COLLIDE ✰ BLAKE RICHARDSON

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X.

Leah shook her head in disbelief as the screams from the crowd escalated. Blake gave her a cheeky grin before walking over and pulling the microphone stand over to be in between the two of them. She opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out. Blake cut her off by beginning to strum the melody and by that point, there was nothing Leah could do but follow his plan. She started singing, and Blake smiled at her while they both played their guitars.

Once she reached the chorus, Blake joined in singing and the crowd went even more wild. Leah couldn't help but smile as she sang -- the whole moment felt absolutely surreal. They were harmonizing perfectly, even she had to admit that their voices sounded really good together. She let him sing the second verse by himself, the two of them maintaining eye contact for the whole rest of the song. Leah was silently hoping that her face wasn't bright red because of how deeply Blake was staring into her eyes. The electricity in the air between them was almost palpable.

When the song was over, the fans cheered yet again before Leah leaned over to speak into the microphone. "Well, that was totally unplanned, but give it up for Blake, everybody!"

Thank God she still had her earplugs in, because if she hadn't, she was pretty sure she would've gone deaf in that very moment.

Blake gave the crowd one last wave before running offstage, leaving Leah by herself again. She finished up her set and said goodbye to the fans, eager to go back and demand an explanation from the boy who'd casually scared the living daylights out of her onstage. At one point during her trip back to the dressing rooms, she gave up and yanked off her heeled boots. Juggling her shoes and guitar in her hands, Leah finally made it back to NHC's room and barged in without even bothering to knock.

"Um, what the hell was that?" She set her stuff down on the floor before scanning the room. Blake was sitting on the couch, absentmindedly strumming his guitar. Reece and George were nowhere to be found.

Blake looked up and smiled at her. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, you doof," Leah replied, walking over and sitting down next to him on the couch. He laid his guitar on the table in front of them before turning to face her.

"Oh, do you mean that killer duet we just did?" Blake tilted his head, pretending to be clueless. "Because, if so, I thought it was a great idea and the fans seemed to think so as well. I wonder whose idea it was, actually, since it was so amazing."

"I almost shat my pants when everyone was pointing behind me. I thought I was about to get murdered or something."

"Well, that was not the intended effect," The boy laughed, poking her on the wrist. She pulled her arm away, feigning offense.

Blake pouted, gently pulling her wrist back towards him. "Nooo, you're not mad now, are you?"

Leah pulled away again, pursing her lips. Of course she wasn't mad, but she just felt like messing with him. After all, he had nearly made her crap her pants out of fear when he snuck up on her onstage.

"Not the silent treatment!" He whined, still pouting. Blake looked over at her with puppy-dog eyes. "Come on, L."

She didn't make eye contact with him, instead focusing her gaze on the pillow next to her. She began pulling the flyaway strings on the fabric, not looking up once.

Blake poked her on the wrist again, and when she didn't respond, began poking her a million times all up her arm. Leah had to try very hard to ignore the sparks that his touch were sending all up and down her body. "Leaaaahhhhhh," he whined again. "Answer me."

Leah shook her head, still looking down. They stayed still for a moment longer, before suddenly Blake reached over her and grabbed the pillow she had been fiddling with. Confused, she finally looked up and met his gaze. He grinned at her before whacking her with the soft object.

"Hey! That's not fair, I don't have anything to defend myself with!" She finally broke her silence, causing Blake to burst out laughing.

"Ha, got you."

Leah's eyebrows shot up at that remark. "Oh, you're on, Richardson," she replied, grabbing the pillow back from him and beginning to attack him with it. He was still laughing even as she continuously whacked him on the side with it. Subconsciously, she started to laugh along with him.

Blake started to scoot back on the couch to escape Leah, but she just mimicked his actions and eventually he had backed up all the way to the other armrest of the sofa. She didn't even realize how close they now were. She was practically pressed right up against him.

Sticking her tongue out at him, Leah whacked him in the face with the pillow one last time for good measure before he grabbed it back from her. He threw it over his shoulder onto the floor, leaving the gap in between them nearly closed with nothing blocking them from each other anymore. Leah felt herself holding her breath.

His deep brown eyes scanned hers, seeming to search for an answer to a question he was too afraid to ask. Her blue ones held his gaze, watching as his eyes fell to her lips.

"Can I-"

"Blake! Showtime!" George called from outside the door, startling both of them and causing them to jump away from each other. He knocked on the door impatiently. "Come on, Joe's gonna kill us if we aren't there on time."

Blake scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he stood up, slowly picking up his guitar. "Um, see you later," he whispered, blushing a shade of deep red, before hurrying out the door.

What the hell just happened?