BY SOME DIVINE MIRACLE, the entire crew made it to the Christmas Music Fest in one piece. Sierra drove the white van down the streets of Lockfell like a burning demon had been chasing them, threatening their life. Gwenn held on to both Aura and Milo so as to not fly out from her seat. Scarlet yelled at Sierra, holding onto the passenger seat for dear life. Alas, when they parked, Sierra turned her flashing green eyes at them with a growing grin.
"We're fine. See?" She motioned to the packed lot, with more cars slowly making their way down the different lanes.
"You're a menace behind that wheel," Milo panted, pressing a hand over his heart. Everyone laughed as Sierra flipped him off.
Jake swung the doors open, stepping out into the brisk evening air. Everyone else followed suit, clambering out of the van like they needed to feel the ground under their feet. Gwenn could feel her muscles relax when the distant music flowed from the festival like a hazy promise of loud distraction.
Glittering lights flashed overhead. Enormous candy canes opened the entrance to the festival, a swarm of people walking under them decked in Santa hats and the occasional reindeer headband.
Zilla fidgeted ahead, grasping onto Raphael's hand tightly. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, leaning down to whisper into her ear. Milo sighed beside Gwenn, wriggling his fingers together as they all faced the entrance. Whatever Raphael had told Zilla didn't calm her down, but she stretched her lips into a grim smile.
Inside, Gwenn couldn't help let her jaw drop at the insanity. It was like they dropped a Christmas bomb onto the space and let it explode. Garlands hung over every arc and frame. Lights shined so bright, they didn't even need help seeing in front of them in the growing darkness of the night. Different figures of snowmen, reindeer, Santa, elves, and nutcrackers stood frozen mid-wave as they passed through.
Kiosks and mini stands all were swarmed with people, hoping to buy snacks and souvenirs of their attendance. Wooden shops to the likes of a quaint Christmas town stood to the side, decorated in fake snow, blinking lights, and dark green garlands wrapped in tinsel and glittering ornaments. A riot came from a particular shop as she passed by, a tight crowd cheering with glasses as they asked for more. Gwenn realized it was a bar right in the middle of the festival.
That promised a rowdy night for the town of Lockfell.
"Ay Dios mío," Zilla murmured as they approached the center of the festival. A circle of bushes surrounded the most colossal Christmas tree she had ever seen up close. It was decorated with large, bright, multicolored bulbs and an array of ornaments that glimmered in the night. People turned to take pictures in front of it at every corner-families, groups of friends, and even lovers (both calm ones and ones that didn't care about showing everyone what they liked to do). But behind the circle, the stage loomed before them, a band already giving festival-goers the time of their life by covering multiple Christmas songs.
"Z, let's go kill it!" Sierra whooped, grabbing onto Zilla's arm and pulling her towards the stage. They laughed as the two struggled with each other. Sierra kept pulling her to the daunting stage. Zilla complained that she needed a minute to breathe.
They both stopped, and Zilla stared off at the stage. Gwenn had to admit it was a big one. The audience swarmed the space, standing so close to each other they resembled sardines.
"I'm gonna puke," Zilla said. All of them turned to her, already disagreeing with her. "I shouldn't have..."
Raphael snickered beside her. "You already signed up, mami. You have to go through with your commitments."
Gwenn frowned in his direction, but, like the rest of the group, chose to ignore his comment.
"Zilla, you're gonna do great," Milo spoke up. "You have the best voice in all of Lockfell, Hales Bay, and Old Watford combined. Go blow them away, stupid. We're all gonna be here for you." He turned to the group as if asking them to back him up. "Right, guys?"
They all nodded, even Raphael after a moment of silence. Zilla glanced back at the stage, studying the band making the audience go nuts. After a second, she took in a deep breath and nodded.
"Okay," she said, straightening her spine. "I can do this. I can just pretend like no one's there anyway."
"Yes, sing those-"
"If you say 'horny Christmas songs' again, I'll flick you, Scar," Zilla warned, but her tone failed to keep her usual flare. Scarlet flipped her off with a pout anyway.
"Come on, Zilla," Raphael said, holding out his hand for her to take. "I'll walk you over there."
Zilla held his gaze before threading her fingers with his. She glanced back at them for a brief moment, then gave a weak wave before letting Raphael lead her deeper towards the stage.
They let the remainder of the band's music fall over them, taking in the grandeur of the festival around them.
Aura sighed, stretching her arms to the sides. "Guess it's time for us to get wild."
Gwenn followed the group to the stage, pushing through people to get closer. She had to grasp onto Milo and Sierra to not get lost between sweaty bodies and get trampled. Out of all her friends, she was the smallest, so she could easily be at the mercy of raging humans partying too hard.
Thanks to Jake and Milo, they were able to part the masses somewhat to get near the front row. Scarlet pressed onto Jake's side, cheering on the band as they finished their set with an intense drum solo.
The crowd went insane when the lead singer-a good-looking guy with bleached hair and ripped jeans-bowed and thanked them for the night. An odd lull passed through the audience as the band made their exit. A host came onto the stage, already prepping everyone to get ready for the next set.
"The night is just starting," he thundered on the microphone. Deafening yells answered. Some even blared horns that Gwenn couldn't even fathom where they came from. "And now we'll be hearing from a local singer. And you know how we love our very own talent." Gwenn felt like her eardrums would collapse at the noise. "Please give it up for the ever so lovely, Zilla Hernández!"
When her friend's name was announced, Gwenn joined in on the insanity. She and her friends screamed at the top of their lungs, chanting her name until the rest of the crowd followed their initiative.
Zilla walked onto the stage, her curls bouncing on her head with a glint from the bright stage lights. She stepped past the fake snow near the edge, giving the audience a weak wave and a sheepish smile. Once she grasped the microphone off the stand, the spotlight shone on her. She straightened up, showing off the black skin-tight crop top and matching shorts. An olive green over-sized button-down acted as a cardigan over her frame as she stood on chunky booties.
She was so her that she glowed as she gazed out at the sea of people waiting to hear her voice.
"Yeah, Z!" Scarlet yelled over the crowd.
Zilla grinned as if she had heard Scarlet's voice in the distance. "Hello, everyone! I'm Zilla, and I don't know about you, but I'm ready to keep this party going. Anyone else?"
People cheered, agreeing with her.
"Let's get it going then," she said.
The track started. Gwenn could imagine Zilla sitting at her apartment, smiling at the strings in the instrumentals.
The instant she opened her mouth, the talent poured out. Her voice casted the most powerful spell known to mankind. Gwenn knew why men lost their life in those tales when they fell off their ships. If they had been listening to a voice like Zilla's, they would dive head first into the ocean to try and grasp the eternal beauty of her music.
The audience was immediately enraptured. Everyone cheered when Zilla hit a high note. People around her began dancing, moving to the R&B sounds. Within seconds, the audience felt like they were in a club, dancing so close together, breathing hard and pressing deeper into each other. Gwenn blinked once and saw Aura already getting to know a random guy quite intimately by the way she ran her hands down his chest.
Zilla went off to her next song, and the crowd was all in the mood. Gwenn swayed side to side, letting her vocals fall over like a sprinkle of ice cold water after having been in the sun all day. Only one person stayed put in the audience, and that was Raphael, who had found them afterwards. He stared up at his singing girlfriend with his hands stuffed in his pockets, like he couldn't risk missing a single second.
Gwenn wandered towards Scarlet, whose arms were wrapped around Jake's neck. Jake whispered into her ear as they pressed closer together. The scene tightened her chest hard, so she turned around to find a more suitable scene with Sierra and Milo bumping their heads to the beat of the song.
There in the middle of the audience surrounded by so many bodies with her friends, she was grateful for the family that life decided to bless her with. She might've not grown up with her biological mother, or knew anyone that was truly related to her, but she was chosen for a better life. One filled with a love that overflowed. She had incredible parents. She had friends she could not live life without.
Her family was all chosen, never forced upon her.
And her heart wanted to choose Ronan to join it, but their history had driven him away.
Zilla finished her set after two more songs. The audience was so enamored with her that they collectively awww'd when she said her goodbyes and left the stage. Raphael lurched forward, squeezing through the crowd to find Zilla before anyone else.
Gwenn found that her friends dispersed around the crowd. Aura went off with that new guy, grinning up at him like she always did when she met someone that could keep her company for the next weekend. Sierra was nowhere to be seen. Milo trailed around, keeping an eye on Raphael as he walked to the edge of the stage. Scarlet and Jake were too preoccupied with themselves to know what anything was happening around them.
She let the moving crowd force her to the back. She gasped out when she was released from the swarm and she breathed in a gulp of normal air.
Another band took to the stage, but Gwenn couldn't focus on more music. Her head was swimming with jumbled thoughts of her family and Ronan.
So much Ronan.
She grasped onto her forehead and walked out to the circle. Not even the pretty lights or Christmas decorations lifted her spirits. Her hands fumbled inside her purse, rummaging for her phone, only to find her notifications barren.
She debated reaching out again, but thought against it, listening to her better judgment. Her feet stopped in the middle of the festival, people coming to and fro with large fried foods or drinks and big smiles. A loud ruckus captured her attention to find that she had found the bar once more, housing more than a dozen people under the intense influence of alcohol.
She gazed down at her phone again before looking up at the bar. Jay's it read on the door. After the semester she'd had, she was due for a distraction. If live music couldn't provide that, then perhaps the strong liquid could numb all the racing thoughts taking control of her mind.
Gwenn was desperate to forget, even if for one night. So she walked up to the bar and pushed open the loose door, ready to drink her feelings like she had never done before.