Something's Gotta Give

CHAPTER THREE - ADELAIDE

𝔸𝕕𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕚𝕕𝕖

With our first show in T-Minus three hours, Bella and I were doing our hair and makeup along with Bea, who was currently braiding my long dark hair into twin braids. I wanted to make myself look good for my first show, so Lauren had promised me that she would come and do my makeup as soon as she had finished hers. With Bella hating makeup though, she was just going to go out there with a light coat of natural makeup, while I wanted the whole glitz and glam.

At the sound of a short sizzle and Bella making a noise halfway between a shriek and a cry, I looked over at her with panic etched upon my face.

"Hey, you okay over there?" I called over to Bella, glancing over at her.

"Uh, yeah, just a bit nervous," Bella muttered, running her hand over my ear and wincing. "And I think I burned my ear."

"Shit," I cursed, rushing over to my friend. "You need some ice or something?"

"No, I'm okay," Bella sighed, pushing away my hand as I tried to look at her ear. "I'm just gonna go walk around for a few minutes and get some air. I'll be back before showtime."

I frowned as Bella left the room, noticing that she had left her phone on her dressing table and worried about how she was going to cope with the show tonight. Nonetheless, I made a mental note to talk to Bella and give her her phone next time I saw her as Lauren came into the room, lifting my mood slightly as she began applying eyeshadow to my eyelids.

"How are you feeling about tonight, Addie?" Bea asked, swinging around on her chair so that her hair was flying all over the place. "Excited?

"I'm excited, but I'm scared at the same time. I might mess up." I said worriedly, causing Lauren to laugh quietly.

"If you mess up, just shake it off babe. Everybody messes up sometimes. The best way to deal with messing up is honestly just to laugh at yourself. I heard you rehearsing yesterday — you and Bella are fucking incredible. Don't doubt your abilities, Addie."

"Thanks, Lauren," I smiled up at the girl almost breathlessly — her words truly had helped calm my nerves. As soon as Lauren had finished my makeup, which looked amazing, just so you know, I left Lauren and Bea to hang out while I went to go and find Bella.

Searching all over the place, I found Bella with Camila, the two of them sitting in the Fifth Har Bella holding an ice pack to her burned ear. The pair of them were laughing at each other as they threw grapes into each other's mouths, Normani trying to intercept them in the air.

"Hey Addie," Dinah greeted me from across the room. "Where's Lauser?"

"Lauren?" I questioned as Dinah nodded in confirmation. "Oh, she's in our dressing room with Bea."

"Oh okay." I bit the edge of my lip as I realised that everyone had gone quiet as soon as I had entered the room, making me conscious of the fact that they might not like me. I was used to people not liking me, but it never made it less painful to see and hear proof.

"I'll leave in a second," I mumbled defeatedly. "I just wanted to talk to Bella."

My friend's head shot up with a concerned look on her face as she stood up from her place beside Camila. She beckoned towards the door and I took it as a sign to talk to her outside of the dressing room, so I left the room and waited for Bella to join me.