Viridescent Flares

61

Today, we're having a show in Phoenix and it was just normal that everybody was lowkey freaking out because of either nervousness or excitement—or probably both—but Lauren's been having her leg jumping up and down as she bit on the side of her middle finger. I was watching her from the chair I was sitting in while having my hair and make-up down for a few minutes now and she was doing nothing but that. Once I was finished, I practically ran to my girlfriend because she was so nervous that it was painful to watch for me.

I settled on the couch beside her, carefully placing a hand on her knee. She had her attention to the crews pushing some equipment and she hadn't noticed me yet. I knew my touch was soft, but she still flinched when she felt it.

"Jesus!" She hissed, ready for a full rant but her eyes softened when she saw that it was me. "Oh. H-hi, babe. You look beautiful."

I chuckled, leaning in to place a quick kiss on her temple. "Thank you, but you know something else I noticed?"

"What?"

"That you seem like you're about to audition for X-Factor," I said jokingly, causing her to smile as she bowed her head down before meeting my eyes again. "What's wrong?"

She stared at me for a second like she was trying to figure out if she should say it or not. Lauren's my girlfriend and she knew she had to say it anyway so, she rolled her eyes as she sighed. "I'm kind of anxious about performing No Way tonight."

I gave her a small smile before embracing her, resting my chin on top of her head as I took in her sweet scent. "Your song is beautiful, baby, and I know that everyone's going to love it." I kissed her head and looked down, the side of her head lying on my chest. "The first time I heard you singing No Way, I immediately knew that it'd be the fans' favorite and I'm not saying this because I am biased. This is honestly coming from a perspective of a musician."

With those words, Lauren finally looked at me, the corner of her lips turning up to a smile. "You really think so?"

"Trust me," I said, trapping her cheeks between my hands as I gazed straight into her eyes, "I know so. Now, I don't want you worrying about that. I know they're going to jam with us when they hear it, I know they're gonna love it, I know you're going to rock it, and I know that this show will end just how I pictured it—perfectly beautiful."

Instead of answering, she giggled before giving me a quick kiss. "You're amazing."

"Why, thank you," I said, causing the other girl to laugh. "I'd love to stay like this but we have to get ready. Come on."

I stood up first, offering my hand hand for her to take. When she did, I gave her one last reassuring smile before draping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her to get our earpieces at the backstage.

➳

Dinah started her drums as Ally pushed on the first notes, giving the atmosphere a dramatic aura with the dimmed light. No Way was originally played by piano only but since we needed to be in theme with the new album, we experimented with its music. We announced beforehand that we'd be performing this new song from the upcoming album today and with the silent anticipation from the fans, I knew they knew this was what we were referring to. I looked over at my girlfriend on the other side of the stage as I strummed steadily on my guitar.