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real life
Stevie inhaled deeply, staring at herself in the mirror. In just 30 minutes she would be on stage, performing in front of a crowd of 15,000 people. Her band were all relaxing in the dressing room: Lulu, Elle, Ayesha and Adair. They were seasoned performers, all of them her classmates from high school. The last time Stevie had sung in front of a crowd had been her senior showcase. 5 years ago.
Perhaps she wouldn't be as stressed had any of her friends actually been replying to her. Communication with Timothée had seemingly only gotten worse since they had entered the same timezone. She hated to admit it but Stevie depended on him to give her a confidence boost. He was supposed to be her hype man.
There was a knock at the door, startling the group, and a technician poked his head through the door. "Hey, we're just finished setting everything up. Are you guys okay to come get all mic'ed and wired in?"
"Yeah! Sure! We'll come now." Stevie smiled politely at him. She felt defeated. Timothée had texted her good luck when she woke up this morning but that was the last she had heard of him. She really expected him to call her before the show.
Stevie sighed and walked with her band to the sound stage. The technicians worked seamlessly around them, weaving in and out of the band to connect wires to microphones and amps. Time was passing by quicker than anyone realised and they were told by the stage manager that they had 10 minutes until showtime.
They had a group hug and manifested a good show. Harry and Michaela came to say good luck and before she knew it, Stevie was in the wings ready to walk on stage.
The lights of the arena went black and the crowd started to roar, causing Stevie's stomach to turn and her to grip the microphone a little tighter in her hands. She saw the introduction video that she had filmed start on the big screens.
It was a montage, a supercut rather, of all the videos in her Snapchat memories from the past 8 years. Everything from her and Charlotte goofing off in class in school to a video of Timothée ice skating in Central Park in 2013, to a video of Stella taking her first steps. All of her cherished memories.
Stevie's voice sounded over the top of it all, reading a short poem that she had written when she first arrived back in New York after going to LA for the summer. "It's been a while, since I felt right. Another drink, another night. It's been a while. I'm waking up here and I'm eighteen and I'm crazy in love with you. I don't write about boys anymore but I'm in love with New York."
