WARNING: THERE'S SWEARING AND AN INCREDIBLY LONG CHAPTER AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

‘For the last frickin time, Ash… I’m not gonna go to a concert with you! I almost got squished to death by some es dammit!’ You throw your hands up in frustration. Your friend—Ashling wanted you to accompany her to a concert. Not just any concert though, it was E-effin-X-O’s concert! You were a fan of their music but you weren’t much of a concert goer, you preferred quiet places better and all the other fans including your friend, screaming and grating at your eardrums isn’t much of a big help.

‘Oh come on! I already bought tickets! Don’t make me waste the last six hours I’ve spent waiting just to buy it, I haven’t gotten any decent sleep for god’s sake!' 'Just go with someone else okay? I just really don’t like noisy places.’ You sighed as you continued to work on your assignment, even though you still have two weeks before the deadline, you didn’t like to hand in your work late.

‘Seriously, there’s nothing I can do to change your mind?’ She hugged you from behind, trying to suffocate you to get you to say ‘yes’. ‘Ash, I just broke up with my ex a week ago okay? And you dragging me to see a concert of hot guys isn’t helping, it’s not like they’re gonna suddenly ask me out so… Hell no.’ You focused on your laptop, typing up the last words and saved it.

‘Even if I said I have exclusive pass to the backstage and meet them personally?’ She wagged the printed tickets in the air as I turned to look at her, shock written all over my face. ‘Holy mother of frickin goats and bananas! How in effin blazes did you get the backstage passes? Damn gurl, you got some serious explaining to do! Did you hack SM’s site or some ?’ I grabbed her by the shoulder.

‘Whoa hey! Calm down, I didn’t steal alright. You see these dark circles? Yeah, they’re the goddamn proof that I got them. First one in line to buy, es! yeah! And the only person here who can hack is you, . You can hack your way into almost everything! So… Are you going or not?’ She smiled smugly, waving the tickets in the air.

‘Ugh… Fine, I guess. Damn you for using backstage passes to lure me into this ing trap.’ You cursed and she laughed. ‘Well, it’s been ages since we last hung out! You were so busy with work and your ex, we hardly had time for each other!’ She wailed dramatically, flailing her arms out like an octopus. ‘Alright, alright, I’ll go but the next time, if you’re gonna drag me again, I’ll be sure to whoop your first.’ You warned but she was laughing like a maniac.

A week later, the day to the concert arrived. Ash as usual, is her hyper self and wouldn’t stop bugging you about what to wear to make herself look good in front of her ‘oppas’. She just wouldn’t shut up about what she should wear and even told you to wear a dress to impress EXO. ‘Girl, if I had to wear a dress to impress them, I wouldn’t even bother to wear one. Why should I let them influence the way I wear? I’d just be myself for all I care.’ You snorted.

‘Okay fine, rebel. Wear what you want, obviously no one can stop you.’ She retorted. You wore a long sleeved, black shirt with a tribal dragon print in front and a Chinese character for dragon on your left with a hoodie tied around your slim waist. A choker with a matching colour, a pair of skinny jeans and a pair of combat boots. Being the rebel, you had your hair dyed with three streaks, each one was a different colour to match your hair colour.

You also had piercings, four on your left ear and three on your right. Overall, you looked like you were about to kick as Ash lined your eyes to match your outfit. ‘Goddamn, even I had to say it, you look like you’re about to kick some and score some guys at the same time. Hot and cool!’ You laughed at her sentence. ‘Right… Shut your trap and hurry up if you wanna get there early.’ Since you were planning to visit your parents after the concert, you took your bike as Ash drove her car. With a bag strapped to your back, you put on your helmet and fingerless gloves before you left.

It was already a long line by the time you and Ash got there, she only smiled sheepishly as you glared at her for being late. One of the reasons why you dislike concert were the fans pushing you while on your way into the hall, one of them had the nerve to do so and earned a glare from you. She cowered under your fierce gaze and apologized. Once you found your seat, you immediately sat down and pulled out your headphones and listened to some songs first while waiting for the concert to start.

Half an hour later, it started with a grand opening. You couldn’t deny that it wasn’t boring but you slumped in your seat after sitting for too long, your back would surely suffer after this. EXO performed hit songs from their albums and interacted with the crowd, they were practically screaming all the time that it made you wonder how they were able to retain their vocal chords without getting sore throat from all that screaming.

The lucky fangirls were invited to the stage and took pictures with the members, squealing when they got off stage. It’s gonna be all over the internet, and that isn’t good. You closed your eyes, trying to block out all the screams that were hurting your ears.

A few hours later, the concert was done and the fans started shuffling out of the hall. You were about to rev up the bike when Ash pulled you into another direction, making you stumble and unbalanced. ‘Hey! What the hell, dude?!’ You half-yelled, trying to regain your balance. ‘Don’t ‘What the hell’ me, we’ve got access to backstage remember?’ She waved the passes in front of your eyes again. ‘Oh.’ Was all you could say, you almost forgot. She then laughed at you and gave you a look that says: .

Ash showed the passes to the security and he let you in, you were then led by the stage manager to their room where they were resting. They were originally tired but shot up straight as a ruler when they saw you, eyes wide like saucers. Well, how could they not? Ash was pretty much a goddess even in college so how is she not wowing them with her pretty, angelic looks while you on the other hand, looked like some kind of demon walking in human form or something that came straight out of hell with all the black.

‘I’m Ashling, this is my friend—(F/N).’ You only gave a nod as you crossed your arms and legs and leaned against the wall. ‘You girls look pretty, come have a seat here.’ Suho gestured. ‘I’ll stand, thanks. My is sore from all the sitting.’ You politely declined. You kept quiet as Ash got all the boys attention, you’re a quiet person and you don’t talk much unless needed. Suddenly, the stage manager burst through the door, an anxious look plastered on his face.

‘I’m sorry to interrupt but which one of you here can play electric guitar fluently?’ He asked quickly. Automatically, Ash pointed at me and I shot her a look that practically said: Way to go, friend, selling me out huh? ‘I’m not kidding, she’s played in gigs before and she’s awesome at it!’ Ash exclaimed and now their attention were focused on you, you didn’t like limelight. It made you feel so small.

‘Alright, I guess you’ll have to do then. Do you know how to play Japanese songs? There’s an anime band performing up next and their lead guitarist just hurt his hands.’ ‘What songs do I have to play?’ I asked him, if there were songs that I know of, it shouldn’t be a problem. ‘You’ll have to play these songs: Shuna, Fallen, Remind, DAY X DAY, NO SCARED, Enigmatic Feeling, Enamel, Goya no Machiawase, Save The One, Save The All, Jigoku Hen Chokaku, Ichirin no Hana, Colors, Guren no Yumiya, Chu Bura, Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, The Beginning, Mighty Long Fall, Loop, Rain, One Night Star, After Dark, Hikari no Rock, Unravel, Chain, Boys and Girls, Ambiguous, database, Re:make, The Everlasting Guilty Crown, Determination, Great Escape, This Game, Blood Teller and Haruka Kanata.’

‘Alright, no probs.’ You knew the tabs to all these songs since you love watching anime and you even did a cover and uploaded it on YouTube. EXO dropped their jaws in awe after listening to the list of songs you had to cover. ‘T-That’s a total of 34 songs and more than two hours! Are you gonna be alright?’ Lay asked worriedly. You cracked your knuckles and rolled up your sleeves as a smirk was plastered on your lips, can’t have Ash hog all the attention now can you?

‘I’m gonna be fine, no worries. And Ash, if I make it through this alive, you can’t complain about me watching anime with ramen and when I draw. Ever.’ You gave her a stern look before exiting the room, you were sure that they’re gonna watch you from the tv. Live.

You did some stretches and warmed up by playing a few basic tabs, the band members greeted you and apologized that you had to take your time and help them. You didn’t mind helping them and since you loved to play guitar so why the hell not?

The first song you had to play was Remind by ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D from the anime Yowamushi Pedal: Grande Road. The music came on and you bobbed your head, feeling the flow.

Three.

Two.

One.

Drums…

And bam!

You strummed the strings and the powerful echo of the guitar sent the anime fans into a crowd of screeching sea gulls as they sang along to the lyrics. It was an amazing feeling to perform for the crowd, you never got tired of it and you never will. This inexplicable feeling could only be felt whenever you played the guitar and performed in front of an audience.

The crowd roared even louder when you played DAY X DAY, the anime fans favourite opening from Gintama 2015. ‘DAY BY DAY BY DAY BY DAY, sou zenshin zenrei kakete, anata to mamorinuku to kimeta, sou donna yatsuru, baka ni saretemo, boku ga shinjita no wa anata dake!’ Everyone sang, you did your best to play as fast as your fingers allowed you to and broke your limits, reaching a new level.

EXO who were watching a live footage of you from their room gasped as you played Enigmatic Feeling from Psycho Pass 2, ‘Her speed… Her fingers are moving so fast that I can’t even catch up, how long has she been playing the guitar?’ Baekhyun asked. ‘Well, she’s been playing acoustic guitar since she was just a kid then moved to electric guitar at 13 and bass at 16. She’s been playing all types of songs, heck, she could even play the rock version of Mozart’s Symphony #40! I’ve heard it once and it was mind-blowing!’ Ash gushed.

‘But how? I know for a fact that playing the classics on piano is already hard enough but translating them into tabs for electric guitars? Wow, she’s a guitar genius!’ Kai complimented as his eyes were affixed to the screen. Your fingers have never stopped even for one second and it amazed them how you were able to keep up with the speed and multitasking everything, remembering the chords, strumming the guitar and moving your body to the music at the same time.

Baekhyun just stared at you, he couldn’t take his eyes off of you for some reason. You’re not his ideal type and yet, there was something about you that caught his attention. They way your fierce eyes graze across the audience, the confidence you showed while playing the guitar, that face of yours that showed that you weren’t afraid of the crowd. Maybe it was everything that drew him to you because he had never seen someone like you, a rebel who’s got the looks, talent and the confidence that could put a lion to shame.

--Nuz aan sul, fent alok, fod fin vul dovah nok, fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz! Paaz Keifaal fen kos stinnol bein Alduin jot! Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin losvahriin, wah dein vokul mahfaeraak hast vaal! Ahrk vin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan, Dovahkiin fah hin kogaan mu draal!--

Your phone rang noisily and vibrated on the glass table, Ash picked it up and sighed as she turned it off. ‘What was that?’ Kris asked. ‘Nothing, just her alarm.’ She replied as she put the phone back in it’s original place. ‘Then why are you sighing heavily? What’s the label on her alarm?’ ‘It’s an alarm for her kendo and kenjutsu practice. It’s the only thing that’s keeping her mind occupied. Poor thing just broke up with her ex a week ago, caught him red handed with two other girls. It’s a miracle that she hasn’t gone for his throat yet.’

When Ash explained your situation, everyone in the room felt sorry for you. They hadn’t expected this but waited for you to finish perform, amazed that even you had tons of stuff in your mind, you managed to be calm and cool. Even Suho himself thought that you were professional, separating work from personal matters unlike some other celebrities.

Unravel, it was the final song, you were sweating and you were tired but you pushed on nonetheless. The way you jammed the riff down made the crowd go wild, they stood up from their seats and they were all in a state of frenzy. By the time you finished playing, the only sounds you heard was the crowd’s screams and applause drowning out your thoughts and the sound of your heart pounding against your ribcage because of the adrenaline pumping through your veins. Even after performing, your fingers felt tingly but you felt happy as you strode back to where Ash and EXO were waiting for you.

‘Congrats! Damn, I don’t even know what to say watching you push through those two hours!’ Ash hugged you as soon as you entered the door. ‘I’m seriously frickin tired, Ash… Standing straight for hours while moving your fingers is seriously mental work and I’m never doing that again!’ You plopped down on the couch. Sehun handed you a bottle of water and you thanked him before chugging down the cool liquid, soothing your scorching and dry throat.

‘So how did you feel after performing in front of thousands of fans for the first time?’ Luhan asked. ‘Well, it was scary at first to be honest but it was fun watching them go wild.’ You admitted. Your phone rang again and when you looked at the caller ID, you almost smashed your phone into the wall. How dare that bastard call you?!

You didn’t even bother to pick up the phone and silenced it, slamming it down and startling the rest of them. Just then, there was a commotion outside and a man burst through the door. Your ex. You were surprised that he came here considering the fact you never told him where you were but it lasted only for a second before your face was contorted into that of a vicious beast cornering a prey.

‘Why the hell are you here and how did you find me?’ You gritted your teeth and asked. ‘I hid a tracker in your phone so that I know where you are.’ ‘Tch. Stalker much?