?" I yelled back, smiling despite her playing my least favorite song.
She turned it down just enough for us to not be yelling at each other. "Is that better?"
I laughed, the encounter with Len completely pushed out of my mind. "Now could you change it to a song with a little more taste?"
She gasped at me. "This song is the tastiest thing I've ever heard," she replied with a smirk.
"Ew."
Ia laughed again. "I'd like a taste of some of that."
"STOP."
"But I have so many more taste jokes," she brushed her straightened, white hair behind her shoulder. "You really don't like this song?"
"Ugh," I grunted. "New Vocaloid songs."
"Oh, whatever," she said. "I like it."
"I wish they would just write a song or two that's... "School appropriate."
She snickered. "You're starting to sound like all those anti-Vocals on Twitter."
"Do you think we'll see any at the concert?"
Ia shrugged her shoulders. "Probably. But they don't matter."
I nodded, biting the inside of my cheek "After the concert I'm just gonna walk to Ozean."
"You working night shifts?" Ia asked, turning onto the off ramp of the highway.
"Tonight I am."
"I could give you a ride," she offered. "It's gonna be hella late, and it's quite a walk."
I waved her off. "Nah. I like walking. Plus," I put my hands on my stomach. "I could use some exercise."
"Hah," she laughed. "As if."
I looked down at my dress. "I'm not really dressed for waitressing, though."
"But you're looking fly as fuck," she said, eyeing me.
"Pfft. I'm not dressed for a concert either. Unlike some people," I countered. Ia wore a tight black tank top with skinny jeans and converse. Her white hair looked like it was sparkling in contrast to her dark outfit.
"Eh," was her only reply as the last few notes of "Spice" played on the radio.
The car turned into the parking lot of The Amp. An hour early, and the parking lot was already almost full.
Ia let out a laugh. "And they say no one goes to Vocal concerts anymore."
After half an hour of looking for a parking spot, we found one that was a far walk away from the entrance.
I closed the rusted door of Ia's truck. "Are you ever gonna get this thing fixed?"
"Excuse you, but this is not a 'thing.'" She rubbed the bed of the truck lovingly. "It's my baby."
I shook my head, smiling. "Let's just start walking."

The building was shaped like a giant dome. A line was beginning to form in the front doors, but we got through it in only a few minutes. The entire time, Ia asked about what happened at the coffee shop. "How did you not recognize him?" "Was he even hotter up close?" "Did you ask for the tickets or did he just give them to you?"
The only question that struck me was while we on our way to the stage.
"Was he nice?"
I stopped, pulled my backstage pass out of my bag, and hung it around my neck. "Um..." I tried to find my words as Ia hung hers also. I figured I might as well tell her the truth. I looked down at my pass sheepishly. "He was a jerk."
Ia slouched over. "Really?"
I nodded, sadly looking back up at her.
She sighed. "Well..." She paused, then laughed softly. "At least he still makes good music."
I grinned. "Whatever you say."
The Amp was shaped like any basic concert all; with the stage on the left and the seats arranged in a tiered semicircle around it. The room was alive with the chatter of excited Vocal fans.
We found our seats; first row, closest to the stage. They were perfect in every way. The fabric itself seemed to sparkle. I didn't expect them to be bad seats, but still... It seemed almost like a dream. I had never gotten the chance to sit so close to the stage before. Ia's eyes were filled with pure joy as we sat in our cushioned thrones.
We were still pretty early, so I left Ia to watch our seats while I went to get snacks. The lines were already outrageously long, but it was better than sitting in front of an empty stage doing nothing for half an hour.
I had been standing in line scrolling through my Twitter feed on my phone for almost ten minutes when I overheard the conversation of two girls behind me. They chatted excitedly about the concert. They looked like they were just a year or two younger than me, around 15 years old. One of the girls had her thick strawberry blonde hair tied into a bun on her head, and a face caked with makeup. She wore light blue jean shorts with rips in them, and a cream-colored sleeveless t-shirt. A series of long, silver necklaces fell from her neck. She stood tall, her green eyes wide with excitement.
Her friend's outfit was less revealing than the hers; gray skinny jeans with lightly colored, loose fitting tank top, and various bracelets around both her wrists. She was shorter, and had darker hair that flowed down her back in waves. Her bangs covered the right side of her face, under which she had a distinct birthmark on her upper cheek. It was obvious she was trying to hide it. Bracelet's smile was less enthusiastic than Necklaces'.
"You guys excited?" I turned to ask them when their conversation died down.
Necklaces' wide smile returned. "Hell yeah! We've been waiting for this concert for weeks."
I giggled. "Who's your guys' favorites?"
"Well," Necklaces said, looking down at the floor intently. "Mine is probably Gumi. And Amy's-" She motioned to Bracelets- "Is Luka."
Bracelets' - Amy's - head perked up. "Actually," she said softly. "I like Len."
I grinned. "Me too," I said, not entirely sure if that was true anymore. Behind me, the cashier yelled for the next person. I waved the two girls off, and began to turn my back to them, but stopped.
"You know," I started, looking back at Amy. "I really like that mark on your cheek."
Amy's expression turned to one of confusion, as she ran her fingertips softly over the mark. "R-Really?" She stammered.
"Yeah," I answered sweetly. "I think it's really cute."
She stared at me for a second, before she let out a timid "Thanks," with a slight smile pulling up the corners of her mouth.
I smiled warmly at her. "No problem."
I turned to order a bottle of water for Ia and I to share, along with both our choices of candy.
With the food in hand, I strode back to our seats. The Amp was almost twice as crowded as when I left to buy our food, and I said my fair share of "excuse me"'s while weaving my way through the growing crowd.
Finally I arrived back at our seats, setting the water bottle between us, and handing Ia her candy.
"I asked for Skittles," she stated as I handed her M&M's.
"Tough shit," I smirked at her. "You can go stand in that line if you want them."
She smiled. "What'd you get?"
I plopped down in my chair, opening my candy. "Reece's."
Her eyes widened. "Gimmie some."
I shook my head, plopping a nearly melted peanut butter cup in my mouth. "No," I muttered through the rich chocolate.
Ia laughed. "Don't talk with your mouth open. I don't even want any anymore."
"Good," I said sloppily.
She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, and amused grin on her face. "Ew."
We sat and talked while the chatter around us grew louder and louder as more and more people crowded into The Amp.
At five minutes until showtime, the people around us were already standing and cheering. Cheering at nothing but a dark stage. Ia and I stood with them.
The stage was right in front of me, and if I had been a little taller, I could have climbed onto it. Our seats were right in the zone where the Vocals could touch us and see us clearly. My excitement began to peak. I had forgotten about the anticipation before concerts; I hadn't been to one in such a long time.