Girl at the Rock Show

Complete strangers coated in sweat and sometimes even dried blood asked me for hugs and I never turned any of them down. The phrase “Free Hugs” was painted across my stomach attracting some of the craziest looking people. Girls smothered in make-up, dressed in all black or almost nothing at all and bruised up guys usually not wearing shirts. I still wonder why the hell someone would wear all black on one of the hottest days of the summertime where you are pretty much baking in your own sweat. But I do understand wearing the least bit of clothing too. The year before was the first time I experienced Warped Tour and I knew that I had to do it all again the next time around.
The roaring music ignites my ears and my adrenaline is pumping, ready for what lies beyond the gates. To some people, I must seem crazy to want to spend my day like this, but it is only once a year, so it is always worth it in the end. Warped Tour is a day full of excitement, testosterone fueled men, and a surplus of half-naked women. I have my jean shorts on, which probably was not the best idea, a white Vans Off The Wall tank top, and a ratty, old pair of Converse on. My long, thick, red hair tugged up in a pony-tail and I can already feel it frizz as the heat makes me start to sweat.
I turn to a group of four girls next to me and comment on the tall redhead’s top, but soon turning into an actual conversation. “So is this your first Warped Tour?” I ask all the girls.
“Yeah, we’ve been waiting for a long time for this,” the tall redhead said as I soon learned her name is Jessie. “How about you is this your first?” she asks me as I laugh.
“No, this is my second one, last year it was so awesome, really hot, but a lot of fun,” I replied.
Jessie then notices I have “Free Hugs” painted on my stomach and asks for a hug and of course I give her one.
Soon enough the three other girls with her ask me, “So could we also get some hugs too?”
“Of course you all can, hugs for everyone!”
Jessie’s phone rings, “Oh hold on one second, it’s just my friend he was supposed to be here an hour ago.” She answers “hey we’re in line to the right when you’re looking straight at the entrance and we are by the first tree you can see by it… alright dude see ya,” she hangs up.
“Guessing your friend is bad about timing?” I say laughing.
“Yeah, sometimes he can be” Jessie starts looking around and waves her hands franticly to get her friend’s attention.
A tall, short haired guy walks over wearing a black Misfits tank top and khaki shorts in a pair of green Ray Bans. “Hey guys, okay I’m here you can now laugh at me for mishearing what time you had said before, I’m sorry.”
He says hi to everyone and turns to me as his eyes squint tilting his head to the side, “Hi, I don’t seem to know you,” as he reaches his hand out for a shake.
“Oh sorry, I just kind of joined in this group, I lost mine now, but I’m Savanna” a smile on my face as one grows on his.
He is really cute, but he has got to be here with one of these girls, so stay cool and do not seem interested. “It’s nice to meet you Savanna I’m Charlie,” I say still shaking my hand.
“So just wondering, how old are all of you guys?” I ask.
“Oh we’re all sixteen, how about you?” Jessie replies.
“Same as you guys, okay now I don’t feel like I’m really young, but it’s probably because I am so short and you guys are pretty damn tall,” trying to stand on my tippy toes.
“You’re alright not everyone can be giants like Jessie and I, isn’t that right dude?” Charlie puts his arm over Jessie’s shoulder.
So he isn’t dating her and it does not seem like he is attached to these others girls in anyway, seems like he barely knows them, so I’m good. I guess some meaningless flirting from time to time won’t hurt anyone.
The gates were about to open and I still have not seen my friends for about thirty minutes now. Trying to look around, wishing I was even the slightest bit taller, I see the familiar face of my friend Kim as I push through people to get to her leaving the other group behind.
Since everyone is pushing and shoving to get to the front, it takes a long time to even get into the amphitheater. Once finally struggling to get through we headed off in the direction of the show times just like everyone else did. Once finally making it through I was ready to be taken by the music It is a hassle getting through this place because of how many people are here. It is even worse when we get to the stage as people rush up to get the best spot. We ended up on the side, not the best place, but still had a sight of the stage. We waited there for twenty minutes until the band came out and when they did I went from having a good foot and half of personal space to none at all. Everyone swarms in as close as they possibly can only ending up in the barricade right up front. Getting pushed around and shoved into complete strangers as elbows and hands are being jammed into your sides as they try their best for their own space. You will not get that here. Others really got to suck up your own uncomfortable feelings of people touching you and get it over with if you want to have fun.
The speakers stood right next to us as they blasted our ears with music that is just barely able to understand, yet we go with the rhythm. People were constantly crowd surfing, some were dropped, others were thrown, and some succeed to the front without a scratch. Pits were opening as people thrashed and flailed their arms around like maniacs. Others threw themselves in as they pushed each other around violently. It is like a giant human blender, some come out perfectly fine, maybe roughed up a bit as others come out completely torn up, blood and bruises all over them. Not the prettiest sight, but no one cares as long as they are having a great time.
The performance comes to an end as people quickly push their way out of the crowd, trying to catch their breaths. Once we get through the majority of the crowd I spot Jessie and Charlie, their other friends were not with them this time, just them. We pass by each other as he smiles, waves and says hi. I do the same back and we keep walking on with our friends. I did not think he would even acknowledge me at first, but I was happily surprised he did. Walking through this crowd I bump into others as I could feel their own sweat wipe off on me. Feeling myself sweat then feeling other people’s sweat rub off on me is one of the most disgusting feelings I have ever experienced.
A couple hours passed and the heat rose, it got to over one hundred degrees out. The sun has gotten to its highest by now and looking around I see people burned to a crisp and it feels as if my skin is going to melt off. At this point, we have seen a few shows as some were better than others. Talking to my friends walking through the amphitheater, I did not noticed Charlie walking in my direction and realized him last second and he just smiled at me so I smiled back at him. We keep on with the direction our friends are going. My friends and I are dodging people left and right as we search for a place to sit, by now we are exhausted and need some rest before we go on to the next performance. We spot a shaded patch on a hill as another show plays next to us. We catch our breaths and talk amongst ourselves. I can already see that I am burning and some shade is all I need right now. “Hey Savanna it looks like some guy is trying to get your attention,” Kim says confusingly.
It was Charlie, he stood there with Jessie as she seemed kind of spaced out looking around. Out of nowhere he snaps points at me and points to the free spot in front of him. A little strange in what he thought would work, but I still got up slowly and walked over to him. “I never got a free hug from you, think I could get one?” Charlie asks with his arms open.
“Well I guess so,” as I give him one, I feel so short he wraps his arms around my shoulders as I only up to there on him.
We unwrap from each other and he looks me in the eyes, “would you like join Jessie and I?”
I think about his question, “I’m not sure if my friends would be okay with that, but,” looking over at them, “they seem preoccupied, so why not.”
I wave over at Kim and Alyssa as they look at me confusing as I walk off. They then turned back to each other, looks like they say something and turn and wave back. “So, have you been having a good day so far?” Charlie looks down at me with a smile.
“Oh yeah, it’s been awesome, minus being sore all over and getting rubbed up against complete strangers.”
Charlie laughs, “I understand you on that, but I feel so pumped up, this is awesome so far, I’m so glad I got to come today.”

I had gotten some food eating my pretzel as I feel Charlie reach his hand over using his thumb to move hair out of my mouth. I laugh, “thank you, you could’ve told me it was there, I could’ve gotten it,” covering my mouth still chewing my food.
“I just thought I would be a nice guy and do it for you,” he smiles and laughs.
We walk off and see a crowd in front of us as we push through to the other side. So many sweaty people touching me, I probably smell terrible, why does he want to spend time with me? Charlie took his shirt off after we got through the crowd and I could not help, but look. His shoulders were slightly burned and he had a nice body to look at. Really nice, actually, he is so good looking that it made me feel like I have butterflies in my stomach. “Hey guys I don’t know if you want to go to the electric stage with me or not? It’s cool if you don’t, but I want to go, so I am going there,” Jessie says.
“I’m not sure I want to go, what about you Savanna,” Charlie asks me.
“I’ve never really been into EDM that much, I’m sorry,” I say shrugging my shoulders.
“No no, it’s totally cools guys, I’m going to go over there, you two have fun,” as Jessie smiles and bounces off.
It is just Charlie and I and that damn butterfly feeling takes over my stomach, seriously I want this to go away, but then he just looks at me. “I don’t want to steal you from your friend, I feel bad about it,” I say as I scrunch up my face.
“Don’t worry about it, I promise she’ll have loads of fun, it’s her favorite type of music, she always tells me about some guy she was grinding up on,” Charlie laughs as I laugh at his comment. “So come one, let’s go see what this place has in store for us,” as we walk off together.
“Just wondering, what kind of music are you into?” Charlie asks me.
“I’m more of a metal head you know like A Day to Remember, Asking Alexandria, Avenged Sevenfold, Suicide Silence, and Bring Me The Horizon,” I name off some of my favorites.
“Oh man that makes me really happy,” as he rolls his head up with a smile, “I honestly thought you liked pop music or something seeing you were by All Time Low when I finally caught up with you.”
I laugh, “yeah, I really like heavier music and some alternative, but what about you?”
“What you named off I do know some of those bands, but I really love Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix,” Charlie replies back trying to think off the top of his head.
“That’s awesome, I never really got into them, but do listen to some older classic rock, but it is mostly with my dad when I’m the car with him,” as I look up at him with a small smile.
“It’s funny, most girls that like all that heavier music wear the craziest things like all black and chains, crazy colorful, teased hair, and the thick eye liner,” as he has a shocked look on his face. “You look nothing like that at all, I would not have expected you to like that kind of music.”
“I guess my friends freshmen year got me into it and from then on I loved it,” replying to his comment, “but before that it was Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, there was some Backstreet Boys as well.”
“Wow! That is one hell of a turn around.”
“Yeah, I guess I conformed to what others were listening to,” I jokingly say.
We walk passed a performance as we see a mosh pit forms fast and guys throw themselves all over the place. That moment a guy was hurled out and hit into me causing me to fall into Charlie’s side, “Wow! You alright there, he really nailed into you,” as Charlie rested his hands on my shoulders.
“Oh yeah I am completely fine,” I rub my arm laughing, “I’ve experienced worse than that before in a pit.”
We walk around for hours as time passes us by, not realizing we have not seen our friends for a long time. But resting my legs sounds like a better idea and we notice an open spot on a partially shaded area by a small tree. “This all really takes a toll out of you,” Charlie says lying down with his hands behind his head.
“The best relief is when you finally get home drink all the free water you want, stretch your legs out, and lay down on your bed,” replying to his comment.
“I can’t wait to get home and do just that,” as he stretches his arms out.
I glance at his arms as he flexes them and I blush, he has a very appealing body type. He is not ripped, but he is not skinny either, he has just the right amount of muscle on his arms and stomach. I really like the fact that he is tall too, a good foot and a half taller than me. He is tall enough that if I stand in front of him he could put his chin on my head. Plus he does have a great personality and can really make me laugh, I have not laughed this much in a long time and it feels fantastic. His smile makes me want to smile more that my cheeks hurt. I don’t know why he would want to be around me though I look and feel like a disgusting, sweaty mess. I really do hope though I’m leaving a good first impression.
Charlie sits up and we keep up our conversation, I am so surprised it has not stopped. “I really like talking to you, I feel I can say anything, just wondering if we can still continue this after this is over,” Charlie says with a hopeful look on his face.
“Maybe I could get your number?” Slowly reaching for my pocket.
“Oh I thought you would never ask me,” Charlie jokes pulling out his phone, “and just what I thought, its dead.”
“It’s alright here you can give me yours.” I hand him my phone.
He types in the number and hands it back. “There you go.”
I would not say he is a player, but just really humorous and always seems so lively and enthusiastic, they are such attractive qualities to me. I can feel myself become more and more attracted to him. I feel like I can talk to him forever about anything. Charlie turns his head to face me when out of nowhere he speaks out, “you have really beautiful eyes,” taking off his sunglasses revealing his blue grey eyes.
I have never seen someone have such lovely eyes before and I just wanted to stare at them all night. “Oh,” I smile, “they are just eyes.”
“They look so green in the sunlight, yet have a tint of blue to them,” he takes his hand moving a strand of hair that rested upon my face.
He looked at my lips waiting for a kiss, but I turned away in the other direction. I want to kiss him, but I am not sure at the same time. I’m not sure if after a kiss he will just run off and that will be that. It wouldn’t be my first, but I did not want to mess this up with a crappy kiss. I hope he is not just saying these things to get what he wants so I turn away and could see he looks confused. “Oh hey I know her, that’s my friend Ryan’s older sister,” trying to move on from what just happened.
“Maybe I could get your number?” Slowly reaching for my pocket.
“Oh I thought you would never ask me,” Charlie jokes pulling out his phone, “and just what I thought, its dead.”
“It’s alright here you can give me yours.” I hand him my phone.
He types in the number and hands it back. “There you go.”
I would not say he is a player, but just really humorous and always seems so lively and enthusiastic, they are such attractive qualities to me. I can feel myself become more and more attracted to him. I feel like I can talk to him forever about anything. Charlie turns his head to face me when out of nowhere he speaks out, “you have really beautiful eyes,” taking off his sunglasses revealing his blue grey eyes.
I have never seen someone have such lovely eyes before and I just wanted to stare at them all night. “Oh,” I smile, “they are just eyes.”
“They look so green in the sunlight, yet have a tint of blue to them,” he takes his hand moving a strand of hair that rested upon my face.
He looked at my lips waiting for a kiss, but I turned away in the other direction. I want to kiss him, but I am not sure at the same time. I’m not sure if after a kiss he will just run off and that will be that. It wouldn’t be my first, but I did not want to mess this up with a crappy kiss. I hope he is not just saying these things to get what he wants so I turn away and could see he looks confused. “Oh hey I know her, that’s my friend Ryan’s older sister,” trying to move on from what just happened.
“Well that was completely random,” Charlie laughs at my random burst.
“Sorry… sometimes I say the most out of context things,” hoping he does not find it strange.
“It’s okay, I like it,” scooting closer to me, “it’s pretty cute when you get all flustered.”
“It feels like face is on fire” as embarrassment washes over, “but I have been outside in the heat and sun all day.” I look down at my feet as this is one of the biggest moves he has made all day to show me how interested he is. “We should go walk around some more, the grass is making my legs itch,” standing up putting my hands out to help him up.
“Yeah that is totally fine with me,” putting his hands in mine as he stands up,” how short do you feel right now because I am just towering over you,” putting his hands on his hips and looking over me with a growing smile.
“Shut up, I’m simply fun size,” walking off down the hill looking back at him with a scoff.
We dodge the infestation of sweaty people roaming about as we move toward a massive crowd jumping around violently. I look up at the stage in excitement, “you can get on my shoulders if you can’t see,” Charlie yells over the music.
“I’m good right here,” I yell back as I bounce some to the music.
“Are you sure? I mean you’re pretty short,” trying to convince me, “can you see over all these people because I have a great view.”
I chuckle at his comment, “thanks, but I like to stay on my feet.”
“Okay, you can just imagine the view from my shoulders than,” Charlie turns backs to look at the stage.
Every couple minutes I can see him out the corner of my eye looking over at me and smiling. I still am bouncing to the music trying not to look over; I wonder if he knows I can see it. When the performance ends we turn behind me and see Kim and Alyssa sitting on a hill, “Hey I found my friends, I should probably go over there,” I tell him.
The meet and greet is short and simple as Charlie and I sit down next to them. Kim and Alyssa barely said anything just a ‘Hi nice to meet you’ and that was it.
The sun starts to set and the heat lowers as we all feel a relief when a slight breeze comes across us. “Oh how I’ve missed that,” Charlie rolls his head back.
“It’s like a friend you have not seen in a long time,” stretching my arms out.
Charlie glances at his watch and I see him look over at me. I turn to him as I notice he keeps looking at my lips, this boy really wants to kiss me. It is so funny how hard he is trying because I have never experienced this before. Screams and cheers make us focus our attention to the stage where a band walks on. Music booms our ears and it is back to yelling at each other to hear what the other has to say. “Thinking of friends, mine are probably wondering where I am,” Charlie yells into my ear.
“You are probably right,” having to yell back looking over at him.
“I got to get going,” he pauses, “but there is just one more thing I want to do before I leave,” leaning his face in towards mine.
He kisses my lips our teeth are hit each other aggressively. This could be so much better, but not every first kiss can be the fairytale image. It feels we do not really know what to do and to add to that a pile a vomit rests three inches from my foot. We detach, “Wow… so that was a little… intense,” wiping my mouth and smiling at him.
“Yeah… I’m sorry for that,” Charlie says rubbing the back of his head, “could we try that again, maybe softer this time.”
This time it was just a soft kiss and I move my head away, “that was a lot better.”
“I was really hoping for that,” Charlie says, “I kind of wished that was the first one, but you know it happens.”
He begins to stand up as I do the same opening his arms as we hug each other. Charlie pulls away and kisses my cheek, “text me?” He gives me a hopeful smile.
“Tomorrow I definitely will.” Smiling back at him.