Small rays of light poured through the bottom of the door to the small dressing room. The twinkle of soothing yellow-orange fluorescent bulbs dimly illuminated the space, strung up around the room for ambience.
Y/n wasn't typically picky, nor did she care much about what was provided at the dressing rooms she resided in before a show. But after that day's events, she'd asked if she could temporarily hang a few strings of lights to create a more stress-free environment.
Of course, the coordinators of the comeback show had agreed and Jay had run out to pick up a few from a nearby Target.
The artist leaned back in the plush desk chair, taking a small cautious sip of her hot lemon-peppermint tea. She grimaced at the sourness that coated her tongue, but sighed out in relief as she felt the cooling sensation of the peppermint hit the back of her throat.
Everyone was gone and the show was to begin shortly. Y/n, now dressed in slim dark chocolate brown slacks and a beige colored button down with her infamous Chelsea boots donning her feet, set her beverage down to pick up the acoustic guitar by her feet.
She strummed the wooden instrument, closing her eyes and allowing the chords to ring out softly around the room. Y/n had less than half an hour before she had to be underneath the stage awaiting her cue, but the artist chose to soak up the alone time that she had and enjoy the peacefulness; if only for a moment.
The serene moment was shattered fifteen minutes later when Jay came bursting through the door to tell Y/n that it was time to go. The artist hurried, carefully setting her guitar back into it's velvet lined case and raced out the door. Tech members followed alongside of her handing over her mic and earpieces as she looked for the rest of her band.
Once she had found everyone, Y/n quickly gathered into a group huddle; a tradition since she'd started this journey with her team years ago.
"Tonight is big everyone, but don't let that thought take away from having fun. We're here to give them a great show and give it everything we got. I'm so grateful for every single one of you, don't forget that." Her face broke out into a genuine smile as she looked to each member who had sacrificed as much as she had to be there, if not more.
"Now, let's do this!"
Everyone cheered and yelled, breaking away from the circle. The band headed out onto the stage and Y/n could hear distant screams of excitement as she positioned herself at the bottom of the stairs.
She tugged at the strap of her stage guitar, pulling it in nervousness as thick fog started to pour from the machines at the mouth of the tunnel she was about to go through. Her senses went on high alert, adrenaline beginning to pump through her veins as she heard her cue to move.
Every step felt more powerful as she neared the exit. The artist knew her silhouette had appeared in front of the arena because, suddenly, a chorus of cheers and screams so loud it almost deafened her. They echoed through the venue, only growing even louder as she broke through the smoke.
For a moment, time stilled and she froze mid step studying the thousands of twinkling lights from cell phones and cameras. Y/n had never quite gotten used to it and was consistently in awe over the amount of support her music received.
Her senses finally came crashing back and she resumed walking to the center of the stage. The opening segment to the first song was already playing and she could hear the metronome begin in her inears.
Y/n took a deep breathe and belted out the first note.
______________________________
The show had been incredible so far, the artist covered in a thin layer of sweat that had soaked through the front of her shirt. She reached down and grabbed one of the water bottles that sat next to her mic stand, opening it as she addressed the crowd.
"I hope that everyone is having a great time." She smiled as she took a gulp of water and waited until the cheers quieted, "Unfortunately this is the last song I will be performing tonight. But I wanted it to be very special, so I will be performing a song that is being released tomorrow at midnight."
Y/n laughed loudly, throwing her head back as she heard the stadium go insane over her admission. Though she had expected this reaction based on previous surprise performances, it never ceased to make her feel a bit giddy. She finished two-thirds of her water, pouring the remainder over her head to help herself cool her off.
Streams of water flowed down the front of her shirt, soaking the thin fabric. She shook her head wildly like a dog playfully near the front row, flinging droplets from her now wet curls onto the fans below and tossing her water bottle off stage.
Blasts of cool air hit her skin and finally cooled her down, the artist burning up from the stage lights and heat radiating from the large crowd.
A few teenage girls nearby screamed, reaching out desperately to grab onto the artist. She bent down gently grasping each of their hands for a moment before standing back up and walking over to the baby grand piano that had been rolled out for her.
She sat down, testing out a few of the keys before softly playing the opening chords to the new song as she spoke.
"As most of you know, I haven't really been around for the past couple of years. I was going through some really difficult things, so I decided to go back to my hometown for awhile."
Y/n paused, swallowing the sudden lump in her throat as she tried to keep the tears that threatened to spill over at bay.
"During my time in Colorado, I wrote this song about someone. This person was, and still is, very important to me and I let them down. The lyrics actually came from a letter that I had written privately to let out my emotions, but eventually transformed into what I'm about to play for you all tonight."
Y/n scanned the faces in the audience, her eyes landed on a very familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes. Her heart leapt at the sight, almost carrying her body along with it as it began tugging in her chest towards the achingly familiar figure standing in the VIP section near the mainstage.
She froze, her fingers somehow miraculously continuing to play the chords quietly underneath her voice as she locked eyes with the other person. The artist ducked her head down, emotions threatening to spill out in the form of tears if she dared to look up again at the brown eyes gazing down at her from the crowd.
She let the chords ring out and took a deep breath before the lights turned down and a lone spotlight shone directly on her.
Maybe I'm lookin' for a bit of suffering
Leave a little time to feel the cracks
Maybe it'll hit when we're all alone again
Thinking about what we used to have
Her voice came out thick and raspy when she sung the first two verses, raw emotion coating each word as she closed her eyes and pictured herself sitting at the small wooden desk all those months ago.
The argument from that night came flooding back, the harsh words resounding in her mind. She could hear the loud sobs coming from Camila as the artist stormed towards the closet to grab her suitcase. The feeling of Camila's delicate fingers wrapping around her body to stop her from leaving as she stalked out the door angrily.
No one knows about tomorrow
But I know that I'll be waiting for you still
So I'll let you go to fill the void you're tryna fill
If you're meant to come back to me, you will
If you're meant to come back to me, you will
Even if you go and fall in love with someone else
As much as it'll hurt me, I'll survive
But if you're lyin' with her, feelin' by yourself
I'll still be yours to come and find
An overwhelming torrent of sadness consumed her as she felt her heart break at its strongest reliving that awful night. She knew in her heart of hearts that the song was a selfish wish. A selfish wish that one day, her and Camila would be each other's once again.
She grimaced at the toxicity of her longing, the desire to reignite something that had obviously wounded them both deeply to this day.
The rest of the instruments dropped out as the last chorus ended; her voice and piano becoming the focus once more. She sang the last lines of the song softly, feeling a warmth rush through her body as she lifted her eyes to meet Camila's once more sensing the gut wrenching pain that lay beneath.
Y/n leaned forward, wrapping her hands around the base of the microphone and uttering the last line of the song as the piano faded into the stillness..
If you're meant to come back to me, you will