Concert creep

At the concert, I stood behind three teenagers lined up along the aisle. I think the chaperon must have had a seat towards the back. After the opening band, the one boy disappeared with the older woman and did not return. That left to the two teenage girls.

They were very excited about the event, jumping up and down and excited talking to each other. The front girl was stout with brown hair that was cut in a bob the stopped an inch above her shoulders. The second girl had golden blond hair that had a bit of wave at the ends and fell to her shoulder blades. My best guess is they were 12-14 years old.

When the main band started playing, I noticed this guy on the other side of the aisle eyeing our area. He looked college-age. The guy was medium height, with brown wavy hair wearing a red athletic jacket. It seemed like he was looking for a better viewpoint for the concert.

All of a sudden he dashed over and positioned himself in front of a guy few inches taller than him. It seemed a bit random that he chose to nestle himself there. The guy behind him seemed a little taken a back since there was much more empty space behind him. He stood probably eight feet ahead and to my right. The blond girl was five feet to the side and slightly behind his left shoulder.

At first, he mostly stood like everyone else and occasionally rocked his hand with the music. She acted wildly when her favorite songs played. There was one song where I backed off because her erratic arm and head movements could have whacked me in the face. When a song came on the girls especially favored, he seemed to try and rock harder by bobbing his head up and down. He'd stop once he realized no one around him was acting the same.

It started to get creepy as I felt he glanced over at the girls as often as he was watching at the stage. I thought maybe it was my imagination, after all, out of the corner of my eye, his line of sight was a guess to me. I tried to look at him without being noticed to check where he was looking. It did seem he was looking their way, particularly at the blond girl.

Half way through the concert, he made a sudden move. As he took two steps to his left, he put his hands on the blond girl's shoulders. For a moment I thought he was going to try and hit on her. His gesture seemed too friendly for just passing her to get to the aisle.

What alarmed me was watching his left hand slide down her arm as he continued past. It's one thing to tap a stranger to let them know you are walking behind them but not stroke an entire arm's length. The girl looked over her shoulder at him as he walked back to the section from where he originally came.

She and her friend talked and looked his direction. Clearly, she was uncomfortable and concerned about the guy's suspicious contact. I hoped for her that he was not going to be a problem.

After disappearing behind some guys, the creep soon reappeared. He stayed in the other section but was obviously watching her song after song. His eyes seemed somewhat glazed over (maybe stoned?). What could be done?

When he moved towards our section again, I worried. This time, he stood slightly offset behind the girl. I debated whether I should try and step up to do something, but I didn't want to get near the guy. Very quickly, the girl was alerted to his presence. I couldn't see enough to know if he tried to touch her. She and her friend traded places so that the stout girl now protected the blond girl's back. It reminded me of my guy friend who always tries to form a buffer between female friends and random guys who get too close at clubs.

As soon as the friend was the one in front of him, he moved away. He stood there through the song and then returned to his remote post. The girls kept an eye on him, discussed their options, and dashed off for a safer spot. It was great to have the clear space ahead of me, but I felt bad for their situation. I feared he would roam the theatre to harass them later.

I never saw the two girls again. Hopefully, they spent the rest of the evening with the other boy and chaperone who came with them. The creep disappeared for awhile. It looked like he checked in with friends immediately after the incident. Then, he got lost in the crowd for a time. Towards the end, I spotted him coming down the aisle drinking a beer. It made me wonder whether he was drunk. I wanted to report him to the security staff but it seemed like a difficult complaint to lodge without the girls or creep in sight.