The top of Mia's hand was growing steadily warmer, the sun seeming to beat straight down upon it with determined force. Her fingertips were tapping against the hot steel of her car door, a stark contrast to only a bit before, when it had spent the past four hours hanging lazily, rolling along with the fierce wind that ripped around the car as it sped down the interstate highway.

Mia's clothing for the present occasion helped keep her cool but she had been sitting in the same spot, among dark leather seats, for nearly twenty minutes. Her eyes craned over the hoods lined up in front of her as her foot alternated between a constant twitch and releasing the brake to let her car roll forward a few feet.

With the fairgrounds now in view, Mia couldn't help but smile at the sight of the Ferris wheel towering overall in its sight, standing tall among a village of stages, varying in all sizes. A quick glance at the clock set her grin down a peg and her leg accelerated it's rhythm to a high pace of bouncing up and down.

A neat business suit, appropriate for a day in the office, lay crumpled on her back seat, set right beside a hastily packed duffel bag. Mia had thrown them in, not bothering to pause for a second thought at the condition of her clothes by the end of the weekend.

She was running short on breath and time, having just sprinted from her seat at her office's main conference table and headed straight for her car, which had then headed straight for the highway, heading south.

Mia had spent most of her lunch break finishing up any remaining work she knew was her responsibility, making sure she would have nothing hanging over her head for the weekend. She had spent the last five minutes of her break changing out of her business-casual uniform and into something that no one would have deemed office appropriate.

She was grateful for her spot in the back of the conference room, among the rest of the interns, as it helped her blend in as much as possible and gave her a clear view of the ticking clock that hung over where her boss stood, who insisted on droning on with his presentation.

It was with the words, "That's it for this meeting if there are no further questions..." that had sent her out of her seat and out of the office without a second look back. She had only one thing in sight from that moment on.

It was that one thought that had been resting cozily in the forefront of her brain for the majority of her week leading up to this day and had done an excellent job distracting her from her work.

Her shorts and beat-up sneakers fit in much better with the general crowd that welcomed her once she had finally gotten to the back of the festival grounds and found free parking, squeezed in among the mass of giant buses and vans that occupied the rest of the space. There was an attendant waiting for her, who handed her a badge before pointing her in the direction of the rest of the festival.

There was a gentle breeze off the Hudson that helped cool the hot air, a signature feature of the longest day of the year. The sun was just barely starting to release its hold on the day and it seemed everyone around was bathed in a hot golden light.

The crowd around her was polarized between girls in flower crowns and men in dark eyeliner. Mia found herself fitting in right in the middle, her old band tee-shirt a true vintage for the headliners. Making her way through the crowd, even with her sunglasses still situated on her nose, near the main stage, Mia started to feel a familiar sensation as second-glances turned her way.

Mia cheered with the rest of the crowd as the band on the main stage finished up. The girl standing tall on the highest point, atop a pile of amplifiers, cried out "Good night!" before grabbing the hand of her awaiting bandmate and hurried off stage.

The crowd cheered longer than the last time Mia had seen the band perform live and she cheered along with them, just as loud, with a small beacon of pride glowing in her chest at the sight of proper recognition of talent.

A few members of the immense crowd dispersed when the band exited but most stayed, coveting their spot, prepared to watch workers switch out gear and prepare for the closing act of the night. Mia finally let out a long sigh, relieved to find she was right on time, with barely any to spare.

She swallowed down the quick pang of guilt at the thought of missing the early morning soundcheck and the rest of the day spent exploring the festival but her desk had booked its appointment for her time long before the headlining band's drummer.

There was an onslaught of familiar faces hurrying on stage. Even from so far away, Mia knew them all apart despite their black outfits. At the sight, Mia's eyes turned towards the crowd, her eyes searching the faces, looking for one more familiar. She stayed glued to her spot, fighting the urge to go out and search for herself, knowing it would only result in the worst case scenario.

As she continued to scan the crowd, more people came to join in in preparation for the final act. Those second glances became scares, which turned quickly from subtle to blatant.

There was a small huddle of girls only a few yards off who had been staring at Mia since she had arrived. She turned her back on the direction she knew she had to be looking and gave them a warm smile and a small wave. They took that as their cue and crowded around her, their energy instantly spiking, joining the volume of their outburst of excitement.

Mia kept her smile soft and genuine, taking the extra second to learn each of their names, knowing not to bother giving them hers. They had said it enough times that more members of the crowd looked their way as they talked.

Photos were taken and Mia only gave half a thought to how she must have looked. The girls' energy was infectious and Mia could feel the exhaustion from her hours-long commute start to fade as her heart started to speed up, her mind finally letting loose all the excitement and pent-up anticipation she had worked hard to keep locked up during the week.

The girls threw around that too familiar name and Mia could feel her shoulders relax around them. She only realized just how wide she was smiling when they started to giggle and point. Her cheeks went instantly red and she played into their jokes.

It was with an ounce of sadness that she had to say goodbye. It was the sight of a familiar face at the corner of her eye that prompted her to begin her exit.

The tall figure of a tour manager stood just out of sight and nodded in the direction of the stage when they had met eyes. Mia had responded with a quick nod of recognition and ended her conversation with a quick hug for everyone, pausing only a handful of times during her trek to her awaiting companion to take quick selfies with other fans who had been polite enough to wait until she was free.

There were cries of her name as she followed the all-black suited figure around the mass of crowd and gave a wave to those she could see and made quick eye contact with. He whispered that they needed to hurry when the cries became louder and more frequent. It was the sight of just how near to completion the preparation on the stage had become that hurried Mia's footsteps.

Her companion pulled back the barricade for Mia and led her through hurrying figures moving all around the area encircling the stage. She only had to flash her badge once as most of the people she passed she could name and most of whom she sent a wave and a quick hello. There was a call of two minutes that sent Mia running through the crowd, her companion now working to keep up with her.

The layout was virtually the same to the multitude of other festival backstage areas she had found herself in and in nearly no time at all, she had climbed a small set of stairs and was only three steps from stepping out on stage. The crowd had now grown to where it covered every inch of the fairgrounds as far as was possible to see.

The sun was truly setting now and the lights on the stage became more prominent. They backlit Mia's favorite figure and the sight of the massive crowd waiting in anticipation did not bother to register in her mind for several minutes.

He looked up as soon Mia came to a crashing halt. She nearly ran into him and the large security man standing just behind the black curtains even took a step towards her and in front of her final destination. The security guard stepped back when Mia's face caught the light from the stage and his face gave her his signature sweet smile, greeting her with a quick high five before returning to his post.

Jay was standing with his bandmates discussing something but dropped the conversation at the sudden commotion. There was a call of thirty seconds from somewhere behind Mia and they both looked in the direction of the bearer of bad news before finally looking at one another.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"You made it."

"Barely."

His smile somehow widened and he even let out a light chuckle, Mia's heart so full it felt near to bursting.

"Ten seconds! On stage! Now!"

He paid no regard to the direction sent directly at him and instead closed the gap between them in a matter of milliseconds to wrap his arms around Mia. She had grown accustomed to the feel of drumsticks pressed against her arm but had much more important things to focus on at that very instant, her.

"Jay! Come on! Let's go!"

It was with one final tug from one of his bandmates that he let go and pulled away, leaving Mia to watch as he walked backwards on to the stage, only daring to break eye contact after sending her a final wink and climbing into place behind his kit.

The crowd joined in with the noise as the air erupted with the sudden sound of music and loud drums. The stage burst with light and washed over the crowd, turning it a rotation of every color imaginable.

The sun held no competition and the main stage became the focal point of the universe as the drummer starting drumming as hard as he could, bouncing up and down along with the music as his front man started screaming his heart out into his microphone set at the front of the stage.

Other members of the crew joined Mia to stand along the sidelines and watch the performance, all of them familiar and people she considered friends. There were even other members of the band's family and the opening band had joined the ranks.

Mia only finally gave them ample recognition once the band had finished their performance and run off stage, the crowd continuing to scream out their applause, Mia joining along with them.

She had no recollection that anything outside of that stage existed as she stood at her favorite spot and watched the man she loved put on the greatest performance she had ever seen.