When Lilac Meets Grey - Chapter 1

Lilac stood against the railing in the cold weather, watching in envy as the bouncer checked the show-goers' tickets and stamped a glow sign on their wrists. Every few moments she'd turn to look at them, the line would get shorter as people walked in and chattered animatedly, looking excited.

She wasn't one to find sport in people watching but one would be amazed when they have so much time on their hands. Not that there was anything to observe anyway in the small and quiet part of the town – with the exception of the lively scene going on across from her.

She could have also been amongst them if she didn't have to wait for her best friend who was currently running late. It didn't help her case that she didn't have the tickets with her either because she wasn't the one to purchase it.

Her calls had ended up going to the voicemails and Lilac could only hope that her friend would arrive soon.

"Jo, where are you?" She puffed out a cold air then sighed to herself in agitation, looking around for any familiar vehicle coming around the curb.

She stared at a blue car that came around, her heart soaring at the thought that it could be Joanne. Although it didn't look like the car her friend had driven to school, she crossed her fingers and hoped that it would be her. Knowing the girl, she would probably hitch a ride if she had to.

It came to a stop a few meters away from her and she sighed in disappointment when only three males came out from it; one stood out with a neon pink Mohawk and the other two looking like regular guys in a hoodie and plaid shirt. Her eyes briefly met with one of them but she quickly looked elsewhere, not wanting to feel like she had been caught for staring. When she glanced back, they had already made their way to the line, talking amongst themselves.

She suddenly found herself being irritated. Right, of course they're here for the gig.

There were only five more people left in the line and she could hear the faint sound of a guitar being tuned. Though she was outside of the venue, the sounds inside the building vibrated through the solid ground and her body. She gritted her teeth in frustration; it was ridiculous but she felt as though she was being left out from the fun.

Damn the tickets, she thought sourly, kicking the small pebbles on the ground mindlessly.

She tapped her foot on the pavement impatiently, getting nervous and worried that they might not go in after all.

Just when she thought they'd have to miss the show, the sound of a car skidding on the asphalt around a corner caught her attention. What made Lilac turned sharply was not the sound, although it did gave her a start – it was the loud opera music blaring from the car.

If she weren't too anxious about her friend's arrival and catching the show, she would have found the situation comical, what with some people looking confused and alarmed by that.

An old red Sedan came to a halt before Joanne emerged and jogged towards her. The moment she safely got out and stepped away, the car had already sped off.

She watched the vehicle disappeared around a corner before casting a curious glance at Joanne. "Who was that?"

The girl threaded her fingers through her black hair, fixing the untamed strands before saying mindlessly, "My brother."

Lilac raised her eyebrow in disbelief. "Jeremy?"

"The one and only."

"Never thought he'd listen to The Phantom of The Opera." Lilac said, her face thoughtful.

Joanne laughed a little. "I never thought I'd listen to some heavy shit yet here I am."

Those words had snapped Lilac back into the main reason why they were there. Feeling the annoyance seeping through her veins again, she pursed her lips at Joanne. "Speaking of that, where on earth have you been? I've been standing here for the past two hours like a lunatic, I tell you!"

Joanne suddenly became sheepish. She clapped her palms together in front of her face and winced. "I'm sorry! My car broke down and I had to call him from work. You know he practically works at the other side of the town." She whined a little.

Well. How could she stay mad at Joanne for that? Besides, she knew how far the other town was – she had lived there before.

Still, she didn't want to let Joanne off easily. Giving her friend a look, she said, "And you couldn't just use the public transport?"

Joanne glared. "I had to walk a mile to get to the bus stop. You knew that." The girl added with a tone of accusation and Lilac gave in then.

"Fine." She sighed. "Let's just get in. You have the tickets with you, right?"

Joanne nodded and patted her pockets before a stricken look passed across her face. Lilac caught that and her face started to pale as she whispered, "No…"

Joanne broke out into a grin then before fishing out two tickets. "You bet."

"Damn it, Joanne!" Lilac yelled before they crossed the road and rushed to where the bouncers are.

They got there just in time to see some local acts playing. Although Lilac didn't know most of the bands on stage, she found herself liking some of their music and made a mental note to check them out later.

Along with Joanne and a hundred others in the slightly small spaced venue, the colourful strobe of lights flashing around with the deafening beat of the drums and guitars, Lilac head banged to the heavy riffs of the music and sang along to the songs she knew. Her dark brown hair matted to her face was damp with sweat but she didn't care as she sang her heart out and let the music surge within her. Soon enough, people started to make a small pit and moshed in it. Others who didn't want to accidentally get smacked or kicked in the face moved away from the small crowd and meshed further with the already screaming fans at the front - where security railings were placed near the stage.

In the midst of feeling the euphoric wave of being in the same place as her idols, Lilac didn't notice that people were practically pressing on one another's shoulders as they jumped, until she felt a pressure on hers.

Worse, she immediately realized, there seemed to be some dry humping fest going on when she felt a slight brush against her bottom. She stilled, feeling nervous as her heartbeat thumped wildly. What the hell?

Do these things happened at every gig or something?

She tried to ignore it at first, pulling the hem of her tank top down and her unbuttoned flannel shirt to cover her almost exposed shoulders. She thought perhaps they didn't do it on purpose.

It happened again.

She was already fuming with anger then and feeling uncomfortable. How dare they?

She glanced around to spot Joanne and saw her friend not far away from her, too immersed in shouting the words and head banging with the crowd to notice her.

She sighed to herself. Ready to mouth off whoever it was, she glanced behind her shoulder and shot a narrowing look when they widened a fraction and stayed fixed on a guy – it was one of the guys who came out from the blue car.

He must have felt someone staring at him intensely because he stopped jumping and screaming to the lyrics and met her gaze then.

He wanted to smile but decided against when he saw the girl's frowning face. Confused, he raised an eyebrow in question and asked, "Is something wrong?"

In the sea of moving bodies and deafening noises, she hadn't catch on to what he said and so she leaned closer, yelling, "What?"

He leaned closer to her ear and yelled back, "I said, is something wrong? You were frowning at me."

It took her a few seconds to remember what it was that she was going to say to him. "Yes, could you stop humping on me? That was not okay and I felt really uncomfortable."

The guy just looked at her like she had lost her mind. He looked offended, actually and for a moment Lilac thought she had wrongly accused him. But she told herself she wouldn't let down her guard; that was probably a tactic to get girls feel sorry for them.

One of his eyebrows lifted and he looked like he was in a trance. Lilac thought that he was taking too long to respond. She wanted him to admit it, apologize and stay a few feet away from her so they could just get on with the show. She was not going to miss enjoying the live show, especially since this was her first time going to a gig.

They were the only ones in the crowd who stood still, despite being pushed around by the raving fans. Lilac grunted and gave a dirty look to those around her when she was practically being squished around against sweaty bodies. Looking up, she blinked and almost took a step back when she realized how close she was to the guy.

It seemed that he was finally processing it because his eyes widened in surprise disbelief. "I did no such thing!"

She quirked an eyebrow, one that clearly said she didn't believe him. "Yeah? Well are you going to tell me now that I've been imagining it? Really?"

He furrowed his dark eyebrows before tilting his head a little and rubbed his neck. Then, he looked at her. "Look, I'm sure you got the wrong thing. I told you, I did not do that to you."

"Why should I believe you?"

He pushed back around and answered with a frown, "Because that's creepy as hell. And I came here to enjoy the band, not to grope girls. But hey, if I did jumped on you or something, that was not my intention and I'm sorry. In case you haven't noticed," He grunted a little when some guys around him elbowed his arm before continuing, "we are in the midst of some crazy, energetic people jumping and pushing around." He gave her an apologetic grin nonetheless and moved away from her.

Well. That…did made sense.

She watched him retreat back into the deep sea of people and stared at the space where he had occupied.

At least he did apologize and move away, she thought to herself.

With a frown on her face, she shook her head and tried to get over what happened and get back into the scene. It was a bit difficult but after a while, she was swept back into the reverberating sound and hypnotic pull of the music scene.

ns 172.69.6.51da2