Page 20 of Just Wait

Tangled Desires kills it, and I get goose bumps listening to their last song. Theo has an incredible voice, and the ripped tank top they put him in shows off his strong arms as he strums away on his guitar.

“Thank you, Savannah,” he purrs into his microphone as the rest of the guys make their way up to say their goodbyes.

I’m tempted to signal to Leon that I’m ready to go backstage, but I’m in the front row. This venue is incredible and the special effects are unreal.

Theo will be busy with changing and heading to the meet and greet, so I might as well hang out and watch some of Liminal’s set.

Malcolm plays a sick solo as the guys take their places, and the entire energy changes.

Several hundred bodies spill from their seats all at once. Everyone around me stands, so I do the same.

“How ya doing, Savannah?” Kincaid asks, leaning toward the audience and pointing as he sweeps his hand through the air.

The crowd goes wild.

“We love you too,” Malcolm says in his playful tone.

“We sure do,” the third guitarist says. I’m pretty sure that’s Parish. He’s one of the two new additions that joined the band when Andrew left. He swaps between guitar and piano, depending on the song.

“All right,” Kincaid says, his blond hair falling around his mask as he leans toward the crowd, pointing with his free hand. “I’m digging the enthusiasm, but this isn’t the place for a mosh pit.”

“Do you know the number one rule of a Liminal show?” Malcolm asks, pulling up his mask.

The audience loses their shit, screaming, whistling, and yelling.

Kincaid waits for the noise to lessen before saying, “He asked you a question.”

The audience screams, and if there’s an answer given, I can’t make it out.

The lights are so bright that every detail of the band is easy to make out, but I’m sure we look like a sea of faceless bodies to them.

“If someone falls, you fucking pick them up,” Malcolm says, scanning the crowd. “You hear me, assholes? That’s the only rule at a Liminal show. Well, except you’re obligated to have fun.”

“Let’s save the moshing for the outdoor venues,” Kincaid says. “Too much to ask?” He laughs ominously. “Probably. But you know the rules. If someone gets knocked down, and you don’t pick them up before we notice…” He shrugs. “We’re done for the night. It’s that simple. Your safety comes first. You all paid good money to be here, and nobody wants that to go to waste, so let’s have fun and take care of each other.”

I’ve seen clips of their larger shows, and I knew sometimes mosh pits form, but the shows they’ve done so far have been in smaller venues.

Kincaid intros their first song, and Riser leads them in with the slow slams of his sticks.

A considerable amount of people spill around the seats, making their way up to stand in front of the fence that barricades the audience from getting too close to the stage.

Panic stirs in my chest.

It might be an overreaction, but if more people congregate along the fence, I’ll lose sight of Leon.

It’s better if I get my ass out of here now.

Otherwise, I might lose my window.

Everyone else around me seems to want to get closer now that those few idiots rushed the barricade.

My anxiety forces me forward.

I could probably have ridden out the rest of their show.

Leon would come for me at some point, right?

If nothing else, Theo would eventually notice I’m missing. I’m just not sure how long that would take, and my panic rises.