AN: TADA! Ready for the concert? Man, I so wish this was all true. Then I'd be at a Paramore concert with Soul Eater Evans as my BF! SQUEE! Sorry, total fangirl moment right there. Oh, well. Remember to read and review! Seriously guys, I really like reviews.
Chapter 5: Rock and Roll Concerts are Full of So Many Weirdos; Then Again, I'm One to Talk
I jump off of Soul's motorcycle excitedly and look up and down the huge stadium where the concert is being held, A.K.A Madison Square Garden. Soul parks his bike and locks it to a lamppost. Even though you can't turn it on without a key, it's always better to be safe then sorry. Especially since we're in New York City.
"Come on, Soul! Hurry your butt up!" I say, jumping up and down. He runs over to me and sticks the keys in his pocket, which he zips up. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" he says. I take his hand and drag him into the stadium. He runs along next to me.
I'm wearing a black t-shirt that I cut with scissors so it stops right below my belly button and doesn't have sleeves along with distressed yellow skinny jeans. My hair is pulled back in loose pigtails and I'm wearing thick eyeliner. When at a rock concert, do as the rockers do. In other words, wear ripped clothing and a lot of make up. Soul, on the other hand, is just wearing a t-shirt and jeans and a black headband. We give the worker guy our tickets and take our seats in the front row.
"Alright, you listened to that CD I gave you, right?" I ask Soul once we sit down. He nods and hold up an iPod. "I downloaded it on this thing." He says. I smile. "Awesome. So you'll know at least some of the lyrics, right?" I ask. He shrugs. "A few. I didn't memorize all of them." He says. I turn toward the stage, hoping for a sign that the show is about to start. Nothing. Nobody's on the stage yet except for a few people setting stuff up. I turn back to Soul. "Thanks again for getting the tickets," I say. "It's cool." He says. I look around. The audience is full of signs and talking people. I so should have brought a sign. I actually considered it, but we were taking Soul's motorcycle and it probably wouldn't have made the trip.
"You okay?" Soul asks, looking at me. I nod. "Yeah! Why wouldn't I be? I'm at a concert for my favorite band with my boyfriend on Valentines Day." I say, kissing him on the cheek. He smiles and puts his arm around me. I lean my head on his shoulder. "Cool." He says. I smile. "Definitely." I respond. I close my eyes and wait for the concert to start. I don't have to wait long, because about two minutes later the lights go down and the opening chords to Careful ring out though the stadium. I pick my head up, jump up, and scream along with the rest of the crowd, which I can't see except for various glow sticks and cellphones. I yank Soul up with me.
A spotlight appears on stage, revealing Hayley Williams, who's wearing her signature red skinny jeans, black ripped t-shirt, and red converse. She holds the microphone up to her mouth and sings, everyone in the crowd singing with her.
"I settle down
A twisted up frown
Disguised as a smile, well,
You would have never known!
I had it all, right where I wanted
Cause hope for me was a place uncharted
And overgrown!" She sings, sounding just as amazing live as on the recording. I sing with her, jumping with the audience. Soul looks at me and jumps, his eyes wide with excitement as he screams the lyrics, imitating me and all the other girls in the crowd. I crack up at him; he looks really funny. I catch my breath and sing the chorus.
"You'd make your way in, I'd resist you just like this," She holds the microphone out to the audience, gesturing for us to sing.
"YOU CAN'T TELL ME TO FEEL!" We shout. She brings the mic back to herself.
"The truth never set me free,
So I did it myself!
You can't be too careful anymore!
When all that is waiting for you
Won't come any closer,
So you've got to reach out a little more
More
More
More, more!" The guitar plays a small series of notes before Hayley sings again.
"Open you eyes
Like I open mine
It's only the real world
A life you will never know
Shifting your wait
To throw off the pain,
Well you can ignore it
But only for so long!
"You look like I did, I resist you
JUST LIKE THIS!" She yells into the mic. She then holds it out to the crowd again.
"YOU CAN'T TELL ME TO HEAL!"
"And it hurts remembering how it felt to shut down!" She improvises on "down" and it sounds really good. She continues.
"You can't be too careful anymore,
When all that is waiting for you
Won't come any closer!
You've got to reach out a little more
More
More
More, more!" She sings, starting the guitar solo. I finger the chords along with it and play air guitar, leaning my back against Soul's arm. He laughs and holds me so I don't fall over. At the end of the solo, I stand up straight again and keep singing.
"The truth never set me free
The truth never set me free
The truth never set me free, so I'll do it myself!" I sing along with Hayley, but for that last line I face Soul and make my 'Dramatic singing' face that I use when ever I sing a song to someone on my iPod and I'm not actually trying to sound good. After that part comes the chorus again, and I sing with her like the rest of the song. After that one comes That's What You Get and For a Pessient, I'm Pretty Optimistic. I sing those too.
They end, and she holds up a fist in the air, causing everyone to cheer. Damn, I love her so much! She's my idol, and when I get older I want to have a band like her. Ever since I was a little kid, I knew I wanted my career to be in music. Recording songs, having everyone know my name, and being able to do performances like this one, where no one cares about how I look, just how I sound and the fact that I'm actually standing in front of them. Performing on stage has to be so fun.
Hayley smiles. "Hey, New York! How's it goin'?" She says. We all scream in response. "I'll take that as good!" She says. The chords for Ignorance are played over and over again in the background as she talks.
"I hope y'all are havin' a good time!" More screams. "We are so honored to be here in front of you tonight! But we wouldn't be here if it weren't for the guys who support us, so everybody give it up for our record label, Fueled By Ramen!" She says, holding her hands out. The drummer bangs on the snare and symbol a few times for effect and everyone screams. She nods. "Awesome." She says.
"And for those of you who don't know..." She says, walking up to one of the speakers in the front and placing her foot on it. I grin. She does this for every concert. Or at least every one I've watched on Youtube. "For those in New York City who do not know..." Some girl behind us screams. "First of all, if you don't know and you're here I'll be very sad and disappointed. But just in case... just in case," She says, backing up and holding her hand in the air. "My friends in NYC..." More screams.
"WE!"
ARE!
PAAARAMOORE!" She yells into the mic. Everyone screams and yells super loud, me right along with them. Soul claps. "Woot!" He shouts with a fist pump. The drummer hits the symbol in four quarter notes and the opening chords to Ignorance are played once more. I scream and shake Soul back in forth by his shoulders. This is my favorite song by them. One of them, anyway.
"If I'm a bad person
You don't like me
Well I guess I'll make my own way
It's a circle, a mean cycle
I can't excite you anymore
Where's your gavel?
Your jury?
What's my offense this time?
You're not a judge but if you're gonna judge me
Well sentence me to another life!" She jumps up and down and runs to the other end of the stage.
"Don't wanna hear your sad songs!
I don't wanna hear your pain!
Well you said it's all my fault, cause you know we're not the same!"
"NO!" Screams the crowd.
"We're not the same!"
"NO!"
"Oh, we're not
The same!
Yeah, the friends who stick together," She sings. On that line I swing my arm over Soul's shoulder.
"We wrote our names in blood!" I write out 'Soul" with my finger in the air. He laughs.
"But I guess you can't except that the change is good!
It's good!
It's goooood!" He sings that part with me, dragging out 'good' like in the song. I laugh.
"Well you treat me just like
Another stranger, well it's nice to meet you sir!" Head bang from Hayley.
"I guess I'll go!" Three more on 'guess I'll go.'
"I best be on my way out!" Head swishes from side to side.
Soul and I sing the rest of it together. Yeah, he definately didn't memorize all of it, I think to myself sarcastically with a smirk. After a few more songs, Hayley sits down on one of the speakers. "Geez, running around stage like this really makes a gal tired. Are you guys tired?" She asks, wiping sweat from her forehead. The crowd roars. "I guess not." She says with a laugh. "Well, I am, and that means my voice is tired, too. And this happens every concert. I sing my guts out with you guys, and then my voice just goes fwaamp." She says with a sound effect. "But I wake up in the morning and it's all okay. But, since I'm so tired, I'm gona need some help from one of you guys," She says. The crowd screams. I scream with them.
"So, how about we take..." She says, looking through the first couple of rows. I jump up and down, waving my hands in the air frantically, even though I know the chances of me getting up on stage are slim. But they're still there.
"Aha! I'd like you big security guards to let this-" she goes into an overly-fancy voice, "-bee-YOO-tiful young redhead up on stage with me." I scream as she looks straight at me and my face appears on the giant screen behind the band. The people next to me give me high fives and my jaw hangs open. She waves me over. "Come on, girly!" She says. I look at Soul, who's grinning. I press my lips to his quickly, squeal, and squeeze past the security guards. I run over to the right side of the stage, up the stairs, and over next to Hayley. I bounce in place to keep from exploding with excitement.
"What's your name, missy?" She asks. I grin from ear to ear as she holds the mic to me. "I'm Ginger!" I say into it. Hayley smiles. "Nice to meet you, Ginger! I'm Hayley!" She says. I nod. "I know!" I say. A man wearing all black brings me a mic of my own. I take it in my shaky hands. "And who was that lucky young man you were lip-locking with over there?" She asks, hand on hip. I grin even wider, if that's possible.
"That's my boyfriend, Soul!" I respond into the mic. I look over to him and see him smirking, arms crossed. He also appears on the screen, showing his sharp teeth to everyone in the crowd as he smiles. "Whoa, he's got some pointy teeth there, don't 'ee?" She says. I see Soul laugh on the screen. Then the camera flips back to me and Hayley. "Yeah, I know," I say. She laughs. "And where might you be from, Miss Ginger?" She asks. I look into the crowd. "I'm from Death City!" I shout, holding my fist up. Cheers erupt from the audience.
"Nice! And I'm guessing you must also attend the famous DWMA?" She asks. I nod. She smiles and my absolute, total, complete favorite song starts to be played by the band. I squeal, forgetting there's a mic next to my mouth. She laughs. "You like this song?" She asks. I nod again. "Shoosh yeah! I love all your songs!" I tell her. She laughs. "Then lets go!" She says. The band plays louder and Hayley starts to jump up and down. I jump with her.
"And the grass wasn't green enough here..." She starts. She points to me. "After watering it with my tears!" I sing in my best voice. She smiles and keeps pointing.
"I'm not sure
Where you went
Now we are
Just past tense!" I sing with her. She grabs my hand and twirls me around.
"Well the snakes, they're slithering in..." She starts for me.
"Chasing me to my end!" I finish. We continue to alternate lines.
"I can't say!"
"Where that is!"
"I'm running!" She says, looking at me.
"Again..." She says. The guitars play louder.
"And when I get there..." I sing. She joins me on, "It won't be far enough!"
"I'm a renegade, it's in my blood!" She sings.
"If I ever get there,
It won't be fast enough!
I'm a renegade, I always was!" I do a little air guitar solo along with the real one, fingering the notes as I do. Hayley grins and joins me. The rest of the song pretty much follows that sort of pattern, until the bridge comes. Hayley lowers her voice as the guitar plays slower.
"I'll keep running
I'll keep running
Again, keep running..." She holds out that note and walks over to me. She leans in close. "Go for it, sister." She says. I grin and take a deep breath.
"KEEP RUUNIIING!
RUUUNIIING!
RUUUNIIIING!" The crowd loses it as I belt out the high notes. Hayley joins me and we head bang together, singing at the top of our lungs.
"RUU-HUUUUN!
RUUUU-HUUUUN!
RUU-HUUUUN!" We shake our heads with the guitar.
"And when I get there,
It won't be far enough!
If ever I get there,
It won't be fast enough!
I'm a renegade, it's in my blood..." She gives me the last line.
"I'm a renegade, I always was." I finish. The crowd cheers and I jump and high five Hayley. She grins and I wrap my arms around her and hug her. She laughs as I let her go.
"Thank you so much, Hayley! I want to be just like you when I get older! You're my idol! I wish I could be famous like you!" I ramble. She pats me on the shoulder. "With that voice, I have no doubt you will." She says. She leans in and says something in my ear. I listen to her words carefully and nod. She pulls back and grins. "Now you go back to that albino shark tooth of yours." She says. I laugh and nod. Hayley turns to the audience and holds up the mic to her mouth. "Y'all please give it up for Ginger, all the way from DEATH CITY!" She shouts. The crowd cheers. I grin and thank her one last time.
I run off the stage back to my seat. A bunch of people high five me and compliment me. I seriously cannot believe this just happened. I've been dreaming of this since I was six. And now I'm actually living it!
"Nice job up there, Ginge." Soul says when I'm one person away from him. I nod and squeeze past that person. I finally reach my seat and high five yet another Paramore fan.
"So what did she-" He starts, but I cut him off, pressing my mouth to his. He smiles through my embrace and kisses me back sweetly, wrapping his arms around me. I hang mine around his neck. The people around us whistle. He hugs me tighter and I feel a burst of electricity flow through me like always, but it seems to be magnified. I fall even deeper iin love with him, if that's even possible. I pull away and smile, resting my head on his chest.
"Thanks for bringing me. This has been the best Valetines day ever, and I'm so glad I could spend it with you. I love you, Soul." I say, squeezing my eyes shut and feeling his warmth. He nuzzles his forehead into my hair and kisses me on the back of my head. "Aww, would you look at that. Young love," Hayley says from the stage in a sing-songy voice.
The rest of the concert is pretty much awesome. Soul and I walk out of the main arena of the stadium and make our way down the hallway that stretches around the perimeter of it. I lean my head against his shoulder and swing his hand back and forth. He swings it with me, and we're just about to get a souvenir when someone taps me on the back. I turn around to see three teenagers, two girls and one guy, the guy holding a camera.
"Hi, Ginger!" The shorter girl says, her brown hair swishing with excitement. Omiglob, complete strangers know my name! Wait, that's actually kind of creepy...
"Oh, umm, hey." I say back cooly. Soul squeezes my hand. I look at him and he smiles. I would smile back, but I'm already smiling. The taller blonde one squeals and claps her hands. "OMG, you were amazing! Can we get a picture with you?" She asks. I'm shocked. "Uh, me?" I ask. The guy nods, his black hair getting in his eyes. He looks up at it and blows it out of his face.
"Yup. So that when you get famous or whatever we can say we already knew you! Well, sort of..." He adds. I shrug and look at Soul. "Why not?" I say. He smiles and the girls squee and run over to us. The blonde one stands next to me and the brunette next to Soul. The guy snaps first a good picture, then tells us to make silly poses. The brunette crosses her eyes, the blonde squishes her cheeks forward, Soul takes his finger and sticks it in his mouth to stretch out his right cheek, showing his sharp teeth, and I stick my tongue out, scrunch my nose up, and put my hand in the 'rock and roll' sign.
He clicks a button and smiles. "Alright, that's it!" He says, sticking the camera in his sweatshirt pocket. the girls squeal again and jump towards him. They start to run away, excitement in their eyes. "Thank yooouu!" The blonde one says as she over her shoulder. laugh.
"Check it out, Soul! We're famous!" I say. He laughs and pays for the two Paramore shirts. The guy behind the counter slips them into a bag and hands it to Soul. He takes it and grabs my hand again. We make our way to the front door, stopping for two more concert goers wanting pictures. We walk out, laughing our heads off.
"Oh my gosh, that was hilarious!" I say, gasping for breath. Soul stops to try and catch his. "I can't...believe... we just took a picture with..." He says, but he explodes laughing again. We were approached by a guy in a Pedobear costume, begging for a picture. Of course, we said yes. Luckily, the camera the guy taking the picture had was the kind that printed the picture immediately, so we got two of the three he took.
After we laugh our asses off, we walk back to the motorcycle, which is parked on the edge of a street, which is empty except for us. Luckily, it's still there. Soul places the bag into the seat compartment, turns the bike on with the key, and pats the space behind him. I smile and am about to jump up with him when someone slaps their hand over my mouth and another around my... erm, chest... dragging me into the shadows with them.
My eyes widen. Shit, not again! I think to myself. The person laughs. It's obviously a guy, considering the way he's holding me. Soul jumps off the bike, not bothering to turn it back off or lock it up. I scream through the persons hand. I kick the person in the groin and he releases me, falling to the ground. "Mommy...!" He mutters in a squeaky voice. I smirk.
"Nice try, jackass, but I ain't lettin' you take me that easy, you freakin' pervert!" I say. Soul runs up next to me. "Damnit, why are you always getting kidnapped?!" He asks. I shrug. "I dunno." I respond. He frowns. He opens his mouth to give a smartass response, but I hear something behind me. I whip around, throwing a fist in that direction. The person behind me dodges, wearing the same mask as the guy from before. They then grab my fist out of the air, twist it, and kick my ankles, causing me to fall over. I jump back up and grunt angrily.
"Ugh, I am so SICK and TIRED of having you DICKHEADS always coming AFTER ME!" I scream, throwing a punch with every word I yell. The person gets hit with the last two, but they don't seem to be that injured. I duck as they swing a metal bar at me. But I move to abruptly and I fall to the ground. The person swings again and I shut my eyes. I hear a loud clang of metal on metal. I open my eyes and see a red and black zig zag pattern in front of my face. I look up and see Soul, his arm a scythe, standing in front of me.
"Get your ass up!" He yells. I nod and push myself off the ground. I look around frantically for something to fight with, considering the other guy has gotten up and there are two more Soul's holding off. I see a baseball bat laying against a wall. I run over and grab it. I run back to Soul and he grunts as the second one pushes against his blade.
"Give it up, kid! You're outnumbered! Step aside and give us the girl!" She yells. I recognize her voice as the girl from the van. "Nngh... No! You're not getting anyone, ya hear me, bitch?" He yells back, pushing her away. She falls, but another runs at him. I scream and swing the bat with all my strength. It collides with the guys face (I can tell it's a guy because he yelled as he ran at Soul, too) and he falls back, his face covered in blood. I'm pretty sure I broke it.
I run at the last one (a girl a believe; he hair is hanging out of her mask) and yell in anger. "DAMN IIIITT! WHY-IS-IT-THAT-EVERY-TIME-I'M-HAVING-FUN-YOU-HAVE-TO-GO-AND-SCREW-THINGS-UUUUP!" I scream, swinging with every word. She gets knocked unconscious.
"Shit... Ally! Get up!" The first girl yells. Now I know at least one of their names. Soul swings his blade at another one of them, but he ducks, the blade so close to his face his mask gets knocked off. I recognize his blue eyes immediately. I growl, but the other guy swings his foot and it collides with my stomach, making me hack up a bit of blood. I swing the bat at him and he ducks. When he straightens up, my fist collides with his face.
"THIS. ENDS. NOW!" The first girl shouts. Soul and I turn toward her. She holds a pistol, aimed at my head. I don't move a muscle. "This is a real, bullet-shooting gun, you know! Not like those prissy wavelength guns that Shinigami freak has! This can kill you with one shot, and I will take it!" She shouts. "Drop the bat!" She adds. I do as she says and hold my hands up. Soul looks at me, a terrified look on his face that says, "Please tell me you have a plan and you didn't seriously just surrender."
But I don't have a plan, and I did surrender. There's no doubt in my mind that she'll shoot. The guy who I kicked earlier walks up behind me and pulls my hand behind my back as the remaining guy lifts up the girl whose name is Ally and carries her into the black van from the last time they tried this. "Ginger! No! Don't go with them!" Soul shouts at me, taking a step towards em and the guy. But the girl holds the gun to my head. "Make one more move and I'll kill you both!" She says, her voice low and threatening. I turn to Soul and smile.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I promise." I assure him, even though I don't know whether I can keep that promise.
AN: Okay, I have pretty much nothing to say so I'm just gonna let the characters talk about the chapter.
Ginger: O.O
Soul: Uh, Ginger?
Ginger: O.O
Mem: You okay?
Ginger: e.o *twitch, twitch*
Tommi: Hey, girly, I'm sure that-
Ginger: WHAT THE FREAKING F*** IS YOUR F***ING PROBLEM YOU DUMB PIECES OF F*** WHY THE F*** WOULD YOU EVEN THINK OF HAVING ME F***ING KIDNAPPED AND ALMOST F***ING KILLED, YOU F***ING ASSHOLES! I HATE YOU WRITERS SO F***ING MUCH! WHAT THE F***?!
Alex: Jesus Christ, Ginger...
Mem: I think we should leave her before she kills one of us.
Tommi: Yeah, that would probably be a good idea...
All but Ginger: *Silently tip-toe out of the room*