//------------------------------// // Lemon Zest // Story: Feather Bangs Dates the ShadowBolts // by BrawnyBold //------------------------------// At a large stadium, a huge crowd of people waited in line to get through the entrance. Among these people was Feather Bangs and next to him was a teenage girl with long, light green hair. Her outfit was a dark pink jacket that covered her blank tank-top that read: Mad Dogs. The shirt's words were written in red and there was an image of a scary-looking bulldog. She also wore a pair of long, blue jeans and black boots. There was also a pair of pink headphones hanging around the girl's neck. Feather knew this girl as Lemon Zest. When Feather is at Crystal Prep, he would often see Lemon banging her head while listening to loud music through her pink headphones. Feather couldn't help but think that Lemon was interesting and he wanted to ask her out. Unfortunately, Feather never exactly had the courage to ask Lemon out as he never asked a girl out before and Lemon was too occupied with her music. It wasn't until a few days ago when Feather finally asked Lemon out. After school, Feather visited an old, vinyl record store to find Lemon listening to some old records through headphones. Feather couldn't help but think that Lemon looked lovely despite wearing just her Crystal Prep uniform. Feather approached Lemon and tapped her shoulder. "Yo, Feather, what's up?" Lemon Zest asked as she removed her headphones. "Hey Lemon," Feather replied with confidence in his tone. "Say, is one of your favorite bands called the Mad Dogs?" "Heck yeah!" Lemon replied enthusiastically. "They rock so hard!" "Well, it just so happens-" Feather said before he pulled out two tickets from his pocket and showed it to Lemon. "that I bought tickets for their upcoming show. I was wondering if you would like to join me." Lemon's jaw dropped before she started to shake in excitement. "Yes, yes, yes!" Lemon said as she gave Feather a strong hug. "Thanks Feather, you're the man!" "Yeah, heh heh." Feather said as he blushed from getting hugged by a girl. Now Feather walked next to an excited Lemon as they entered the stadium. "This is so awesome!" Lemon commented. "I finally get to see a live Mad Dogs concert. You can almost hear the band ready to explode with their songs. Do you think so?" Lemon asked Feather. "Yeah, great." Feather said nervously. "You okay, Feather dude?" Lemon asked. "You seem jumpy?" "No, I'm fine." Feather assured. "I'm just not used to this kind of event." Before the concert, Feather did some research on the Mad Dogs band. When Feather tried to listen to their songs, he almost had his ears blown off from how loud the music played. Feather preferred pop-songs he usually hears from radio channels instead of loud, head-banging rock. "Whoa, check out the merch booth!" Lemon said as she ran towards a long row of stalls that sold all sorts of things with the Mad Dogs on it. Feather sighed as he had to endure all of this so he could get on Lemon's good side. When Lemon was done with the booths, the both of them made their way to their seats. The whole stadium was jam-packed with fans who waited in anticipation for the concert. "Come on, our seats are this way!" Lemon hollered as she grabbed Feather's arm and pulled him down some stairs. Feather and Lemon passed several rows before they made it to the row that was the closest to the stage. "Oh my gosh," Lemon said as she took one seat. "these are the best seats in the house!" "I'm glad you like them," Feather said with pride in his tone. "I was able to make some calls to get these seats." Feather then noticed that Lemon was distracted as she started to chant out 'Mad Dogs' more than once. This also caused the rest of the crowd to join in with Lemon. Feather sighed and took his seat next to Lemon. Several minutes passed before the lights dimmed, causing the crowd to roar in excitement as they knew that it was time for the show. Feather quickly dug in his pockets to pull out what looked like some noise canceling ear buds. 'It's a good thing I came prepared for this concert.' Feather thought as he quickly put on his earbuds before the crowd became louder. Smokescreen started to cover the stage and a large bulldog head slowly descended from the top of the stage. "Ah yeah!" Lemon screamed from the top of her lungs, but it was drowned out by the crowd who also hollered loudly. When the bulldog head hit the stage floor, its' mouth opened up and the band members started to walk out of it. Each band member grabbed their instruments as the main singer made his way to the front microphone. "Hello, everyone! We're the Mad Dogs! Are you ready to rock!?" The crowd cheered loudly in response. "Sorry, I can't hear you! I said are you all ready to rock!?" The crowd then cried out louder than the previous time. 'Seriously, how could he had not hear that the first time?!' Feather thought as he covered his ears. Even though he wore ear buds, they weren't strong enough against the loud crowd. "Alright, let's get this started!" The main singer said as the band started to play their first song. The band played their song and Feather thought that it was as loud as several cannons firing at the same time. Feather saw that Lemon was banging her head along with the music to show that she really enjoyed it. Lemon and the rest of the crowd were also able to sing along to the Mad Dogs' song despite the music being extremely loud. Feather gritted his teeth as it felt painful for him to hear such ear-piercing music. 'Note to self, bring noice-canceling headphones next time I go on some concert date!' Feather said in his thoughts. The first song continued for a few more minutes before the Mad Dogs finished with a huge explosion effect, causing the crowd to cheer for the band's performance. Feather felt relieved that the Mad Dogs stopped, only for Feather's relief to vanish as the Mad Dogs started playing their second song that was just as loud as the first one. 'This is gonna take forever!' Feather thought as he got up and tried to make his way towards the restroom. It was difficult journey for Feather as he had to get pass the audience as they were all stood on the stairway to get a better view of the concert. "Sorry," Feather said to the people he kept bumping into. Feather felt relieved as he arrived to the restroom where the Mad Dogs' music wasn't so loud. Feather entered a stall and leaned his back on to the door. "What was I thinking?!" Feather said to himself. "This isn't romantic at all! Lemon and I aren't even bonding! She is too busy screaming and head-banging to those loud musicians!" Feather then remained silent as he tried to recompose himself before he gets too stressed out. "It's alright, Feather. At least Lemon is happy. Maybe if I showed some more passion towards the Mad Dogs, she might warm up to me more than them." Feather then felt a new wave of hope inside. He exited his bathroom stall and washed his hands before he went back to his seat. Feather saw that Lemon was still banging her head along to the Mad Dogs' loud music. As Feather arrived, Lemon noticed him. "Hey Feather! Where did you go, bro?" Lemon asked loudly due to the loud music. "I had to use the restroom!" Feather replied. "Luckily for you, the Mad Dogs haven't played their best songs yet! I can do this all night!" Lemon said before she resumed banging her head to the music. "Yeah, I can do that too!" Feather lied while he made a thumbs up. He continued to listen along to the Mad Dogs' performance. Feather thought that most of the Mad Dogs' songs were the same as the lyrics were mainly about just about rocking out or breaking things just for the fun of it. 'I could write better lyrics than these loud people.' Feather commented in his thoughts. An hour passed and the Mad Dogs were still performing on stage. During that time, Feather continued to pretend to enjoy the Mad Dogs' music. When the Mad Dogs finished their latest song, the crowd cheered to show how great the band was. A spotlight shined to just show the lead singer. "Thank you all for coming tonight!" The lead singer said through his microphone. "I know me and the other Mad Dogs want to keep this rock train going, but most of us are getting a bit tired. How about we take things slow while the rest of my band members recharge?" The crowd cried out their answers but it was hard to understand them. The lead singer picks up a guitar. "Alright then, this song is dedicated to the lovely couples who came here tonight." The lead singer cleared his throat and started playing. 'Finally, a break from those loud songs.' Feather thought as he removed his ear buds. The lead singer began singing some sappy love song that Feather thought was actually good. As Feather swayed to the music, he noticed that the couples around him and Lemon were holding each other and kissing. Feather turned to Lemon who looked completely moved from the lead singer's singing. 'Perhaps this could be a good opportunity for me to make a move?' Feather thought as he imagined himself holding Lemon's hand and they end up kissing each other on the lips. Feather began to move a bit closer to Lemon after each passing minute. Lemon didn't notice this as she was so distracted by the music. When Feather finally got close enough to Lemon, he began to move his hand towards Lemon's. Feather's heart raced as he was about to be much closer to Lemon. Before Feather grabbed Lemon's hand, she reached into her pocket to pull out her phone. Lemon then turned on her phone's flashlight and raised it up like a lighter. The next thing Feather knew, the whole crowd started to light up their phones and swayed along to the slow music. To make matters worse, Lemon held her phone with both of her hands, prevent Feather from holding any one of them. Feather sighed in defeat and he decided to sit down on his seat while the lead singer continued to perform. People began to pour out of the stadium as the concert was over. Most of them were lined up at the merchandise stands for some last minute purchases. Feather remained silent as he and Lemon exited through the front doors. "OMG! That concert was so awesome!" Lemon said as she jumped for joy. Feather stayed silent. "I loved it when the Mad Dogs performed Bite Me! That song really spoke to me, you know what I mean?" "Yeah," Feather replied in a dull tone. "Woo! Mad Dogs rocked!" said a guy nearby. "Heck yeah they did!" Lemon responded. She noticed that Feather was looking down while they walked. "Well, I guess this is where we go our separate ways." Feather said when they reached the parking lot. "Hang on, Feather dude." Lemon said. "There's something I want to show you before you head out." "What's that?" Feather said before he received a kiss on the cheek from Lemon. This made Feather frozen from shock. "Consider that kiss as payment for taking me to this great concert." Lemon said with a wink. She then made her way home while leaving an extremely happy Feather standing from where he was.