A Place In This World

Chapter 1

The deafening screams of the festival crowd can be heard all the way to the backstage vanity. Chloe tries to sit still through her makeup, her fingers tense around the armrest as she tries to keep still for the stylist. Stretching her legs a bit to relax as the woman steps away, Chloe hums the first verse of her opening song because she's always scared about forgetting. She can't help but strain her ears a bit, trying to recognize the song that's playing among the cheers.

"You nervous?" The stylist asks conversationally as she looks for a shade of lipstick in her vanity box.

"Excited mostly" Chloe answers honestly. She's been waiting for this moment since she was twelve. There's no reason to be nervous.

Adam steps inside the small dressing room just then. He hangs up his phone and takes a moment to study Chloe's black and white ensemble. It may look simple but her auburn hair and bold make up makes it pop. Chloe likes it, and Adam nods in approval. "Ready?"

"I was born ready for this." Chloe announces before leaving her chair. She thanks the stylists before stepping beside her manager, who casts her knowing look before ushering her out.

"How are you feeling? Really." He asks quietly as her leads her away from her van, towards backstage where she's supposed to wait for her set.

"Like if I think about how I'm feeling, I'll throw up." She answers through a toothy smile as they pass by a few reporters loitering along the entrance. The Christmas Ball concert is a huge deal for someone who just debuted two weeks ago, and Chloe knows it. The annual televised concert is for the big names in the industry, people who are household names like Taylor Swift, Billie and St Vincent. Chloe is pretty sure she spots Justin Braun behind in one of the lounges and tries not to pass out as Adam runs through her set once again, a habit that Chloe assumes is more for his peace of mind than hers.

"I got it." She nods hastily when she's supposed to before looking back towards Justin. He's still there, chatting with someone Chloe vaguely recognizes as a rapper. Chloe bites her lip nervously, she could be called up on stage any minute now. But that's Justin Braun, in the same room as her for the first time in her life and Chloe feels like she owes it to herself to at least go say hello to the man who's been an inspiration for her. She runs a hand through her strawberry blond hair and pats down her leather skirt before slowly walking towards the pair.

She's vaguely aware that she's muttering to herself, trying to find the best words to tell him how much he means to her, how his music has helped shape her hopes and dreams through the years. She's so lost in her own thoughts that it takes her a while to make sense of what Justin is saying, and she almost trips when she registers the words.

"Right because teen bops are my jams." Justin scoffs, his back to Chloe, who freezes with her mouth open. A friendly greeting 'that totally didn't sound like fangirling' dying in her throat. "Besides what's the point of making the effort and knowing someone no one would know in another month?" He shrugs arrogantly, taking a whiff of smoke as his friend chuckles and rolls his eyes but doesn't bother to correct him. Chloe grits her teeth, feeling torn between feeling offended and sad. Something breaks inside her then, as Justin's words fill every corner of her mind. They echo loudly around her and a part of her wants to stomp in front of him and give him a piece of her mind but she knows she can't. She has nothing to show him, not really.

So she steps back slowly, swallows down the disappointment bubbling in her chest because Justin Braun is as pretentious and brash as the rumors and tabloids paint him. She walks back silently when Adam calls her, feeling ten times smaller than everyone in the room. She nods when he frowns at her tense expression and takes the mic from the assistant's hand before stepping up on stage.

The crowd is silenced as she puts her in ears in place and Chloe makes a decision. She'll show him, him and everyone who's already writing her off as another blip on the music scene. The first song starts as the lights hit her and she inhales deeply before opening her eyes. The first note hits perfectly, the first verse goes well and can hear the people singing with her. The chorus hits, the pit crowd jumps with her when she prompts them and everything disappears. It's just Chloe and the music, and thousands of people who scream her name and yell the words she wrote in her diary back at her as their own. The first song ends and Chloe takes a moment to take it all in, a little out of breath and a little disbelieving that this is actually happening.

"Good Evening New York!" she yells into the mic. "Are you having fun tonight?"

She looks around on the blurred faces shouting their excitement and waves to the crowd. "I'm Chloe and thank you so much for the love you've shown me in the last week. You guys are incredible."

Excited cheers follow her words as she enters the next song. At one point she stumbles a bit, and she can't help but laugh at the worried groans she hears from the crowd. They give her the energy to go on as if nothing happened and by the time her set ends, Chloe almost forgets why she was in a sour mood earlier. She thanks the crowd profusely, blowing kisses that make them go crazy for her until the lift lowers enough and she's invisible to them.

Adam lifts a hand to high five her for a job well done and Chloe goes in for a hug. "That was amazing did you see that?" Adam chuckles and nods at her excited gushing. "And they were screaming and screaming and-" Adam reaches to pull out her in-ears and Chloe's eyes widen with realization. "That's my name! That's my name they're screaming. Holy Shit!"

"I'd say that went well then" Adam says matter of factly, his sparkling eyes giving away his pride and Chloe laughs while smacking his shoulder. He waits until they've stepped into the backstage lounge before saying. "So guess what? You're set to appear on the late Night Show next week with none other than-" He pauses for dramatic effect.

"Tell me!"

"Justin Braun" He announces with a flourish. Chloe's grin disappears like a dying star.

"What? I thought you loved him" Adam asks, confused. "Infact, your dream man was back here gushing about how impressed he was with your performance."

"Really? He was?" Chloe says offhandedly, settling on a couch where an unopened large pizza is already waiting for her and taking off her heeled boots. Looking good often comes at the cost of broken feet.

"Yeah. I honestly expected you to be more excited about this." Adam frowns.

Chloe sighs, "Sorry, I'm just tired. But the late show. That's huge Adam, thank you."

That seems to appease him, thankfully. With another reminder to work hard and get some rest before her flight, Adam leaves her to her food.