180 Degrees- Completed

Chapter Fifty

I ducked into the party, trying to stay as unnoticed as possible. Show my face to a few key people and I could duck out, go home and pretend the girls just didn't see me all night. It'd be fine. 

The parties here were different to the ones down in Durham. Down there they were big house parties. Here, at least for the group I was in now, the parties were held in a club one of the guys' parents owned. There was a stage right at the front which meant a lot of us music majors would do live music a few times a month. 

I grabbed a drink from the bar, downing half the bottle immediately. I couldn't act like I'd been here all night if no one saw me drinking. 

"I've seen that face before. What are you scheming now?" I rolled my eyes, leaning back against the bar as I turned my head to face him. 

"Hi Mason. Good game today." He smiled, turning and looking out at the room, drinking from his own bottle for once. 

"Thanks." I nodded once. "He packs quite the punch doesn't he?" 

"Who?" 

"Your ex." I turned my head to him. "He kept pushing into me with so much power I had to get him back." 

"So you sent him to the floor?" 

"Yep." I shook my head slowly drinking. "You looked lost in thought the whole game." 

"I was." 

"Anything in particular?" 

"Not really." He chuckled. "What now?" 

"Nothing. You're super talkative tonight." I rolled my eyes turning to look at him. "You going on?" 

"Not if I can avoid it." I laughed slightly. 

"You can't. They've clocked you." I looked up at the stage where Liam waved me over. 

"Fuck sake." I chuckled. "Save me?" 

"No chance." 

"Mean." He stuck his tongue out as I sighed and moved up towards the stage. I stood at the bottom, putting my arms out as I held the beer on the stage. "Liam." 

"Avery." He bent down, huge grin across his stupid little face. "Coming up?" 

"Are you going to make me?" 

"No. But I'll make everyone else make you." I laughed at him. Not a hard laugh, not so hard it even made too much of a sound. But a laugh either way. "Come on. You practiced the full set with us literally 4 days ago. You can't say you weren't ready this time." 

"I'm not ready." He smiled, moving his guitar around to his back. "It's your band Liam. I'm not coming in and stealing center stage." 

"Well then we'll rebrand." I sighed. "Don't make me beg. Because you know I will." 

"Oh I don't doubt it." 

"Then come on." He grabbed my beer. "You'll have to come up to get this back anyway." 

"I can just go get another." I laughed but started climbing up onto the stage anyway, using my hands to pull me up with ease. 

"See. I knew you wanted to. You're so difficult." I snatched my beer out of his hand drinking without saying another word and walking to the side of the stage whilst I finished it.  His mic turned on as they warmed up the instruments, making sure they were tuned right before we got started. "Evening everyone." With just the sound of his voice, the room seemed to get full, everyone gathering towards the stage. "Pretty busy in here tonight. How is everyone?" The crowd roared. "After today's Crimson win, I was expecting that. Sorry to any blue's in the audience. You suck." He shrugged and I giggled. "We're just waiting for Avery to finish her drink and then we will get started." I raised my bottle. I wasn't rushing. I didn't have a reason to. That was a mistake. Everyone started chanting chug chug chug and I rolled my eyes, downing the drink quickly and putting the bottle out of the way as they all cheered and I walked over grabbing the mic from Liam. 

"That's enough of you." I chuckled, bumping his arm. "You guys are such a bad influence." The band laughed and I rolled my sleeves up one at a time. "Okay. Shall we start then?" 

"Rushing it today?" I rolled my eyes at Liam who laughed at me, playing a few chords. 

"Never." I smiled brightly. As much as I complained about being on stage with these guys, there was never a dull moment. 

"Set the scene
I just left the party at Blake's and it's Halloween
Had the keys to my car in my hand, but I didn't leave
'Cause the potential of us, it was keepin' me up all night long
I left a text you won't read all night long

This could be a disaster, there's so many factors
Like, what if you freak out and then we're losin' it all
At the critical chapter where I say, "I love you"
And you don't say it after
This could be a disaster, I'm pedaling backwards
By saying that I'm drunk, I really shouldn't have called
I'm a little bit plastered, you call me a liar
Now I'm fallin' in faster
This could be a disaster."  I loved starting with this song. It was so upbeat and easy to dance to with the crowd. I looked out at them as I sung. Smiling bright as I caught the girls jumping and dancing a few rows back in the crowd. They were here for every show. Every performance they were right there, front row. No matter what they made it work. I looked at the boys on either side of them. Almost stopping as James' eyes locked on mine. 

I swallowed and pulled myself from him, turning to James who raised an eyebrow and I carried on, loosing myself in the music rather than my head. So he's here, watching me sing on stage for the first time to the song he only ever heard me sing the chorus to when it was on the radio the morning after our first time. 

I carried on the song. Somehow. Avoiding looking in that direction as much as possible. 

"Maybe I'm mistaken 
You're not mine for takin' 
Maybe I'm mistaken
Maybe I just made it up, messed it up."  The music ended and I pulled the mic away from my mouth, walking over to Liam to talk about the next song options. I couldn't carry on with our usual line up. Not knowing he was there. I couldn't sing about not caring when he was right there. I felt like I'd be lying to him.