p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The night was still young and although the show was supposed to end five minutes ago, the crowd insisted on one more song. Their insistent cheering gave Valentin an idea. He silenced the crowd, holding his arms up in the air. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin looked toward his stage manager Aetlius and raised an eyebrow. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius looked at Valentin and gave him a nod./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin turned back to the crowd. "Alright! Alright!" The crowd went silent. Valentin chuckled deeply. "We'll do one more, plus, we wrote a new song that I haven't released yet. How about I just play it for you now? As a thank you for having me?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin started singing, and Aetlius knew the exact song he was talking about. Aetlius smiled and facepalmed, and he could feel Valentin look back at him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin motioned for Aetlius to walk on stage, and so he did./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The crowd went wild as Aetlius walked on stage, the fan-cam focusing on him. Apparently Valentin's fans loved took off his headset so he could hear slightly better. He let them rest on his shoulders, then crossed his arms so he could listen to Valentin. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Part of the crowd let out a loud "OoooOo~" when they saw Aetlius do that, seeing that his his face was a little red. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The fan-cam moved back out to focus on Valentin, but had to quickly move back while he walked toward Aetlius. Aetlius had always thought that Valentin was an idiot for putting guitar solos in the middle of his songs. But, Valentin was an endearing idiot. An endearing, French, idiot. With thousands of freckles that Aetlius just couldn't get enough of./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As Valentin finished the song, he was inches away from Aetlius' face. He knew that this would spark theories and ships of him and Aetlius, but he wanted that to happen. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The song was done and the crowd clapped and cheered for Valentin. Aetlius walked back off stage so he could kill the lights./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The lights turned off and people started leaving the venue. Aetlius walked back onto the stage./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius stood in front of Valentin, waiting to see what he did. The sharp glare of Aetlius' golden eyes pierced into Valentin's soul. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Umm…" Valentin said./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Are you going to put your guitar away, or what?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Maybe I will, maybe I won't. But, you know who the song was about right, Mon amour?" Valentin said. A wide smirk was spread across his face, and Aetlius rolled his eyes./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""There is no time to mess around, Val. Our plane leaves in four hours, and the fastest time we've gotten all of this cleaned up is 2 and a half." Aetlius explained. He walked past Valentin and started to clean up the wires behind him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin never stopped thinking about Aetlius. The pale blue hair and subtle Greek accent of his stage manager haunted his mind. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The band and Stage crew finished cleaning up, and they started on their drive to the airport. The stage crew and band took different cars. When they got to the airport, all 14 of them walked in silence to the gate. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Endless amounts of fans reached over the barriers of airport security to try and reach Valentin and his band. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Each member of the stage crew also acted as a bodyguard for the band. Aetlius to Valentin, and Empric to Sage. They soon boarded the plane to France. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Aetlius, how long is it going to take us to get to France?" Valentin asked. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I don't know, 6 hours probably." Aetlius answered. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The plane took off after a few more minutes, and they were off to Paris, France. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius fell asleep, and Valentin watched a movie on his phone. Sage and Empric did almost the same thing. When Valentin looked over at Aetlius, he saw that there was a strand of hair that was in one of Aetlius' eyes. Valentin moved his hair, and Aetlius shifted in his chair./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The plane ride seemed to last forever. Every once in a while Valentin stole a glance at his stage manager. When the plane landed, he woke Aetlius up./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Eh? What?" Aetlius questioned. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up and turned towards Valentin. "Did the plane land?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes, get up. We need to leave." Valentin said. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The group got off of the plane, and crazed fans crowded around Valentin faster that Aetlius could handle. Valentin and his band still managed to get to their cars. The French words that decorated the walls and shops confused Aetlius. He was fluent in Greek, Korean, Japanese, English, and Thai, but not French. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They all arrived at the mansion they were staying at. The host of the AirBNB stood at the door to welcome them./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Bonjour! Vous devez être Valentin!" The host exclaimed. Most of the group hesitated, slightly glancing at each other./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sorry sir, but my group speaks mainly English." Valentin said, the host smiled and nodded. He guided the band and stage crew into the house. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was decorated with an 18th century vibe, and Sage liked it./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Val, bro, all this stuff is so cool!" Sage exclaimed. Valentin looked at him before looking back at Aetlius. He was dragging his feet and his eyelids hung low./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Tired?" Valentin asked. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah." Aetlius answered. He started to take off all the earrings he was wearing./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The host continued to show them around, explaining where everything was. Once he left Aetlius flopped, face down, onto the couch./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""The plane ride must have taken a lot out of you." Aven said. The drummer was smirking slightly as Aetlius looked at her. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Is it a crime to be tired?" Aetlius asked./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's a crime to look that good in a hoodie." Valentin said. He quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, staring wide eyed at the floor. Sage burst out in a fit of laughter as Aetlius' face got redder and redder. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay, good pickup line but Aet is tired, Val." Emphric said. The short tech manager tried to step in, but failed. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sage kept laughing as Aetlius stood up. He started to walk towards his room as he pulled his hood over his head. Once Aetlius reached his room, he shut the door and didn't come out. Valeting tried to go talk to Aetlius, but he failed./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Too much?" Sage asked./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Too much." The rest of them said in unison. Valentin shrugged off his bestie storming off, and continued to find the ingredients to make dinner. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Once dinner was finished, Aetlius came out of his room. He was wearing his pajamas, and it looked like he had taken a shower. The collar of Aetlius' shirt hung off his shoulder, revealing the top design of his tattoo sleeve. He walked over to the kitchen and grabbed some food for himself before sitting down at the table. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You're back!" Emphric said. They walked over to Aetlius holding their phone. "Look at this thing that I found."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Emphric continued to show Aetlius a video of a dog. He chuckled a little bit. Aetlius' slight smile warmed Valentin's soul more than he could imagine. The sight of Aetlius' fluffy blue hair and golden eyes always made Valentin feel better. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He'd been trying to drop hints for so long./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So, what are we doing tomorrow?" Aven asked. "I know there's a meet and greet in the morning, and then the concert is at night, but is there anything else?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm pretty sure we have enough time to go to lunch and stuff." Sage said./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We do, but there is a specific time we have to be at the venue. 3:30 is the time we have to be at the venue, and noon is when the meet and greet is done. So, if you guys want to go get lunch you can. I'm not available." Aetlius explained. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He's always so on top of things… I wonder how much it would take to get him on top of me. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin thought. He took another bite of his food. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Is it a possibility to make time for a shopping trip?" Valentin asked. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""As long as you don't go to lunch you'll have time." Aetlius answered. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The group continued to eat dinner before getting ready for bed. There were some of them that had a fairly short routine, and then there was Valentin. His routine was thirty minutes or an hour long. Shower, hair, skincare, bed. That was the routine. The group had to carry an entire other suitcase for Valentin's stuff. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Are you almost done?" Aetlius asked. He leaned in the doorway and looked at Valentin. Valentin was putting his hair in a loose braid so it stayed wavy overnight. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sure." Valentin answered. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You need to get finished as fast as possible. You have a busy day tomorrow." Aetlius stated. He walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A few more minutes went by and then Valentin went to his room. He flopped onto the bed and was greeted by the soft sheets. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin almost immediately fell asleep. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He woke the next morning to Aetlius glaring daggers into his soul. The stage director had his hair pulled back into a man bun and he was wearing a baggy gray shirt. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You were supposed to wake up fifteen minutes ago. Go get ready and you can eat breakfast on the way." Aetlius said. Valentin tried to hit him with a pillow, but Aetlius was gone before he got the chance. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin then continued to get ready. He let down his hair, brushed it, and put part of it up into a bun. He got dressed in an outfit that Sage had bought him. It consisted of a NIRVANA T-shirt, a black leather jacket, and ripped jeans. Valentin then walked out into the living room, and Aetlius quickly pulled him to the car where Aven, Sage, and Emphric were waiting. Aetlius handed Valentin something to eat and got in the car./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The group started driving. They quickly made it to the Meet and Greet venue, and clouds of fans crowded around the car while Valentin got out. Aetlius used his small but mighty personality to clear a path through the fans. They got backstage and set up. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Did you see him?" Aven asked. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No, I don't think so." Sage stated. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Even if we couldn't see him, we know he's here." Aetlius said./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They were talking about Valentin's stalker. His name was David, and he was at every single meet and greet or concert. He knew everything about Valentin, from shoe size to sleep schedule. David was the reason that Valentin had to change his phone number so many times. None of the other fans liked him, and the entire band loathed his existence. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The meet and greet started. Aetlius stood next to Valentin at the table, looking out at the line of people waiting to talk to the band. Then, he made eye contact with the one person he did not want to see. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"David../spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Aetlius thought. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A wide grin was spread across David's face as he inched closer and closer to Valentin through the line. His bleach-blonde hair taunted Aetlius. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Once David reached the front of the line, the entire band winced at the question he asked Valentin. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I remember that at your last concert you sang a song to Aetlius. Was that song for, or rather, /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"about /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"him?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The world stopped for a second. David was staring Valentin dead in the eyes, and Aetlius simply stood behind them. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I can neither confirm nor deny." Valentin said. David moved on, and Aetlius stopped holding his breath. Aetlius had a feeling that the song was about him, but he wasn't sure. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"At around noon the meet and greet stopped, and all the band wanted to do was go back to the airBnB and take a nap. On the way home, Valentin had fallen asleep. Aetlius pulled up into the driveway of the AirBnB. He woke up Valentin and they both walked inside. The entire band crashed on the couch, knowing that they only had a few hours before they had to go to the concert venue and set up their stuff. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Did that take a lot out of you?" Emphric asked. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah…" The collective of the band groaned. Stage crew laughed a little bit. Meet and greets were always overstimulating, headache causes, and panic attack inducing. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius and the rest of the stage crew went to go get the band some lunch. Valentin had said that he wanted KFC, so that was what they were going to get. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Beacon, a new stage crew member, was still in training and didn't know that Aetlius and Valentin were in love with each other. He only knew that there was a bet. Every month that Aetlius and Valentin went without going on a date the bet was raised. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It's currently at $250.76./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius was driving, so he got to choose the music. Beacon never liked Aetlius' music taste. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"CORPSE was blasting through the car as Aetlius, Emphric, and Beacon pulled up to the intersection with the food. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So, what is the bet exactly?" Beacon asked. Aetlius sighed and rolled his eyes. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Em, it's your turn to explain it to him." Aetlius said, eyes plastered on the road in front of him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So, Aet likes Valentin. But he doesn't know if Valentin likes him back and is too scared to ask him out," Emphric explained. "The amount of money for the bet is raised every month. It started at $10.76 but now it's $250.76. The amount goes up $10 every month. The period for this bet is three years, and if Aet and Valentin don't go on a date in that amount of time then Aetlius has to pay each member of the stage crew the amount of money that it ends up being." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Woah. That's a lot." Beacon mumbled. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The light turned green, and Aetlius stepped on the gas. Beacon had been leaning forward and got thrown back into his seat from the force. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Don't talk about it." Aetlius snapped. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They arrived back at the AirBNB and ate their food. Aetlius was on his laptop and hadn't eaten anything since the day before. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Mon amour, are you going to eat?" Valentin asked him./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Pourquoi pas?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Aetlius looked up from his laptop, glaring at Valentin through his glasses. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sorry Val, I don't speak baguette." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Aww~ You don't have to be so mean, Mon Amour~" Valentin teased. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius' eye twitched and it was clear that something snapped in his brain. "Valentin Mael Desrosiers. I haven't slept since we got off the plane, and I haven't eaten since yesterday. Flirt with me again and I will set you on fire." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The entire room went silent. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius returned to working on his laptop, and the others resumed eating. It then came time for the group to go to the concert Venue. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They soon arrived at the venue, and they could see posters for the band. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Chroniques énigmatiques" They said. It was the band's name, Cryptic Chronicles, in French. The band walked into the venue. It had many old french decorations, but was a massive stadium. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Yes, the Cryptic Chronicles are a stadium level band./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The stage crew got the instruments set up while the band talked to some other bands that were opening for them. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius started to get light headed, which wasn't a good thing. He grabbed a water bottle and downed it within 30 seconds. Aetlius could tell that Valentin was excited to be back in his hometown, let alone be performing there. He sat down on one of the cases that held Aven's drums and stared blank eyed at the floor. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin walked over to him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Are you alright, Mon amour?" Valentin asked. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I have a headache, I feel like I'm gonna pass out." Aetlius answered. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin sighed, "Aetlius. You need to eat something." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius looked up at Valentin, still not being able to meet his height on the box./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I drank some water."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Not enough."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin pulled a protein bar out of his pocket and gestured for Aetlius to take it. He took it, but reluctantly. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Thank you." Valentin stated. He turned away and went to check on the rest of the band. Aetlius forgot how absolutely tiny Valentin was. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin was wearing a tight fitting black turtleneck and it highlighted how thin he was. The cargo pants he was wearing did nothing for the length of his legs but still, Aetlius could probably wrap his arms around Valentin's waist. His arms aren't that long. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The time came for people to enter the stadium. Aetlius spotted Valentin's parents in the top row, as far back as they could get. They clearly didn't want to be here. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The first band performed, and then it was time for the Cryptic Chronicles to perform. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hey guys!" Valentin yelled into the microphone. He was greeted with a massive cheer. Aetlius laughed a little bit backstage. "It's been so long since I've been back here. Also, we need to give a shout-out to my stage manager."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"What? /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius thought. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""He has enough patience to, on no sleep and an empty stomach, deal with me for hours. It's quite a feat of strength if you ask me." Valentin explained. Aetlius laughed a little more. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The crowd cheered for Aetlius. It made his headache slightly worse. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Okay, okay. We love Aetlius but we need to get on with the show." Valentin stated. The crowd let out a sound of joking displeasure. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The first song started, and Aetlius went to find his headset. He found it on the rack and put it on. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""David, front row." Beacon said over the headset. All the stage crew kept a close eye on the front row. Valentin's most obsessed fans always sat there. Aetlius knew that David was a safety hazard for Valentin. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Then came the guitar riff that had become Valentin's signature. Aetlius flipped down the microphone on his headset and spoke to security. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Stalker, center left front row." He said. Aetlius got a few responses from the security members, leaving him a little more certain that Valentin wouldn't get hurt. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The next song started and Valentin decided to stand right in front of David. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"This is when stuff gets real. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aelius thought. Even though he was tired, in pain, and hungry. He used all his mental capacity to make sure that Valentin didn't get hurt. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Just when Valentin thought he was safe, David got over the barriers and past the security guards. He grabbed Valentin's ankle./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin was falling offstage. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius ran on stage, having no regard for Sage right in front of him. He ran past sage and toward Valentin. Valentin reached out an arm for Aetlius to grab, and he just barely reached it. Valentin's feet were barely on the side of the stage, and the entire room was silent. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius held a tight grip on Valentin's hand as he pulled him back on stage./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Be more careful next time, stand further from the edge." Aetlius said. He was slightly annoyed that Valentin was so careless about his own safety. Aetlius walked back off stage. A massive cheer for Aetlius was heard as security took David out of the venue. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin calmed the crowd down and then spoke. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That was my stage manager, for the people who don't know him." Valentin explained. "I'm surprised he could lift me up.."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You weigh less than Em, Val." Aetlius called from offstage. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Fair enough." Valentin responded. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The concert continued, and Valentin kept a warm fuzzy feeling in his heart. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After the concert Valentin found Aetlius, and tried to get his attention. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Mon amour, that was really cool." Valentin said. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Do you have something you need? Because I'm trying to clean up our equipment." Aetlius asked. He was wrapping Aux wires around his arm to store them. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well, I was wondering-" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""If I lift? Absolutely not." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I was wondering that but I was also wondering about something else." Valentin explained. "Would you maybe, I don't know… Want to go to the Eiffel Tower with me?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius' face got red, and he couldn't find the words to say. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh- Um…. Sure." Aetlius answered. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Valentin smiled and went to put his guitar away. The band finished cleaning up, and they went back to the AirBnB. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Aetlius walked in to find Beacon, Emphric, and the other stage crew members sitting at the table. He slammed his hands down onto the table and stared Emphric dead in the eyes. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; text-indent: 36pt; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Pay up, Em."/span/p