Alyssa sat tapping her foot impatiently as they put the finishing touches on her hair and makeup. Tight curls fell all around her face, in perfect spirals. Her eyes sparkled with yellow eyeshadow. Her lips were pursed together, smothered in rosy gloss.
"All finished, you look great hun," Patti the lady in charge of her makeup said, gesturing her up.
In the corner of her eye Alyssa caught her own reflection in the mirror. Black leather pants squeezed her legs, outlining her feminine frame. A shiny yellow top, crisscrossed on her upper body, tying around the back. Leaving a triangle of bare skin around her bellybutton. Each time she would catch the light, she would shine in a different way. Her eyes sparkled, her shirt, and she had been drenched in body glitter.
For the first time she took a minute to look around the dressing room. A little basket with fruit, and water sat in the middle of a large table, just aside a blue sofa. A stack of papers were next to the decorated basket. Glancing down at it, she was surprised to hear herself laugh out loud. About 20 pictures of her were paper clipped together with a note.
Make Sure you sign these
--Lance
Slowly taking the cap from her pen she scrawled her name across the top picture. She looked down at it for a second, giving a half smile at her signature. Moving through the stack.
:::KNOCK KNOCK:::
Alyssa turned sharply looking wide eyed at the door.
"Come in!" She yelled, Lance and 4 other people hurried into the room, closing the door tight behind them.
"Alyssa, I want you to meet Drew. Smile, talk to him, embrace him whatever. He is now going to be your new best friend. He will follow you everywhere, he will know where you are ALWAYS, and he will basically be your life line starting now," Lance stuck out a hand gesturing for the large man to step forward. He was way taller than Lance, and looked like he outweighed him by a 100 pounds.
"Please, I am only here to do my job, and it would be so much easier on me, if you could follow a few simple rules. Please just stay close to me, when I say its necessary, otherwise I will walk my distance. inform me of where you are going, and let me know of anything that makes you uncomfortable. I am here for your own good so if we work together, we can both achieve what we want to. And that's your safety," he told her, setting a strong hand on her shoulder. She have a hesitant smile looking around at the 3 other faces.
"Sounds wonderful Drew. Now, who are these guys?" She asked, knitting her eyebrows in confusion.
"They are my team. They are going to travel with us and keep close with us. Just in case we are in a situation that we would need backup," Drew explained. Alyssa nodded slightly turning toward Lance.
"My bodyguard?" She gave an unsure look, raising her eyebrow.
"Yep. Trust me as your fan base grows you will need him. Anyway I want to have your song out in the next week. So your fans will definitely start to get bigger, and more enthusiastic. Now, they need out there to put your head set on," Alyssa followed Lance out the door, Drew close behind her locking her dressing room before they left.
Going through another door, that led to the left wing Alyssa was greeted with an assortment of people. Many were in dark blue shirts, and she knew were stage hands, and some she guessed were fans with backstage passes.
"Come on over here," Someone grabbed her shoulder pulling her over to a less crowded corner. "Bend down just a little," They pushed her head down, leaving her with no choice but to follow instruction. Taking the dainty headset they pinned and secured it on top of her hair, tucking it behind her ear. The microphone attachment pulled around, just in front of her mouth. "OK, now say something for me,"
"Hello? HELLO?" Alyssa jumped as her voice grew in volume. She cringed at the people now staring at her, blushing in embarrassment.
"Five minutes!" The stage manager yelled to her, placing up five fingers to indicate his words. She felt her stomach twist as she saw the curtain fall. It was dark blue velvet, with Alyssa Taylor written across it. The words "One Kiss...Heaven Isn't Far" Were underneath it, a lyric from her first single Her dancers all came up behind her jumping up and down to loosen their already stretched out muscles. Daniel and Erick had on baggy, shiny silver pants with a blue shirt. The shirt was just as shiny as the pants, and they looked like their energy would last forever. The girls were wearing just the opposite. Tight blue pants, with a silver top. It came around their neck and cut off right at their rib cage.
"Good Lord..." Alyssa whispered squeezing her eyes tightly shut. She could hear the crowd already, and couldn't imagine what it was going to feel like when she was actually on the stage.
"Do you want to pray?" Kaitlynn asked, Alyssa looked up in shock.
"YES! I mean, yeah definitely," She smiled a little, as the five of them quickly grabbed hands. Her eyes were closed tightly, her grip locked around Erick, and Kaitlynn's hands.
"Our Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this opportunity, and for bringing us all here together. I ask you to please watch over us, and give us your approval. Keep us safe, and let us have a good show. In thy name we pray...Amen," Alyssa's voice was barely audible, as they all patted her on the back leaving for their positions. Switching feet, her hands twisted together, as she bit her lip in anticipation.
"Break a leg," She recognized Justin's voice instantly as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Knowing me, I'll break my arms too," She gave a sheepish laugh her nerves pumping wildly, making her sick to her stomach.
"Just relax, "Justin whispered against her neck. She shivered, letting out a deep sigh.
"What if I screw up? What if they don't like me?" Her uneasy words, slammed at every tiny depict of hope she had managed to save.
"Believe in yourself," Justin paused, turning her shoulders around. His blue eyes came into deep contact with hers. Drowning in a sea of unwanted emotions he swallowed hard. "I believe in you," He leaned over, kissing her cheek gently before walking away. A shaky hand touched her cheek as she heard the stage manager yell again.
"One minute!"
Running to her starting position on the set, Alyssa said another quiet prayer. The set was pretty simple, just enough to grab everyone's attention, but not to flashy. Two large glittery clouds were center stage, covering the bottom words of the curtain. She stood behind them, shielded from the audience and everyone until her cue. Watching the stage managers fingers go from 5...4...3...2...1 her breath caught in her throat as she listened intently. The lights hit the stage, the applause and screams of the audience intensifying as they waited. The music started, vibrating from the walls. She could feel everything around her spinning, as Erick, and Daniel ran as fast as they could to the stage. Kaitlyn, and Hilary had done the same on the opposite end. As the beginning notes played the four of them tumbled across the stage in perfect "sync" with each other. They landed all together, stomping they're feet loudly. Suddenly the two clouds parted, revealing the hidden words as Alyssa walked forward.
"I don't even know how it got this way. When I first met you, I never thought your love was true. But I'm glad I saw just what was in store. All the while you plan to be my man, now I'm in love with you."
Her legs crossed in front of each other all the way to the front of the stage. Kaitlyn and Erick were on one side of her, Daniel and Hilary on the other. Her words had began to gain confidence, her heart shuddering along with the beat of the music. Everything around her seemed so unreal, and second guessing. Blue, and green glowsticks were flying in the air, and she felt as if she were to.
"You make me happy, make me feel so good. With the things you do for me. Oh baby can't you see that You make me happy, make me feel so good. With the things you do for me...Oh baby, baby, baby."
As she sang the words, her nerves continued to pump but it only built her enthusiasm. It was like the whole world was at her feet right at that moment. Each time she carried out a note, or her voice got louder in the microphone, she felt her heart jump again. Remembering everything Lance, and everyone had taught her she worked the crowd as best as she could. Most of her concentration was focused on her words, belting her heart out. Taking a deep breathe she followed through with the routine they had done a million times. As she sung the words her feet tried their best to keep up with her.
"In search of happiness, trying to find that one Who can make my life feel so complete, baby. If I only knew that someone was you, Boy there would've been more happy days, so don't you go away."
Turning sharply on her heels, she continued moving into the bridge of the song. The dancers backed up some, doing a smaller, slower routine as a series of colored lights flashed across the stage.
"No one can make me feel this way. Ooooh. You always seem to make my day. Ooooh."
Again she started dancing, forgetting about the entire world moving around her. Forgetting about everything that had gone wrong, the sleepless nights, and broken promises as she belted her heart out.
"You make me happy, make me feel so good. With the things you do for me. Oh baby can't you see that You make me happy, make me feel so good. With the things you do for me...Oh baby, baby, baby."
The last note was loud, all four of her dancers hitting the ground, making as much noise as they could as they're bodies slammed against the stage. Alyssa stood in the middle her arms reaching upward, her breathing heavy through the microphone. The crowd screamed, as her mind suffered to take her back to reality, remembering what she was supposed to do next.
"Ft. Lauderdale!"
