“C’mon, peeps,” I said. “We have to get ready.”
“You sure we have to do this?” Star whined. “I mean, couldn’t we just say we’re all sick and go home and sleep?” Elis rolled her eyes.
“You’d think we’d have a say in our performances,” she said, looking out the wings into the crowd.
“Five minutes!” one of the stage crew members yelled. The four of us groaned.
“I say we bail,” Star whined. “Who’s with me?”
“Me,” Justin said, walking into the room and sitting next to Mel.
“And I want Chris,” Star sulked.
“Okay, now you’re just getting on my nerves,” Elis said. I giggled. Those two never gave up. Always at each others throats for one reason or another. It was like a comedy show!
“Do we have to do this?” I whined. Galaxy, minus Alex, was already onstage. The other guys and I were waiting backstage for them to finish their set before we went on. Lance nodded.
“I know no one feels up for it, but we have to,” he said.
“Do it for Alex,” Justin said. “You know she wouldn’t want you to sit around on your *ss all day.” I chuckled.
“C’mon,” Joey said. “That’s our cue.” One minute later, we were onstage infront of Galaxy.
“You guys ready for some music?” Justin called to the crowd. They cheered.
“I can’t hear you!” Joey sang. They screamed louder.
“That’s better,” Lance said.
“Hey, what about us?” Elis said from behind us. We turned to face her.
“What about you?” Joey said. She scowled at him.
“Better question. What about us?” The eight of us turned towards the wings to see Chris walk onstage, microphone in hand. Star’s eyes widened and she bolted into his arms. He smiled and hugged her tightly. The crowd cheered.
“Question, bro,” Justin said. “Who’s us?” Slowly, another figure, who had been hidden by the shadows, walked out behind Chris. Star, being the only one to be able to see the person’s features, shrieked and hugged the figure behind Chris. Though it was obvious who it was, I stood there, joy and disbelief bubbling up inside me. Walking out of the shadows, Alex walked up so she was facing me, yet she was still a few feet away.
“Baby?” I said, dropping the microphone to the ground. Alex nodded slowly, a weak smile creeping onto her face. I studied her. She was exactly as I remembered except for one thing. She looked older. More mature, maybe. She had grown up, her father’s death having a huge impact on her, though it had been expected. I opened my arms, offering comfort.
I didn’t hesitate to throw myself into JC’s arms. I had longed for him so much in the past few months it had been almost unbearable. He wrapped his arms tight around me, kissing the top of my head as I laid it on his chest. I was so happy to be in his arms, the place I had yearned for for so long, but every emotion just started to overcome me. Though my tears were silent, my shoulders were shaking violently. JC held me close, rocking me like a baby. I knew everyone was smiling at us and the audience had erupted in cheers, but I didn’t care. I was back where I belonged and I didn’t ever want to leave again.