The heavy scent of cigarette smoke, sweating bodies, and greasy food filled the festival grounds. A distant sound of a siren echoed over a nearby overpass. It was twilight, and the setting sun bathed the land in a citric light. The smaller bands were ushered off their stages and drunk, uproarious people were ushered off the premises.
An upcoming college band called Funeral Apple was debuting for the first time on one of the main stages and the buzz around them was sensational. The group was formed around the concept that disabled individuals are as musically capable as anyone else, so the entire town of Baltigo rallied together in support of them. The audience of hundreds buzzed with anticipation as they pushed as close to the stage as they could get. A collection of smokers stood in the back, seemingly nonchalant amongst the rowdy crowd.
"Just thirty more minutes," Killer mumbled, sticking a cigarette between his lips.
Yawning, Heat absent mindlessly flicked his lighter open and lit it. "We got here so early, but the place was already crowded."
"I knew that they would make the place packed, but not this packed. We haven't been this far away from the stage in forever; these guys must really be something else."
"From what I've heard about them, they should sound pretty good, I think?" Wire piped up; an always unconfident man when he spoke.
With the cigarette resting between his lips, Killer clicked his tongue as he messily tied his hair back into a ponytail. "The real test is if they sound good live."
"It's rumored that the singer has a lame arm that he flings around during the guitar solos? But I don't know if that's true or not," Wire said.
"That just sounds like some shit people made up for a laugh." Killer shifted his weight to his other leg, inhaling and exhaling smoke. His half-lidded, brown eyes gazed through a curtain of blonde hair at the stage.
Wire and Heat shrugged, and it dawned on all three men that their friend, Eustass Kid, was being uncharacteristically quiet and distant. His silence wasn't unwelcomed as he can be overly loud and obnoxious, but it was unnerving to not hear a hint of complaint from his impatient self. Not only that, but he had distanced himself several feet away and his attention was set on something else. Heat and Wire gave Killer a look to urge him to confront Eustass, and Killer nodded in understanding.
"Hey, Kid," Killer said, purposefully kicking the gravel with his boots as he stepped towards his friend. "What's up with you? You've barely talked at all since we got here."
"Huh?" Kid responded, glancing at Killer while continuing to face in the same direction. His eyes flicked back in front of him.
Killer positioned himself next to Eustass and peered over his shoulder. "What are you looking at?"
"It's nothing, man."
"Yeah, right. You're ignoring everyone while staring at something."
Clenching and unclenching his jaw, Eustass grunted a response.
"Come on, tell me." A gentle smirk tugged at Killer's lips. "I'll buy you a drink later."
Between the two men, it was silent, but amongst the crowd surrounding them, they were exploding with noise as the band members, three women and one man, entered the stage. While the members took their places, wide grins were etched into their faces as if God himself personally carved each wrinkle upon their skin.
Eustass scratched the back of his head, sighing and motioning with his head, "It's stupid, but do you see that one guy over there in the yellow hoodie?"
"Yeah?"
"I swear I've seen him before somewhere and it's driving me insane."
Snorting, Killer shook his head. "You've been preoccupied because you think you recognize someone?"
"Fuck off," hissed Eustass, elbowing him away.
"Calm down, I'm just messing with you." Killer's hands, with his palms facing outwards, went up to his shoulders in a defenseless manner. "Why don't you talk to him if you recognize him?"
"That's the thing..."
With a thinking expression alongside squinting eyes and pierced lips, Eustass snatched Killer's cigarette from his grasp. His gaze rested on the item for a few seconds as he rolled it between two fingers. Killer remained quiet, eyeing Eustass. Finally, he finished his thought, "I don't think I've ever seen him before, but he looks like a chick I went to high school with."
"A girl?" Killer said, attempting to hide his surprise. For Eustass to remember someone, let alone a girl, that's rare.
Clearly irritated, Eustass stubbed out the cigarette onto the ground and grumbled in a low voice. A corner of his lip pulled up, revealing sharp, yellow teeth. Killer thought to himself that he resembled a snarling dog. By his body language, it was obvious that Eustass was done with the conversation and Killer was not mentally ready to entice his anger any further.
"Well, let's head back to the others. The show is about the start," Killer said, motioning with his head towards Heat and Wire.
Lights of red and yellow flashed across Funeral Apple's stage as the lead singer belted a high note, his voice straining not the crack. An energy surged through the audience with each body feeling the pulse of the bass. The lyrics flowed through everyone's tongue even if they weren't known; the magic of music dwelled in each cell and the Funeral Apple was drawing it forth from the well of the soul. People near the stage were splashed with water and alcohol as people jumped to the beat. Killer, Heat, and Wire were nodding their heads and tapping their feet, accompanied by small smiles. With a cigarette cemented in his mouth, Eustass chain smoked in an attempt to get him to focus on the concert, but his mind was still fixated on the familiar person. Out of the many traits of Eustass Kid, obsessivity was his most hated.
What made the situation even stranger is that the girl he was thinking of wasn't someone who he was close to in the slightest. She was a passerby in the hallways of high school; the only thing known about her was her tattoos that frequently got her in trouble. Albeit he admired her tattoos and her rebellious nature against the school, but Eustass couldn't recall ever speaking to her.
Eustass' seventh cigarette hit the ground and was stubbed out. The gnawing sensation had not left and he figured that a splash of cold water could be an applicable cure. After informing the others, Eustass made his way towards the bathroom.