Icarus

Fire

Fire

The music filled her with joy, entering through her ears she felt tingles on her skin, and it poured out in the movement of her body, as if the sounds were a language being translated through her feet, hands and hips, she danced non-stop to one of Within Inferno's songs.

Everyone at the concert felt the same way. They jumped up and down; some screamed and waved their hands to accompany the beat of the drums and the rhythm of the guitars. Cassie didn't draw attention with her hair down and dark clothes, instead she fit right in with the Goth crowd...although she might have put on more eyeliner.

The eyeliner...not an issue really as it would probably smear anyway from sweating so much. New Zoldova was even hotter than her town, and especially at night when there usually wasn't a hint of a breeze in the air.

Tate and his band were also in tune with the upbeat atmosphere. His shirt was torn, as if somebody ripped off the sleeves for the effect and it wouldn't be a surprise if he was the one who did just that. It was the first time Cassie noticed how strong his bulging biceps were while playing the guitar. She was impressed with how good the band played live, Tate's voice held strong although later it started to sound a bit hoarse, which for Cassie made the songs even more full of emotion than they would have been.

Cassie chose not to be that close to the stage even though Tate offered her a VIP spot right at the side. She wanted to be part of the dancing crowd...to feel the excitement of the crush and energy of all those people around her. And then came the final, telling lyrics, ripped right from their lives.

"I'm gone and I won't ever return, we are a perfect match but baby we are meant to burn."

The lights turned off and the band left the stage leaving Cassie wanting more. She had to squeeze through the ecstatic crush of groupies to get backstage. Finally at the door, she showed a security guard the VIP pass hanging from her neck.

The guard pointed to Within Inferno's location but Cassie found herself lost and wandering through a sea of trailers and white tents. Geradinne Park was huge, a perfect place for a big festival that lasted a week.

She finally spotted the band's logo.

"Hello?" she said entering. The boys still hadn't arrived. There were a few chairs, tables with snacks and bottles of water. The tent was lit by portable lights hung from the ceiling.

Fancy was all Cassie thought after looking the place over before almost tripping over a guitar case and having to catch herself so she didn't flop right onto the floor, which would have been awkward given that Tate, Lip and Cheese were just walking in at the time.

"Hey!" she greeted while high-fiving all of them, "you guys did so great!"

"Thanks, Cassie!" Lip hugged her and added, "We killed it!"

"Yeah, it was amazing!" Chester patted Tate's shoulder and pushed him into Cassie.

Tate smiled and looked over to his friends. Cassie's first instinct was to hug him but Tate lifted her in the air and kissed her on the forehead.

"It was...soooooo exceptional...just like I told you it would be," she whispered.

"Uh...we'll let you guys be alone for a sec, come on." Chester grabbed a water bottle with one hand and Lip by his shirt with the other, "We're going to look for Mac."

Chester winked at them and both band mates disappeared. When the next band began playing, their wall of high-decibel sound crashed into the tent.

"Where is Mac?" Cassie asked.