From Yesterday

S E V E N

- Of course I'm coming, silly! - I told him, taking his shoulders, leaning with my full weight on him, then ruffling his hair. (Fun fact about me. I always want to touch people's hair.) He frowned, but didn't protest.

- Well, in that case, what can I do for you? Any suggestions? - he questioned, gently.

I had just stepped inside, when I heard him ask. Turning on my heals, I stepped closer to him.

- The acoustic version of Hurricane is my favourite song. Bye now! -

That was all I said, before zipping the tent shut, right in front of him. I saw his shadow through the thin fabric. He shook his head, nevertheless he remained standing there for quite some time, but eventually I saw him stride away.

Still bloody and dirty, I took a shower before I proceeded to wash Jared Leto's blood out of my clothes. I was in the middle of the process of hanging them outside on the white sunbathing chairs when my roommates returned.

As they caught sight of me, their faces became rather confused.

I was wearing my own Beautiful Lie anniversary top now plus a pair of white shorts. My wet, brown and wavy hair was falling into my face and into my eyes, so I pushed it away with my right hand, scratching the back of my head as I did.

- Hey Yvette! Where have you been? You missed all the fun... - one of them beamed, cheerfully. I smiled at her, having a hard time trying not to laugh at that accusation. But I could simply not miss such an opportunity to be ironic. I lifted my hands in defence, saying:

- Oh, I sincerely doubt that! -

They all gasped. One of them even put her tiny hand in front of her mouth, looking at me as if I was some sort of freak.

- What? - I asked, a little worried.

- Your wrist! - one of them managed to croak out, pointing at it.

- Yeah, I got a tattoo. Is that a problem? -

- No, not that one! What happened with the other? - they asked in chorus.

I was fairly shocked. I looked down at my right wrist, discovering that it was slightly swollen, covered in bruises that danced in the colours green, blue and deep purple. But that wasn't the main thing about it. The dark discolouration that ran along my arm formed the perfect shape of five fingers.

In my astonishment, I involuntarily ran my thumb across the sensitive area of skin, finally understanding why it had been pulsing all evening. Mesmerised, I studied the dark bruise that Jared's hand had left on my forearm, but snapped out of my daydream just fast enough to put it behind my back, before the three girls could notice the recognisable shape and so I lied about it.

- Ah, I went rock climbing and bashed it against a cliff... It's no big deal. I'm fine. -

🎵It's a beautiful lie. It's a perfect denial. Such a beautiful lie to believe in. So beautiful, beautiful, it makes me...🎵

Jared sang in my head. I told him to sod off.

Eventually, the little company accepted my rather sketchy story and left me on my own. I put on some light makeup, several Mars themed wristbands to cover the bruises on my arm and started my descent to the main event of the weekend.

***

How could I describe a 30 Seconds To Mars concert in one word? Intense. In a good way, of course. All of my favourite songs had been played, even the new one I saw Jared write, just this afternoon. I had never felt better in my life than when I sang along with the crowd, going absolutely nuts. I'd never felt better than when I laughed, cried, fought with them, for them and alongside them. The Echelon. We were not "fans". Jared made it crystal clear, going out of his way, in order to express just how much he hated that "fucking" word. But we were not only a community either. We were a family, bound by our experiences from this weekend. And by the superglue that held us all together: Mars. I had never in my life felt better than when Shannon and I made eye contact like 8 times every second minute, and I had never felt better than when Jared announced the last song of the night. He was going to sing Hurricane. The acoustic version. But before he did, he held a little speech that left me blushing, made me smirk and that also made me thank the Lord for every minute He'd granted me with this man.