Night Raven's Concert

Dirk, Roy, Lyle, and Elise finally reached City 10's concert hall. They thanked the driver and climbed out of the cab.

Fans crowded the venue, trying to enter the concert hall. Nobody paid attention to Dirk, Roy, Lyle, or even Elise.

The general admission line reached the next city block, and Dirk knew they had to get to the concert early because of that line.

"So guys, we have front-row seats. Do you think we should enter the general admission area, or do we qualify for VIP?" Dirk asked the other three.

"Just ask one of those official-looking people by the entrance," Elise said. She then grabbed Dirk's arm and started pulling him through the crowd.

Out of nowhere, a long black SUV rolled up. Several large men in suits quickly surrounded the SUV door facing the concert venue and opened it slowly.

"IT'S GARRET FORGER!"

"MY FUTURE HUSBAND!"

Various women and even some men screamed excitedly when the SUV door opened and exposed Garret Forger.

Garret Forger walked out of the SUV wearing a solid white suit. He flipped his hair casually and then waved to the crowd of people that started to gravitate toward him.

Dirk, Roy, and Lyle felt a touch of jealousy seeing Garret's arrival garnering so much attention. Still, they did have to admit he probably earned the attention. The three turned to look at Elise to see what kind of reaction she would have for Garret.

Much to their surprise, Elise merely shrugged and said, "Not my type, your boy, Oscar, could compete with him in looks easily. Besides, look at how he's dressed! He's not here to rock; he's here for attention."

Dirk took out his phone and did a quick search for "Garret Forger." He scrolled through the various movies he's starred in and the awards he's received and couldn't help but be impressed. Dirk held up his phone for Roy, Lyle, and Elise and said, "No wonder he looked familiar, he's been in all of these movies!"

"Mostly chick flicks, not my thing," Roy said.

"My friends might know him then, but I'm not a fan of chick flicks either," Elise added.

"He went to the VIP entrance," Lyle pointed out.

"Alright, we'll go in that way as well!" Roy said excitedly. He reached back to grab Elise's hand and started pulling the hand he caught with him. Roy felt like the hand was much thicker than expected and turned around to see Lyle looking confused about holding Roy's hand.

Elise giggled and said, "Cute, but Dirk has the tickets, so we have to follow him." She then grabbed Dirk and started pulling him along to the VIP entrance.

Once they finally reached the VIP entrance, they were met with stares of confusion.

"General Admission is located just over that way, this entrance is reserved for VIP guests," the attendant stated plainly. The woman couldn't hide her slight contempt looking at the three guys dressed like ordinary fans.

"At least look at our tickets first before judging us!" Elise said, starting to get angry.

The attendant rolled her eyes, but it was protocol to check.

Dirk opened the tickets on his phone and held the phone out for the attendant to scan.

The attendant begrudgingly scanned them, and her eyes went wide with surprise, seeing that their tickets were indeed VIP-level. She bowed and said, "Esteemed guests, I apologize for my rudeness earlier! We were only aware of Mister Forger and his entourage as VIP guests this evening. May I have your name, sir, to inform management that you have arrived?"

"Uh, Dirk Millo, these are my friends Roy, Lyle, and Elise."

"Please enter. We will provide an escort to your seats."

After Dirk, Roy, Lyle, and Elise entered the VIP entrance, the attendant quickly called the band manager, "Miss Andrews, a Dirk Millo plus three just arrived at the VIP entrance. We weren't aware that we had other VIP guests this evening."

Amy could barely hide her grin as she replied, "My fault. They're friends of Miss Rayven so make sure they get the best treatment. I want them to have even better treatment than what you give Garret Forger."

The attendant wanted to cry but started issuing orders as a professional. "If they want anything, get it for them! Anything short of a kidney, make it happen!"

Amy grinned when she heard the attendant's orders over the phone and said, "Perfect," and then hung up the call. She reminded Rayelle earlier that Dirk had accepted the tickets and felt that Rayelle seemed excited about this concert, much more so than she had been in a long time.

Down on the venue's main floor, Dirk and the rest were a little dumbfounded by the celebrity treatment they were now receiving from the staff.

Roy sat in his chair, fully reclined with an ottoman for his feet. He had posters, plushies, and every other imaginable piece of swag the Night Ravens offered.

Lyle kept apologizing for Roy's rude behavior because he felt sorry for them at this point.

"What are you being sorry for? We have earned this treatment and it would just be wasteful not to eat all of the snacks they brought us!"

Roy reached into the crate next to him and pulled out a box of popcorn, gorging himself again.

Dirk, Elise, and everyone else nearby watched in disgust as Roy continued eating junk food.

"Take it easy Roy, this is a concert! I don't want you puking because we're not going to be sitting once it starts!" Dirk said admonishingly to Roy.

"Why stand? This is our first time in a VIP section that has chairs, let's relax!"

"City 10 isn't doing this much better than City 8 to be so wasteful, right? Where did they even find an ottoman?" Dirk whispered to Elise.

"I don't know, but let him have his fun. We don't know what hell awaits us tomorrow when we try to pick up the shuttle... Speaking of fun, after the concert, want to dit-"

The lights in the venue suddenly shut off, followed by the sound of a single blaring electric guitar chord. The surrounding chattering immediately died down and turned into fans yelling as the excitement built within the venue.

The fans started to press against the barricades while dozens of security personnel tried to keep the crowd back as best they could.

Dirk looked back and felt a little bad that he was in the VIP section instead of swimming through the crowd to try and get closer to the stage. He reached out and could touch the stage in front of him, but to his surprise, no security guards tried to tackle him for getting too close.

"This has got to be a dream!" Dirk yelled.

"Whaaaattt?!?" Elise yelled, barely able to hear Dirk over the fans.

Another deep guitar chord thrummed through the audience as the drums played a steady beat.

The lights slowly brightened up the stage revealing the bass guitarist, drummer, and keyboardist of the Night Ravens.

Lyle's hands quickly air drummed along with the Night Ravens' drummer.

Roy started cheering for the keyboardist and screaming, "I love you Lisa!" causing his popcorn to fly off his lap as he twirled his glow sticks like a child.

Finally, Miss Rayven walked up to the center from the back of the stage, held up her signature red guitar with one hand by the neck, and screamed, "LISTEN TO MY SONG!"

The pyrotechnics lit off fireworks behind the whole band as they opened up their concert with their high-energy song, Wings of Fire.

I'm flying high in the sky, looking for a fight

I've got a target in my sight, ready to ignite

I'm not afraid of the danger. I live for the thrill!

I'm a master of the air. Yes, I got the skill!

Wings of fire, burning bright

Wings of fire, soaring through the night

Wings of fire, no one can stop me

Wings of fire, I'm the Queen of the sky!

I'm dodging bullets and missiles, weaving and turning

I'm shooting down my enemies, leaving them burning

I'm not here for the glory, I'm here for the fun

I'm a rebel and a rogue, I will never run!

Wings of fire, burning bright

Wings of fire, soaring through the night

Wings of fire, no one can stop me

Wings of fire, I'm the Queen of the sky!

But sometimes I wonder if this is all worth it

If there's a meaning to this madness

If there's a reason for this war

If there's a way to end this violence

But then I shake off these doubts and fly on

'Cause this is who I am and what I do

I'm a warrior and a hero, I'm a legend!

Wings of fire, burning bright

Wings of fire, soaring through the night

Wings of fire, no one can stop me

Wings of fire, I'm the Queen of the sky!

Wings of fire...

Wings of fire...

Wings of fire...

Dirk, Elise, Roy, and Lyle started cheering with the rest of the fans and reached out toward the stage as the song burned through their ears.

The concert raged on while overzealous fans were carried over the barricade and sent outside. Only Dirk, Elise, Roy, and Lyle were on their feet in the VIP section while the rest of them cheered from their seats.

Dirk couldn't help but notice that Garret Forger was only a few seats away from him. He stole a few glances at Garret and saw Garret's eyes glued to Miss Rayven while not cheering enthusiastically. Dirk could understand this since Miss Rayven looked very good right now.

Miss Rayven wore her favorite black leather pants and a black sleeveless leather vest. Her bright red lipstick and matching guitar starkly contrasted her soft light skin and jet-black hair.

Lisa, the keyboardist and backup vocalist, also liked to stand out, so she wore white leather pants, white heels, and a white jacket that glittered under the stage lights. Her bright green hair had a pink stripe down the middle, and her cute face was adorned with makeup and eyeliner.

Lisa's brighter clothes made her stand out amongst the rest of the band, but even so, Miss Rayven still stole the show with her charm and talent.

"She knows how to work the crowd!" Dirk said to himself, "I have a long way to go!"