Falling For My Shoe Stealer // l.t.

I Smell Basic in the Air, and it Ain't Me

This chapter is dedicated to the brilliant Cory Montieth who passed away a couple of weeks after this was written. I was a huge fan of you and Lea and my prayers are with you.

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Chapter 27:

Jessica's POV:

My ears drums felt as if they were about to burst. My eyes were temporarily blinded due to the many flashes being directed at me. I felt like collapsing onto the floor right there and dying, but I knew that a miracle like that couldn't happen.

I've imagined this moment many times in my head, but this time it's real. I make one mistake, slip up, forget one lyric, it'll be noticed. Then everyone will know. This has to be perfect.

I made my way to the microphone stand positioned front and center on the massive stage. My back-up singers, I noticed, stood in boy-girl order, each with a microphone stand in front of them as well. My eyes scanned the massive crowd, making eye contact with random people causing them to scream louder.

I chuckled on the inside, knowing I'd be doing the same if I were them. But then again, I practically did earlier when meeting people inside. The section holding celebrities started swarming, more and more people making their way outside to judge me.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, placing one hand one the top of the microphone and the other holding the stand. The flashes got brighter and more frequent as I opened up my mouth to speak. The crowd went into more hysterics as well, making me shut my mouth. I couldn't imagine standing here without ear plugs in.

After a moment or two, I let out a nervous laugh, trying to quiet everyone down. That didn't work, quite the opposite actually, but then I just decided to try and talk over them.

Gathering my courage, I opened up my mouth again. "Um, hi everyone," I said, waving slightly with my hand. God, I'm blowing this whole thing. I internally slapped myself back into reality.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. Just get straight to the song. You can't possibly mess up while saying one sentence. "I'm Jessica Bieber, and I'm going to just go ahead and sing before I faint," I blurted. Spoke too soon.

I internally groaned, hating myself, not even paying attention to the crowd who was half-cheering, half-laughing. I looked over my shoulder at the drummer and gave a slight nod of my head. Signalling the music to start, I faced back forwards, smiling at the crowd and at some paparazzi and Tv cameras.

The music sounded, pulling me from my staring contest with the sea of people, and I quietly cleared my throat. The song started out slow, but it picked up when I came to the chorus. I snuck a peek at the large section which was now packed with celebrities.

They all sat fairly still, watching me with eyes full of curiosity and expectation. Some whispered to each other, nodding or disagreeing at the gossip that was being spread, most likely about me. I can't blame them. No one besides people I knew personally have heard me sing before. This is a huge step in my opinion. A way bigger one than I want to take.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the expressions of the people in front of me as I began to sing. Instead, I imagined the people I'm closest to, and the ones who supported me. My family, my parents, the boys, Selena, Justin, Louis. They all flew through my mind, making me smile. I have to do this, for them.

"Sing it out. Boy, you got to see what tomorrow brings. Sing it out. Girl, you got to be what tomorrow needs."