"Fuck,"
I slowly sit up and shut my eyes, shielding out the blinding sun. A knock at the door, the same one that woke me, sounds again. And again. I force myself up and walk to the door, reading a note stuck over the peep hole before opening.
Went home! Thx for the kisses and cuddles <3
I feel myself blush as I fold the note up, sticking it in my pocket. I see William standing in front of me, dressed in a green sweatshirt and shorts.
"Are you busy tonight?"
I give him a strange look as I rub my palm over my aching head. "What?"
"You heard me."
"My best friend is coming over at, like, 5. So I'll be out with her."
"Would you be willing to cancel for a really good reason?" He lifts his arm up to the top of the door frame and leans against it, his face close to mine. I'm exhausted and a bit hungover, but damn it, he's a gorgeous man.
Still, I'm not sure if I want to do him a favor. "Depends. Why?"
William sighs and hangs his head down. "You call yourself a musician, right? My opener got sick and I need a replacement. And someone desperate enough for the act to not mind not getting extra pay for it being last minute."
I grin. "You do not have a headlining show tonight. Be serious. I know you're trying to prank me."
He suddenly leans back and folds his arms over his chest. "Sweetheart, I've got a sold out show at Radio City tonight. My stage name is Wilbur Soot. I have hundreds of thousands of fans. And you could open for me."
I feel my stomach drop and I stumble back a bit. There's absolutely no way. Have I heard that name before? It sounds familiar, I just can't place it. But he's my neighbor. And he's asking me to open for him. In front of six thousand people. "Like, seriously?"
"Like, seriously. I just need to hear some of your songs to see if you're actually good."
Despite how awful he's acted towards me, this opportunity completely makes up for it. "Come on in." I shut the door behind him as he steps in and rush to my room, shouting from my mirror as I make myself look presentable. "I just woke up, give me a minute!"
"You're alright!" William calls back.
I brush out my hair and put some deodorant and perfume on, not really bothering to change out of my hoodie and shorts. I go through a quick vocal warm up before grabbing my guitar and walking to the living room. He's sat on one end of the couch, his long arm stretched out. I sit on the opposite end and place my guitar over my lap. "Uh, I have originals, but none of them are streaming yet. I'm just now learning how to produce. But I have most of my originals on YouTube, so..."
He swipes his hand through his hair. "That's fine. I could help you produce. I do all my own stuff, too."
"Okay, cool." I take in a deep breath. "Uh, here I go."
I perform a few songs for him, including Long Sleeves, the one I just posted. William sits in silence the entire time. I look at him once I'm done.
"So, you wanna change those plans?"
"Really?" I gasp, clapping my hands over my mouth. "Sorry, this is just insane. Oh my God, what do I do? I don't have a manager or anything."
William glances down at the watch on his wrist. "I'm leaving in an hour to go do soundcheck and stuff. We can figure it all out. Oh, and Blair isn't allowed to come. I guess I'll have to deal with you being with her, but I don't need to be near her."
"Okay." I try to manage my smile, but I'm so excited and shocked. "Thank you. Seriously."
He stands and heads to the door. "Yeah, you owe me. I'll be back in an hour."
The second the door closes, I jump up from the couch and grab my phone, calling Sofia. I pace around the room, hyperventilating as I wait for her to pick up.
"Hey, Eve,"
"Can you switch your flight to be here tonight?"
"Huh?"
"I'm opening at Radio City Music Hall tonight." I sit down on my bed, trying to slow my heartbeat. "I need you there."
I talk with her for a few minutes, explaining what happened, and she says she'll try her best to get her flight switched. I decide to go ahead and change into what I'll perform in, which takes way too much thought. I want to sort of go with the style of my music, so I want a chill outfit. I text Sofia and have her ultimately decide for me; a loose long sleeved black shirt and baggy hunter camouflage pants. I twist my hair into twin braids, pulling at my hair to make it look messy but still cute. I juggle between doing eyeliner or not for my makeup, but when I realize I only have a few minutes until William and I go, I decide to just do my basic makeup. I zip my guitar into its case and pack a bag with my laptop, chargers, water bottle, and other random stuff I'm not sure if I'll need. The second there's a knock at the door, I open it.
"Ready?"
I nod and follow William down to the lobby. I follow him to the nearby park garage and to his car. I don't know shit about cars, but I can tell his is expensive and fancy. We sit in silence on the drive over to the venue, other than when he curses some guy out for cutting him off. I follow him through the back doors of the venue, able to go unnoticed by the long line of waiting fans.
"So, you're famous." I mutter as we follow security
"Yeah, a bit."
I feel nauseous as we walk onto the stage. I look out at the thousands of empty seats, each one will be filled in a few hours, watching me. A middle aged man suddenly approaches us with a smile, shaking my hand.
"Thank you so much for filling in last minute!" He says. "I'm David, Will's manager."
"Thank you," I tell him. "I appreciate this more than anything."
Him and William walk me through everything that will go on tonight. Since I have no official tracks or anything, I'll do the whole show on my guitar. And it'll be just me on stage. I'll perform five of my songs then go backstage to the greenroom while William does his show. They have me do a quick soundcheck, just running through one song with a spare pack and ear pieces they're letting me borrow for the night. I sit in the front row as William starts his soundcheck, texting Sofia as he tunes his guitar.
Sofia: I SOMEHOW GOT A FLIGHT OH MY GOD THAT WAS SO HARD
Me: Oh thank Godddd. I'll pay you back.
Sofia: It's okay, mom's friend has a cousin whose wife works at the airport and got me the ticket for free. The catch is the plane leaves in an HOURRRRRRRRR. I literally just threw some stuff in my bag and I'm in line for security rn. I should be there about half an hour before you go on.
Me: Ahhh I love you so so so much. I'll see you soon. Thank you <3333
I set my phone down and look up as William begins singing. His voice is pretty and soothing, the few songs he plays being slow, the lyrics depressing. He seems to only sing about one girl and how she fell in love with someone else. Is that why he's such an asshole to me, to everyone?
I admire him as he plays his final song. The lighting hits him perfectly, highlighting each lovely feature on his face. His eyes suddenly meet mine, and I quickly look away, but I can feel the butterflies in my stomach. Jesus, why do I find him attractive? He's such a dick. But he did give me this insane opportunity. Maybe he's not so bad... but I have to remind myself he's too egotistical to ever even fall for a girl like me, so I quickly dismiss the feelings.
We're taken back to the green room since the doors are opening soon. I sit in the corner and pick at my guitar, scared out of my mind that I'll forget everything I've written. William sits across the room, talking with an interviewer. It's interesting to see how much his entire demeanor has changed. Normally, he's cold and mainly emotionless. But with this stranger, he's smiling, laughing, and just overall charming. He just looks like the most gorgeous man I've ever seen, not my bitchy neighbor.
