We Only Breathe For So Long
Warning: Rated M for sexual content, drug use, underage drinking, and language.
Author's Note: Explicit Music Festival, Sharkfin Valley, and all musical acts mentioned are completely fictional. Any places, people, or groups of the same names are purely coincidental.
Day 1 – Anything For Just That Little Rush
The early morning sun peaked over the trees, illuminating the inside of the Toyota Highlander as it sped down the highway. Emily Fields was wide awake as she watched the sky turn from deep purple to light blue. Mornings had always been her favorite time of day. The feeling of entering a new day, of a world full of possibilities, refreshed her like ice cold water after a long run.
Hanna Marin stirred in the passenger seat, earning a glance from the driver. She stretched out of her curled up position and took in her surroundings. With a yawn, she asked, "How long have I been out?"
"Not long." Emily shrugged. The car had been buzzing with excitement about their upcoming plans that had lasted long into the night, but soon after Emily had taken over driving the other girls had drifted off to sleep. Hanna glanced to the backseat where their friends Aria Montgomery and Spencer Hastings were leaning against each other sound asleep. She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of them before returning her attention to up front.
"Are we close?" Hanna asked as she speedily posted the picture online. She was without a doubt the social networking guru of the group. Not a soul in the entire town of Rosewood had an online presence that could rival Hanna's. She had easily accumulated thousands of follows on several varying social apps over the years. Her outgoing personality proved to be just as attractive online as it was in person.
"Maybe three hours. Depends on traffic." Emily estimated. They had left late into the afternoon, having to wait until Emily could escape her job at The Brew. No one complained though, as she had been lucky enough to score the weekend off from work in the first place.
Hanna meticulously reached into the backseat to grab a spare blanket for herself. "Do you need a break from driving?" She asked, her eyes never leaving her phone.
"I'm good for a while." Emily answered. She glanced into the rearview mirror to see their friends beginning to wake. It took a few stretches and yawns before they could utter any good mornings.
The car decided to make a quick stop for breakfast and bathroom breaks. With Aria driving, they were back on the road in record time.
Hanna pouted from her new seat in the back as the car returned to the busy highway. "I can't believe you guys would rather see Mercy Street Police than Mary Sue And The Boiled Peanuts. Are you sure we can't do them both?"
Spencer pinched the bridge of her nose. They'd been having the same argument for past week. "For the millionth time, we're not splitting up! Hanna, you are literally the only person I have ever met who even likes that band."
"They're playing at Explicit!" Hanna defended. "Someone besides me obviously likes them too. Come on, me and Em can hit up the Mary Sue And The Boiled Peanuts set while you and Aria see Mercy Street Police."
"No way." Emily laughed. She had never even heard of the indie band until Hanna started raving about how great they were the week before. The group wasn't terrible, but they certainly weren't good enough to miss out on seeing Mercy Street Police.
Defeated, Hanna shrunk down in her seat with her arms crossed over her chest. Along with being the queen of social networking, she was also skilled in the art of the guilt trip. Immune to her tactics, the other girls simply waited for the routine to pass.
Spencer turned to the backseat, asking Emily for one of the maps of the festival that they had preemptively printed out. "Do you think we can make it there in time to catch The Emoticons? They're supposed to go on right before Holy Beatz."
Hanna scoffed. "You hate Holy Beatz."
"I didn't say I want to see him." Spencer rolled her eyes. "I said The Emoticons are performing before him."
Hanna leaned forward, ready to retaliate, but Emily cut her off. "I doubt we'll make it in time. It'll take us a little while to set up camp before we can even think about heading over to the performance areas."
Aria nodded as she switched lanes. "Em's right. We should try to stick to the schedule we planned."
The bickering, mostly between Hanna and Spencer, went on for some time. Thankfully, as they started to near their destination things steadily grew more civil. Their excitement increased with every passing exit. Time seemed to drag on as they navigated their way through a bustling small town. Leaving the city limits behind them, they hit the countryside. A dense forest was to their left, rolling fields to their right. Aria slowed down the car as they passed a sign directing them where to go. The girls were nearly bouncing in their seats as they finally reached the area designated for parking. It was a massive fenced-in grassy area filled with all kinds of vehicles and tents littering the land. People roamed freely, weaving in and out of the parked cars and tents. A boy walking along the road gestured for Aria to follow him. He directed them to a free parking spot, leading the way on foot.
"This spot is amazing!" Aria exclaimed as she climbed out of the car. She turned to the stranger who had guided her. "Thank you so much."
He was a tall boy with messy hair and blue eyes. "Don't mention it. We were saving this spot for our friends, but it turns out they're not going to make it." He pointed to a collection of tents that were set up close by. "That's us right there."
"Still, thank you. You didn't have to do that. Oh, I'm Aria." She gestured to the girls. "And this is Hanna, Emily, and Spencer."
The boy's eyes lit up as they landed on Spencer. He smiled, looking at her as he said, "I'm Toby."
Spencer smiled back at him. "It's nice to meet you, Toby."
The girls exchanged knowing looks before they began the tedious task of setting up camp. They had brought two small tents, one for Spencer and Aria to share and one for Hanna and Emily to share. Most of their belongings would remain in the safety of the locked car, but claiming room for their tents was essential. It wouldn't be long before the field was overflowing with people trying to squeeze their cars and tents into any space they could find. After they had properly erected the tents, the girls ventured over introduce themselves to Toby's neighboring group.
They were a ragtag gang of misfits, it seemed. Toby explained that they had all met at the previous summer's Explicit Musical Festival; they'd hit it off so well that they agreed to all camp together the next year. There was Toby, a high school dropout who made a living selling hand-crafted wooden furniture with the occasional job in construction. He was the type of boy that Spencer's parents would despise, which was probably the exact reason why she was so drawn to him. They were also introduced to Caleb, a drifter who lived in his van and made money by hacking into the accounts of the local politicians in the cities he traveled through; Mona, a tiny girl with a big personality who effortlessly bonded with Hanna; Holden, a quiet boy with a passion for martial arts; CeCe, a sorority girl and the oldest member of the group; Alex, an aspiring professional tennis player stuck working as a country club chef; Lucas, a comic book enthusiast skilled at photography; and Samara, a witty physics major and president of her small private college's Gay-Straight Alliance. They welcomed Emily, Spencer, Hanna, and Aria with friendly smiles. The conversations rolled on for a while, so long that the girls missed their opportunity to see Velvet Afterlife. It seemed as though the plan to stick to their premade schedule was already out the window and the weekend had only just begun.
The girls ate lunch with their new friends before leaving the parking area. The trek from the grassy field to the performance area was a long one, and Emily was thankful that they had managed to make some friends to talk to during the lengthy walk. Mona and CeCe orbited Hanna like they'd discovered an angel on Earth. Samara and Emily had a lot in common, though they mostly talked about GSAs and being out in college. There was some flirtation from Samara's end, but Emily wanted to keep her options open; the festival had only just started, after all. Holden and Aria got along well, though it was obvious that Holden liked martial arts a lot more than he liked pretty girls. Spencer and Toby were practically already holding hands, their immediate connection undeniable to their friends. Lucas and Alex talked mostly to each other, while the loner Caleb seemed entirely disinterested with everything around him.
Emily found herself sweating before they had even made it halfway. She was thankful that she had appropriately dressed for the warm weather, as she had heavily debated on her choice of shorts before putting them on. Always the one to dress comfortably, she wasn't used to showing so much skin in public. Noticing the obvious stares from Lucas and Alex, she moved to walk on the other side of Samara.
"I like the whole matching fanny pack thing you girls have got going on." Samara smiled, gesturing to the one strapped around Emily's hips. "It's cute. Normally fanny packs give off a middle-aged mom at Disney World vibe, but you definitely make it work."
"Thanks." Emily smiled politely. Samara was attractive and sweet, and had they met elsewhere Emily probably would have flirted back, but time was limited and she lacked everything that Emily was looking for. Nothing about the girl screamed new or adventurous. She was a safe choice, a 'bring home to meet the parents' choice, a 'meet at a coffee shop poetry slam' choice. Emily had dated girls like her in the past. What she craved was a girl who could get her heart racing. She had left behind the romance and coffee shops in Rosewood, and she had come to Sharkfin Valley in search of something different; something that she would never forget.
Finally, they reached their destination. The performance area was really just a widespread grassy field with barricaded locations for stages, vendors, and large tented resting spots. People were everywhere, walking in every direction, most of them drenched in sweat. The sun was out in full force as the afternoon heat set in.
As a collective group, the girls and their new friends stopped by the parallel lines of dozens of port-a-potties before heading into the madness. Waiting to pee was a lackluster mission but the festival atmosphere helped keep the excitement alive. The port-a-potties themselves were a literal hot mess. The confined space was filthy and felt like an oven. Emily found herself having to do to the hover technique as she relieved herself.
After everyone had their turn, the group marched over to the nearest stage. Youngsters In Overalls had just started their set, but the crowd was an impressive size considering how relatively unknown the band was. They decided to try out somewhere else, agreeing that no matter where they ended up they would need to be at The Big Stage in time to get good spots for Mercy Street Police.
The group roamed around, getting a feel for the festival and checking out all the neat art and vendors. They passed by the EDM stage, which sat vacant at midday but come nightfall would be the big crowd pleaser with its lasers and strobe lights. Explicit Fest was famous for its outdoor rave experience. They eventually settled for watching the last few songs from Craig Johns And Kiki Smitherson, a Canadian duo who had risen to moderate popularity in the early 2000s.
"My sister used to love these guys." Spencer said as they found a nice place to sit. There was a good sized crowd, but most members of the audience had opted for resting on the grass to conserve their energy for the shows to come.
"Older or younger?" Toby asked curiously. Despite his rugged appearance, it was clear that the boy had a heart of gold. He hung on to every word that left Spencer's lips.
"Older." She answered with a smile, her eyes roaming his stretched out body like he was a fresh baked pie that she just couldn't wait to dig into.
Emily's attention was pulled from watching the two love birds as Aria sat down beside her.
"I think you have an admirer." Aria whispered. Emily looked around, groaning internally when she realized it was only Samara whose eyes were on her.
"I'll pass." Emily muttered, earning a good chuckle from her friend. "What about you and the martial arts master?"
Aria shook her head. "I think he might be gay, but I'm not entirely sure because Tae Kwan Do is literally the only that I've heard him talk about."
"Got your eye on any of the others?" Emily asked.
The other girl shrugged. She had always been picky when it came to boys; she was a hopeless romantic with impossibly high standards. "They're cute, just not what I'm looking for."
"You're probably not going to find Mr. Mature And Sophisticated at a music festival." Emily teased.
"Probably not." She allowed. "But I think this weekend I just want to not worry about boys or relationships and just have fun, you know?"
"Yeah, I get what you mean." Emily replied, despite the fact that she had every intention of hooking up with a stranger at least once before they returned to Rosewood. If there was ever a time to get crazy and wild, this was it.
It wasn't long before the group made their way over to The Big Stage. A sizable audience had already gathered, but they managed to get fairly good standing positions near the center. It would be another hour before Mercy Street Police would come on, but the show would be well worth the wait. The sun beamed down on them relentlessly from its position in the cloudless sky overhead. Emily was glad that they had remembered to apply sunscreen back at camp. There were more than a few people around them already turning bright red in the sweltering heat. The crowd was continually growing, which meant even more sweaty bodies were being packed into the space.
After what felt like a burning eternity, Mercy Street Police finally took the stage. Their presence brought back the crowd's enthusiasm, the live music outweighing the discomfort. The girls danced and sang along and started having the fun that they had spent months anticipating. Emily had been a fan of Mercy Street Police's music for quite a while, but hearing thousands of strangers singing along, seeing the band members doing what they loved to do, and dancing with her best friends made the experience even more extraordinary than she had thought it would be. Despite the heat and how sweaty she was, despite the underlying smell of strangers' body odors, and despite the revealing clothing that drew quite a bit of unwanted attention, Emily was having the time of her life.
When Mercy Street Police finished their set, the afternoon was in full swing. The group stuck around The Big Stage to catch the surprise appearance by pop superstar Abigail Strong, but as soon as she left they took a much needed rest. They managed to find an empty picnic table under one of the big tents. It was littered with trash and dripping with spilled beer, but the cool shade overruled the untidy condition that the table had been left in. Lucas, Alex, Mona, Holden, CeCe, and Samara, who had started to realize that Emily wasn't interested, ventured off on their own to see Gregorian Calendar perform; left sitting at the table was Emily, Aria, Hanna, Spencer, Toby, and Caleb. Spencer and Toby were deep in conversation at the end of the table, a basket of fresh cheese fries sitting between them. Hanna was getting to know Caleb, who didn't seem to enjoy her endless questions or her attempt to befriend him in general. Aria and Emily sat across from each other at the end with empty seats, discussing how amazing Mercy Street Police had been.
A guy in his mid-twenties strolled up to them with hotdog in one hand and a beer in the other and asked if he could sit with them. Aria, noticing the university logo on his tank top, offered him the free space beside her.
"Thanks." He smiled charmingly. "I've asked like four other tables already. I'm Ezra, by the way."
"Aria." She gestured across the table. "This is Emily."
"Nice to meet you both." He nodded, taking a bite of his hotdog. "Are the other kids with you too?"
Aria raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Kids?"
Ezra faltered. "Oh, um, sorry. You all just look really young. What are you, sixteen? Seventeen?"
"Eighteen." Aria answered, a suggestive glint in her eyes that did not go unnoticed by the older boy.
"Eighteen." He repeated with a nod. "I will definitely remember that."
"So do you go to Danby?" Emily questioned, referring to the logo on his tank top.
He smirked. "Something like that, yeah."
"Are you here with friends?" Aria wondered aloud. "A girlfriend?"
"No, no girlfriend." He answered after finishing off his food. "I came with my brother and a few of his friends. We got separated a while ago, though. I've pretty much just been roaming around by myself trying to find some cell phone reception."
"You can stick with us until you find your brother. We won't be here long though, we're just hanging out until it's time to grab spots for Unauthorized." Aria offered. In spite of Aria's earlier opposition to spending her time on boys, Emily could already tell that they would probably be seeing a lot of this guy throughout the weekend.
A look of confusion crossed his face. "I thought that show wasn't until sundown?"
"The EDM stage fills up fast." Emily explained. "You have to get there really early."
Hanna, who they hadn't realized had been listening to their conversation, turned to her attention to them and said, "Speaking of Unauthorized, Caleb has the hookup for tonight. We'll be meeting mary and molly."
Oblivious, Ezra asked, "Are those friends of yours?"
The table laughed genially at his confusion until Emily took pity on him. "Yeah, something like that."
Waiting for Unauthorized, a South African electronic music producer and DJ famous for his unique beats and customary tiger print suits, was a much more pleasant experience than the wait for Mercy Street Police had been due to how incredibly high they all were. Caleb's hookup had been a sketchy acquaintance sitting in the forest about a ten minute walk from the performance area. The girls, Toby, and Ezra all offered to help Caleb pay for the goods, which helped them buy what they wanted in bulk. Choosing to smoke in the forest, far from the eyes of security, and saved the rest for the show. Emily had been weary about letting Ezra tag along with them, but he seemed to be a pretty okay guy. By the time they had found Caleb's hookup, he had already deduced what they would be gaining from their endeavor into the woods. While smoking, he revealed that he'd always wanted to try drugs but had never found the right opportunity. Emily wondered if he actually thought smoking in a forest with a bunch freshly graduated kids was really his idea of the right opportunity, but with Aria's smile egging him on he probably would have done just about anything to impress her.
When they returned to the festival, their minds were hazy and their smiles were wide. The crowd never seemed to stop growing. Thousands of people had squeezed into the space, eager for the sun to set and for the real party to begin. Emily was thankful that they had thought to stop by the port-a-potties before the adventure into the forest. Nothing would have sucked quite as much as having to pee in the middle of a crowd this size. They kept any eye out for Toby and Caleb's friends, but finding them in the sea of faces would have been a miracle. To keep themselves busy, they chatted about all kinds of things. The topics ranged from political activism to favorite kinds of cheese. They'd been standing there for so long that by the time the sun actually started to set, they had sobered up. Emily was tired from being out in the heat all day, but the anticipation for what was to come beat out the desire for a comfy bed.
There was a previously unannounced opening act, some aspiring DJ whose sole purpose was to warm up the crowd. After his brief appearance on stage was over, it was time. When the last traces of pink and orange left the sky, the stage came alive. Unauthorized's tiger print suit making him easy to spot out even from far away. He jumped around, getting the crowd pumped for the madness that he was about to bring. Caleb nudged Toby, who nudged Spencer, who nudged Hanna, who nudged Emily, who nudged Aria, who nudged Ezra. This was it. As discreetly as possible, which was in no way at all discrete, they each popped a small tablet into their mouths.
The music started slow, picking up as Emily's heart began to race. The lights alternated colors and directions, the lasers stretched out in waves above them, the smoke machines ran sporadically, the volume rose to a deafening level, and the bass could be felt in the ground and it shook the very core of her body. When the beat finally dropped, the crowd exploded.
Emily let go. She moved with the music, jumping up and down to the beat with the thousands of people around her. Everything that had worried her faded away. She didn't care about the layer of sweat on her skin, or the how nauseatingly hot the air was, or how rank the body odor wafting from the sea of moving bodies was. The only things in the world that existed were the music, her dancing body, and the show of lights. It was a near spiritual experience. At times things moved in slow motion, but then without warning they would move at double speed around her. Her brain tried to keep up, but she settled for not worrying about fast or slow time moved. It didn't matter. Only the music mattered. Only the lights.
The songs blurred together, as they do with good DJs, so losing track of how long they'd been dancing was all too easy. The night sky above them was cloudless and filled to the brim with stars. The full moon sat in the corner, watching the festivities below. Emily knew that she was physically exhausted, she hadn't slept at all the previous night and she'd been standing around in the sun all day, but she felt alive. Her skin buzzed, her heart raced, and her eyes were wide as they took in everything around her. She found herself scanning the crowd, not looking for anyone in particular. Just looking. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun. Their fists were in the air, pumping to the music. Their smiles were big as they danced. Her eyes fell on a face in the crowd that she couldn't bring herself to look away from. Standing only a little ways to her side was a beautiful girl wearing what could only be described as summertime biker gang chic. Bathed in flashing lights, she looked like a stoic angel. She didn't appear to be having any fun, yet she was there and swaying to the music anyway. When her electrifying eyes discovered Emily's gaze she bit her lip and proceeded to make the most unintentionally seductive expression that Emily had ever witnessed.
This was the girl, Emily thought. There she was, the one she'd been hoping to find. She was the type of girl that you wouldn't want to get into a fistfight with. She was the type of girl that you wouldn't find sitting in a coffee shop reading poetry about true love. She looked like the type of girl who enjoyed snapping bones for fun. She looked like she could kill a man with nothing but her eyes. Emily didn't hide her stare, and neither did the other girl. Their eyes were locked as they danced, or rather, while they swayed. Occasionally a dancing body between them would obscure their view, but when the intruding arm or head moved the other girl was always there staring right back at her. Emily decided to make a move. She nudged her friends and winked. They watched her as she politely squeezed her way over to the mysterious girl. There was no greeting when she reached her, no smile or nod of approval. There was only dancing. Emily let the music take over, ignoring how much pain her feet were in and focusing on the way the other girl's eyes followed her every move. She shook her hips to the beat, turning so that her back was to the other girl's front. She pressed up against her, nearly letting a moan escape her throat when the girl's hands grabbed on to her hips. The art of grinding up against some while dancing had never been one that Emily had been able to do very well, but in that moment she was a professional. She tossed back her head, resting it against the girl's shoulder. Had they not been surrounded by thousands of strangers, Emily would have let the girl take her right then and there.
It wasn't long before Unauthorized finished his set. The party was nowhere close to being over, as nearly a dozen other DJs were scheduled to keep the music going until the sun was back up, but even in her foggy state of mind Emily knew that she desperately needed some sleep. She turned around to face the mystery girl, wrapping her arms around her neck. The girl's hands stayed firmly planted on Emily's hips.
"Find me tomorrow." Emily mouthed to the girl. No level of shouting would have been heard over the deafening music. The girl nodded, seemingly understanding. Feeling brave, and determined to take a walk on the wild side, Emily leaned in and kissed her dancing partner. The other girl returned the kiss without hesitation. Emily probably would have stood there kissing her all night if it weren't for Hanna interrupting them. She motioned that it was time to head back to camp. Emily gave her stranger one last kiss before she was pulled away.
"Who was that girl?" Hanna laughed giddily as they began the hike to the parking area. The others, Spencer, Aria, Caleb, and Toby, were all in tow. Ezra had said his goodbyes once they'd left the EDM stage. He exchanged numbers with Aria, however, pledging to text her in the morning so they could find each other again.
Emily smiled at Hanna's question. She could still feel the sensation of her mystery girl's lips. "I have no idea."
Toby, with his arm around Spencer, placed a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it; you'll probably never see her again."
His words were supposed to be comforting, as she had literally just made out with a stranger who hadn't said one word to her, but she felt disappointed. No other girl would measure up to her dancing partner, she could tell already. There was just something peculiar about her. Something mysterious and exciting. The fact that she knew nothing about the girl only made her twice as appealing.
The walk back to camp was long, though not nearly as grueling as the walk had been earlier in the day. It had cooled down considerably, a nice breeze even making a few appearances. They would definitely need their blankets later to keep warm. Being hot and sweaty all day would only make the cool night feel that much colder. The girls were glad they had Toby and Caleb to guide them back to their tents, because they would have never found them in the moonlight on their own. There were people scattered throughout the parking area, their tents lit up with florescent lights and even a few campfires burning in the distance. The others from Toby and Caleb's group weren't back yet, but that was expected. Caleb said that they would probably come stumbling in around dawn to get a few hours of rest before they headed back over to catch the King Kilos performance. Emily was still very under the influence as she crawled into her and Hanna's tent. Kicking off her dirty shoes, she curled up underneath one of the blankets, and she fell asleep the moment her eyes slipped shut.