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Oh god, it’s finally happening. And she’s terrified.
Hailey sheepishly drapes the curtain back with her hand, taking a slight peek at the audience bustling into the room, from the wings of the stage. Her eyes dart across the scene. The atmosphere is full of liveliness and anticipation, the sound of distant conversations as the audience excitedly chatter and fumble in their seats fill the room. Hailey’s hand drops from the fabric and she immediately turns back, stepping further in the wings.
She clutches the microphone in her hand tighter, waves of doubt flooding through her. She shouldn’t have looked at the crowd. She hates it. Now all she can think about are the amount of eyes that will eventually be on her. Staring, watching her every step, her every move, the spotlight blaring from above as if to mock her. Hailey shuts her eyes tight as she tries to calm the storm forming in her head, but it’s no use. She’s in rough waters now.
Memories from middle school resurface no matter how hard she tries to push them down. She couldn’t help the way she froze in front of that mic stand, not with all of those protruding eyes that pierced through her skin. They were waiting for her to start singing, to say something, do anything. But instead, she broke like a dam and ran offstage, sobbing.
Hailey takes in a breath. The storm rages inside her head, waves furiously crashing down into the sea. She thought that maybe this time would be different, now that she had Jake by her side, maybe it would be okay. But the chilling thought strikes like lightning in her mind, asking just one question:
What if she was wrong?
—
“Hey, we got this.”
Hailey’s eyes snap open at the sound of his soft voice. She looks up to meet Jake’s eyes as he walks towards her from the stage, his own microphone in one hand. He gives her a reassuring smile, but his face drops to an expression of concern once Hailey looks back at him.
Her mind is too far gone to believe his words right now. The thunder in her head is louder than his voice. Her eyes dart back down to the floor, her hand wrapping tighter around the microphone pressed to her chest.
Hailey can feel Jake’s concerned eyes on her, full of worry. He tilts his head. It’s clear that she needs something else right now, something bigger.
Suddenly, she feels Jake gently tap her on the shoulder, so she redirects her gaze back up at him. Giving a warm smile, Jake slowly takes the microphone from her hand and places it on a nearby plastic chair, setting down his own microphone too.
“What are you-“
Before she could finish, Jake steps towards Hailey and takes her hands in his, causing her to cut off her own words.
“If you can’t look at the crowd, look at me, okay?”
Hailey’s eyes widen, stunned.
She didn’t expect this gesture from him. She doesn’t know what to say.
Her cheeks start to light up.
Hailey looks down at their hands, tenderly clasped together. To think for so many years she found him insufferable. But getting to know past his cocky demeanor may have been the best thing that’s ever happened to her. Weeks passed, and all of a sudden Hailey found herself looking forward to Jake’s goofy grin every morning, his wave and enthusiastic “Hey, Hailey!” filling her with a warmth she’d never felt before.
And yes, he’s made mistakes. She’ll never forget the way her heart dropped when she heard the audio. But she’ll also never forget the way Jake looked at her when he stood in front of her, swearing he never meant any of it, his eyes desperate and poignant. Because something deep within Hailey believed him. And she was right.
The way he’s looking at her now, his soft, hazel brown eyes fixing onto her own. His gentle, reassuring smile he gives her as he gently brushes his thumb over the top of her knuckles. Dark grey rainclouds part, rays of sunlight peek through. The thunder quietens, the waves calm. Jake means every word he says, and she knows it.
Slowly, Hailey’s mind stops racing as she gazes up at her singing partner.
She doesn’t know what it is, but something about him makes him calm the storm.
“Deep breaths. It’ll be okay.” He adds softly.
Hailey nods, doing as he says. Jake’s eyes have the same genuine shine as they did days ago, back in the music room, when he was begging her to believe him.
She believed him then, and she believes him now.
Hailey takes in a breath, her mind finally reaching tranquility like a boat righting in rough waters.
“Okay.”