The Anthem for a Dying Breed

Rayne lay under the shade of a tree, stretched out on the grass, aviators over her eyes. Adam was with her, arms behind his head; Rayne’s head on his stomach. I took a picture of the two, then turned my attention back to the sky – shimmering, relentless daze.
It was late afternoon, and We Are The In Crowd were finishing their set nearby; Ray was singing along to the last song under her breath, Adam was sleeping and I was going through my pictures.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Rayne murmured and ‘Entrances and Exits’ came to a close. I wrinkled my nose and sighed heavily. Rayne chuckled.

“Pierce The Veil are really hot,” I began.

“That is correct.” She stated.

“And they’re really nice.” I added.

“So the problem is…?” she said. I scowled, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I don’t think they like me.”

“What?” Rayne demanded. “Don’t be a dingbat – you said yourself; Vic came to talk to you today.”

“Yeah, but Vic’s the Holy Whore of Niceness.” I snapped. Rayne stifled a snort of laughter and readjusted her sunglasses.

“And Jaime?” she said.

“Is his taller, muscley-er much more sexy/Mexican prototype.” I replied. “And Mike’s just Mike, y’know. Like, cool and shit.”

“Cool and shit,” she laughed, “and Tony?”

I whined childishly, kicking the tree. “I’m guessing Tony is our problem.” She concluded.

“He doesn’t like me!” I groaned, hanging my head.

“He doesn’t not like you either. He’s probably just quieter and more reserved than the others are.” She reasoned. “You don’t need their approval anyway, you whiny needy child-thing.”

“You love it,” I said, winking at her. She grinned at me, eyebrows raised. “But I also told them I was going to watch their set later – and All Time Low’s.”

“Well, we will, then.” She said. I have a brilliantly smart friend; grinning at her, I took another picture. “Creep.” She said.

“You love it.” I replied.

*

After waking Adam, he somehow managed to get us at the front of the crowd, barely two feet from the stage. It felt super weird knowing I had actually spoken to the band that were about to perform.

The crowd behind me began to scream, and I glanced up, camera in hand, to see Vic come into the stage – Tony and Jaime followed, with Mike a few seconds after them.
Vic waved to the crowd, introducing the band (although, judging by the way the crowd reacted, there was no need). Mike got behind his drum kit, standing tall and motioning for the crowd to scream louder.
He noticed me in the audience and grinned, pointing to me with a drumstick and whooping. Jaime noticed Rayne and I too, grinning down at us and pulling a face.

The intro for ‘Hell Above’ began to play, and I focussed the lens on the stage, preparing myself.
Three songs into the set, I gave up the fight for a front place and pulled another fan into my place. She looked at me, wide-eyed and bewildered, as I yelled, “Here, take my place!”

“Thank you!” she shouted back, catching hold of the barrier and joining in to the start of ‘Caraphernalia’.

Moving out of the most crowded area, I wandered over to the side of the stage, where a few friends were watching and taking pictures from a distance.

“Hey,” one of them called, “do you want us to lift you up?”

“No - thanks, though!” I called back.

“Have you been caught in a moshpit yet?” another asked. I grinned, shaking my head.

“Nope. What about you?”

“I think we’re gonna start one.” he replied. I took a few steps closer, interest heightened.

“Yeah? That’s pretty cool. Let me know when and I’ll try and get it in pictures.” I said. He smiled widely and shrugged.

“Alright, now, then.” he said. His friends agreed and I nodded.

“Alright. Fucking rad, mate.” I chuckled. I high-fived him and his five friends (three girls and two guys) as they walked past.

“I love your accent, lady!” he yelled as they merged into the crowd. I shook my head, smiling as I headed a distance further back, taking to higher ground, like they had just occupied.

Amongst the crowds of fans, I tracked them through the viewfinder and watched as they began to clear a space; it was infectious and evidently home turf for the fans, seeing as the people around them began to mimic what they were doing automatically.
Within sixty seconds, they had cleared a circle, and the guys onstage had noticed.

“Clear this space! Come one! Get the fuck out! Are you ready? Are you fucking ready?” Vic yelled into the mic, waving his arms around as if to control the crowd. “One! Two! Three! GO!”
A ground-shuddering amount of noise arose from the stage and crowds simultaneously, with mayhem breaking out in the crowds, culminating in the end of ‘Caraphernelia’ and the collapse of the very first moshpit I had ever seen live.

*

After Pierce had finished their set, I waited for the crowds to drift away before heading back over to the stage. Rayne and Adam were nowhere in sight, and it looked as though the entire band had disappeared; only a couple of crew members were left to pack up onstage.
Now it was, for the majority, deserted, I sat down on the grass and crossed my legs - the sun was still burning bright, but hanging lower in the sky, signalling my first day of Warped was almost over. I most certainly didn’t want it to end.

“Hey, lady!” I turned around to see the guys who had started the moshpit headed my way. “Did you get the pictures?”

The youngest of the group - a pretty little girl of no more than fifteen - raced over and fell down next to me.

“Can I see first? Pleeeaaase?” she said, giving me a sugar coated smile. I nodded and she leaned closer as I picked out the images. “Damn, that’s so cool!” she cooed.
I laughed, shaking my head, as her friends gathered by us and a few sat down. “I’m Cecelia. Your pictures are amazing!”

“Nah, it was nothing. I just clicked a button - you guys did all the work.” I said.

“Aww!” She threw her arms around my neck, almost knocking me sideways. I chuckled nervously, before someone called my name, and we both looked over to the sound.

“Aleena!” Vic was standing on the edge of the stage. He jumped off, followed by Adam (who did so more cautiously), and the Rayne and Tony, who seemed to be deep in conversation.

Oh, shit.

“You know Pierce The Veil?” the girl whispered, eyes wide in shock. I shrugged.

“Not well, we just met. I’m photographing Warped this year, so…” I trailed off, smiling sheepishly. “Do you want to meet them?”
She looked at me disbelievingly. I stood up and offered her my hand: she took it and stood up, squeezing tight. “Excuse us a second.” I said to her friends.

Vic was already headed in our direction, and I pulled her along with me. “Vic!” I said, smiling as he approached. This is Cecelia.”
Cecelia’s eyes almost fell out of her head and she clutched my hand tighter still. Vic looked at her, a gentle smile on his face. “She was one of the people who started the moshpit - cool or what?” I added, winking at Cecelia.

“Damn cool. Very nice to meet you, Cecelia. How’s Warped been for you?” he replied.

“Uh, o-okay. I mean, cool, I guess. You know…?” she trailed off, starstruck and blushing.

“She’s a Pierce fan, so I thought it would be cool to introduce you guys.” I piped. Vic’s face lit up and he extended his arms, engulfing her in a hug; she didn’t let go of my hand.

“That’s awesome!” he enthused, pulling away and looking between us. “Well, Tony’s here, too. Come and say hi.”

Adam, Rayne and Tony were standing a few steps away, and Vic beckoned us over to them; as he did, he linked his arm through mine and grinned at me. Weirdo.

“Hey, Turtle!” Vic called. Tony turned and looked at us quizzically. “I just met Cecelia - she’s a fan of the band.” Tony’s expression softened, and he smiled at her, waving slightly.

“Hey. Nice to meet you. You have a pretty name.” he said. Oh, sure, talk to her…

“Thank you.” she mumbled.

“Who are you here with?” Vic asked. She replied that she was here with her brother, pointing to one of the tall guys in the group with the same chocolate-brown curls as her. “Lets go and say hi.” he said.
Her eyebrows shot up and she stared at him.

“Really?” she said. He nodded, letting go of my arm and taking hers as they headed away.

“Aaaaaaaadaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmmmm!” Rayne said. Adam looked at her expressionlessly. “I’m hungry.”
He looked at her face steadily for a long moment, then walked away silently, shaking his head.
Tony and I sniggered, and Rayne turned to grin at us. “He so loves me.”
I folded my arms over my chest.

“Whatever.” I said.

“Don’t get jealous, baby,” Rayne chuckled, “You’re still my favourite!” She slapped my arse and ran after Adam, leaving me blushing furiously, mouth hanging open and Tony in hysterical laughter.

“Don’t laugh!” I whined. It made absolutely no difference. “Shush!” I said, pushing him. If anything, he laughed harder.
“Don’t!” I pushed him him with a little more force and almost fell over my own feet.

“Oh my god, are you trying to push me?” he demanded through his hysterics, catching my arms as I tripped.
I blew a raspberry in reply and he sniggered, letting go. “Your friend Rayne said you guys are going to the party tomorrow.” he eventually managed to say once the worst of the giggle fit had subsided.
I looked at him blankly. “She’s really cool, by the way. And she got some amazing footage of us today.” he said.

“Yeah, she’s really awesome.” I added. “If slightly insane.” He grinned widely. “But I was watching you guys - you were really good.”

“Ah,” he said, cheeks filling with pink, “thanks.”

“For what?” Vic piped, appearing next to us out of thin air. “Cecelia’s gone. She said to say ‘thanks’ by the way.” he added, nodding at me.

“Well, thank you, Victor, for being so cool about that.” I chuckled.

“Aw, we always got time for our fans.” he replied.

“Yeah, well. I better catch up with Adam and Rayne.”

“I’ll catch up with you later, then, kiddo.” Vic said, pulling me into a hug. I hugged him back quickly and sent Tony a brief awkward wave before heading in the direction Adam and Rayne had gone in.