New Arc Ramping Up | Su 10/30

We woke up a bit before 10 to get in on the free hotel breakfast buffet and took everything back to our room. It was nice getting to joke around with people right as I got up, even though I was on 4 hours of sleep for a few nights, and they even said I was lively for the morning. When we finished eating I slept until ~2:30 when Arushii came to get her ticket.

After some delays and confusion we managed to get to the venue in time for some of Two Friends, which was fun even though I didn't know some of the nostalgic songs they used. Afterwards we went to see Level Up, where we got up to the rail on the left side. It was nuts being so close for headbanging and we had a great time. Eventually we had to leave because Mai pregamed a little too hard, but she was a lot better soon after so we went to Gryffin together.

Samantha rolled and was coming up around then, which worked out well since she likes Gryffin, but I got excited seeing the visuals and sort of felt like I was rolling too. The set was great and we were stuck together like yesterday, but eventually Samantha wanted to turn around since she was rolling too hard and we were practically having a staring contest. During that staring time she told me I'm so pretty, which actually threw me off more than the staring.

Around then most of the group wanted to go to Subtronics, which overlapped with Gryffin before and Illenium after, so we migrated over. Gigi had the idea to go to the left side again, but the crowd was much larger than when we came for Level Up, so it was a trek eventually getting to the center. We had an amazing time and I realized that I forgot how good Subtronics is. The music was as energetic as I've ever heard, but the crowd was so large and dense that the total experience was unbelievable. Eventually we migrated back for Illenium, but practically everyone else thought to do the same. It's only afterwards that I realized I missed Pendulum live, which is a shame but I suppose was necessary since being alone is not the move. Gigi also asked me if I like Samantha on the walk over, which I told her I wasn't sure of and wanted to keep expectations low for.

Illenium was great with plenty of sad and headbanging songs mixed together. We somehow reunited with the rest of the group too even though the crowd was gigantic. Samantha and I were reunited and I realized how much I missed her at Subtronics, but we had a great time. I was taking care of her while she was rolling, but among the time spent dancing together, holding hands, staring at each other, and checking on ourselves, she told me that she loves me as a friend, which I was so flattered by. Illenium ended great, I gave her another shoulder ride to close, and we had a another time exiting the venue than yesterday since Daniela had the idea to meet at the photo taking area at the end.

The exit was still rough and may have taken more than an hour, but we got to the car without trouble. We had some hijinks failing to get gas several times on the way home, a few being pumps that didn't dispense anything and the last due to leaking gas from the hose. That adventure and the rest of the drive were nice bonding time though, holding hands while going over the bridge like before. We also talked a lot when we went to Waffle House again since everyone else wanted to stay in the car. It was a little bit embarrassing holding hands in public, but I had a ton of fun joking and talking with Samantha while we waited for everything to get made. During that talk she shared that she likes cooking and offered to bake me food tomorrow when I come over, which I'm so excited for.

After getting back to the hotel we ate together and kept chatting. Eventually Samantha shared that she knows how to sew and has a sewing machine at home, which got me so excited. We kept talking while holding hands and started organizing for LAN, but we eventually decided to call it.