Shut Your Mouth and Get Down on the Floor

“You’re going to love all these bands, I promise,” Vee nudged me.

“You know I don’t like the stuff I used to like in high school,” I smiled. Devin wrapped his arm around me. “I’m only here for From First to Last.”

Vee rolled her eyes. “Is screamo all you listen to?”

“Well yeah,” the four of us got up to the gate and gave in our tickets.

I looked around, breathing in the scent of teen angst, lots of hairspray, and cheap whores.

Those teen scene, they disgusted me.

Devin grabbed my hand and pulled me toward where Jake and Vee were headed, towards the big blow-up schedule of when the bands were playing.

I looked around and smiled. I loved Warped Tour. I’d been to this one four years in a row.

End of college, start of new life I guess you could say.

I wrote down fast on my little tablet and put the schedule of the bands I wanted to see and times in my pocket.

“Damn its hot,” I muttered, grabbing Devin's hand again. The four of us all started down the familiar trail lined with band merch.

“Just like you,” he smirked, squeezing my hand tighter.

I’d met Devin in New York in my second year of college. He was sweet, funny, and hot. And he wasn’t like most guys, he wasn’t a disgusting perv who just stuck his hands down my pants whenever he wanted.

Believe me, I’d been with too many of those.

We started going out soon after we met, and I loved him, so much. He was a year older, and really did fit me perfectly.

I brushed my bangs out of my eyes and we went to the Hurley.com Stage, which was under a huge tent. We got a couple of waters and sat there for awhile, talking idly. We had a few hours before any good bands were gonna play, so we’d stay here for awhile.

Plus it was too terrible to be out in this heat. It was disgusting.

“It looks like it’s gonna rain,” Vee pointed out.

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

Awkward silence…

We watched the band that was playing for a bit. Oreskaband I think it was. Asian people, they make me smile.

And then Vee brought him up.

“Isn’t Gabe in a new band now?” she asked and I shot her a death glare.

I didn’t like talking about my past obsessions in front of Devin.

“Gabe?” Devin asked, clueless, shaking out his hair.

“Gabe Saporta, from Midtown,” Vee explained. I shot her another glare before she could go on.

I giggled a bit. “Oh yeah, what crazy obsessions I used to have in high school.”

“I’ve heard of him,” Jake said. “But only from Midtown.”

“Never heard of him,” Devin said. Good thing.

We left soon to catch Family Force 5, then Pierce the Veil on the Hurley Stage.

Even though I didn’t like all these stupid alternative bands that sounded the same, Vee made me stay with her for All Time Low’s set while the guys went off to get some merch for us. Vee was kinda short, she got trampled a lot.

We walked over towards the main stages and we had awhile to wait. I texted Devin and they met us over by the Alternative Press stand.

Devin and I went up to see Reel Big Fish and then we promised Vee we’d join her when Relient K was on. After that was The Academy Is. That Beckett boy had become quite famous after all, Vee was proud of him.

The clouds started rolling in, dark menacing ones, and once Reel Big Fish was over everyone crowded over to the right for Relient K.

A voice came over the loudspeaker. “We’re going to have to stop for a second. A real big storm is coming in, with hail and all. Some people might die, most likely you. So everyone get over to the Hurley.com stage.”

“Ah fuck that stage is like a mile away,” Devin muttered before the commotion started.

We were right at the front, pressed up against the gate.

Everyone started panicking as it started to rain and we got pushed back and forth. Hundreds, thousands of people were running towards the tented stage.

The crowd pushed the two of us apart even though we tried to hold onto each other. I pulled my hood over my head as the hail began. I could barely see Devin.

“Call me when this is over and I’ll find you, okay?” he called, I could hear him.

“Okay,” I called back and the crowd pushed me all the way to the right.

In a split second I was pushed towards the middle, I was on my ass, and people were stepping on me. The rain and hail pelted left and right and the crowd lessened as people gathered under tents. But they wouldn’t let anyone under.

So we were all stuck here, in the pouring rain.

I managed to get myself up and realized my arm was bleeding through my sweatshirt.

I almost fell again, the rain blurred my vision terribly, but instead I was jerked back painfully. Someone was grabbing me, holding me.

I kicked and screamed. I was gonna get out on my own, no creepy person was gonna touch me.

But I realized it was a guard. In a split second I was behind the gate, being ushered back towards the backstage by a few guards.

“Are you okay?” they asked me.

My vision was blurry and now my arm hurt like hell. “I…uh…”

They brought me to the back, under a tent, and told me to take off my sweatshirt. Things were going fast, I really didn’t understand what was going on.

They bandaged me up good.

“Am I okay?” I asked when I found a voice.

“You were pretty beaten up out there,” a nice lady told me. “Here,” she handed me a small square piece of plastic. “I hope that makes up for it.”

A backstage pass… Holy shit!

“Can I, can I leave now?” I slipped my sweatshirt back on, shivering cold, and stood up. My arm hurt, a lot.

“It’s still raining, you should wait until it stops. Don’t try and get that wet or hurt any more. It won’t be pretty,” she cautioned me.

I nodded.

Just then a tall guy came into the room. “Meg I need some water,” I knew that voice.

I looked him up and down. Tight, tight grey skinnies, a bright yellow belt, a blue shirt with hot pink lettering on it. Words I really couldn’t read, they didn’t all fit together. Something about pandas and twins. He also had a hat on, a green sweatband, and a purple sweatshirt. That was so cool. I loved lots of color.

“Hank’s got some water. But don’t go out there, you’re gonna get soaked, or hurt.” I saw his eyes. Dark brown, tanned skin…

“But I need to go and set up.”

The lady, whose name I took to be Meg, sighed. “You’re set isn’t for awhile, Gabe, especially with all this rain.”

I gasped. Gabe? My Gabe? I looked at him again. They looked so alike…but…this one was so different.

And then he caught sight of me over Meg’s petite stature.

His eyes lit up. He knew me instantly. Four years ago, so drunk, he still remembered me…

“Mae?” he said my name gently, almost seductively.

“Gabe…Gabe Saporta?!”