MENDED

six

saylor

it's now the night of our show in los angeles. we're on stage, and we're about halfway through our set. the lights are dim for the song we're playing right now. i was stood close to miguel as i kept my eyes on alex, who was standing near the edge of the stage and looking out across the audience.

"stitch up this heart, and hide it away. i keep it somewhere dark and safe, watch it fade to grey," alex sang softly.

the lights suddenly brightened into a vibrant, bright red. "i still feel this way when light catches your face."

like a good bit of our songs, this one was written just by alex. it's one of the songs on our ep. when they suggested putting it on the ep, they said that it was a song they had written a while ago and had forgotten about until then.

alex has such a way with words in their songs that you can't help but feel exactly what emotion they're trying to convey. even if you don't relate to it, you still feel as though you do. at the same time, you get the feeling that it was written based on experience, rather than it just being a song.

as the song ended, the lights dimmed, and alex let out an audible breath. they stepped back, away from the edge of the stage, and they walked over to grab their water bottle to take a few sips of it. they caught my eyes, and they gave a barely noticeable smile. i gave one back.

as alex started to talk to the crowd for a moment, i glanced backstage. i spotted billie eilish watching us perform. being who she is, it made the most sense for her to watch from backstage, rather than in the crowd. none of us had the chance to meet her before the show started. every time i've glanced back at her, her eyes had been focused on jessie with what seemed like a lovestruck, or at the very least awestruck, look on her face.

honestly, good for them; the both of them.

the show continued on, until we eventually thanked everyone for coming out to see us. we walked off the stage. i was honestly surprised to see jessie run into billie's arms as we did so. they both giggled as she did.

"okay, billie, this is alex, saylor, and miguel," jessie said as she pointed to each of us, now just standing beside billie. "and obviously, this is billie."

we all told her something along the lines of "nice to meet you."

i glanced up at alex, who was looking down at jessie and billie with a raised brow. "wow, you two are, like, exactly the same height."

"uh, no," jessie denied, then gave a smirk. "i'm, like, a quarter inch taller."

"for the last time, no, you're not!" billie narrowed her eyes slightly at jessie. "i am."

before jess could argue that she was, alex cut them both off. "well, let's see. both of you stand straight, back to back."

they both shrugged before doing so. alex then leaned down slightly, and they stared at the two of them for a few moments. they sucked their teeth. "i'ma be honest... it looks like jj is just slightly taller."

"man, what the fuck?" billie huffed, while the rest of us laughed loudly.

"at least you two are practically the same height," miguel teased.

"well, anyways, we're going to my green room. we're trying to spend as much time together before the band leaves los angeles tonight," jessie gave a sigh as they wrapped their arm around billie's shoulders. i pouted as i watched them walk to jess's green room.

"i'ma go to my green room too, then," miguel gave a nod before he walked off.

i started to walk to my room as well. my brows raised as i felt a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders. i looked to the side to see alex hugging me from behind. i was still walking, and they were following closely behind as they still hugged me.