Nao Summers hates drama, but life becomes full of it when he's paired with the school delinquent on a film project. He's also in dire need of a way to break up with his girlfriend who wants to have lots of sex, while Nao would prefer to die. To crow...
Upbeat tunes floated through the October air, and marked a festive evening on that Sunday night. The city's outdoor venue was filled to the brim with eager listeners, and the band playing seemed to enjoy their time in the spotlight. It was a happening that didn't occur often in this part of the country, and many were present to soak up the cultural input while they could. The crowd didn't seem to mind the frosty draft.
"They're literally so good," Seth said from my side. He was admiring the group and had just finished singing along to one of their timeless radio hits. Sweat was glistening on his pale, slightly flushed skin, and his eyes were wide and shining. Not even the brisk October winds could ruin a concert experience like this.
"I can't believe we're actually seeing them live," I replied, and took a picture with my phone. "They've been on tour like, everywhere except here."
"Right? I'm in heaven, Nao."
Project season hadn't been kind to us lately. Ever since our serious talk three days ago, things had sped up and spun out of control. Mr. White was in the process of gearing up his expectations, and that meant torturing me every time he could. He still sent me prodding emails in an attempt to ruin my confidence, but I was less bothered by them now that I redirected them to the junk mail folder. Seth on the other hand was swamped with his own work, sometimes running errands for Mr. White, other times designing for the graphics team. He was a drooping mess of a person whenever we hung out, which had prompted my impulse decision to attend this concert.
The beginning chords of a familiar song rung out over the crowd, and a hushed gasp came from my left. Seth was staring at the stage, eyes round and glassy. "That's my favorite," he said, voice barely above a whisper.
Yep. I grinned, bumping our shoulders together. This had been a good decision.
We hadn't talked about the unmentionable things I'd told Seth back at the graveyard, and I was thankful for that. We'd left the topic with the dead, and that's where I felt it belonged. Every time my mind traveled back to the possibility Seth had voiced, I got up and helped my mom with the dishes or something. Thinking about it made my stomach do weird things, so the best course of action was to just... not. I knew I couldn't do this forever, but as I swayed back and forth, yelling lyrics more than singing them, I thought things were fine the way they were.
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"Man, I needed this," Seth said before downing the rest of his water. We were both sweaty and jittery around the edges, still feeling the bass in the pits of our stomachs. It was the kind of feeling you wanted to savor and safe-keep.
"Amen." I patted my damp forehead with the sleeve of my sweater.
We were standing near the stage as we came down from our concert high. The crowd was dispersing and their eager chattering grew fainter and less obtrusive the longer we waited. The band had left a while ago, but I still couldn't shake off that warm, enjoyable feeling they'd left me with. Music was magic, especially on a night like this.
