YOU.

The Gemini's Lounge (Pt.2)

Hey doods....would you uh...hit the vote button?

haha just kidding...

...unless? 

***

Tristan

"What's that guitar for?" Lillian giggles, after pointing at my guitar bag. 

"For playing?"

She snorts at my crummy attempt at a joke, "Are you playing tonight or something?"

Sadly. 

"Yeah, yeah I am." I nervously chuckle. 

After buying Lillian's drink, we sit together at our own booth, listening to the other performers and figuring one another out. Lillian is much more different from what I expected of her. On the surface, she seemed very panicked and frazzled. But now...

She's a real vibe. 

A new performer hits the stage. Her presence immediately captures everyone in the audience, as she picks and strums her electric guitar, practically breathing it to life. When she's done, she swings her guitar to the back. Even once she's off the stage, the crowd continues to roar. 

Maybe i'll get that reaction, I think optimistically. 

But a voice in my head tells me just the opposite. 

She seems to pick up on my somberness, "Why the long face?"

"Huh?" I snap out of my daze. 

"I don't know... Something tells me that you're not particularly excited to play tonight." 

"I'm very excited! Just...really nervous."

"I see..." She reasons. 

She scoots a little bit closer to me on the cushioned seats we're in. I try my best to remain calm, but i'm betrayed by my accelerating heartbeat. 

"It's just that I... 

...Can I tell you a secret?" 

"Yeah! Tell the stranger you met at the bar your dark and mysterious past." She falls into a fit of wild laughter. Her hiccupping and snorts makes me laugh with her. 

"Aren't you entertaining", I wink, "how about I give YOU my time slot." 

"No, I think the bar would rather hear a song than my poor dark humor. And I  would like to hear the secret you wanted to tell me", she winks back. 

"The secret? Well, the secret is that I've never actually sung in front of a crowd before."

"Really?" 

"Yeah, and i'm terrified to do so." 

Lillian

I think about all of the shower solos and car rides of me singing at the top of my lungs. 

Could I sing in front of a crowd?

Well, first you would have to actually be a decent singer.

...

Shut up. 

"There's not too many people here tonight. I'm sure this is the perfect crowd size to start." I try optimistically.

"Well... Yeah. I guess that's true." 

Even without my Masters' Degree in Psychology, I would have been able to tell that he was lying and very uncomfortable.