Paparazzi Boy

6. Euphoria

The glow sticks and cell phones flowing back and forth in the crowd was overwhelming Belle as she continued to perform one of her favorite songs from her recent album. As unfortunate as it was to go through a such a tough break up, it had been an inspiration to write a sensational album that she was proud to sing and promote everyday she was on tour. Jacob had taken a lot from her - a lot out of her, too - but she was taking it all back, with each line and each lyric and each breath in between and with the voices of thousands of people singing back. Sacramento had a great crowd. She had pulled her hair back for this song, sitting on a tall, brown stool in the middle of the stage, wanting to focus solely on the words of the song so everyone could know how much it meant to her. She wrote this song only a week after the break up. It was raw, it was souful, it was her.

"Maybe I should forget it all,
Maybe I should just let it hurt,
But what I do now for sure,
Is you'll never taste as good as this cheap alcohol..."

It was overwhelming. Tears were swelling in her eyes but she held them back because she couldn't be sad right now, not with everyone looking at her like she was the best thing that had happened to them - not with everyone singing along to her song. It was starting to hurt only when she sang these type of particular songs -- after two shows, she was considering taking them off the list to avoid the feeling altogether. She was finally heeling and it was liberating. People didn't spend hundred of dollars to watch her cry, they came to have a good time and vibe to something that could be considered a universal language - music.

She looked back at Max, who was strumming his guitar lightly alongside her backup singers. His eyes were closed, like he was trying to feel what she had felt while writing the song. After their talk about a week ago at the party, maybe he could feel it. He looked handsome tonight, with his collared shirt and navy blue pants. He looked like he belonged on stage but as the star instead. His eyes locked with hers and since the night at the party, she felt the wind leave her lungs. She tried to keep her distance from him because she didn't know who she could trust anymore. If someone you were with for four years could betray you like that and not bat an eye, why couldn't Max hurt her just the same? But for once, while on stage, she was tired of keeping him at a distance. She waved him over, asking him to come closer. He didn't hesitate, still strumming while slowly walking towards her. When he was close enough to where she could smell his cologne, she felt herself become lightheaded. She hadn't let herself get this close to him since that night on her balcony. She placed the microphone in between them and could only watch in awe as his voice synced in with hers. On that stage, it was just her and Max together, feeling an emotion that she could chase forever.

"Maybe you can forget what happened,
But I am more than sure I'll forever be reminded,
Everywhere I go I look for you,
Don't look back at what you abandoned..."

He moved closer to her, closer than she could probably handle. He smiled as he stopped strumming and swung the guitar behind his back, placing his arm over her shoulder while looking out into the crowd, watching the lights move back and forth, left and right.

He looked at her as he sang the last line,

"Oh, please look back at what you abandoned"

The instrumental ended with the lyrics and the crowd clapped and screamed, wanting nothing more than another song and all Belle wanted to do was give them more because this wasn't a feeling that was easy to shake off once it was over. She bowed and thanked everyone for coming out, holding Max's hand as she walked off. He squeezed. Her heart was beating so heavily in her chest, it felt like it was going to burst. Nothing beat the excitement of ending a concert - the feeling was euphoric.

"That was awesome!" Max's eyes were filled with excitement and joy and this streak of passion that she knows is reflecting in hers too. "That was my favorite show so far!"