Limelight

Chapter Thirty-One

~~Atlanta~~

The sun was clearly breaking out from the mid-March steel clouds, though the air was still brisk that morning outside the warehouse. Blair found herself enjoying the cold air a little, leaning against the brick wall casually watching Light 'Em Up grow agitated by the second waiting on Aaliyah to show up.

"I mean, Aaliyah does know just how important today is right," Marcus said, stopping his pacing looking accusingly at Jacks as though he's somehow responsible for her being late. Jacks shot him a dirty look that he ignored, "Don't look at me like that. It's your girl that's late. The first round of competitions is tonight and she's almost thirty minutes late. Why are we even waiting for her? She doesn't have to come."

"She said she wanted to be here," Christian replied in a cool voice raising his head from his folded arms on his knees as he sat on the sidewalk just before the mini-van they were taking for their twelve-hour-long journey from the city to Atlanta.

"Well, she has a funny way of showing it," Marcus grumbled looking over to West with a cocked brow, "Shouldn't we just leave without her? If she's really determined she could catch up with us, we're on a schedule."

West opened his mouth to reply, but Jacks interrupted him. "She's on her way, Marc, get off her ass," He snapped in a cold voice, "She had a school thing."

"During spring break?" Rick asked handing Eunice a blunt, releasing a puff as he spoke with a cocked brow.

Jacks nodded grimly. "I think it's either a project for extra credit or she's taking her last exam."

Marcus cocked a brow. "Isn't she like crazy smart? Why does she need extra credit to graduate?"

Jacks sighed running a tired hand through his hair. "Because," He said through an exasperated breath, "Work has her falling behind in some of her classes. And she's trying to graduate early. Either way, she wanted to be here to support us. It's bad mind to just ditch her."

Marcus looked over at Blair gesturing over to her. "I think we have enough support, don't you think so?"

Blair snorted rolling her eyes and looked away. She doubted that she was the type of support they wanted today. In all honesty, she didn't even want to come, she's only here because Jacks managed to guilt-trip her into coming along. Maybe she might have wanted to come if Aaliyah wasn't, but unfortunately, she said that Satan himself would have to keep her away, considering it was Spring break and she didn't have any promotional stuff for her album this weekend anyway.

Thanks to Blair and Xavier's manager, Jamal Niles, she managed to book a mini-promotional tour across the East Coast and the Mid-West during the first week of Spring week. Aaliyah, Blair, Malcolm, Xavier, and his manager spent the week doing meet and greets, talk shows, and minor performances in cities from Chicago, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami, and Boston. Blair would be lying if it wasn't a draining experience, as fun a time as she pretended she was having, spending her week jumping from hotels with two people she'd rather not spend all her time with as of recent, was annoying.

Having to spend another night again confined to few spaces with Aaliyah was not on her list of priorities for a very long time. But yet, here she was, waiting on her of all people.

The boys were arguing amongst each other, whilst Blair tried to drown out their noise focusing more on the warmth bloomed in her chest from her coffee mixed in with bourbon she stole from her father's office last night. The last few weeks, Blair might as well have been in a perpetual state of insobriety, though no one would have noticed much. She was a good actress when she wanted to be. More time she felt nothing, except an empty pit of oblivion trying to swallow her whole. Well that, and the occasional breeze prickling goosebumps across her skin that felt like a billion tiny pinpricks on her skin. It was welcoming, a tinge of pain mixed in with nothingness. At least it meant that she wasn't really dead.