Aaron

My friend Lily and I pushed through the crowd toward the bar—the noise was incredible, music was playing somewhere, and lights were flashing. We had come to a mini-concert by the band "Tunnel"—they had recently skyrocketed after a music video that racked up millions of views. The singer, Aron, was playing electric guitar and singing with such intensity that it felt like he might jump into the crowd at any moment.

"Finally!" Lily shouted, pressing against me as someone pushed from behind. "I thought we'd never make it through."
I nodded, looking around. Everything was as usual: beer, shouting, some people dancing, others just drinking and chatting.
During the break, the band went backstage, and we stayed standing by the barrier. Lily was saying something about the new drummer, but I was looking at the stage—at the scattered cables, microphones, and guitars on stands.
And suddenly, Pron walked out alone. No guitar, just a plain black t-shirt and a bottle of water. He walked along the barrier, greeted a couple of fans, and then noticed us.
"Hey," he said, stopping in front of us. "Are you the ones who filmed our warm-up before the show?"
"Yes!" Lily squealed. "I was the one filming!"
"Cool," he smiled. "We didn't even think anyone would notice."
He stood there chatting with us for about three minutes—about how nervous he was before the performance, how he loved small venues like this, and about his cat, who couldn't stand loud music.