Time To Grow

Chapter 12

Rehearsing. It was something that was completely necessary. It was also something that drove all of the girls a little crazy. All of them knew that they couldn't perform at Wango Tango without being completely, properly prepared. The crowd was going to be huge, and full of potential new fans who were there to see other artists. They wanted to shine, so that was what they were going to do.

Standing on the stage the day before the performance, the girls stood in a line, running through their songs a few times. They wanted to get their songs sung a few times on their own before adding the choreography and backup dancers in. The dancers were off on the other side of the stage doing their stretches.

Lauren tapped her fingers lightly against her mic as they went through Worth It. Despite what she said during interviews when asked about the song, she didn't love performing it. It was cool because she got to shake her ass, but she didn't sing much. She watched as Camila sang, and she pushed a small smile onto her face. Hopefully in the next single, she'd actually have a verse to herself.

The other songs were much more enjoyable for Lauren. The whole reason she got into this was to do what she loved, and the other songs made it so that was happening. As she sang, she was criticizing herself internally. The others sounded so good, but she felt like she was less than adequate. Ally told her that she sounded great once they had run through Like Mariah, but Lauren wasn't so sure.

That's when they decided to run through with the choreography for Bo$$. Lauren knew what she was supposed to be doing. It was like what they did on tour, she knew how to do all of that. She knew she did.

"Alright girls, let's try this again. Lauren, let's try to get it right this time."

"I did."

"No, you weren't in sync with the other girls, it threw everything off."

Lauren groaned, nodding. Of course she was the one to slow things down. They ran through it again, and at the same point of the song, she messed up.

"Damn it," she hissed, running her hands through her hair frustratedly.

"We'll take a short break."

Lauren quickly ran off the stage, and went to go sit down back stage. The other girls trailed slowly behind her, and sat around her. Dinah was on her right, Ally was on her left, Camila and Normani sat on the ground by her legs.

"Lauren, what's going on? You're usually doing this stuff right."

"Camz, I don't know. I'm just having an off day."

Dinah placed a hand on Lauren's thigh, rubbing it softly. The simple touch sent tingles through her body, and she smiled a little.

"You guys know I'm not doing this shit on purpose. I don't want to be doing this any longer than we need to. I swear, I'm going to try and get it when we go back out there. And during the actual performance I'll be fine."

"Girl, don't even sweat it," Normani said. "It happens, we'll get it soon."

All of the girls nodded. Ally's phone buzzed from inside her pocket, and she took it out slowly. Her face lit up happily, and she stood up, hitting the talk button. The other girls eyed her cuiously as she began to walk away.

"It's Troy," she mouthed, before heading out to talk to him outside where there was likely better phone reception.

"I'm gonna hit the washroom, I really need to pee. Mani come with meeee," Camila said, tugging on her friend's hand until she got up with her.

Once they had left, Dinah continued to sit there with Lauren. She shifted closer to her, and she smiled.

"Babe, what's really on your mind?"

"You. Normani's birthday party. Other things.. Oh, and how fucking nervous I am that we're going to be performing in front of these people."

"Lauren, it's not going to be too scary. Think of it like any other concert."

"It's not like any other concert though. These will be a lot of people who aren't familiar with our songs, and I don't want them to hate us. I see what a lot of people think of us, and I'd rather make a good impression as opposed to having more people who want to talk shit about us," she muttered, leaning back against Dinah, her head resting on her chest.

Dinah threaded her fingers through her friend's hair, nodding. "Don't think about it too hard. The more you think, the worse you do. I know it's hard for you to not think, that brain of yours is hella busy, but just try." She paused, and grinned. "I'm really excited for Mani's party. I hear that Z is going, and I can't wait to see her."

"I'm just looking forward to being in a party atmosphere. And I know there'll be adult figures present, but I still plan on getting a little bit.."

"Drunk?"

"Maybe."

"You know that's a bad idea."

"It might be, but I need to let loose, and I need to have fun."

Dinah smirked. "Will you still want to kiss me and stuff if you're drunk?" she asked, winking playfully.

Lauren gave her a gentle shove. "We'll see. Don't get you hopes up though."

"My hopes are already way up, and it'll happen."

"Mhm.."

"DINAH! LAUREN! THEY NEED US BACK ON STAGE," Camila's voice boomed from outside the door.

Both of them chuckled. For such a small girl, she sure had a powerful voice. Both stood up, and headed back outside. Dinah placed a hand on Lauren's shoulder once they had gotten back on the stage, and sighed.

"Don't think too much. Pretend you're showing off for someone you're interested in," she whispered into her ear.

Lauren didn't mess up again the entire rehearsal, and she did significantly better each time she looked over at Dinah.