Tethered (Book Two of The Invisible String Series)

The Runaway: Part One

January passes by in the blink of an eye, a seemingly never-ending month of craziness that keeps Lizzie and I both busy. Between the band starting our official promotion of the tour, foster classes, planning Scarlett's wedding, and the usual in-and-outs of our lives, it's a wonder that either of us has a chance to breathe. It's a change of pace from these past few months of healing, but it seems to be a welcomed one.

Right now, however, I've been preoccupied with finalizing all the small details of the proposal. Which is exactly two weeks away.

I've managed to get into contact with everyone I need to, and make the necessary arrangements. Our cover is a decoy dinner for Valentine's Day, and then we're doing a small "family/friends dinner" to celebrate Lizzie's birthday and the recent success of WandaVision before the band leaves for tour and everyone gets split up for a bit. But instead of the small group Lizzie is expecting, I pulled out every possible stop. Every single one of mine and Lizzie's friends and family are going to be there, including her best friend Clay and the rest of her siblings that I have yet to meet. Basically Scarlett is in charge of keeping Lizzie distracted with wedding/baby shopping while the rest of us get the backyard set up. And if it all goes well, we're gonna end the night celebrating our engagement.

Everything is falling into place for the first time in a very long time, and I'm thoroughly enjoying just how right this all feels.

"Y/N, are you even listening to me?"

Blinking, I force myself to focus on Jamie, the head of our PR team and the band's manager, giving the woman a guilty smile. Currently the band is waiting to do our second interview this week with Buzzfeed, and I'd somehow managed to zone out, not realizing that the blonde had returned. "Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts. What were you saying?"

Jamie gives me a slightly annoyed look that I completely ignore. That woman loves me, so I'm too worried about it. I know finalizing the last few details of the tour and balancing all the PR promotional stuff for it has been keeping her busy, and make a mental note to take a vote with the other band members about giving her a raise or something after all of this is over.

"I was saying that they're ready for you guys to start the interview. After this you all are free from duty until Monday, that's when I have you all scheduled to do that photoshoot for LA Weekly. Don't be late, please. And if you all need anything, just ask Tyler. He's Buzzfeed's intern that'll be serving as your liaison while you're here."

After receiving confirmation of our immediate schedules for the next few days, Jamie bids us farewell and goes off to do more work, leaving us to the interview process. Honestly I've done so many of these that it just feels like muscle memory at this point, but there's a part of me that feels extremely anxious about this whole thing. Most of the band's promotional press has been the official tour announcement and a few social media posts, so this is going to be my first public interview since the attack and it has my nerves a little on edge. I'm not sure if I'm ready to answer any of those questions just yet.

Just as I start to follow security and the intern towards the interview room Leon grabs my elbow, pulling me back a few paces behind the others. "You look like you're fixing to pass out. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Nodding, I give him a small smile, thankful that him and the others have been so extremely supportive and understanding lately. "Yeah, I'm good. Just a little nervous."

"If you're not ready to do this, we can always-."

"No," I quickly shake my head, taking a step into the interview room. "I'm not going to let this affect the band more than it already has. I'll be fine. Really."

Leon gives me a look, letting me know that he sees right through my bullshit, but doesn't press the issue any further as we move to set up for the interview. Each of us is strapped with a wireless mic and a battery pack, and before I even know it, we're all seated and one of the producers is giving us the greenlight to start. Thankfully, since this is Buzzfeed, the interview isn't going to be completely serious. I think we're just playing a few games while we answer questions, so I force myself to take a few calming breaths as we're given instructions as to what we're supposed to do.