Him - Ruel Van Dijk

Ten

Friday - 5:45 pm

The drive hadn't taken that long, but our excitement made it feel an hour longer. We had listened to Ruel's music the whole time, and I had found out that the red-haired girl's name is Brianna.

We had arrived at the venue at four, and we were the second in line. We are currently sat down on the sidewalk, waiting to be allowed in. Emma and Brianna are singing 'Younger', Emily's on her phone, and I'm watching the line grow longer and longer behind us.

"What are you looking forward to the most?" Emily asks me, looking up from her phone.

"Seeing him? Or do you mean music-wise?" I reply.

"Music-wise."

"Um, not thinkin' bout you is pretty good. What about you?"

"Dazed and confused, all the way. It's the best."

We talk for a little while longer until the security guy that's standing by the door opens it and tells us that we're allowed in. We gather our things quickly, rushing to get to the door. We go through a somewhat small room, then a larger one, another small one and finally (after many turns) we get into a room that's larger than the large one. (wow great sentence amirite?)

We rush to stand right in front of the somewhat small stage, being faced with a keyboard on one side and drums on the other. I turn around to see loads of teenage girls - and some guys - filling the large space. I turn back around and the already low lights seem to get lower.

30 minutes later, the lights in the room go dark, the only light coming from the colourful spotlights on the stage. A fog machine starts to do its thing and the silhouettes of 4 or 5 people can be seen up there.

Suddenly, the lights start flashing and the sound of drums fills the space. After about 20 seconds of this, the drums stop and a male voice can be heard.

"Wassup Sydney!"

The room is filled with screams of joy as the lights brighten to show a certain 16-year-old boy making his way to the middle of the stage. Being so close to him was surreal, and he was definitely taller than I thought he would be. The start of 'Golden Years' starts playing, and the crowd sings with him. Ruel moves around the space he has, getting into the song.

"How are you all feeling tonight?" He speaks into the microphone once the song is over. The crowd screams, making him smile slightly. The next song starts and he's off again, dancing around the stage, singing 'Not thinkin' bout you'.

Now that his supposed initial nerves have been lost, he scans the crowd, looking for familiar faces. A slight look of recognition flashes across his face when he looks to the right side of the crowd, possibly having seen a friend as this was a Sydney show, after all. He continues to search, and his gaze locks with mine. I feel myself blush and I look away. Even over the loud music, I can hear Emma squeal beside me.

"He's looking at you!" She yells, loud enough for me to hear. I just nod and look at him again. His eyes are still on me, but he looks away soon after as he starts to dance around again.

He sings his version of 'ultralight beam' after and finishes with 'younger'. He looks back at me every so often, each time making Emma scream. I try not to exaggerate it in my head - telling myself that he probably thought I was someone else.

"Thank you, have a good night." Are the last things he says before the lights go off again. The crowd is left screaming for about another 10 seconds before all the lights in the room go back on. The screaming dies down and becomes loud chatter. Everyone starts to make their way back out the door we came in. We follow the crowd.

What an experience this was.

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A/N:

Well

This isn't the best.

I felt like I had to post something, so I did.

I swear this is the worst thing you will ever read.

It's just not good.

But I'm 12, so I have an excuse.

Not a good one, but one all the same.