The Only Exception

Nine

~Spencer~

I knew something wasn't adding up almost immediately. If Lainey thought she could go out tonight and I wouldn't be keeping an eye on her she didn't know me as well as she thinks she does. The past few weekends she's been at Chelsea's so I've not needed to follow up on where she was. I'd tracked her there, made sure she was there a few times through the night and everything was fine. 

I knew her and whoever she was with were heading out but they were on the complete wrong side of town to where I'd have expected Lainey to be. I expected her to be on the north side of town. Expensive bars and the handful of exclusive clubs they'd have been on the VIP list for. But they weren't. They'd gone south, just on the outskirts of the city center and wherever they were, they hadn't waited around in some queue. 

I'd set off when the phone went stationary, having looked up the dodgy looking building online and becoming overly concerned with where the hell she was. A deep panic set into me, worrying that someone had grabbed her on her way to wherever it was they were supposed to be going. Kidnapped her with intentions of doing lord knows what just so they could score a little extra money. 

When I pulled up to the old warehouse looking building that was set amongst rows of small cafes and indie looking bars, I was shocked to see the queue out the front door and I immediately realised it must be a low key student live music venue or bar. 

I knew the guy on the door from a course I took a few years back and after telling him I was working for someone that was in the building and I needed to get to them, he let me bypass the queue, making sure to warn me not to cause any problems because he could loose his job if his boss found out I was in there without a ticket or written permission. 

The place was rammed but once I was in, my suspicions were confirmed. The stage at the front of the hall was set up for some part time band that would most likely cause my ears to bleed in a few moments. I tried to find a good vantage point from where I could openly scan the crowd to find Lainey without her seeing me. I wasn't here to ruin her night. I was here to make sure she was safe, not being tortured somewhere. 

I wasn't worried when I couldn't find her at first. She had probably gone to the toilet with her friends. But when the lights dimmed and figures took to the stage I was concerned she hadn't come back when the act was starting which would surely be the reason she was here in the first place. 

To say I was shocked when Lainey's voice echoed through the room is an understatement. My head snapped to the stage, beaming blonde stood center stage interacting with the crowd like this was completely fucking normal.  

"We thought we'd shake it up this week and we have some new stuff for you all too." The glimpse of a smile I'd caught on her face earlier tonight was now covering her entirely.  It's like she's an entirely different person. Music starts playing and I am captivated. 

This girl, parading around the stage singing about being born a rebel child, this is not the Lainey that's been slumped on the couch for the past 3 weeks. It's not the Lainey who forces her confidence into her shoulders. It's not the Lainey who has her head in books and works tirelessly on her classes. 

Her words before she started are confirmation this is a regular thing and now I'm starting to realise she isn't black and white. From the conversations around me, she was here on stage last week and the week before that. She's here every Saturday night doing this whilst I'm being led to believe she's at Chelsea's place. I've been tracking her phone each weekend and right now, I wouldn't put it past her to have worked that out and have been leaving her phone at Chelsea's and then coming out here. 

It wouldn't have been an issue, her being here, doing whatever. I'm a little bugged she hid it from me. Leaving her phone at Chelsea's will have to be something I talk to her about. She can't just not have that with her. If something happened she wouldn't be able to get in touch with me, I wouldn't know something was off. 

But all that aside, watching her up there, listening to the crowd singing along, the energy in here was mind blowing. Lainey can be shockingly charismatic when she puts her mind to it. Have entire rooms eating out of the palm of her hand, waiting for just a second of her attention. The songs she's singing portray a chaotic, party animal of a young woman and as much as that character suits who she is playing right now, it just doesn't fit with the Lainey I have at home. 

I wonder how deep this goes with her. Which one of her is her and why the hell she didn't tell me this was her plan this weekend because this was planned. When I asked her what she had planned she said she didn't know. But this set has been rehearsed. She's been working on this. Her and the band have made 'new stuff' specifically for tonight. 

I'm stood by one of the walls not far from the stage, watching in complete awe when she catches my eyes and I know she sees me. Her eyebrows lower for just a second but she doesn't miss a beat, doesn't let the crowd tick on that something is off. She turns, heads to the other side of the stage, leaving me to watch her turn this entire club into putty in her hands. Me included.