Chapter Text
AUGUST 2ND, 2025
PACHUCA ROCKFEST
PACHUCA, MEXICO
IT WAS A HOT DAY IN Mexico, and at the grounds of Pachuca Rockfest, it was nothing but busy, with people dashing over grass pathways and under tents to gather food and drinks, rushing to stages to catch multiple music acts, about to be on or currently performing. Everywhere you looked, there was a crowd... and everywhere you heard, there was music.
From rock to pop acts, Pachuca was bustling, but the hype over one set in particular was building among the crowd. They wouldn't take the stage for over another hour, but their presence was felt.
And if you were lucky enough... you had gotten an upgraded ticket to meet them personally.
Gathered under a white tent, but still feeling the heat, the scorching-hot late-summer sun, and the sweat already pouring through their tanktops, Mexican rock sensations The Warning were seated at their foldable meet-and-greet table, meeting with some of their most dedicated fans. Several times, the girls had to stop and rehydrate through the cooled bottles of water on the table, parched from the temperatures.
Still, hot weather wouldn't stop them from saying hellos, taking pictures, and signing mementos, and with her curtain bangs temporarily clipped back and shades covering her eyes, Alejandra, the band's bassist and the youngest of the Villarreal sisters, observed the long, snaking line before them. Compared to her sisters, "Solecito" Daniela and wild-at-heart Paulina, she was more of the quiet type, and the most she had to offer fans were smiles and waves.
Especially as, mostly composing the line of fans she was staring at, were old men. Really old men. Old and greasy men. Ew!
She was polite, though, and gave compliments when she had to. She took pictures, and she signed their merchandise, though really... she would have preferred the younger side of the fandom, and so would her sisters.
As Daniela and Paulina did most of the talking, and as the band's manager, Rudy, conversed with sound techs Sely and Lalo nearby, Alejandra counted down the minutes until she was away from the old men and on stage, playing one of her two main basses, and losing herself in the rhythm of a classic, explosive The Warning show. Pachuca was their last tour stop of the year, and after this, they'd finally, finally get a long break from touring.
That, and also getting to work on their fifth album. Oh, what joy! For now... she had to sit through men.
Every last one.
Wonderful.
Thankfully, she and her sisters, nicknamed by the fans as DPA collectively, had a bodyguard, and Charles was positioned nearby, evaluating the crowd for threats and ready to go to Pound Town if need be. Should any of the greasy men try anything... it'd be on sight, and it would be oh-very-entertaining.
But Alejandra wasn't feeling overtly sadistic today, and she forced every component in her body that was on guard to relax as a bearded man, reeking of grease, alcohol, and deep-fried food, approached with crooked, yellowed teeth. Inwardly, she recoiled, and Daniela and Paulina had a thin line of disgust in their eyes, but remained cordial.
"¡Hola, chicas! Estáis guapísimas..."
¡Hola!" Daniela greeted back. "Me alegro de que estés aquí."
The old man, getting closer and taking a long exhale that was no doubt to take in their sweat - Charles was watching with as much enthusiasm as a shoebill - took out a photo of the band at Auditorio Nacional, passing it for them to sign. They did so quick as they could, then set up for his photo to be taken, and Alejandra could feel his eyes probing her with the decency of a gynecologist.
"Tú y tus hermanas estáis buenísimas."
Daniela laughed uncomfortably while Paulina forced a jack-o-lantern smile on her face, and Alejandra, repulsed to her core, just stiffened. It was enough, and Charles, looming protectively over the women, glared at the greasy hog and pointed with his index finger.
"Move on."
A showdown of the knuckle kind was sadly avoided, and the weirdo was gone. Now DPA were free to hurtle out their feelings, and Paulina, leaning over in her chair, scowled. "What a fucking weirdo."
"I know, right? He just wanted to drool all over us. Sheesh."
Alejandra only rubbed her forehead and took a large sip of water, but her lips were in a tight frown, and her body was discomforted in its seat.
That was far from the first time she, or she and her sisters, or any one of them, had gotten comments like that from people five times their age. It was disgusting... and it was exhausting.
Yet for every old man, there was a better fan, and two's company were on their approach. DPA fixed their postures and their faces, smiling at two young women, sisters who were in their early twenties.
"Oh my God! The Warning! We're so happy to meet you!"
"You're sick!"
"Gracias, gracias!" Daniela thanked, smiling widely, and Alejandra smiled at both young women, an ideal change of scenery. Paulina happened to agree.
"Got anything for us to sign?"
"Sign our shirts! Please sign our shirts!"
"We love you so much, Pau, you have no idea!"
"Well, I'll be darned!" Giggling, Paulina blushed and signed first, then Daniela, and then Alejandra, who offered them a small, genuine smile. They were much more reactive during the photo op, and then, the sisters hurried off with squeals.
Alejandra momentarily had hope that the line would have more variety, and she had to fight to keep her smile when another check confirmed the inevitable:
More men.
Old men.
Alcoholic, geriatric men.
Where were The Warning's young and gay fans when you needed them, damn it?
Alejandra had to grin and bear it, mourning the few-and-far-between fans she wanted to actually see, and put on the charade to the best of her ability. She smiled, she waved, she rinsed and repeated. She took photo ops, she signed objects, and if she had to, passed on the compliment.
Repeat the formula like a salad shaker, be helped by her sisters... and then do it again.
The line and time passed as if they were meteors in space, and it began to dwindle to a stream, and then just a small gathering of fans who had mostly Auditorio Nacional merch, preexisting merch, and photos (or even photocards) to sign. At one point, Daniela had even been brought a whole box of donuts by a middle-aged woman.
"Holy?! Thanks so much! Charles, put these in the fridge back in the bus... I will be plowing through them later."
"You aren't sugar overdosing without me!" Paulina protested.
"Both of you please don't do that," Alejandra, smiling, scolded them as Charles became a delivery man and ran back through Pachuca's mess of tents, stages, and setups to their bus. Between meetups with fans, they laughed, joked around, poked shoulders, and loosened up - there was fun to be had, even before performing, and any negative energy had to be juiced out before they hit the stage.
Alejandra naturally felt herself lighting up in the light of each her sisters, from Daniela's sun to Paulina's chaos, and despite the men lingering and her fingers beginning to cramp from so much signing, breathing was easy when she had assured safety and the positives. Not every fan was old... and not every fan had shit to say about their looks.
Every meet-and-greet had its silver lining.
Soon, the line was down to the last person, and relieved, Alejandra was prepared to survive the final crusty man (for now) and took another sip of her water, having just swallowed when a dazzling of purple took her vision by surprise, and then, she lowered her sunglasses.
And she almost proceeded to immediately choke.
Instead of an old man facing her, Daniela, and Paulina, it was a woman so small that she almost appeared to be a child, but she was clearly a young adult, either in her late teens or early twenties. Her skin was a sun-warmed honey-brown, her hair a short black with purple tipping on the bangs and ends, and her eyes...
Her eyes were mocha, a chocolate that was even more rich and expressive than her own eyes.
Alejandra was enamored before she even knew it.
"H-H-Hi!" the fan, nervous, greeted, fiddling with her long, loose black The Warning t-shirt before going to her pants. "Gosh... I can't believe I'm here right now-"
"Awesome, isn't it?" Paulina asked, and the fan, blushing, nodded.
"It is! It really is... ah- sorry, I'm really nervous!"
"That's okay! Take your time. What's your name?" Daniela urged, sweetly, and Paulina and Alejandra smiled, though Alejandra was staring more intently at the fan, very anxious... but very... adorable?
Heat started to rise in her own cheeks.
"I-Iris," the fan stammered, and the heat simmered harsher as now, Alejandra, even under her makeup, slightly blushed. "I'm a super huge fan of you guys!"
She then stimmed with the edge of her pants, her frame shaking with nerves, and Paulina, aiming to comfort her, leaned over the table and rested on her elbows.
"Love your style, Iris. Especially the hair."
"You're pretty," Daniela added, and Alejandra nodded, inside, looking for words, outside, pinkening up and not from sunburn.
Iris was unprepared, and the comments, disarming her, had her even more of a living cluster of nerves. "Haha! Shucks. Thanks... I didn't think you'd like my appearance all that much. I'm a basic person. You've helped me through so much - you're my biggest inspirations..."
She anxiously chuckled, a sweet, but hearty sound, and then, her eyes fell on Alejandra.
She was immediately paralyzed.
"...especially you, Ale."
Alejandra, mouth falling open, blushed completely red, and she touched her chest, her heart beating rapidly until she could hear it in her ears.
When she got praise like that... it was always from music outlets and old men who's words always meant nothing.
But when she heard it from Iris, she had heard different.
She'd heard magic, and she smiled, her brown eyes shimmering emotionally. "Thank you..." she whispered, and Iris, blushing, moved an inch closer to her and her sisters.
"I've wanted to watch you play in-person for so long. You're incredible."
Alejandra really hoped her sisters hadn't seen how red her face had become! Her ears were searing, and her hands had started to fiddle with her rings from the amount of praise, not artificial, not sugarcoated, not handed over by creepy men.
It was legitimate.
It made her feel seen in ways she hadn't commonly had, and that magic spread to her heart before it'd taken ahold of her brain.
"I won't let you down, Iris."
She promised it with a smile that made Iris blush, eyes glossy, and Daniela and Paulina, surprised, turned to each other with a raised eyebrow.
Alejandra hardly ever said things like that at meet-and-greets unless she was talking to children, and they knew then that something not a shark was lurking in the water.
Iris, squeaking, inhaled before she took out a poster of their upcoming Live from Auditorio Nacional concert film, screen-printed herself as she'd claimed, and they uncapped their Sharpies to sign. Daniela's was a scribble, Paulina's was a scrawl, and Alejandra, neatly, signed hers clearly with more care than she'd ever considered.
Iris noticed, then looked up at her... and she looked through her.
Someone different.
Someone worth meeting, even if it was only for today. She gave her a warm smile, twirling a strand of her hair as she took in her attire, the purple dye on her hair, and the mocha eyes... but just as her lips were about to open, she kept them shut, knowing her brain was going off on a tangent, and she needed to be in focus for the show.
Iris then stood behind the girls to have her picture taken, holding her phone to her chest and admiring the memento she now had, and then, cuteness won over Alejandra's common sense.
"See you at the show."
Squealing, Iris flushed before she went galloping away towards the main stage.
She kept her smile, sighing with fondness she was unfamiliar with, and Paulina, also unfamiliar, faced her in confusion.
"What on earth was that about? Ale, you look like AC/DC literally left you thunderstruck."
Daniela was halfway between giggling or prodding, and returning to her nonchalant bassist form, Alejandra put her sunglasses back up and wiped some accumulated sweat on her forehead.
"Nothing much... though, I have to say... Iris is the loveliest fan I've ever gotten to see."
There was no more time to converse, and getting up, she led Daniela and Paulina towards the main stage where they were soon set to perform, not missing a stride. Her sisters, for as much as they wanted to ask questions, wisely chose not to, but their faces were knowing, and the smirks they buried were just as much.
Not everything needed to be answered in questionnaires.
Meanwhile, in a crowd of hundreds, Iris wrangled her way through the sweating, waiting bodies of The Warning fans, scared that she would be trampled because of her size but eventually, finally, reaching the barricade and exhaling when she broke free.
"And I thought you'd never make it back," teased her best friend, Jeremy, passing a water bottle to her and sniggering. "Hydrate."
Iris downed a quarter of the bottle before she swallowed and bounced on her heels. "Jeremy, you're not gonna believe it. You are not going to believe it!"
"So how was it?" he prompted casually, and Iris, walking on a dream, could not stop herself from jumping through the clouds.
"They were amazing! They're stunning up-close. Dany's a ray of sunshine, as always. Pau liked my appearance!"
"Damn, hooking compliments from the drummer. An honor."
"Oh ho ho but that's not all! Jeremy. I talked to Ale. I TALKED. TO ALE."
Jeremy, mildly shocked, kinked an eyebrow and put a hand on his hip. "You talked to thee Alejandra Villarreal?!"
"YES!" Iris screamed, already about to sacrifice her vocal chords. "Ale... elle ne peut pas être vraie! A marvel, a myth... dude, I can't believe she chose to talk with me. She made me blush, Jeremy!"
"Blush?" Jeremy questioned, skeptical, before his tone went teasing. "You're sure she wasn't trying to flirt with you?"
"Oh, shut up!" Iris slapped his shoulder, still blushing, and she laughed. "Stop being parasocial, Jeremy. No sabes nada. I don't like to nose into Ale's private life. But..."
"Mm?"
"She definitely was much brighter with me than all the other fans. She looked relieved."
"With the degenerate state of this fandom, that's a no-brainer."
Both chortled, hard, and in around thirty minutes, the lights were on, and The Warning had arrived on stage, Daniela with her guitar slung on her shoulder, Paulina sitting behind her drums, and Alejandra, with her Inferno, approaching her corner of the stage. Her eyes surveyed the crowd, and just for a moment... Iris swore her eyes landed on hers.
The contact landing was like a shooting star through her pupils.
And even when Pachuca ended in mostly disaster for The Warning that day, Iris was not at all glum and still left with the cherished memory of meeting her idols - meeting Alejandra - burned into her heart, where she could recount every moment and every word, forever.
Even if they didn't cross paths again.
What Iris didn't know, however was that destiny had other plans - and those plans were going to bring them together.