driver's license // r.h.

Chapter 23

Ryan liked me. He actually liked me! For the interview that was all I could think about. I zoned out at one point thinking about what would have happened if I had told him I liked him when he liked me? I could hardly focus on the interview and instead was paying extra attention to not turning into a red tomato and trying to control my heart beat. This was extremely difficult for me because
His leg is brushing up against mine and
My eyes keep wandering over to him.
I knew I when I would watch this later I would look so stupid but it was so hard to focus whenever he was around.

"Thank you for your time guys, and good luck with the concert tonight!" the interviewer said to us. We said our thanks and left the building quietly, side by side. My curiosity was eating me up, and I was dying to know when he liked me and for how long. After walking down a few hallways, I got the courage to ask him about it.  "So..." Ryan started just as I said "I...". We awkwardly laughed and I felt a little heat coming to my cheeks.
"You first," I said looking at my shoes.
"I was going to pick up some food for lunch, do you want anything?" he asked.
"I'm okay, thanks though," I said.
"Yeah no problem," he said flashing me a friendly grin. "What were you going to say?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just about to tell you I wanted to head back to the bus to rest before the show," I lied as we walked out the main entrance. Shit, way to chicken out Alexis!
"Okay, well let me know if you need anything," he says, giving me a smile before walking in the opposite direction. I stood there for a minute and watched him walk away. His dark hair flowed effortlessly in the wind as he got smaller and smaller into the distance. I forced myself to turn around and head to the bus for a nap.

"Alexis, 10 more minutes before you go on stage," Eric knocked on my dressing room door. Although he couldn't see me, I nodded. I was petrified by my nerves and unable to move my mouth. I need more time, I can't do this! A minute or two later, someone knocked on my door.
"Lexi?" It was Ryan. He slowly opened my door to find me sitting on the couch with my hands shaking. "Lexi!" he ran over to me and grabbed my hands to stop them from shaking. I looked up and his eyes met with mine. "Hey, it's okay. You're going to be okay," he whispered to me calmly to calm me down. He sat down next to me, still not letting go of my hands. "Look at me Alexis," he said, and I turned to face him. We were pretty close and I could smell his cologne. "You are such a talented girl, and I know you are going to go out there and kill it..." he says, looking into my eyes. I couldn't hear anything else he said because I was so focused on him. His eyes sparkled with confidence and his expressions as he talked caused my face to heat up a bit. Gosh, why does he do this to me? Another knock at the door snapped me out of my thoughts and drew my eyes away from Ryan.
"Alexis, 5 more minutes, get out here," Eric called. I took a deep breath and looked back at Ryan.
"Thank you Ryan," I said, giving him a hug in which he quickly returned. I buried my face in his chest one last time to help calm my nerves. I loved his cologne.
"Any time Lexi," he said, letting go after a minute. I had a new burst of confidence and without thinking, I kissed his cheek and walked out without seeing his reaction.

As soon as I was out of the room and walking down the short hallway, I stopped and started panicking again, what did I just do? Did I seriously just kiss Ryan on the cheek? I groaned in embarrassment but kept walking once I heard the crowd cheering louder. I guess I'll just have to deal with that later! Jack and Corbyn quickly came over to me so they could check my mic one last time. "Good luck Lexi!" Corbyn said, hugging me.
"Yeah, you got this! Just be yourself," Jack said, patting me on the back. I took a deep breath and stepped on stage into the blinding light.

The crowds cheers became significantly louder and it startled me, almost causing me to drop my mic. I squinted my eyes to adjust to the spotlights in my face. I looked out and saw the once empty stadium during sound check now full of people. It was overwhelming, but not in the way I expected it to be. I thought all the fans would make me more nervous, but actually hearing their cheers made me feel more excited and confident to perform. "Hey Arizona!" I said into the microphone. I received more loud cheers and I waited for them to calm down a bit before I continued. "This is...um, actually my first time performing on a stage in front of a crowd this big," I admitted. I got another round of loud cheers and smiled from the overwhelming amount of support. I looked over to the side of the stage to see all six boys giving me thumbs up and smiles. I almost giggled on stage but I calmed myself down to start my first song.

Performing my three songs went by so fast; I just got so caught up with having fun! The audience seemed to be having just as much fun as I was! After I finished my third song, Ryan joined me so we could sing our song together. I didn't think the audience could cheer louder but after we finished our song, the cheered even louder. I took my bow and walked off the stage turning my mic off so Ryan could perform his three songs.

"You were amazing!" Corbyn said, giving me a hug.
"Great job Lexi," Jonah cheered.
"I knew you could do it!" Daniel said, joining our hug.
"Aww thanks guys!" I smiled.
"Once you got up there, your nerves disappeared," Zach pointed out.
"I was having fun," I admitted proudly.
"And that's why we do it," Jack said grinning. I smiled and turned back to the stage to watch Ryan perform.

Authors note:
Hey guys! First off, I wanted to apologize for being MIA for a month. Thank you to those of you still sticking with the story! I needed a little break to focus on things like school and sports, and to be honest, I had a little bit of writers block. My summer so far has been a lot busier that I thought but I'm trying to continue the story and update when I can! When I came back I saw I gained so many new reads and I wanted to say thank you so much!

Make sure to get enough sleep, drink lots of water, and try to get something you have to do out of the way! I know I have to clean my room so I'll take my own advice and start cleaning! I love you all and I hope you enjoyed the chapter, sorry it's not edited lol