The stage lights flickered on, then off again. The music pounding in her ears. The boo of the audience made everything around her nothing but a blur.
"Please..."
Her pink lips pressed against the microphone, gripping it for dear life. Laughter filled the stadium again, as tears welled up in her eyes. She could feel her hands begin to shake, the microphone slipping from her grip, falling to the floor, causing a loud echo to bounce from the walls. The crowd hushed, as her tears clung to the silence.
"Please, stop. STOP IT!" Her voice was soft, growing with more confidence. She could feel someone shaking her, grabbing hold of her shoulders.
"Alyssa. Alyssa sweetie wake up," Her eyes darted open, a drop of sweat rolling down her temple.
Justin's voice was soothing as he wiped a stray peice of hair from her face. His eyes burned into hers, providing normalcy to her unfamiliar surroundings. Cupping her hand in his, she focused in on his blue eyes, his lips curling into a smile.
"You were having a nightmare. Relax ," Justins fingers locked around hers, as she felt a trail of shivers dance across her spine. Swallowing hard, she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the aunting shouts still echoing in her head.
"I was a little shooken up there, thank you," Alyssa broke the close contact wiht his eyes, loosening her fingers around his.
"You wanna talk about it?" The sencerity in his voice broke her shell, as she sighed slowly removing her hand from his.
"I dreamt that I was on stage and everyone around me was booing me off. I started crying and just shutting off from everyone. It was horrible...I'm so scared about all of this. What if it just dosent work out? What if they dont like me Justin, what if I put all this hard work in it for nothing?" He could see her eyes clouding over with tears, her hands visibly shaking. Worry and fear suffocated her words, as he did the only thing he could possible think of. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her tight against his warm body. His arms locking around her waist, he could feel her shaking with tears as she slid her wobbly arms around his neck.
"Shhhh, It'll all be ok, you'll see sweetie. everythings going to be just fine," His hand rubbed up and down her back in a pursuit to comfort for her.
Alyssa took long strides down the aisles, her feet silent against the soft carpet. She looked around, as the church was quickly filling up. Taking a seat in the middle, she scooted all the way down to the end, crossing her legs neatly in front of her. Her hair was in tightly locked curls, tucked beind her ears. A simple purple skirt fell just above her knee, with a deep purple three quarter shirt outinling her torso. The simplicity of her outfit, favored her appearance making it very suttle, and innocent. She felt bad for neglecting the church latley, with non stop rehearsals and practices that left little time for anything, especially her personal life. The friendship she had with her dancers was progressivly growing, and trust had been built. Late nights, and early mornings were something she had done a lot, but still her body wasnt used to them. It was hard to hide the circles forming under her eyes, and the worry growing in her day to day life. Lance and Justin had both assured her things would get better after the tour started, and everything would fall into place. But still she couldn't silence the constant questions, and hesitations. She was ripped from her daydreams as she felt a body slide in close beside her. Turning her attention to them she smiled.
"Alyssa, I wasnt sure if you were going to be able to come," Justin nudged her shoulder.
"I told them I would rather go back to the studio and spend the rest of the night there, than to have to miss my last night of being able to come to church," She gave a sheepish smile, her blood pumping with unknown nerves.
"And how are you doing?" He asked, reaching out to touch her hand. That was it. Thats what was bothering her.
"Better, I just wanted to say how completly sorry i am for acting like that. I didnt mean for you to have to have to, I mean I'm sorry you had to..."
"Sorry I had to hold you?" He offered, turning to meet her eyes. Her glance hit the floor, giving a small nod. "Dont be..." His voice came in a husky whisper,his breathe tickling against her neck.
As the services preceeded, she felt her muscles relax, her attentive side slowly fading away with the hours of ngiht creeping on. as people strated filing out she headed up to the front, where she fell to her knees. Quickly blessing herself, she knelt down, lowering her head. Her hands were positioned together just below her downcast chin.
"Dear Lord, thank you for this beautiful day, and for blessing me with the oppurtunities you have. Please let the tour start out ok, and keep us all safe. Thank you for blessing me all of the new possibilities in my life. And for giving me the chance to share the talent you have given me, with the rest of the world. Help me continue to be strong, no matter how far in the darkness I become, help me always aim for the light. Amen," She whispered, taking a moment to recompose herself.
Justin stood at the back watching her carefully. He felt bad for spying, but for some reason he couldnt help but to watch her. Her sencerity, and genuine poise brought new meanings to the way he saw things, and for that he was thankful. Slowly walking into the darkness, he prepared for the long day he knew would follow.
