Soul Searcher Book 1
CHAPTER NINE

Feeling a bit claustrophobic, I decided to wander down to the boardwalk which is just a couple of minutes from my house. As I walk along the wooden planks, I find myself standing in front of a coffee shop and decide to go in and buy one of those iced coffees I would often see humans consuming.

Walking up to the counter, I ask for a medium iced coffee with a bit of cream, a splash of mocha and a lot of sugar. I have an insanely sweet tooth! While I wait for the Barista to make my beverage, I tap my fingers upon the fake black and white swirled marble counter-top to the beat of some random tune playing overhead out of strategically placed speakers.

After the Barista hands me my drink I turn away to head out of the shop and freeze in my tracks. There is absolutely no freaking way this is possible! I blink my eyes a couple of times in hopes that I am hallucinating or something but no such luck. Sitting directly in front of me is Cassie! “Oh wow,” I hear the girl sitting across from her say before Cassie turns her head in my direction, her raven locks are loose falling down around her shoulders and bounce slightly with her movements as her eyes lock with mine.

Before my brain and body sync up in moving, I think of how much I would like to run my hands through her soft, shiny black strands of hair. Shaking this thought from my mind, I promptly begin walking, quickly making my way to the exit and the safety of the outdoors. Being inside so close to her makes me feel like an animal trapped in a cage unable to escape my captor.

***

“What in the actual F,” Cassie states a little too loudly, causing the other patrons in the café to look her way. Eyes wide in shock, she turns her head back to Khloe and stares in stunned silence at her. For just a moment Cassie stays frozen in her seat before jumping up and dashing out the door after Rim. “Stop!” She manages to shout as she begins to chase him. The last thing she wanted to do today was run anywhere.

However fast she ran though, Rim seemed to run faster. How is that even possible? Eventually Cassie stopped running. Stopping at the corner of a crossway, she bent over as she tried to catch her breath. Standing upright, she whipped her head around glancing left and right before growling in frustration, “argh!” she stomped her foot before turning back towards the coffee shop.

**

What the hell is wrong with me? I have never run from a human in my life. Normally I am the one making the humans run away screaming in terror as they do. Here I am though, running from one! Shaking my head at how pathetic I have become I begin to wander the far end of the boardwalk that I had walked the first night I was in town. Meandering meaninglessly along, a poster catches my attention. I see that I am standing in front of the Star-Sky venue, the same night club that had one of my favorite bands play the first time I had walked by it. The poster that catches my eye happens to be another favorite band of mine and it looks like they are playing a show tonight inside this club.

Stoked because I’ve wanted to see these dudes play live for quite some time, I go to open the door of the entrance only to realize they are closed. “Dang it,” I mutter. On the plus side, they open in an hour and a half, and I plan on being here then to purchase a ticket. Now to kill time until then...

***

“Oh my gosh, finally!” Cassie exclaimed as she heard Ginny’s voice say hello. “I’ve been ringing you for an hour. What’s going on?”

“Hi Cassie. Sorry, I just woke up. Long nights, let me tell you. What’s up?”

Cassie wanted to tell her everything that had happened since she’d been gone but once she heard Ginny’s voice, she wasn’t sure what to say or where to begin. “Nothing much. I’ve been keeping myself busy with work and whatnot. I just missed your voice, so I thought I’d give you a call. What’s been going on in your life? How’s the boyfriend person?”

“We’re good well, except we don’t get very much alone time if you know what I mean.” Cassie could hear some noise in the background on Ginny’s end of the call. She was pretty sure Gin was whispering to someone and Cassie sighed. “Hey Cass, I’ve got to go, the guys need help setting up their merch table. Can I call you later?”

Cassie chuckled to herself. “Sure Gin. I’m working until late tonight because Jason has that band playing and the club is nearly sold out so I should be up for quite a while tonight.”

“Okay. Oh, I forgot that band was there tonight. Can you get pictures for me? Oh, and some videos of them performing that one song? Please....”

“You’re such a dork, but I love you. I will do my best to take pictures and I’ll try to film when they sing that song,” Cassie replied as a grin spread across her face. She’s lucky I know her so well or I wouldn’t have a clue as to what song the ding bat was referring to. “I’ll talk to you later Gin, have a good night.”

“I will. And Cassie, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” This caused Cassie to burst into laughter which in turn caused Ginny to start laughing. At the same time, they both said goodbye and hung up the phone. Glancing at her phone screen to see the time, she decided she would take a nap because she knew it was going to be a wildly long night.

**

I think that was the longest hour and a half of my life! The doors to the Star-Sky were to open at 6:30pm and I was the very first person in line. I feel like a dumb ass as I stand there but I’ve always wanted to see Black Veil Brides live so I do my best to ignore this feeling and the sound of the doors being unlocked from the inside can be heard. A surge of excitement can be felt coursing through the crowd as all the people behind me begin to surge forward towards the doors and their voices grew louder and louder. I walk through the entrance and right up to the window to purchase a ticket and to my surprise, the girl that had been sitting with Cassie in the coffee shop is the one selling the tickets and stamping those who are 21 and over, their hands.

The girl looks at me curiously as she hands over the stub of a ticket. I give her a nod in thanks and turn from her so I can go inside the club, but I hear her shout, “hey, you didn’t get your hand stamped.”

I don’t have the heart to tell her that I wasn’t planning on drinking tonight, so I turn around to face her and stick my hand out for her to press the ink upon. She rolls the stamp across the top of my hand. I grin and thank her as I pull my hand away and blow on the top of it to make sure it’s dry and finally enter the inner portion of the club. Inside, the place isn’t exactly what I was expecting to see, granted, I’m not sure I know what I was expecting but the club has an industrial feel to it which is the exact opposite from the outside of the building that has more of a surfer vibe appeal to it. There are sporadically placed metal fences throughout the building and any surface area that isn’t covered in some type of silver/metal is covered in a polished black paint. But overall, it’s a chill place and I can understand the appeal/draw it has on people my age.

The first two bands go on and perform their sets. As the second band is finishing their last song, I decide to make my way up to the bar and snag a bottle of water. After purchasing the water, I move away from the bar and find a spot that isn’t completely overrun by humans. Leaning against the wall, I down the water in a matter of minutes and then scan my surroundings looking for a trash can. I am shocked to see how crowded the place has become. There are so many bodies crammed together that no matter which way you move, you are ultimately bumping into someone. I weave my way through the humans and manage to get myself a decent spot near the stage to watch the third band. After the third band goes on, the main act, Black Veil Brides will be up. Giddy excitement runs through me, and I feel like a teeny bopper as I patiently watch for the band to play their final song.

Darkness descends upon us as the dudes all take their places on the stage. Blue light suddenly brightens up the stage and everyone begins to hoot, holler and whistle, including me, as the guys go into their first song. By the time they begin to play my favorite song, Scarlet Cross, I’ve managed to make my way up to the front of the stage. The jumping crowd surges forward resulting in me being pushed off to the side causing me to fall into someone. Turning so I can shout an apology to whomever I’ve knocked into, the words freeze on my tongue and my eyes go wide in surprise. Cassie is standing in front of me and probably mirroring the look of shock currently on my face.

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