#echo c1

A terribly crowded room, teeming with screaming fans who suddenly surged forward as one when the music reached its final note, fading out into the great shout of applause until nothing of its melody remained, all but overwhelmed by the cacophonous sound of numerous voices unifying under the guise of adoration and excitement. 

Elbowed aside by two very impassioned women as they determinedly - or rather, frantically - worked their way toward the stage, Cassius bit back a wince, running his fingers through the thick strands of his dark brown hair - he’d fashioned it into a ponytail earlier that evening, but sometime during the show, several strands had escaped the black elastic hair band, giving it a slightly disheveled appearance - as his dark gaze passed from unfamiliar face to unfamiliar face in search of his coworkers, both of whom had invited him to attend this concert with them but who had disappeared within seconds of filing into the packed room, the intensity of their excitement permeating every inch of the atmosphere. Despite their claim that they’d both feel much safer if a man tagged along, they hadn’t wasted any time in abandoning him to his own devices, leaving him to fend for himself and against a mob that practically demanded crowd control. 

        Quite rude, if you asked him.

   Fighting his way through the throng of people surrounding the stage, aiming for the outer edges of the crowd, Cassius shrugged off a few loose hands here and there, accustomed to being groped at least once whilst in public. He didn’t know what it was about him that inspired such inappropriate behavior, but he’d long since learned to live with it, refusing to let it affect his life. Luckily, they knew where to draw the line, and in certain situations, that was all that mattered. 

           Before he could reach his intended destination, however, the horde of loud, obnoxious fans moved yet again, dragging him along with them -