Jennifer hurried to catch up with Jeff. She was heading as fast as she could while still keeping a good grip on her coke cup. Meanwhile, Jeff didn't seem to have a single care in the world as he strutted along through gathering crowds.
The groups of squirming girls around her got tighter and tighter as she came closer to the backstage entrance. Jen could hardly wait to leave the whole mess behind. She could feel the many pairs of curious eyes staring at her, wondering why she had an all-access pass, and no one else did. The closest to it were the VIP passes, which were definitely not anywhere near as unlimited as all-access.
Jennifer watched Jeff nod to the security gaurd, carefully watching, so he could be let inside. They recognized each other from having already met before the show, and the pass clearly stated that Jeff was allowed inside.
Jen started to follow him inside, but stopped short when she felt a a cold hand grab her. The man startled her and she jumped back for a moment, luckily still being able to hold on to her drink. She realized, as her eyes landed on the face of the man that was holding a firm grasp of her was he same security guard who had let Jeff in only a few seconds before. And the look on his face wasn't the slightest bit friendly.
His glare seemed to burry down within her, keeping her in place. The whole situation was confusing. Why wasn't he letting her in?
"Uh... uh..." the two studders were all she managed to say. "Is there a problem?"
"Well, gee, there sure is. How exactly do you expect to get inside. Just walk on in like you own the world?"
His tone was humorous and Jen couldn't see what he found so funny.
"What do you mean?"
He smiled and laughed quietly to himself, admiring his private joke.
"Well, little lady, to get in here, you have to have a VIP pass," he stated in a bored tone, as if what he just said was a well-known fact.
Jen furrowed her brow. What was this guy's problem?
"But... but.... I have an all-access pass," she protested.
"Well, where is it? I certainly don't see one on you."
"What? It's right here..."
Jennifer reached down for the small pass that was swinging around her neck. Her hand only brushed thin air.
Jennifer gasped and looked down at her bare t-shirt. No pass. It was gone. She knew it had been on there earlier. She made sure of it before she even left Taylor's side. The only explanation available was that she lost it somewhere. Maybe it fell off back at the refreshments stands.
Random thoughts shot through Jennifer's head as she stood there, not knowing what to do. What if she really had dropped it? That meant that any random person who happened to find it could easily walk backstage and do who knows what. If it fell into the wrong hands....
She shook the thoughts out of her head. There was no reason to panic... was there?
"But I had it a minute ago! I swear I did!" she insisted, waving her hands frantically for emphasis.
He didn't seem convinced.
"Oh, please... mister... please, you have to let me inside! Can't you at least go back there and ask Taylor about it all? He knows me. He knows I'm supposed to be back there right now. Please?"
The security guard shook his head as if it were no big deal.
"I'm sorry. I really wish I could, but I can't. There's a meet 'n greet going on back there and Taylor is busy. I'm not supposed to bother him!"
All Jen could do was sit there with her mouth hanging open.
"But...-"
"I'm sorry," the man said simply and pushed her to the side, into the crowd. "Now, I'll have to ask you to move, and let the others come through."
I'm dead now, Jen realized, sulking into despair. I'm stuck out here, with no way of getting in, and fat chance that Taylor will ever come out here to look for me. I'm stuck out here. Who knows how long I will be. I'll be out here forever. There's no hope...
"Anyone else with a VIP pass?"
The security guard called out with his hands cupped over his mouth. Jen slumped down onto the ground up against the fence. She found a small hole in the fence and strained to take a peek through the little given space she had.
Jen could barely see the groups of people talking and having fun up on the top of the hill off in the distance. Taylor was up there. She was in a place that he would never know of. Maybe he would never even notice her missing.
* * *
"Taylor, calm down. Please, just calm down!"
I heard Zac's pleads, but I barely noticed him standing in front of me. My mind was rushing for an answer to where she could be. Jennifer couldn't have just disappeared altogether.
The only reasonable answer to where she could be was out in the pavilion somewhere. It was very unlikely that she'd actually leave the pavilion. That meant that Jen was probably out somewhere amongst the fans. She could be anywhere. There were a million different places that I could look, but it would take forever, and there would be no way that I could just walk out like that. That would be a death wish.
The backstage pass winners had left about five minutes ago, and right about now, the security guard would probably be turning fans away, telling them to return to their seats and wait for the show to start.
Zac and Ike exchanged worried glances. It seemed that they were just as clueless about what to do as I was.
"We have to tell dad about this."
My head shot up. "Are you crazy? He'll blame this all on me. Jennifer is my responsibility and if we don't find her, her parents will want dad's head on a silver platter. Think about it? Do you know how long a grounding for that would be?" I made that remark half out of seriousness and half out of needing a little humor in the air at the moment.
"He's right, Taylor," Ike confessed and folded his arms across his chest.
Now I felt betrayed. "Great, now you're both turning on me."
"No we aren't. Tay, he can help. You know, maybe dad could think of something that our dumb little minds are too stupid to think up!"
He did make a very good point there. It was probably a much better choice to hand the situation over to a responsible adult. Who knows, maybe it wasn't really as bad as it seemed. Maybe Jen wasn't as lost as she seemed to be.
I couldn't help but keep looking over in the direction of the gate, with its paint peeling off the wood from age and trying to survive a dose of good old fan treatment. I couldn't stop thinking that there was a possibility of Jennifer just walking right inside as if nothing had every happened.
What a wishful thinker I am! I sighed deeply, hating to admit defeat and give in to my brothers, but it was all for the best. I hope. Chances are, telling dad could probably have an outcome exactly how Zac had described it.
"Alright guys, let's tell him... I guess."
"I'll go get him," Zac offered. Ike and I nodded and he took off at a running pace, trying to find him in a hurry.
Heck, we were already supposed to be ready to go onstage at any given moment.
Not too long after, Zac came dashing back with our dad right behind his heels. Both of them looked alert. Dad marched right up to me, and I prepared myself for a comment that started with "You see here, young man!"
Instead, all that came out was, "Are you sure she's really missing? You have no earthly clue where she could be?"
We nodded. "I looked all over the place. She's definitely not backstage somewhere," I told him.
"She's not in the dressing room or any place like that. Believe me, I looked," Ike informed us all.
Zac looked pretty bummed about the whole thing. "Jeff and I couldn't find her. I sent Jeff out into the pavilion to look for her. He's searching right now, but the chances of him wandering into her are very slim."
"Oh, okay then," he said and stood up tall. We looked up at dad, waiting for what he would say as if he were some wise man that we had come a long way to get advice from. "I guess we'll just have someone make an announcement on stage, won't we?"
"I guess so," I agreed slowly.
"Okay. When Jeff comes back, send him my way, I'm going to get some more employees to help look."
Once we had all agreed to stay calm and continue getting ready for the show, our dad left the spot that we had grouped at near the picnic tables so he could go find some help. I hoped that Jennifer was okay. Hopefully, she wasn't scared to death out there or anything. I mean, I've never been in that situation so I wouldn't know what to expect.
"Taylor! Get over here! You need to go on in five minutes!"
I stopped fiddling with my jacket sleeve and looked up. A stage crew member, completely dressed in black, along with a matching headset. His arms were waving frantically in the direction of the stage.
"Yeah, whatever. I'm coming," I murmered, not really feeling the same excitment as I had before.
The stage sat empty and still, waiting for a sudden second of action to break the long period of silence and stillness, lonliness that filled the front section of the audience. I could see blurrs of people waiting in the seating section, standing up to get a better look. There were hands clapping at the air wildly, and chants from all sides of the pavilion could be heard - all begging for Hanson to come out and perform. A lump started to form again in my throat. The excitment was forming again. But then I remembered. I wondered if Jennifer was watching the stage anxiously just as everyone else was.
Isaac and Zac seemed calm and collected. They looked ready and prepared for anything. Both their faces showed no sign of any sort of worry. They had blank looks, staring out onto the stage, wanting to get out and perform.
I looked down at the floor, trying to hold in the anticipation for the show to get a move on so I could put everything that was on my mind... behind me. But the sudden outburst from nearby rang in my ears, causing me to look up quickly and scan the front row. Someone down there sounded awfully familiar... and they sure were being awfully loud. I could actually hear and understand them, loud and clear.
It sounded something like, "Taylor! Down here! Look down here! Taylor!"
If only I could pin-point where the calls were coming from. Something inside told me not to brush them aside. The voice was too familiar.
I cautiously and slowly started to walk out on to the stage, step by step, slow enough just to make sure that no stage crew manager people stopped me before I could get too far. I made my way, bit by bit to the edge of the stage while trying to stay out of site as much as I possibly could.
My plan didn't succeed too well. I was spotted too easily. The entire auditorium shot up like a rocket on the fourth of July.
Not only did practically everyone stand up immediately, but the noise volume rose to the tops easily. Definitely not the reaction I was hoping for, but I was prepared.
Then I saw her. From my view, she looked so small that I could barely recognize her, but she was an unforgetable sight. I felt the sides of my mouth curl up into a smile. Jennifer.
One simple word that meant a thousand all in one.
Two guards out of a whole row of them, blocking fans from jumping up onto the stage were holding her down. From the way she was acting, I could tell that she barely even noticed them. Infact, I don't think she noticed them at all. Instead, she stood there, jumping up and down like a raving mad lunatic.
Beside her, there was another girl who looked about the same age with dark brown hair. She was also waving up at me. I watched as Jennifer turned to her for a split second. Her lips moved slowly. Obviously, Jen was talking with her.
The two seemed to know each other.
"Isaac, Zac! Hurry up and get dad right now! I found her!" I called back in their directions.
I don't think that they even needed to be informed. They were already gone by the time I turned around.
* * *
"Oh my God, Jennifer! You scared me out of my wits!" I cried.
Jen ran towards me, arms outstretched and I quickly embraced her in a welcoming hug. I held her close for a few moments until we pulled apart to get a good look at each other. Her expression was filled with relief. Jennifer was smiling. Just standing there with her arms around my shoulders, staring staright into me.
It was almost as if she didn't need to speak. I could already tell exactly what she needed to say. Just her expression told it all. Were those tears I saw forming in her eyes?
"Taylor," my name came out in a small whisper.
She paused for a second and sighed deeply, letting go of everything.
"I didn't know what to do. I honestly thought I'd never see you again," she told me.
It was one of those scenes that I had only watched in movies. Movies that just had to add in those stupid romantic parts where couples cry for silly, messed up reasons. Gee, I never ever thought I'd actually take place in one of my own.
Jen's cheeks had tear stains painted across them. She was smiling the happiest I'd ever seen.
"I'm just glad your safe," I whispered and hugged her a second time.
I suddenly noticed the figure behind her.
The same girl that was down by the stage with Jennifer a few moments ago was waiting patiently. She looked shy and totally out of place. I smiled at her and I picked up a slight redish tint in her cheeks.
"Who's your friend?"
Jennifer only nodded and smiled for a second. Then she looked between me and the mysterious brunette for a second. Jen opened her mouth to speak.
"Taylor, I want to introduce you to Rayma, a really good friend of mine..."