The Redhead, and The Dreamer.

Crystal glared annoyedly at me backstage after wishing Ethan good luck the night of the talent show. I guess she was more surprised I wasn’t just going along and doing what she wanted for once. She was too used to getting what she wanted to deal with someone like me straight up telling her no. It really must have been the equivalent to a good slap in the face, the way she must have been looking at it, but strangely, I didn’t really care. This was me, getting ready to do something to try to make me happy, and she just wanted me to throw it all away for her and her new boyfriend? There was no way I was going to just sit back and let her run me like that. I’d rather just sing.

I was nervous when I stepped out onto stage, but I guess that’s an incredibly normal emotion when it comes to people taking part in talent shows in general. I reminded myself that as I was taking the microphone into my hand, and I suppose that helped to calm me down a little bit as the intro of the song I’d chosen to sing started to play. I opened my mouth and got out that first, seemingly impossible note, and the next thing I knew, I was belting my way through the bridge of the song, feeling like maybe I’d finally found some strange way to sit on top of the world.

The feeling became all I was for the last few seconds of the song, but after the last note slipped out of my mouth, I kind of went numb, missing the incredibly unique high performing had somehow given me.

I have to admit, I felt seriously confident with my performance. I kind of felt like I could have taken on the world right about then, and as I passed Ethan who was on his way to take his own turn at performing on my way backstage, I gave him a sort of ‘catch me if you can’ look. It was something I’d never really been able to try on him before, because I had always been the one chasing after him, not the other way around like every other sort of relationship I’ve had with anyone lately. I hated it, but at the same time, I supposed that if he’d just fallen for everything I always did and wanted me from the start, or ever really, I never would have really wanted him all that much in the first place. The chase was the only real thing that was keeping me perpetually interested in him. I’d always been the kind of girl who wanted things I couldn’t have afterall.

Of course, as soon as Ethan started playing his guitar up there, some of my confidence dropped down to my knees. I could never play like that. I don’t want to say he was flawless, but honestly, I don’t know any other way to put it. He was though. It was almost like he was too good to be human, and then, when he started singing, an older ballad from a semi alternative band that even I myself liked, the whole auditorium went silent. He had the sort of voice that you just wanted to listen to even though you didn’t really know why. I knew I’d lost, but as I listened to him wide eyed, standing right offstage with an incredibly clear view of him and all his glory, I was okay with it. He disserved to win more than I ever could right then. Hell, I wanted him to win.

That night, I got second place again, but I swear, second place never felt so good. We celebrated on stage together, dancing around crazily to the song that played as people started filing out of the auditorium. He spun me around, and even after I stopped, my mind and my stomach kept turning in circles. We could hear Crystal screeching sat us to meet her outside as fast as possible, but we kept going. The crowd was carrying her away from the stage completely. There was nothing she could do, but yell.

We kept moving, closer now. My heart was about to explode. “Are you always this beautiful, Skylar?” Ethan asked me. I smiled and nodded.

“Anytime the light hits me right, Batman.” I said smoothly.

We both laughed and kept on dancing.