Teacher's Pet

"He would probably kick a few people out. Are you still nervous?"

"I haven't performed since I was with the band, Abby."

"What about the last time you sang, with the guitar?"

"That was different. I wasn’t performing, I was trying to get you back. That was one song, this is a set, and I am alone. I joined a fucking band in the first place so I wouldn't have to do that."

"You have this, Nate; you're a musical genius," she said.

"This can't be my first performance after leaving Remus. I can't choke the first time I get on a stage. Everyone who told me I was an idiot for leaving is going to be right."

"No, they aren't," she said, standing and walking up to me. "You're a fantastic musician. You don't have to prove that to anybody because there is no question. All you have to do is go up there and do what you can do with your eyes closed already."

"I can't do this, Abby," I sighed.

"Yes, you can. If you're nervous about the crowd, just watch me. Pretend it's just me out there."

I looked down at her. She really wanted me to do it. Part of me wanted to, as well, but I also didn't want to deal with fucking up.

Oddly, I believed her. I felt comforted by how much faith she had in the fact that I could do it. She believed in me. She was supporting me. So many people had no idea how important support was. It was literally the difference between me doing this shit and not. Having someone on your side who believed in you? That was fucking priceless.

"Doing it alone makes it feel like the band's really gone, you know? Like there was a chance we would get back together, but now that's gone."

"Maybe doing this tonight will help you decide whether being with your band is something you want in your life again, after all," she suggested. I shrugged. She had a point. We left the room together, early because I had to go get ready, and stayed together until I had to go backstage.

Everything I saw, heard, and felt blurred into one big cloud of background noise that was buzzing in the back of my head. I wasn't going first. The lineup had been shuffled around so that I was going second to last. At least I wasn't closing out the show, I thought.

This could have been worse. I hadn't really gotten many notes or restrictions as far as what they'd let me do. It just had to be acoustic because the backing band couldn't learn everything they needed in one day in order to back me up, which was fine. I wasn't nervous enough to have to take a shot of something first, but I was getting there.

When it came time for me to take the stage, the audience clapped me on pretty strong. Some of them might have remembered me from the first performance.

It was weird being the only one, at least I was doing something familiar: playing. I started easy, with something I had played to death already: the first song I ever wrote for Remus. It was about the only thing I could write about when I was that young: my mom.

Being behind the piano was easy for me. My hands knew what to play. I'd sung the words so many times there was no way I'd forget them. The crowd wasn't lit like the stage, and we weren't inside, so there were no house lights. I couldn't see Abby any of the times I looked out into the crowd for her. I knew she was there; it wasn't that. I just wanted to see her. I wanted to watch her again when I sang the song I had written for her.

The crowd went wild when I was finished. I nodded and waved. This was never the reason I had gotten into music, but I wasn't going to lie, it felt good to get immediate feedback like that from an audience about your music. The nerves had died at some point between the first and second songs, and now I just wanted to see what Abby thought.

I went backstage, walking down the steps. Abby's beaming face was looking up at me. I smiled seeing her. So that was why I hadn't seen her in the crowd.

"Did you watch the set?"

"You were amazing," she said. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. We were together most of the time, but I didn't know whether anyone really knew we were together, besides Makani and Keno. A few people came up to say they liked the performance and shake my hand.

I hadn't realized it before, but I had sort of missed performing. I liked this feeling. Not being in a huge stadium, performing for thousands of people, but something like this where everyone could see the stage and if they wanted to, could come talk to you after. I heard someone call my name and saw Joseph walking over to us.

"Another fantastic show," he said, grinning.

"Thanks. It’s a great crowd you guys have here," I said. I didn't

know whether or not I should have taken my arms off of Abby. If it was a problem, I didn't want to be the reason why she got in trouble.

"If you're ever looking for a job, you're welcome to perform, whenever you want." I laughed a little.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," I said.

"Will you really?" Abby asked looking up at me. I winked at her, smiling. The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like a great idea.

Chapter Thirty-Two