Reflections - Tay Jardine & Jenna McDougall (Wattys2015)

13 - There's No Going Back

Jenna POV

I wake up to a piece of paper next to me.

Jenna,

Went back to my bus to get ready for today. See you later.

-Tay

It makes me happy that she left a note. It makes me feel like I'm not a one night stand; I know I'm not, but it's the thought that counts, right?

I select my outfit for the day (skinny jeans, high-top black Vans, and a 'Lonely Girl' tank top--because who isn't into a little shameless self-promo?), go to the bathroom, then plug in my flat iron. I wait until it's hot, then start on my hair. When I'm done I decide I don't want to put it up, but don't want to leave it plain, so I put a black snap back on backwards. I put on neutral-colored eyeshadow and chapstick before I consider myself ready for the day.

I eat a quick breakfast, then chill on the couch for a while. I scroll through my Instagram feed, and stop when I see the last post from Tay. It was a picture of her and Cameron giving the 'rock on' signs. The caption reads: "Pomona! Come rock with us at 1:30 on the Journey's stage! And stick around for Tonight Alive's set. You wont wanna miss this."

I suddenly get nervous. I don't want to back out now, but Tay's plan is definitely giving me some anxiety. Neither one of us has ever done anything like it. There's no turning back now.

I check the time on my phone. 12:47. I didn't know I slept that late. Sound check is at one-thirty, and we play at two. I text Tay.

Are you at sound check yet?

I'm surprised at how fast she answers. Yep

"Guys, I'll see you at sound check!" I yell at no in particular. I don't even know if they're all awake. I head toward the Journey's stage. I find my way backstage and watch We Are The In Crowd warming up. Jordan is going over the keys, Rob is doing wrist exercises, Mike is talking to a tech, and Cameron is jumping up and down.

I jump when I feel a pair of arms wrap around my waist.

"Relax," Tay's voice says. "It's just me."

"You scared me."

She lets go and I turn to face her. "Are you nervous?"

"A little bit. I think I'm more excited though. I just really want to do this."

She smiles. "So do I. I kinda wish we did this earlier."

"Perfect timing is overrated. We'll just make our own."

She gives me a hug. "I love the 'Reflections' reference."

"I thought you would."

 "Tay!" Rob yells. "It's ritual time."

She excuses herself, and I watch as her, the guys, and their crew gather in a huddle. I can't hear what they're saying, but I'm okay with that. Pre-show rituals are sacred. She comes back when they finish. I don't ask what they did or said.

"About an hour and a half. Then I can actually kiss my girlfriend in public." She says, a smile spreading across her face. "Have I ever told you how pretty your eyes are?"

"No."

She tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm going to start now. You're really do have beautiful eyes."

"Thanks."

"Tay!" Jordan calls. She looks into my eyes and I smile and nod. She smiles back and understood that I was saying, It's okay, you gotta go.

I stand backstage and watch as they kill it. Every few minutes she would look at me and smile. When they finish, I give Tay a hug, and some of her sweat transfers onto my shirt.

My guys show up after We Are The In Crowd finish. We go through sound check and our ritual. Tay stays for the whole thing. After the ritual I ask her, "Are your guys watching my set?"

"I told them to come for the last ten minutes."

I nod, give her a quick hug, then skip out onto the stage.

After playing The Fire, What Are You So Scared Of?, The Edge, My Favourite Thing, and No Different I say into the microphone, "Alright. I think you all know what's coming next. Pomona please welcome Tay Jardine!"

Tay walks out to me and waves at the crowd. Whakaio hands me an acoustic guitar, while Cam sets a microphone up for Tay. I start the intro to Anyone Else But You. Tay starts her part.

"You're a part-time lover and a full-time friend, the monkey on your back-- You know what? No." I stop playing. She continues, "I know a lot of people have been wondering who I've been dating. I'm ready to tell all of you. And like I said: you wont wanna miss this."

I give the guitar back to Whakaio, who gives me a confused look. Nobody--except me and Tay--knows about the plan. Tay walks over to me, cups my face in her hands, and presses a long kiss to my lips. I wrap my arms around her neck.

I know there are a lot of people cheering and screaming, but the only thing I can hear is the pounding of my heart. We pull away and I say, "Have a great day Pomona!" into the microphone before walking off stage.

The rest of We Are The In Crowd stands backstage, shocked expressions on all of their faces. My guys match them when they follow me off stage.

"Did you guys just?" Jake starts.

"What?" asks Mike.

They all start saying something, but can't seem to finish their sentences.

"Okay. To answer all your incoherent questions, that sound like they were taken right from Tumblr," Tay says. "Yes. We just outed our relationship."

"A-alright." Matt says. I kiss Tay's cheek, making her blush. Both of our phones start dinging with notifications.

"Let the riots begin." I say.

So. Um. Yeah. Please don't hate me, but it may be a while between updates because I just started 9th grade.

Oh and I think a guy called me pretty today.

XoXo

~XhannahX