I'll Run to You // Awsten Knight

Chapter 8-Hometown Performance

October 7th, 2017

The day Hope has dreaded is finally here, she's playing a show in her hometown. A lot of her family members heard about it somehow and got tickets, this sure was one way to disappoint them.

The only person she wants to see is her sister, she's the only one Hope has ever told anything personal about her life, besides Awsten.

But Lee was the only person Hope could trust growing up. She constantly got made fun of and flipped a lot of the kids off, which gave her detention for nearly a month after doing it for so long.

She didn't fit in with the popular kids and she wasn't nearly smart enough to be friends with the smart kids. She was just...outcasted. 

Hope always stood out with the fashion styles the other kids had from middle school to high school.

Every tour she's done, she avoided her hometown. No matter how much she wanted to rub in her popularity with the people that used to bully her, it wasn't the right thing, so she avoided everyone.

She even tried talking out of having to play for this show, but no one else could open for them on such short notice. Hope's playing the same order as she did for the first time she opened for Waterparks, Pink Party, Rendezvous, Fan Behavior, Ferrari, and Makeup Drawer.

But of course she doesn't open for every show, that would be ridiculous, and many would call her selfish if she did.

For the show, she decides to wear a tightly sewed, white lace button up with silk white high-wasted pants.

It's currently 4:00 pm and the show is at 7:30. They're already at the venue and start soundcheck.

Everything goes smoothly until Hope starts shaking and her pulse gets rapid, no one notices until she sat down on the floor, closing her eyes and trying to stop tears from coming.

Awsten, of course, was the first to notice and ran to her, this has happened way too many times to him to not know what to do.

He sits behind her and pulls her back on his chest, he checks her pulse and her breathing is faltered.

Awsten guides her breathing, having her repeat his breathing pattern and he starts rubbing her neck, going down to her shoulders.

If Hope wasn't panicking right now, Geoff would think it would be the perfect time to make a joke about them. It's the perfect fucking position for them to be in right now but it's the wrong fucking time.

//

Fifteen minutes pass and Hope is finally back to breathing normally, she's still extremely sweaty on the hands and a little shaky, but Awsten takes her to the green room.

"What's on your mind?" Awsten asks and takes her to the couch, putting one arm around her back.

"My family told me they heard I was performing tonight and want to come watch the show. They don't care to check up on me and my parents somehow don't know about my hair. My mom only cares to listen to Christian radio so she never has the time to listen to my music. If she DID, she wouldn't be going to the show and she wouldn't even be talking to me. She'll see me as a disappointment and a disgrace. The last thing I ever wanted in my life was to disappoint my parents, but if I am myself doing it, then so be it. But what if she sees me and something happens? I- I- I just don't know what I'll do." She starts tearing up at the thought of her own family disapproving her.

Awsten takes her onto his lap and hugs her as tight as he can without hurting her. "Listen to me, you're not a disappointment to anyone, no matter what your family says. She can be proved wrong by millions and millions, I could even ask them right now. The last thing you are and ever will be is a disappointment or a disgrace. Plus, I WISH I had your hair."