'Moonlight'

16

I'm standing in the wings of the stage with Lori and Sharon, and a few other randoms that i haven't been fully introduced to yet, watching eagerly as everyone, except Stevie, take their places on the stage.

Stevie is still in her dressing room, no surprise, probably preparing for her dramatic entrance as usual.

The crowd is chattering excitedly as the band tune their instruments, with Lindsey glancing around searching for Stevie.

I'm about to turn around to ask where Stevie even is before she appears from the shadows, fluffy hair and red lipstick.

She smiles briefly at the girls before stepping past me and onto the stage, her hand brushing mine briefly as she does so.

I swallow hard, not needing something like that to be thinking about right now just before the show.

The lights go up, and the audience goes crazy, screaming and cheering as soon as they notice Stevie onstage, who currently has her back to the audience as she grabs her tambourine from near the drum kit.

Mick starts them off, and within a few drum beats i realise the first song is The Chain.

Nobody even told me what the set list was, but then again i never asked.

I watch Stevie cross over to her mic to start singing, glaring at Lindsey angrily. It's nothing new, but she seems especially furious tonight.

Lindsey starts his squawking as soon as it gets to the chorus, turning to face Stevie as he yells, "If you do not love me now, you'll never love me again"

What the hell happened during the rehearsals??

Becoming slightly sick of Lindsey's screeching, I turn to the girls to see how they're holding up, but soon find myself spinning right around as i hear Stevie start her angry shouting too.

Her and Lindsey are spitting and hissing, yelling, Stevie's eyes brimming with tears as she stares into Lindsey's while he's barking furiously at her.

They end the song with a long wail from Stevie, which is much appreciated by the audience as they go wild, screaming and whooping.

Stevie smiles briefly before disappearing into the shadows to pull a shawl over her head before returning to her mic to continue.

I turn to the girls, my mouth hanging open. "What the fuck?"

They just giggle, shrugging, before nudging me to turn around and watch.

The rest of the show goes fine, a few little feuds between Stevie and Lindsey, but nothing like the first few minutes.

I'm already desperate for it all to be over so that i can find out what even happened there.

Finally, it's the end.

The crowd screams in delight as Stevie walks out onto the stage for the final time that night in her infamous platform boots.

She takes her final bow, staying bent for a second or two to be dramatic like she is, then stands again.

She brushes a strand of her blonde hair from her mouth, smiling, her dark eyes twinkling.

She waves as she walks, taking bows as she goes and accepting gifts from fans. It seems like the screaming won't stop.

"Stevie, cmon," Sharon calls from behind me, smiling. "You've been back out there for
your final bow three times now."

She bows once more before turning away from the audience, and walks offstage.