Look Closer | Mavi | Dreamingletters & LittleCarokind

17. Exploring Beauty, With Beauty

Mitch's P.O.V.

Kirstie and I re-enter the bus to hear Scott, Kevin and Avi working on audience participation parts. This tour we decided to throw in something unique each night if we have time before the show to rehearse it. Since we have today off, it sounds like they took the opportunity to make this one special.

"There's our backing vocals!" Kevin exclaims as he notices our presence. "We were just working on the audience participation, and since we only needed to add you two at the end, it made sense to start while we waited for you to come back." He explained, somewhat unnecessarily.

"Oh, sounds great to me. What song are we using this time?" I inquired.

"Let us sing what we've got so far, and then you guys guess" Scott quickly chimed in.

I got all I need when I have you and I, I look around me and see a sweet light, not scared of the dark with all your flashlights, your loud applause makes us feel right.

"We changed up the lyrics a bit to make it personal" Avi added, and I can tell that he had influence on them.

"Flashlight by Jessie J? Love that song!" Kirstie guessed knowingly. "And it makes perfect sense because we were in Pitch Perfect 2!"

"Avi had the idea that we have everyone pull out their phones and wave them as they sing, hence the 'all your flashlights' lyric" Scott explained.

"I really like that." I added sincerely, giving Avi a quick glance. We shared a brief smile with one another. I couldn't stop thinking about our kiss, being in a group with him after the fact feels so scandalous.

"How are we working the audience into that?" Kirstie asked, which was a valid point. Scott was singing that part, did he just want the audience to join in? That's not really any different than the rest of the show.

"We were bouncing ideas off of each other as you walked in." Kevin explained.

"I was thinking we have the audience do the repeated 'you're my flashlight' part and then I could hold the long note as you sing the chorus, with them singing the in between parts." Scott said.

"That's a little much, don't you think?" I remarked. "I like the singing over the long note thing, but maybe just have them do the whole chorus in 2 part and stop at 'can't lie, you're my sweet light' so we can do a special harmony and finish the song. There's only so much we can teach on the spot." I returned, wanting to keep it simple.

"I think that would be easier" Avi quipped, taking my side.

"Let's try it then" Kevin remarked. "I'll be the audience, since this is when I'm going to get my cello".

We rehearsed the song for another hour before we felt totally satisfied. We even had a mock lesson with Kirstie and I teaching the 2 part harmony to Avi and Kevin to make sure that we didn't sound awkward explaining it on stage. Everything was looking good, and now we have a free afternoon and evening to ourselves. Kevin decided to go to the back lounge to practice cello, and the rest of us decided to go explore a bit. If there's anything touring teaches you, it's that no matter where you go, there's always something new to see.

As we all walk the streets of the beautiful city we're in, we come up to a bridge and stop for a moment to rest.

"This place is really nice" Scott exclaimed.

"Yeah, I really like the architecture" Avi added as he leaned on the side of the bridge. "It's very ancient, I feel like I'm in a castle!" He's way too excited about castles.

"Yeah, it's beautiful" I remarked, glancing up at Avi with a smile. Every chance we get, we're sharing moments with each other. Little did we know, we've both told the other 2 members that are here with us about our relationship so far, so we don't really have to be in secret.

"Stop being so cute" Kirstie stated, seemingly out of nowhere.

Avi was a little shocked by this before he hurriedly whispered to me "fuck, does she know?"

"Yes. I was having extremely mixed emotions and I had to vent, sorry." I replied.

"That's okay, I asked Scott for advice too." He informed me. I was shocked to say the least.

"So you both must know what we're whispering about then." I open the conversation to the rest of the group.

"Yup!" Kirstie and Scott reply in unison, with a bit of laughter.

I move as close to Avi as I actually want to be and gently take his hand. "Then this is much easier" I finish, chuckling at Avi's sudden embarrassment.

"Awe!" Kirstie coos at us like we're the first couple to date in elementary school.

Avi hesitantly reciprocates my hand holding and we continue exploring the city. We wander into candy shops, boutiques, antique shops, even thrift stores. My unfortunate lack of sleep a few nights ago is really catching up with me, because I can't even remember what city we're in. All I know is that they speak English here, it's fucking beautiful, and I want to come back again.

We're on our way back to the bus when we encounter a young girl approaching us shyly with a huge smile on her face. Avi and I happened to be walking behind Kirstie and Scott, so we were lucky enough to let go of each other's hand before she could see.

Scott gives the young girl a welcoming smile and asks "are you a fan by any chance?" To which she nodded vigorously.

"I love you guys so much, could I get a picture?" She then asked, clearly extremely nervous.

"Don't be shy, we don't bite!" I quipped, holding my arm out so that she could come stand in the middle.

We took 5 or so pictures to ensure that she got a good one, and then parted ways after many more thank you's than we needed.

"She was sweet!" Kirstie exclaimed as we were walking back to the bus.

"Yeah, but she also almost saw us holding hands, we've got to be careful about that." I added, directing that last part at Avi.

We return to the bus to a symphony of beautiful chords coming from Kevin's cello. He obviously named it Beyoncé because it was so beautiful. Scott immediately went to the bathroom and Kirstie decided that she wanted to listen to some music, so Avi and I were left in the centre of the bus alone again.

"Today was fun." Avi stated.

"Today was fun." I repeated, neither of us looking to break the tension in the air.

"So... I guess we've made it to step 3?" Avi asked, using our metaphor as code to prevent someone from overhearing us.

"I guess so!" I giggled back, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly.

We paused for what seemed like a minute before breaking out into laughter from the slightly sexual tension in the room. As we calmed down, Avi looked me in the eyes. I got lost in his green orbs and for a second I could've sworn that they were the only thing in existence. He took one of my hands and gave it a gentle stroke with his thumb before looking up at me and biting his lip.

"Can I... ask you something?"

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A/N: It's a little bit mean of DreamingLetters to leave it like that, isn't it? ;) Nevertheless I loved reading this part and I can't wait to make some time to continue :)