Chapter 2
“Please… I seem to have misplaced my ticket… I won a backstage pass in a sweepstakes.” She tried to explain herself as she took a few steps forward until they made eye contact. Lily with her small size was about a head shorter than him, but she still tried to stand her ground, taking the time to process her thoughts and make a convincing argument. If she was going to be let through into the concert, she needed a good excuse as to why didn’t have her ticket with her.
“Tell that to everyone else.” The man answered, looking at her with an air of indifference. It wasn’t the first time a crazed fan had tried to trick him. He, however, always upheld the rule of concerts: No ticket, no entry.
“No… listen to me… I won and I have every right to see this concert!” She explained, her voice a little distressed. She hadn’t come this far, just to be thrown out. One way or another she would get into the concert.
“I’m sorry miss, I cannot let you inside without a ticket.” The bouncer explained, his arms now crossing over his chest. He didn’t need to deal with this. Eyeing security, they came over quickly, pushing Lily to the side. She didn’t want to start a scene, but at the same time, she was on the verge of crying out that this wasn’t fair. She had been so close…
As the men dragged her away, however, someone stood before them, blocking their way. Lily looked up and her eyes grew large as she saw the two members of Planet Mansions standing in front of her.
“Now, what are you doing to this poor young woman?” A deep voice called out, looking at the security. Lily looked at the taller man, Riley, who ran fingers through his long brown hair, taking it out of his eyes so he could stare at the security guard with his infamous dark glare.
The security guards didn’t know how to react at first, but eventually, they let her go. She rubbed her arms vigorously, trying to make the blood flow back into her arms. Anton, the other member of Planet Mansions stepped forward and looked at her with concern in his eyes. Lily stared into those gorgeous bright blue eyes and smiled. “Did they hurt you?” His sweet voice rang out. No wonder he was the lead singer, he had an angelic voice.
Lily quickly shook her head. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Was she really standing in front of Planet Mansions? “Good. Now why was security giving you such a hard time?”
Anton asked as he reached up, playing with the small gauges in his ears, a nervous habit of his. He didn’t know what it was about this girl, but for some reason, at the sight of her, his heart started to thud quickly, making him shiver with delight.
“I… won a ticket and a backstage pass… but in my excitement, I must have forgotten them at home…” She explained, feeling a little ashamed. She should have checked and double checked her bag before she had left her home.
“How do we know you aren’t lying to us?” Riley asked as he leaned down, his long hair moving into his eyes for a moment before he swept it to the side quickly. When she gave no answer, his hand went to her chin, pulling it up slightly, until she was forced to look into his impossibly dark eyes. Lily tried to look away, to admire the rest of his face. He was exceedingly handsome with an intimidating air surrounding him.
She felt her body fill with adrenaline in his presence but she tried to keep her composure. “I… I wouldn’t lie to you guys… I really appreciate your music… I think you are great musicians…” Lily stammered, suddenly rendered a little scatter brained.
“C’mon Riley… she seems like a sweet girl.” Anton said, before moving forward and wrapping his arm around the girl. He squeezed her against his muscular chest for a moment, before smiling, showing off perfect white teeth.
“Fine. She can come with us.” Riley uttered, before picking up his guitar and walking inside. Anton smiled, glad that he had managed to convince his partner to let the cute girl through.
“He’s not always this standoffish. I promise. He is actually very nice.” Anton offered his hand to Lily, much to her surprise. She stared at it in disbelief, wondering if she should really take it. Why was he being so nice to her? She couldn’t understand it, but at the same time, she wouldn’t pass up a chance to hold hands with one of her favorite pop stars.
Hesitantly she placed her hand in his. He smirked and squeezed it tight, before leading her inside. The bouncer watched and said nothing. She figured he was just holding her hand, so no one would question her going backstage with them.
When Lily finally made it backstage, she was awed by everything that went on. Anton brought her over to a dark skinned female that looked like some sort of Amazonian goddess. “Kim!” He called out suddenly, waving at her with his free hand.
The woman looked up from her clipboard a moment before her eyes landed on the small girl he was towing in her direction. She raised one well-groomed eyebrow in question, wondering what he was up to this time.
“This is uh….” Anton was suddenly a little embarrassed as he looked down at Lily. “I’m sorry… I never caught your name.” He chuckled, trying to dissipate the awkwardness he now felt.
“Lily…” She answered softly, looking at him innocently, a soft blush painting her pale cheeks a delicate shade of pink.
“Right… Kim this is Lily. She is a friend. Can you do me a huge favor and take care of her during the show?” He asked with a serious expression as his hand went up to his nearly clean shaven face.
Had Anton just called her a friend?