Trapped ღ j.t

Ch. 9 Nerves

{ P E R R I E }

We got to the arena within plenty of time for the show. The first thing we did was go to Simon and tell him about our idea.

"That's a good idea. If you guys can quickly sort out who sings what then you can do it. We'll take out a few songs from your old set and replace them with these ones with Perrie. You'll still do Wings, DNA, Salute, Move, Little Me, Change Your Life, Word Up and a few others." He smiled. We all nodded and thanked him, before moving towards the dressing rooms. Jade and Leigh had vanished. Jesy took me down some hallways and came to a room marked, 'Little Mix.' She pushed it open and we were bombarded with noise.

"WHERE IS MY LIPSTICK!!" Leigh shouted, frantically searching through all the clothes and accessories that were scattered all over the benches. She caught my eye and winked as we walked in. I glanced around the room. One wall was covered with mirrors, and a table running through the middle of it, covered with hair dryers, combs, brushes and make-up. In one corner, stood three racks of clothes, presumably a rack for each girl.  A couch was on the other side. On it was Bella, sitting up and playing with Jade's hair, while she scrolled through her phone. Jesy scooted off to the small bathroom next to the couch. Leigh was still trying to find her lipstick. Both Jade and Bella looked up when Jesy and I entered the room. They smiled and Bella went back to what she was doing. Jade motioned for me to come to her. I strolled over.

"You really do have to let her do that to your hair," I sighed. I looked at her hair, which was a complete mess of braids and tangles. I glared at Bella, who just grinned sheepishly.

"She's my princess! She said it was okay. You should be her princess!" I blushed a deep shade of red, but Jade just chuckled.

"I told her it was okay. I have stylists to help me get it back to normal when I go out on stage." She grinned at me.  I smiled back.

"So what's the set?" she asked. I told her what Simon told me and Jesy. She nodded her head.

"This is gonna be great," she said.

"How do you know? How do you know I'm not gonna ruin everything by forgetting the lyrics or missing my part, or fainting?" I burst out. She was quiet before replying.

"Look at me." Reluctantly, my blue eyes met her brown ones. She took my hands in hers. "You wanna know how I know?" she asked, the playfulness gone from her voice.

"How?" Her eyes twinkled.

"I have to show you something first." With that, she stood up, still holding my hand, and led me out the door. I looked back, Bella was now talking to one of the dancers. I turned back to Jade, who was leading me up stairs and around corners. Finally we got to a door. She released my hand and turned to me.

"Ready?" she asked.

"For what?" was all I could answer with. She just grinned and threw open the door. She motioned for me to go first. I stepped through. Somehow, she had led me all the way to the stage. I walked forwards, and stood in the middle of it. A sea of empty chairs was in front of me. It was silent.

"Scary, isn't it?" Jade whispered in my ear, coming up behind me. I shuddered at her breath on my neck. I waited for her to go on. "In a few hours, this room is going to be filled with people." Was she trying to make it worse?

"Uh, Jade, you're not helping here." She kept going.

"What you don't understand is that all these people aren't here to hate you. They just want to have a good time. They want you to succeed. They want us to succeed." She paused. "I know you'll do great because I know that, deep down, you want to succeed too. But the only thing standing between a great show and a bad one is you. You have everything you need to make tonight awesome. Just trust. In yourself, in us, in them. And know that me and the girls are right beside you." She finished gesturing towards the chairs and the stage. I thought about that. I suppose she was right. I just needed to channel my nerves into adrenaline. I turned to Jade, who was standing so close to me I almost bumped into her.