The spotlight comes up on me and I belt the first line:
I only feel real when I’m breaking in front of you.
Confident, gritty, real, and completely steady. The crowd goes wild.
My heart is still hammering from the soundcheck, but I see Mia in the wings backstage, smiling at me like I’m the only thing worth looking at in a room full of flashing lights and chaos.
I get through the first song, then the second without incident. But as the crowd gets wilder, my heartbeat gets more erratic. I turn fully to face Mia and hold my mic away from me.
“One song,” I mouth to her. “With me?”
She hesitates for a moment, then nods. I see her motion to Jake and the crew to get her mics and monitors on. She steps on stage, and this time, there are no nerves. As the crowd spots her walking into the spotlight, they completely lose it. The intro toCollapse Into You, our unofficial duet, begins and the second Mia’s voice hits the mic, everything else fades away.
Our voices melt into each other, completely in sync. She stands close to me, grounding me like she always does, our eyes locked on each other like we’re the only two people in the room. The only reminder that we aren’t alone is the noise of the crowd just a few feet away, their cheers reverberating against the walls of the venue in full force.
That’s when I notice something just past the barricade, near the side of the stage. Two familiar silhouettes who look completely out of place are watching the scene between me and Mia unfolding on stage.
Then it hits me: Mia’s older sisters, Makenna and Macy. They’ve arrived, and Mia has no idea.
Chapter twenty-seven
"Supernova" - Nic D/Loveless
Mia
The final chord of the song rings out and the crowd goes crazy one last time. It doesn’t seem real—I’d just done that, again.
Performed, on stage, with Grayson, like I’ve been doing it my whole life.
Although it still seems surreal, the nerves aren’t as present this time. I just felt alive.
As the lights dim and the band prepares for the next part of their set, I start to jog offstage to watch the rest of their performance. Before I can get too far, Grayson grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze, pulling me close for just a second.
“You killed it, beautiful,” he says into my ear before letting me go.
I beam back at him, the rush still fluttering in my chest. As I come off the stage, I catch a glimpse of two very familiar faces near the edge of the crowd just beyond the security barricade. I freeze.
“Oh no,” I whisper to myself.
Grayson and the band are beginning the next song and still have half a set to perform. I’m on my own for this, and there they are: my older sisters, Makenna and Macy.
Of all the people that could’ve shown up tonight…
“Mia!” Macy calls, waving crazily from beside a very serious-looking security guard with Makenna right next to her.
“Miss Alexander, do you know these two?” the guard asks, clearly unamused by Macy’s enthusiasm.
I want to tell him no, that I have no idea who they are and to send them away, but what ends up coming out instead is, “Yes, sir. They’re my sisters.”
He opens the barricade and Macy launches forward like a human confetti cannon, throwing her arms around my neck with no warning. I stumble a little before hugging her back, trying to stabilize myself.
“You were amazing!” Macy gushes. “Like actually, life-altering amazing. And Grayson? Oh, my God, the chemistry! The talent you both have! And the way he looks at you, sis—I mean,damn.”
Makenna, the oldest of the three of us, stands behind her with her arms folded, dressed like she’d just come from negotiating a corporate merger. Her expression is… unreadable.
I step back from Macy, my heart still pounding.
“What are you two even doing here?” I ask, trying to keep my voice even.
