𝘚𝘖𝘕𝘋𝘌𝘙 ⁽ʲ ᵐᵒˡⁱⁿᵃ⁾

𝘛𝘞𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘠

Running from the past

tripping on the now

what is lost can be found,

it's obvious...

The crowd simply faded when Elise was staring into Julie's eyes, the boys easing on their instruments and slipping away with the underlying gasp from the audience. There was a beat of silence in which the two entirely forgot they were being watched, until the gravity between them was broken by the bouts of cheers and applause that closely followed. Elise chuckled momentarily and turned to face the onlookers.

The pair waved, Elise's eyes catching Sunset Curve off to the side. She scrunched her face in response to the smirk on Luke's - while Reggie was as oblivious as ever. Though, Alex seemed to be off in his own little world. She made a mental note to keep an eye on that; the blond had been acting off for a day or two.

They stood after a minute of taking in the applause, it died down gradually and the two began conversing with the fans before them. It was still strange that people were willingly approaching Elise; just a month or two ago the only thing she was known for was her family issues and her (incredibly effective) intimidation tactics. The acceptance made her smile, she'd come a long way.

She giggled at Julie when she noticed the blonde boy that approached her; Julie told Elise of her awkward rejection when Nick asked her out, and made fun of the girl just slightly for the whole situation. Elise caught her eyes and Julie gave her strained contact. Elise threw her hands up as subtly as possible, backing away as if to say I'm not saving you. When they went public about their relationship - hopefully soon - all would be explained.

The dark-haired girl turned back to continue her own conversations, when through the group of people laughing and shouting their praises around her she caught a glimpse of pink- and long blonde hair. Her heart dropped just slightly, and she dismissed them with a wave and pushed through. She didn't know what she was planning to do when she was standing right in front of her own sister, but a tug in her chest pulled her closer and closer. She had to say something, right? Maybe she was here to apologize.

Though the possibility seemed unlikely, she couldn't help but lighten at the thought.

Carrie seemed surprised when her twin approached, to say the least. Elise didn't trust her own perception; her mind had the tendency to take anxiety and run with it - twisting the realistic and turning her into an over-analytical mess. So, was that disgust on her face? Or did she sense anger? She blocked that out.

"I didn't know you were invited," Elise tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice. She failed.

"I just assumed you forgot." She said it with a mountain of fake cheeriness that made Elise nearly gag. The brunette's features narrowed, and in a turn of events that was all but shocking, the other girl's relaxed. Instead of the sour smile, the subtlest of frowns took its place.

"Look, Elise. That was really good." A straight up compliment? She smiled slightly. "You and Julie... sing... really well together."

Elise's face instantly turned the shade of a tomato. She held back the rest of her grin and nodded toward Carrie. "Thank you. And... thank you for coming. I must have lost your invitation." They both knew it had been sent out via text, but it was the thought that counted.

Carrie smiled, and with a brief hug that left Elise standing in disbelief for a moment, she was gone. The smile that followed refused to leave her face the rest of the night.

Looking back, Julie had been watching their conversation with a similar smile rather than talking efficiently to the boy in front of her. Elise rolled her eyes and thought up an excuse to save her.