Lynne

Chapter 33

 A week.

It had been a week since their show, a week since I last saw them, a week since I had heard their voices. Even longer since I had done any of those things in person. An entire week.

And here I was, miserable, my face aching from the fake smile I had put on, walking off the stage after my first solo show in my entire career.

"What the hell was that?" Unfortunately, Tatsuo had caught on to the actions of the others, and insisted on being present at my show. This one was a ticketed one, thank God, but I had a deep feeling of guilt inside me knowing that no one in that crowd received the show they were expecting; the show they had paid for.

"It was a concert," I retorted, dumbly. I kept my eyes to the ground, a blank expression on my face.

His face, however, held a sour look. "I told you, this show was supposed to ease all the fans into the new changes. And after that?" He pointed to the stage where I had just exited. The crowd was still cheering. I couldn't help but notice that they lacked their usual enthusiasm. "After that, they'll be asking even more questions."

I crossed my arms. "Oh no," I deadpanned.

"Listen, Rin," his voice lowered, and I was forced to meet his angry eyes. "Do you want to lose your fans?"

I let out a breath, but didn't respond.

"Do you want to disappoint the people who gave everything to you?" He leaned closer to me.

Where is Erik? I needed some sort of defense. But there was no one in this hall except for me and the threatening man in front of me.

"Do you really want people to come to your show and leave disappointed? Aren't you supposed to be all about your fans? I thought you of all the others actually cared about them."

I felt myself shaking.

"Do you even care at all?" He rose his voice.

It almost seemed like he was trying to make me angry.

"Answer me," he sneered.

"Fuck off," I finally said.

He paused, and, after a moment, stood tall once more. He chuckled. "Let's go."

I hesitated in following him through the hallway, but I found I had no choice. My footsteps were nothing but small taps against the marble floor. His were thunderous stomps that echoed against the walls.

It had been a horrible show. I smiled, I danced, I laughed, and I fought back tears the entire time. There was no thrill. There was no adrenaline rush, no stage high. Just loneliness. The stage was huge without another living soul to occupy it with me, and I felt much, much too small compared to it. There was no doubt in my mind that the crowd had noticed.

The unease in our fanbase had skyrocketed after the show the others had put on. It had been my job to put everything back in place. I had failed. And I couldn't care less.

We entered a large room behind the stage. The signing room. To my left was a line of fans, already stretching out the door, each holding a poster, a CD, a shirt, something for me to sign. Cheers rose up as I entered, and I felt the first genuine smile of the night fill my face.

But, as I turned to them, I felt Tatsuo grab my arm. "We're leaving."

My heart dropped. "Excuse me?" I slowly turned my gaze to him. We were just out of earshot of the fans.

"You put on a show like that, and you expect me to let you talk to them afterwards?" He looked at me incredulously. "We're leaving."

Another surge of anger shot through me. "Bullshit, we're leaving," I repeated, yanking my arm out of his grip.