As Burning Roses began to sing their first song of the night Ashton forced his mind to believe that he was just making things up and that the idols before him didn't intentionally make eye contact with him. It soothed his nerves to an extent and allowed him to focus more on the concert alongside his documentation.
The first song that they had chosen was the one that they always used for the opening of their shows. It was called "Cries Of The Hollow" which sounds like a depressing and slow song but it's only one of these things. It's not slow in the slightest but instead an ,upbeat, fast moving song that enraptures the entire audience with pretty dance moves and beautiful vocals. It didn't become depressing until you actually realized the lyrics you were singing along to.
As Ashton was thinking of this the key lyrics he heard the first time he realized the true meaning of the song kicked in, "...And here I am spinning and spinning again! No one can find me I'm stuck in this darkness watch it consume me! This grief is destroying the very essence of me until your light came through and shocked me!" During these lyrics, Miko stood in the middle of the stage slowly walking in a circle and singing to the sky in a quick cadence catching everyone's breaths in this rock and roll type anthem.
These words that she was singing with such sincerity are what made Ashton start to like the Burning Roses. The pure passion that shook his heart to its core as it was doing in this moment. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, and the only thing on his mind was the group on stage making such a dazzling performance. One so strong that his hands subconsciously moved to his camera and began filming as Miko turned in his direction at the peak of the last note. It was an amazing moment that was only further improved when once again the eyes of Miko were drawn in his direction staring straight into the camera as Ashton captured the beautiful moment in awe.
It was as if she was staring into the depth of his soul slowly grabbing hold of his very being and taking it for her own. It was truly an amazing experience that only strengthened his desire to share more of this with the world. He knew that he couldn't hold this magnificent site to himself.
After a few more seconds the long note that Miko was holding slowly faded off making the crowd erupt into a roar of cheers making Ashton get knocked around by the excited fans as they screamed their lungs out conveying how much they enjoyed the song. It was a good start to the night for sure.
Once the first song was over, Burning Roses went on to sing many different genres of music from the catalog they had already created from the many previous performances. Mai the cutest one busted out the dirtiest but catchiest raps Ashton had ever listened to, with Nanako supporting these raps with her beautiful dancing alongside Suko who not only danced just as well but joined in the raps in between Mai's breathes.
It was a wonderful concert that Ashton thought was almost going too well for him since when each member had their time to shine they were suddenly facing in his direction making it easy for him to record and get good pictures of their performance. At times he felt like he was still making eye contact with a few of them but kept it to himself since he thought he was making it up in his mind.
Once their set was over all members of the Burning Roses convened in the middle of the stage each facing a different direction on the stage to let everyone in the crowd at least have one member facing them, ""Did you all have a good time?!"" The members shouted unanimously before the crowd erupted with a roar of approval.
The idols smiled at the response before Suko spoke up, "Well if you thought that was fun then you should come meet us! For the first time, we will be doing meet and greets with you all right after the show! You can meet us in the new fan greeting area at the back of the arena!" Suko explained with excitedness before one of the lights on the stage moved and pointed at a new hallway that Ashton had never seen before at the back of the arena.
Nanako was the next one to speak as she looked into the crowd with a smirk, "It would make my day if you all would come to see me~ I'll be waiting~" Nanako said as she lightly licked her lips making the entire section she was facing nearly fall over with hearts in their eyes.
Ashton couldn't tell whether this was an actual thing or not but he was hoping it was true. He thought that if he was able to get a few questions he had answered by the idols then he could fill out some of their profiles more on the different idol websites so people can know more about their bias or the member that they liked the most.
With the announcement over the idols slowly started sinking back under the stage waving goodbye to the crowd as they cheered for them once more for the amazing show. During this moment Ashton cheered for just a second before deciding that it would be best for him to go ahead and start making his way to the new meet and greet area since it was already getting late and he didn't want to make his parents angry with him.
*****
In another part of the arena many rows above where Ashton had been watching the performance Drew stood in complete shock as Burning Roses slowly sank even farther. He had made it just in time for the show to start and honestly didn't expect a whole lot since it was his first time watching Burning Roses in person.
He did trust Ashton's judgment on things like this but didn't have any expectations that they would be able to compare to his favorite groups like Black Starlight which he had listened to for so long.
However, he was mistaken. What he had just seen changed him, in what way was unclear. The only thing that Drew knew for certain was that his heart was racing a mile a minute while his mind mulled over how he could become closer to such stars.